I enjoy solving operational puzzles, writing,
playing outside,
and taking pictures of my dog.
👆
Just look at him!
LOOK AT HIM!!!
Claire Baker
Wonk. Problem solver. Goofball.
I'm a generalist and an operator. I like things to make sense so they take less attention to run smoothly. So why the heck did I get into the most nonsensical niche of HR?
I prefer to prevent problems. When you're a department of one, you need to find ways to solve problems more quickly. Earlier on in my career, I used to dread heavily-regulated processes because they were so illogical. In the face of taxes, insurance, or bad software, most people will throw up their hands and rhetorically ask, "Why is it like this?" But I actually asked.
Each time I spoke to a tax agency or an insurance company, I would ask, "Why is it like this? Who set it up that way? Why? Tell me why you're doing this to me!" Gradually, I started to understand.
There is a logic to these systems—it's called "policy." The bright lines and rigid processes are just meant to abstract over their goals at scale. If you understand the underlying systems, you can build procedures in harmony with them.
That's why I founded Back Office MVP—to bring order to the parts of People Operations that are most chaotic.
Back Office reflects how every team needs systems in the background to keep the business running.
M.V.P. stands for most valuable player (representing how no one player is at their best without the glue work that holds everything together) and minimum viable product (representing how the best systems are so elegant and intuitive that they fade into the background.
I believe that HR isn’t a four-letter word, it’s a love language!
My Story
Coming up through the operational side of venture capital and early-stage venture-backed startups, I've always worked to help entrepreneurs turn their vision into reality. I've helped startups go from 0 to 1 (actually, more like 10 to 100) in healthcare tech and software infrastructure.
Working alongside developers building tools for other developers gave me a unique perspective on optimizing workflows. Surrounded by software engineers, I also developed an intuitive sense of software infrastructure that has served me well in my post-tech career.
But my passion has always been in payroll, policy, and benefits—powerful levers to make a difference in people's lives. HR departments aren't cold and insensitive because they're evil people (usually), but they often don't know how to pull those levers to bring the company and individual team members' goals into alignment.
I help companies build and run People Operations systems that operationalize an excellent employee experience, and run those systems to keep your team running smoothly. I pair with founding teams and HR specialists to bring out the best in their work so that they can bring out the best in their teams.