Peggy Smigarowski Email and Phone Number

The Alberta New Home Warranty Program (the "Program") is a leader and innovator in home warranty products. We introduced Canada to the concept and importance of new home warranty in 1974, and we recently expanded the scope of our products and services to include home renovation warranty and homebuilder business insurance

In this role, I reported directly to COO and oversaw all strategic planning for HR. I headed recruitment, onboarding, coaching, performance management, benefits administration, and off-boarding. Additionally, I managed employee communications. I also developed and aligned HR policies to support rapid growth and multiple acquisitions; delivered timely HR reports, including headcount, attrition, and recruitment costs; and governed all administrative and business services activities, including office processes, day-to-day IT functions, and facilities management. I directly supervised an 11-person team, including IT, administrative, and documentation staff. Key Achievements:• Instrumental in steering company through 3 acquisitions – 2 of which doubled the size of the company. Spearheaded organizational restructuring and integration of HR, administrative/reporting systems, and branding.• Eliminated $300k in annual spend on external placement agencies; established procedures and standards for an in-house recruitment program. • Curtailed monthly payroll costs by $36k annually; transitioned HR from spreadsheet-based payroll process to fully-integrated HRIS system. • Reduced group health insurance costs by nearly $100k annually and elevated employee benefits.• Introduced in-house Project Management course and facilitated delivery 3 times in 2015; established curriculum to bolster PM success and achievement of RPS-specific performance metrics. Superior initial results spurred creation of a similar in-house Project Coordinator program (currently in development).• Resolved complex immigration issues to import highly-specialized engineers for lucrative client contracts. Headed all company Labor Market Opinion Applications and international transfers.• Mitigated employee security threats in politically sensitive countries; centralized travel and logistics functions to monitor all employee travel and instituted a pre-booking travel risk assessment process.

I established enterprise-wide HR processes, policies, and best practices. I developed organizational sick leave, vacation, and compensation policies; improved employee mobility/succession planning; and reviewed and analyzed benefit providers. I also fulfilled Commercial Manager duties during a position vacancy, including reviewing and negotiating contracts. I supervised an administrative assistant.Key Achievements:• Launched company’s first, formal Human Resources department. Transitioned company from a reactionary approach to a strategic, proactive environment and implemented consistent HR policies across all departments.• Evolved company-contractor relationships to comply with CRA independent contractor regulations; ended historic practice of contractors participating in company payroll and benefits programs.• Introduced and deployed an over-arching safety program and integrated industry best-practices.

In this role, I led recruitment and retention for engineering, operations, production and corporate departments. I collaborated with managers to understand unique challenges, determine workforce planning strategies, and develop position descriptions. Additionally, I forged relationships with recruitment firms and universities to identify talent.Key Achievement:• Delivered comprehensive recruitment strategy to satisfy business growth plan and secure top talent. Initiated a “soft recruitment” program for continuous access to qualified applicants.

I was engaged to procure and manage a multimillion-dollar, critical Encana (leading North American energy producer) contract. I drove project bidding, account acquisition, business development strategies, and sales plans. Additionally, I cemented alliances with key stakeholders and established consultative relationships with Encana decision makers. I executed projects and corporate initiatives, from concept to design, print, and distribution. I also led and trained customer service teams, and recruited and managed 26 employees across three Encana sites.Key Achievements:• Spearheaded RFP bid and secured multimillion-dollar, 3-year contact with EnCana (later procured a 2-year extension).• Built 3 facilities on Encana properties and headed all recruitment, customer service delivery, relationship management, and service level achievement.• Propelled double-digit sales year-over-year; created value-added services, such as barcoded tickets to improve efficiency at corporate events, presentation materials, and monthly report printing.

I governed all HR strategies and spearheaded recruitment of programmers, software developers, sales, back-end office support, and engineers. Additionally, I managed administrative and facility maintenance functions.