Employee Relations Specialist (Belvidere, IL)

Job Description

Company Overview

General Mills is reshaping the future of food. We believe food makes us better. It nourishes our bodies, brings us joy and connects us to each other. As one of the world's leading food companies, General Mills operates in more than 100 countries and markets more than 100 consumer brands, including Cheerios, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Annie's Homegrown, Old El Paso, Epic Provisions, Blue Buffalo and more. Are you passionate about the future of food? You've come to the right table. We want the very best talent to help lead something big.

Responsibilities

to do good in the world.

As a member of the Employee Relations team, you will make significant and meaningful contributions to the businesses and teams you support. You will form lasting partnerships with a broad range of leaders at all levels of the organization who look to you for guidance and advice on sensitive matters concerning their teams. You will provide employees with a sense of dignity and fairness, while mitigating risk to the organization. You will also develop HR expertise and acumen that we believe will differentiate and prepare you for future roles. And, you’ll join a fun-loving, supportive team who collectively adds great value to General Mills.

We’re an open-minded group who understands that the next great ER partner at General Mills may come from anywhere. With that in mind, we find that HR roles best prepare people for the demands of a role with the ER team and anticipate filling this role with HR talent. We're seeking a partner to be located at our Belvidere, IL manufacturing facility.

Because of the extensive partnership and natural synergy between Employee Relations and Employment Law, the ER team is part of the Law Department, reporting into Employment Law.

Applicants should have demonstrated experience with the accountabilities, competencies/behaviors, and skills/experiences mentioned below.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Coach managers on how to improve and foster their employees’ performance, as well as how to elevate their own leader skills as they coach their teams.
• Show managers how to deliver an effective and consistent employee experience on sensitive matters relating to misconduct, accommodation, and separations.
• Pair investigatory and regulatory expertise with compassion, objectivity, and consistency to look into and resolve sensitive concerns including harassment, discrimination, misconduct, and others.
• Support partners on a broad range of issues including reorganizations and restructures, while proactively creating, identifying, and sharing related tools and best practices that build partners’ organizational skills and capabilities.
• Develop insights, identify training opportunities, and identify related policy and process improvements.
• Partner with a broad team of experts to ensure all solutions are aligned with company culture, corporate policies, and the law.

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree
• 1+ yrs related experience
• Experience working in a manufacturing facility

COMPETENCIES/BEHAVIORS REQUIRED

• A solutions mindset. Our ER team identifies solutions that add value, often beyond what is expected.
• An objective and critical eye. We maintain an unbiased perspective, challenge assumptions and norms as appropriate, and examine a situation from all sides, helping to identify the best solution and outcome.
• Influence. We must successfully influence leaders to adopt our recommendations despite having no decision rights.
• Partnership. Each member must establish their brand and partner at all levels, while advancing ER’s brand and mission. We partner heavily with one another, as well as with many experts throughout the company.
• Curiosity. We intentionally make time to learn from each other, our partners, our individual cases, and from our collective work. We understand these insights help the company meet its business goals.
• Leadership and growth. We integrate leadership behaviors into our work, and help our partners and leaders do the same. We work hard to help partners and one another grow.
• Cool demeanor. Others have remarked at how cool we are. We are counted on to maintain a calm confidence, especially when others are uncertain, stressed, or concerned. We must prioritize competing demands and maintain executional excellence.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Highly prefer 3-5+ yrs experience
• Subject matter expertise in performance management and performance management lifecycle
• Consultative, coaching, and action planning skills
• Experience investigating and addressing misconduct issues
• Ability to anticipate issues, problem solve, and implement solutions, including referring critical issues to the appropriate resource
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to quickly and productively network and establish effective working relationships
• Familiarity with HR related regulations strongly preferred (e.g. ADA, FMLA, discrimination laws)
• Experience leading change initiatives and process improvements a plus