Meet Monique Franklin: A Member of The Administrative Team

Monique Franklin is one of the first faces people interact with when they join the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. She serves as the Home Department Coordinator and handles human resources and payroll activities. Franklin is resourceful, warm, and attentive, and a core member of the administrative team who manages and oversees Human Resources relations for employees.

“Monique handles the daily aspects of HR in a large department like ours with persistence and grace, and it is rare not to see her with a smile on her face, even in challenging times,” shares Ralph Wipfli, Senior Research Administrative Director. “She cares deeply about the staff and is an excellent HR representative for our department vis-à-vis KSOM and USC.” This past June, Monique celebrated 21 years at USC. Read about her role within the Department.

How long have you been working at USC and what are your responsibilities?

I started working at the USC Credit Union in 2002. I was there for eight years and after I joined the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences. I have been with this department for 13 years now. I work in human resources. I have many responsibilities including ensuring vacant positions are posted, onboarding staff and students, managing payroll transactions, handling visa paperwork, and answering questions on benefits and pay. My work essentially covers anything that pertains to pay or the hiring process.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I enjoy interacting with the staff, faculty, and students in our department. This is why I come into the office 4 days a week—so I can interact with people. I’ve found that meeting people in-person makes them feel more comfortable when discussing their requests, roles or benefits. Being in the office offers a different dynamic compared to a meeting on zoom or a phone call.

Who do you work the closely with in the Department?

I work closely with Cristina Ticsay [Home Department Payroll Tech], but overall, I work with everyone in administration. This includes the research team, administration team, and finance team.

Why did you decide to work here and what are you proudest of about this department?

As far as choosing to work in this department, I wasn’t looking for a position in the public health field, but an opportunity came up. I enjoy interacting with my colleagues and like the human resources and payroll aspects of my work. Since I’ve been here, I have learned a lot about population and public health sciences. Once you start going to the talks or reading the researcher’s studies, you gain a lot of knowledge. I remember going to a talk where one of our faculty members was presenting their research, it was very impressive, and I was blown away. I’ve learned a lot about things I didn’t know before I transferred here.

What I am proudest of about this department was when we were able to change our name. That was so exciting!

What skills do you need to thrive in your position?

You need to have people skills because you interact with people from all walks of life with different personalities—it’s not one kind of person that you are engaging with. Education and qualifications are important in this role, but people skills are something that cannot be taught. You have to be able to deal with different people.

Similarly, it’s important to listen and for people to feel heard. I’ve learned that sometimes people are looking for advice, but sometimes they just want to vent, and it’s important to listen.

How did people in the Department fair being away from the office during the pandemic?

I think in the beginning, it was hard for many of us because no one knew what to expect. As time progressed, we all learned how to adapt to the things we weren’t used to. Similarly, working a hybrid schedule became easier for some, but not for others. You had to learn how to sit at your computer all day which is something we weren’t used to working in the office—because in the office you get up to go to lunch or on a break. When you’re home it’s different. You have a tendency of remaining at your computer throughout the day. One thing that I have learned and shared is if you’re working remotely, every 30 minutes look away from your screen. Also, regularly get up stretch and take a walk—this way it doesn’t burn you out.

Get to know Monique:

Where do you call home?

I’ve lived in California all my life.

What did you want to be as a kid?

When I was younger—before I got to high school, I wanted to be a teacher. Even to this day, I still share knowledge with the people around me. As I got older, I wanted to be sheriff. I enjoy being involved in the community and protecting people because I am a people person.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I’m a huge fan of all sports. I played sports in high school—and my sons also played football. As they got older and ventured into other activities, I became more interested in different sports. My favorite football team is the San Francisco 49ers. I also support the Trojans, the Los Angeles Lakers, The Los Angeles Dodgers and The Los Angeles Angels. I pretty much watch all sports from golf to tennis. Also, for over 20 years I was a volunteer for a youth organization that involves sports.

I also love traveling. I haven’t been able to travel as much since the pandemic, but before, I travelled to other parts of the country that I had always wanted to see.