SHRM, you make me laugh. I see emails coming in from you on a weekly basis with offers for discounts, free totes, and more. The value of membership? It’s there. Let’s focus on that.

See, I’ve been a Society for Human Resources Management member since August 2010. Why did I join? Well, it wasn’t for a reason most people end up joining SHRM. I didn’t sign up for the white papers, the templates, the webcasts, or even the discounts on attending their events.

I signed up to volunteer.

Chuck Salvetti, the manager of the student and YP programs at SHRM, reached out to me last summer to see if I would be interested in being the chairman of the SHRM Young Professional Advisory Council. I leaped at the chance, but the caveat was that I had to be a member in order to volunteer on the committee. So, grudgingly, I signed up.

I’m so glad I did.

Since then, I’ve been more than confident that it was the right decision for me. Not only have I had the opportunity to participate in some great discussions that will shape the focus of the SHRM YP program, but I’ve also started using the tools that the organization provides. Last November, just a few short months after becoming a member, I took on a new HR role in a startup company. Suddenly I needed those webcasts, white papers, and templates to do my job on a daily basis.

I still tell people to join local SHRM chapters for the community/connections and the national SHRM for the content. However, after seeing the work they are doing with SHRM Connect, I could be recommending national membership for building connections if they can get the tool cleaned up and re-released.

Bottom line: SHRM is doing some great things in both traditional HR spaces and in social media. If you are not a member, I highly encourage you to give it a hard look. If you are where I was a year ago and membership doesn’t make sense for you, then pay your local dues and help them rock their chapter. There’s a role out there for everyone. It’s up to you to find yours and fill it.

Thank you to SHRM for sponsoring HRevolution!

SHRM-Membership discounts and the value proposition is a post from: UpstartHR

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Recently I had the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. to work with the Society for Human Resources Management and a great team of individual contributors on SHRM’s social media tool, SHRM Connect. While some of us have criticized SHRM for moving slowly at times, it looks like they are making great strides on this project.

Check out the video below for more information.

SHRM Connect-SHRM’s Social Networking Tool is a post from: UpstartHR

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In November I released the free Rock Your Chapter guide to the public. The intent was to create something to help local chapters and state councils to attract, retain, and engage their members. Since then, the guide has been downloaded over 200 times! I just want to thank everyone for their support and ask that you continue to share this tool. Many chapters have a change in leadership with the new calendar year, and this would be a great way to get a jump start on new ideas for 2011.

Rave reviews

I’ve also had a lot of great reviews/testimonials from the volunteer leader community. It’s amazing to get the support from everyone that I have received. A quick sample:

Ben hits the nail on the head. “Rock Your Chapter” rocks!!
Posted by Lori Goldsmith, SPHR, GPHR

Thanks for putting your ideas on paper and working to make us all better.
(Cincinnati HR) Posted by Julie Johnson

This is great stuff! I will share with the Guam and Saipan chapters and let you know the results. Thank you for taking the time to put this together.
Posted by Katherine Gillespie Dote

Nicely done. Finally had a chance to download and read. Will happily pass along to others as well!
Posted by Bradley Galin, SPHR

Great book Ben. I printed it, read it and have sent links to my Chapter Board Members. I also posted a link on both the Georgia SHRM State Council LinkedIn Group and the Georgia SHRMState Council Membership LinkedIn Group!
Posted by Kevin Smith, SPHR

Can you help?

I love giving these things away for free. The best part for me is knowing that it’s helping a person somewhere that I don’t even know, simply because someone like you shared it with them. Here are a few ways you can help me (and other chapters in your area):

• Send an email to your local and/or state board with the link to this page
• Share the link on twitter
• Post it on your local chapter or state council Facebook page or LinkedIn group
• Tell other volunteers you know about how much you enjoyed it (assuming you did!)
• Tell me about how it helped you so I can make the next one better

Thanks for the support, everyone! Click here if you want to download the guide or see the reviews.

Attracting, retaining, and engaging members of your SHRM chapter is a post from: UpstartHR

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I’m not sure how many of you knew it, but I have the honor of serving as the chairman for the SHRM YP committee. Not sure what that is? Well, the video below will clue you in. I talk about some of the things the Society for Human Resource Management is doing to target young professionals and a few reasons why it’s a hot button issue for me.

This week is going to be a busy one for me, so I’m considering a full week of videos. I recorded a handful while I was out of town last week, and if I can pull them together, you can listen/watch instead of read this week. Enjoy!

Email subscribers need to click through to see the video below.

Young HR Pros and #SHRM is a post from: UpstartHR

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I meant this video to be a quick response to the social media panel and then I start rambling on about other stuff that I’ve been thinking about during this event. Soon enough the video will come out with all of us on the panel and that will be worth its own post. Enjoy!

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There was a great panel this morning at the SHRM Leadership Conference about some of the “hot” HR issues, including Diversity and Inclusion, Workplace Flexibility, and Social Media. Check out the short video below where I talk about some of the interesting quotes I heard.

(When I tested the video, it played without the lag between the visual and the audio. But them someone told me it was showing weird for them. Sorry about that if it’s broken, but just listen. As always, it’s the content that counts!)

Video Notes:

• Eric Petersen-importance of separating the things  a 20 year old does and the things that make a generation different.
• Lisa Horn-workplace flexibility isn’t just for women. Yeah.
• Curtis Midkiff-Continuing the conversation after a conference is one of the best uses for social media.

Yeah, it’s not exactly what I came here for, but I thought they were interesting enough to share.

SHRM Leadership Conference-Panel on D&I, Flexibility, and Social Media #SHRM10Lead is a post from: UpstartHR

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Why would I take a few days away from my precious family to attend the SHRM Leadership Conference? It’s simple, really. I wanted to see and hear from other people in the SHRM volunteer community. I created the SHRM Volunteer Leaders LinkedIn group to help connect and collaborate with these people. But that was just the first step. Now the Rock Your Chapter eBook is out there and I want to keep the conversation going about how to make chapters better.

I’m looking bigger than my own little chapter. Yes, I’m dedicated to helping them and have already set aside 2011 to serve as the Social Media Coordinator/Webmaster for NASHRM, but I want to connect with other leaders to learn and grow (them and me).

A few good examples

The LinkedIn Group: Mark Christensen initiated a discussion about having a time to talk about state best practices during the Leadership Conference. The discussion received a lot of comments, and (surprise surprise!) SHRM then added some time to talk about it. If that doesn’t make you feel good that they are paying attention (somewhat, anyway), then I don’t know what will.

Chapter director collaboration: My friend Bobbi Wilson found out recently that she was going to be the Certification Director at NASHRM for 2011. In an effort to help her get started on the right foot, I reached out to my network to find other certification professionals at other chapters. I gathered some names and email addresses and passed them along to Bobbi.

Now tell me this. If this is her first time as our chapter’s certification person, do you think she’ll do a better or worse job now that she has 5-10 people to brainstorm with? Yeah. That’s a micro example of what my eventual goal is with this SHRM volunteer leader stuff.

Connecting isn’t optional

I tweeted this last night during a conversation, and it started a great discussion with some of the people I was sitting with. At one point earlier today, someone actually said the words: “I’m connected enough.” I had to roll my eyes at that. There’s no such thing. Just because you can do what you do now without a solid network in place doesn’t mean you’ll always be able to handle what comes your way.

Networking is a great way to prepare for those “Ahhh! What do I do?” events. Just like in the job search, by the time you’ve lost your job it’s too late to start networking. Same with this. Don’t wait. Join in. Use some of the tools and see what you can do. Need a hand? Here’s a social media mentoring program.

Let’s stop living in our little bubbles. It just doesn’t cut it anymore.

SHRM Leadership Conference-Why I Came is a post from: UpstartHR

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