An HR Generalist Shares Her Passion for People

“As an HR professional…you are always trying to help people to the best of your ability.”

Helping our students succeed is the number one priority for the faculty, staff, and administrators at the CUNY SPS, though many of them often do this work behind the scenes. To spotlight some of the unsung heroes who support our School and students, we have introduced the blog series Backstage at CUNY SPS. Each of the members profiled here have been nominated by someone else at CUNY SPS in recognition of their great work.

In this week’s installment, we sit down with Ema Izquierdo, who works in the School’s HR department.

Q: Briefly describe your job and the work that you do at CUNY SPS.

I’m CUNY SPS’s HR Generalist. As part of the School’s HR office, I oversee all teaching and non-teaching appointments, including onboarding and processing. I administer HRIS functions to make sure all employee data is processed accurately in CUNYfirst and audit all entries to keep all our data nice and clean. I generate all reappointment notifications for part-time and full-time employees, as well as track salary increments and eligibility for additional benefits. I also work closely with Payroll to maintain and process all part-time payments in a timely manner. I’m also the Compliance Training Administrator and I’m in charge of monitoring and keeping records of the School’s compliance record for the ESPARC (Employee Sexual and Interpersonal Violence Prevention and Response Course) and the Workplace Violence Prevention trainings.

Q. How did you end up working at CUNY SPS? How long have you worked here?

Back in 2014, while I was pursuing a master’s degree at the CUNY Graduate Center, I came across a job posting for a college assistant at the CUNY School of Professional Studies. This opportunity caught my attention since I was always interested in higher education and human resources. The title of Faculty and Staff Resources Assistant was the perfect fit and I applied immediately. Once I met the team, I felt I had found my spot.

Now, after almost eight years working here, I’m proud to say I’ve been part of pivotal changes in our department, from becoming our own HR office, to surpassing our productivity levels during a global pandemic. I feel proud to say my career path, from college assistant to HR Coordinator, to HR Generalist, had shaped who I am and how I see myself as part of a whole at CUNY SPS.

Q: What do you find exciting or fulfilling about your work?

Every day I feel very fortunate to meet very talented people. I try my best to give the new hires a great first interaction with the School when completing their hiring process. I appreciate their kind words and how they feel reassured to have someone to contact any time they have a question.

Also, something that motivates me is knowing all data matches across different systems. CUNYfirst, Payroll, Coursedog. A lot of manual tracking is involved in what I do, and when everything corresponds, I feel all the hard work put into that is worthy.

Q: How would you say your job helps support student success at CUNY SPS? Or, if not students directly, the needs of the School?

I feel proud to be part of a team that makes the planning and execution of all related processes to maintaining the rosters for each semester smoothly. Academic Affairs, OFDIT, Payroll, and HR, we join forces to get all teaching adjuncts ready each semester.

Also, I like to keep in touch with full-time employees, letting them know HR cares and thinks about them, with a simple happy birthday message or guiding them through some more complicated processes. Being there for everybody is something that helps keep the morale high and to create a sense of belonging.

Q: Your work is pivotal to the process of appointing and reappointing over 400 adjunct faculty each semester. Can you describe how your job helps support our faculty?

I’ve seen the School grow exponentially in the last few years. The idea of being a small school went out the window a long time ago, when the number of adjuncts surpassed the 400 mark. A month before each semester starts, I gather all the information I need to get all appointments ready to be entered and submitted into CUNYfirst and Payroll.

Sometimes technology is not sufficient to get all records updated accordingly and then is when a lot of manual work happens. I try my best to comply with our deadlines, so all adjuncts are processed timely. Every semester is different in its own way but fall and spring are always more complicated than summer and winter.

I need to plan ahead and get myself on the correct mindset to focus only on this for a couple of weeks, when I double check all the information I receive and then enter it into the system. Gladly, practice makes perfect, and I feel very confident that each semester I get better at it. Then, when the first adjunct pay date arrives and everyone has been properly compensated for their hard work, I feel I can relax and continue with my other duties.

Q: Is there anything that you would like the larger CUNY SPS community (students, alum faculty, and other staff) to know about your work or your unit (that they may not know about already)?

As an HR professional, you always have your hands full. You are always trying to help people to the best of your ability. Although most people don’t see everything that happens inside the HR office, we are always working towards this main goal: to promote the school’s values and bring in the best human capital. I’m certain that when you work as a team, you can achieve greatness.

I would like to tell the community that they will always find in me a person who’s happy to be of assistance and that believes in your potential. CUNY is embedded in my heart and I’m happy to be part of this amazing group of people called CUNY SPS.

Want to learn more about our dedicated faculty and staff? Read more installments from this series.