CAFCU

Vice President Business Development

Vice President Branch Operations

Vice President Risk Management

Real Estate Lending Manager

Member Solutions Manager

Lending Supervisor

Loan Officer

LSI (Lending Solutions, Inc.)

Positions Held:
Senior Loan Officer
Loan Officer

Senior Loan Officer

HealthCare Associates Credit Union

Home Equity Loan Officer

Unbreakable. 🦋 Live your best life and be kind along the way! Live with intention and authenticity!

I am currently seeking a new career opportunity with an organization who aligns with my core values of integrity, kindness, and authenticity. 

Although my career to date has been in the financial services industry, I am open to exploring new possibilities which incorporate my passions and leverage my strengths, my skill sets, and my natural abilities. 

For more than the past 18 years, I was grateful to have worked at CAFCU, a not-for-profit credit union headquartered in the Chicagoland area. I believe in the credit union movement of “people helping people” by spreading knowledge about financial wellness to others. 

In my most recent role, I was responsible for executing strategies and coordinating efforts pertaining to Business Development for 20 branches throughout the United States. During my tenure, I was fortunate to work in several departments including Business Development, Branch Operations, Risk, Real Estate, Member Solutions and Lending. 

As a former member of Senior Management, I was highly involved in helping to execute and achieve the Strategic Initiatives for the organization. I was also a founding member of the Employee Engagement Committee, a member of the organization’s Rate Committee, and a member of the Membership Committee. I received the President’s Award for managerial excellence in 2013.

My personal platform is living life kindly, authentically, and with integrity. Kindness is free and contagious—and so simple to do! It breaks down barriers that exist amongst us all. It’s okay that we are different—we should each be our authentic selves—but we must find a way to coexist. 



Melissa Christian

Marriott International

Director of HR Operations

Hilton

* Part of Task Force Team (April 2018) to convert our Doubletree from franchise to Hilton Managed
Hotel (Orientation and New Hire Paperwork sessions for all Union and Non-Union Team Members)
* Recruited, hired, and E-verified 68 temporary employees during 3 week city strike in September
* HRIS (TMX) and new payroll system (Unifocus) training for conversion.
*Maintained Human Resources Department momentum while corporate recruited for Department
Director
* Currently responsible for administration of new hires, terminations, transfer and any position
changes.
* Responsible for Orientation and corporate initiated training; manage and track all QA Training.
* Initiate all Team Member Relations activities.
* Serve as Community Outreach Chairperson.
* Responsible for Local 1 and Local 134 Union Reporting – Health & Welfare Benefits, Pension, and Prepaid Legal.
* Responsible for administering FMLA, LOA and Workers Comp processes.
* Keep up the Marlin (computer board), Bulletin Board and write DT Daily Newsletter to promote and
celebrate our Team Members and Departments of the Month and Hilton’s annual catch me program.
* Received Leader of 3rd Quarter 2019 Award.
* Received Leader of the Year 2019 Award.

Human Resources Manager

*Facilitate all training on property – Orientation (within 30 days of hire), Reunion Meetings, Make it Right (resolving guest issues training); Facilitate all Corporate directed training for all position levels; New Hire Onboarding and Brand Culture Training
*Experience with Taleo System Recruitment 
* Revived the Make a Difference Committee, formed to include Guest Service Relations & Team Member
Relations sub-committees – saw increase in Satisfaction and Loyalty Tracking (SALT) scores – put us in the green zone.
* Community Outreach – activities this year included partnering quarterly with Ronald McDonald House,
annually with Heart Association of Chicago, annually with Red Nose Day Organization, annual Earth Day Park Cleanup.
*Facilitate and promote Hilton's Catch Me program – a summer-long recognition program where team
members can be recognized by their peers and guests – 2nd Place!
*Responsible for Bi-weekly PTO Reports, Local 399 dues deduction Reports, 401k deduction reports all retrieved from PeopleSoft.
*Responsible for biweekly payroll reconciliation and bi-weekly payroll change audit
*Enter all promotions, rate increases, annual merit increases into our HRIS system 
*Responsible for bi-annual I9 audit.
*Managed the HR Department solo after being on board only three weeks – challenging but successful period with rewarding results and again solo for a period of 6 weeks during transition of DOHR transfers
* Nominated Leader of the Quarter 3 times in past year for improving team member relations and recognition programs and ideas; received Make a Difference Medallion for Team Member Survey success; Leader of the Quarter 2016.
*Team Member Relations – wrote winning nomination for 2 Spirit Award Winners - $350 Award each (2015 and
2016); wrote winning nomination for 1 CEO Winner - $10,000 award (2017) – only 8 essays chosen out of 900 global entries – one of the most rewarding moments of my career
* Publish Embassy Suites stories on Make A Connection Website.

Kokua Hospitality, LLC

Participated in six weeks of union contract negotiations that led to a 3 year agreement despite negotiations being stalled almost 3 years prior to my hire and ultimately raising Employee Survey scores by almost 20%.

Reorganized entire HR office in an effort to streamline processes for efficiency and in order to be compliant with state and federal laws	

Manage Workers Compensation and proactively co-chair Safety Committee	

Administer medical, dental, vision, life insurance and 401k for 95 union and non-union employees.	
Draft internal announcements, documents and policies as needed.

Manage all phases of recruitment, including defining hiring management needs and posting
available positions.	

Advise managers on organizational policy matters and recommend needed changes.

Serve as a link between management and employees by handling questions, interpreting and
administering Local 1 and Local 399 contracts and helping resolve work-related problems.

Director of Human Resources

Managed Workers Compensation — reduced employee accidents and lost time
incidents by 50%.

Administered benefits--health, dental, life, 401k and transit program for for 243 union and
non-union employees. 

Managed all leaves of absence, personal and FMLA adhering to state and federal laws. 

Provided coaching and counseling as part of disciplinary processes when necessary, i.e. when Director of HR was unavailable. 

Actively involved in Labor Relations on property level with positive results. 

Responsible for month end reports including HEREIU Local 1 Contribution,Pre-paid Legal and Pension, Local 134 Contribution and Pension. 

Recruited for all management and hourly positions and maintained a strong retention rate--this included recruiting for and hiring 25 new positions for the opening of our new restaurant in February of 2009.

Supervised and mentored our HR Coordinator.

Proactively co-chaired the Safety Committee.

Very active member of CARE Committee--primarily Hilton'sTeaching Kids to Care--hosting and facilitating projects at Maria's Shelter, Chicago Charter Schools and Jesse Brown VA Medical Center

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts

Focused primarily in Workers Compensation, Health & Safety, Employee Relations and all other tasks as delegated to me by Director of HR.  

Maintained streak of 319 days without a lost time incident; perfect safety record for 1st and 2nd Quarter—brought our property’s standing up from 49th place to 6th place (out of 55 properties).  

Significantly reduced the number of employees on light duty by managing more closely all work related incidents

Co-chaired Safety Committee, Service Plus Committee (Employee Recognition) and was selected by GM to join him and 4 other members on Steering Committee designed solely to provide better understanding of Local 1 Bargaining Agreement

Responsible for planning and executing Colleague appreciation functions, summer and holiday receptions

Ran interfacing of HRIS  to import to Payroll systems on bi-weekly basis when needed

Posted open positions on-line whenever necessary

Responsible for employee exit interviews and tracking

Assistant Director, Human Resources

Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel

Human Resources Manager & Benefits Specialist

Successfully transitioned our company from Ceridian Payroll System to ADP’s Payforce® in middle of year with union contract increases and non-union merit increases effective concurrently.

Maintained productivity in the HR department when Director took a sudden leave of absence for six months.

Worked closely and cooperatively with our Accounting/Payroll Department to establish hotel objectives.

Responsible for all new hires, including orientation and signing off of initial paperwork in compliance with state and federal laws and as directed by our corporate office and its policies.

Responsible for recruiting qualified employees including interns from local and international colleges, posting jobs on-line, posting in public space area of our property, and recording job hot-line message on a weekly basis 

Enrolled all union employees as well as notify HEREIU and Local 399 of all new hires and any terminations; reconcile HEREIU Contribution Report and Pre-Paid Legal invoice for 140 union employees; generate and send quarterly report of active union employees including job classifications to HEREIU

Have developed very strong interpersonal and communication skills, working equally well one-on-one or in team settings

Expanded and continue to expand my knowledge in the different realms of HR Management including strategic management, workplace planning, employee and labor relations, compensation and benefits, occupational health, safety and security

Implemented benefits including health, dental, vision and 401k for 60 non-union employees--this included pooling literature together in welcome packet, enrolling employees on-line, and reconciling benefit invoices at end of month, terming benefits and sending Cobra notices for termed employees. 

Administered benefit enrollment for 145 union employees as well as notified HEREIU Local 1 and Local 399 of all new hires and any terminations; reconciled HEREIU Local 1 contribution report and Pre-paid Legal invoice for 140 union employees; generate and send quarterly report of active union employees including job classifications to HEREIU Local 1.

Benefits Specialist

Earned reputation for going above and beyond Concierge responsibilities to ensure guest satisfaction.

Regarded by guests as consummate professional committed to providing impeccable service.

Handled high volume telephone communications.

Implemented new operational procedures at the Concierge desk making operations run much more smoothly and efficiently.

Maintained membership in the Chicago Hotel Concierge Association.

Concierge

A Human Resources Professional who communicates and collaborates effectively with all levels of personnel by relying on excellent interpersonal skills, outstanding guest service and a solid expertise in human resources management.

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The Battle

Melissa Christian

Maria Monahan

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