job description

Director of Human Resources.

I work for a pipeline manufacturer. We have operations in Tulsa, Houston, Europe and the Middle East. We have approximately 500 employees. There are production facilities in Tulsa and Houston. My major responsibility is being in charge of the Human Resources Department, which includes staffing, hiring, employee benefits, training and development, performance reviews, and anything else connected to the employees.

It depends what happens on each particular day. Each day is different. I might have to talk with or counsel an employee. If I have a meeting to go to, I'll be aware of that, but there is always something that comes up last minute. I try to set side a couple hours a day for recruiting and hiring, because we're in the process of expanding our plant. I write ads, interview people, talk with managers who need more employees to see what type of people they needengineers, welders, electricians and assemblers.

Hiring people. You have to decide who's qualified and who isn't. Once you decide who is qualified, you bring them in and talk to them. Then you talk with them, and talk with the hiring managers. If they are a good fit, you have to decide how much compensation is necessary.

This happens every so often. When an employee violates a company policy, they might have to be disciplined, and in some cases, terminated. And that's my job. If an employee has a history of being non-compliant, then they will be terminated. Terminating someone is quite difficult. I talk with the employee face-to-face, and also talk with his supervisor or manager. The employee usually has an idea of what's happening. It's not usually a surprise.

We did a salary study. When I first got to the company, they were losing a lot of employees because the salary wasn't competitive. So we did a study to see what other companies were paying. We conducted a market study that took several months. We put made recommendations to the company about how we should restructure some salaries and make adjustments. Senior management accepted our recommendation and put them into effect, Since then, employees have enjoyed a greater satisfaction level, and our turnover rate has decreased.

I report to the Chief Financial Officer, and he reports to the Chief Executive Officer. I'm the head of the Human Resources Department. I have six people reporting to me.

My boss (CFO) works in Tulsa, and I work in Houston, so I hardly see him face-to-face. Sometimes I go down to Houston, and sometimes he'll come up here. I talk to him by phone and e-mail all the time.

I think I have a good relationship with them. They trust me, and I respect them for what they do. I don't micromanage. As long as they get their work done, I'm not going to stand over their shoulder and tell them how to do it.

It's pretty casual. It's a manufacturing facility, so people in the production plant are blue-collar workers. It's pretty low-key. In the office, it's that same way. People don't wear a shirt and tie.

It's business causal. On Fridays, we can wear jeans. If people go out to the plant a lot, those people can wear jeans. They have to wear proper safety equipment, including steel-toed shoes and protective eyewear, which the company provides.

education & career path

In college, I majored in business and accounting. I wanted to be an accountant. I started out at an oil company as an accountant. I passed my CPA (Certified Public Accountants) exam. After a year and half, I was promoted to a supervisor in the accounting department. I supervised people old enough to be my parents, so that was a learning experience for me. I worked hard and tried to lead by example. My employees saw that I was serious, and we got along well.

After two years, I decided to attend University of Tulsa Law School while working full time. I had classes at night and worked full time during the day. Regular law school takes three years, but because I was working at the same time, it took four years. At that point, I wanted to do something to combine accounting and my law degree. I left the oil company and went to a CPA firm. They were looking for someone to help them start retirement plans and pension plans. With my accounting degree and legal education, they hired me to do that. I worked at the CPA firm doing a lot of tax work, 401(k) plans, and pension plans. I later got a job offer from an energy company in Tulsa, working in their employee benefits department. I had previous experience with pension and 401(k) plans from working in the CPA office, so I was appointed manager of special projects in the Employee Benefits Department for the energy company. From there, I went on to work for a natural gas company, and finally joined the HR department at my current company.

Probably not. I started in accounting. To go from accounting to human resources is kind of an unusual path. Most people starting out in HR will study communications, or public administration, or something similar.

My law degree still comes into play because I have to review contracts, such as pension plans, 401(k) plans and health insurance, as well as other items at the request of senior management.

my day

Even though the regular workday is 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., I try to get in at 7:00 a.m. to get work done before everyone else arrives.

The typical workday ends at 5:00 p.m., but I usually stay until at least 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. I've stayed as late as 8:30 p.m. Sometimes during the day, you may have certain things you are planning to do, but because you get called to a meeting or something, you might not have a chance to complete anything on your to-do list, and end up having to stay later or take your work home.

Get a cup of coffee.

I listen to voicemail, turn on my computer and check e-mail. A lot of people send e-mail from home. If I didn't get all my e-mail from the day before, I respond to that. If I have big projects, I try to work on some of that before everyone else gets in, because once everyone starts coming in, you have interruptions and at times it's hard to find time to work on those projects.

There's a lunch break, but I often just bring my lunch and eat at my desk. I figure if I work 30 minutes more in the middle of the day, then that's 30 minutes less that I have to work at night. I don't do that all the time, but if there is something I can work on or read during lunch, I'll just do that during the break.

There's a lot of variety. Because it's a small company and department, you can do a lot of different things. At a bigger company, you might have just one or two specific functions because you have a lot more people in your department. But at a smaller department, everyone has a lot more responsibilities. Everyone has wide variety of responsibilities. You aren't doing the same thing day after day. It makes things very interesting.

salary & lifestyle

In the Tulsa market, like most places, it depends on the size of the company and responsibilities, but it ranges between $70,000 and $125,000.

Yes, we have a great bonus program. Depending on how the company does, and whether various objectives are met and how much each employee has contributed, there are certain bonus levels. You have certain criteria you have to meet, and based on that, depending on the company's return on assets and things of that nature, you can participate in that program. Besides the bonus program, we also have employee benefits, such as a health care plan. For health coverage, the company pays 75% of the premium. Say, for example, family health coverage for a month is $800. The company will pay $600, and that family only has to pay $200. It's the same way for dental and vision insurance. The company pays life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment insurance. The company also has 401(k) plan to which employees can contribute, and the company matches employees' contributions to a certain level.

For human resources, there are different levels. For an HR employment assistant, entry level may be $30,000. You can move up to the next level, and then you move on to the next position.

Usually, people starting right out of school begin at entry level. But if they work for another company in a different capacity for a year or two, and then enter the HR field, they could start at a higher salary.

On a typical week, I'm looking at 60 to 65 hours. And that's probably typical; it might be a little bit higher than others. But because we're a small company, everyone has to work a little bit harder and a little bit longer.

Well, you're expected to work as much as it takes to get the job done. I usually work from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. I often work an hour or two at night, and sometimes on Saturday. Occasionally, I'll work on a Sunday.

I travel maybe once or twice a month to Houston because my boss is in Houston. A lot of people in my office don't travel at all.

I belong to some professional organizations. I don't have to go to the events they put on, but I like to go because it's good to stay current. Usually there are luncheons or meetings during the week, or maybe in the evening. They are all optional.

Stability is pretty high because companies can't really get by without HR departments. They need us. If I weren't doing it, they would have to hire someone else to do the same function.

I may retire in a couple of years. As far as business, a lot of companies used to have retiree health insurance. But because they have gotten so expensive, a lot of companies don't have that anymore. We have a 401(k) plan that's a taxed deferred retirement plan. If you put money in that, the company matches a certain amount, and that can be used for a person's retirement.

pros, cons & trends

The most satisfying part is when something you've been working on has positive results. It may be someone you've hired who fits well with other employees, and they work as a team, and are very productive without workplace issues. Another thing is when people come to my office and tell me they appreciate what they do. I've had people come by and say they've never had anyone treat them the way I do, and they really appreciate it. I don't like terminating employees. Some people I've had to fire become uneasy because they may have a family at home, and all of a sudden they don't have an income, but it's something they've caused themselves.

I've been there six or seven months, and I've probably had to terminate six or seven people.

I always try to work ahead and work a little harder than everybody else. I may not be the smartest person, but if it comes down to getting the job done, I can outwork anybody, so sometimes that takes more time. It would be nice to come home at 5:00 p.m. every day and do things, but sometimes you stay late, work on the weekends. There have been times I've had to change my plans on the weekends. Sometimes you have to sacrifice things you like to do in order to do your job.

A lot more things have become automated because everyone has a computer available to them. It makes things easier, but puts more pressure on people. You have a lot more information coming in, you're expected to remember more information, and you have more information at your fingertips to work with. Another thing is, in HR you have to comply with all of the laws. You have certain hiring laws, certain laws on discrimination, equal employment laws, benefits and IRS and Department of Labor requirements you have to follow. Those laws change all the time. You have to be aware of when they change and how they change. When they do change, you have to make sure you understand the changes and implement the changes. It's a constant process of being updated.

Probably growing. More companies are hiring more people, and they need more employees. With the regulations and laws being more complex, it requires more time and more effort to stay current.

Salaries are probably improving because the economy is improving. Lifestyle is probably the same. You're still expected to get the job done.

Yes. If the economy is doing well, then business will improve, and we'll need more people to work. The more people buying our product and using our services, the more people we need to produce our product. If the economy downturns, then we won't need as many employees, and we may have to reduce the workforce.

advice

You have to enjoy working with people. Some people may be a good worker, but they may not want to be around people. We hire people, fire people, people ask us questions about employee benefits, or training. We constantly interact with people. If you don't like doing that, the HR department isn't your place.

I think the single biggest factor is the ability to work hard and be focused. You should also be able to prioritize, because you have so many things going on at once. Multitasking is essential, but you have to have an ability to focus on the job at hand.

There are internships. There are organizations, like the Society of Human Resources Management. They have student memberships for college students interested in HR. The students can join that organization for reduced fees. You get exposed to HR functions, you get magazines and you get a chance to stay updated and know more about the field.

I was at the CPA firm, and a friend of mine who was working at and the energy company told me about a job opening they had. He knew I was already working with retirement plans and pension plans. That's how most people get new jobs these days through networking, not reading an ad in the newspaper or seeing it on TV. It's knowing somebody who works there and says, 'I know our company has a job opening and I think you are right for it.'

Yes, that's why it's always good to network a lot. If you didn't try to get out and know someone, you wouldn't have as many contacts. That's why it's good, for anybody to network and get to know as many people as possible in your field.