"Although I am officially called a Human Resources Specialist, I actually perform a variety of employee relations duties for five departments at Merck-Medco and one of its subsidiaries. I work as part of a generalist team, alongside of a manager or director and a senior director. I support all employees up to the director level. At the VP level and higher, the manager on my team provides the employee relations support. The total employee population I serve is around 500.

My job covers a lot of ground. I interview recent hires to make sure they are getting the training they need, and to see if they are having any problems adjusting to their new jobs. I also conduct exit interviews, to find out why someone is leaving, what kind of training, coaching and feedback they got while they were here and what they thought about the career opportunities and the work environment within their department. One of my goals is to identify where changes may be needed within departments in terms of training, career growth and management skill. I am also involved in salary planning and performance management. All through the year, I work with department managers, guiding them and helping if they have employees with performance issues. I may meet with employees as part of this process, to discuss what career development goals they have, what they like about their current position and whether or not they feel they are being challenged enough. Other duties of mine include acting as liaison with people in my departments who are going on disability leave or returning from leave, customizing and delivering training programs for my areas, conducting anti-sexual harassment training and coordinating EEO activities. I really enjoy the variety of my job. There is something new to address every day.

I like the counseling part of my job most of all -- when I work with employees and their managers on performance issues and play the role of an objective third party. I've found that there are never just two sides to a story. There are a lot of different ways of looking at a situation, and I am often able to offer another perspective on why there might be performance or personal issues hindering someone's job effectiveness. When something I have said helps the employee or manager identify what they need to do, I feel great. I've made a difference in the way people work together or helped someone enjoy their job more. Most of the time, I've found that people have the answers themselves, they just need some guidance arriving at the solution.