How Capital One Is Using Tech to Make Work (and Life) Easier

The COVID-19 pandemic has undeniably changed the future of work, with Human Resources (HR) technology impacting a lot of facets within the workplace. When remote work became part of the new normal, major companies turned to their HR departments to understand how to accommodate associates, prospective candidates, and customers. Within Capital One’s HR Tech department, VP of Technology Maureen Jules-Perez helped shepherd her team to quickly rise to address a spectrum of challenges, ranging from small to large-scale challenges. Those efforts included ensuring the smooth transition of remote work, interviewing and onboarding new talent in a virtual environment, accelerating HR tech modernization initiatives, and leveraging the company’s tech transformation journey to go all-in on the cloud to deliver enterprise-wide products and services.

At Capital One, the company’s multi-year and successful public cloud journey set a solid foundation for Maureen and her team to build upon a modern tech ecosystem to strategically support the outstanding work of the HR department and to help bring some work-life normalcy to associates. Thanks to Capital One’s commitment to the public cloud and its tech transformation, they were able to solve internal needs, like pivoting and effectively equipping our associates for the remote working environment and external needs like conducting seamless candidate interviews. 

We spoke to Maureen to understand how the company uses technology to make work (and life) easier for future talent engagement and for associates to care for themselves and for our customers.

To really understand how remote work affects associates, Maureen and her team worked in lockstep across lines of businesses to prioritize the most critical needs. In one instance, they dug in deep to understand what “home” meant for associates. For some associates, it meant working in the solitude of a studio apartment or moving in with loved ones to take care or support them. For others, it meant working from the basement or hunching on the floor to wrangle their child’s Zoom classroom call with one arm, while the other arm clicked through a virtual presentation for work.

"The HR Technology team was mostly behind the scenes to support our HR partners who are in the critical path of supporting our lines of businesses and associates through these difficult times.  Our mission is to deliver modern solutions and valuable HR experiences find some semblance of a work-life balance,” Maureen says. “At a minimum, we wanted to build the same amazing associate experiences and truly support associates as we would in an office setting. The pandemic and working from home created situations our associates never had to consider before, like how do I care for myself and my family, what about childcare, what if I get sick? In partnership with HR, our HR Tech team quickly stood up several internal portals and resources to help associates get the answers they were searching for. I’m incredibly proud that my team was at the forefront of supporting our associates in their time of need."

When Maureen started her job at Capital One two years ago, she knew that the company’s public cloud journey could help alleviate some of the legacy tech debt within the HR Technology team that could otherwise slow down innovation. 

“The breadcrumbs left by old tech and tech debt can affect how fast a company can run,” Maureen says. “In order to anticipate and keep up with associate needs, we have to stay multiple steps ahead at all times. You can’t do that with legacy tech debt. We’re well on our way to eliminating that debt, and I’m excited to see how far and how fast we can go from here.”

For Maureen, the company’s tech journey stands as a great model to create multi-year plans within lines of businesses, including HR Technology, to make the customer experience better. 

“I have a three-year cycle in mind as a business partner and as an IT leader. The blindspot for many companies is not planning for the fact that workflow can change over time. Know that constant change is inevitable, but keep the end state in mind and ask yourself what the alternative scenario will otherwise look like three years down the line. As a leader, I know that talent and leadership are our greatest strategic assets, so I want to make sure our company provides the help associates need on their career journey here.”

Throughout the history of Capital One, we have been focused on transforming and optimizing the customer and associate experience. By starting from what our customers need and working back from there to figure out how to meet them, our scientists, engineers and designers ensure that we’re using the latest technologies and processes to help us build those great experiences. 

In 2021, Maureen and her team are busy enabling additional capabilities to the internal learning platform. This includes increased mobile access with other enterprise platforms, and providing enhanced user interfaces and user experiences to make learning easier for associates. By providing easier and greater access to more learning paths, we’re enriching our associates’ growth mindset.

“We’re an engineering team that is passionate about HR experiences and making associates’ lives better,” Maureen adds. “When we support associates at different moments in their lives, they can dedicate time to creating more innovative solutions for our customers. It’s like the saying that a rising tide lifts all boats: when you’re a great engineer you’re not only adding value to the company, you’re helping the industry as a whole.” 

For more information on how Maureen and her team are creating change in other ways within Capital One, click here to learn more about the Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging practices that guide her leadership and here to learn more about her passion for using Technology for good.