By JO-ANN CUBELLO Contributing Reporter Joyce McNeely Award for Excellence in Employee Relations Armine Muradyan REM Eyewear, Sun Valley After receiving her MBA in Human Resources Management, Armine Muradyan achieved her life-long goal of becoming a Human Resources Director, and has worked in the field for over 15 years. She joined REM Eyewear in 2005 and oversees the needs of 166 employees. “Human Resources can be a lot of work, but every organization needs an HR department that plays an integral role in the process of their business. I feel that my goal as director is to motivate people to superior performance and to re-organize group achievements by providing vision and guidance. I feel that I have improved major HR practices at REM Eyewear,” Muradyan explains. She believes that problem-solving is a skill and very important for individuals who work in HR. Muradyan finds, though, that many people have trouble handling issues whether they are serious or just daily conflicts. “If a problem occurs I try to understand it completely, gather all the information needed to make an informed decision, and to keep the emotional part out of it,” she stresses. But, she adds, that most of the time that once any hidden facts are revealed the problem usually will be solved on its own “Armine joined REM a few years after I did. Although we had rules, policies and procedures, they were not enforced. She did an exceptional job re-writing them as well as implementing them,” reports Michelle Harris, Manager of Purchasing at REM Eyewear. “She created a Safety Committee, events to raise money and several other projects to help boost morale. It is a difficult task but Amine works hard for all of us. She has proven herself as a professional and caring HR Director.” For Muradyan, communication is a key factor in keeping HR on an even level. She makes sure that employees and managers are informed of company activities and events. “I am never out of reach when they need to talk and discuss human resource issues. I am also constantly looking out for safety and leadership training and hopefully my new ideas have helped everyone.” She feels that re-directing the company into an HR friendly environment is her best accomplishment. Besides the safety committee that she initiated, which has helped to decrease work related accidents, she helps prepare the company for fires, earthquakes and any disasters. “In the future, I would like to see more education in this area and more time to understand and implement any new laws and regulations since there are so many to follow. If the government could just stop changing them for a while it would make it easier for HR executives to operate their departments more efficiently.” Muradyan says.
