To function at the level of excellence that the City of Southlake embodies, it requires highly skilled, hardworking, and compassionate individuals dedicated to collaborating and building a functional workplace. At the forefront of this mission is Erika McClure, our Human Resources Business Partner focusing on Talent Acquisition. As one of the key individuals behind connecting exceptional talent with our organization, she plays a vital role in our continued success.
Erika joined the City of Southlake in November 2018, initially working in Community Services before transitioning to Human Resources in February 2022. Her dedication and expertise have been instrumental in fostering a positive environment for both employees and prospective team members.
“In my role, I'm very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with every single department across the city,” McClure explained. “Departments seek out my help when they need it the most – when they're looking for the perfect candidate to join their team! I love being able to connect qualified candidates with the department and then seeing their growth as they join our organization.”
On a typical day, Erika reviews applications, conducts phone screenings, and coordinates interviews. Her commitment to ensuring a positive experience for candidates, both throughout the hiring process and after they join Team Southlake, has fostered a welcoming environment, allowing new employees the space they need to shine.
Recognizing the importance of employee retention, Erika recently launched the revamped orientation program "Getting to Know Southlake," which helps new employees gain valuable insights into the city’s culture and values. This initiative not only enhances the onboarding experience for new hires but also contributes significantly to employee satisfaction, which is crucial for building a strong, cohesive team.
Due to her outstanding work, Erika was honored with the 2024 Employee Appreciation Kristin Pitzinger Internal Customer Service Award. Her commitment to supporting both potential candidates and our departments makes her an invaluable member of our team, and we are grateful for her continued contributions to Team Southlake!
You can view her full award video below:
COVID-19 transitioned life for everyone, with many organizations promoting changes they’ve made in the interest of public safety.
HR Director Stacey Black said the internal changes initiated through COVID-19 are not always visible.
“Our department’s efforts have been two-fold so that we’re protecting the public, but also protecting our greatest asset, our employees,” she said. “We’ve implemented social distancing guidance, provided PPE and enabled employees to work from home so that our team can be at their best in serving the Southlake community.”
For City of Southlake Talent Acquisition Partner Rebecca Hart, work pivoted briefly in March 2020 from recruiting candidates and hiring to COVID-19 expert.
“Taking COVID-19 calls parallels what I do in recruiting beautifully,” she said. “I’m talking with employees, listening, empathizing and documenting. I’ve really enjoyed the transition.”
Now that recruiting has picked back up, Hart finds herself still discussing COVID-19 through the lens of how the City is addressing the pandemic for candidates and employees. Recruiting and hiring has turned virtual with video interviews by optimizing technology the City already utilized. Hiring managers have entrusted her to narrow down candidates through phone and virtual interviews to limit in-person interactions.
Hart compared working for the City of Southlake to being on the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s. Employees don’t want to lag behind, they want to step their game up to Michael Jordan’s level.
Ever since her first day on the job, Hart feels a sense of pride working for the City and like she has always been part of the team.
“We’re a team of high-quality employees. Everyone wants to rise to the occasion and be the best they can possibly be,” she said. “It’s inspiring.”
One of the things the City excels at, according to Hart, is playing to each employee’s strengths and putting them in positions for success. That’s where her coworker Dylan Welch has truly shined.
Welch has taken on the project of going digital with HR forms.
“Working with paper forms, we’re printing, signing and scanning into the system with each and every form,” he said. “My goal is to create evergreen forms so that employees can easily access the information they need and turn them in without extra, unnecessary steps.”
During open enrollment each year, Welch estimated it takes the team six hours to stuff envelopes with 13,000 sheets of paper with benefits information, in addition to the countless hours spent preparing and printing the information and the data entry once the forms are submitted. His goal for this year is to eliminate paper open enrollment forms for 2020, along with all of the time associated with paper, saving weeks spent on this project alone.
Form creation entails more than just scanning previous paper forms. Digital forms are created from scratch, analyzing the necessary information for the form and redesigning when needed. Welch also has the tedious task of pre-populating regularly used information like an employee’s name, and then tests the form so any issues can be fixed.
“What’s been great about this project and working at Southlake is that there’s very little direction, and that’s by design,” Welch said. “I have the freedom to create something great for our employees and have been entrusted to do my job to the best of my ability. It's empowering to take on an enormous project like this and really own it.”
The City of Southlake prides itself on the attitude and behavior of its employees to make The Southlake Way a mindset, culture and service strategy.
Interested in joining an organization dedicated to Integrity, Innovation, Accountability, Excellence and Teamwork? Find our open positions here.