Jim Covington
*** ********** **. ******* ****, NY 14127
Email - **********@***.*** Skype - James.Covington3rd
Landline - 716-***-**** Mobile - 763-***-****
Summary: Creative, customer focused Benefits professional with experience
across multiple industries, various environments, multi-state/multi-
site/multi-cultural locations, and international operations. A progressive
leader with cutting edge knowledge and skills who excels in building teams,
developing creative cost effective employee-valued benefit programs.
Moog Inc. East Aurora, NY
September 2011 to present
Manager, Retirement Programs and Special Projects
Responsible for Pension and 401(k) plan administration.
. Responsible for development of plan management cycle, creation of plan
amendments, board resolutions, investment policies, and "audit ready"
files.
. Leads cross functional PeopleSoft teams charged with such tasks as;
implementation of on-line annual benefits enrollment, and self-service
Profit Share elections
. Serve as the HR SME on the organizations' Merger and Acquisition team,
lead due-diligence and integration efforts.
Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar Doha, Qatar
April 2008 to August 2011
Manager, Compensation and Benefits
Responsible for compensation/benefits management and administration;
including classification review, starting pay for all staff new hires,
performance management and annual merit review.
. Served as SME on Qatar specific pay and benefits for SAP implementation
and on-going upgrades.
. Managed and administered the Qatar specific pay and benefit programs
(including foreign service pay supplement, relocation, housing, and
transportation allowances); assessed Qatar Foreign Service Benefits for
market competitiveness and comparison to best practices; designed,
priced, and recommended procedural and policy changes to maintain
competitive position.
. Managed the project to identify and implement competitive healthcare
benefits for non US Taxpayers working in Qatar. This resulted in a 75%
reduction in per head healthcare costs for employees enrolled in this
plan.
. Developed policies and procedures for Qatar specific compensation and
benefits programs; administered all employee benefit enrollment processes
and maintains employee benefit records.
. Responsible for the accurate and efficient delivery of compensation via
SAP HCM position entry, payroll approval, and regular auditing of
compensation related records.
Smart and Final Stores Commerce, CA
August 2005 to March 2008
Director - Compensation, Benefits, & HRIS
Lead and mentor the 5 member team responsible for the creation, design,
development, communication, and day-to-day administration of associate
benefit programs - health/welfare including medical, dental, vision,
pension and 401(k), compensation plans - base pay and other
incentive/variable pay programs and the HRIS package for 8,000+ employees
in 6 states.
. Led a senior operations management team in the development of a new
competitive pay program for store associates, saving the company $5.7M in
labor costs over the next 3 years.
. Developed a Step Increase program for a new warehouse that provided a
competitive wage structure to protect against union organization and at
the same time kept much of the favorable wage base of a non-union shop.
. Developed the Compensation Discussion and Analysis for annual shareholder
reports/proxy statements and assisted in the other reporting and/or
executive pay testing requirements.
. Coordinated the payment of stock options, restricted stock, ESPP, and
other stock awards to Executives and other employees when the company was
taken private in May 2007.
Automobile Club of Southern California Costa Mesa, CA August
2001 to August 2005
Manager, Compensation and Benefits
Led and mentored the 14 member compensation and benefits team responsible
for the design, development, and day-to-day administration of employee
benefit programs, retirement programs, lost time, workers compensation,
base pay, various commission and other incentive/variable pay programs for
8,500+ employees located in 4 states.
. Led the compensation staff in the complete review of the Club's market
pricing methodology and confirmed or re-matched all classifications with
in the organization.
. Led a cross-functional team in the design and cost modeling of new
commission and/or incentive plans for Travel Agents, Life Insurance
Agents, P & C Insurance Agents, and Call Center Representatives,
management and support staff.
. Headed a combined HR/Legal/Operations team in a comprehensive FLSA review
of all exempt classifications. This resulted in the reclassification of
over 500 employees and significantly reduced any potential wage/hour
class action law suits
. Developed a standardized communication format for commission and
incentive plans, this simplified "Comic Book" style also became a great
recruitment tool.
. Developed base pay recommendations and short/long-term incentive programs
for Executive Staff based on organizational and individual department
performance, including retention and severance plans.
Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America Cypress, CA
November 1990 to August 2001
Compensation and Benefits Manager
Led and mentored the team responsible for the design, development,
communication and day-to-day administration of compensation and benefit
programs for this nation-wide automotive wholesale and distribution
organization and the credit/finance subsidiary. Also manager and
administered performance management, lost-time, and workers' compensation
programs.
. Moved non-exempt employees from a traditional sick leave program to a
modified PTO program that resulted in a 20% reduction in paid time off,
increased customer service levels, reduced overtime and other premium
payments that resulted in annual savings of $250K+.
Led an HR/IT team in the selection, implementation, and customization of
the PeopleSoft HRIS package.
Developed a Floating Holiday program and for the Parts Distribution and
Call Centers, resulting in improved service to wholesale/retail customers
and annual savings of $500K+ in reduced overtime and other premium
payments.
Led an executive management team in the design, communication, and
implementation of a Broadband classification system that included a
variable pay plan for employees at all levels, providing the necessary
flexibility to develop and reward high performing and high potential
employees.
Developed base pay recommendations and short/long-term incentive programs
for executive staff based on organizational and individual department
performance that served as a substitute for equity.
Developed pay and benefit program for expansion of company operations into
Canada.
Prior HR Experience:
APP/EEO Administration, Associate/Labor Relations, Benefits, Compensation,
Expatriate Administration, Staffing, and HR Generalist with GM-Hughes
Aircraft Company and the Lockheed-California Company
Education:
MBA the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California
BS with emphasis in Manpower Management, California State University at
Long Beach
Special Designations and Honors:
. CCP & CBP designations from World-at-Work
. SPHR designation from Society of Human Resource Professionals
. Hay job evaluation system certified
. Masters' designation in Employee Benefits from the Benefit Management
Forum
. Member of the Technical Review Group for Workspan Magazine and other
World-at-Work publications
. Speaker the National PeopleSoft Users Conference
. Three time speaker at the World-at-Work National Conferences
. Three time speaker at the National Benefits Management Conference & Expo