Meet Jarred Turner, Gopuff’s Human Resource Generalist

Gopuff has assembled an entrepreneurial and award-winning team of experts across engineering and technology, supply, growth, marketing, business development, finance, and more. With experience working at leading organizations like Airbnb, Amazon, Anheuser-Busch, Comcast, Target, Uber, and Walmart, the Gopuff team brings decades of experience across multiple industries. Today, we’ll get to know one of those individuals: Jarred Turner, the Human Resources (HR) Generalist on the People & Culture team supporting a variety of teams and focusing on International Expansion and Mergers and Acquisitions.

Jarred is passionate about improving the employee experience at Gopuff. With a love of community building and a genuine fondness for taking care of the people around them, Jarred works hard to create a healthy work environment for everyone at Gopuff.

Mikal Smith, HR Senior Manager of Mergers & Acquisitions, recently interviewed Jarred to learn more about their background and experience at Gopuff – read on for their discussion!

Interested in joining our team? Check out our careers page here and learn more about life at Gopuff on our LinkedIn page here!

Mikal: To start, tell me how you got started in your career?

Jarred: I started my HR journey at Blackrock through the Founders Scholars program where I interned in DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) and Operational Excellence. It was during my time there that I discovered how much I enjoyed the organization-wide strategic work that HR entails. After graduating from Brown University, I returned to BlackRock as part of their Global HR Rotational Analyst Program in New York City. Later, I held full-time positions at companies including Point72 and 305 Fitness, where I had the great opportunity to build their HR department from the ground up. When the pandemic hit, I got laid off and moved back to my hometown of Philadelphia where I started working with my friend Theresa Shropshire on her startup, Nalaverse, a BIPOC-focused mental health platform. Then, I found Gopuff!

Mikal: What excites you about working at Gopuff?

Jarred: The unpredictability and broad scope of my role keeps me on my toes and is something I’ve really enjoyed. I love being able to advise and assist people, not only with the big strategic decisions but also the smaller routine things; both have a great impact. I also really love that, since my literal first day on the job, no day has been the same at Gopuff. My role has expanded to include so many more exciting responsibilities than I was anticipating, including supporting important projects like our International Expansion. I also like being able to work with and interact with a lot of different people throughout Gopuff; different teams, folks with different backgrounds from various cities and countries. It’s very cool to be able to connect with so many new people – even in a remote working environment.

Mikal: How do you put employees first in your role?

Jarred: My approach to HR is centered on creating an organization and employee experience that is authentic, sustainable, and scalable. I work to find ways to make sure the internal experience aligns with the external brand and customer experience. Employees are what drive the organization and we’d be nowhere without them, so making sure they know that the organization values them as human beings and cares about their working experience is beyond important. Also, just being an advocate for people and making sure – regardless of the problem – that not only the business but also the employees are being prioritized.

Mikal: Are there any interesting life experiences that impacted your career path or who you are today?

Jarred: At the end of the day, we spend most of our time at work. Knowing this, I wanted to elevate and transform the relationship that everyone has with work, because it’s one of our most time-consuming relationships, whether we acknowledge it or not. And HR is a great vehicle to make sure people have a good experience at work and really feel cared for. Ultimately, people work hard for their organization, so I think the organization should work hard for its people in return.

Mikal: Tell me a little about your hobbies and what you like to do in your free time. 

Jarred: I LOVE to cook and invite my loved ones over for a homemade meal before a fun night out and about; I love to learn new recipes and then try to replicate them without looking at them. I’ve also discovered a knack for crafting cocktails since the pandemic came along. Other than being in the kitchen, I’m getting into plants and wellness. I’m learning about propagation and really taking care of plants has helped my approach to mindfulness; it’s been interesting. 

Mikal: Are you involved in any of Gopuff’s Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)? 

Jarred: Yes! I’m on the leadership committees for G.O.A.T.s of All Colors, the BIPOC ERG, and the LGBTQ+ ERG, Gopride. ERGs are always something I’ve gravitated towards outside of my work in HR; as a person who has a lot of intersecting identities, the ERGs give me the opportunity to build community and help empower others by sharing my own experiences. I also really love getting to know the people I work with on a more personal level. I believe mentorship, formal or informal, is really valuable and the ERGs foster those relationships and enable us to continue investing in our employees. They help us grow culturally as an organization.

Mikal: What is your most-ordered item on Gopuff?

Jarred: I love ordering coconut water, strawberry fruit snacks, and hard Italian sodas. I’m also recently obsessed with Gopuff Kitchens’ pizza and milkshakes; they’re so good!