POOLING ALL YOUR ( HUMAN ) RESOURCES :
INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR OF HR ANN BONNEY
Among the different functions of an HR department lies a peculiar duality . In-house HR staff are , of course , employees themselves , performing important tasks like recruiting and legal compliance for their companies . But they also support their fellow employees throughout the company , ensuring they have all they need to excel , answer questions about training and benefits and maintain smooth employee relations .
Without an effective HR department , firms would neglect their most important assets , their employees ( the « humans » in « human resources »). HR is an essential part of modern business and having a great department can set firms apart . Thankfully , P2S is fortunate to have a highly competent and responsive HR department . Director of Human Resources Ann Bonney is a dynamic human resources leader with over three decades of professional experience . Ann ’ s strengths lie in employee relations , strategic planning , training , program development and conflict resolution . Ann also helps to maintain our award-winning company culture and works to make sure that our employees ’ internal needs are always a priority . We spoke to Ann to learn more about the HR team she leads , how she handles employees ’ internal needs and what she most enjoys about being an HR professional .
Can you start by telling us about your team ?
Ann Bonney : I ’ m fortunate to have an extraordinarily talented and dedicated team of four HR professionals ; an HR Manager , HR Generalist , and two Recruiters
Amira Mulcahy , HR Manager , has been with P2S for over 14 years . Amira is responsible for payroll , employee benefit management , immigration and is a P2S subject matter expert . Amira also manages the Facilities Team and oversees the Injury and Illness Prevention Program .
Humberto Padilla , HR Generalist , has been with P2S for one year . He had prior HR experience inthe food service industry is very detail-oriented and compliance-driven but also service oriented to ensure we meet ‘ employees ’ needs . Humberto is responsible for new employee onboarding , leaves of absence , HR compliance audits , HR information system functions , and is always available to answer employee questions .
On the recruiting side , Patrick Burnside , Sr . Recruiter , has been with us for 1 year . Patrick has deep recruiting experience in our industry as both a contingent and in-house recruiter . In this current market environment , you have to go out and find qualified candidates . To do that , you need someone who knows the industry , has a lot of experience , and can speak credibly with candidates to sell our organization . Patrick ’ s done an excellent job at building relationships with the managers to ensure he understands individual group needs to build a candidate pipeline .
Due to growth and project demand , we quickly realized we needed additional resources in recruiting . Celenia Caballero joined P2S in May of 2022 . Celenia immediately jumped in and took over our P2S Internship Program including coordinating learning and social activities for the Interns . Celenia is responsible for administrative position recruiting and entry to mid-level engineering roles . She also supports onboarding and is working on management recruiting training support materials .
What functions does your team typically handle ? AB : Human Resources is multi-functional .
It starts with recruiting . Our goal is to hire the best and brightest people . To attract them , we must provide and maintain a strong culture , career development and growth programs , competitive compensation , and a robust benefits package . Performance Management is critical to ensure the staff is clear and receiving feedback on professional goals and receiving support to meet their personal development goals . We work with managers and employees to answer questions and resolve employment-related concerns
We ’ re also , of course , very involved in communications with employees . When there are compliance and change management issues , we have to make sure that employees know about these changes and understand the why behind them . Compliance became a huge issue with COVID .