________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“ You have to understand generational needs, job demands, and state-specific requirements,” Sherill remarks. Core benefits stretch across regions, while statemandated leave programs require localized compliance and education.
Communication is essential in that complex environment.“ We communicate in clear language and meet employees where they are,” she explains. Access shapes how information is delivered.“ Many employees work from job sites instead of offices,” Sherill points out, highlighting the need for mobile-friendly tools and flexible communication channels.
Workday at DAVIS
Technology makes that accessibility possible. DAVIS uses Workday as its HR platform. Sherill brought prior experience with the system to her role.“ Workday changed how we administer benefits,” she comments.
Employees handle benefits tasks from any device.“ Each employee can manage life events, beneficiaries, and enrollments from anywhere they work,” Sherill says. That access supports compliance and responsiveness during hiring, leave events, and employment transitions.
The platform improves reporting accuracy and vendor integration. Sherill sees technology as essential, not optional.“ You have to have some type of system in place,” she insists, especially as regulatory timelines tighten and data requirements grow.
Beyond core benefits, Sherill champions wellness and engagement programs that fit the realities of construction work.“ We’ re introducing biometric and hearing screenings,” she mentions, along with virtual wellness options designed to reach employees who move between job sites and remote locations.
Those programs sit alongside traditions that have stayed consistent as the company has grown. The annual Turkey
Trot, held during Thanksgiving, creates a shared experience for employees across roles, locations, and schedules. Everyone joins in and receives a company-provided turkey or pie, making connection easy and genuine. For Sherill, the event shows that engagement doesn’ t require scale or formality. It takes intention and consistency in a distributed workforce.
I don’ t expect more from my team than I expect from myself
Her leadership style focuses on flexibility and accountability.“ Everyone needs a different level of support,” she acknowledges. Learning is always front and center.“ It’ s okay to make a mistake. What matters is how you recover and learn from it.” She holds everyone to the same standards.“ I don’ t expect more from my team than I expect from myself.”
Looking ahead, Sherill monitors the pressures shaping benefits design.“ State-paid family leave expansion, rising healthcare and pharmacy costs, workforce aging, and talent shortages will shape benefits strategy,” she observes, while she keeps an eye on evolving family-planning benefits.
Her leadership comes from lived experience, starting with the early years without benefits to leading strategy today. Outside work, Sherill values balance.“ My family keeps me grounded, and seeing employees able to use and benefit from their coverage keeps me focused on why I do this work. For the first time in my career, I don’ t carry dread into my commute.” ■
www. davisconstruction. com
38