2013 Game Changer: Katie McGrath

Katie McGrath may work at a small firm, but she’s accomplished big things there.

McGrath is the senior vice president and director of human resources at Fahlgren Mortine, a marketing and communications company with 166 employees. Since she arrived in 2008, McGrath, 37, has put in place a number of programs and processes typically associated with sophisticated large corporations. Among these is the public relations agency’s first formal professional development program, Fahlgren Mortine University.

She also helped design and execute highly valued perks: a paid time off week between Christmas and New Year’s, a larger 401(k) match and a profit-sharing bonus pool. McGrath also established a peer-to-peer recognition program and spearheaded a philanthropy effort in which the company has taken on signature causes including a food drive.

McGrath was named a 2012 Columbus CEO HR Excellence Executive of the Year finalist, a big accolades for a small firm and its dynamic head of HR.

Ed Frauenheim is associate editorial director of Human Capital Media, the parent organization of Workforce. Comment below or email editors@workforce.com. Follow Frauenheim on Twitter at @edfrauenheim.