Senior People Relations Manager

Description

Sprout Social is looking to hire a Senior People Relations Manager for the People Operations team.

Why join Sprout’s People Operations team?

As members of the Sprout People Operations team, we are champions of Sprout’s unique culture. Doing our jobs effectively means every candidate has an incredible experience with Sprout Social, every team member is successful from day one, and every business unit has the talent and support needed to meet and exceed aggressive goals.

As a Senior People Relations Manager, you'll play a key role in cultivating a positive and productive work environment where our Sprout team members and managers can thrive. You will be a trusted resource, offering guidance and support on a wide range of employee relations matters while ensuring fairness, consistency, and alignment with our company values. This role will be primarily focused on the North American region (US & Canada), with the expectation that it collaborates and supports regional People Business Partners in EMEA (Ireland, Poland, and the United Kingdom) and APAC (Australia, Singapore, and the Philippines) when needed.  While we expect this role to initially focus on building a strong process and enabling leaders, future needs will require deep partnership with business and People Team stakeholders, trend spotting, and recommendations for evolution. 

What you'll do:

• Employee Relations Strategy and Vision: Develop and execute a strategic vision for the first scalable, centralized employee relations function at Sprout Social.  This includes designing and implementing consistent, fair frameworks, policies, and procedures across the organization. Partnering to develop a compliance roadmap and crisis management plan.  Establishing a robust foundation for operational excellence by clarifying roles and responsibilities for global case management and implementing tools and systems for data- driven insights and analytics. 
• Employee Relations Execution & Oversight: Oversee complex employee relations investigations, ensuring thorough documentation, impartiality, and ensuring recommendations are in compliance with legal and company policies. In partnership with the PBP team, analyze employee relations trends and data to identify systemic issues and recommend preventative solutions.
• Corrective Action Programs and Systems: Partner with managers across all departments in North America to address performance issues, guiding performance improvement plans and disciplinary actions. Review and approve performance improvement plans to ensure consistency and fairness.
• Enable Managers on Effective Corrective Action Techniques: Develop and deliver training and resources to managers on performance management best practices, including coaching, feedback, and corrective action, promoting a culture of feedback and development.
• Policy & Compliance: Collaborate with Legal Counsel on complex legal matters and policy development and interpretations. Ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations in employee relations matters. Identify and mitigate potential legal risks related to employee relations issues. Stay up-to-date on federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations. Ownership of compliance training programs and possibly People Team Compliance roadmap.
• Process Improvement & Operational Excellence: Identify and address opportunities to streamline and improve employee relations and HR operational processes. Monitor performance management data to identify trends and opportunities for improvement.Culture Champion: Contribute to initiatives that promote a positive and inclusive work environment, aligned with Sprout Social's values.

What you’ll bring

The minimum qualifications for this role include:

• 9+ years of experience in employee relations, preferably in a fast-paced, high-growth environment  
• Strong knowledge of employment laws and regulations in the United States & Canada 
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and conflict-resolution skills
• Agility and willingness to learn and solve global Employee Relations Matters 

Preferred qualifications for this role include:

• Experience working with a global workforce in EMEA and APAC 
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team

How you’ll grow

Within 1 month, you’ll plant your roots, including:

• Experience Sprout’s in-depth onboarding, covering everything from our company mission and values and hearing directly from our company founders and senior leadership to training on our products, business model and the value that Sprout delivers to our customers.
• Make a plan with your manager to set initial priorities, align on expectations for your role, plant goalposts for your career growth and development at Sprout, and learn about Sprout’s Global People organization
• Meet with all members of the People team, especially the People Business Partners (PBPs) in North America, and get introduced to the EMEA and APAC PBP teams. Understand their roles and responsibilities and how the People Relations Manager will collaborate with them.
• Identify and build relationships with key managers, stakeholders,  and Legal Counsel with whom you will work regularly.
• Familiarize yourself with existing HR data, reports, and anonymized historical employee relations cases and data to understand common issues and trends within the North American region.
• Partner with our other People Business Partners to understand how they support their assigned teams and how your role will support their efforts. 
•  Begin to form initial observations and insights regarding the current state of our ER practices

Within 3 months, you’ll start hitting your stride by:

•  Begin actively participating in employee relations matters, build trust with stakeholders, and contribute to consistently applying policies and procedures.
• Begin to co-lead or support PBPs in conducting employee relations investigations, learning Sprout's approach and ensuring thorough documentation and impartiality.
• Partner with managers and PBPs in North America to understand and support the implementation of performance improvement plans and disciplinary actions, ensuring consistency and fairness.
• Observe and understand existing manager training or guidance related to performance management and corrective action. Identify potential areas for enhancement.
• Begin to provide guidance and support to managers and PBPs on interpreting and applying Sprout Social's policies and relevant employment laws in North America.
• Start to analyze employee relations trends and data (with guidance) to identify potential systemic issues within North America.
• Begin to connect with the EMEA and APAC PBPs to understand their regional contexts and potential areas for future collaboration.

Within 6 months, you’ll be making a clear impact through:

• Take ownership of managing employee relations cases within North America, proactively identify areas for improvement, and contribute to manager enablement efforts.
•  Lead and manage complex employee relations investigations in North America from intake to resolution, ensuring thoroughness, impartiality, and legal compliance.
• Partner with managers across North America to guide and review performance improvement plans and disciplinary actions, ensuring consistency and alignment with company values and legal requirements.
• Begin to develop and contribute to training materials or resources for managers on effective performance management, feedback, and corrective action techniques.
•  Identify and implement at least one opportunity to streamline or improve employee relations or HR operational processes within North America.

Within 12 months, you’ll make this role your own by:

• Establish yourself as a trusted expert in employee relations for North America, proactively contribute to a positive work environment, and demonstrate strategic influence in policy and process development.
• Proactively analyze employee relations trends and data for North America to identify systemic issues and develop strategic recommendations for preventative solutions and policy adjustments.
• Continuously identify and implement improvements to employee relations processes and HR operations, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness.
• Serve as a key resource and collaborator for the EMEA and APAC PBP teams on complex employee relations matters, sharing best practices and providing guidance as needed.
• Act as a champion for a high-performance culture, driving initiatives that foster engagement, innovation, and collaboration.
• Proactively seek opportunities to improve People programs and processes across the organization.
• Develop key metrics to track the effectiveness of employee relations initiatives and report on trends and outcomes to the People leadership team.
• Surprise us! Use your unique ideas and abilities to change the People Team in beneficial ways that we haven’t even considered yet.

Of course what is outlined above is the ideal timeline, but things may shift based on business needs and other projects and tasks could be added at the discretion of your manager.

Our Benefits Program

We’re proud to regularly be recognized for our team, product and culture. Our benefits program includes:

• Insurance and benefit options that are built for both individuals and families
• Progressive policies to support work/life balance, like our flexible paid time off and parental leave program 
• High-quality and well-maintained equipment—your computer will never prevent you from doing your best
• Wellness initiatives to ensure both health and mental well-being of our team
• Ongoing education and development opportunities via our Grow@Sprout program, employee-led diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and mentorship programs for aspiring leaders
• Growing corporate social responsibility program that is driven by the involvement and passion of our team members
• Beautiful, convenient and state-of-the-art offices in Chicago’s Loop and downtown Seattle

Individual base pay is based on various factors, including work location, relevant experience and skills, the responsibility of the role, and job duties/requirements. In the United States, we have two geographic pay zones. For this role, our current base pay ranges for new hires are:

• Zone 1 (New York, California, Washington): $136,400 (min), $170,500 (mid), $204,600 (max) USD annually
• Zone 2 (All other US states): $124,000 (min), $155,000 (mid), $186,000 (max) USD annually

The listed ranges represent the full earning potential in this position. Starting salaries for well-qualified new hires are typically around the midpoint of the range. These ranges were determined by a market-based compensation approach; we used data from trusted third-party compensation sources to set equitable, consistent, and competitive ranges. We also evaluate compensation bi-annually, identify any changes in the market and make adjustments to our ranges and existing employee compensation as needed.

Base pay is only one element of an employee's total compensation at Sprout. Every Sprout team member has an opportunity to receive restricted stock units (RSUs) under Sprout’s equity plan. Employees (and their dependents) are covered by medical, dental, vision, basic life, accidental death, and dismemberment insurance, and Modern Health (a wellness benefit).  Employees are able to enroll in Sprout’s company’s 401k plan, in which Sprout will match 50% of your contributions up to 6% with a maximum contribution. Sprout offers “Flexible Paid Time Off” and ten paid holidays. We have outlined the various components to an employee’s full compensation package here to help you to understand our total rewards package.

Sprout Social is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on identity- race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex (including sexual identity), age, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, veteran or military status, unfavorable discharge from military service, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, order of protection status, citizenship status, arrest record or expunged or sealed convictions, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local law. Because Sprout Social is a federal contractor, we affirmatively recruit individuals with a disability and protected veterans. Learn more about our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in our latest DEI Report.

If you require a reasonable accommodation for any part of the interview process or to submit your application, please email us at accommodations@sproutsocial.com. Include the nature of your request and your preferred contact information. We'll do everything we can to support your success during our recruitment process while upholding your privacy. Please note that only inquiries regarding accommodations will receive a response from this email address; other inquiries will not be addressed (e.g., you send your resume but are not requesting an accommodation). 

For more information about our commitment to equal employment opportunity, please click here (1) Equal Opportunity Employment Poster and (2) Sprout Social's Affirmative Action Statement. 

Additionally, Sprout Social participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations, as required by law.