Meet Erlin K., director of operation excellence for Benefits and Protection
When I decided to apply for a position at Principal®, I brought a very competitive resume: a computer applications education, years of experience at global companies, and training credentials including a Master Black Belt Lean Six Sigma (a process improvement leadership program). On paper, I thought I was a slam dunk. I really wanted the role.
Pre-interview, I had one big worry: I was visibly pregnant with my second child. Would that hurt my candidacy?
Turns out, not at all. Neither myself nor the interview team missed a beat. I saw a diverse panel from a gender perspective, and thought, This should be OK.
It wasn’t the first time I’d faced a big, life-changing moment and used my background, education, or abilities to move forward. I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone a lot. Joining Principal, people have both respected and challenged my views and I’ve done the same. I can be me every day when I come to work.
For every challenge, an opportunity
I was born in Dubai and left the United Arab Emirates at a young age to attend boarding school in my parents’ native India. Ultimately it was good for me, but it was hard. In middle school, kids have different milestones and developmental stages—almost like you’re a blank canvas, and you need your parents for different reasons. It was very emotionally challenging to be away.
But with challenge came opportunity: I experienced personal freedom and had to learn how to find support and build bonds with nearby relatives. When you step out of your comfort zone, you meet and learn from different people, and you grow.
Post graduation, I leaned on my IT background and began my career in Mumbai, rising through the ranks of a contact center and moving into tech-focused projects and process improvements for major computer, communications, and financial corporations. I picked up six languages along the way, and my fluency in French allowed me to take a posting in 2007 in Canada for a year and a half. There, I visited the United States for the first time; eventually my spouse and I, who I married in 2012, moved to Arizona, then to Des Moines, Iowa in 2013. In 2018 I interviewed for the position at Principal.
Making things easier for employees and customers
I got the job, worked for several weeks, then went on maternity leave. It’s a big testament to the team how they welcomed me back and never treated me differently. They were very patient, and I owe a lot of my success to them.
In my role at Principal, I focus on improving the efficiency of the business and its operations. But really, it’s about problem solving: What steps along the way are hard for employees and customers, and how can process changes make it easier?
Innovative work behavior—what’s possible and how we get there sustainably and competitively—is my passion. Process thinking isn’t just how we administer and serve, but asking what the customer wants today and anticipating what they want in the future.
I’m adding to my professional growth with my next challenge: a Ph.D. in organizational effectiveness and innovation. Principal really seems to be a leader in utilizing process thinking and innovation, and where I come from in a community of practitioners, I don’t hear a lot of others doing that.
Making things easier for parents
I had to confront a new problem when my spouse and I relocated to the Midwest; as I wasn’t fully plugged in to local social networks yet, it was hard to choose childcare. But why not, I thought. If I could order from a restaurant with the click of a button, shouldn’t I be able to figure out childcare without a whisper network? I have a process improvement background. I wanted to figure out what I could do to help other parents.
The resulting website listed all licensed childcare in Iowa. If just one person found it useful, it was a success to me.
Decades ago, I left my home and my family, with no guidebook in hand. I’ve made my way in the tech world, which can present challenges for both women and people of color. I’ve also found that Principal recognizes and supports each piece of who I am.
I’ve worked across the globe and sat in meetings for other companies where I was the youngest or the only woman or the only person of color and I didn’t have a voice. At Principal, my intersectionality, race, background, and gender are all recognized and appreciated. I’m comfortable in my own skin and can be me every day when I come to work.
