Employee Relations Specialist

Job Description

Job Description

Description

At American Veterinary Group (AVG), we are no strangers to growth. In 2023, we hit an exciting milestone: over 150 veterinary practices within our family of hospitals and a footprint that extends across 13 states. We continue to grow and leverage our infrastructure to empower veterinary practices and professionals by providing exceptional support for hospital operations, medical expertise, recruiting, training, marketing, finance, and human resource functions. In short, we serve to support our Family of Hospitals and we got here by caring, listening, and fostering genuine partnerships with each of our veterinary hospitals to empower their strength, expertise, and medical autonomy at the local level.

Today, we get to call the 2,400 hospital employees, including over 300 veterinarians and 140 home office support staff, our colleagues, mentors, and cheerleaders. Tomorrow will bring us even more growth in talent and expertise. And the best part? There’s room for you at the table to also grow and be supported if you join our team!

Position Overview:

The Employee Relations Specialist 's primary focus is on assisting managers in resolving employee issues while staying informed about employment laws. This role involves providing support to employees throughout the entire employment lifecycle, from onboarding to offboarding. The Specialist is also responsible for identifying the root causes of turnover and implementing programs to bolster retention strategies. Furthermore, they will play a crucial role in supporting HR strategies to achieve both short and long-term business objectives. This includes actively contributing to the development of a workplace culture and environment that aligns with the values and mission outlined by the executive team.

Key Responsibilities

• Investigates employees' complaints and issues and resolves employees' concerns that may affect their performance at the workplace.
• Develops action plans to motivate and build the morale of the employees.
• Provides day-to-day performance management guidance and coaching to managers to minimize legal risk with effective follow through and resolution.
• Recruitment for corporate roles.
• Assists in creating a consistent new-hire onboarding process, coordinating with cross-functional departments to deliver an exceptional experience.
• Analyzes exit interviews and new hire survey data and trends.  Recommends action plans to improve current processes.
• Coordinates ADA requests.
• Responds to unemployment and workers compensation claims.
• Responsible for compliance across all states.
• Develops an HR metrics that provides insight as to how the overall organization is doing with respect to human capital initiatives.
• Builds a reputation as a credible HR team member and demonstrates the highest level of integrity and ethics.
• Other duties as assigned.
• Travel may be required.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• 5 + years of experience in a Human Resources role specifically dealing with employee relations issues, investigations, performance management, recruiting and federal and state-respective employment laws preferred.
• Advanced knowledge of HRIS and ability to learn new technical systems.
• Experience working for a company with a large employee base in multiple states.
• Proficient with Microsoft Outlook, Excel, and Word. 
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to express and logically articulate a point of view.
• Professional demeanor with the right amount of empathy and compassion.
• Excellent organization and time management skills to drive execution of projects, and tasks, and meet outlined objectives.
• Ability to interact effectively and establish working relationships with people at all organizational levels.
• A positive, can-do attitude; strong people skills/emotional intelligence; excellent analytical skills; willingness to roll up your sleeves and chip in to help the team.
• Veterinary Industry experience preferred. 
• SHRM or HRCI certification preferred.

Benefits

• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision Options) 
• 401k Match
• Paid time off (PTO)
• Six (6) weeks of paid Parental Leave
• One (1) Work/Life balance day off
• Short-term and long-term disability options
• Supplemental insurance options
• Discounted Veterinary Care
• Hands-on and E-training 
• Professional growth opportunities 
• Bonus potential based on performance