Julie Cummings, who has worked in human resources for 16 years, began as a human resources team leader for Schreiber Foods in Green Bay, Wis., and now serves as the director of human resources at BKD LLP.
After six years on the board of directors for the Springfield Area Human Resources Association, Cummings assumed the role of chapter president this year. Cummings has also been a member of the Society of Human Resources Management since 1999.
During the past year, Cummings’ major role at BKD has been putting strategies into place to engage the staff and help them define their career paths, along with her ongoing responsibilities of managing benefit programs and compensation and feedback structures.
At BKD, one of her main challenges is identifying candidates who are best suited for BKD’s culture and successfully recruiting them in a competitive marketplace, she says.
“We are focusing on strategies that put recruiters on campus and in front of students and faculty more frequently,” Cummings says. “We are rolling out a new branding campaign to offer more consistent messaging and better connect with our target candidates.”
Providing a consistent and positive candidate experience during recruiting can be challenging, Cummings says.
“We are working toward strategies that bring recruiters together as a team,” she says. “We are offering tools to help recruiters deliver more consistently positive experiences throughout the hiring process. We are working with our Learning and Development Department to develop strong onboarding programs for employees of all levels and disciplines.”In 2011, BKD surveyed its entire employee base to measure engagement levels and better understand how the firm might improve as an employer. The firm also has moved to a focal-based appraisal system in which all employees receive evaluations and compensation adjustments at the same time each year.
Performance is now measured against updated core and functional competencies. Coaches and team members receive training about generational differences, personal goal setting and best practices for giving and receiving feedback.
Cummings led a comprehensive review of the firm’s health care benefits package in late 2011. BKD hired outside consultants and participated in a survey of 20 peer certified public accounting firms and more than 63 benefit plans. The review led to a 10 percent increase in the employer contribution to health insurance premiums for employees enrolled in the traditional plan and a 20 percent increase for those enrolled in the health savings account plan.
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