Human Resources Professional

Vanessa Strange

770-***-**** • ***********@*****.***

http://linkedin.com/in/vanessa-strange-ba9b8812

Human Resources Leader with the following Areas of Expertise

Federal, State & Local HR Compliance

Legal Issues & Reporting

PeopleSoft, TempWorks, Paylocity, Kronos, & ATS ON Demand

Employee Relations

Immigration & Visas

Recruiting & Staffing

Training & Development

Financial Management & Budgeting

Client Relations

Excellent Customer Service

OSHA & Worker’s Comp

General Liability

Compensation and Benefits

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)

Operational Leadership

Relationship Management

unemployment Claims & Appeals

Human Resources Manager

BARD MANUFACTURING - MADISON, Georgia february 2022 – may 2024

Responsible for all areas of the Human Resources function for a 24/7 manufacturing operation of 350+ employees (covering 3 shifts) – this includes Employee Relations, Investigations, Legal, Payroll, Benefits, Compensation, Recruiting and Talent Management, Training and Development, Workers’ Comp and Risk Management.

Manages a HR Generalist and Recruiter for all daily HR functions, job fairs and employee needs

Serves as a resource and business partner to the management team of the plant (Quality, Continuous Improvement, Operations, Materials Management, Shipping / Receiving, Fabrication, Copper, & Maintenance)

Participates in daily production meetings with operations manager and the supervisors

Responds to and prepares all Unemployment Claims for the DOL and appears for all hearings, appeals, etc.

Tracks KPIs for turnover and absenteeism for the plant manager monthly

Facilitate community partnerships with Chamber of Commerce and Morgan County High School programs

Review verbiage for corrective action, PIPs and approve all terminations

Attend Monthly Executive Safety Meetings with plant and company executives

Leads the open enrollment process - from working with the broker to presenting the benefit changes at the all employee meetings

Leads the Activities Committee in all company functions and employee events

Vice President, Human Resources

Staff Right, Inc. -Monroe, Georgia January 2021 - February 2022

Oversee and manage Human Resources for over 75 clients, 25 internal employees and 1,000 temporaries

Managing the renewal process for the company’s Drug Free Workplace & Women’s Business National Council (WBENC) initiatives

Responsible for minimizing company risk and exposure thru effective claims management & education – EEOC, DOL, ERISA, & Workers Comp

Work with our Safety and Risk partners to provide value added educational tools for employees and clients

Improve applicant experience and communication with our internal team by recommending the addition of Zipwhip, a texting software that integrates with our ATS system, TempWorks

Review and restructure ACA benefits and internal employee benefits

Vice President, Human Resources

Wagner Staffing- Covington, Georgia (Position Eliminated – due to covid) 2016-October 2020

Manage all aspects of HR, Legal, Risk Management, Employee Relations, Unemployment & Workers’ Compensation Programs for 8 offices in GA and 1 office in IN

Support 45 internal employees & 1,200 temporary employees

Oversee & manage HR and client relation issues for over 100 clients

Work with the other 3 Vice Presidents of Operations / Back Office Support on operational issues as needed

Review, design and implement benefit plans and total reward plans for temporaries and internal staff

Support senior leadership team in new business development leads with safety, sales, operations, team management and client relations

Approve all corrective action and terminations for internal staff and temporaries (where needed)

Partner with legal and respond to all regulatory and legal matters (EEOC, DOL, FLSA, OSHA, WC lawsuits, etc.)

Point of contact for our TPA, Adjusters, Defense Counsel and Wagner operations by managing all worker’s comp cases

Implement safety programs and conduct quarterly safety site inspections for our top customers with the highest number of claims (Dirty Dozen)

Produce monthly report of WC claims & HR items at our Executive Board meeting

Conduct new hire orientations and Workplace Violence and Workplace Harassment training for all new internal staff

Staff development – work with and mentor employees & managers to help prepare them for what’s the next step in their careers

Administer and approve all LOA’s including FMLA, Short Term Disability and Long-Term Disability

President & Owner

Wabi Sabi, LLC – Decatur, Georgia 2012 – 2016

Managed daily operations, payroll, inventory, vendors, staffing, facility usage & events

Responsible for all business processes and operations for store launch and ongoing promotions

Regional HR Director

Whole Foods Market - Roswell, Georgia 2005 – 2012

Key Stakeholder in all aspects of a Regional Level HR management program; including 20+ locations in AL, GA, NC, SC & TN (5,500+ team members)

Implemented all global projects / initiatives as the South Region on Global Executive TMS (HR) team representative; including 5-10 global task forces for various projects

Managed & led the Regional HR team, including financial budgets, team member evaluations, development & succession planning, etc. (this included a regional team of 11 direct reports and 20+ in-direct reports)

Successfully led the transition team for two acquisitions, including team onboarding and outplacement (Wild Oats Markets: Memphis / Nashville and Greenlife Grocery: Chattanooga & Asheville).

Recruited for all store, facility and regional leadership positions including mentoring training for new and less experienced store, facility and regional leadership

Responsible for Oversight of Fair Hearing activities; including investigations and region-wide policy compliance

Managed ongoing partnership and led outside counsel, store/facility/regional leaders on all litigation

Successfully coordinated, oversaw and participated in all new store openings including recruiting, job fairs, new hire processing, and set up of the Payroll Benefit Specialist (PBS) function in store

Partnered with Regional & Facility Leadership in closing two facilities (Atlanta BakeHouse & South Bulk Distribution Center) & multiple layoff activities successfully placing 40% of reduced team members

Human Resources Manager

ARRIS International, Inc. – Johns Creek, Georgia (now COMMSCOPE) 2000 - 2005

Provided total HR Support for 450+ employees in four locations (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago & Raleigh)

Processed all active immigration cases (H1-B Visa, L1-B Visa, etc.)

Supported VP & other corporate HR staff on various projects / assignments – including Sarbanes-Oxley compliance; maintain employee data integrity in PeopleSoft HRIS system

Managed & closed two facilities with over 100+ employees (Raleigh and Boston)

Managed & tracked all claims: FLSA, FMLA, short & long- term disability, ADA, HIPAA, worker’s comp & Title VII; maintained all personnel, medical, I-9 files & EEOC files

Responsible for all reduction in force activities – reporting wages/severances to DOL, coordinating outplacement services & all other benefits for employees

Handled all ER support – progressive discipline activities, performance improvement plans, investigations, employee & manager complaints, and terminations

Education & Leadership

Georgia Perimeter College, Clarkston, Georgia; Associate of Science, Psychology

SHRM – SCP – testing in spring 2025

2021 Board of Directors for Georgia Staffing Association (GSA)

2019 Executive Leadership Training for Women

2006-2014 Advisory Council Member - State Board of Georgia Workers’ Comp

2010-2012 Board of Directors - Atlanta Claims Association

2009 Regional All*Star Recipient (Whole Foods Market)

2010 Rapport Leadership International, Las Vegas, Nevada; Leadership Breakthrough I

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