People Operations Manager

Riggs CAT; Little Rock (AR); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Riggs CAT is seeking a senior leader to head People Operations, shaping employee experience from onboarding through ongoing development. You will set the standards for the team, ensuring compliant, scalable processes across payroll, benefits, and associate support.

Responsibilities include managing HR staff, guiding employee relations and separations, and partnering with finance on compensation and benefits. The role emphasizes urgency, selflessness, and excellence as core values.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive HR or People Operations experience, including at least 2 years managing HR staff.
• Hands-on experience with recruiting, onboarding, employee relations, investigations, and terminations.
• Working understanding of current employment regulations and HR compliance.
• Experience drafting or revising policies and handbook language.

Responsibilities

• Lead the People Operations team and set standards for HR service delivery.
• Own hiring and onboarding processes, scaling as Riggs Cat grows.
• Guide employee relations, investigations, and separations with consistent outcomes.
• Draft and enforce HR policy in collaboration with counsel.
• Oversee benefits, payroll, and reimbursements with cross-functional partners.
• Improve HR processes and leverage HRIS and tracking tools for metrics.

Skills

Leadership

Employee relations

Payroll knowledge

Recruiting

Policy drafting

HRIS proficiency

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR or related field

SHRM-CP / SHRM-SCP or PHR / SPHR certification

Tools

Paylocity

monday.com

HRIS

Job description

Riggs CAT

Description: People Operations is the backbone of the employee experience at Riggs Cat, from a new hire’s first day and throughout their Riggs career. This leader runs that function hands‑on: setting standards for the team, handling the situations that call for experience, compassion, leadership and good judgment, while building processes that scale as the company grows. Everything here lives the Riggs Way — Urgent. Selfless. Excellent.

What you will do

Lead the People Operations team

• Set priorities, standards, and service expectations for the Specialist and Generalist; coach, develop, and develop both through respective career paths


• Build cross‑training and documented procedures so payroll, benefits, and associate support never depend on one person


• Step in hands‑on during peak periods such as open enrollment, year‑end payroll, and high‑volume hiring and spikes in day‑to‑day employee questions


• Develop an updated catalog of job roles and levels within roles while working across departments to update salary / hourly ranges by level and criteria for job role level movement

Own hiring and onboarding

• Work with department and branch managers: workforce needs, job postings, compliance, employee support and disciplinary matters


• Run a consistent onboarding program for office and skilled hires alike, from paperwork and orientation through the first 90 days


• Build hiring and onboarding processes that can scale quickly, including bringing on entire teams at once as Riggs Cat grows

Guide employee relations and separations

• Serve as the go‑to resource for managers and associates on concerns, conflict, coaching, and corrective action


• Conduct and document workplace investigations, and recommend fair, consistent outcomes


• Handle terminations where necessary: review documentation, prepare the conversation, conduct or support the meeting, and complete separation steps


• Make exit feedback actionable through addressing needed improvements while determining a way to spot and address retention risks

Draft and enforce policy

• Assist in drafting new policies and updating existing policies and handbook language working with in‑house counsel


• Communicate policy changes in plain terms and train managers to apply them consistently


• Maintain a working understanding of current federal and state employment regulations (e.g., FLSA, FMLA, ADA, EEO, I-9), flag risks early, and know when to involve in‑house or employment counsel


• Maintain accurate, confidential personnel records and audit‑ready documentation

Oversee benefits, payroll, and reimbursements

• Ensure benefits administration, payroll, and reimbursements are accurate, on time, and handled according to the handbook


• Partner with Finance and benefits vendors on renewals, enrollment, and payroll issues

Improve the function

• Report on headcount, turnover, hiring progress, and other people metrics for leadership using both leading and lagging measures


• Streamline HR processes and make better use of the HRIS and tracking tools

What you will need

• 5+ years of progressive HR or People Operations experience, including at least 2 years managing HR staff


• Hands‑on experience with recruiting, onboarding, employee relations, investigations, and terminations


• A working understanding of current employment regulations and HR compliance


• Experience drafting or revising policies and handbook language


• Enough familiarity with payroll, benefits, and reimbursement processes to oversee the work and troubleshoot exceptions


• The ability to communicate effortlessly with professional office teams and skilled trades and technician groups


• Sound judgment and discretion with sensitive and confidential information


• Proficiency with an HRIS and standard office software


• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field


• SHRM‑CP / SHRM‑SCP or PHR / SPHR certification

Preferred

• Experience in an equipment dealership, construction, manufacturing, or other technician‑heavy, multi‑location environment


• Experience with high‑volume hiring or bringing on large groups of new employees at once


• Experience supporting a multi‑site or multi‑state workforce


• Experience with Paylocity and monday.com

How you work

• Urgent: responsive to managers and associates, and never lets a payroll error or undocumented termination slide as \"close enough\"


• Selfless: backs up the team, gives credit, and takes on the hard conversations personally


• Excellent: documents it, applies policy consistently, and improves the process

Work environment and physical requirements

Work is performed primarily in an office setting, with regular visits to shops, service bays, and job sites where noise levels may be high and safety equipment may be required. Requires frequent sitting, talking, and listening; occasional standing and walking.

Why Riggs Cat

• A Caterpillar dealer with a legacy of excellence since 1927


• A team‑oriented culture that values innovation, teamwork, and client success


• Competitive compensation and benefits

This job description is not all‑inclusive and may change as the needs of the business and the requirements of the job change.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand and walk. The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

This employee must be able to exert 10 lbs of force frequently and 50 lbs of force on occasion. This position requires kneeling, standing, squatting, and grasping frequently.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Required travel up to 50-75%, dependent on market conditions and salesmen needs.

This position is considered a safety sensitive position.

The Job description is subject to change by the employer as the needs of the employer and requirements of the job change.

EEO/AA

Salary/Exempt

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

Equal employment opportunity, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.