HR Generalist

Are you ready to own more than a checklist?

Maybe you're early in your HR career and ready for someone to trust you with more. You enjoy communicating with people, making complicated information easier to understand, and figuring out how to get people engaged. When you see something that could be better, your first instinct isn't to wait for someone else to fix it—you start thinking about what could work.

At Tennessee 811, everything we do comes back to customer experience. In HR, our customers are our employees.

As our HR Generalist, you'll play a leading role in shaping that experience for our primarily remote workforce. Employee communication and education will be at the heart of your role. You'll help employees understand what's happening, why it matters, and what they need to do next.

What You'll Own

Employee Communications & Experience

• Own routine employee-facing HR communications and announcements. 
• Draft company-wide HR communications for leadership approval when appropriate. 
• Create employee education, reminders, presentations and HR resources. 
• Oversee employee communication and recognition platforms. 
• Coordinate employee surveys and participation efforts. 
• Find ways to increase employee awareness, understanding and engagement. 
• Help keep our primarily remote workforce connected to Tennessee 811. 
• Recognize when communication isn't connecting and adjust the approach. 

Some messages require polish and formality. Others could probably use a great graphic, some personality or even an emoji. We want someone who knows the difference—and isn't afraid to bring their personality when the moment allows it.

Onboarding & Offboarding

• Coordinate new-hire communications and the employee-facing onboarding experience. 
• Help create a welcoming, organized and consistent start for new employees. 
• Coordinate offboarding communications and employee-facing separation processes. 
• Look for opportunities to continuously improve both experiences. 

Benefits & Open Enrollment

• Support and develop toward ownership of open enrollment coordination. 
• Create benefits communications, education and employee resources. 
• Provide routine enrollment support and answer employee benefits questions. 
• Coordinate reminders and follow-up to help employees meet important deadlines. 

HR Operations

• Support HRIS administration, employee records, documentation and reporting. 
• Assist with routine HR processes and administrative responsibilities. 
• Work with the HR team to improve and document processes. 
• Identify opportunities to improve the employee experience and bring forward recommendations. 

You won't walk into a completely finished playbook. Tennessee 811 is actively improving processes and intentionally strengthening a culture built around Partnership, Expertise, Reliability and Dedication.

See something we could do better? Take a first pass. Think it through. Bring us your recommendation. We'll work through it together, and once we've agreed on the direction, you'll be trusted to run with it.

Position Details

Nashville, TN | Full-Time | $50,000 Starting Salary | Salaried, Non-Exempt
Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Four days in office + one remote day per week

Tennessee 811 offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental and vision insurance options; employer-paid life, short-term disability and long-term disability coverage; 401(k) with employer match and profit-sharing contribution; HSA employer contributions for eligible participants; paid time off; paid holidays; Employee Assistance Program; employee recognition program; and professional development opportunities.

What We're Really Looking For

HR experience is helpful, but the number of years on your résumé isn't what will make you successful here.

We're looking for someone who:

• Communicates clearly and naturally connects with people. 
• Can create energy and participation around an initiative. 
• Takes ownership and follows work through completion. 
• Is willing to take a first pass rather than waiting for someone else to solve the problem. 
• Is comfortable learning something new and figuring out where to start. 
• Receives coaching well and puts feedback into practice. 
• Reads people and situations well. 
• Knows when they can handle something and when an issue needs to be escalated. 
• Can remain calm and professional and help de-escalate difficult conversations. 
• Anticipates questions and next steps. 
• Adjusts when priorities or project timelines change. 
• Builds trust while maintaining appropriate professional boundaries. 
• Brings personality without losing professionalism. 
• Handles confidential and sensitive information appropriately. 
• Is curious about how things work—and how they could work better. 

Experience That Will Help You Succeed

• 1–3 years of HR, People Operations or related professional experience preferred. 
• Employee communications or employee engagement experience is a plus. 
• Experience with HRIS platforms, benefits, open enrollment, onboarding or offboarding is helpful. 
• Presentation or facilitation experience is helpful. 
• Paylocity experience is a plus. 

We're willing to teach the right person.

If you don't meet every preferred qualification but you're a strong communicator who takes initiative, learns quickly and is ready for greater ownership, we still want to hear from you.

You don't have to know everything. You do have to be willing to think.