Meet the Experts: Kelsey Janes

WP Engine’s success comes down to people. It’s the individuals driving innovation and providing exceptional experiences who make WP Engine such a Great Place to Work. 

With Thanksgiving on the horizon in the U.S., this edition of Meet the Experts highlights one of the people responsible for ensuring everyone at WP Engine feels appreciated.

Kelsey Janes, a Senior People Systems Analyst based in Tennessee, uses her talents to manage our internal systems. Her work helps WP Engine operationalize an employee experience in which individuals feel supported in their current roles and in their ongoing career growth.

Say hello to Kelsey!

Kelsey Janes is a Senior People Systems Analyst on our Employee Experience Operations team, focusing on WP Engine’s Human Resources Information System (HRIS), Workday. Her daily work involves both configuration and reporting to improve the employee experience. 

Kelsey thinks of every colleague as a customer, aiming to make their interaction with Workday as simple as possible.

“The people here at WP Engine work so hard for our external customers,” she says. “I want to bring that same energy to how we support them.”

Outside of making systems work well for the people they serve, Kelsey’s passions are books and travel. 

She’s been a devoted reader since childhood (evidenced by her consistent presence in the company’s #books channel in Slack) and loves visiting new places, whether through the pages of a book or in real life. 

She has a personal goal to visit all seven continents, and already has four checked off her list. Her recent adventures included traveling to Orkney during a trip to Scotland. She also recently relocated from Omaha, Nebraska, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, looking forward to “milder winters and getting to explore some of the many hiking trails around the area.”

Kelsey’s career journey

Kelsey’s journey with WP Engine began when the company acquired Flywheel. “One of my work fun facts is that the announcement of the acquisition was on my very first Monday as a Flywheeler,” she shares. “Six years later, I’d say it’s working out!”

Her role is critical in bridging the gap between big ideas and real-world execution. Deep Workday expertise helps her “take projects and reporting requests from the theoretical to the practical,” working behind the scenes to facilitate everything from development review cycles to new program rollouts to employee anniversary recognition during all-company Town Hall meetings.

Kelsey believes a successful company is built on successful employees. “I’m able to use my knowledge to help others get across the finish line on projects that help our employees be successful in their roles,” she explains. This approach is rooted in one of the most valuable lessons she’s learned throughout her career: the power of listening.

She advises against jumping in too quickly: “It’s easy to want to jump into action because you feel like you’ve done something similar a million times before,” she says. 

“It’s always worth taking the time to stop and listen to what is being asked of you. Making a plan is always better than making assumptions.”

Words of wisdom: Focus on the experience

Kelsey’s professional philosophy is deeply aligned with WP Engine’s core value of Customer Inspired. For her, this value extends to every person within the organization.

“I want the employees of WP Engine to have a truly good experience working here,” she says. “So any time I am working on a project, the question at the forefront of my mind is ‘How can we make this work well for our employees?’”

This dedication to internal customer service comes from a deep care for her colleagues. 

“It may be a cliché response, but having co-workers that you trust and respect is one of the best things you can have at any workplace,” she says. “The people I work with allow me to be my best self at work, and I’m really grateful to them for that.”

Powered by people

Kelsey is just one of the many experts at WP Engine who are committed to making a difference, both for our external customers and for the internal teams who support them.

Interested in joining Kelsey and the rest of the global team that’s powering confidence online? Explore WP Engine’s current openings and find out how you can grow your career with us.