Michael Small Email & Phone Number

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Vaughan, Ontario, Canada

• Oversaw and administers the employee benefits program for all salaried and hourly teammates• Responsible for all communication content regarding benefits• Administered leave of absence programs including short term disability, long-term disability, statutory leaves and unpaid leaves• Prepared and audit all invoices and paperwork to ensure timely funding of benefit plans• Provided benefit expertise and support as the first point of contact for all benefits related questions and issues• Annual renewal analysis and negotiations with carriers• Partnered with teammates, insurance carriers and third party administrators to help deliver a great teammate experience

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Provides information, advice and problem resolution to active and retired members on matters dealing with pension and benefits. • Responsible for completing and reconciling the annual report (Form 119) for OMERS• Receive and process pension and benefit documents including enrolments, NRA conversions , sick leave gratuities, reclassifications and pension buybacks• Administer, monitor and audit members’ bank balances within the Time Resource Management System (sick, lieu time and vacation) • Liaise with insurance carriers as it pertains to claims and coverage and OMERS for matters related to credited service, contributions and pensionable earnings• Determine and calculate benefit entitlements for part-time/temporary and re-classified members

Toronto, Canada Area

• Subject matter expert on external clients’ outsourced group benefits administration services• Project manage key events including annual re-enrolments, new client installations and client/member mass mailings and communications • Provide client relations support and education through a variety of incoming mediums• Deliver presentations to clients on the AdminPlus product offering • Track and record all issues, concerns and escalations to mitigate future occurrences and for research purposes• Execute an array of different audits and reports in order to ensure the data integrity of systems and processes including member health checks, evidence of insurability cleanups, HSA audits and quarterly client insight reports

Toronto, Canada Area

• Managed risk selection, plan design, product standards, company services, underwriting policies and alternate funding arrangements for all new business quotations within the mid-size group insurance market (50-399 lives and up to $2 million in annual premium).• Collaborated with Business Development on a national level to help acquire new business, while ensuring profitability is achieved and risk is mitigated.

Toronto, Canada Area

• Gathered and compiled all project status data for all Information Technology projects/initiatives within the Group Functions and Investments divisions and compiling the information into organized, well construed dashboards to be presented to executive stakeholders at monthly steering committee meetings• Vetted and validated the financial data (over $300 million) on all IT projects within the Group Functions division on a monthly basis using enterprise software• Sent out monthly reminders and notifications reminding PM’s to update an internal web-based Project Portfolio Management application tool (Planview) with information pertaining to their projects (these updates entail key project status details including status/summary, trend key risks, next key milestone date and financials)• Scheduled and facilitated monthly Portfolio Dashboard Review meetings with the Head of Portfolio Management, Portfolio Directors, Project Managers and other stakeholders in order to validate the integrity of the project data within the dashboards and application tool• Generated a monthly Error Report comprised of all discrepancies and omissions within the project data and following up with those PMs for the desired information in a timely manner• Generated a weekly master data report encompassing data from all projects/initiatives to serve as a key resource for all partners within the Project Management Office

Toronto, Canada Area

• Project managed and co-ordinated requests for group insurance quotations from brokers/plan advisors for groups 25 lives and over • Screened quote requests for all necessary documentation and information before submitting all specifications to Underwriting and profile high risk cases as they arise• Liaised with Underwriters and Account Executives to deliver creative solutions with regards to various types of quote inquiries pertaining to pricing, alternates, plan design and metrics • Prepared and distributed proposals to brokers/plan advisors within a set timeframe and in accordance with their respective deadlines

Toronto

• Managed the day-to-day flexible benefits administration of various outsourced corporate clients’ and self-administered clients’ group benefits plans encompassing over 50,000 lives• Analyzed, processed and triaged client and member related requests where research is required and provide accurate and thorough resolutions in accordance with applicable service level agreements• Liaised with call center representatives and other group benefits resources (consultants, underwriters, plan administrators, claims adjudicators) to resolve issues and process requests related to eligibility, enrollment, plan provisions, claims, premiums and flex credit allotment• Trained/mentored colleagues on administrative processes and problem resolution techniques through the use of on-the-job training and formalized techniques• Regularly reviewed and updated process guides and documentation to ensure processes and protocol are effectively followed and mitigate potential errors

Toronto

• Accountable for ensuring the Sears Canada Inc. group benefits plan and retiree group benefits plans were administered accurately and efficiently and responsible for the enrollment of all newly eligible employees, retirees and survivors in coverage • Provided professional and dedicated service by ensuring employees were informed about their benefits coverage and are notified of any changes• Answered incoming queries and resolved issues and concerns addressed by employees, fellow HR representatives, provincial regulatory bodies and the insurance carrier pertaining to members’ benefits coverage (i.e. policies, contract provisions, eligibility restrictions)• Troubleshot and provided prompt resolution to payroll deduction inquiries and issues• Produced bi-weekly error reports for the insurance carrier comprising of all corrections and amendments to employees’, retirees’ and survivors’ health and dental coverage• Conducted daily benefits delivery system maintenance to ensure benefits selections are accurately maintained as a result of any changes to employee and/or job data and to mitigate any potential errors• Monitored the status of employees with incomplete/invalid forms and followed up with those employees and their HR Representatives in a timely manner• Prepared personalized confirmation statements for employees and collected and verified up-to-date employee data in PeopleSoft• Set up newly eligible retirees with post-retirement benefits by validating eligibility criteria including years of service and pension type• Liaised with various stakeholders including employees, HR Leaders and other teams within the HR Service Centre (i.e. Payroll, Pensions, HR Systems, Total Rewards)• Processed manual deductions and refunds corresponding to employees' monthly healthcare and life insurance premiums• Designed and executed detailed test cases as part of user acceptance testing

Toronto

• Reviewed 60 to 80 benefits enrollment forms daily, comprising of employees’ healthcare and life insurance selections and accurately recorded new and altered information into PeopleSoft and Access database including modifications to dependent and beneficiary information• Filed and archived processed benefits enrollment forms according to employee number• Received mail and logged all newly processed forms into Excel for future tracking• Performed quality assurance audits on newly processed benefits enrollment forms inputted by colleagues, thus ensuring accuracy and data integrity

Mississauga

• Conducted preliminary screening of applicants to verify their work experience, education, availability and determine whether they meet specific job criteria and organization’s needs• Revamped reference check templates for general labour, support and managerial staff• Audited and verified HRMS and Time & Attendance systems for discrepancies in employee contact information to ensure data integrity between the two systems• Reviewed, updated and enhanced HR orientation; increased employee engagement and facilitated a more meaningful onboarding process• Accurately maintained a comprehensive employee discipline database consisting of almost 5,000 records• Sorted, scanned and purged employee records in compliance with ESA legislation• Audited hourly timecards for discrepancies in sick and vacation time usage• Revised the leave from work and vacation forms into a more condensed version saving on 50% of paper consumption• Administered pre-employment tests to candidates and participated in interviews• Provided with hands-on Payroll training covering areas such as relevant legislation and taxable benefits

Toronto

• Conducted 150 to 200 employment services on a weekly basis including reference checks, verifications of employment and education for diverse Canadian and American clientele • Corresponded with clients on a daily basis to update on new information attained andrequested for approval of additional surcharges • Interviewed exiting employees by telephone to ascertain reasons for resignation and generated reports for clients• Worked around tight deadlines with an average turn-around time of one to two days• Documented and archived information from various institutions and contacts and organized it into reports• Implemented and devised a structured buddy-system concept to serve the needs of West Coast clientele in a more effective and efficient manner • Researched and produced a comprehensive report which entailed regulatory information on regulating bodies of the Canadian Financial and Insurance Industries at the provincial and national level, resulting in a reduction in research time by 50%

North York

• Managed a complex and diverse portfolio of customer accounts ranging in value of up to $30,000• Devised mechanisms to maximize recoveries and company profits on a per account basis• Liaised with customers and devised payment options / arrangements over short and extended periods of time• Updated customer accounts and implemented new strategies to strengthen data capture

B.A., Psychology

Certified Employee Benefit Specialist Designation, (Cebs)

The CEBS Program is a joint program of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and Dalhousie University. I completed.

Certificate, Human Resources Management

I completed the program in April 2010 and passed the National Knowledge Examination (NKE) in October 2010.