Learn how effective recruiting increases employee retention
Diana Lopez began her career at Pegasus in 2002 as a clerk in the accounting department. She has risen to the position of Director of HR after a tenure of 20 years at Pegasus. Diana is the Chairperson of the Pegasus ESOP Committee and is an expert in the field of Employee Stock Ownership Plans. She also serves on the Board of the Western States ESOP Association.
Diana always enjoyed helping others since she was young. She went to college and obtained her first Bachelor’s Degree in Business Information Systems with a Minor in Management. She followed up with a second Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and Fashion Design. While attending college, Diana joined Pegasus as a part time employee. She worked with the Chief Financial Officer, who was the only one that oversaw payroll and finances. As Pegasus grew, the departments began separating appropriately. She always enjoyed making sure employees are being paid properly and treated fairly.
From being an assistant to the CFO to focusing on human resources, then moving up to accounting manager, Diana always had goals within the company. Her goals are to ensure that employees are being recognized, all employees like coming to work, and the company stays in compliance by following rules and regulations. When the departments began to separate properly, she wanted to continue her position in human resources.
Diana knew she could make an impact at Pegasus and create positive change for employees. She wanted to make sure that everyone wants to work at Pegasus and feels they are being treated right. She believes that if we focus on career development, bring in the best talent and give them the opportunity to grow in their career path, then they’re going to enjoy working for the company. Her main goal is to continue to care for all the staff and not lose focus as Pegasus continues to grow.
How do you direct and drive a positive work environment?
Leading by example. We’re all human, nothing is perfect in anyone’s position, everyone learns from their mistakes, but be positive about it. It can be an opportunity for them to improve. Making sure you guide them by promoting positivity as leaders.
What has been implemented to enhance the efficiency of the recruitment process?
The HRIS (Human Resource Information System) implementation allowed Pegasus to go paperless and ensured consistency across the company. Every new employee receives the same, user-friendly packet electronically. This entails all recruiting steps from posting, sourcing, communicating, and onboarding — which is all done electronically.
What strategies do you use to retain employees long term and keep employee turnover low?
Employee engagement and recognition, as well as ensuring staff is being properly treated are important in retaining employees long term.
How do you consolidate HR strategies with overall business objectives?
Overall, the business will focus on the top items that we want to continue to improve, from there HR assesses what the main objectives are, where we see opportunities to continue to improve.
How has the sign on bonus impacted recruiting in terms of attracting candidates?
Due to the pandemic reducing the current workforce, we’ve noticed more candidates applying so it has been giving us a positive outcome.
How do you deal with challenges, labor disputes, and violations?
We assess every dispute that comes to Pegasus, properly investigate, and analyze what we can implement to prevent it from recurring. We also train our managers and supervisors so that they properly understand what occurred, and we can move forward more knowledgeable and prepared.
