Andrea Smith is an accomplished Executive HR professional with a proven ability to develop strategy and manage comprehensive employee benefit programs on behalf of large employers in diverse markets, union/non-union environments, and industries domestically and internationally—expertise in developing and implementing HR strategies that support business and financial objectives. Respected team leader focused on achieving business goals while achieving operational excellence. Fulfilling a challenging human resources leadership position that allows me to contribute my skills and expertise in strategy, design, and operations of a company's total rewards program encompassing medical, dental, vision, disability, leave of absence, voluntary programs, compensation and incentive programs, defined benefit and defined contribution, and wellness programs. 

 

Built and led proactive HR compensation and benefit programs for complex, service-based organizations undergoing acquisition, turnaround, rapid growth, and transitional business cycles. Derive success by consistently building, changing, and optimizing organizational infrastructures, technologies, processes, and measurement systems to increase value. Highly experienced in managing all aspects of HR Shared Services.

 

• Create vision/mission, build consensus, and align personnel around core revenue/profit growth objectives.

• Develop the resources to drive corporate culture change, create best-in-class organizations, and build market-focused teams while reducing overhead costs and unnecessary expenses.

• Design and implement solutions to complex business challenges while organizing and developing people and driving influence across organizational boundaries.

• Design competitive and cost-effective employee benefit and compensation programs.

• Excel in leadership development, succession planning, M&A integration, and process reengineering within union/non-union and multi-site work environments, including international.
   

Top Achievements: 

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Strategic Leadership & Vision 

Spearheaded a global HR transformation initiative aligning benefit strategies with a $5B corporate growth plan, resulting in a 15% decrease in benefits administration spend and a 10% reduction in talent acquisition costs.

 

Total Rewards & Compensation Strategy 

Designed and implemented a Total Rewards strategy across North America, optimizing compensation, benefits, and wellness programs, leading to a 20% improvement in employee retention over three years.

 

Mergers, Acquisitions & Organizational Restructuring 

Led HR Total Rewards integration for a $34.9B cross-industry spin-off, seamlessly transitioning 18,500 employees and harmonizing compensation, benefits, and HR policies within six months post-close.

 

Talent Management & Succession Planning 

Developed and executed an enterprise-wide succession planning framework for the Total Rewards Benefits Team, increasing internal leadership promotions by 30% within two years. MMC

 

Change Management & Workforce Transformation 

Directed change management strategies during a significant business unit spin-off, facilitating the transition of 8,000 employees with zero disruption to business operations and achieving a 95% employee retention rate post-transition. Labcorp spin-off of Drug Development division (Fortrea)

 

Employee Relations & Culture Building 

Revamped company-wide employee engagement initiatives through the development of targeted benefits focus groups, increasing HR engagement scores by 10% (varied per employer) in annual surveys, and significantly improving cross-functional collaboration. Labcorp, Fortrea & Clean Harbors

 

Data-Driven HR & Workforce Analytics 

Introduced predictive workforce analytics dashboards surrounding benefits utilization and onboarding benefits communications, providing real-time insights on attrition trends and enabling proactive retention strategies that reduced voluntary turnover by 6%. (Fortrea)

 

Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) 

Established a Benefits compliance framework to oversee all US Plan DB & DC, achieving 100% audit readiness and mitigating legal risks associated with all ERISA Plan appeals. Instituted and conducted ERISA Fiduciary Training for all committee members. (Created from scratch for all spin-off organizations GE Vernova and Fortrea) Served as a committee member on the Benefits Administration Committee (BAC) and the Benefits Investment Committee (BIC's) at all employers

 

Executive Presence & Board-Level Communication 

Served as HR liaison to the Benefits Investment Committee & Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors, presenting quarterly updates on executive compensation benchmarking, talent pipeline metrics, and overall Plan performance, investment strategies, along with di-risking approaches.

 

Technology Savvy & Digital HR Innovation 

Led the implementation of the Total Rewards Benefit function of a global HRIS platform, streamlining HR benefit operations to align with the shared services model and outsourcing strategy across decentralized environments within Labcorp and GE, and improving HR service delivery efficiency by 40% in both organizations.

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