Selecting our 2018 Speakers - The Programming Committee

Before you read about all of the great speakers our Programming Committee is bringing to our members – consider attending a Programming Committee meeting! 
 
Meetings are open for anyone to “test out” the committee and see what it’s like before joining.
 
The GMA SHRM Programming Committee is responsible for all program content organized for members throughout the year – committee members get to pick topics and speakers that they feel are relevant and enjoyable to the professional HR community here in Madison!
 
The next Programming Committee meeting will be on 6/27 at Boardman & Clark from 3pm – 5pm

This meeting will involve reviewing the member survey results from the Human Capital Conference to determine what topics the GMA SHRM members are interested in for future programming! 

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2017 WISHRM State Conference - HR's got Talent

Mark your calendars!  The premier Human Resources conference in Wisconsin is happening October 11 – 13, 2017.  This year’s conference will take place at the family-friendly Kalahari resort in Wisconsin Dells. 
In the past, conference attendees had the opportunity to:

• Hear high caliber, nationally-renowned keynote speakers deliver thought-provoking, inspirational and entertaining keynote speeches
• Network with fellow HR peers from across the state
• Meet with vendors ready to support their HR efforts with all kinds of services including solutions to meet your talent, software, legal needs and more
• Pick and choose from numerous learning sessions to tailor their learning
• Earn both general and business credit towards SHRM and HRCI recertification

You can plan to attend for the same amazing benefits.  Register early for the best rate!  Registration opens June 2017!

Visit the WI SHRM Conference page for more information.
 
 

Circular Meetings

By Sarah Gibson,  June PDS Presenter

“I thought we made a decision about this, but here we are in the same meeting, deciding the same thing again two weeks later! Why?!” If you’ve ever thought this, you aren’t alone. Most of us have been part of teams or organizations where you feel like you simply spin your wheels and never move forward.

A client called this week identifying this as one of her greatest frustrations with her team. She said she had something to bring to the team and she knew that if some of the group didn’t agree with the outcome, they’d just bring it up again at a later meeting. We talked about some of the things potentially causing this behavior.
 
So why does this happen? The cause can be fairly simple, as can the fix. Most commonly, the team didn’t have enough healthy conflict around the idea to get buy-in. The conflict may not have happened because there were different communication and processing styles in the meeting.

Some folks can think aloud. Others need space and time. In many cases, the internal processing folks thought about the decision after the meeting and came to a different conclusion. They then returned to the group with their decision, even though external processing folks in the group felt the decision had been made.
 
An easy fix for this type of revisited decision is to provide an agenda with the relevant facts prior to the meeting and being clear about the purpose of the meeting. If the meeting is for information only, say that. If it’s to make a decision, say that in the agenda. This helps processors prepare for the onslaught of out loud thinking, giving them fair footing to contribute to the decision.
 
If you are seeing passive aggressive behaviors when decisions are made, the root cause is often a damaged trust level in the group. Team members figure, “Why have conflict?” because they feel their contribution doesn’t matter anyway.
 
When contributors feel they can’t impact the outcome, we see passive-aggressive behaviors that look like sabotage of previous decisions. These teams never get to the point of conflict because they don’t trust the intentions of the others enough to even engage in any conflict.
 
Patrick Lencioni talks about this phenomenon in his work, The Five Cohesive Behaviors of a Team. As a certified Five Behaviors partner, I find teams need time and space to talk through what got them to the point of feeling as if all team members’ opinions aren’t heard. And while these conversations are difficult, again, the answer is often simple – they’ve never addressed a perception they have of the other folks on the team.
 
Once we address team members’ misinterpretations vs. the intended behaviors, teams are ready to move forward, have healthy conflict and ultimately commit to action as a team, eliminating those frustrating repeat meetings.
 
To learn more about the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team, join us at our June GMA-SHRM meeting where Sarah will walk us through the model and discuss ways to create a healthy, cohesive team, which then increases retention. 

Indecisive When Recruiting

By Jeff Kortes,  June PDS Presenter

Indecisiveness kills…not speed …at least when it comes to competing for the BEST candidates.  I have talked about how little things make a difference to candidates and how they perceive the organization.  I want to sound the wake-up call and talk about indecisiveness and lack of speed in the hiring process before it starts to cost your organization money…and make no mistake…not hiring the best candidates costs you in quality, productivity, sales, creativity…every aspect of your business!  Keep the following thoughts in mind:
 
Currently, the market is relatively slow and it is still more of a company driven market.  Anyone remember 2008?  It was a candidate’s market.  If you took your “sweet time” hiring…even a candidate who was merely GOOD was gone by the time you made a decision.  

The size of the company does not matter.  Candidates are not wowed by the big company name.  Particularly the current generation.  They are looking at opportunity…growth…flexibility…ability to make decisions…autonomy…challenge etc.   In fact…they look at companies that can’t move things along and that seem to “drag their feet” in the hiring process as inflexible, indecisive and not having it “together”…in most cases they are viewed as either arrogant or inept by candidates! 

We have gone back to a candidate market in the next few years.  In fact, we are already seeing it with high potential people.  Unfortunately, many organizations have forgotten the lessons of the past and gone back to their old thought process.  They have convinced themselves that they can take their “sweet time” when making a hiring decision.  WRONG…if you start your hiring process and drag your feet…the best candidate will be gone.  Why?  Because everyone wants the best candidate!  Smart companies recognize that fact and make decisions promptly and…as a result…steal the best candidate right out from under the noses of even big name companies that think they have an edge in the hiring process because of their size.
 
Want to gain an edge in a candidate market…or for that matter in any market?  Be decisive!  You will find yourself beating out even the “biggest” and what people consider “the best” employers because in most cases…they are slow and indecisive.   In this case the belief that “speed kills” is wrong…in fact companies with speed will be the ones that thrive in the candidate driven market that we will face in the future!
 

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SHRM Foundation Certification Scholarships

Sheree Yates, WISHRM Certification Director

In 2017, the SHRM Foundation will award almost $500,000 in support of students seeking undergraduate, graduate, certification and professional development opportunities. It would be great to see Wisconsin SHRM members be recognized as scholarship recipients!
 
Scholarship funds may be used for any combination of test preparation expenses, such as SHRM Certification Preparation tools and/or exam fees.
 
In addition to the SHRM Foundation Certification Scholarships, your WISHRM state council sponsors a Certification Scholarship in the amount of $750 for a SHRM national member who lives or works in Wisconsin and is preparing to sit for the SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP certification exam.
 
When applying for a SHRM certification scholarship, eligible applicants will be considered for both the Foundation and WI State Council sponsored scholarship. To apply go to the SHRM Foundation Scholarship page.

The deadline for the Spring offering is coming up soon so make sure to get your application in.

The WISHRM Certification Scholarship will be awarded in fall 2017. 

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GMA SHRM Idea Exchange

Sometimes you just have that question…..you would really just like to ask an HR colleague quickly.  Perhaps it is limited to your field of work, or a specific situation.  Let GMA SHRM help! 
 
In response to a specific need, we are excited to launch the “Idea Exchange” as part of your membership in GMA SHRM!  The goal of the Idea Exchange is to provide a secure area for all GMA SHRM members to be able to start a dialogue and find someone to network with on a particular issue, and to share files in a more secure format - or at least share contact details so files could be shared.
 
This great new tool is available to all members of GMA SHRM.  You simply sign in on the GMA SHRM Home Page (click on Member Log In at the top) to access questions or to provide your response!”



Once you are logged in, click on ‘File Library’ at the top right, and Idea Exchange will appear on the drop down menu. 



Interested in joining the Social Media & Technology Committee? 
 
Simply want to learn more about what we do? 
 
Join our next committee meeting via telephone conference!   Contact Contact Tia Gibson (tia.gibson@covance.com)  for details – all interested GMA SHRM members are welcome!

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Compensation & Benefits

GMA SHRM Compensation Survey Important To-do’s Survey invitations are scheduled to go out in late April with participation opening on May 1. Watch for your invite to be delivered to your email inbox.  If you did not receive one, go to http://www.gmashrm.org/GMASHRM_Surveys to request access to participate.   Schedule some time to enter salary data for your company before June 16th.   Close the door, grab a cup of coffee (or a beverage of choice), and complete the survey.   Kick back and relax as you wait for Gallagher to compile the survey data. The results are expected to be available for purchase at the beginning of September.    Purchase your survey report for just $300. That’s half off the non-participant price! The survey is not limited to GMA SHRM members. If you know of other organizations that would be interested in participating in the GMA SHRM Compensation Survey, please forward the information. All survey participants will receive the discounted price when purchasing the compensation survey.

GMA SHRM Compensation Survey – NOW OPEN – Participate today and save!

Survey Participation Deadline is June 16th!

A tight job market in Dane County along with the lowest unemployment rate in the state has made finding talent more challenging than usual for Madison area employers. Offering a competitive wage is one of the best ways to maintain an edge in recruiting and retention, but to do that we need to know what other companies are offering their employees. That’s where the GMA SHRM Compensation Survey comes in.

Specialized to local data, the GMA SHRM Compensation Survey is an invaluable resource when compared to other surveys on the market. But it’s only as good as the information it contains. That’s where you come in! The more organizations that participate, the stronger the survey data, and the better prepared you are to reach recruiting and retention goals for your company. 

Our survey is administered by Gallagher Surveys through their secure and user-friendly survey portal.  Invitations to participate were sent out to members on May 1.  If you did not receive one, go to http://www.gmashrm.org/GMASHRM_Surveys to request access to participate.  Data is due June 16^th. 
 
Survey participants will receive a 50% discount on the cost of survey results and you do not have to be a GMA SHRM member to participate or get the discount.   














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WISHRM Diversity Award Nominations Open

WOW! Did you know the chapter was awarded a PLATINUM award by SHRM?
 
This type of recognition deserves a follow-up. We know there are companies with GMA SHRM members that are doing AWESOME work in the areas of diversity, inclusion, and workflex.
 
Let's get your organization and you recognized!  
 
Click here to learn more and complete your application.
 
Deadline is July 7th. Awards are presented at the October WI State SHRM Conference. 



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GMA SHRM Member News