Q&A with Senior Vice President of People Whitney Harper

Whitney Harper is the Senior Vice President of People at Extra Space Storage—a function that has grown dramatically over the years to encompass recruiting, learning and development, total rewards, employee experience, and people analytics. When Harper joined EXR in 2021, the company had roughly 4,000 employees. Following the acquisition of Life Storage, that number has nearly doubled to 8,000. The team she leads has scaled alongside the company, and so has her approach to the work.

In the following Q&A, Harper shares more about her career, including the most challenging aspect of her work and the experiences she's most proud of.

How did your career path lead you to Extra Space Storage?

I studied hospitality management in college. After my undergraduate studies, I started working at the Ritz-Carlton in Singapore. Eventually, the General Manager approached me with a new opportunity. He thought I would be a good fit as the Training and Organizational Effectiveness Director. I hadn't worked in Human Resources before, but quickly found a deep passion for helping others grow and excel in their careers.

After a few additional career stops, I joined a hospitality consulting firm, HVS, as their head of Human Resources. I built out the human resource functions across 35 offices worldwide and participated on their board of directors. My next career stop was joining Navalent, where I worked with various clients, including global Fortune 500 companies, high-growth startups, nonprofits, and venture capital firms. During my consulting years, I gained a much broader understanding of how organizations function, develop their leaders, and implement strategies. Although I've had a winding career path that has taken me across multiple continents, the common thread has always been helping individuals and organizations thrive.

In 2019, we moved to Salt Lake City. I actually started at Extra Space as a consultant. I had been introduced to Gwyn, our chief legal officer, and we had some conversations. They were curious what a strategic HR function could look like. The more I learned about the organization, the more I wanted to be part of its future and see how I might contribute to building upon the incredible legacy this company has created.

So I came in and did a three-month consulting project. At the end of it, I presented what a future HR function could look like at Extra Space, and they said, "Great. Can we hire you, and can you deliver on that?" So then I officially joined the company.

Which experience(s) in your career influenced who you are today?

My first job out of college was in hospitality services at the Athlete's Village for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. The Athlete's Village is where most Olympic athletes stay during the games. Within the village, there was a cafeteria where the athletes came to eat, but it was also where they would connect and celebrate with each other. I would see athletes hugging each other when they proudly walked in, wearing their gold, silver, or bronze medals around their necks. They would recognize in awe the strengths and talents of each other, asking each other for autographs, and showing up after the closing ceremonies in togas, dancing on the tables together in a joyous celebration of the incredible experience of being at the Olympics. Seeing representatives from around the globe who were each at their peak performance, celebrating what was unique about their talents, was awe-inspiring and also gave me my first glimpse of what a truly diverse and inclusive environment felt like.

A week after the Olympic Games finished, the Paralympic Games began. Similarly, I saw athletes congregating and hugging each other like it was a family reunion as they reconnected with friends from all over the world. There were rugby players in wheelchairs, sight-impaired football players, and swimmers with multiple limb losses. Their abilities were different, but their desire to represent their countries, showcase their athletic accomplishments, and support each other was no different than the Olympians from the previous week.

Back-to-back, these experiences shaped my optimism around diversity and inclusion. People were celebrated for their unique talents and power as individuals. And they were each integral members of a team. These experiences have had a lasting impact on my desire to create spaces for others to experience the power of a diverse and inclusive organization.

What has been the most challenging aspect of your career?

The most challenging times in my career have been navigating the personal transitions. When I was young and single, I could make bold moves that didn't require negotiating tradeoffs with anyone else. Working six weeks straight at an Olympic Games or taking a job in a new country were decisions that only impacted me.

When my husband and I got married, we had to navigate two careers and make some tradeoffs to support each other. My husband has been incredibly supportive and an excellent partner. Moving to Singapore for my job is one example. When he wanted to pursue a master's degree, we made intentional choices to move to the area of his first choice for graduate school. When each of our daughters arrived, we had to adjust to be the parents we wanted to be, the partners we wanted to be for each other, and still fulfill our career ambitions. Navigating each transition has required growth, support, and constant communication to keep our priorities front and center.

What has been the most fulfilling aspect of your career?

I've been fortunate in my career to serve as an executive coach to senior leaders. It was always a proud and fulfilling moment when leaders were able to leap forward in their careers to that next significant position or achieve a goal they were working toward. I've also found great fulfillment in seeing team members whom I interviewed rise to prominent roles in their careers.

Another aspect of Human Resources is the role of an unlicensed therapist. Helping colleagues navigate challenging problems or considering the vulnerability of someone working to be a better version of themselves is part of the job that I hold sacred.

What makes Extra Space Storage's culture unique?

We are a relationship-first culture. That goes all the way back to Ken Woolley and the company's foundation story. He believed it was more important to walk away with a good relationship than to squeeze every last bit out of a deal and leave people feeling burned. I've seen that continue in how we work with third-party managers, joint venture partners, and employees. There's a real human connection first.

The same goes for customers. People usually come to storage during seasons of high stress—death, divorce, deployment, or some other major life transition. I think our ability to meet customers there with empathy is one of the things that makes our culture unique, and it's something worth holding on to.

What perspective do you bring to HR that shapes how you support people?

Alongside some of my previous roles, I was a professor for eCornell for 13 years. One of the courses I taught was people analytics, and it's been really fun to see how that field has evolved.

When I came into Extra Space, I thought, we have incredible databases and really good data that we're just not bringing to critical decisions. So the question became, how do we get data into decision-makers' hands so they can make the best possible people decisions?

One of the first things we did was hire a people analyst. We needed someone thinking about this full-time, understanding what data we had, how the business operates, and what decisions are made every day that data could improve. That's been really fun. We now have data insights that show trends we can be excited about, things we should be more curious about, and things we might need to be concerned about. We also look at how external factors affect internal aspects of the people team and the broader organization. It's about taking a business lens and using people data to make the best talent decisions.

What does the future of HR at Extra Space look like with AI?

AI is being really disruptive in the HR space, and I'm excited about it. HR can be slow to evolve, and I think we're actually leading in some areas. The traditional job application process has been broken for a long time. You try to cram your work history into a one-page resume, submit it into a black hole, hopefully get an interview, and eventually find out whether you got the job. AI is changing that on both sides.

We're using AI to conduct interviews, so within 20 minutes of applying, someone could be interviewing with an AI interviewer. There's still the option for a live human interview, too, because we're in that transition phase. The benefit is quicker response times. It can ask strong questions, evaluate whether someone is a good fit for the role, and answer applicants' questions so they can decide whether Extra Space is the right fit for them.

In talent acquisition, especially, we're seeing real process disruption. I think we're entering the era of the super worker, where people who were previously limited by their tools can suddenly do five or 10 times more. AI helps with more mundane tasks and frees people up to do their highest-value work.

What advice would you give to future leaders?

Know thyself, and as said in Hamlet, "to thine own self be true." Doing the work to know who you are as a leader, your values, and your triggers is a lifetime's work, and one that is well worth the effort.

I have found that some leaders try to emulate a mentor or boss early in their careers. That is a normal progression in leadership and a path I certainly tried. However, a leader who is confident in who they are as a person is powerful. They know themselves—their strengths and weaknesses—and don't feel the need to hide or compensate for their shortcomings. I have worked with some wonderful leaders over the years. Those with a keen sense of who they are, in my experience, are what sets apart the truly exceptional leaders.

This article is part of an ongoing series of interviews with Extra Space Storage (NYSE: EXR) team members. Whitney Harper is the Senior Vice President of People at Extra Space Storage, and you can hear more from her on the Inside Extra Space Storage podcast.