Rebecca Radosevich has worked as an HR leader and attorney for over 20 years. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Bowling Green University, a Master’s Degree in Organizational Development from Clemson University, and a Juris Doctor from Nova Southeastern University. Rebecca began her HR career in Toledo, Ohio. She has worked as an HR leader for nonprofit organizations, health care, and manufacturing where she led an HR team overseeing 20+ locations. After starting her family, she decided to go back to school to achieve her dream of becoming a lawyer. She then practiced labor and employment law, representing both employers and employees in employment litigation cases for a number of years. In 2016, she decided to go in-house and was hired as Corporate Counsel for her current employer, Off Lease Only. The organization was growing and when the need for an HR leader arose, Rebecca was selected for the role. She currently works as the Chief Human Resources Officer for Off Lease Only.
Favorite Quote: “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” — Estee Lauder
Fun Fact: I love animals and have two dogs and two cats.
How do you unwind after a long day of work? I spend time with my husband and two children.
What challenges have you faced in your career, and how did you overcome them? The biggest challenge in my career was making the decision to leave HR to pursue a career in law. It took a lot of soul searching. I had worked so hard to get as far as I had in my career, but I wanted more. It was a big risk to start my career over again, but I have never looked back. The knowledge and experience I gained from practicing law has made me a better HR leader, executive, and practitioner.
What has been the most monumental moment of your career thus far? Graduating law school and passing the Florida Bar
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten? My mother told me, “Nobody ever said, ‘I’m sorry I got an education.'” (When considering whether I should attend law school)
What qualities make for an outstanding HR professional? An outstanding HR professional is someone who is business minded, poised, friendly but firm, with the ability to multi-task, and find the right balance between employee advocate and management representative. An outstanding HR professional must also be able to maintain confidentiality, be a good listener, and confidant. Most of all, an outstanding HR professional must be able to admit when they do not know the answer and then find the answer.
How have you adapted your HR skills to COVID? COVID was new and unprecedented for everyone. As an HR leader, it was my job to ensure the health and safety of our employees while getting the support of company leadership and the HR team so that we could implement and enforce measures to keep people safe. The effort required organization, leadership, teamwork, patience, time and commitment.
What are some misconceptions about HR and how do you combat them? I have often found that managers see HR as the police who are only employed to stop them from doing what they want to do. I always tell managers to tell us what they want to achieve and HR will help them get there and get there legally.
What do you like most about working in HR? I love the opportunity to work with people! I also love the variety of work that HR offers and the fact that I can use both my legal and HR skills and experience every day.
