What does an Entegris employee look like? What do they do all day, and what do they like about their jobs? This blog is part of a series that will take a deep dive into a variety of careers at Entegris. We’ll highlight several employees and their valuable contributions to the organization. What do they do, how are they succeeding, and why do they think Entegris is a great place to work?  

What is your educational and employment background?

I have a BA in criminal justice, and an MBA, both from the University of Phoenix. I’ve been in human resources for 20 years across different fields, such as retail, healthcare, and manufacturing.

How did you end up working at Entegris?

By total coincidence! My husband relocated to Austin for his job, and then I was contacted by a headhunter out of the blue. I was impressed by the individuals who approached me and interviewed me. Meeting employees and seeing their leadership style along with learning about the culture was helpful and enjoyable. I was also attracted to the challenge of the role and the fact that I’d never worked in the semiconductor industry. I’ve been working for Entegris for three years as of this past December.

What were some of your initial challenges?

When I started out, I was asked to help brand Entegris from a local site perspective. When it came to existing employees, my goal was to get everyone to think more about the Entegris way. I also wanted to increase the mindshare of HR and make us more visible on site. It’s important to create an environment of openness and approachability where employees always feel free to come and talk.

Can you tell me about your role and responsibilities within HR?

I began by supporting our sites in Burnet and Round Rock, TX. I was recently promoted to HR manager, and my responsibilities include recruitment, compensation, development, performance management, supporting centers of excellence, and more.

Going into more detail, recruitment means that I help get teams staffed and resourced so they’re able to function. I also do compensation analysis so we can be competitive with some of the other big tech companies in the area. For benefits, I mostly need to be there so I can answer employee questions.

Meanwhile, my employee development responsibilities involve creating career path matrices and career development plans, hosting monthly lead, supervisor, and manager meetings for engagement, and providing the opportunity to learn from each other’s experiences. My goal is to engage my team with development opportunities, so they can gain exposure to leaders locally and around the company.

Zooming out, I have an open-door policy for employee relations, but I also make sure that’s the norm within my sites and departments. I’m involved with succession planning, I help employees get fair evaluations, and I create career development opportunities. Finally, supporting centers of excellence means working with benefits, talent management development, recruitment, and even marketing.

Who have you been hiring recently?

My site is preparing for an increase in business right now, so we’ve been hiring steadily at our location. This means that we’ve been recruiting a wide range of people – research and development engineers, lab technicians, analytical chemists, manufacturing technicians, controls engineers, chemical process engineers, manufacturing engineers, and more. There are also great opportunities for us to promote employees internally, which is always gratifying.

I notice that you’re attached to the Materials Solutions division, which was formed by an internal merger between two departments. Has that affected your role?

The merger has been very positive for me. That’s because I’ve gotten the opportunity to meet and support new people that I wouldn’t normally engage with. That’s important, because many of these people bring along best practices that I haven’t necessarily heard of before, and this gives me the opportunity to encourage them across my organization.

What are some major trends in recruitment and how are you dealing with them?

Remote working is still a major employee preference. We’ve dealt with this by implementing a flexible hybrid work schedule. I think this has made it easier to maintain work-life balance, and it’s also made Entegris more attractive in the hiring marketplace.

What do you like about working at Entegris?

The people, for sure – but that’s not just because I’m in HR. There’s a vast diversity within our organization. You have the chance to learn from people with different backgrounds and experiences. From day one at Entegris, I’ve felt welcomed by employees, peers, site leaders, and supervisors. When I first started, I received an email from Sue Rice (SVP of global human resources) to welcome me to the job. It was amazing to be greeted on day one by a senior leader.

What are your long-term career ambitions at the company?

I want to grow my knowledge and experience in the long-term while being exposed to other facets of the HR business. I’ve spent most of my career performing field HR tasks, but it would be interesting to learn more about the specialist skills that go behind compensation or benefits. I also want to make sure that I continue making a difference to the sites I’m responsible for.

Thanks to Blanche for sharing this great information about her role at Entegris. Learn more about Entegris careers!