Truly Connecting with and Serving Employees
With a background in retail and a passion for people, Nick Knuffman-Brewer is a natural at creating a positive employee experience. As the Associate HR Manager at Simantel, Nick plays a key role in supporting the steady growth of the agency, finding ways to improve efficiencies and identifying opportunities to develop new initiatives.
Customer service is ingrained in Nick – it’s all about the customer. He sees Simantel employees as his customers, so he feels it’s his job to truly connect with and serve them. Nick works hard to build relationships, be a listening ear and bring genuine compassion to HR. Although as the “policy and procedure people” it’s the HR team’s responsibility to protect the business, it’s also about the employees and being flexible enough to support the people-first culture Simantel prides itself on.
In this interview Nick shares what he learned working in HR in the corporate retail world and how he’s bringing that wealth of knowledge to Simantel. He also talks about a few of his favorite initiatives and what he’s looking forward to most in the next year. Spoiler alert – it’s centered around the employee experience.
We’re excited to share this glimpse into the supportive culture at Simantel and the heart our HR professionals pour into making it a great place to call home.
“My favorite thing of HR is to meet the new people, really welcome them…just raise that expectation of culture that first day for them and just make them feel extremely welcome and excited and very confident in their decision to join us.”
Nick Knuffman-Brewer
Bonus Clip: Nick Narrates His Story
About Nick Knuffman-Brewer
Nick brings over 14 years of experience in human resources to his role as Simantel’s Associate HR Manager. Since coming on board at the beginning of 2022, Nick has been a go-to resource for our growing roster of new Simantelites through their whole onboarding experience. He works closely with Simantel’s COO and administrative team ensuring we have the best policies, procedures and programs in place that keep Simantel a great place to work.
Outside of the office, Nick serves on the Board for Illinois Foundation for Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America. He is also a member of Simantel’s DEI Committee and a frequent guest speaker at Western Illinois University (his alma mater) in their Managing and Marketing department. He considers himself equal parts a home body and travel enthusiast, and can be found scoping out new restaurants or enjoying the sunny outdoors with his family. Connect with Nick on LinkedIn.