Tomika T. Watkins
Summary
Dynamic and results-driven Human Resources Leader with over 9 years of progressive experience in HR strategy, talent acquisition, employee relations, and organizational development. Proven expertise in onboarding, workforce planning, change management, and driving compliance initiatives. Strong background in building cross-functional partnerships, implementing HR best practices, and optimizing HR operations to align with business objectives. Adept at managing complex HR projects and leading process improvement initiatives to enhance operational efficiency.
Overview
36
36
years of professional experience
Work History
HR Operations
Ascension Health
07.2018 - Current
- Drive onboarding and new hire orientation programs for healthcare professionals, ensuring compliance with labor laws and company policies across 130+ hires monthly
- Partner with HR Business Partners to resolve employee concerns and enhance the employee experience, resulting in a 20% improvement in employee engagement
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to redesign onboarding workflows, reducing time-to-hire by 10% and increasing candidate satisfaction
- Act as the HR liaison for department heads, ensuring smooth communication between leadership, HR, and employees during onboarding and beyond
- Key Achievements:
- Streamlined the recruitment and onboarding process, improving new hire retention by 12%
- Spearheaded the design and implementation of new functionalities in HR systems, resulting in improved user experience and data accuracy.
- Implemented an updated HRIS system, streamlining data management and improving overall efficiency in human resources operations.
Contingent Staffing Talent Acquisition,
Ascension Health
01.2017 - 06.2018
- Managed contingent workforce recruitment, sourcing, and onboarding across various healthcare facilities, partnering with hiring managers to meet critical staffing needs
- Built and maintained relationships with staffing agencies to ensure seamless hiring processes and compliance with internal policies
- Successfully led training for HR staff on sourcing and interviewing best practices, improving recruitment outcomes.
- Increased the quality of new hires by refining job descriptions, setting clear expectations, and establishing performance metrics for success.
- Managed a high-performing talent acquisition team, fostering professional development opportunities, setting performance goals, and providing continuous support for success.
Human Resources Specialist
Ascension Health
01.2014 - 01.2017
- Provided frontline HR support to employees, addressing inquiries related to benefits, payroll, and policy interpretations
- Conducted data analysis and user acceptance testing to streamline internal HR processes, resulting in increased efficiency and reduced errors
- Partnered with the Benefits Manager on open enrollment initiatives, improving the employee benefits experience and decreasing exception requests by 8%.
- Maintained personnel records and statistical data to establish accuracy and compliance with applicable regulations.
- Managed benefits administration for company-wide staff, ensuring timely processing and accurate recordkeeping.
- Administered employee leave requests in accordance with FMLA guidelines, maintaining compliance with regulations while providing necessary accommodations for staff members.
- Ensured compliance with federal, state, and local labor laws through regular audits and policy updates.
- Fielded employee inquiries related to insurance, pension plan, vacation, sick leave and employee assistance.
- Coordinated employee training programs to boost skills development and improve overall performance.
Assistant Branch Manager
Kemba Credit Union
04.2011 - 07.2013
- Led a team of 7 in branch operations, focusing on compliance, audit standards, and member retention
- Provided HR support for the branch by recruiting, training, and developing staff, and managing employee performance evaluations
- Played a pivotal role in resolving complex member issues and improving customer satisfaction through targeted interventions.
- Supported the Branch Manager with daily tasks, ensuring smooth branch functioning and effective communication amongst team members.
- Trained and developed new team members in alignment with branch service standards and objectives.
- Monitored daily branch activities, quickly identifying areas requiring improvement or corrective action to maintain operational excellence.
- Oversaw successful completion of internal audits with minimal findings, demonstrating strong adherence to bank policies and regulations.
- Responded to customer concerns, working with manager to significantly raise customer satisfaction ratings.
- Supervised and evaluated staff to help improve skills, achieve daily objectives, and attain advancement.
- Trained and mentored new employees, fostering a positive work environment that led to higher retention rates.
- Assisted in creating a welcoming branch atmosphere by maintaining cleanliness, organization, and visually appealing displays of promotional materials.
- Assisted in achieving branch sales goals by identifying potential cross-selling opportunities and promoting bank products and services.
- Coordinated staff schedules, maintaining optimal staffing levels during peak business hours for improved customer experience.
- Implemented process improvements to increase productivity.
- Reviewed credit applications for risk factors and credit worthiness.
- Collaborated with tellers, universal bankers and personal bankers to exceed sales goals.
Personal Banker
Old National Bank
01.2009 - 12.2011
- Provided customer service support, resolved complaints, and handled inquiries related to account openings and closings
- Researched and obtained relevant information regarding issues, explanations, and rule interpretation
- Reviewed membership and loan documents for completeness and accuracy
- Communicated banking laws and loan regulations to clients
- Verified credit and employment records
- Utilized strong interpersonal communication skills during client interactions, resulting in increased trust and fostering long-lasting relationships.
- Assisted customers with setting up or closing accounts, completing loan applications, and signing up for new services.
- Maintained compliance with bank policies and regulations while executing various financial transactions for customers.
- Generated new business by conducting thorough financial needs assessments and offering tailored products to clients.
- Improved customer satisfaction by providing personalized banking solutions and exceptional service.
- Managed deposits, withdrawals and wire transfers to process smooth banking transactions for clients.
- Promoted financial products by maintaining excellent service offering knowledge.
- Exceeded individual performance metrics consistently while maintaining exceptional levels of client satisfaction ratings throughout tenure as Personal Banker.
- Boosted sales of bank products through effective cross-selling and up-selling techniques.
- Leveraged advanced knowledge of banking products/services to deliver custom presentations that effectively addressed unique client needs.
- Collaborated with branch team members to achieve monthly sales targets and improve overall performance.
- Supported managers in implementing operational improvements that increased efficiency across the branch network.
- Trained new personal bankers, elevating team performance and service quality.
- Streamlined loan application processes, reducing wait times and improving client experience.
Contact Center Manager
Finance Center Federal Credit Union
09.1999 - 12.2008
- Direct and oversee the strategy, planning, and execution of the contact center, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives
- Performs Human Resources due diligence, including personnel evaluations, employment offers, and terminations
- Managed operational functions to included developing and training the Contact Center Staff, Wire Room
- Administrator and Mail Clerk
- Reviewed and approved loan applications
- Resolved elevated customer complaints, planned, directed, and conducted staff meetings
- Implement an omnichannel strategy to provide customers with an integrated and seamless experience across various channels
- Develop and implement metrics to track performance and drive continuous improvement in contact center operations
- Coach and mentor contact center staff to achieve performance objectives and foster a supportive work environment
- Maintain compliance with regulatory requirements and establish control activities to mitigate associated risks
- Evaluate and enhance operational rules and procedures to improve efficiency and effectiveness
- Processed wire transfers, US Savings Bond orders, Social Security Quick Starts and Travel Money Direct
- Administrated Bill Payer, Interaction Client (phone system) Financial Center¡ Online Banking and Money Line
- Created comprehensive training programs for new hires, resulting in faster onboarding and increased productivity.
- Mitigated escalated issues successfully by fostering strong relationships with internal stakeholders across various departments.
- Reached target KPIs consistently by closely monitoring agent performance, providing ongoing coaching, and addressing any gaps in knowledge or skill sets.
- Collaborated with other departments for seamless coordination of shared objectives and priorities within the organization.
- Increased first-call resolution rates through targeted training sessions focused on problem-solving techniques.
- Monitored call quality and provided individual constructive feedback to enhance performance and address areas in need of improvement.
- Trained team members on performance metrics and consumer behavior identification.
Human Resources Specialist
United States Army Reserve, US Army Reserve
01.1989 - 01.1997
Education
Master of Science - Human Resource Management
Indiana Wesleyan University
August 2024
Bachelor of Science - Management, Human Resource Management
Indiana Wesleyan University
October 2022
Courses SHRM Certification – Anticipated - undefined
December 2024
Currently Pursing) Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt - undefined
Skills
- Technical Skills ______
- HRIS Systems: Oracle PeopleSoft, SAP SuccessFactors, iCIMS
- HR Technologies: ServiceNow, iCIMS, PeopleSoft
- Project Management Tools: Microsoft Project, Smartsheet
- Data Analytics Tools: Excel (Advanced), Google Analytics
- Core Competencies ______
- Talent Acquisition
- Workforce Planning
- Employee Relations
- Conflict Resolution
- HR Strategy
- Organizational
- Development
- Labor Law
- Compliance
- Change Management
- Process Improvement
- HR Analytics
- Data-Driven
- Decision-Making
- Leadership
- Team Development
- Strategic Business Partnering
- Talent Management
- Employee
- Engagement
- HR Compliance
Human resources operations
Human resources compliance
Vault teller operations
Branch operations
Loan operations
Operations improvement
Human resources information system (HRIS)
Human resources understanding
Human resources development
Recruitment / human resources
Accomplishments
- Strategic HR Leadership - Coursera
- Advanced Talent Management - Coursera
- Emotional Intelligence at Work LinkedIn Learning
- HR Analytics: Driving Insights with Data - Coursera
- HR Project Experience ___________________
- Workforce Planning and Optimization Project – Kemba Credit Union (2013)
- Led a cross-functional team to analyze workforce data and implement strategic workforce planning across multiple business units, resulting in a 15% improvement in resource allocation and operational efficiency
- Collaborated with senior leadership to align workforce needs with business goals, ensuring optimal staffing levels during organizational growth and restructuring
- Change Management Initiative – Financial Center (2006)
- Spearheaded a change management initiative during the transition to a new HRIS system, training 50+ HR and operational staff on system functionality
- Developed and implemented communication strategies to ensure employee buy-in, reducing resistance and ensuring smooth system adoption.
Work Preference
Work Type
Full TimeWork Location
On-SiteRemoteHybridImportant To Me
Career advancementWork-life balanceCompany CultureHealthcare benefitsTimeline
HR Operations
Ascension Health
07.2018 - Current
Contingent Staffing Talent Acquisition,
Ascension Health
01.2017 - 06.2018
Human Resources Specialist
Ascension Health
01.2014 - 01.2017
Assistant Branch Manager
Kemba Credit Union
04.2011 - 07.2013
Personal Banker
Old National Bank
01.2009 - 12.2011
Contact Center Manager
Finance Center Federal Credit Union
09.1999 - 12.2008
Human Resources Specialist
United States Army Reserve, US Army Reserve
01.1989 - 01.1997
Master of Science - Human Resource Management
Indiana Wesleyan University
Bachelor of Science - Management, Human Resource Management
Indiana Wesleyan University
Courses SHRM Certification – Anticipated - undefined
Currently Pursing) Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt - undefined
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