Resume / Vitae

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Nicholas J. Graham, MA, PHR

960 Westwell Run, Johns Creek, GA 30022

Phone: (678) 735-1454       E-Mail: nicholasjg@gmail.com

Summary: EXPERIENCED HUMAN RESOURCES PROFESSIONAL in all facets of HR administration, strategy, and implementation.  Over 7 years of proven success at leadership, multi-tasking, attention to detail, time management, and professionalism have created this successful and valuable team player well-suited for fast-paced, high demand environments.

Qualifications Include:

• Staffing
• Benefits & Compensation Admin.
• Training & Development
• Legal Compliance
• Payroll Processing
• MS Office
• Employee Relations
• Multi-site Administration
• HRIS Administration
• International Business & Research

PROFESSIONAL HUMAN RESOURCES EXPERIENCE

Imedex, LLC. Alpharetta, Georgia 2006 to Present

Senior Human Resources Manager

• Oversee international medical education meeting planning company of 60 professional staff with varying degrees from Ph.D., M.D., N.D., M.A., to IT, Sales, and Meeting Manager roles.
• Part of Executive Management team reporting directly to General Manager and President that decided all first-line resolutions.
• Managed, trained, and resolved differences for overseeing staff with international and social work in Europe, Asia, South America, and elsewhere where local customs would at times clash with U.S. labor laws.
• Managed and oversaw one direct report as Human Resources Coordinator and Recruiter.

Atlanta Women’s Health Group, P.C., Atlanta, Georgia                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      2004 to 2006

Human Resources Director & Benefits Administrator

• Audited and overhauled entire structure and administration of 8 benefit programs for over 300 OB/GYN healthcare professionals in 20 office locations resulting in direct, immediate savings in excess of $15,000 for the country’s largest and most productive private OB/GYN provider.
• Counseled and reported directly to the Board of Directors, Medical Director, and Operations Administrator on compliance, benefit, and personnel issues for a $30 million company.
• Managed and resolved daily and escalated issues for all company benefit plans: Safe Harbor 401(k), Dental, Self-Funded Health Insurance, FSA, Self-Administered LTD and Life and AD&D, STD, Universal Life, and Term Life with Critical Care.
• Worked directly with 40 OB/GYN Physicians, 10 managers, vendors, legal counsel, recruiters, payroll, and Operations Administrator to complete all necessary functions of HR and Benefits Administration.
• Developed and managed communication strategies for effective multi-site administration across 20 locations in 7 counties.
• Revised and updated employee handbook to comply with current federal and state regulations including recent FLSA “Fair Pay” regulation changes.
• Instituted new, streamlined administrative HR processes resulting in overwhelming positive feedback from internal customers for increased efficiencies, communication, and cost-savings to them and the company.
• Coordinated and oversaw adoption of new TPA for self-funded health care insurance as well as run-out with existing TPA.
• Organized and facilitated departmental team building, HIPPA and OSHA training, employee relations, and all state and federal workplace regulation compliance.
• Oversaw and facilitated bi-weekly new hire orientation classes as well as all phases of hiring.
• Defended numerous successful DOL Unemployment Insurance appeal hearings, saving an average of $6,000 per successful case.
• Managed and performed Cultural Surveys across all locations.
• Assisted in roll-out of new document-imaging system (EMR) with HR files as first transition.

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (Randstad), Alpharetta, Georgia                                                                                                                                                                                                               2003 to 2004

Human Resources Generalist Contractor

• Developed and facilitated New Leader Assimilation workshops for managers and teams.
• Reported directly to HR Director and Manager to maintain alignment of daily human resources tasks with corporate and COBRA / FSA business unit goals.
• Developed, coordinated, and taught training modules for new HRIS bonus and time management systems to all executives and managers on-site and remotely off-site via webinar sessions.
• Oversaw and managed all facets of Staffing and Personnel initiatives including recruitment, screenings, selections, offer letters, New Hire Orientations, and exit interviews.
• Resolved all HRIS administrative and Payroll concerns for entire SBU staff of 350 professionals.
• Investigated, coordinated, and resolved daily employee relations, IT, and legal issues as needed.
• Assisted recent corporate rollout of Gallup survey through research audits, coordination, and distribution of communication materials.
• Developed and initiated new staffing procedures that reduced processing time by 50%.

Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         2001 to 2003

Business Management Instructor / Graduate Assistant

• Developed and taught 4 laboratory classes in Organizational Behavior in the Department of Management to 100 junior and senior level students in the College of Business.
• Researched, organized, and built database of over 5,000 photos for selection in new child labor law textbook and was cited in acknowledgments for “invaluable research assistance”.
• Received average of 6 (out of 7) on performance evaluations from students.

Alex Lee, Inc., Hickory, North Carolina 2002 to 2002

HRIS and Compensation & Benefits Intern

• Created, updated, and maintained database of over 500 job descriptions for over 10,000 employees to reduce costly redundancies, increase recruitment and selection efficiencies, and store historical record of job changes.
• Reported directly to the Director of Compensation & Benefits and HRIS and indirectly to the Vice President of HR.
• Initiated and developed standardized procedures to access job descriptions through coordination with executive, IT, and HR departments in a multi-site, $1 billion company.
• Performed other essential Compensation & Benefit and HRIS duties including hospital claim analyses, employee benefit booklet revisions, and research audits of employee staffing issues.

Western North Carolina Community Health Services, Asheville, North Carolina                                                                                                                                                                           1999 to 2001

Human Resources Generalist & Assistant Manager

• Recruited, hired, trained, and terminated employees of an off-site 8-person staff for a not-for-profit healthcare company operating a 6 bed adult care home for patients with HIV+ or AIDS, various mental disorders, personality disorders, and substance abuse issues.
• Assisted in managing payroll and budget plans in excess of $300,000.
• Managed employee and customer relations through mediation and facilitation sessions, which eliminated escalations requiring executive intervention.
• Coordinated and administered legal compliance with Federal, State, and Local regulations through training and development initiatives and regular audits of procedures and performance.
• Contributed to performance appraisal development, compensation strategies, employee development, and policy and manual revisions to improve overall facility operations.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Master of Arts, Industrial / Organizational Psychology and Human Resource Management

Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina                                                                                   May 2003

Bachelor of Science, Psychology (minor Sociology)

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia                           June 1994

RELEVANT COURSEWORK AND SKILLS

Graduate Training:

Compensation & Benefits, Employee Motivation, Employment and Labor Law, Job & Task Analysis, Organizational Development, Organizational Psychology, Performance Appraisal, Research Methods and Statistics, Staffing, Strategic Human Resource Management, and Training & Development.

Computer Skills:

ACE Awards, ADP PayExpert, Ariba Buyer 8.1, Avert, BrassRing Enterprise 6, CSS HRizon, eBonus, Enterprise e-TIME, Lotus Notes 6, MS Office (Access, Excel, FrontPage, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, Works), PeopleSoft v8.1, Placeware, SAS, SkillSoft, SPSS, SRS Freedom Chart Manager v4.5, advanced application and hardware diagnostics and repair.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT RESEARCH

Human Resource Masters Thesis

High Performance Work Practices of Foreign Invested Firms in China. An in-depth analysis and study of HR practices in Shanghai for assisting current and future foreign investment operations in China.

Human Resource Paper Submission

Strategic Human Resource Management for Competitive Advantage: Applications to Foreign Invested Firms in China. An informative contribution to the growing research of HR practices in China.  Submitted for acceptance to the IACMR professional conference of Chinese management practices in Beijing, China to industry leaders, governmental officials, and academic.

NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION

Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification, Charlotte, North Carolina, 2002

First Citizens International Scholar recipient for study abroad, June 2002

Graduate School Association Scholarship recipient, 2002

William R. Holland Fellows Program Member for Business Study and Research in China,

2001 – 2002:  Furniture Industry Transitions: Collaborative Business Models. Selected among 100 students for highly competitive honorary program to represent Appalachian State University and the United States in an academic ambassadorship and research role.

• Studied culture, language, history and business practices of the Chinese.
• Collaborated with students at Fudan University (top university in China) from Shanghai for six months.
• Hosted Fudan delegation in the United States for two weeks.
• Toured China for three weeks and studied at Fudan University with esteemed professors.
• Presented final paper at professional conference in Shanghai to industry leaders, political interests and educators.
• Entire exchange documented daily in the China Daily, the largest English newspaper in China, by two traveling reporters.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP

Academy of Management, since 2001

Atlanta Society of Applied Psychologists, since 2003

North Carolina Industrial Organizational Psychologists, since 2001

Organization Change Alliance, since 2004

Psychology Graduate Student Organization Executive Board member for Industrial

/ Organizational Psychology students, 2002 – 2003

Sigma Iota Epsilon, The National Honorary and Professional Management Fraternity, since 2001

Society of Human Resource Management, since 2001

Society of Human Resource Management – Atlanta, Logistics & Registration Manager, since 2003

Society of Industrial Organizational Psychologists, since 2001