Employee Spotlight: Tarah Lipperd, Chief Product Officer

This month’s Employee Spotlight features our Chief Product Officer Tarah Lipperd. Tarah joined RedCAT Systems in 2021 as part of the customer success team where she was responsible for implementing and supporting our customers. 

Since April of last year, she has been leading our new product development and research. Read more about her experience in compensation, leadership, and gardening in this month’s spotlight. 

What is your current role and how did past roles help prepare you for it?

I am currently the lead for product management. Prior to joining RedCAT Systems, I worked in compensation across several industries for more than 20 years. It’s because of this experience that I can keep the perspective of our customers, both compensation and management, at the center of every decision we make.

How did you get into the compensation industry?

I found my way into compensation by chance! Early in my career I had a contract role at the Kellogg Company Pop-Tarts plant. It was there that I gravitated toward their internal HR team. They recognized my analytical mindset and encouraged me to connect with the corporate compensation team. 

How do compensation professionals empower teams?

While at Kellogg’s, we partnered on a study that focused on the impact of compensation in employee engagement. We found a strong correlation between manager knowledge and confidence in compensation communications and the employee’s overall commitment. 

Twenty years later, this continues to be a guiding principle for me. Empowering managers with the data and skills to speak to their compensation strategy helps drive employee engagement. 

I believe that if we design products to simplify the compensation professional experience, they can focus on empowering and educating their managers. 

How do you think RedCAT is evolving to better partner with these professionals?

Our new tool is the sum of every customer and prospect conversation I’ve had since 2021. 

Here’s a project snapshot:

• cycle implementation times will be cut in half
• customers can provide real-time feedback during configuration, and 
• testing becomes a highly engaging experience rather than a burden. 

All of this leads to a smoother deployment for the compensation team. It also creates a flexible system that leans into the last-minute nature of compensation planning.

RedCAT’s evolution circles back to the guiding principle I shared earlier. Compensation teams using this new solution will have the time to focus on providing expert consultation. This increased emphasis on the manager experience builds consistency, drives confidence in decision making, and empowers purposeful employee conversations. 

What are you most excited for customers to experience with the new RedCAT compensation management product?

I believe the compensation teams are going to love the Cycle Builder Wizard. It’s built to walk the user through the process of creating a cycle in an intuitive way. 

Plus, the formula builder. It provides a user-centered interface that customers will easily become familiar with and is backed by our powerful backend data. 

OK, that feels like enough work talk. Now, that spring is almost here–tell us what you’re planning to grow in your garden.

I grow as many fruits and vegetables as possible to enjoy throughout the year. Of course we include the staples–tomatoes, peppers, various squash, cucumbers, blueberries, and strawberries. We’ll also mix in a few other items each summer to keep my son engaged in trying new foods.  

We’ve had amazing results. My freezer and pantry are stocked full of homemade marinara sauce, salsa, and hot sauces.

How else do you enjoy spending your free time?

My husband, son, and I love participating in all of our community activities–parades, live music in the park, weekly farmers markets, and festivals on the town square. We live in a wonderful city that has experienced tremendous growth, but hasn’t lost the comfort and familiarity of a small town. 

We are also close with my family. I get to spend every weekend in the summer teaching my son to swim in the same pool where I learned.

Thank you, Tarah, for sharing how RedCAT is evolving to better partner with compensation professionals, as well as some key benefits to the new product. 

And for making us want salsa.