Kim Pollok, CEO of SWBC Payroll & HR, shared her remarkable career journey and leadership insights on Episode 79 of the Rock Solid: Round Rock Business Leaders Podcast, hosted by Bryan Eisenberg. Published on June 23, 2026, the conversation arrives as employers navigate hybrid work, multigenerational teams, and the rapid integration of AI into HR and payroll systems.
Pollok's career took an unexpected turn when her previous employer, a call center with over 2,000 workers, gave staff the choice to relocate or be laid off. SWBC ran the closing job fair and offered her an entry-level benefits coordinator role at a $10,000 pay cut from her HR-manager salary. She accepted that same afternoon. Over 16 years, she climbed to CEO, saying "yes" through SWBC's PEO acquisition when no one on the team knew what a PEO was.
Pollok emphasized the importance of mentors, including SWBC Mortgage CEO Susan Stewart and FI division CEO Mark Hine. Stewart taught her a key lesson: "Stop letting people give you dead birds. Don't allow people to just give you their problem and then you are taking on everybody's problem without some solutions, because you're collecting everyone's dead birds and you can't do anything with it." Pollok now uses this with her own team alongside a second mandate: "You have a seat at the table, you've earned a seat at the table, use your voice."
Managing baby boomers, Gen X, and Gen Z under one roof requires fairness, Pollok noted. She implemented a secure, private AI system for research and workflows, ensuring client and financial data remain protected. The deeper context is a company built on relationships. SWBC Payroll & HR, privately held by Charlie Amato and Gary Dudley, serves clients from five employees to 7,000 across roughly 42 states, with a typical book between 40 and 300 employees. Industries range from hospitals and urgent cares to construction, property management, nonprofits, train-car refurbishers, and pig farms.
Pollok's rise is particularly noteworthy given she lacked a college degree. She credits her willingness to learn and ask for help. "You have a seat at the table, you've earned a seat at the table, use your voice," she repeated, urging leaders to develop talent from within. The episode also touched on SWBC's sponsorship of the Round Rock Chamber's Women Who Mean Business event featuring Olympian Cat Osterman, reflecting the company's commitment to community and leadership.
As AI reshapes HR and payroll, Pollok's approach offers a roadmap: embrace technology cautiously, protect data, and never stop learning. Her story underscores that career setbacks can become springboards, and that mentorship and a willingness to say "yes" are invaluable. For HR vendors, Pollok's insights highlight the need for solutions that support talent development, compliance, and secure AI integration, as companies like SWBC Payroll & HR serve as essential back-office partners for small and mid-sized businesses, providing over 70 specialists at a cost-effective rate.
