It’s a new year, and many of you SHRM chapters and state councils out there will be looking for content to engage your members this year. I’m yet again volunteering on the board of NASHRM, my local chapter, so this is near and dear to my heart. I’ll be hosting a SHRM Chapter Volunteer Leader Series occasionally as a way to give content ideas (as I am today), offer advice on board leadership, and more. I’m working to republish the free Rock Your Chapter eBook, and these are updates I expect to include in the new version. And now, with no further delay, the content…

Note: I’m hooked on The 100. Great sci fi show, if you’re that kind of geek.

A consistent challenge I have observed for the last six years of working as a volunteer board member is finding good content for our members. The Programs team works hard, but they, like virtually all SHRM volunteers, have full time jobs, families, and other responsibilities. So I wanted to pull together 100 programming ideas to consider in the coming year. One of the great things about SHRM chapters is that you don’t always have to bring in world class speakers (but you can if you have the budget, of course). You can pull in a local subject matter expert to share about things they know and are passionate about, and your members will benefit. Keep that thought in mind as you read through these. If any of them strike you, try to think of people you know that could share on the topic. And these are just starter ideas–take them where you wish!

Also, if you’re a SHRM chapter/council volunteer and have requests for the series (or speaking opportunities), email me.

100 SHRM Chapter Seminar Ideas

1. No, really, please use the 401k: how to drive engagement in retirement plans
2. Get outta here: how to prepare your employees to retire
3. Nuke the paper: how to reduce clutter in your HR processes
4. You want what?!? The role of influence in HR
5. Small but mighty: how to run a great (small) HR department
6. Yours is bigger, but mine is better: how to succeed with a small team
7. Best practices for establishing efficient, yet lawful, HR processes
8. Just Hand Over the Handbook and Nobody Gets Hurt: moving from static to active HR
9. 10 Things I Hate About Your Career Site
10. 6 tips to “wow” employees with HR communications
11. How to make succession management a success
12. Face the Fear: How to Demonstrate Positive HR Practices
13. 20 small ways to revolutionize your leadership
14. First, Admit You Have a Problem: How to move to proactive HR
15. Bite me: how to handle aggressive employee behaviors
16. Open Up: what level of transparency makes sense for your business?
17. Way to go, Sherlock–How to investigate the workplace
18. Branding: What it is and Why you need it
19. Great HR is Invisible (hat tip to Frank Roche)
20. Oh no you didn’t–how to mediate employee conflict
21. Did you see what she’s wearing? How to create a common sense dress guideline
22. Yours, Mine, Ours: how to integrate after a merger or acquisition
23. Hello, Sweetheart: how to deal with workplace romance
24. Why does everyone look like me? How to develop a diverse workforce
25. 3 key ways to recruit minority candidates
26. Top 5 laws that apply to recruiting and selection
27. Avoid the Noid: how to keep bad candidates from getting in the door
28. Hands off: supervisor training essentials
29. 4 benefit trends to capitalize on
30. Oops: 7 ways to ruin your high potentials
31. In Case of Emergency: how to create crisis plans
32. The Walking Dead: how to identify and remove disengaged staff
33. Radio for backup: How to build a team you can depend on
34. The Lowdown on Leadership Development
35. 10 things marketing can teach us about smarter HR practices
36. Say it like you mean it: how to deliver great presentations
37. A vs B: how to compare and contrast vendor options
38. How to keep people awake in training (without using coffee)
39. Email: Corporate Comms or Strategic Engagement Driver?
40. Whoops! How to handle workplace safety issues
41. Yo Mama! How to recruit a candidate’s family
42. Congratulations! Key ways to keep new parents engaged
43. Sigh. How to make your meetings engaging and powerful
44. 13 insights you can get from HR metrics
45. The Next Generation: Moving from metrics to analytics
46. He Said What? Why you need to train your supervisors
47. 8 ways to identify high potential employees
48. 3 methods for cutting HR costs
49. 12 points to consider in your change management planning
50. All together now! Developing strong collaboration practices
51. How to disengage your employees in 5 stupid ways
52. Flexibility: What it looks like and how it boosts your business
53. Agility: how an engineering term can help HR
54. Close the gap: Knitting together employees and leadership
55. Don’t motivate, inspire (hat tip to Chris Ferdinandi)
56. Creating a passionate, productive workforce
57. Show me the money: calculating the value of your talent practices
58. Back to the Future: HR practices in 2020
59. What would HR have looked like 300 years ago?
60. 15 critical HR skills for today’s practitioners
61. Go Pro: how to become an HR pro in 3 easy steps
62. 4 (not so easy) ways to make candidates love your brand
63. You Break It, You Buy It: how to handle careless employees
64. Ah, ah, achoo! Creating Sick Leave Policies that Work
65. 4 Employee Perks that Won’t Cost a Dime
66. Why Voluntary Benefits are the Best Benefits
67. Get Well Soon! How to drive wellness initiatives
68. HR as a Conductor of the Organizational Orchestra
69. School’s Out for Summer! PTO, Vacation, and Employee Leave Best Practices
70. 3 Reasons You Should Quit Relying on Talent Technology
71. Once Upon a Time: How storytelling makes your communications better
72. There’s a Monster In My Closet: dealing with irrational leadership
73. 4 Things Your Assessment Provider Won’t Tell You
74. 3 Questions to Ask Your Talent Acquisition Vendor
75. 6 Ways to Know if An Employee is Lying
76. Personnel to Human Resources: How to be a strategic business asset
77. How to manage the email monster and get more done
78. 3 easy ways to turn managers into leaders
79. Bert and Ernie: How to leverage friendships for engagement
80. Cookie Monster: How to drive healthy employee behaviors
81. Oscar the Grouch: How to manage negative employees
82. Big Bird: How to demonstrate executive presence
83. How to reward innovation without breaking the bank
84. 7 tips for empowering employees
85. Culture Shock: Preparing expatriates for new assignments
86. Anylearning: How to encourage employees by offering non-work related training
87. Intermittent what? How to manage employees on FMLA leave
88. A Pile of Shift (Workers): Managing a 24-hour workforce
89. Make my day: How to negotiate like a pro
90. 5 things HR can learn from finance
91. How to create a strategic partnership with your CFO
92. 6 things HR does that drives employees crazy
93. Anything you can do I can do better: Ensuring gender equality in the workplace
94. 8 ideas for revolutionizing your HR service, starting today
95. With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: How to prepare employees for greatness
96. Say Hello to My Little Friend: Weapons at work, how to handle it, and what’s legal
97. I’ll Be Back: How to deal with boomerang employees
98. Life is like a box of chocolates: Predicting employee performance before they’re hired
99. Frankly My Dear, I… Want to know how to handle profanity at work
100. ET Phone Home: How to communicate based on employee preferences

I’d love to hear your thoughts on some of these. Which ones would you like to hear? Which ones would bore you to tears? :-) Anything you’d add to the list?