Samantha Rylicki
Chicago,IL
Summary
Strategic, SHRM-CP certified Human Resources professional with 4+ years of progressive experience and a people-first approach. Applies curiosity, sound judgment, and thorough analysis to understand complex situations and build efficient, sustainable HR solutions that balance employee needs with business priorities.
Overview
1
1
Certification
6
6
years of professional experience
Work History
Human Resources Specialist
Consumers Credit Union
Lake Forest, IL
03.2025 - Current
- Own the end-to-end leave of absence process for approximately 50 cases annually, conducting employee intake, assessing complex circumstances to identify leave and/or workplace accommodation needs, and coordinating appropriate internal and third-party processes.
- Coordinated leave administration across employees, managers, payroll, and third-party vendors, managing LOA timecards and reconciling third-party payments with PTO to ensure accurate pay and leave timelines.
- Led two major redesigns and ongoing improvements to the LOA and workplace accommodation process, leveraging employee feedback and operational trends to improve consistency, scalability, pay accuracy, and employee experience.
- Developed and delivered LOA and workplace accommodation training for business groups and new managers, guiding recognition of potential leave or accommodation needs and engagement with HR.
- Conducted voluntary exit interviews and aggregated recurring themes to provide actionable employee experience insights to HR Business Partner team.
Total Rewards Specialist
Consumers Credit Union
Lake Forest, IL
08.2023 - 03.2025
- Redesigned tuition reimbursement process, enhancing program administration and employee experience.
- Administered employee benefit, leave, recognition, tuition reimbursement, wellness, and engagement programs, serving as primary resource for employee inquiries and escalations.
- Collaborated with employees, vendors, and internal stakeholders to address benefit and HR-related issues, ensuring smooth program administration.
Human Resources Coordinator
Consumers Credit Union
Lake Forest, IL
05.2022 - 08.2023
- Facilitated background checks and onboarding for 216 new hires, ensuring compliance with pre-employment requirements and enhancing overall onboarding experience.
- Processed employee movement transactions in UKG Pro, including promotions, transfers, and status changes, while maintaining accurate tracking and reporting for workforce changes.
- Implemented centralized leave-of-absence tracking and developed standardized workflow clarifying responsibilities among employees, managers, HR, payroll, and third-party vendors.
Senior Legislative Reporting Intern
Hannah News Service
Columbia, SC
11.2020 - 05.2022
- Documented South Carolina Legislature committee proceedings and tracked legislation using online database to ensure accurate legislative records.
- Assisted reporters in gathering information and verifying facts.
- Conducted research on current events and trends for news articles.
- Drafted concise summaries of news stories for publication.
- Created onboarding curriculum and trained new hires in collaboration with community leaders and team members to enhance information accuracy.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - Political Science, Business Administration
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SCSkills
- Leave of absence administration
- Benefits administration
- HR compliance
- Process improvement
- Employee engagement
- Employee listening
- Workforce analysis
- UKG Pro
Certification
- SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP), Society for Human Resource Management, May 2024-November 2027
Timeline
Human Resources Specialist
Consumers Credit Union
03.2025 - Current
Total Rewards Specialist
Consumers Credit Union
08.2023 - 03.2025
Human Resources Coordinator
Consumers Credit Union
05.2022 - 08.2023
Senior Legislative Reporting Intern
Hannah News Service
11.2020 - 05.2022
Bachelor of Arts - Political Science, Business Administration
University of South Carolina