Kim Pollok's ascent from a December 31 call-center shutdown to the CEO office at SWBC Payroll & HR offers a practical blueprint for leaders grappling with hybrid work, multigenerational teams, and the rapid integration of artificial intelligence in human resources. In Episode 79 of the Rock Solid: Round Rock Business Leaders Podcast, titled "Kim Pollok | From Layoff to CEO," hosted by Bryan Eisenberg and published June 23, 2026, Pollok provides a candid, practitioner-first perspective on developing talent, retaining clients, and ensuring compliance in a volatile environment.
Pollok, who advanced her career without a college degree, emphasizes the importance of saying "yes" to new challenges. She recounts the SWBC PEO acquisition, where no one on the team initially understood what a PEO was, highlighting the need for adaptability. Her mentor, SWBC Mortgage CEO Susan Stewart, taught her a critical lesson: "Stop letting people give you dead birds. Don't allow people to just give you their problem and then you are taking on everybody's problem without some solutions." Pollok now uses this framing with her own team, alongside a second mandate: "You have a seat at the table, you've earned a seat at the table, use your voice."
The conversation arrives as employers navigate hybrid work and multigenerational teams spanning baby boomers, Gen X, and Gen Z. Pollok stresses the need for fairness while managing different expectations. She also discusses implementing a secure, private AI system for research and workflows, ensuring client and financial data remain protected—a move that reflects the breakneck arrival of AI inside HR and payroll systems.
SWBC Payroll & HR, privately held by Charlie Amato and Gary Dudley, serves clients from five employees to 7,000 across roughly 42 states, with typical clients between 40 and 300 employees in industries ranging from hospitals and construction to nonprofits and pig farms. Pollok describes the firm as an essential back-office partner for small and mid-sized businesses, providing over 70 specialists at a cost-effective rate. Her own journey began after her prior employer, with over 2,000 workers, gave staff the choice to relocate or be laid off. SWBC ran the closing job fair, and Pollok accepted an entry-level benefits coordinator role at $10,000 less than her HR-manager salary—a decision she made that very afternoon.
Pollok's story underscores the value of seeking mentors, including SWBC Mortgage CEO Susan Stewart and FI division CEO Mark Hine. She also explains why SWBC sponsored the Round Rock Chamber's Women Who Mean Business event featuring Olympian Cat Osterman, reinforcing the company's commitment to community and leadership development. For leaders facing modern HR challenges, Pollok's journey from layoff to CEO offers actionable lessons on resilience, mentorship, and embracing change.
