Faces of HR: How Tracy Williams Cultivates a Culture of Belonging at New Relic

As New Relic‘s Chief People and Diversity Officer, Tracy Williams is dedicated to fostering a workplace where every employee feels valued, empowered, and connected. With over two decades of human resources (HR) experience, Williams brings a wealth of knowledge and a passion for creating inclusive environments.

Before joining New Relic, Williams held leadership roles at marketing technology company Conversant/CJ Affiliate, Mervyn’s (acquired by Target), and Michaels Arts & Crafts. Her journey into HR was somewhat unexpected. After graduating with a sociology degree, she pursued a legal career, only to find her true calling in human resources. Her unique blend of business acumen and legal background has proven invaluable in her role.

Williams believes that a strong, inclusive culture is essential for business success. At New Relic, she is committed to building a community where employees can thrive and do their best work. Through her leadership, the company has made significant strides in diversity, equity, and inclusion, creating a more welcoming and supportive environment for all.

In our latest Faces, meet Tracy Williams.

Who is/was your biggest influence in the industry?

One of my first managers at New Relic. I was hungry for growth at a relatively early stage in my HR career, and I knew I wanted to lead a global people team sooner rather than later. I was fortunate enough to have a manager who recognized this ambition. She invested and – more importantly – proactively guided me in a direction where I could expand my remit, awareness, and visibility within the company. Before I knew it, I was a vice president running the global HR business partner team, and actively involved in board meetings and high-level executive coaching. Soon after that, a leadership role in DEI opened. My manager recognized my efforts and penchant for implementing ideas to make a meaningful, measurable, and long-lasting DEI impact at New Relic, and she allowed me to expand my remit into this new area.

What’s your best mistake, and what did you learn from it?

My best mistake was sticking with something that I wasn’t passionate about longer than I should have. There’s a difference between not being passionate about something and hard or challenging work. I’ve done my best work in places where the work was challenging. I always ask myself several questions when I’m feeling anxious or unhappy: Am I learning and growing? Do I still have something to contribute? Am I able to put forth my best effort?

This last question would have led me to leave certain prior roles sooner than I did. We all need to feel supported to thrive.

What’s your favorite part about working in the industry? What’s your least favorite part, and how would you change it?

My favorite part about working in HR is fighting for improvements for underrepresented people. As a woman and person of color, I’ve been on the receiving end of blatant gender discrimination and racial profiling, particularly in the earlier stages of my career.

Unfortunately, unconscious bias continues to be a challenge in the workforce. This is the aspect of HR that I find most disheartening. However, what motivates me is the understanding that every individual’s contribution matters. Each new initiative we introduce contributes to the equity and fairness of our programs and processes. Every new ERG project we undertake brings us closer to effecting systemic change internally. Every DEI effort, no matter how small, is a significant step towards fostering a culture of genuine inclusivity and diversity.

I also love working with a team of executives in a complex, constantly changing environment where I am responsible for building and executing on a talent strategy that ensures we meet and exceed our business goals without losing sight of the human element.

It sounds like through your experience you really care about people, and you want to help them feel safe and comfortable, which is important in the industry. Please elaborate here.

I care about running a successful business, and that absolutely requires us to ensure that we take care of our people. Personally, I tend to lead with both my heart and logic. I’ve learned that my compassion and caring for my team and others has been key to my success. This requires that I encourage and support a high-trust environment where feedback flows both up and down my organization. I have high expectations of my team, but I also know that I am not perfect so I’m constantly soliciting feedback and am open to it when given. A recent example of this is when one of my direct reports shared that I had become a roadblock to her team’s ability to move fast. This was not an easy message for me to hear—of course that was not my intent. So, we created a review (not approve) cycle for me to stay updated on what was happening rather than them having to wait for me to make a decision in areas where it made sense. I’m happy that the team feels safe and comfortable enough to do that.

How can HR most effectively demonstrate its value to the leadership team?

The most successful HR teams align to do work that enables the business strategy. We are business leaders who have a focus and expertise in people programs. We hire the right people in the right places; we ensure a great employee experience; we help leaders build high-performing teams through feedback and career development; we have highly effective leaders; and we do it all with a high degree of operational effectiveness, ensuring that we are using modern tools and improved self-service. Another key is that we help leaders see around corners using data and predictive analytics, including feedback from the organization that we can act on to drive better outcomes.

Where do you see the industry heading in five years? Or are you seeing any current trends?

HR will continue to be a critical partner in every organization, including New Relic. Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more prevalent in our daily lives so HR will increasingly be looking to help integrate AI into their existing toolkit to both support the business and improve efficiency and effectiveness, while also keeping the human touch to support the human needs of the organization. Many of us already use generative AI today to help with simple tasks like presentations, interview questions, and knowledge gathering. We’re also currently looking at ways to embed AI into other parts of our function by exploring use cases for where it might make sense and allow us to free up humans for more complex, high-impact work.

What are you most proud of?

I’m incredibly proud of one of the first practices I implemented at New Relic – the Mikey Rule. Named after Mikey Butler, a former SVP of Engineering and a champion of diversity, the Mikey Rule is a hiring rule at New Relic that requires all open roles to have diverse candidates in the applicant pool. This ensures a more equitable playing field and provides underrepresented people the same opportunities as everyone else.

Do you have any advice for people entering the profession?

Don’tlet your previous experience, or lack thereof, hinder entering the field. Ultimately, HR is about implementing people-focused changes within an organization, and if that’s something you see yourself being a long-term advocate for, you’re already in the right place.

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