Kenneth E. Ackerman

• Company Overview: Acquired from VSE Corporation
• Directed high impact team responsible for revising the corporate strategy and actions for Learning and Development, DE&I strategy and Philanthropic engagement for ~16,000 employees and partners.
• Partnered with corporate functional and business leaders to execute key areas of compliance, leadership development, and executive succession planning.
• Pioneered initiative to revise new hire process for corporate-based employees resulting in 60% reduction in non-revenue work time.
• Designed campaign to increase employee feedback and engagement resulting in 30% increase of participation in annual survey.
• Established direction for revision of company’s Diversity and Inclusion commitment to focus on culture and engagement with employee-centric actions.
• Partnered with Senior Executives and Board of Directors Executive to establish approach for executive succession planning that is scalable to other leadership roles across the organization.
• Led effort to evaluate external vendor utilization and consolidated partnerships to maximize value for the organization securing $450k in savings.
• Acquired from VSE Corporation

• Senior leader in a matrix environment providing strategic partnering, creative solutions, and human resource execution for the Federal Defense business segment (~1,500 employees across multiple US and International locations).
• Responsible for the evaluation, development and deployment of health and welfare benefits, compensation and policy revision specific to the business segment for US and International populations.
• Developed and deployed 9-member HR team supporting talent acquisition and overall human capital execution across the business while working with centralized functional HR team for benefits, compensation, and HRIS administration.
• Increased engagement and visibility between HR and business areas across the business unit to include increased communication and access for 10 remote teams.
• Partnered with Executive team to determine strategy around our human capital approach for new business pursuits.
• Ensured all people-related policies aligned with corporate disclosures and best practices for compliance to mitigate company risk.
• Navigated process of business acquisition activities with a private equity firm to include due diligence, strategic planning and post integration planning.
• Successfully executed divesture activities for 3 business units to a publicly traded company and private equity firms.
• Championed review of international assignments and updated to reflect best in industry standard for compensation and benefits.
• Built effective partnerships with multiple Centers of Excellence teams to enhance engagement with local HR team staff and leaders across the segment.

• Strategic integration leader responsible for collaborating with key stakeholders to develop forward-looking Integrated Talent Plans that aim to provide a comprehensive roadmap of various people strategies (e.g., workforce strategies, risk identification and mitigation, talent initiatives, staff engagement, retention) that enable program areas to achieve their business goals.
• Executed final transition actions for an acquired firm (700 employees); coordinated labor mapping corrections, span of control adjustments, and complete training on company processes.
• Initiated senior staff talent planning, succession planning, and employment reviews; presented impactful solutions/resolutions to organizational leadership.
• Championed talent review strategy for leadership team to optimize succession planning at multiple levels.
• Partnered with Finance team to establish strategic compensation actions - with limited impact on cost.
• Devised comprehensive spending budgets for Awards and Recognition program, capturing 89% engagement rate.
• Ensured all people-related policies aligned with newly acquired organizations to meet firm’s best practices and compliance to mitigate talent risks.
• Forged powerful collaboration with Business Director to ensure success across talent management, career planning, performance management, employee relations, leadership coaching, data analysis, compensation and rewards, recognition programs, and strategic organizational development.
• Built effective partnerships with 6 Centers of Excellence teams to refine engagement and enhance visibility of their services with leaders and staff members.

• Executive lead for HR functions and strategic solutions for firm’s human capital needs (~1,500 employees across multiple US states and locations).
• Developed and deployed 9-member HR team supporting talent acquisition, organizational development, benefits, compensation, HR administration, compliance, and risk mitigation.
• Ensured all people-related policies, health and welfare benefits, and engagement were aligned to meet firm’s financial and business goals.
• Employed mastery of strategic HR practices to achieve “best in class” policies while maintaining positive company culture.
• Restructured HR system utilization and integration with multiple vendors; introduced new tools to optimize performance efficiency across talent acquisition, benefits, and HRIS.
• Conceptualized and implemented funding verification solution for 401k true-up distribution and reconciliation; secured a positive $20K adjustment to firm’s forfeiture accounts.
• Established direction for firm’s official Diversity and Inclusion commitment, amplified awareness and training, and facilitated assembly of a D&I council and deep equity reviews.
• Revamped leave policies and executed a parental leave plan, leading to a balance of time for employees and significant company savings.

Established Human Resource presence to enhance engagement within leadership teams.

Cultivated relationships with Directors to advocate for business programs.

Drove HR strategy for employee engagement in 600-employee organization through management support.

Executed talent management programs, including career planning and performance management.

Collaborated with Labor Relations team to implement retention plans addressing turnover challenges.

Assisted managers interpreting service contract act rules for local union group (UE Local 121).

Participated in focus groups to develop strategic HR initiatives related to compensation.

Championed major HRIS platform change initiative (WORKDAY) impacting company and affiliate partners.

Led review of co-employment and Affordable Care Act implications for contingent workforce.

Directed multiple projects focused on talent management, leadership development, and workforce planning.

Defined and structured additional labor categories to ensure legal compliance.

Resolved complex employee relations issues through thorough investigations and objective assessments.

Provided strategic input on client group restructures, workforce planning, and succession planning.

Participated in committees dedicated to developing employee programs, processes, and procedures.

Delivered senior human resource support for a multi-state client group of hundreds of employees.

Managed labor classification project, developing self-audit standards that reduced legal exposure and saved $75K.

Led HR project team to revise sick leave policy impacting over 850 employees.

Assisted in establishing new corporate organization within larger enterprise structure.

Provided HR expertise in program excellence reviews for programs with annual revenues between $300M and $1.5B.

Developed training modules addressing human capital elements, including data analysis and risk mitigation.

Collaborated with HRBPs and Leads during proposal process to ensure seamless transition post-award.

Provided HR Business Partner support for 300 employees, including union and non-union staff.

Advised management on collective bargaining agreement questions, processes, and procedures.

Led strike contingency planning project across departments, achieving $60,000 in expense savings.

Identified stakeholders and collaborated with management to overhaul new employee orientation system.

Revamped employee communication strategies, including development of departmental intranets.