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Christy Batten
Director Human Resources/ Strategic HR Partner
Professional Background
Christy Batten is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in the field of human resources, holding various roles that have allowed her to develop a comprehensive skill set within the industry. With a career that has predominantly taken place at The Michaels Companies, Inc., Christy has proven to be a valuable asset to the organization. Her journey in human resources began as a Corporate Recruiter, where she honed her skills in talent acquisition and employee engagement. Over the years, she progressed to become the Executive Assistant to the CEO, a role that provided her with a unique perspective on corporate leadership and strategic operations.
Christy continued to elevate her career by taking on the responsibilities of a Benefits Communication and Compliance Specialist. In this position, she focused on ensuring that employees understood their benefits and compliance requirements, demonstrating her commitment to enhancing employee experience and well-being within the company. Her ability to communicate complex information in a clear and accessible manner is a testament to her strong foundation in communications, which she cultivated during her academic journey.
As a Human Resources Generalist, Christy applied her in-depth understanding of HR policies and practices, contributing to the development of effective human resource strategies. Her exceptional capabilities led her to rise to the position of Human Resources Manager, where she played a pivotal role in overseeing HR operations and implementing initiatives that fostered a positive workplace culture.
Ultimately, Christy secured her current role as the Human Resources Director at The Michaels Companies, Inc. In this executive position, she is responsible for shaping the company's human resources policies and practices while leading a team of professionals dedicated to supporting the workforce. Her leadership and vision have been instrumental in driving employee engagement and enhancing organizational effectiveness.
Education and Achievements
Christy Batten earned her Bachelor’s degree in Communications from The University of Texas at Arlington. This educational background has provided her with a robust understanding of effective communication strategies which she has successfully applied throughout her career in HR. Her studies focused on critical areas of communication, allowing her to develop skills that she has used to elevate employee relations and ensure effective messaging across the organization.
Throughout her tenure at The Michaels Companies, Christy has received numerous accolades for her contributions to the company’s human resources department. Her ability to manage complex projects and nurture a collaborative environment has set a standard for excellence in HR leadership. Christy's strategic vision and commitment to the professional development of her team have also earned her respect and recognition among her peers.
Achievements
Some of Christy Batten's notable achievements include :
- Spearheading initiatives aimed at improving employee engagement and retention, leading to a marked increase in overall employee satisfaction.
- Developing comprehensive training programs that have increased knowledge and skill levels among employees, reflecting her commitment to professional development.
- Successfully navigating complex compliance issues related to employee benefits, ensuring that all programs adhere to current regulations while providing optimal support to employees.
- Implementing innovative recruiting strategies that have improved the efficiency and effectiveness of the hiring process, attracting top talent to The Michaels Companies, Inc.
- Leading diversity and inclusion efforts within the organization, enhancing the workplace culture and promoting equity for all employees.
Christy Batten stands out as an exemplary leader in the human resources landscape, and her trajectory at The Michaels Companies showcases her dedication, talent, and unwavering commitment to nurturing a thriving work environment. Her blend of communication skills and HR expertise positions her as a key player in influencing positive change within organizations. With a focus on employee well-being and organizational success, Christy continues to inspire those around her and shape the future of human resources in her industry.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Clay's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.