At UMFS, we are unwavering champions for high-risk children and families. Our staff includes many talented social workers, teachers, counselors, and therapists. We also have dedicated support staff in disciplines including administration, IT, finance, and HR who help keep the agency running in the background. Today we’re talking with HR Benefits Manager Aric Alvarez to learn more about his role at UMFS.
What brought you to UMFS?
What caught my eye was the experience and qualifications in the job posting. It mirrored what I had been doing at my last job and I felt I could easily and effectively hit the ground running. I worked for 18 years for a non-profit in Colorado that was the same size as UMFS when I started and had grown by 350% by the time I left. I felt this was a great opportunity to share my knowledge and experience with a growing organization. Going through the interview process and learning about the mission and the commitment of the staff fueled my enthusiasm to be a part of UMFS. Over time I’ve learned more about the agency, our commitment to the communities we serve and how we support kids and families and I truly appreciate it.
What is your job with UMFS?
I see my job as being primarily that of customer service. My position’s focus is to support the agency and staff with general aspects of HR, with a focus on our benefits, leaves of absence, workers’ comp, and ADP. I also participate in other aspects of the agency. Two groups that I have worked on are the Quality Improvement Council and I recently joined the Diversity Awareness Team.
How does your job connect to the mission?
One of our agency’s core values is to relentlessly pursue solutions. That ties closely to my philosophy on customer service, which is to provide staff the level of responsiveness, assistance, and guidance that I expect when I’m out in the world. To me relentlessly pursuing solutions means finding answers to questions or helping resolve an issue satisfactorily and, at times, when the answer may not be what the person wanted, explaining the reason why. I hope that my work at UMFS helps staff enjoy and take advantage of the benefits offered so that the focus remains on why we work here: for kids and families.