We Are IT | Meet Kaylyn Minnix

When Kaylyn Minnix joined ITS in 2020, she was looking for a role with more HR responsibilities. Now, she oversees ITS HR reps, payroll, new hires, reclassifications, merit pay and more as the ITS HR representative supervisor. There is never a dull moment, and Kaylyn enjoys the fact that the job keeps her on her toes and always learning. Outside of work, Kaylyn enjoys traveling, boating, crafting and baking her signature cake pops.

Where are you from?

I am from the Fort Walton Beach and Destin area. My family still gets together over there once a year.

Where did you attend school?

I went to Lincoln High School in Tallahassee, then graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Flagler College. And now I am looking to get my master’s in human resource management or organizational management from FSU.

Why did you choose to work in technology?

I was just looking for a new HR role. I had worked as a recruiter at the state for 13 years and wanted to get out and do something different to get a different experience under my belt. I always wanted to work for FSU and happened to come across the position and thought, “This sounds right up my alley.” I could get all branches of HR under me. It was the perfect fit.

How long have you been at FSU?

Since November 2020.

What is your role at FSU?

It varies, but I usually oversee personnel actions that ELT or supervisors want to do. I help ensure funding is allocated and assign tasks based on if it is a compensation or hire request then oversee the ITS HR reps and review and approve their work. I also oversee payroll to make sure our timesheets and paychecks are correct every month.

I am currently reviewing all reclassifications that are coming through ITS. I review and vet the request and make sure HR has everything they need to approve it quickly. I do the same for merit pay. I am kind of a middleman.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

There is never a dull moment. It keeps me on my toes. I am never bored. I am always learning. Plus, I am a people person. I love interacting with people.

What is the most rewarding project you have worked on at FSU?

I guess I would say any reclassification. Nine times out of ten when ELT requests a reclass it is to reward an employee for going above and beyond. Someone is working outside of their pay class and we want to get them compensated. I am responsible for making sure central HR has everything they need to process the reclassification. And once an employee gets approved and reclassed, it is rewarding to them and to me because I am like, “I helped do that. I made sure that happened.”

Other than your cellphone, what is your go-to, can't-live-without piece of tech?

Television. I can't live without my Netflix. I can't live without watching The Real Housewives of Dubai.

If you were to invent one piece of technology, what would it be?

Work-related … A working, effective HR program that will hire somebody beginning to end.

Personally … A closet organizer that would wash your clothes and put them up for you, all nicely pressed and ready to go. Like the wardrobe app from Clueless plus having it washed.

What is a fun fact about you?

My name is unique because my parents created it. I was supposed to be a boy and was going to be named Steven. So when I was born, my mom had to come up with a different name. My dad’s name was Ken and my mom’s name is Lynn. So my mom took a hospital napkin and wrote out a few different versions combining her and my dad’s names until she found one she liked. And she still has the napkin.

Talk a little bit about your family.

My mom currently lives in Fort Walton. My father was a state employee, former House Representative and avid football player and watcher who recently passed. I have three older sisters in Pennsylvania, Chipley and Tallahassee and had one older brother. I met my husband through mutual friends, and we have been together 14 years and married eight. We have a little girl, a four-year-old named Aaliyah that is very sassy. My husband’s family lives in Houston and Seattle. And yeah. That’s family—very large and very broad.

What do you do in your free time?

My husband and I like to travel. When we first got married, that’s all we did. We traveled all the time and always picked one place each year that we had never been to. Then I would get on Pinterest and find all the unique things to do in the area. Spokane, where my husband’s family is from, is my favorite place to visit.

We also have a boat and love to go out fishing, swimming or just riding down the river.

I also like to cook and bake. I don't do it as much as I used to now that I have a four-year-old, but cake pops used to be my go-to. Everyone would call me and ask me to make them for all different occasions. It was a two-day process, but I’d do it.

I also love to redo furniture—staining, painting, crafting—every piece of furniture in our dining room was found on the side of the road or Facebook Market Place and completely redone.