I started my career journey with Kognitiv back in May 2019.  At that time, I had been a Business Analyst on the Workday client side for 6 years, and things were beginning to feel a bit stagnant.  It was actually one of the consultants who had worked on our Workday implementation, who first planted the seed in my mind that I had what it takes to cross over into the world of consulting.  That said, I lived in a rural area, my family life and obligations would not have allowed me to relocate or travel, and remote consulting gigs for a new consultant were hard to come by.  I ended up applying to only two Workday consulting companies – the one that the implementation consultant worked for and Kognitiv.  I wasn’t familiar with Kognitiv at the time, but had randomly found their job posting online and decided to apply.

Despite my consultant friend submitting an employee referral for me, I never got a callback from that employer, who I might add, was a very large and well-known player in the ecosystem.  I did, however, get a call from Kognitiv.  I was pleasantly surprised when I quickly realized that the person on the other end of the line, as well as his co-founder, were actually two of the consultants who provided us with Workday PPS (post production support) services after our go-live!  Despite Kognitiv being a smaller company and newer to the ecosystem at the time, I decided to take a leap of faith and jump into the world of Workday consulting when I ultimately received a job offer for a remote position.

I was hired on as a Business Consultant, but was promoted to a Senior Business Consultant within a year, after demonstrating my value and expertise.  Things were going well, and I was really enjoying my time at Kognitiv.  However, about two years in, I had two major life events occur, which made it difficult to fully devote my time to working for Kognitiv full time – my husband and I had our second baby and we also started a small business.  As my maternity leave was coming to an end, and I was already feeling the pressures and demands of these new additions in my life, I made the very difficult decision to end my employment with Kognitiv.

I called our supportive HR Manager, explained my situation, and informed her that I wouldn’t be able to return to work.  Lucky for me, Kognitiv is an employer who truly values their employees, and they weren’t willing to let me go that easily!  The HR and Management team demonstrated their compassion and flexibility by suggesting that I could return in a part-time capacity, and asked me to talk it over with my family.  Prior to submitting my resignation, I had actually considered asking if part-time work could be a possibility, but prematurely jumped to the conclusion that due to the nature of our work, that just wouldn’t be possible.  It was truly a great feeling to know that my employer valued me enough to make accommodations in order to keep me with the organization, and I was relieved to find that they never tried to make me feel guilty or pressured about my decision.  

So, over the course of the next two years (yes, two YEARS), Kognitiv allowed me to work for them as an independent contractor, working a set schedule two days per week.  The great thing is that even though I was now technically a part-time contractor, I still felt like I was a Kogger.  Now, nearly 5 years after I initially started working for Kognitiv, things have come full circle, and I returned as a full time Principal Business Consultant this past August.  Although many things have changed at Kog since the beginning of my journey, there remains one constant – that Kognitiv is an employer who sincerely cares about their employees, and does their best to offer a flexible and supportive work environment for everyone.