Maria Garcia Email & Phone Number

Chicago, IL, US

Chicago, Illinois, US

Chicago, Illinois, US

Chicago, IL, US

• Directing all aspects of the Human Resources function for an independent, nonprofit, acute care, community-centric hospital connected to five universities and three major healthcare systems, dedicated to improving the.
• Designed and implemented a highly successful work-from-home policy for non-patient-facing employees
• Created a new Medical Plan Design, eliminating the HMO tiered program, driving $400K savings annually, and instituted a new pet insurance program for employees, which met with resounding praise
• Architected and implemented a new corporate Wellness Program, which drove ~$200K savings for employees and companies after its first year
• Designed and implemented COVID-19 crisis management strategy, including all employee communications, crisis pay structure, hiring of hundreds of temps for multiple needs from cleaning to security and clinical staff.
• Launched a new training program for Managers and Directors on Diversity & Inclusion, creating a managerial toolkit to help them navigate the question and interview process to improve hiring diversity

Chicago, IL, US

• Leading design, implementation and administration of compensation and benefits programs including health plans, open enrollment, retirement, leave, communications, EAP and other benefits for 1,000 employees.
• Served as trusted advisor and partner to clients within the organization in the development of HR solutions and initiatives to achieve departmental and overall organizational success
• Managed the day-to-day compensation and benefits functions while providing strategic leadership and direct oversight of a 4-member HR team
• Advised senior leadership on all decisions regarding payroll systems, reconciliation, and structure
• Led a successful plan design change to incorporate a 6-month waiting period on short term disability
• Negotiated benefit provider contractors and oversee compliance with all regulatory agencies to ensure state and federal laws are adhered to while optimizing company benefit programs

Chicago, IL, US

• Directed the annual health plan and benefits program and budget of $305M for 10,000+ employees, serving as trusted benefits advisor to university senior leadership team. Continuously assessed programs for savings and.
• Led the case for and led an 18-month long project to consolidate two vendors into one retirement plan record keeper, saving $2M in project plan participant costs
• Secured $3M in annual savings in cost avoidance related to pharmacy cost by renegotiating the contract to include additional rebates
• Reduced expenses by $22M by freezing the benefit plan and offering incentives to move to 403b plan
• Designed expense reduction of $1.2M by moving all enrolled in an HMO plan into another plan
• Reduced expenses by $5M in Life, Personal Accident and LTD plans by renegotiating provider contract

Chicago, IL, US

• Managed Enrollment and Benefits Eligibility daily functions, overseeing performance of three Benefit Analysts, serving as key resource to assist leadership with resolution to benefit issues.
• Reduced expenses by $750K through elimination of Executive Education Reimbursement program form overall benefit budget, moving that decision to specific departmental budgets to decide on benefit
• Identified $280K savings by having terminated employees remove their small balances from SEPP plan
• Uncovered $2M in annual savings to Pharmacy Plan for retiree population by renegotiating contract

Chicago, Illinois, US

• Directed the service levels and management of the 401(k) and non-qualified plans, identifying needs for education and improved communications to plan members. Co-developed the benefit strategy and plan designs and.
• Increased 401(k) employee participation through review of 401(k) participation reports, identifying educational needs and opportunities for targeted communications
• Partnered with Treasury and 401(k) vendor to ensure timely processing of wires and contribution data
• Managed distribution of Annual Funding notices and Fee Disclosures

Chicago, IL, US

• Managed Enrollment and Benefits Eligibility daily functions for major university with 10,000+ employees, overseeing three Benefit Administrators, coordinating systems and benefits issues for eligibility and enrollment.
• Maintained public benefits website, working with vendor to address issues and update
• Identified, corrected and communicated process inefficiencies to the HR Associates team
• Identified up to $30K in uncollected reimbursements to the University through an exhaustive audit showing that several large claims were processed incorrectly

Chicago, IL, US

• Managed benefit planning and services procurement for the university. Prepared and managed Open Enrollment meetings, preparing communications to engage and secure employee commitments.
• Coordinated annual retiree meeting, with responsibility for communications, invitations, schedule
• Identified and implemented a voluntary Vision plan for the active employee population
• Coordinated the annual Benefits Health Fair, increasing employee attendance by 100%

Paris, France, FR

• Directed Benefits Program for $2B company’s US population with 15,000 eligible employees. Developed and executed all benefit communications (ex: Annual Open Enrollment communications, 401(k) educational sessions.
• Managed and implemented two new voluntary benefits
• Provided ongoing support and benefits consultative services to 200+ HR staff across the US

Paris, France, FR

• Worked with the defined benefit plan actuaries and the Finance Department on the annual valuations for the Cash Balance Plan and the FAS106 and FAS112 liabilities.
• Coordinated annual vendor fairs and Open Enrolment meetings, approximately 15 per year with an estimated 50 employees in each room, during a 4-week time frame
• Responsible for all salaried short-term, long-term disability and FMLA Cases

Dublin 2, IE

• Administered benefit programs for company, providing a thorough understanding of all benefit plans, eligibility and enrollment requirements, and coverage provisions.
• Trained teams of up to 15 each quarter, on and offshore, on customer service processes
• Managed health and welfare vendors, including 2 onsite health facilities, ensuring service agreements

Ipsley Church Lane, Redditch, Worcestershire, GB

• Researched, identified, negotiated and implemented employee benefits programs and plans, managing inquiries, enrollment, and technology vendors to ensure optimal benefit packages.
• Significantly increased plan member service levels (20-25 new services) after negotiating a consumer-centric High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) and Health Spending Accounts (HSA)
• Improved performance of data entry and member experience by 25% after implementing a new training team on a new vendor platform