Employee Relations Partner

Caterpillar Inc.•Clayton, OH

1d•$112,710 - $169,060•Onsite

About The Position

The Employee Relations Partner plays a key role in promoting a fair, consistent, and positive workplace at our Clayton, OH Distribution Center. This position is responsible for managing a variety of employee matters to drive a positive employee experience. The role requires strong judgment, discretion and organization to foster an environment where employees feel valued, respected and supported. Working closely with operations and Human Resources partners, the Employee Relations Partner serves as a trusted advisor who helps strengthen leadership effectiveness, promote employee engagement, and ensure workplace practices are applied fairly, consistently, and in support of business objectives. The ideal candidate will bring strong written and verbal communication skills, sound investigative capabilities, practical problem-solving judgment, and the ability to build positive working relationships with both employees and management. The Employee Relations Partner will balance proactive culture-building initiatives with effective resolution of employee matters, helping leaders navigate challenges while promoting trust, accountability, and a positive employee experience.

Requirements

Experience using Workday or an equivalent HRIS to document cases, track employee information, maintain records, or support HR processes.
Demonstrated experience managing employee matters, documenting, and supporting appropriate resolution of sensitive concerns.
Strong ability to communicate clearly, professionally, and objectively with employees, leaders, and other stakeholders, including through written summaries, recommendations, and presentations.
Ability to assess facts, identify root causes, evaluate risk, consider stakeholder impacts, and recommend sound, practical solutions.
Ability to establish trust and credibility with employees and management through fairness, responsiveness, discretion, and consistent follow-through.
Ability to manage multiple projects, priorities, and deadlines in a fast-paced operational environment.
Working knowledge of HR policies, workplace standards, documentation requirements, and applicable employment requirements.
Ability to support leaders and employees through workplace changes, reinforce expectations, and help implement new processes, policies, or management practices.
Ability to develop or support manager training, policy guidance, process improvement tools, and communication materials that strengthen leadership capability.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, organizational leadership, or related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
Experience supporting employee and leadership needs in a distribution, warehouse, manufacturing, logistics, industrial, or other complex operational environment.
Experience developing or facilitating leadership training related to employee documentation, investigations, discipline, respectful workplace expectations, or policy application.
Experience analyzing employee trends, identifying recurring issues, and recommending proactive solutions.
Professional certification or continuing education in human resources, such as SHRM, HRCI, or related coursework is preferred.

Responsibilities

Serve as a trusted resource and advisor to leaders and employees on workplace concerns, employee experience initiatives, leadership effectiveness, and organizational culture.
Build strong partnerships with supervisors, managers, and team leaders to promote employee engagement, accountability and positive working relationships.
Coach leaders on effective communication, performance management, conflict resolution, employee development and workplace best practices.
Conduct timely, thorough, objective, and well-documented investigations, and recommended action planning.
Advise and coach managers on policies, documentation, disciplinary practices, conflict resolution, and consistent application of workplace standards.
Develop and administer training programs, policy guidance, management tools, and communication resources that strengthen leadership capability and improve consistency in employee interactions.
Identify trends, recurring concerns, knowledge gaps, or process issues and recommend practical solutions that support compliance, employee trust, and operational effectiveness.
Support management efforts by helping leaders communicate expectations, reinforce accountability, and guide employees through workplace process or policy changes.
Partner with business leaders to support change management initiatives, helping employees and leaders navigate organizational changes effectively.
Maintain confidential, complete, and organized employee records, correspondence, and related documentation using Workday or an equivalent HR information system.
Flex schedule as needed to support off-shift employees, leaders, investigations, meetings, or urgent employee matters.
Use data, employee feedback, and operational insights to identify opportunities for continuous improvement and organizational effectiveness.
Ability to flex work schedule both early and late as necessary to support multiple shift operation.