The Association Blog

Indy Humane’s HR powerhouse talks top trends in animal welfare—and reveals a hidden talent she’s practiced ever since childhood

Name & Title:  Tiffany Morrison, HR Generalist, Indy Humane
Member of The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement since:  March 2023

The Association: Describe yourself in three words. 
Tiffany Morrison: Observant, Organized, and Learning—Always!
I am currently pursuing a BA in Business with Concentration in HR. I am constantly looking for new perspectives and learnings.

The Association: Describe Indy Humane in three words.  
Tiffany Morrison:

• Historic—Indy Humane has been here since 1905.
• Changing—Indy Humane is always shaking things up.
• Progressive—We’re always looking for new ways to help.

The Association: How did you come to your current role in animal welfare?
Tiffany Morrison: I have spent 10 years in human resources, most recently with Guitar Center. Moving out of a retail and corporate environment to animal welfare was a big shift, but HR is HR. The same challenges present themselves, and there are similar opportunities for growth across industries. I am very excited to be in animal welfare, and have received a great welcome.

The Association: From your HR perspective, how is the corporate world different from the animal welfare sector?
Tiffany Morrison: In the corporate world we hear a lot about work overload, stress, being overburdened and burnout. In animal welfare, it’s all about compassion fatigue. This was a learning curve for me, as the term is more unique to the animal welfare space. I think there is indeed a difference between work stress and/or burnout and compassion fatigue. We need to figure out how we can help manage compassion fatigue and acknowledge that it is different and important to help people work through.

The Association: What about staffing—how is that different?
Tiffany Morrison: In the corporate and retail worlds, I was used to getting thousands of applicants for roles. With the veterinarian shortage, that simply is not happening in animal welfare. For veterinary positions, we have to seek out potential candidates. Thankfully, I have been able to adapt quickly and use word-of-mouth and online tools and platforms to identify candidates and fill positions.

The Association: Tell us about one small victory you had this week—personally or professionally.       
Tiffany Morrison: We had a not-so-small, rather huge victory today. We all know of the veterinarian shortage in our industry, and we are actually bringing on two new veterinarians. Also, we have a new canine enrichment coordinator starting this week.

The Association: What’s the last book you read? 
Tiffany Morrison: I can give you a book and a podcast: The book: If Not You, Who? Cracking the Code of Employee Engagement. The podcast: HR Nightmares. It is recounts of weird situations and “OH MY GOODNESS” moments. It offers insight on how to navigate these situations. It’s designed for everyone—not just managers and human resources professionals, but anyone on staff.

The Association: Please share a hidden (or not-so-hidden) talent. 
Tiffany Morrison: I thought about this for a while and even talked to my CEO about it. I am extremely good at matching people—creating positive energy and generating solutions in situations where they are lacking. I guess you can say that I excel at generating out-of-the-box solutions.

I also have a weird personal talent: It’s a little odd, but basically, I am a mimic. I pick up accents, the way people talk on television, etc., very easily. I discovered as a child that I could cry and sound exactly like a baby I saw on television, and I’ve been able to do this my entire life.

The Association: Anything else you’d like your colleagues to know?   
Tiffany Morrison: I just want to let everyone know that whatever struggles you are going through, so many of them are temporary. You are working for a mission-driven organization, and you are doing good. Please remember that.

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