Viisage, a technology identity solutions provider, has been growing through acquisition and with that comes a long list of human capital challenges. So it is no surprise that the Viisage executive team relies on Mary-Jo Porcello - VP of HR - a passionate, seasoned human resource executive to come up with the right human capital solutions.

I interviewed Mary-Jo last week and thought I would pass along a few of her comments from the interview that paint a picture of what her HR team thinks are critical ingredients for success.

Excerpts from interview with Mary-Jo Porcello, (VP of HR, Viisage, 6/7/06)

"One of our competencies is finding ways to increase our HR services with little to no resources."  

"We have created an intranet site for employees to easily access all HR forms, benefits information, company guidelines and policies." 

"I was direct and honest with employees and tried to help them to understand their situation and in some cases came up with some creative solutions to their issues.   

"The executive team spends an entire day at the end of the year in an HR review meeting." 

"One of the key ways HR can add value to any business is to provide data to help management make decisions." 

"We are always looking to attract key talent, yet we have limited funding for benefits.   So we have found ways to introduce benefits that don´t cost money, like discounts on eye wear." 

"We are able to provide the company with the required information for decision making, it just takes a little longer and we have to be meticulous on double checking the final product before passing it on." 

"I believe being an active listener is one of the most important characteristics for an HR professional to be successful."    

"It is also important for an HR professional to maintain their professionalism while also being open and honest with the business leaders.  Sometimes this can be very difficult, but at the end of the day, I´ve found that good managers do want honest feedback so they can do their job to the best of their ability."  

" I believe as HR professionals we have to be the link between what is right for the business and what is right for the "people".  I´ve found this takes patience, a good understanding of the business and some creativity.  The art is knowing where to find the right balance for the entire organization."