Employee Relations People Partner

Tekion; Pleasanton (CA); On-site; USD 92,000 - 138,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage

Unlimited PTO

Competitive compensation and stock options

Job summary

Tekion in Pleasanton, CA is seeking an Employee Relations Manager, known internally as a People Success Partner, to own the employee relations process and drive compliance training. The role emphasizes coaching managers and managing workplace investigations.

The ideal candidate will have 5-7 years of experience, possess a deep understanding of California employment law, and be committed to in-office work five days a week.

Qualifications

• 5-7 years of employee relations experience with a meaningful investigations portfolio.
• Experience coaching managers on performance documentation and difficult conversations.
• Ability to design or deliver compliance training effectively.

Responsibilities

• Run complex workplace investigations end to end.
• Coach managers to full success across client groups.
• Design and own Tekion’s compliance training program.

Skills

Employee relations experience

Coaching managers

Compliance training design

Understanding of California employment law

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Workday

Emtrain

Job description

About Tekion

Positively disrupting an industry that has not seen any innovation in over 50 years, Tekion has challenged the paradigm with the first and fastest cloud‑native automotive platform that includes the revolutionary Automotive Retail Cloud (ARC) for retailers, Automotive Enterprise Cloud (AEC) for manufacturers and other large automotive enterprises and Automotive Partner Cloud (APC) for technology and industry partners. Tekion connects the entire spectrum of the automotive retail ecosystem through one seamless platform. The transformative platform uses cutting‑edge technology, big data, machine learning, and AI to seamlessly bring together OEMs, retailers/dealers and consumers. With its highly configurable integration and greater customer engagement capabilities, Tekion is enabling the best automotive retail experiences ever. Tekion employs close to 3,000 people across North America, Asia and Europe.

The Role

People do their best work when they feel heard, treated fairly, and supported through difficulty. As our Employee Relations Manager(US/CAN/EMEA)— known internally as our People Success Partner — you are the person who makes that possible.

This is a full‑spectrum employee relations role with real ownership and meaningful scope. You will run complex investigations, coach managers for incredible success – including documenting performance proactively, designing compliance training that actually changes behavior, and own the employee handbook. You are not a support function — you are a strategic one.

You report directly to the Sr. Director, People Business Partners. You work alongside our People Business Partners, who bring business context to every case. You own the process, the documentation, the training, and the compliance infrastructure. You are the expert this team and this company needs right now.

What You Will Own

Manager Coaching & Proactive Performance Documentation

• Coach people managers to full success across all client groups. Ensuring Managers are hold employees accountable and ensure they are setting clear expectations.
• Deliver regular brown bag sessions and manager enablement workshops on: coach hiring managers in proper hiring ways to get the best talent and outcomes (including what they should and shouldn’t say), how to give effective feedback, how to document performance conversations, when and how to use a Performance Improvement Plan, and how to have difficult conversations with confidence.
• Proactively identify managers who are not meeting manager expectations and implement targeted actions to drive improved outcomes.
• Proactively identify employees at risk and conduct deep‑dive assessments to address underlying issues.
• Analyze survey data, exit feedback, and related insights to identify management gaps and partner on data‑driven action plans to drive measurable improvement.
• Assess capability gaps and determine where additional coaching, training, and enablement are needed to strengthen leadership effectiveness.
• Partner with People Business Partners to identify managers who need coaching and intervene early — turning a potential ER situation into a development opportunity.
• Build a repeatable manager coaching playbook that PBPs can use consistently across all client groups.
• Track manager participation in coaching sessions and surface patterns to leadership where additional support is needed.

Employee Relations & Investigations

• Own all workplace investigations end to end — intake, investigation plan, interviews, findings documentation, and resolution — for all countries we operate in (US, Canada, UK and Germany).
• Maintain an active case tracker with status, risk level, timeline, and resolution for every open matter.
• Partner closely with People Business Partners who provide business context on each case — you own the process and documentation, they bring the organizational knowledge.
• Work with employment counsel on matters with legal exposure — you will know when to loop in and when to handle independently.
• Escalate complex or high‑risk matters to the Sr. Director with a well‑packaged summary of facts, risk assessment, and recommended next steps.

Performance Improvement Plan Lifecycle

• Own the PIP lifecycle across all client groups — documentation, timeline management, manager coaching support, and resolution tracking.
• Partner with PBPs and managers to ensure performance actions are documented correctly, consistently, and in a way that protects the employee and the company.
• Identify patterns in performance management data and surface recommendations to the People team and business leaders.
• Ensure 100% of active PIPs have clear documentation, follow‑up actions, and tracked resolution — no case is ever left without a next step.

Compliance Training Design & Delivery

• Design and own Tekion’s compliance training program covering all federal and state‑mandated topics: sexual harassment prevention (California AB 1825 / SB 1343), workplace violence prevention and professional conduct standards.
• Deliver training across all employee populations in support of our Emtrain platform — ensuring content is engaging, current, and legally compliant in every jurisdiction we operate.
• Track mandatory training completion by department, role, and country — flag gaps proactively and ensure 100% completion of all legally required programs.
• Stay current on federal and state law changes that affect compliance training requirements and update programs accordingly.
• Build a training calendar that anticipates recurring compliance requirements so nothing is reactive.

Employee Handbook & Policy Ownership

• Own the Tekion Employee Handbook and all associated policies—initial build, annual review cycle, policy updates, and multi‑state and multi‑country compliance across US, Canada, UK and Germany.
• Ensure the handbook reflects current law and best practices across all countries we operate in — partnering with employment counsel where country‑specific nuance requires it.
• Translate legal and policy updates into clear, plain‑language handbook content that employees can understand and act on.
• Build a policy review cadence so the handbook never becomes outdated — you own the schedule, the process, and the communication to employees when changes are made.
• Maintain supplemental policies consistent with the handbook and current law.

Who You Are

Skills can be taught. Experience is transferable. Culture fit is not. This section matters more than any other in this posting— please read it carefully.

You find ER work genuinely satisfying — not draining.

Every investigation is different. Every manager coaching conversation requires you to read the room differently. Every compliance question has a nuance. You do not see the complexity as a burden — you see it as the part of the job that keeps you sharp. You are energized by getting the answer right, not just getting an answer quickly.

You are proactive, not reactive.

You are not waiting for cases to come to you. You are coaching managers before they create an ER issue. You are building the training calendar before someone asks for it. You are reviewing the handbook before the law changes and you have to scramble. Your instinct is to get ahead of things — always.

You have a growth mindset — and you mean it.

You walk into Tekion knowing there is a lot you do not yet know, and that excites you. You are not here to demonstrate that you already have all the answers. You are here to build infrastructure that does not fully exist yet — and you understand that the first version of everything you create will get better over time.

You thrive in a full build.

The handbook is not done. The compliance training program is not built. The manager coaching playbook does not exist yet. You see this as a canvas, not a complaint. You are energized by the opportunity to build something great, in real time, that will outlast you at this company. You have a growth mindset — and you mean it.

You are genuinely, sustainably positive.

Not performatively positive. Not "positive on Mondays" positive. Your natural orientation is glass half full — and it holds up under pressure, in hard conversations, and on difficult days. You are the person on the team who raises the energy in the room, not the person who quietly drains it. You coach leaders and employees toward higher engagement and performance — which means you have to model it every single day. The People team sets the bar for what a great culture looks and feels like. That starts with you.

You are fiercely loyal to the People team.

You love your client groups. And you love your People team. These are not in competition. You invest in People team relationships and the collective success of the function with the same energy you bring to your business unit portfolio. You do not share frustrations about the People team with leaders or employees. You do not position yourself as "different from the rest of HR." You are a champion for the function — publicly, consistently, and without exception. When the team succeeds, you succeed.

You thrive in a full build — and you don't romanticize it or resent it.

Tekion is building. Processes exist in some places and not others. Systems are evolving. Some things that should be documented aren't. Some things that should be consistent aren't yet. You see this as a canvas, not a complaint. You are the person who identifies a gap and says "let me fix that" — not the person who says "that shouldn't be my job." You build things with positivity and enthusiasm because you understand that what you build today will matter for years.

You are a strategic owner, not an order taker.

You understand the difference between doing tasks for a leader and owning the people health of their organization. You are not waiting to be told what to do. You are showing up with a point of view, an agenda, and a plan. You do the administrative work that sometimes comes with the role — and you do it without complaint — but it is not where you live. You are in the business, knowing it deeply, anticipating what it needs, and driving outcomes that make your client group measurably more successful.

What You Bring

You will thrive here if you:

• Have 5–7 years of employee relations experience with a meaningful investigations portfolio — you have run complex cases involving senior employees and know what it takes.
• Have coached managers on performance documentation and difficult conversations — not just advised them reactively when something went wrong.
• Have designed or delivered compliance or management training that actually changed behavior — not just checked the box.
• Have deep working knowledge of California employment law and multi‑state requirements — and you stay current.
• Have owned a handbook or policy document from creation or full refresh through implementation — not just contributed to a section.
• Can hold a difficult conversation with a frustrated senior leader and stay completely grounded.
• Document everything, miss nothing, and understand that the paper trail is the protection.
• Are fully committed to working in our Pleasanton, CA office five days per week.

Experience that makes you stronger for this role:

• SHRM‑CP, PHR, or employment law certification.
• Experience at a high‑growth SaaS or tech startup where ER volume was high and resources were lean.
• Familiarity with Workday and Emtrain.
• Multi‑country ER experience across US, Canada, and EMEA.
• Background supporting a company through rapid headcount growth where policies needed to scale quickly.
• Experience facilitating manager training or brown bag sessions to a mixed‑level audience.

In‑Office Requirement

This role is based in our Pleasanton, CA office and requires 5 days per week in office. ER work is relationship work. The trust this role requires is built in person. In‑office presence is not optional and is not negotiable. Please apply only if you are currently located in or prepared to relocate to the East Bay area.

Pace & Workload

This is a demanding, high‑ownership role in a company that is growing fast and building constantly. We do not expect perfection. We expect full engagement, sound judgment, and a bias toward getting ahead of things rather than responding to them. If you are energized by real ownership and an environment where great work is noticed — this is the right place.

If the scope of this role excites you rather than overwhelms you — you are probably exactly who we are looking for.

Perks & Benefits

• Competitive compensation and generous stock options.
• 100% employer‑paid top‑of‑the‑line medical, dental and vision coverage.
• Great benefits including unlimited PTO, parental leave and free snacks and beverages.
• The opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds from Silicon Valley’s most dominant and successful companies.
• Be part of an early stage, hyper‑growth start‑up with the opportunity to grow and prosper.
• Work on the latest and coolest technologies – everything is home‑grown and built ground‑up.
• A dynamic work environment with a strong sense of community and collaboration.
• The open and transparent culture that encourages innovation, rewards performance and discourages hierarchy.
• Exciting opportunities for career growth and development.

Current Tekion Employees – Please apply via Greenhouse Internal Job Board.

The salary range describes the minimum to maximum base salary range for this position across applicable US locations. The actual compensation offered may vary from the posted hiring range based on geographic location, work experience, education, licensure requirements and/or skill level and will be finalized at the time of offer. In addition to the compensation listed, this position may be eligible for equity compensation, and/or a bonus or commission whereby total compensation may exceed base salary depending on individual or company performance. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range during the hiring process.

Salary Range

Pleasanton HQ Base Pay Range: $92,000 – $138,000 USD

Tekion is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, victim of violence or having a family member who is a victim of violence, the intersectionality of two or more protected categories, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

For more information on our privacy practices, please refer to our Applicant Privacy Notice here.