Human Resources Customer Service

Cindy S. Akins

**** ****** ****** * 630-***-****

Naperville, IL 60563 C 630-***-****

Email: ***********@*******.***

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cindysakins

Summary

Senior Human Resources Leader with experience in marketing, financial

services, consulting, publishing and insurance. Proven background in start-

up, public, private, domestic and global companies. Demonstrated bottom

line impact through in-depth talent management expertise and a

collaborative leadership style. Strong project management skills focused

on process improvement and execution. Board of Directors, Compensation

Committee and operations experience.

Professional Experience

Millward Brown, Lisle, IL 2006 - 2010

Millward Brown is one of the world's leading global research agencies. With

78 offices in more than 51 countries, clients include 90% of the top 100

global brands. Millward Brown is a division of WPP, headquartered in

London, the world leader in marketing communications services with 2009

sales of 8.7B and 138,000 staff worldwide.

Vice President, Human Resources, North America

Reported to CEO of a $255M region with 860 employees. Led staff of 12

specialists focused on partnering with internal clients to drive business

results through effective talent management.

. Built a centralized talent acquisition team and implemented an applicant

tracking system which reduced average time to fill from 80 to 40 days.

Filled 256 roles in FY2008, targeted to fill 400 roles in FY2010.

. Contributed with a small team of senior leaders, including the CEO, to

create new client service model designed to provide a higher level of

consultation and quality to clients and provide multiple career paths for

employees. Resulted in anticipation of higher client and employee

satisfaction scores.

. Led project to design first compensation structure and merit guidelines.

This key component of the talent management strategy resulted in a focus

on pay for performance, allowing greater increases for high potential

employees and better management of under-performers.

. Implemented on-line performance management system raising performance

review completion rates from 43% to 89%.

. Restructured and promoted the employee referral program, increasing hires

57% while decreasing costs by $28K.

. Led implementation of Paid Time Off (PTO) program focusing on employee

understanding and communication. Reduced vacation accrual from $1.4M to

$0 over a three-year period.

. Created and successfully implemented an On-Boarding and Employee Service

Anniversary program. Which increased touch points by 74% while only

increasing costs 33%. Average cost of the award decreased 25% over two

years.

Wolters Kluwer Health, Philadelphia, PA 2002 - 2005

Leading provider of information for professionals and students in the

medical, pharmacy and pharmaceutical industries. Wolters Kluwer Health is a

division of Wolters Kluwer headquartered in Amsterdam, a multi-national

publisher and information services company with 2009 sales of E3.425B and

19,300 employees worldwide.

Vice President, Operations, Clinical Tools Business Unit Chicago, IL (2004

- 2005)

Actively sought position. Reported to CEO of Clinical Tools. Responsible

for Marketing Services, Customer Service, IT Infrastructure, Facilities,

Distribution, Contracting and Communications. Staff of 40 with $7M budget

and revenue of $60M.

. Directed cross-functional team in conversion of customer service staff

and system to corporate shared services platform. Annual savings of

$850K.

. Moved product distribution and fulfillment to outside vendors including a

shared services facility, resulting in a faster turnaround in customer

products while increasing inventory accuracy. Annual savings of $260K.

. Relocated St. Louis office to adjacent building, on time and under budget

with savings of $1.4M over 10 years.

. Outsourced design work to external vendors and restructured unit to an

internal ad agency model with assistance of Marketing Director. Resulted

in increased product manager satisfaction, greater PR placement, more

sophisticated image and design, strong ROI for telemarketing and direct

mail campaigns and new idea generation.

Vice President, Human Resources, Clinical Tools Business Unit (2003 - 2004)

Chief liaison with division management on Human Resource issues. Staff of

three.

Vice President, Human Resources, Wolters Kluwer Health (2002 - 2003)

Reported to CEO of Health Division with revenue of $750M and 2,300

employees. Responsible for executive level recruiting. Led cultural change

effort and strategic initiatives in compensation, benefits and policy

consistency.

. Initiated projects to transform WKHealth from four independent companies

into one cohesive and efficient organization. Projects included

standardization of employee handbook, common time-off, work hours and

overtime calculations, common review date and appraisal form, and a

standardized job application process.

. Created a shared services benefit team for WKHealth North America

employees. Improved response time to employee inquiries, reduced premium

payments due to greater accuracy of billings and increased time HR staff

spent on value added versus administrative activities.

. Led culture change by implementing common values across WKHealth. Project

included employee surveys, focus groups, communication programs, training

and ongoing events. Objective was to increase accountability, speed of

decision-making, and alignment with the strategy at all levels.

Parson Consulting, Chicago, IL 2001 - 2002

Financial management consultancy, specializing in Accounting & Finance

Strategy and Operations, Governance & Risk Management, Sarbanes-Oxley,

Mergers and Acquisitions. 2000 sales of $65M with 600 employees.

Vice President, Human Capital

Set strategic and operational direction as part of senior team. Rebuilt HR

team of four from administrative to strategic focus. Created partnerships

with field management by aligning staff to specific offices.

. Revised medical plan to stem increasing costs in prescription drug

coverage and out-of-network usage. Savings on prescription drugs in first

three months of $14K.

. Automated and outsourced administrative benefit functions for medical,

dental and 401(k) plans resulting in accurate and timely transfer of data

and a 50% reduction in employee time spent on paperwork.

. Developed competencies for consultants and professional staff for use in

recruiting, performance management and career development.

Morningstar, Inc., Chicago, IL 1996 - 2000

Leading international provider of independent investment research with 2009

revenue of $479M and 2,600 employees globally.

Vice President of People (1996 - 2000)

Reported to CEO. Led a staff of 20+ including Human Resources, Facilities

and Internal Communications with budget responsibilities of $11M.

. Initiated and led project which resulted in Morningstar being

named by Chicago Magazine as the 21st Best Place to Work in

2000.

. Worked with the Board of Directors' Compensation Committee to set

corporate compensation philosophy and strategy. Resulted in a long-

term strategy rather than a year-to-year program.

. Gained approval for global web-based training, resulting in a 50%

reduction in training costs.

. Set strategic direction for benefit plans. Including:

. Contracting with a PPO reducing costs 30% over a three-year period.

. Negotiated and chose a new TPA, reinsurer, and insurance carrier for

medical, life, LTD and stop loss coverage, reducing costs 20%.

. Designed and implemented a comprehensive rewards and recognition program

which included internal and external position and salary equity,

incentives and stock options. This program along with other talent

management initiatives reduced turnover from 32% in 1998 to 2.9% in 2000

against an industry average of 27%.

. Directed the development of "The Pond", the corporate Intranet site, that

received the 2000 "Award of Excellence" for Interactive Communications

from the International Association of Business Communicators.

Zurich Kemper Life Insurance Company, Schaumburg, IL 1990 - 1996

Provider of term life insurance, universal life, annuities, and bank-owned

life insurance with $16B in assets under management, 1,000 employees and

$250B of life insurance in force.

Manager, Human Resources (1994 - 1996)

Human Resources Team Leader (1993 - 1994)

Assistant Manager, Human Resources (1990 - 1993)

Reported to CEO. Coached and mentored staff of four HR generalists.

. Worked on transition team during Zurich and Kemper merger. Projects

included benefit and compensation plan integration, and communication to

Zurich North American officers.

. Collaborated with department representatives to design and implement a

competency-based pay program for all employees below management level.

Empowered employees to manage their own career development and led to

increased employee satisfaction.

. Guided company through a litigation free downsizing of 30%.

. Led the Performance Excellence Team to assist employees in understanding

the customer base. Client survey data was then used as a component in the

departmental incentive plan.

PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

MS, Industrial Relations, Loyola University, Chicago, IL, January 1994

BS, Leisure Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, January

1985

Professional Development

Maestro, WPP's flagship Executive Development Program - Orchestrating

Client Value

Certified Compensation Professional - American Compensation Association

Organizational Development Certificate - DePaul/Linkage

Public Relations Training - Media Masters

Executive Management Development Program - Northwestern University Kellogg

School of Business

Courses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10 Human Resources and Associate Customer Service

Designation - Life Office Management Association (LOMA)

Professional Associations

Human Resource Planning Society (current)

Human Resource Management Association of Chicago (HRMAC) current

. Board of Directors (2001 - 2004)

. Chairperson Summit V (2002)

. Membership Committee Chair (2003)

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