Seattle, WA, USA

Rafael W.

Versatile HR Professional skilled in Recruitment, Compliance, & Employee Experience

I am a results-oriented Talent Leader with a track record across high-growth organizations like Redfin, Microsoft, Twitter, and Indeed. Throughout my HR career, I have built talent attraction functions, led workforce reductions, and launched talent lifecycle strategies. Leveraging my Master's in Human Resources and Employment Law, I ensure compliance, seamless onboarding, and an exceptional employee experience by advising senior leaders on effective people strategies.

Based in Seattle, I'm passionate about the Arts, Running, and Reading.

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Fractional Head of Talent rates

Work

Redefined Employee Development

Led the transformative "Career Growth Catalyst" initiative, addressing the need for holistic employee growth beyond traditional promotions. Recognizing the disconnect between skills acquisition and role progression, I revamped materials for a comprehensive Career Workshop + IDP program. By shifting the focus to various growth avenues, including lateral moves and skill enhancement within roles, the initiative aimed to educate and empower employees.

Employee Experience Human Resources

Performance Management Transformation

Implemented a strategic initiative to enhance performance management and foster accountability. Conducted a comprehensive needs analysis, leveraging R-Voice, performance cycle survey data, and executive input. Facilitated discussions with executives, aligning their roles with the talent tenant of "grow and win." The outcome informed a targeted solution to cultivate better performance management habits among managers, addressing identified capability gaps. This initiative, rooted in values and aligned with organizational goals, contributed to a significant reduction in avoidable severance payments by an estimated 52%.

Performance Management Leadership Training & Development

Talent Strategy

Achieved a hiring transformation at Redfin, reducing time-to-hire to 45 days and markedly enhancing gender/racial representation across the candidate funnel. Overcoming slow hiring and diversity challenges, I implemented a sourcing model with dedicated hires and strategic partnerships. This initiative not only streamlined our hiring process but also revitalized our employer value proposition, reshaped brand perception in underrepresented communities, and decentralized our recruitment efforts. Demonstrating a proven track record in optimizing talent acquisition, I am well-equipped to lead and drive impactful results for your organization.

Recruiting Human Resources

Experience

Nov 2022 — Present

Startupexperts

Human Resources Member

Actively involved in a professional organization, leveraging industry expertise and networking opportunities to further develop skills and knowledge in the field of talent acquisition and human resources.
Committed to pursuing a role as the inaugural Head of Talent in an early stage start-up, dedicated to establishing a scalable recruitment strategy and fostering a people-centric approach to human resource management.

Nov 2022 — Present

Redfin

Senior Program Manager, People and Culture

Managing end-to-end employee engagement survey strategies, including vendor coordination, planning, execution, post-survey analysis, and action planning, achieving a 25-point increase in Net Promoter Score (NPS).
Achieve results, including a 71% engagement rate with the semi-annual survey, a 44% increase in feedback capture from management, and the introduction of role guides, reducing job role misalignment by 17%.
Developed, led, and executed agile talent programs, including 'Navigating Your Career' workshops and 'Diversity Leadership Manager' training. Ensured data-driven effectiveness and fostered a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.
Spearheaded the revamp of role guides for Sales and Program Managers, simplifying complex leveling and KPIs. Achieved an 85% improvement in role expectation clarity and optimized operational efficiency for performance reviews.
Collaborated on a comprehensive overhaul of the company's values, embedding them across the organization through focus groups and ensuring alignment with employee perspectives.
Developed and sustained career advancement resources and learning strategies to empower employees in steering their career paths and aid managers in fostering employee growth, aligning with organizational objectives.

Jun 2023 — Jan 2024

Redfin

Human Resources Business Partner (Interim)

Managed the reduction of workforce for hourly employees and contractors, aligning with business goals while balancing thoughtful communication strategies for tough decisions and conversations, leading to enhanced organizational efficiency.
Created and aligned consensus among leaders on the strategy for a performance-driven culture, implementing actionable measures based on ongoing employee engagement survey feedback.
Led company-wide performance review cycle for both Tech and Operations business groups, aligning the pay-for-performance model to connect to ongoing business and talent strategy, resulting in a 15% increase in overall performance.
Identified trends and analyzed data from conducting exit interviews, implementing new retention strategies, and a 10% increase in overall employee satisfaction. This was the most significant measurable increase since Q1 2023.
Expert in employee relations, leveraging legal degree to handle complaints, emphasizing resolution, and fostering a positive workplace environment. Iterated on current processes and documentation to ensure up-to-date compliance practices.
Driving competitive compensation practices and offers through collaboration with recruiting, ensuring alignment with current business strategies, benchmarks, and market trends.

Mar 2021 — Nov 2022

Redfin

Head of Talent {Emerging and Industry Sourcing)

Led and mentored a team of 15 Recruiters, Program Managers, Sourcers, and Coordinators, reducing time-to-hire by 40% through streamlined processes and establishing an annual best-in-class internship for tech and non-tech verticals.
Developed a comprehensive talent strategy for the Technology and Analytics organization, emphasizing attraction, engagement, and diversity recruitment, aligning with multi-year workforce planning and talent demands
Implemented scalable sourcing workflows by creating measurable BI data dashboards, enhancing diversity slating, achieving increased representation for technical teams, and achieving 100% slating for IC1/Intern opportunities
Analyzed data and presented insights to Executives, HR, and Engineering Leaders to address and improve the representation gap by establishing a measurable and robust diversity talent attraction initiative
Established the employer branding and industry sourcing function, elevating job personas and positioning the organization as an employer-of-choice, resulting in a new hire representation increase from 5% to 35%

Jun 2019 — Mar 2021

Twitter

Senior Program Manager - Global Technical Recruiting Events

Led a high-performing cycle team of 5 full-life cycle recruiters, achieving 20+ diverse senior-level hires annually.
Pioneered a $2.5M virtual inclusion-centric Summit, enhancing cultural awareness and cross-functional skills for Twitter, Engineering, Product, and Design talent brands.
Drove data-driven diversity recruitment strategies, fostering impactful DEI relationships with ERGs and the DEIB Program Manager, positioning the organization as a top choice for underrepresented talent.
Significantly reduced time-to-fill metrics from 60 to 45 days and improved quality-of-hire from 90% to 100%.

Nov 2017 — Jun 2019

Microsoft

University Recruiter - Technical

Contributed as a Global Inclusion V-Team member, specializing in Technology (BizTech and Engineering) with a focus on digital platforms and D&I.
Served as the Project Manager for 2 D&I program conferences (AfroTech and Out4Undergrad), resulting in an average of 7 hires per event.
Achieved performance metrics, including 4,350 impressions and 230 engagements with the National Society of Black Engineers data. Drove interest in the Microsoft Student Partners program, resulting in 2 hires.
Took on a stretch project as the Employer Branding Program Manager, designing Microsoft's University Recruiting landing page on LinkedIn and increasing the application rate by 45% from non-targeted universities.
Led development training for Digital Sourcers, offering insights into the "day in the life" of a finder, candidate life cycle, and ATS sourcing hacks.

May 2016 — Nov 2017

Indeed.com

Technical Recruiter - University

Implemented a tiered recruiting strategy and diversity and inclusion initiatives in collaboration with Technology Services and Site Reliability Engineering units, focusing on full-time and internship recruitment, workforce planning, and SLA priorities.
Achieved a remarkable 35% reduction in cost-per-hire ratios, reduced time-to-fill to just 2 weeks, and elevated the interview-to-hire rate from 22% to 77%.
Served as the Black Employee Resource Group Leader and liaison to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), resulting in an impressive increase in intern conversion rates from 55% to 86% and an offer acceptance rate of 77%

Rafael W.

Versatile HR Professional skilled in Recruitment, Compliance, & Employee Experience