Tag Archives: SHRM

SHRM Leaders-Be one!

leadership shrmNext week brings with it the 2010 SHRM Leadership Conference, and I am thrilled to be able to say that I am attending this event. So, what is it? Well, it’s an event geared toward the volunteer leaders that make things happen in the HR space. SHRM chapters and state councils send their leaders to the conference to learn how to manage their chapters better and provide more value for members. Why do I care to attend?

Better leaders make better organizations.

And because I believe that, I’m going to keep doing two things: encouraging our current leaders to get better/smarter/faster and pushing new people to volunteer for my local SHRM chapter. My time as a volunteer has greatly enhanced my network of local HR pros I can call on if I have questions, and it lets me keep my fingers on the pulse of what is current in the HR space.

You can do it, too!

Did you know you can be a leader, too? It’s really not as difficult to get started as you might imagine. All you have to do is complete a short form in order to volunteer with NASHRM. If you don’t like forms, shoot me an email and I can help you to find the area you’d like to help with. There are multiple areas you can help with, so there’s a good chance that something will be a good fit for you.

Step up. Be a leader. We need good ones now more than ever.

SHRM Volunteer Leaders-New LinkedIn Group

SHRM Leadership Back when I surveyed SHRM volunteer leaders about what really frustrated them, one of the most common responses was a lack of interaction among leadership. Another big issue was a sense of being the only one out there. So from that point on I resolved to help remedy that.

The long story

Interesting story… I usually take it easy on Friday nights and coast through the weekend, then pick up steam on Sunday night to get back into the week at full speed. Well, I had about half an hour of free time last Friday night. Melanie had the girls, and I felt like I needed to get something done before they got home.

Of course I had to write a post about the new social media mentoring project I’m working on, and I also went through cleaning up my email. One in particular struck me.

I had talked to a few people a while back about creating a resource to help SHRM chapter and state council leaders connect and collaborate with each other. Then the email conversation stalled out. Everyone was positive about the idea, and they all agreed it needed to happen, but that’s where it ended.

Let’s make it happen

So, if you know anything at all about me, I’m a doer. I need some action, baby. :-) So I created a LinkedIn group called SHRM Chapter and State Council Leadership.

Fair warning: It’s not for everyone. I don’t want everyone joining.

No, I’m not being a snob, it’s just that I want the conversation to be highly targeted to topics that would be beneficial for chapter and state council leaders. They need this kind of thing.

Leader? Don’t look at me!

I’m way new to this SHRM stuff. I’m not even in a leadership role in my own chapter really (unless webmaster/social media coordinator counts!). But I know that there are amazing people out there who have the knowledge and abilities to help fill this group with helpful ideas and other information. My goal is for this thing to be the resource that SHRM volunteer leaders turn to in order to network and learn how to do their job the very best they can. Just a few ideas for conversations I’d like to see crop up:

  • How can we attract and retain members in our local chapter?
  • What are some of the big steps in planning a statewide conference?
  • Is there a good way to develop a chapter succession plan?
  • How can we jump into social media as a chapter?
  • Who can share some tips for finding compelling speakers?

Heck, those are just off the top of my head. And like I said, those people who are already in there know more about this stuff than I could cram into my noggin in a year. It’s a brain trust, and it’s going to change how SHRM volunteer leaders do what they do. If you are in a leadership role or you know someone who is, please send them the link to the group (or to this post for more info). I’d really appreciate it!

HRYP Series: What You Need To Know

What the heck is an HRYP?

HRYP stands for “human resources young professional.” Yeah, sounds like a mouthful, so HRYP is the easiest way to say it, ‘kay? :-) HRYP is an initiative kicked off by SHRM’s go-to guy for everything on the “young professional” end of the spectrum–Chuck Salvetti.

I had the pleasure of meeting Chuck at SHRM10, and since then I’ve learned more about what they are doing for young professionals in the HR space. I have to say… I love it. My goal from the very beginning was to serve as a resource for those just getting started in human resources, and this initiative is something that closely aligns with my goals for this blog.

With that in mind, I have built a series that links together the strengths and knowledge of some of my trusted resources in the HR arena and the questions/needs of the HRYP community. I am an active participant in the HRYP group on LinkedIn, and I encourage other young HR pros to join (I’m also a fan of the HRYP Facebook group, but I don’t participate there as much). I have had some interesting discussions with the people there, and I am excited to share some helpful information with non-HRYPs related to those conversations.

Top 3 HRYP Concerns Continue reading →

SHRM’s Social Media Guy Dishes on #SHRM10

Despite the intense annoyance he must have felt after meeting me ;-), Curtis Midkiff, SHRM’s new Social Media Guy took the time to do a short email interview to talk about the event and what he sees for the days and weeks ahead. Whatever your thoughts on SHRM may be, this guy is doing some great things, and I can’t wait to see what’s next!

So, Curtis, we’ve seen you here before on the blog in the days ramping up to SHRM10 (meet Curtis Midkiff). Out of all of your predictions for the event, do you think it went as well as you hoped it would? What was the best/worst part?

I think that the overall engagement effort went as I hoped. Continue reading →

What’s the Annual SHRM Conference like?

annual shrm conferenceLast week I had the opportunity to attend the Annual SHRM Conference in San Diego, California. It was a big surprise to be able to attend, and I gained some valuable insights that I can’t wait to try out at work. I was writing about my experience throughout the event, and if you’re interested, you can see everything on the SHRM10 page. Now, for those of you who haven’t attended, I’m going to talk about what the event is really like.

Bigger than you can imagine

Thousands (11,000, to be exact) of HR professionals all in one place. When the keynote sessions were going on, there were 12 giant screens set up all over the room so that everyone could see during the presentation. The conference center was probably half a mile long and took me more than ten minutes to walk from one end to the other at top speed. Just… Wow.

Expo floor is massive

I never realized there were so many vendors in our space. There were hundreds and  hundreds of booths dedicated to all kinds of things, from certification to payroll to background checks and more. And while I’ve heard stories about the mad rush to grab stuff, I still wasn’t prepared to see thousands of normal, everyday HR pros bounding down the aisles looking for something else to pick up and run with.

It’s a hit or miss with speakers

Nobody can ever quite tell how a speaker is going to perform. Some of them did amazingly well, and others just didn’t hit the spot for the crowd. I was very excited to see Steve Forbes speak, but it was mostly about finance and fiscal policy; that caused a lot of the HR pros in the crowd to do some uncomfortable shifting in their seats! I wasn’t really excited to see Marcus Buckingham speak, but his keynote was simply amazing. I’ve since started reading one of his books and can’t wait to put my hands on another.

Session content was a balance, too

Some of the sessions I went to were wonderful, and I took a lot of notes (and even wrote about some, too). Others didn’t turn out so well. I went to two or three sessions where the speaker read off of slides or just didn’t hit the topic the session was supposed to be about. That’s fine, when that happened I just left or started talking to someone in the crowd. I did my best not to waste any time during the event.

Connections-the name of the game

I’m not one of those people who networks for the heck of it. I try to have meaningful conversations with people I find interesting, and if anything sticks, then that’s fine with me. I had the opportunity to connect with some amazing people, including a former SHRM CEO, the former Chief Human Resources Officer at Yahoo, and more. It’s going to be amazing to see where all of this ends up!

The bottom line

If you are interested in going, it’s going to be a big expense. But if you can do it just once in your career, it might be enough to provide lasting value. Even if you’re not able to do it ever again (and who knows if I will be able to!?!), hitting it that first time is going to give you a lot of insights into our profession. And if you do decide to go, shoot me an email. I’d love to give you a few tips. :-)

Anyone else ever been? Have anything additional to say?

Lessons for a lifetime-My #SHRM10 Recap

SHRM10

All I can say about my experience at #SHRM10 is “wow.” I’m still trying to digest all of the lessons from the event, but I can already say that it was completely worth my time and sweat investment. There were 30% more attendees at SHRM10 than at SHRM09, and I think that was a part of the enthusiasm that buzzed around the event.

What did I learn?

I learned more about strategic planning, creating a better experience for job candidates, and serving others. I learned that being involved in the social world before the event helps you to make connections and build upon them once you arrive. I learned that the Monster and Smartbrief teams (and by default, me!) work their butts off to make the experience amazing for everyone.

Here are a few other lessons I’ve learned and a few that I’m still digesting.

Connections

If you’ve ever heard me or another socially-active person mention events, we probably mention connections as a benefit. While it seems somewhat vague, I’ll put it this way: I have a list of 30 people to follow up with who most people would salivate to connect with. Why do I, a little old HR guy from Huntsville, Alabama, get to reach out to them? I’m not completely sure, but I think it has something to do with my passion for the profession and my desire to see things improve. I can’t think of any other reason they’d be interested. :-)

Even if I had done nothing else during this event other than talk and meet people, it would have been completely worth the effort. How’s that for value?

The day job

It seemed almost like an afterthought, but I did get some great ideas to carry back with me to my day job. While I didn’t get to see all of the sessions I wanted (some of those suckers fill up fast!), I did experience a handful of solid, value-packed speakers who challenged my thinking. This list is going to be the frustrating one, probably. While I’d like to work on the 50 things we’re doing wrong, in reality I just can’t find the time to do all of them. But if I can make a few small changes (just a few, mind you), and it has a positive impact on my workplace and the overall organization, I think I might be okay with that for now.

Questioning my path

One thing I didn’t expect was questioning my career choices. I had multiple conversations with Eric Winegardner from Monster, Jennifer McClure from Unbridled Talent, and Gerry Crispin from CareerXroads. All three of them are superstars in their own right, and all of them encouraged me to continue growing and developing in my career.

One of the most profound statements I’ve ever heard from Eric (and it wasn’t this one) was this: move up, not out. So many amazing HR pros eventually take off and leave the profession instead of continually climbing to be Directors, VPs, and Chief HR Officers. We need more great people to ascend to those positions instead of leaving them to the people with seniority by default (even if they don’t have the skills or passion to be great at it).

Jennifer asked me what I wanted to do with my career. I didn’t have a quick answer to that, and she reminded me that as a recruiter, I needed to know what I wanted before it was offered. For example, if she called me to recruit for a position I seriously wanted, but I sounded unsure, then I’d probably be passed over completely for the job even though it was a good fit for me. I need to figure out what I want to do next so I can seize the opportunity when it comes along.

Projects and partners

While I’m active quite often, it’s never as fulfilling when I’m working alone. I love love love getting the opportunity to help someone else to finish a difficult task or build something new. It’s so much more exciting and fun to share things with other people.

  • Mike VanDervort shared a great idea that I can’t wait to assist him with.
  • I’m on the lookout for ideas I can share with Matt Charney, because he was so helpful throughout my conference experience.
  • Bryan Wempen and John Jorgenson (among others) are great local/state SHRM leaders, and I am seriously thinking about partnering with them to develop more resources to better serve their members.
  • Chuck Salvetti, the guy in charge of student and young professional stuff at SHRM, has asked if I would volunteer to help get the young professional group up and running smoothly. I’ just sent in my application, Chuck!

There are others, but I don’t want to let all of the cats out of the bag just yet.

Keep the flame burning

While I’m completely and totally on fire right now, it won’t last. I’m going to try to stave it off for as long as I possibly can, but the experience will fade from my mind and other stuff will clutter up my brain. How in the world can I keep it going? What if I don’t have an Uncle Andre hanging around to help keep me on the right track? If I could have learned one thing at SHRM, it would have been how to keep the spirit and enthusiasm all year long. Exploring that one could be a complete post in itself, but if you have your own suggestions, I’d love to hear them!

SHRM membership in my future?

I was prompted by some amazing people, including Gerry Crispin, Nancy Newell, Sue Meisinger, Tara Mauk Arthur, China Gorman, Nancy Slotnick (and more), to join SHRM. I still haven’t made the leap just yet, but I think it’s going to be sometime in the near future. To top it off, both Gerry and Sue offered me this deal: if I don’t get my money’s worth in value from SHRM membership, then they will pay me back out of their own pockets. It doesn’t get much simpler than that, huh?

What you missed if you weren’t there

If you haven’t seen it yet, there was some amazing content generated from the event. Below are some of the best resources I’ve seen so far (and a few of mine thrown in because I’m me :-)).

Quick Hits from Sunday at #SHRM10

This weekend has been a whirlwind of activity and the big stuff hasn’t even started just yet. As I’ve said before, I’m working as a part of the Monster Street Team to cover the event. Here’s the whole backstory. I have a few pieces of content in the works, and here are a few quick snippets I can share from my barely registering brain cells. :-)

  • I’m here to cover leadership, culture, and other related topics. You can keep the total rewards, legislative updates, etc. :-)
  • Matt, Lisa, Eric, Janet, and Kathy (all of them are Monsters) are just amazing. Seeing all of their hard work going into this event to make things amazing for the participants is just wild. Keep up the great work, people.
  • Neat survey stuff coming from the SHRM research lab hidden deep in an underground bunker somewhere in DC.
  • John Hollon hits the keynote by Steve Forbes with heavy criticism.
  • This thing is so incredibly huge for someone who’s never done it before. Who knew that HR was this big?
  • Corporate lactation was a big topic at the Sunday night Monster planning session. Yeah, you heard me right. Having two dudes running a lactation booth is wrong in so many ways.
  • There was a wild mob just before the keynote. Click for the video.
  • SHRM10 has 30% more participants than last year (11,000 total). I’m hoping that’s because they want to learn something and not just because it’s in California. ;-)
  • I met with my friend Terri Zaug from HRCP and it was fantastic. I’ve been working with them for almost a year and it was great to finally meet in person. If you’re looking at getting certified, hit them up and tell them I sent you.
  • I met another pal, Cori Curtis with Baudville, and I got a sweet bag with goodies that says, “I put the HR in HERO.” :-) I think you’ll enjoy some of their fun stuff that’s all about helping to make work more fun and encouraging for people, so drop by and get some goodies.
  • SHRM’s team is doing some great work. Keep it up, people!
  • During the press briefing (and all through the day yesterday) I kept hearing about the work that SHRM is doing with veterans. I think it’s great that they are making an effort to reintegrate our fighting men and women into the workforce.

I’m sure there’s more, but that’s all I can make out for now. Anyone else see or do anything great?