HR Generalist

Job Summary

The HR Generalist runs the day-to-day operations of Smithey’s People function, including HRIS and records, benefits and leave, compliance, hiring, and first-line employee relations. Working underthedirection ofhiring manager,this role keeps HR running reliably and compliantly and is the primary point of contact for employees on routine HR matters. It supports a workforce spread across production, warehouse, and office teams.

Key Responsibilities

HRIS & Records

• Maintain the HRIS (Rippling), including employee records, time, and leave.

• Keep employee data and documentationaccurateand up to date, including the time and attendance data Finance uses to run payroll.

Benefits & Leave

• Administerbenefitsenrollment, changes, and employee questions; coordinate with brokers and carriers.

• Manage leave (including FMLA and South Carolina–requiredleaves) and qualifying life events.

Recruiting & Hiring

• Postjobrequisitions, screen applicants, coordinate interviews, and communicate with candidates.

• Administer Predictive Index assessments and help hiring managersapplythe results.

• Conduct background checks, reference checks, and employment eligibility verification (I-9).

• Prepare offerletters andonboardingpaperwork.

Onboarding & Offboarding

• Run new-hire orientation and onboarding.

• Coordinate IT and equipment setup for new employees with the company’s external IT provider, including accounts, devices, and system access.

• Handle offboardinglogisticsand documentation.

Compliance & Records

• Maintain I-9s, employment records,requiredpostings, and policy acknowledgments.

• Support employee classification accuracy (exempt/non-exempt, FLSA) and temporary and 1099 worker documentation.

• Maintain compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws; flag issues and recommend policy updates.

Employee Relations (first line)

• Serve as the first point of contact for routine employee questions and issues.

• Support disciplinary meetings, investigations, and terminations professionally and confidentially; escalate sensitive matters to thehiring manager.

Compensation & Culture Support

• Maintain pay records and benchmarking data, and support compensation reviews with analysis.

• Support recognition programs (such as Quail of the Quarter), internal communications, and employee events.

What Success Looks Like

• Benefits, records, and compliance run reliably, with no gaps and audit-ready records.

• Hiring moves quickly, and managers and candidates havea smoothexperience.

• Employees gettimely,accurateanswers, and sensitive issues are escalated.

Required Skills & Abilities

• Builds trust quickly and communicates clearly across a range of employee groups - production, warehouse, and office.

• Reliable follow-through and attention to accuracy across recurring processes, documentation, and compliance work.

• A strong senseof urgency, with the ability to move quickly without sacrificing accuracy.

• High discretion and the ability to handle confidential information with integrity.

• Initiative-anticipatesneeds and acts before being asked.

• Resourceful, creative problem-solving; bringsnew ideasratherthan onlyexecuting.

• Working knowledge of employment laws and HR compliance.

• Proficiencywith Microsoft 365 and comfort learning new systems; experience withan HRIS(Rippling a plus).

• Comfortable in a hands-on, fast-paced small-company environment across production, warehouse, and office teams.

Education & Experience

• 2–4 years of HR generalist experience, with the competence to own the day-to-day while partnering closely withthe HR Manager.

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, ora relatedfield preferred.

• SHRM-CP certificationa plusorwillingto obtain certification.

• Familiarity with Predictive Index or a similar behavioralassessmenta plus.