Issue No. 14
January 2010
In This Issue
Succession Planning
Who We Are
HR Consulting
Succession Planning

by Elaine M. Chaffee
Executive Vice President
Career Transitions, LLC

Many of us believe we are slowly coming out of the recession. What does this mean for firms that perhaps cut too deep and impacted those employees they know now will be difficult to replace? Some industries are experiencing a dramatic increase Succession Planningin business depending on their product/service and consumer demand. Not only will companies have difficulty in recruiting talent to their organization as more and more people are needed, they will be concerned with retaining the most talented who remain in the organization. As the job market opens up, these employees know that they will be more marketable. Their motivation to stay or leave will be driven by the culture, position within the organization, salary, benefits, and could include other factors. However, the key to retaining that person(s) could be whether the company has a formal Succession Plan that they actively utilize. What a formal plan communicates to these talented employee(s) is that at any point in time they know they are on a developmental track to move to another position they desire, without having to leave the organization. Even if an employee is not completely satisfied with their current position, all other factors being neutral, the knowledge that there are opportunities within the company and the employee is on a developmental plan make a difference.

Succession Planning is a process to ensure that employee(s) are recruited and developed so the company can fill key roles from within when necessary. This process is on-going and should be evaluated on an annual basis within the organization. A Plan also requires commitment of the leaders of an organization to be effective.

Frequently, the HR function within an organization has the responsibility to ensure that the plan is continually able to meet the strategic direction of the company. One must anticipate the future needs of the organization, evaluate human resources, assess, develop and monitor what should be considered as "human capital" required by the organization's strategy.

Many organizations have methods of assessment to monitor the succession planning process. These methods can vary depending on business goals and the company culture. In recruiting, the culture of an organization should be a primary consideration as to whether candidate will fit the company or not. The greater the "cultural fit" of the candidate to the position, the more successful the person will be in reaching the organizational goals.

We know there will eventually be a demand once again for effective Managers. This could be heightened even more so, due to the retirement of many baby boomers which will produce a sharp decline in the ranks of available personnel. The strategic importance of succession planning has become a top priority to those organizations that want to be the most successful in this global economy. Will your organization be one of those? Career Transitions, LLC can assist you with this process of developing an effective Succession Plan. Contact us at 800-800-3617 to learn more about Succession Planning or visit our website at www.careertransitionsllc.com.

Who We Are
Amy Szuba
Senior Contract Recruiter
Angie Fitzpatrick
Manager, Professional Accounts
Brenda Comer
Office Manager
Brian Hulecki
Senior Search Consultant
Elaine Chaffee
Executive Vice President
Elizabeth Muellner
Director, Career Management Services
Jeff Tuholski
General Manager
John Milletics
Client Relations Associate
Kristin Jarrin
Senior Contract Staffing Recruiter
HR Consulting
Career Transitions, LLC offers solutions for Human Resource Consulting Services. Our HR Consulting Group is led by Elaine Chaffee, Executive Vice President of Career Transitions, LLC. Elaine's background includes Operations, HR Management and Consulting within the manufacturing and service industries. She has over 25 years of HR professional experience which includes Executive Leadership positions, and as CEO for her own HR Consulting practice. She has worked for both private and public corporations and has experience in Strategic & Succession Planning, Business Leadership, and Divestitures/Acquisitions/Due Diligence. When operating her own HR Consulting firm, she served as a retained HR Consultant for both manufacturing and private companies, in addition to handling HR Project work for clients in diverse industries including municipalities and the service industry.

Candidate Monthly "Hot" List:

Candidates Available for Direct Hire
Engineering Professionals
Candidate #BH1704542 - Director of Operations
BSME; Led N. A. engineering and co-led global product data management (PDM) implementation team; developed team's operating procedure, 10% below budget and 100% on time. Improved global engineering efficiency, data content, and data access by creating 100% global PDM standards utilizing regional (America, Europe, Asia) best practices obtained via daily teleconferences and semi-monthly face-to-face meetings. Verified 100% PDM standards compatibility with global SAP system to provide 40% estimated computer maintenance savings at Go-Live versus stand-alone regional IT systems. Improved existing PDM data quality 50% applying global standards prior to migration.

Candidate #BH1704152 - Director of Engineering
BSME; Directed Engineering activities at multiple locations, including new product development, testing, certification, technical support, and document and data management. Implemented Lean office philosophy through leadership of Kaizen events and Value Stream Mapping. Implemented paperless electronic publishing and distribution program for Engineering documents and data. Developed a Company Intranet as a centralized information resource. Eliminated non value adding activities resulting in improved workflow with reduced staffing.

Candidate #BH1698360 - Senior Manufacturing Engineer
Senior Manufacturing Engineer - MS / BS; Responsible for equipment and associated processes in multiple assembly plants. Launch new programs and purchase necessary equipment. Performed quality audits and applied SPC principles. Provided capital forecasting. Led a small team to design and build a brake leak tester instead of purchasing one, resulting in a $60,000 savings while increasing productivity and improving quality in the assembly plant. Skilled at Red X (Shanin). ...more
Information Technology Professionals
Candidate #JT46375 - Senior Database Developer
Implements high quality database solutions for enterprise-wide systems. Database platforms include Oracle, SQL Server, SQL Server Express, Sybase, and Microsoft Access. Experience includes normalized database schema for OLTP features; OLAP data store for portfolio analysis and reporting; and stored procedures, triggers, or ad hoc queries.

Candidate #JT50294 - SAP Analyst and Programmer
IT professional with broadly diverse expertise encompassing data migration, hardware and software, systems analysis, programming, applications development, implementations, and technical support. Migration experience includes Mainframe legacy systems to SAP and has been involved in several SAP implementations. SAP technical skills include ABAP programming and LSMW.

Candidate #JT18616 - IT Project Manager or Sr. Business Analyst
PMP Certified with strong experience as an IT Project Manager. Dynamic and bottom line focused with proven success in developing and analyzing corporate strategies, identifying and implementing innovative technology solutions that align with business strategies, and delivering outstanding results to significantly enhance bottom line performance. ...more
Accounting Professionals
Candidate #BH48181 - Tax Accountant
BS, CPA; Prepare both consolidated and separate company, federal and multi-state business tax returns. Prepare federal and state returns, quarterly estimates, and tax planning for high net worth individuals. Perform audits, reviews, and compilations for clients with related tax work. Substantially increased firm participation in local charitable events for various organizations. Financial statements, reconciliations, supporting schedules and documentation). Background in public and private entity finances, gained through audit and tax compliance work.

Candidate #BH49060 - Controller
MBA, BA; Served on cross functional team developing plan, outlining strategies, and evaluating process flows for the shared service Accounting department. Participated in accounting for Business Integration and Divestiture. Business Integration; set up general ledger in AS400, identified financial statement division, and worked with business development staff. Business Divestiture; created accounting entries to close business, helped identify inventory and fixed asset values for sale, and was part of the team to communicate action plans to management. ...more
Supply Chain Professionals
Candidate #BH49325 - Supply Chain Director
MBA, BS, CPM; Managed Global spend that grew from $180M to $530M across four plants in two countries. Managed $4.3M department budget. Maintained department compliance to FDA GMP 820.50, Sarbanes-Oxley, and ISO 13485 regulations. Created Small Business Liaison Officer function for government reporting. Created Commodity Oriented Requirements Evaluation (CORE) documents.

Candidate #BH1697609 - Purchasing Supervisor
BS; responsible for coordination of the challenging, global friction commodity. Responsible for friction purchases exceeding $120 million annually, and contracts for multiple locations in the Americas, Europe, and China. Developed, worked closely with Executive Management and Engineering, and implemented both regional and global commodity strategies to support global division goals. Implemented long-term, purchase and supply agreements with top 90 percent of supply base. successful development and implementation of special projects including; e-bidding, cost calculating (Pro-Calc), best-in-class' friction model development, and supplier ranking/selection tools. ...more
Sales/Marketing Professionals
Candidate #BH1659320 - Sales Manager
BS (Management Supervision); business-to-business selling. Closing rate of over 60%. Demonstrated skills in consistently achieving sales quotas. Extensive experience in high volume procurement in manufacturing and distribution operations. Ability to achieve cost, quality, and delivery objectives through effective vendor selection and negotiations.

Candidate #BH47797 - Business Unit Manager
MBA / BSIE; Engineering - Financial Analysis - Business Management. Increased revenue $6 million. Confirmed competitive manufacturing processes by coordinating product cost benchmarking efforts against competitor products. Led 6-member sales pricing team for $300 million in annual sales acquisition quotes and managed pricing for business unit with $1.6 billion annual revenue (North America division). Represented quoting/pricing function on product cross-functional teams and represented commercial issues. ...more
Candidates Available for Contract Or Contract-to-Hire
Engineering Professionals
Candidate #KJ50101 - Design Engineer
24 years of experience as a Design Engineer. Experience includes: 24 years drawing in 2D and 18+ years of experience drawing in 3D. Has used the following CAD systems: ProEngineer, CATIA, Unigraphics and SPRC on both windows and Unix environments.

Candidate #AS12645 - Design Engineer
Over 20 years of experience as a Design Engineer. Has15+ years of drawing in 2D and 15+ years drawing in 3D including 5,000 hours, which is the equivalent to several years of experience with ProEngineer. Has designed parts for the automotive, aerospace and medical device industries.

Candidate #KJ31846 - Project Engineer
Engineering professional with proven project management, workflow process consulting, performance improvement, organizational management, CAD, and technical services, while applying Total Quality Management principles. Well versed in regulatory compliance as it applies to environmental issues, storm water quality management, sewer separation, site location issues, and zoning ordinances. ...more
Information Technology Professionals

Candidate #AS49815 - Senior QA Engineer
Over 5 years experience implementing and administering Microsoft, VMware and Citrix virtualization solutions. Able to effectively apply virtualization concepts and technologies such as server consolidation, fencing, blade servers, Storage Array Networks, sysprep etc. to solve complex resource and application environment challenges. Over 8 years experience administering and validating complex financial applications installed on enterprise class databases, networks and operating system environments. Over 8 years experience using, creating, implementing and documenting change and source control processes.

Candidate #AS49832 - Systems Engineer
CCNA and MCSE IT professional with 10 years experience. Experienced with HyperV and VMware. Has supported client with 175+ servers. 10 years Network Design and implementation and 8 years Cisco IOS Networking Well versed in Windows environments providing implementation, administration, and support. Adept at relaying complex concepts to all levels of users and professionals. Experience implementing and supporting HL7 systems including PACS. Familiar with HIPAA compliance standards.

Candidate #AS27836 - Systems Engineer
Systems Engineer with 9 years of IT experience focusing on design, integration, deployment and maintenance of LAN/WANs, administrative security, software development, technical writing of standards and asset management on Windows based PC and Unix computer systems. Certifications include: CCNA, MCSE 2000 & 2003, MSCA 2000 & 2003. ...more

Human Resource Professionals

Candidate #AS49389 - HR Assistant
Candidate has 3 and ½ years of experience in HR and heavy accounting/payroll experience. Has been responsible for all of the new hire paperwork, maintaining reports including attendance, vacation, FMLA, and disciplinary action as well as filing all workers compensation claims. Has also developed policies and procedures in accordance to the HR laws. In addition, candidate has 3 years of experience using ADP to process payroll and has used a variety of other accounting software as well.

Candidate #KJ38695 - HR Assistant
Candidate has several solid years of HR experience and has been in various roles within the HR field. Candidate has performed many HR administrative duties within their career, including applicant tracking, FMLA tracking, attendance tracking and workers compensation reporting. Also assisted with benefit administration, new hire paperwork and performing background checks. Additionally, candidate has 9 years of payroll experience and has been responsible for processing up to 180 employees, weekly and bi-weekly. Candidate is accustomed to working in a fast paced environment and is computer savvy.

Candidate #AS49398 - HR Manager / HR Generalist
Candidate has over 7 years of experience in Human Resources and holds a Bachelor's degree. Candidate has been responsible for benefit administration with both health and retirement benefits, payroll, implementation of wellness program, applicant screening and new hire process as well as created and posted ads for open positions. Candidate has processed payroll for up to 425 employees using both ADP and IOI payroll systems. ...more

Accounting Professionals

Candidate #KJ01624 - Accounting Professional
Candidate holds 2 Bachelor's degrees in both Finance and Management & Administration. Over 10 years of experience in accounting, credit, auditing, payroll, and collections. Knowledgeable in of preparing, analyzing and presenting monthly financial, variance, margin and cost reports; preparation of annual budgets, internal audits, annual reports to government agencies, tax filings, assist governmental and independent auditors, cost benefit analysis, cash flow control, and ledger, bank and ATM reconciliations.

Candidate #KJ44684 - Accountant Assistant
Candidate has 8 years of accounting experience as well as 3 years of administrative experience. In previous roles, candidate has been involved in A/P, A/R, Payroll, bookkeeping and General Ledgers. Also has good MS Office skills.

Candidate #KJ39226 - Bookkeeper
Candidate 10+ years of strong office experience and several solid years of bookkeeping experience. Previous duties include A/P, A/R, Invoicing, bookkeeping, payroll and reconciliations. Candidate is highly proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and Quicken. ...more

Administrative Professionals

Candidate #KJ37435 - Administrative Assistant with Light Accounting
Extensive office support and accounting experience. Previous duties include: data entry, answering a multi-line phone system, ordering office supplies as well as organized credit information, certificates of insurance, bid bonds & site plans. Also experienced with invoicing, expense statements, payroll time sheets, A/P, A/R, reconciliations and balancing petty cash.

Candidate #KJ49961 - Bilingual Administrative Assistant
Bilingual candidate with 5 years receptionist and office administrative experience including extensive customer interaction. Background includes 3 years in a medical office. Technical skills include MS Word, MS Excel and types at 54 wpm.

Candidate #KJ48878 - Legal Assistant
Associate of Applied Science in Paralegal/Legal Assistant studies. Has 6+ years of experience working in administrative roles as well as 2 years of experience within a legal environment. Previous duties include client correspondence, updating client database, handling highly confidential material, scheduling appointments and calendar management, as well as prepare and maintain all legal documents. Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and has heavy experience maintaining confidentiality. ...more