Human Resources Business Partner

Job Summary

The Human Resources Business Partner serves as a consultant and thought partner to employees and managers on employee concerns, employee relations, performance management, employee offboarding, and compensation support.  This position collaborates with organizational business partners to achieve team, departmental, and organizational objectives. The Human Resources Business Partner analyzes data to identify trends and recommend people-first strategies and solutions.

About UFCU

As Austin’s largest locally-owned financial institution, University Federal Credit Union is a financial institution owned by, dedicated to, and always working for our Members. Our mission at UFCU is simple: to provide for the well-being of our Members. We are proud to focus on our purpose, possibilities, and performance, with people at the center of all that we do. We deliver fair and honest products and outstanding service, and we work collaboratively within our organization and community to help Members and employees achieve their personal and financial goals.

Consistently receiving awards as the Top Credit Union, Top Mortgage Company, Best Place for Working Parents, Healthiest Employer in Austin, and Gallup’s Exceptional Workplace, UFCU is proud of its people-first culture. We value our employees as much as our Members. We offer an environment where people care about each other – like family. If you want to love what you do, make an impact in your community, and have the power to help people change their lives – then we’re glad you’re here.

Essential Functions

Business Partner

• Serves as a Human Resources thought partner concerning employee concerns and performance while collaborating with organizational business partners to achieve team, departmental, and organizational objectives.
• Identifies, recommends and implements people-first and UFCU culturally-aligned strategies and solutions that address both immediate and long-term employee issues, employee relations, and retention and engagement needs by proactively identifying underlying causes of issues.
• Specific to employee relations, performance management, and employee off boarding:

• Serves as a trusted advisor to business partners to proactively interpret and communicate Human Resources processes and guidelines, to include proactively identifying gaps and proposing Human Resources changes necessary to manage risk, individual and team performance, and the achievement of business goals.
• Serves as a strong business partner to employees and managers by providing proactive coaching and feedback to enhance individual and team effectiveness.
• Collaborate with organizational business partners to achieve team, departmental, and organizational objectives.

• Partners with Organizational Development in support of organizational environmental scans and engagement survey efforts to enhance manager and team results and employee engagement.

Employee Relations

• Serves as the Human Resources primary point of contact for employees and people managers regarding employee concerns and issues.
• Coaches managers and facilitates learning sessions.
• Addresses employee relations issues at employee and management levels.
• Manages and maintains centralized electronic records and a database of employee relations case management documentation.
• Works closely with employees and management to enhance working relationships, build morale and employee engagement, and increase productivity and retention.
• Models and promotes the organization's culture and values, and encourages teamwork by partnering with employees and business partners throughout the organization.
• Builds and nurtures positive, strong, and effective relationships with employees and business partners to influence desired outcomes and achieve organizational goals.
• Presents employee relations information to new employees during New Employee Orientation.
• Maintains in-depth knowledge of employment law related to day-to-day management of employees to reduce legal risks and ensure regulatory compliance, and partners with legal experts as needed.
• Owns and manages organizational Intranet pages, including Employee Relations, Discipline/Corrective Action, and Retail Outage/Financial Loss pages.
• Maintains the integrity of the Employee Relations software and sends weekly reports to the Sr Human Resources (HR) Business Partner and Director of Human Resources.
  
  

Performance Management

• Provides performance management coaching and counseling, leads performance investigations, documents findings, and recommends courses of action.
• Identifies performance issues and needs for corrective action, and provides guidance in the preparation and documentation of development plans for employees.
• In coordination with the Sr HR Business Partner and Organizational Development, participates in administering and managing the annual performance management process in assigned departments and performs company-wide reporting and analytics.
• Benchmarks with other organizations and Credit Unions to stay abreast of best-in-class performance management practices, and strives to continuously improve the performance management process at UFCU.
• Assists with the annual performance review process. 

Offboarding

• Facilitates employee offboarding processes, and conducts exit interviews with employees leaving the organization.
• Manages and maintains centralized electronic documentation of exit interview conversations.
• Serves as owner of exit survey tool, manages exit survey dashboard, and creates reports for the Vice President Human Resources and Organizational Development (HR-OD) and Director of Human Resources.

 Analytics

• Analyzes data to identify trends in employee complaints, internal employee transfers, performance issues, corrective actions, and employee exits to determine actions needed to enhance favorable individual and organizational performance
  • Provides summary of feedback and makes recommendations for proactive solutions to the Director of Human Resources to guide decision-making.
• Presents analysis and solutions for managing people-related, legal, or compliance risks to the Director of Human Resources and/or VP of HR OD.
• Maintains and updates HR Dashboards.

Compensation

• Partners with the Sr. Compensation Specialist on organization-wide projects during peak times of year.
• Gathers information from various external and internal sources to perform comparative analysis.
• Conducts research on incentive compensation topics.
• Analyzes market data for individual positions, job families, and departments, to help drive internal and external business decisions.
• Performs ad-hoc reporting of total compensation information as requested.

Other

• Proactively keeps abreast of financial services industry and Human Resources related trends and issues.
• Adheres to all company policies, procedures and business ethics codes.
• Completes required regulatory training as assigned.
• Maintains strict adherence and compliance to all laws, rules, regulations and internal controls specific to the role, including but not limited to Bank Secrecy Act, Anti-Money Laundering, USA Patriot Act, OFAC and Fair Lending regulations.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

Knowledge

• Thorough knowledge and understanding of human resources policies, processes, and applicable employment laws as well as diversity-related issues and best practices
• Working knowledge of compensation practices, policies, and trends
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Word and Excel

Skills

• Exceptional analytical, judgment, and decision-making skills
• Strong problem solving, priority-setting and decision-making skills

Abilities

• Ability to effectively demonstrate a high degree of empathy and compassion
• Ability to effectively demonstrate servant leadership
• Strong commitment to UFCU's vision, mission, and values
• Outstanding relationship-building abilities
• Positive, resourceful, and flexible
• Ability to effectively navigate the nuances of a large organization with multiple stakeholders and priorities
• Ability to work effectively with individuals from diverse communities and cultures
• Ability to condense extensive information into concise, executive-level briefs for effective decision making
• Ability to benchmark Best in Class Human Resources practices, and refine and customize them for UFCU’s culture
• Team player who operates well in a dynamic, all hands-on deck environment
• Strong idea generator, with the ability to think creatively and innovatively

Competencies

Building Partnerships

• Demonstrated ability to effectively build, foster, and maintain relationships, establish rapport, and diplomatically communicate information
• Demonstrated executive presence
• Possess high level of integrity
• Be widely trusted, direct and truthful, with the ability to gain confidence
• Exceptional solutions and client service-oriented, with an emphasis on problem solving and results
• Confidence and ability to work independently as well as perform as a collaborative member of a team

Communication

• Exceptional verbal, interpersonal, collaborative, active listening, written, and proactive communication skills
• Ability to demonstrate keen awareness of an audience’s communication needs and preferences, and the ability to adapt written, verbal, interpersonal, and listening communications to meet the audience’s needs and preferences
• Ability to visualize and articulate problems and concepts in a systematic manner that appeals to business leaders while tailoring communications, formal or informal, to the audience
• Ability to present information in a clear, concise, succinct, and compelling manner

Emotional Intelligence

• Ability to demonstrate excellent teamwork skills and contribute to team success by treating others with respect, courtesy, and displaying a “what can I do to help?” attitude
• Self-starter who is motivated to successfully assist with complex project deliverables in a very driven and changing organization
• Intellectual curiosity, consistently seeking opportunities to develop new skills

Adaptability

• Ability to effectively demonstrate adaptability and a high degree of flexibility, with the ability to work under tight deadlines and changing needs
• Ability to work in a team environment with a high sense of urgency and sensitivity

Focus on Results

• Ability to effectively demonstrate accountability and focus on results
• Exceptional organizational, project, and time management skills
• Exceptional attention to detail
• Ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously

Decision Making

• Ability to maintain the highest level of confidentiality
• Exceptional judgment and decision making skills
• Ability to work independently and exercise judgement, integrity, and initiative

Experience

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree. Four (4) years of equivalent experience may be substituted for education requirements.
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in employee relations, performance management, conflict management, and employee coaching
• Track record of demonstrated success as a trusted and highly effective people-centered human resources business partner
• Demonstrated experience working with confidential employment matters and facilitating employee issues in a sensitive and confidential manner
• Must be bondable

Preferred Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources or other related field
• Master’s degree
• SPHR or SHRM-CP certification
• Minimum of seven (7) years of experience in employee relations, performance management, conflict management, employee coaching, and data analytics
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience as a Human Resources Business Partner
• Employee relations experience with an organization of more than 500 employees
• Experience with employee relations and case management platforms
• Experience with people-centered data analytics
• Experience with managing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs
• Experience with compensation benchmarking
• Financial Services and/or credit union experience
• Professional working experience with a not-for-profit organization
• Thorough knowledge and understanding of human resources policies, processes, and applicable employment laws
• Bilingual in Spanish and English

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee, with or without accommodation, in order to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear.
• Extensive use of the computer, requiring specific vision abilities including close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, and ability to adjust focus.
• Extensive use of the telephone and virtual communications platforms requiring the ability to effectively and accurately explain complex information 

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

•  This position requires working frequently at UFCU Plaza in Austin, Texas.
• This position may involve periodic stressful conditions.
• May occasionally require an adjusted work schedule, and/or evening/weekend hours.
• Public contact position, requiring appropriate professional appearance.
• Frequent computer use at a workstation of up to two hours at a time
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described are representative of those that must be met by an employee, with or without accommodation, in order to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Frequent

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision and ability to adjust focus.
• Employee will make extensive use of the telephone and virtual communications platforms requiring the ability to effectively and accurately explain complex information.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. 

• This position is required to frequently work at UFCU Plaza in Austin, Texas.
• May occasionally require an adjusted work schedule, overtime, and evening/weekend hours.
• This position may involve periodic stressful conditions.
• Public contact position, requiring appropriate professional appearance.
• Frequent computer use at a workstation of up to two hours at a time.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually loud.

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