Employee Relations Specialist

Methodist Health System•Dallas, TX

About The Position

The Employee Relations (ER) Specialist provides employee relations expertise and analytical support under the oversight of the Vice President of Human Resources (HRVP). The role partners with HR operational leaders to address employee relations matters fairly, consistently, and in compliance with policy and law. It also owns the ER measurement framework, including case-tracking standards, KPIs, and leadership reporting, to reduce risk, improve consistency, and strengthen workplace culture. The specialist conducts and documents workplace investigations, advises leaders on employee matters, coordinates with Legal, Compliance, Risk Management, and other HR partners, and maintains confidential case records. The role also develops standardized case intake and classification processes, monitors ER metrics, builds reports and dashboards, analyzes trends, and recommends targeted interventions.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Organizational Psychology, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
At least 3 years of progressive employee relations experience, including conducting investigations.
Working knowledge of Title VII, ADA, FMLA, FLSA, NLRA, and Texas employment law.
Demonstrated experience building metrics, reports, or dashboards.
Advanced Excel skills.

Nice To Haves

SHRM-CP/SCP or PHR/SPHR certification.
AWI-CH or another investigations certification.
Familiarity with just culture principles and clinical licensure or regulatory requirements.
Experience with employee relations case-management systems, such as Workday.

Responsibilities

Serve as an employee relations resource.
Conduct timely, objective investigations into misconduct, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, workplace violence, and policy violations; document findings and recommend outcomes.
Advise leaders on performance management, progressive discipline, corrective action, and terminations, ensuring consistency with policy and precedent.
Partner with People & Culture leadership on HR operations process-improvement initiatives under the direction of the HRVP.
Coordinate with Legal, Compliance, and Risk Management on high-risk or cross-functional matters.
Support leave, accommodation, and fitness-for-duty processes in partnership with Benefits, Employee Health, and HR operational leaders, including FMLA and ADA matters.
Prepare responses and documentation for agency charges, including EEOC and TWC matters, and support unemployment claims and hearings.
Facilitate conflict resolution, mediation, and team interventions; recommend coaching or engagement actions.
Interpret and assist in developing HR policies; identify ER trends that inform leader training on employee relations, documentation, and policy application.
Maintain accurate, confidential case records in the ER case management system.
Design and implement standardized ER case intake, categorization, and tracking processes across all sites.
Develop and maintain a case model that classifies matters by complexity, risk, and resource intensity, and use it to triage and balance caseloads.
Establish and track ER KPIs, including case volume and rates, case mix, response and resolution times, investigation substantiation and outcome consistency, educational opportunities, agency charges, grievances, litigation trends, and ER-related turnover.
Ensure data integrity through case documentation standards, coding definitions, and periodic audits.
Build dashboards and monthly or quarterly reports for People & Culture leadership.
Analyze trends to identify hotspots, root causes, and training needs; recommend targeted interventions under the leadership of the VPHR.
Benchmark ER metrics against healthcare industry data and internal targets.
Partner with HRIS and Analytics to optimize case-management and reporting tools.
Link ER data with engagement, turnover, patient experience, and safety indicators where appropriate.