Rochelle Jones, SPHR

People Strategist/ Fractional CHRO

The HR Strategy Studio, LLC · United States

Dec 2025 – Present(5 mos)

The HR Strategy Studio: Stop Guess. Start Building Moving HR beyond administration and into the boardroom. We partner with high-growth organizations to transform the "People Function" from a paperwork hub into a strategic driver of business results. We don't just process payroll; we build the infrastructure that powers growth. Whether you are navigating an M&A, facing a leadership gap, or battling high turnover, I architect the strategy that stabilizes both culture and operations. My goal is simple: To lift the weight of people management off the CEO’s shoulders, ensuring you have the talent infrastructure to scale profitably. Core Strategic Pillars: 🔹 Fractional HR Leadership: Serving as an interim or long-term Head of People for organizations needing C-Suite expertise without the $250k+ full-time headcount. 🔹 Organizational Transformation: Guiding companies through mergers, acquisitions, and restructuring to ensure operational stability and key talent retention. 🔹 Strategy & Modernization: Auditing and rebuilding HR functions to move away from administrative bottlenecks toward tech-enabled, people-first systems. 🔹 Leadership Development: Designing bespoke coaching and succession plans that equip managers to lead high-performing teams. Engagement Models Designed for Scale: Fractional: Embedded Chief People Officer expertise to guide ongoing strategy. Project-Based: Targeted execution for critical initiatives (HR Audits, Compliance Overhauls, Compensation Benchmarking). The People Strategy Blueprint: A signature studio offering that provides a full health check and 90-day roadmap for your organization. Ready to stabilize your operations? 📩 Message me to discuss a Fractional or Project-based partnership. 🌐 Learn more: www.hrstrategystudio.net

Senior Director -Human Resources Business Partner

Verizon · United States

Jul 2020 – Dec 2025(5 yrs 6 mos)

Strategic HR partner to senior leadership for an 8,000-employee business unit. Lead a team of 40+ HR professionals managing $3.7M in HR labor budget and $450M client labor budget. • P&L Impact & Cost Optimization: Engineered a data-driven retention strategy that reduced turnover by 20%, capturing $2.5M in annualized savings in recruiting and training costs while stabilizing revenue-generating operations. • AI-Enabled Digital Transformation: Championed the enterprise-wide migration from PeopleSoft to Workday, leveraging AI-driven predictive analytics to identify at-risk top talent. These insights directly informed retention initiatives and reduced administrative cycle times by 15%. • Organizational Design & M&A: Guided complex organizational redesigns to align staffing models with new revenue targets, ensuring zero operational disruption during a period of 10% workforce expansion. • Culture & Performance Turnaround: Architected a culture renewal program that improved engagement scores from 3.5 to 4.02/5.0, directly correlating to a measurable lift in customer satisfaction and productivity metrics. • Executive Governance: Established a rigorous governance framework for high-risk employee relations, partnering with Legal to standardize investigations and regulatory compliance across a complex, multi-state footprint. • Succession Planning: Designed the enterprise leadership capability model, now adopted as the corporate standard, increasing internal promotion rates for Director-level roles by 40%. • HR Functional Transformation: Transformed the HR operating model by upskilling a team of 40+ HR professionals (including 7 Senior Managers), shifting the function from tactical support to strategic advisory.

Associate Director/ Senior Manager- Human Resources Business Partner

Verizon · United States

Sep 2012 – Jul 2020(7 yrs 11 mos)

Led the HR architecture for a high-growth, 3,400-employee virtual division, establishing the blueprint for the company’s remote operating model. • Remote Workforce Strategy: Pioneered the transition to a distributed workforce model across 16 states, building the governance, culture, and engagement infrastructure required to sustain productivity in a 100% virtual environment. • Talent Ecosystem: Engineered a unified performance management framework that standardized leadership expectations, resulting in increased bench strength and reduced ER escalations. • Risk Management: Mitigated multi-state regulatory risk during rapid expansion by establishing a centralized compliance framework, ensuring 100% adherence to diverse labor laws. • Total Rewards Strategy: Redefined Total Rewards communication to align with the virtual employee lifecycle, driving increased benefit adoption and retention in a competitive market.

Senior Manager- HRBP

Verizon · Hanover, MD

Sep 2011 – Sep 2012(1 yr 1 mo)

Directed the HR strategy and operational execution for a workforce of more than 4,000 employees across Retail, Operations, and Customer Service throughout the Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia markets. Led and developed a geographically dispersed team of HR Business Partners supporting a diverse employee population, including frontline Customer Service teams, Sales professionals, multi-unit Store Managers, and Directors. Ensured people strategy remained tightly aligned with evolving business needs and market demands. Designed and implemented enterprise people strategies that advanced organizational goals, elevated leadership capability, and ensured rigorous compliance with federal, state, and local employment regulations. Oversaw the full talent lifecycle—workforce planning, recruitment, onboarding, performance management, talent reviews, and leadership development—building a strong, consistent pipeline of high-performing talent across multiple business units. Partnered closely with senior leaders to navigate complex employee relations matters, strengthen culture, and drive employee engagement through targeted interventions and data-informed insights. Administered competitive compensation and benefits programs and leveraged HR analytics to identify trends, inform strategic decisions, and continuously improve workforce effectiveness, operational stability, and business results.

HRBP- Consultant

Verizon · North Charleston, South Carolina

Aug 2010 – Sep 2011(1 yr 2 mos)

Associate Director-Customer Service

Verizon · North Charleston, South Carolina

Jul 2008 – Aug 2010(2 yrs 2 mos)

Customer Operations Leadership: Led a high-performing team of 300 employees, including frontline representatives and supervisors, delivering exceptional service to a large wireless consumer base. Provided strategic direction and operational leadership to drive service excellence, employee engagement, and customer satisfaction. Developed, implemented, and executed policies and procedures that enhanced service quality and operational consistency. Established and monitored key performance indicators (KPIs) and service level agreements (SLAs) to ensure achievement of organizational goals. Designed and deployed systems to capture, assess, and analyze customer feedback, leveraging insights to inform continuous improvement strategies. Created and led training and quality assurance programs to elevate employee capability and performance. Partnered cross-functionally to align customer service operations with enterprise objectives, identifying technology and process enhancements that improved efficiency and customer retention. Managed departmental budgeting, resource planning, and performance reporting to support fiscal accountability and strategic growth.

Supervisor- Operations Customer Service

Verizon

Nov 2007 – Jul 2008(9 mos)

Analyst-HR

Verizon

Sep 2006 – Nov 2007(1 yr 3 mos)

Supervisor Customer Service

Verizon · North Charleston, SC

Jan 2005 – Sep 2006(1 yr 9 mos)

Strategic HR Advisor (Fractional)

Independent Contract: Logistics · South Carolina, United States

Aug 2021 – Sep 2025(4 yrs 2 mos)

Built the full HR infrastructure for four rapidly growing logistics and trucking organizations, establishing scalable policies, processes, and talent strategies that supported multi-state expansion. Designed the foundational HR operating model—including compliance frameworks, workforce systems, and organizational processes—ensuring the business had the governance, capability, and discipline required for long-term growth. Advised ownership on organizational design, compensation models, and strategic workforce planning. Directed all people operations for drivers, dispatchers, and administrative staff, building end-to-end talent pipelines that reduced time-to-hire and strengthened retention. Developed targeted recruitment, onboarding, and performance strategies aligned to high-volume delivery needs. Implemented DOT-compliant hiring, drug testing, physical requirements, and safety protocols, achieving full adherence to federal and state regulations and strengthening operational reliability. Championed a culture of accountability, safety, and service by developing training programs for dispatchers and fleet supervisors, improving leadership capability and team performance. Designed comprehensive driver qualification file (DQF) systems, annual MVR review processes, and safety certification tracking that enhanced compliance readiness and reduced regulatory risk. Managed investigations and employee relations issues with fairness and consistency, ensuring trust across the workforce. Oversaw workforce planning, HRIS administration, payroll, benefits enrollment, and multi-state compliance, ensuring accuracy, integrity, and operational alignment. Led FMCSA and OSHA compliance audits, standardizing safety practices and mitigating organizational risk. Developed engagement and retention programs—including wellness check-ins, incentive pay, and route support—that improved morale, strengthened driver retention, and supported business scalability.

HR/Training Sr Manager- Healthcare

Disabilities Board Of Charleston County · Charleston, South Carolina Metropolitan Area

May 1996 – Jan 2005(8 yrs 9 mos)

Provided comprehensive HR leadership within a healthcare organization delivering daily care and support to individuals with developmental disabilities in residential and day program settings. Supported 15 residential locations and an onsite day facility, partnering with clinical and operational leaders to ensure staffing continuity, compliance with state and federal healthcare regulations, and quality patient care. Championed initiatives that strengthened employee engagement, improved caregiver retention, and fostered a culture of empathy, accountability, and excellence in service delivery.