Cendy Hernandez

About

People/HR leader with deep compensation expertise who built a company’s first enterprise-wide compensation framework, including benchmarking and pay equity analysis, partnering closely with executives to improve transparency, satisfaction, and reduce turnover. Demonstrates strong systems-thinking and employee relations judgment (ADA/FMLA-aware), plus hands-on coaching and conflict mediation to improve leader effectiveness and team trust.

Experience

Education

Key Strengths

• Led creation and rollout of first company-wide compensation framework with executive partnership
• Built equitable, transparent pay ranges and enabled leaders to have compensation conversations
• Used compensation benchmarking and pay equity analysis to drive targeted, explainable adjustments
• Strong change-management communication (balanced transparency with timing; communicated early/often)
• Coached managers transitioning to people leadership; improved team engagement and freed leader for strategic work
• Systems-thinking approach to performance issues (considers goals, capacity, incentives, and personal factors)
• Handled sensitive ER case with ADA/FMLA considerations; structured leave plan and restored performance/trust
• Resolved high-stakes conflict between senior team members through structured mediation and expectation-setting

Reference Highlights

• strong systems thinker; anticipates organizational ripple effects
• extraordinary strategic partner in defining team structures
• thoughtful about ordering hires for maximum impact
• effective at guiding leaders through challenging staffing decisions
• influential in shaping organizational structure
• trusted advisor to senior leaders during change
• led transformative organization-wide compensation/staffing alignment project (~800 staff)
• able to educate leadership on compensation frameworks
• steady leadership under complexity
• good humor
• insightful about impacts on individuals and teams
• intentional and execution-oriented (outlines steps to implement decisions)
• patient and supportive coach to new managers
• excellent bidirectional communicator (upward and downward)
• direct and decisive when needed in employee relations
• compassionate but steadfast in difficult situations
• strong preparation and follow-through with clear next steps
• excellent at anticipating consequences of initiatives
• strategic and proactive in steering away from negative outcomes
• instrumental in creating fair, budget-conscious compensation restructuring
• effective interim HR executive leader
• strong influencer with senior leadership
• effective at aligning multiple stakeholder groups
• extremely effective coach/thought partner
• high availability and supportiveness
• advocates for team members during negotiations
• patient and steady in challenging employee relations situations
• handled sensitive, high-conflict organizational issue professionally
• exceptionally proactive business partner
• adds valuable input on organizational impacts of change
• effective at leading large-scale initiatives
• strong thought partner
• candid feedback
• deliberate decision-making
• handles difficult decisions with professionalism and care
• handles challenging employee relations situations very well
• patient and thorough in answering questions during implementations