Lara Johnson Email & Phone Number

Santa Clara, California, Us

Santa Clara, California, Us

Direct the overall strategy to design of the employee benefits programs in the US and Canada to build an offering that attracts and retains our key talent.Oversee relationships with approximately 20 vendor partners to ensure exceptional service for our employees and to assess utilization, financial return and service levels of the vendors. Lead all the compliance activities and filings for the health & welfare and 401(k) programs.Design the benefits communication strategy including the website, benefits guide, newsletters, targeted emails, annual enrollment communications, and materials for recruiting. Collaborate to build partnerships with internal stakeholders such as the Workday team, payroll, finance, accounts payable, DE&I, and ESG.Guide and advise on leaves of absence and time away from work, aligning with federal and local laws. Develop processes to ensure that employees have the necessary guidance to file leaves of absence. Advise HR and managers on complex leaves situations.Pioneer a global wellness program to support employee health and wellbeing and increase employee engagement.Advise on the structure of a HR shared service center approach to support benefits including educating and providing content for Tiers 0 and 1.Optimize an operational structure for the benefits administration processes to ensure compliance, accuracy and efficiency.Manage the annual budget. Track, review and submit monthly invoices from all the vendors.Build and execute a comprehensive project plan for benefits annual enrollment including strategy and recommendations for the following plan year, communications approach, system build requirements, education of employees, and a customer support model.Supervise a benefits analyst who delivers the day-to-day functions of benefits administration such as reporting, auditing, and servicing employee escalations. Consult on complex employee escalations.

Houston, Texas, Us

Lead the U.S. benefits administration team of six analysts and specialists.Manage the relationship with our outsourced benefits administrator and call center.Oversee the plan design, administration, and compliance for 401(k), health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, and a retiree medical savings account.Direct benefits compliance including 5500s, the Affordable Care Act, summary plan documents, annual audits, participant appeals and non-discrimination testing.Strategically plan and execute a cohesive communication strategy to engage employees in learning about and effectively utilizing their benefits.Oversee the payment of carrier premiums, ASO fees and vendor invoices.Project manage the annual benefits Open Enrollment for 17,000 US team members including directing the communication plan, administration system requirements, configuration, and testing, call center readiness and the report out of statistics to senior leadership.Partner with the mergers & acquisitions and talent acquisition to support the specific objectives of those key groups.

Houston, Texas, Us

Deployed a very robust employee benefits education & communications strategy.Managed the development, review cycle, review & distribution of ongoing and specialized communications including print and online guides, emails for general and targeted populations.Maintained relationships with key vendor partners.

San Antonio, Tx, Us

Managed the medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short & long term disability plans, FMLA process, flexible spending accounts, 401(k) and Deferred Compensation plans.Created a framework to budget and track the benefits spend and implemented processes to streamline the process with internal payroll and finance teams.Administered the 401(k) and deferred compensation programs and implemented an employer match.Audited & aligned the funding of 401(k), deferred compensation & flexible spending accounts with ERISA requirements and managed a voluntary correction with the DOL.Implemented a program for ACA compliance in regard to the Coverage Options Notice, delivery of ACA required year-end notices, and keeping current on changing legislation.Standardized the FMLA process organization-wide and conducted training & resources for field administration and managers.

San Antonio, Tx, Us

Documented all benefits business processes and reengineered them for the Workday implementation.Coordinated the development of system integrations with all benefit vendors and carriers.Constructed medical & dental claims projections and analytic reporting for senior leadership.

Switzerland 🇨🇭 , Ch

Administered health & welfare benefits for 7,000 US employees utilizing SAP HRIS.Designed & delivered presentations to educate employees on health care consumerism and to introduce a new High Deductible Plan with HSA.Designed & facilitated in-depth training for the Benefits Call Center representatives.Developed and delivered training to managers on FMLA & Disability.Consulted on FMLA, STD, and LTD, including facilitating return-to-work processes.Reconciled and funded $22M in 401(k) contributions monthly.

Washington, Dc, Us

Managed and oversaw the administration department of three supervisors & 23 clerks. Our team:Processed over 7,400 applications for employment.Selected, hired and processed over 1,800 temporary employees covering 30% of the entire state of Missouri.Processed over 6000 timesheets weekly ensuring accurate and timely payroll utilizing PeopleSoft HRIS.Leveraged verification tools such as E-Verify and fingerprinting to ensure regulatory compliance.Individual accomplishments:Developed and deployed onboarding training including Code of Business Conduct Standards Training, Workplace Harassment and technical skills training.Advised and coached employees and managers on performance-based solutions.Led and developed HR department staff members in all HR related issues.Cultivated a culture supporting positive employee morale.Collaborated with managers and employees to resolve employee relations issues through guidance to wise decisions, including the preparation of corrective actions and facilitation of involuntary terminations.

Master Of Business Administration (Mba), Human Resources Management And Services

Bachelor Of Arts (Ba), Art History, Criticism And Conservation