The Employee Relations Specialist manages the employee lifecycle from recruitment through separation of employment while leading employee-facing processes that support engagement, performance, and retention. This position helps ensure a positive candidate and employee experience, facilitates meaningful workplace conversations, and serves as an accessible, supportive, and solution-oriented point of contact for employees. The ideal candidate possesses strong interpersonal and organizational skills, demonstrates initiative, and can lead conversations that establish clear expectations, promote problem-solving, and result in actionable outcomes. Essential Duties and Responsibilities Recruitment and Talent Acquisition - Manage and maintain job postings across recruitment platforms, including Indeed, ASHA, Paychex, and the company website.
- Review resumes and applications daily and conduct candidate outreach and initial screenings.
- Proactively source qualified candidates and maintain a consistent hiring pipeline.
- Track recruitment activity, including outreach, interviews, offers, acceptances, and hires.
- Conduct interviews for Behavior Technician positions and other assigned roles.
- Coordinate candidate interviews with clinical leadership for CDS, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, BCBA, and other specialized positions.
- Conduct and document professional reference checks.
- Maintain accurate recruitment spreadsheets and candidate records.
- Retain applicant and interview resumes for at least four years in the company's designated secure location.
- Meet with fieldwork students in good standing approximately three to four weeks before completing their placements to discuss potential employment opportunities.
- Maintain the fieldwork student tracking list in Microsoft Teams and follow up with prospective candidates approximately three months before graduation.
Offer Management and Hiring - Extend employment offers in alignment with leadership-approved compensation and employment terms.
- Provide timely follow-up to support candidate acceptance and reduce hiring delays.
- Track offer acceptance rates and identify trends or barriers.
- Ensure candidates receive clear, timely, and professional communication throughout the hiring process.
- Initiate new employee records and ensure required documents are forwarded to HR Operations for placement in the employee file.
- Ensure each new employee reviews and signs the appropriate job description.
- Collaborate with the HR Operations Specialist to prepare offer letters, benefit summaries, and other hiring documents as needed.
Pre-Boarding and Onboarding - Manage communication with candidates from offer acceptance through their first day of employment.
- Schedule onboarding, required training, Live Scan fingerprinting, and other pre-employment requirements.
- Complete required National Sex Offender Public Website checks.
- Set up new employees in CodeMetro and other assigned systems.
- Coordinate parking passes, keys, identification badges, and other workplace access needs.
- Conduct onboarding sessions and review required documents, policies, and procedures with new employees.
- Create a welcoming, professional, and organized onboarding experience.
- Coordinate a welcome gift and card for newly hired clinical staff.
- Work with the Administrative Supervisor to ensure company equipment is available on the employee's first day.
- Communicate office and workstation needs to the appropriate department supervisor.
- Maintain accurate records of required employee training.
- Partner with HR Operations, which is responsible for maintaining official employee files.
Employee Relations and Performance Management - Serve as an approachable point of contact for employee questions, concerns, and workplace issues.
- Partner with clinical leadership to address employee performance and conduct concerns.
- Review and approve Performance Improvement Plans for consistency and completeness.
- Coordinate and lead initial and follow-up PIP meetings in partnership with clinical leadership, as requested.
- Clearly communicate performance expectations and areas requiring improvement.
- Facilitate respectful, solution-focused conversations with employees.
- Ensure performance meetings conclude with documented expectations, responsibilities, timelines, and next steps.
- Track employee progress and ensure timely follow-up between performance meetings.
- Respond professionally to employee or public feedback posted on Glassdoor, Yelp, Google, and other designated platforms.
Annual Reviews and Compensation Conversations - Lead the non-clinical portions of employee performance-review meetings.
- Partner with leadership and the HR Operations Specialist to understand compensation decisions and ensure consistent messaging.
- Assist leadership and HR Operations with employee compensation increases, including quarterly tracking spreadsheets.
- Clearly communicate compensation changes and relevant context, including performance considerations, compensation structures, and established pay caps.
- Ensure employees understand performance expectations and available professional-growth opportunities.
- Monitor completion of quarterly Behavior Technician competency evaluations and ensure documentation is submitted for the employee file.
- Partner with HR Operations, which is responsible for processing and documenting compensation changes.
Employee Engagement and Retention - Conduct structured 30-, 60-, and 90-day check-ins with new employees.
- Identify potential employee concerns and retention risks early and escalate them appropriately.
- Provide guidance and support to employees throughout onboarding and early employment.
- Maintain a visible and approachable presence across company locations.
- Partner with the Director of Training to ensure required employee training is completed within established timelines.
- Partner with Clinical Directors to recognize employees celebrating significant service milestones, such as five- and ten-year anniversaries.
- Coordinate employee recognition activities during designated professional-recognition months, including Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and ABA recognition periods.
Stay and Exit Interviews - Conduct stay interviews to assess employee engagement and identify potential retention risks.
- Conduct exit interviews and gather meaningful feedback regarding the employee experience.
- Identify recurring themes and provide relevant insights and recommendations to leadership.
- Maintain appropriate confidentiality when documenting and communicating employee feedback.
Employee Experience and Workplace Presence - Engage with employees through informal check-ins and regular workplace interactions.
- Foster a welcoming, inclusive, and professional environment for candidates and employees.
- Help ensure employees experience Human Resources as accessible, supportive, responsive, and solution-oriented.
Problem-Solving and Initiative - Identify challenges related to recruitment, onboarding, retention, and the overall employee experience.
- Proactively recommend and implement appropriate process improvements.
- Adjust practices based on recruitment data, employee feedback, and organizational needs.
- Seek leadership guidance when appropriate while maintaining ownership of assigned responsibilities and outcomes.
Leadership Collaboration - Partner with Clinical Directors and organizational leadership regarding employee-related matters.
- Align with leadership on expectations and messaging before conducting performance, compensation, or other sensitive employee conversations.
- Communicate employee concerns, organizational risks, and workforce trends to leadership promptly and professionally.
- Maintain confidentiality and exercise sound judgment when handling sensitive employee information.
Payroll Preparation and Coverage - Maintain working knowledge of the databases, reports, and documents required to prepare payroll information in Paychex.
- Provide payroll-preparation coverage when the HR Operations Specialist is unavailable.
- Review information for accuracy and escalate discrepancies before payroll processing.
Additional Responsibilities - Perform other duties as assigned based on organizational needs.
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