CITY Responsibilities | Nicole O’Brien

A company’s culture is vital to its success, and a company’s human resources department is a significant building block of a positive culture. As CITY’s human resources manager, Nicole O’Brien focuses on her responsibility of employee recruitment, benefits, training and development, and company culture.

 

 

“We are a goal-focused company that strives for teamwork; therefore, we see our relationships with our employees as partnerships,” O’Brien said.

 

In fact, being able to work with and help people is what drew O’Brien to the human resources profession in the first place.

 

“Human resources appeals to me because it allows me to apply psychology, wellness, and health, and just helping people,” O’Brien said. “I think that’s something just part of my nature. We’re all here for a reason, and we’re all here to help each other. That’s what’s cool about HR. I can connect everything together, the psychology, wellness, and helpfulness.”

 

According to O’Brien, CITY looks for dedicated and hard working individuals who fit our culture of responsiveness, trustworthiness, and integrity.

 

“It’s all about the people here,” O’Brien said. “And not just our employees, although that’s a critical part. It’s also about our contact with our customers.”

 

CITY also searches for those who focus on the values of commitment to our customers.

 

“We’re all about helping our customers succeed in their business, so we look for employees who have the willingness to respond urgently to customers,” O’Brien said. “I really like the fact that we can respond with urgency, and we’re very reactive in our environment.”

 

O’Brien also believes that one of the best parts about working at CITY is the work environment.

 

“We have been around for over 112 years, and we have become like a family because of that,” O’Brien said.  “We have such close relationships with one another.”

CITY also has what O’Brien calls a “shallow hierarchy.” For example, if an employee has an issue or needs help with something, O’Brien can help that individual quickly because she can directly talk with the company president. This means things are resolved quickly.

 

“We have the ability to ‘turn on a dime’ and respond to any issue or suggestion immediately,” O’Brien said. “I think that’s something that’s really rare in any company today.”

 

Safety of employees is also part of O’Brien’s human resources duties.

 

“We focus on safety and make sure it’s part of our everyday work environment,” Nicole O’Brien, CITY’s human resources manager, said. “We’re always working on safety and meet once a month as a committee to talk about safety issues, near-misses, injuries that have happened, and injury prevention.”

 

When it comes to administrative duties, O’Brien handles payroll, benefits, hiring paperwork, as well as year-to-year strategic planning.

 

“There is no such thing as a typical day in HR. Every day is different, and that’s the beauty of it,” O’Brien said.

 

For those who are interested in joining a family-oriented culture that values people, O’Brien recommends checking out our website at www.CITYCleanAndSimple.com to fill out an application.