Cierra Gross Is Revolutionizing HR By Putting Employees First

Cierra Gross is reimagining the future of Human Resources. The HR specialist left corporate America to use her expertise for good — to empower employees from the outside. Gross is the founder and CEO of Caged Bird HR, the first platform to offer independent HR support to individual employees across the U.S.

Founded in 2022, Gross’ company is shifting how we think about HR by putting employees first. It offers various HR services, providing a safe space to address workplace challenges without organizational bias. CBHR consultants help employees understand their rights and equip them with the knowledge to advocate for themselves in the workplace. From handling discrimination claims to negotiating salaries, they allow employees to navigate these complex issues from a place of support.

“We decentralize where and how employees can get HR support. Our vast data set enhances that service,” Gross explains. The company draws from a uniquely comprehensive data set focused on employee experience, which “provides invaluable insights into the employee experience, allowing us to identify trends, make recommendations to address systemic issues and reduce attrition.”

Workplace Trauma

The founder’s journey inspired Caged Bird HR. Gross started in corporate, working in HR at ExxonMobil and Google. “People ask, what was the inspiration behind Caged Bird HR? There was no inspiration. It was a matter of survival,” she says. “When I was leaving corporate America, I had experienced my own workplace trauma that sent me into clinical depression for the first time in my life.”

Gross recognized that she needed a change. She credited her father — “a technologist, entrepreneur and an African American historian” — for instilling a strong foundation in her from a young age. Growing up in Charlotte, North Carolina, she watched her father single-handedly run his own computer business. “Him being an entrepreneur, I learned a lot of lessons about how business works,” she says.

Because of her father, Gross understood more about technology than most. He also made sure that Gross and her brother understood their roots. “We were taught about African American history and American history,” Gross says. I now recognize that what was an annoying history lesson to me was him trying to protect brilliant Black minds from the ravaging impacts of white supremacy.”