Human Resources Manager

Dorothy Y. Fitzgerald, CHRL

CERTIFIED HUMAN RESOURCES LEADER

Senior Human Resources Leader with comprehensive experience demonstrating quantifiable achievements and expertise encompassing all facets of human resources and personnel management. Combines a unique blend of visionary leadership and an exceptional business acumen with competencies to spearhead strategic HR planning, building human capital practices to attract and retain top-tier talent, as well as effective operational and administrative initiatives to drive human resources practices, cultural change, diversity and inclusion.

Strategic HR Planning & Organizational Development

Change Management

Coaching & Mentoring

Succession Planning & Development

High Performing Talent Acquisition

Compensation & Total Rewards

Performance Management

Training & Development

Employee Benefits & Wellness

Comprehensive knowledge in Employee & Labour Relations

Vast Canadian Employment Law knowledge and practical experience, (Common Law and Employment Standards)

Solid expertise in the Labour Relations Act, Occupational Health & Safety Act, Human Rights Code, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, Ministry of Labour, Employment Equity Act, Workplace Violence & Harassment

Restructuring and Revitalization (Mergers & Acquisitions)

Occupational Health & Safety/JHSC

PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

While employed with a U.S. based Fortune 1000 organization, was strategic in identifying various discrepancies and changes required to convert from American to Canadian legislative requirements in areas such as: employment and corporate tax law, organizational policies, procedures and overall best business practices.

Successfully promoted and maintained a positive work environment by identifying and resolving issues; maintaining consistent application of policies and procedures; and recommending improved workplace practices to foster a healthy balance of the employer/employee relationship and overall culture change.

Specialized in creating and composing legally sound HR and organizational policies, practices and procedures within various industries. Most specifically, experienced in proficiently implementing and building structure in organizations where procedural competencies are absent, outdated or no longer match the vision of the business.

Revitalized company morale and cultural change by routinely ensuring business operations and policies coincide with the vision of the organization, while diligently and competently analyzing and observing various workings of the organization in both identifying systems that work well and gaps requiring attention.

Positive reception of firm members with the development and implementation of newly designed programs such as: total rewards, employee incentives and wellness, routine employee surveys, and overall technological development for improvement of productivity levels, overall efficiencies and the ability to access broader resources.

Championed coalition teams in obtaining successful partnership/executive buy-in to revamping our firm’s onboarding/orientation and systems training programs, introducing a contingency backup and overflow staffing model, and improving firm-wide staff utilization.

Optimized overall organizational efficiencies through employee and executive coaching, engagement, training and development, mentoring and streamlining policies, procedures and programs with organizational goals and objectives.

Established and incorporated various programs, including: Business Continuity Plans; Wellness programs; Fire Prevention and Occupational Health & Safety programs; and formation of Joint Health and Safety Committees.

Successfully reengineered two brokerage offices resulting from a business acquisition. This encompassed remote site visits in order to manage, train, develop, coach and restructure staff.

Instrumental in leading the launch of an organization-wide adoption of an ERP platform in the areas of Marketing, Accounting and Human Resources.

Dorothy Y. Fitzgerald, CHRL Page 2 of 6

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Minden Gross LLP Toronto, ON January 2011-Present

Manager, Human Resources

Complex, multi-stakeholder legal environment comprised of 157 legal professionals and staff specializing in various law practice areas.

HR Budgeting

Accountable for a $1.5 Million annual HR operating budget.

Examining spending trends in the previous year and gathering/researching data to accurately forecast budgets in the areas of: permanent and contingency staffing, recruitment, employee group benefits, total compensation, total rewards and employee incentives, training and development, overtime, annual salary increases, staff bonuses, special events, charitable donations and events, tuition reimbursement programs, gym memberships, student programs, Group RSPs, and special projects.

Policies and Procedures

Specialized in creating and composing legally sound HR and organizational policies, practices and procedures in association with governances such as: Employment Standards Act (2000), Ontario Human Rights Code, Occupational Health & Safety Act, Workplace Violence and Harassment, AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005), and many more.

In accordance with AODA requirements, created an Accessibility Commitment, Multi-year Plan and a Customer Service policy as well as reporting procedures. Additionally, filed government online reports and continue to implement ongoing compliance governed by Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulations in the areas of Employment, Information and Communications, and Build environment.

Formed AODA Committee for the purposes of ensuring ongoing legislative compliance and effective workplace inspections, creation of a multi-year plan, adoption of our organization’s commitment to accessibility, and working with our website developers to ensure conformity to WCAG 2.0 Level A and Level AA requirements.

In order to remain current and legislatively compliant, meticulously review, revise and update Employee handbooks, internal forms, and Human Resources Policies and Practices manuals.

Annual Performance Management & Compensation

To implement improved efficiency, introduced an online Performance Evaluation system, thus tailoring and simplifying the entire system.

Based on organizational demographics, successfully introduced succession planning methodologies for existing employees to foster a “promote from within” philosophy, thus positively impacting employee morale and overall attraction and retention.

Successful in devising competitive salary grades derived from ongoing market analysis using salary survey results and market trends to further strengthen employee retention and attraction of new hires.

Determining individual salary increases by assessing existing salary midpoints, employee compa ratios and wage penetration, as well as reviewing results of performance evaluations, job analysis/evaluations, classifications and those employees identified in a succession plan.

Responsible for conducting annual and ongoing research with respect to salary bands, annual forecasts of employer payroll increases, COLA, and unemployment rates as well as overall market competitiveness of total compensation and incentives within Toronto, Ontario and Canada, both inside and outside of the legal industry.

Annual participation in The Law Office Management Association’s Salary Survey, partnered by AON Hewitt.

Dorothy Y. Fitzgerald, CHRL Page 3 of 6

Onboarding/Orientation, Training and Professional Development

All firm members and new hires receive ongoing formal training to be compliant with the phased in regulations of Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 and Ontario’s Occupational Health & Safety Awareness Training.

Optimized and improved application of knowledge transfer to the job by overhauling the firm’s systems training program, thus reducing the number of calls made to Help Desk, reducing the loss rate of new hire production time and improving workplace efficiencies.

Revitalized company morale and optimized overall organizational efficiencies through employee and executive coaching, engagement, mentoring as well as streamlining and writing effective policies, procedures and training manuals.

To provide new firm members with a more relaxed and comfortable transition into the firm, a redesign of our existing onboarding/orientation program was fashioned.

Developed quick reference cards for users to access “how to” instructions as well as tips and tricks of various software application tools, easily accessed by the firm’s intranet.

In association with succession planning methodologies, and to foster ongoing employee development and engagement, routinely arrange workshops, seminars, conferences, professional association memberships, and enrolment in educational accredited courses.

Continue to cultivate employee satisfaction and engagement by carrying out routine refurbishment of the internal Wellness Program, conducting employee surveys, and hosting Lunch and Learn seminars on topics of interest.

Assisted the management group in a teambuilding exercise, using the SDI (Strength Deployment Inventory) model to identify the motivations behind individual behaviors to assist in working more effectively as a team.

Resolved losses of production levels during absences by implementing cross training within key operational areas of the firm (i.e., Accounting and Business Centre) and introducing a contingency backup and overflow staffing model.

HR Technology & Metrics

Successfully led and collaborated with the management team and external specialists in executing various company-wide technological system upgrades and formal training programs. Upgrades included implementation of an ERP system, MS Office software upgrades, redesign of intranet, HCM employment and various others.

Presented a cost-benefit analysis ROI on executing an HCM system and achieved budgetary approval for final implementation, streamlining administrative transactional tasks, permitting more time for project-based work.

Created and maintained various HR Metrics in areas such as: employee turnover rates and costs, absenteeism, cost-per-hire, headcount, benefit costs per hire, ROI, yield ratios, attrition rates, and so on.

Occupational Health & Safety

Responsible for reinforcing the firm’s commitment to fostering a healthy and safe workplace for all employees. Instrumental in heading the Joint Health and Safety Committee and all associated responsibilities, such as: recertification in First Aid and CPR/AED training, arranging ergonomic assessments, conducting routine workplace inspections and accurate maintenance of records.

2014-2015 Special Projects

Effectively led and collaborated with management team members and external specialists in executing various company-wide technological system upgrades and formal training programs. Upgrades included implementation of an ERP system, MS Office software upgrades, HCM employment and various others.

Lead and motivated various team members in conducting effective needs/gap analyses to identify key areas requiring the following changes: overhauling our new hire systems training programs, orientation and onboarding procedures and the introduction of a contingency backup coverage and overflow staffing model.

Employee Benefits/Total Rewards and Incentives

Successful in strategically negotiating benefit plan enhancements and consistently capturing cost savings of overall premium renewals. Introduced a Total Rewards and Incentive program for employees to foster improved morale.

Dorothy Y. Fitzgerald, CHRL Page 4 of 6

Recruitment, Selection and Terminations

Greatly reduced recruitment costs by spearheading a “promote-from-within” and succession planning philosophies.

Experienced in recruiting and sourcing candidates for positions of all levels, from administrative staff to executives.

Consistently align recruitment and selection processes with the firm’s business strategies to attract, identify and retain top-tier professionals that complement and assist in accomplishing the firm’s goals and objectives.

Possess longstanding networking relationships with various staffing agencies, government agencies, professional associations and educational institutions.

Reviewed existing job descriptions and tailored to each individual role, consequently assisting in the job evaluation / analysis process and improving the skill set and experience of candidate pools when recruiting.

Composed effective job postings, accurately listing all key competencies of the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) required of each role.

Able to consistently maintain budgeted cost-per-hire amounts by sourcing candidates from various mediums.

Conduct telephone screening and in-person interviews, utilizing behavior-based interview questions to assist in identifying future behavior in competencies critical to job success.

Responsible for preparing Offer of Employment letters and contracts for all new hires.

Conducting in-person exit interviews to discover valuable information in distinguishing areas that may require improvement.

When necessary, exercise reprimands, discipline and corrective action plans for employees experiencing performance difficulties.

Terminations are executed with the utmost professionalism, tact, discretion and diplomacy so as not to disrupt the working environment nor humiliate the dismissed employee. Termination letters and packages are prepared within legislative requirements in association with common law practices as well as ESA standards, consulting with legal counsel as necessary.

Tiger Direct Richmond Hill, ON (U.S. Headquarters – Systemax Inc.) Oct 2010-Dec 2010

Human Resources Manager

Oversaw the Canadian HR operations for this U.S. home-based organization (Systemax Inc.), a Fortune 1000 company.

Assumed the role of HR Manager following some restructuring in the organization’s Canadian operations, involving travel to Miami to participate in systems training and brainstorming about operational issues in Canada.

Was strategic in identifying various discrepancies and changes required to convert from American to Canadian legislative requirements in areas such as: employment and corporate tax law, organizational policies, procedures and overall best business practices.

Conducted an internal audit of payroll records, dating back 2 years in order to pinpoint errors of unpaid wages, commissions and overtime. This included training and educating the organization’s Miami-based U.S. Payroll Administrator on Canadian payroll practices (i.e., hours of work, overtime pay).

Carried out a benefit plan analysis to ensure the Canadian organization was receiving the best coverage for their premium dollars, while closely matching the benefits received by their American counterparts.

Commenced a review of corporate tax filings, HST, Canada Border Services unpaid duties, as well as recycling fees for electronic goods.

Arranged for worker and supervisor Occupational Health & Safety training for all remote locations and commenced the adoption of formal Health & Safety policies and programs.

Supervised and oversaw the employees of five (5) different remote retail locations, which encompassed approximately 150 employees in total and required routine onsite visits in addition to travel to Miami Headquarters.

Dorothy Y. Fitzgerald, CHRL Page 5 of 6

Chitiz Pathak LLP Toronto, ON (Professional Services Legal Firm) July 2007-August 2010

Manager, Human Resources & Finance

Responsible for all HR and Finance components of the day-to-day operations of this boutique law firm

This diverse role involved being accountable for keeping 6 sets of accounting books, managing 11 administrative support staff, spearheading direction and execution of strategic initiatives to secure optimal performance across 11 functions encompassing human resources, risk management, training and development, facility providers, career coaching and mentoring, general office management, financial statement drafts, month-end and year-end financial procedures and reporting, information management, IT support and systems maintenance, and telecommunications.

Functioned as a key member of the management team, providing ongoing tactical support, “best practice” advice and presentations to managing partners in goal setting and achievement of corporate growth objectives.

Successful in devising competitive salary grades derived from ongoing market analysis using salary survey results and market trends to further strengthen employee retention and attraction of new hires.

Strategically negotiated benefit plan enhancements and consistently captured cost savings of overall premium renewals.

Significantly improved morale by developing and implementing a performance management system that received management buy-in through effective use of communication and presentation mediums in supporting the importance and advantages of introducing this key component of organizational structure and management of intellectual capital.

Bookkeeping accountabilities included all day-to-day journal entries, cheque generating, billings, budgets, trust account entries, accounts payable and receivable, GST/HST remittances, transaction levies, bank reconciliations, monthly partner draws, and management of a bi-monthly payroll and reporting (ADP) and all associated G/L entries.

Introduced month-end procedures to gain a better snap shot of bottom line results and budget monitoring.

Aligned recruitment and selection processes with the firm’s business strategies so as to attract, identify and retain top-tier professionals that complemented and assisted in accomplishing the firm’s goals and objectives.

Built a solid rapport with vendors and suppliers in contributing to the success of strategic cost-reduction initiatives that secured consistent overall budget savings of 5% 10%.

Streamlined on boarding, orientation, and training by preparing an Employee Handbook, Training Manual, Policies and Procedures Operations Guide.

ADDITIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE

HR, Business Administration & Graphic Design Services Oshawa, ON June 2005 July 2007

One-stop Business Services

Proprietor

The PIC Group Oshawa, ON (Quality Inspection/Control & Training) Jan 2004 May 2005

Quality and Inspection Control for the ‘Big 3’ Automakers – (Union and Non-Union)

Training & Technical Support (contract)

The Town of Whitby Mayor’s Office & Operations Centre Whitby, ON June 2003 Oct 2003

Municipal Government

Senior Executive Assistant (contract)

The Ganawa Company Ltd. Ajax, ON Sep 2002 May 2003

Steel Fabrication and Contracting – (Union and Non-Union)

Office Manager/HR Generalist

Morel Benefits Consulting Services Inc. Toronto, ON (Independent Broker) Sep 1999 Jan 2001

Independent Group Insurance Broker

HR Manager & Benefits Administrator

Dorothy Y. Fitzgerald, CHRL Page 6 of 6

ADDITIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE – Cont’d

Morris & Mackenzie Inc. Toronto, ON (Independent Broker) May 1994 Sep 1999

Independent Group Insurance Broker

Benefit Plan Administrator

EDUCATION

Change Leadership Certificate – Cornell University

Honors Graduate Certificate Human Resources Management Durham College

Honors Diploma, Digital Media Design – Durham Business & Computer College

PROFESSIONAL ACCREDITATIONS & ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIPS

Certified Human Resources Leadership, CHRL – Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA)

Certified Human Resources Professional, CHRP Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA)

Member of good standing, Human Resources Professional Association (Durham Chapter, HRPA)

Current member of The Law Office Management Association (TLOMA)

TECHNICAL & COMPUTER SOFTWARE APPLICATION SKILLS

MS Office 2013 and Visio

Elite Webview / e-Vault

QuickBooks Pro and PC Law

Hummingbird Docs DM

HCM / ERP systems (Navision)

Various Social Media Utilities

ADOBE CS

HR Policy Pro

HTML

**PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST**

Contact this candidate