Responsible for annual merit pay increase and bonus calculations including working with leadership on approved variances. Provided strategic direction and input on the employee communications and manager training for presenting the merit increase and bonus payments. Developed merit increase communications.Lead project team to select new HRIS system. The committee met with vendors to review technical requirements and presented the finalists to the full HR team for vendor selection. Worked with accounting to negotiate the new vendors cost for a multiple year contract.Develop individual pay ranges for all positions. Leveraged survey data to develop a competitive market rate as the starting point for individual salary ranges. Partner with talent acquisition team, HRBP’s and hiring managers on benchmarking pay rates so that all offers are competitive and reflect the current environment. Completed annual Radford Salary SurveyManaged annual 401k plan audit, providing needed documentation to auditors so that the audit was finished on time. Responsible for annual True Up calculation.Redesigned wellness program to add new options that address employee interests and needs. Reviewed and communicated additional mental health resources for employees in all locations.Manage vendor contracts and responsible for annual renewals. For 2023 benefit plan year adding new mental health options and improving overall program design. Primary goal is to create meaningful programs that meet the needs of employees in multiple location with differing demographics. Enhanced new hire onboarding experience by updating the benefit presentation and benefit plan communications materials to better showcase the company’s offerings. Work with presenters responsible for new hire orientation to help them have a complete understanding of the programs we offer and how the various benefits work together to improve employees access to care.Lead, coach and mentor one direct report.

Analyzed the 2020 benefit programs, redesigned plans by moving to a self-funded plan structure saving $348,000 over 2020 costs. Plan offerings vary by geographic location with two core medical options available nationwide. The new plans address the company’s decision to allow people to work remotely in locations across the country. Presented new programs to employees during a company wide staff meeting.As a result of the pandemic worked with vendors to hold a virtual health faire that was rolled out over several days to encourage participation and support the various locations and time zones. Sessions covered financial wellness, mental health, balancing family in a remote work environment, setting up an ergonomic home work space, and the importance of sleep.In collaboration with remote team members in other locations worked on a merger, Return To Work project and benefit roll out. Communicated using Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Analyzed benefit offerings from a recent acquisition to ensure new employees were able to move into the current benefit plan structure with minimal issues. Upskilling to help department handle future M&A activities.Launched wellness program that included virtual programs for stress reduction, improved mental health, physical activity challenges, healthy eating and options for on-line and in person exercise programs.Responsibilities: Benefit plan redesign, communication of plans options, program roll out, conducted employee meetings, price sheet development, system updates and system integration.Compensation: completed salary surveys including McLagan and Western Management Group surveys, annual merit increase calculations, FLSA comparisons for new roles and role re-evaluations, job description development and updates, fair pay analysis of all company roles to determine if there was compliance with the Fair Pay Act requirements. Career Path project to create clear role development and promotional opportunities for staff.

As part of a small team post bankruptcy for Freedom Communications, Inc I have closed all of the benefit and retirement plans. This involved transferring the pension to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, transferring all 401k balances per the participants selection and setting up individual IRA plans as needed. The self-funded benefit plan was closed and all outstanding claims were processed and paid. The annual audits for the health and welfare plan were completed along with filing the 5500’s.Working with the various states where Freedom Communications had done business Workers Compensation claims were closed and ongoing claims were transferred to claims administrators.

Freedom Communications is an information company that publishes daily and weekly newspapers along with specialty publications. I manage three professionals with responsibility for compensation, benefit and retirement plans and workers compensation programs. Recent projects include responsibility for the annual renewal with a focus on developing a new benefit plan structure and improved administrative performance. The new plans lowered the cost for the organization to less than 1% while providing greater provider choice to associates. I developed a request for proposal to review benefits broker for the health and welfare plans focusing on services available within a limited cost structure. This included an analysis of the RFP responses and meetings with the four firms under consideration. As part of regulatory compliance I have developed plans to ensure compliance with the Affordable Care Act, including the required notices, PCORI fees and associate communications. Work closely with auditors on the retirement plans, self funded health plans and managed the transition of defined benefit and defined contribution plans to new advisory firm. For a recent acquisition I produced a benefit plan review and analysis, conducted employee meetings, developed communication pieces and related integration activities for 300 new associates. Compensation: using market rate analysis I have benchmarked jobs to validate salary band and target level, participated in salary surveys and recommended annual salary increase budget. I conduct job description reviews for salary band and job classification verification and have compared our current programs to industry benchmarks. Workers Compensation is self funded and covers the associates located in California and small groups of associates in several other states. Cases include liability for associates of current operations and in some cases continued responsibility for associates that have been transitioned to new owners.

As a senior level business partner I provide support for HR related strategic company objectives and initiatives. I am responsible for the benefit and retirement plans and compensation programs. Facilitate problem resolution with a focus on both employees and the organization. I believe it is important to acknowledge different perspectives while looking for a solution that meets individual and organizational needs. I review salary and wage structure and ensure that positions are classified properly. Provide counsel to senior leadership on job restructuring, base and variable pay programs, promotions and salary structure changes. I participate in salary surveys and prepare and submit the annual EEO report. Manage the activities and performance of four staff members and work on developing the teams skill set both for current requirements but also for individual career development. Prepare and maintain department budget for human resources operations. I collaborate with brokers and third-party vendors for health and welfare programs, the workers compensation program and the 401k and retirement plans. I am responsible for making sure programs are in compliance with all regulations including the Affordable Care Act, IRS and the DOL. I create and update employee communication materials including summary plan descriptions and plan comparisons. I handle the annual plan audits, 5500 filings, non-discrimination testing and any required plan corrections. I also manage the health and welfare cost analysis, annual renewal process and open enrollment. Utilized ADP HRIS.I review and revise polices, help departments develop programs and work rules, and educate team leads so they can manage their groups properly. I analyze headcount and staffing levels and am responsible for compliance on any organization wide restructuring. Establish strong working relationship with outside counsel to obtain assistance for contract review, litigation and related matters.

Assisting organizations in a variety of projects including updating an employee handbook, developing a Department of Transportation compliant drug testing policy, reviewing a 401k plan administration contract, revising company policies, job descriptions and updating a salary increase plan. Recent projects include 401k and health plan audit, Affordable Care Act compliance and annual health plan renewals. Worked with company on broker selection, contract analysis and review of risk, health and retirement plans. Conducted employee enrollment meetings and advised management on project scope.

The Cadmus Group is a professional services organization specializing in environmental consulting that acquired Constructive Technologies in January of 2012. As part of the high performance building group my responsibilities included participating in salary surveys to capture current compensation data and reviewed base salary level to develop competitive salaries thus ensuring a competitive position for highly sought after technical roles. Assisted East Coast based department that was experiencing turnover issues by analyzing current salaries, career progression of mid-level analysts and suggested specific salary adjustments for key department talent. Worked closely with local management on employee relations issues.Recruited for technical positons including entry level roles and professional engineers.

Acquired by The Cadmus Group January 2012Constructive Technologies was a consulting firm in the sustainability and high performance building arena. My responsibilities included management coaching to improve individual and organizational effectiveness, conducting employee information and open enrollment sessions, revising and updating the employee handbook and employee relations. Recruited new employees for finance, engineering and administrative positions. Restructured the benefit programs to provide more competitive programs and lower the overall cost to the business. This included developing the request for proposal to select a new insurance broker and working with the broker to renew and update health plans. Additionally the 401k plan was transitioned to a bundled service provider.Undertook a major compensation project that restructured the compensation program within a total rewards framework to better reflect industry trends. By using survey data to benchmark current salaries pay bands were created for all roles in the organization and a company wide bonus program was adopted. As part of the project job descriptions for all levels of the organization were revised and updated and assigned the appropriate FLSA classification. As part of the due diligence team during the companies acquisition reviewed benefit plans, salary levels and related programs. After the acquisition of CTG responsibilities included closing the 401k plan and coordinated the ESOP communication process.

Celerion is a clinical research organization that was established in 2010. Working as a benefits consultant my responsibilities were to transition health and retirement plans from the prior company to the new organization as part of a corporate sale. This included producing a request for proposal for a health broker, analyzing submittals and presentation to management for final selection. Responsible for the development of health programs for Montreal based employee group. Working directly with the service provider a retirement plan was established for Canadian employees.A request for proposal to select a new 401k advisory firm was also developed, submissions were reviewed and summarized and active facilitation of the finalist selection process. Additionally I was involved in contract review, vendor negotiations and plan design for 2011 programs and reviewed the UK pension and benefit programs for cost savings opportunities.

MDS was a global life sciences firm that had separate business units in pharma services, nuclear medicine and medical instrumentation. My role was to manage a staff of three in administering all US health and welfare programs that covered 2,200 employees in four separate business units nationwide.Responsibilities included managing vendor relationships for US health and retirement programs, including contract negotiation. Major accomplishment of keeping annual increase in benefit cost well below market trend for three consecutive years for $13 million self funded health program. The increase in 2008 was zero, and in 2009 was 0.01%. Negotiated vendor contracts, reviewed final documents and developed service level agreements.Projects included meeting onsite with consultant in UK during acquisition of approximately 200 employees in Europe to harmonize benefit plans for existing and newly acquired UK business units. Researched and set up expatriate short-term medical plans for employees in China, when employees were temporarily relocated to set up manufacturing facility. Obtained Life and Disability coverage for Eastern Europe employees. Interfaced with 401k vendors on plan design, annual audit, and employee notifications within established guidelines and time frames. As a subject matter expert analyzed legacy benefit plans from potential acquisitions to determine cost impact to integrate with current programs as part of Due Diligence team. Facilitated the divestiture of a major business unit including transfer of health and retirement programs to new enterprise. Implemented HIPPA and Business Associate Agreements with all vendors. Experienced with Sox Compliance.Responsible for all new benefit system updates including working with outside vendors, payroll and IT to ensure new systems would function as intended.

Working as the manager of benefits directed US programs for three separate business units operating in the US, significantly reducing the need for outside consultants.
 Undertook a major project that created a consistent program by unifying plan design for all US business units which resulted in the reduction of multiple plan designs and cost sheets to a single offering. The new benefit plan structure saved 30% in the first year by moving the US programs from fully insured to a self-funded environment. Integral to the new program was the implementation of an online enrollment and claim verification system.
 Wrote Summary Plan Description for health plans and revised the document to keep it current with changes in benefit regulations. Traveled extensively to all US sites to present the new program to employees and management which reduced resistance to the new plan design.
 Oversaw the merger of three 401k plans into a single nationwide plan including the election of a new plan administrator. Served as plan coordinator working closely with the MDS retirement plan committee.
 Established a separate multiple employer 401k plan for employees of a joint venture between MDS and a Memphis based diagnostic company and filed the plan with the IRS.
 Set up and communicated Senior Executive Retirement Plan to all participants by working with executives individually to increase understanding of the program.