Employee Relations Specialist

Woda Cooper•Columbus, OH

23h

About The Position

The Employee Relations Specialist is responsible for promoting a respectful, compliant, and high-performing workplace by building strong relationships between employees and management. This position is responsible for a range of employee relations matters—including conflict resolution, employee disciplinary action, and investigations—while fostering open communication and consistent application of company policies.

Requirements

Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Excellent interpersonal, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills.
Excellent time management skills with the proven ability to meet deadlines.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Thorough understanding of laws, regulations, and guidelines related to HR and employment laws.
Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite or related software.
Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Labor Relations, Business, Accounting, or related field required.
1-3 years of professional human resource administration and prior experience in employee relations required.

Nice To Haves

SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP preferred.

Responsibilities

Serves as the initial contact and liaison for intake and assessment of employee complaints, concerns, and workplace issues.
Writes and reviews Corrective Actions and Performance Improvement Plans; advises and coordinates with managers on implementation of disciplinary action; tracks all open issues; follows up with managers throughout disciplinary process; serves as mediator as needed for employee interpersonal issues.
Provides guidance to managers and employees on Company policies, performance expectations, and conflict resolution.
Assists Employee Relations Manager with workplace investigations; requests statements, conducts interviews and gathers information for employee relations matters such as harassment allegations, work complaints, or other concerns.
Provides relevant personnel information to internal Legal department and outside counsel as needed to assist with subpoenas, lawsuits, and responses to claims against the Company.
Unemployment: Responds to separation requests; tracks all claims and appeals; writes appeal letters; prepares background information, notifies and prepares relevant witnesses, and attends unemployment appeal hearings to advocate on behalf of the Company; manages each states' UI SIDES portal; reports fraudulent unemployment claims to relevant state agencies.
Creates training materials and coaches managers on handling employee performance, conduct, and interpersonal issues; provides feedback to senior leadership about managers.
Backup for onboarding, benefits, leaves of absence, recruiting, and worker’s compensation as needed.
All other duties as assigned.