Background

VP of People Sarah Schuerman joined EvolutionIQ mid-2023, bringing with her a fierce enthusiasm for people. Early in her career, she seized an opportunity to oversee business operations and build the HR function at a rapidly growing law firm devoted to serving injured women and children. Her various healthcare and legal experiences fueled her desire to positively impact the lives of others, preparing her for the dynamic sphere of high-growth tech startups. With a master’s degree in Leadership and Organizational Development and numerous certifications in Executive Coaching and Leadership, Sarah is dedicated to nurturing high-performance cultures and supporting individuals on their professional journeys. At EvolutionIQ, her third VC-backed startup, Sarah loves helping the company scale by investing thoughtfully in their most important asset: their people.

How has your knowledge of Insurtech and machine learning expanded since working at EvolutionIQ?

Coming from a healthcare background, I already had a grasp of the medical aspects critical to our work, but my familiarity with AI was limited. Joining EvolutionIQ opened my eyes to its transformative potential in insurance. While many fear that AI and machine learning might replace jobs or lead to doomsday scenarios, I see the potential for those tools to be a commendable force in society. Our goal is to help claims handlers effectively navigate complex medical data and make more informed decisions. Ultimately, this accelerates a return to productive, meaningful careers for those who want it. Observing these innovative, real-world applications come to life through the challenges we're addressing has been truly fascinating and rewarding.

Tell me about a typical day in your role. What are some of the problems you are solving?

No two days are the same, which I love. My primary focus is always on our people and assisting them as we build something exceptional. My team and I focus on recruiting top talent and ensuring they integrate well and thrive within our culture. We champion the creation of an encouraging workplace environment and are continually refining our approach to areas like leadership development and performance management, ensuring that people receive the continuous feedback and coaching they need to succeed.  

Priorities are driven by our business strategy and the evolving needs of our team as a whole. I’ve been building and enhancing key programs to match our growth stage. We constantly seek feedback to align our efforts with human needs.

To foster bonding and community, we introduced #hubhangs, allowing staff to organize fun activities like ice skating, workout classes, or virtual reality experiences. Additionally, we recently established our first Culture Committee to boost employee engagement and create opportunities for mission-aligned partnerships. Ultimately, my primary responsibility is to support the advancement and fulfillment of leaders and people, while staying true to our purpose.

How does EvolutionIQ differ from your previous work experiences? What makes EvolutionIQ a great place to work?

Everyone wants to be part of a winning story. At EvolutionIQ, we not only enjoy a strong product-market fit with all the elements needed for significant success, but our mission is also deeply meaningful and purpose-driven. At the end of the day, we’re making real lives better. Our formidable leadership team provides a motivating vision and strategic direction that everyone can rally behind. They’re also remarkably empowering, so there’s a positive tone set from the top. EvolutionIQ is unique in that we pride ourselves on hiring the best from their respective fields (we’re actively recruiting!), and we are also able to maintain a low-ego culture; everyone is eager to help, stretch themselves, and achieve more than they thought possible. People love it here because they can make a big impact without too much bureaucracy, while working with incredibly bright and helpful colleagues.

How is your role evolving and what are you currently focused on?

I put on different hats to help solve different problems. My role as an organizational development practitioner, internal coach, and people enabler involves working closely with management and leadership, ensuring they have what they need to be successful.

When I came on board, I was the first VP, People with only one other people ops team member. I needed to fashion our programs from the ground up to make certain that we were poised to scale through hypergrowth while forging trust and relationships at all levels of the organization.  We’ve built a really strong foundation but unfailingly look forward, anticipating future needs, helping people navigate key organizational changes, and continuing to reinforce a robust culture of collaboration and connectedness.  

We built out our engagement process and first leadership development program this year to ensure we’re listening to our staff and have mechanisms to act on feedback. A key ongoing priority is empowering managers to coach, mentor, and grow their team members’ skills consistently and adeptly. We are committed to helping managers continually improve their abilities to deliver motivational, constructive feedback and coaching.

Right now, we are starting to plan for our big annual company offsite in Puerto Rico because creating memorable moments is key to showing our team their value and building a strong and highly networked community.

What’s your advice for people looking to join EvolutionIQ?

First and foremost, we’re a mission-driven organization. Those who care about seeing positive changes in our lifetime do well here. We also have a high rate of change, and we want people who want to affect real-world results while taking a lot of ownership and initiative. Those who excel here are curious, creative, and want to be part of the journey that we’re on. We have a robust community of high achievers and performers focused on solving challenging problems, which requires commitment and drive. We’re small enough that each person really matters.