March
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HR InTouchThe Monthly Newsletter of the Greater Madison Area SHRM |
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In This EditionPresident's Message COVID-19 Resources Information for Madison Area HR Professionals Government Affairs & Legal Updates Disparate Impact Claims Remain Significant Concern for Employers Compensation & Benefits GMA SHRM Compensation Survey is Now Available! Professional Development HR Manager Burnout is on the Rise Grow Personally and Professionally as a Volunteer March 15, 2022 Professional Development Summit - Virtual Focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion May 17th Human Capital Conference! Roundtables Return Virtual to Start 2022! Workforce Readiness, Diversity & Inclusion Spotlight Workforce Readiness Committee Diversity Observances in March Monthly Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development - Helpful Links: Employee Rights under Wisconsin’s Business Closing/Mass Layoff Notification Law
Welcome New Members!
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Greetings, GMA SHRM Members and HR Professionals! Click here to view the full GMA SHRM Board of Directors
Information for Madison Area HR ProfessionalsGMA SHRM HR COVID-19 Resource Page This page has direct links to:
Government Affairs & Legal Updates Disparate Impact Claims Remain Significant Concern for Employers
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%20(A2904780x9DEB4)_135x169.JPG) Brian P. Goodman |
 Sarah J. Horner  Storm Larson |
Title VII forbids intentional discrimination as well as neutral practices or policies which disproportionately harm a protected class of people. This second category of claims are called “disparate impact” claims. Because disparate impact claims involve challenges to company policies, they often involve large numbers of employees. For this reason, such claims may be brought as a “class action.” In a class action, one lead plaintiff represents the interests of other similarly affected plaintiffs who, collectively, constitute the class (among other things).
Recently, in Simpson v. Dart, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana) held that a district court improperly denied class certification to three subclasses of Black job applicants who were not hired by the Cook County Department of Corrections. Using a disparate impact theory, the applicants alleged they were not hired because the neutral testing procedures disproportionately rejected Black applicants.
On appeal, Mr. Simpson argued that three of the subclasses were similarly affected because they had all been eliminated by the same standard examinations. The Seventh Circuit agreed and explained that the plaintiffs had met their burden because they were all affected by the same allegedly discriminatory practice.
Simpson underscores the need for employers to ensure that their employment practices and procedures—even if facially neutral—are not disproportionately impacting protected classes of people, such as women and communities of color. Because disparate impact claims can be brought as class actions, such claims may expose employers to greater financial exposure and make defending such claims more difficult. Employers should therefore carefully evaluate their policies and practices to ensure they do not expose themselves to risk of a successful disparate impact claim.
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The New Compensation Survey is Now Available!
Greater Madison Area SHRM and Gallagher Surveys are pleased to present the annual salary survey.
Local compensation data is hard to find and the GMA SHRM Compensation survey is a great resource! This year thirty-three organizations participated in the 2021 version of the survey.
Visit the GMA SHRM Compensation Survey page to view:
- a list of participating organizations
- a sample of the survey data
- purchasing information
More Information
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HR Manager Burnout is on the Rise
U.S. employee engagement has dropped for the first time in a decade. A Gallup survey found that the greatest declines were in clarity of expectations, having the right materials and equipment, and the opportunity for workers to do what they do best.
The Steepest Decline in Engagement
Managers, along with healthcare workers, had the steepest decline in engagement and the greatest increase in burnout. Based on recent conversations, I think there are a lot of HR managers suffering burnout.
This is understandable. HR managers have had to handle concerns about employees’ mental and physical health, compliance with vaccine mandates, ongoing changes to where employees work and increased quit rates. All of these concerns have added considerably to HR managers’ workloads. Unclear and confusing messages from top management regarding organizational priorities have added more stress.
Lack of Clear Expectations
If HR managers are burned out and disengaged, it’s almost impossible for them to engage their teams and get their own work done.
There is a clear correlation between engagement and retention. Gallup found that employees and managers who were struggling or suffering in March of 2021 were almost twice as likely as those who were thriving to change jobs later in the year. There has been a huge turnover in HR managers.
Managers Should Not Need to Struggle
So, what does this mean for your organization? The constant pandemic disruptions and uncertainties have created a need for HR managers to develop new management skills as well as personal coping methods. Some managers are struggling, while some are more resilient than others. However, all of your HR managers need support and encouragement.
Senior Management Responsibility
Senior management needs to accept responsibility for communicating clearly and often about organizational policies and directions, which may continually shift depending upon the circumstances. This way, their HR managers will have clarity about their priorities and can pass that information down to their teams in a timely fashion.
There has to be recognition that the HR workload has dramatically increased and made more difficult given employees’ new perspective on work/life balance and development opportunities.
This needs to be accompanied by attention to the five elements of wellbeing (career, social, financial, physical, and community) in order to reduce the odds of burnout, stress, worry, anxiety, and depression.
Make sure your HR managers have the coaching support to build necessary management skills, the resources to do their jobs, and the encouragement to seek assistance if their wellbeing is compromised. You don’t want to lose your HR managers to burnout or attrition.
Deborah Spring Laurel is the President of Laurel and Associates, Ltd., a certified woman-owned international workplace learning and performance consulting firm that builds and strengthens managerial, employee and trainer skills through the design and delivery of participatory virtual and classroom training. She can be reached at dlaurel@laurelandassociates.com or 608-219-3594.
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Submitted by Arlette Kambwa-Gitau, GMA SHRM Director for College Relations
 Arlette Kambwa-Gitau |
What do you enjoy most about volunteering at GMA SHRM?
GMA SHRM has allowed me to share a profession I love with future HR leaders.
The College Relations team connects with students, who attend Wisconsin colleges and universities in the Dane County area, who are exploring a career in Human Resources. The College Relations team leverages various programs such as Mentoring Program, Fireside Chat and Student Night Out to connect students with seasoned HR Professionals.
These connection points have created an opportunity for students to confirm HR is their career of choice and enable life-long networking relationships.
Networking. Paying it forward. Future HR Leaders.
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March 15, 2022 Professional Development Summit
A Virtual Event
Focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
| Session 1: TEAM - Together Everyone Achieves More Dr. Robert Lemon |
Session 2: Mental Health in the Workplace & Introduction of “The Accommodate in Place Initiative” Matt Glowacki |
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May 17th Human Capital Conference Early Registration Now Open!
GMA SHRM is excited to announce its 17th Annual Human Capital Conference will return in person on Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, WI!
Today’s world and workplace are changing in ways we could never imagine. This disruption is taking a major toll in productivity and engagement regardless of role or industry. Many leaders are struggling to realign and maintain enthusiasm within their organization.
The 2022 Human Capital Conference will help you find solutions to today's HR issues and to celebrate our first live program in over 2 years we are featuring 2 amazing keynote presenters!
Featured Keynote Presenters:
Joshua Evans
leading expert on company culture and organizational engagement.
Darcy Luoma
inspiring motivational speaker.
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| Finding Talent: 3 Key Factors to Building Your Reputation as an Employer of Choice – Justin Vajko Mastering the Art of Delegation: Effectively Leveraging the Talents of Your Team - Jeffrey Russell Compensation in a Post Pandemic World - Rena Somersan DEI: Challenges and Success Stories From the Field - Local HR Experts Annual HR Legal Update - Jennifer Mirus and Brian Goodman |
Roundtables Return Virtual for 2022!
HR Advice Network Roundtables are informal, peer-led discussions facilitated under the auspices of the GMA SHRM Programming Committee. The focus of the roundtables are to support GMA SHRM members who are either HR professionals or individuals who may have HR responsibilities within their organizations. Members come together to address and discuss their emerging HR challenges, in an open forum format, by sharing information, seeking advice, providing support and tangible resources to one another by exploring best practices.
These Roundtables are designed for those professionals who are interested in sharing their ideas and experiences in a confidential environment. It is expected what members share in these roundtables will stay within the roundtable. We encourage members to exchange business cards and reach out to each other outside of these meetings to expand on the discussions.
A special thank you to our Rountable facilitators Dawn Koopman, Tracy Niesen Breunig, and Melissa Chadwick!
More information.
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Spotlight Workforce Readiness Committee
The mission of the Workforce Readiness committee is to develop and maintain relationships with our greater community so that we can assist the workforce with becoming more employable. The work our committee is tasked with is to build relationships with organizations in the community and identifying volunteer opportunities that we can then share with all GMA SHRM members. We will share these volunteer opportunities through the newsletter or other social media. We will ask our members to participate by volunteering their time and talent in service to our community.
2022 is starting to see more opportunities for members to volunteer, so stay tuned and please share your talent with the job seekers in our community
The following are our committee members that I thank for being a part of this committee: Kari Knox, Trish Kienitz, Natalie Busse, Lori Sheets, Laura Mael, Kristina Friedrich and Stacey Sykes.
Here our 2 of our members:
Trish Kienitz: Most of my career has been in human resources, with the majority of it spent in health care. Most recently, in order to work closer to where I live, I joined Bank of Sun Prairie to build a solid HR function for a growing community bank as VP Human Resources. Shortly after starting to work in Dane County again, I joined GMA SHRM and volunteer my time on two committees. The first is the Workforce Development Committee because I thoroughly enjoy interacting and helping job applicants with resumes, interview questions and “elevator” speeches before going to meet with employers at job fairs. I am also a part of the compensation committee and have participated in preparing the SHRM Compensation Survey. I enjoy ongoing development and learning as an HR generalist, and GMA SHRM has some of the best development opportunities around! It’s always great to expand my knowledge and continue to meet new people from various industries. When not at work, I spend time with family, scrapbooking and reading.
Lori Sheets: Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist with Quartz Health Solutions. I have been a member of GMA SHRM for 16 years and part of the Workforce Readiness committee for the past 14 years. I joined this committee to give back to the community and provide opportunities for others to gain knowledge to re-enter the workforce or improve upon their career path. When not working or volunteering, I am watching my son at his sporting events, reading books, running outside (when it’s warm out!), enjoying time with friends and family, and traveling (hopefully again in the near future).
If you are interested in learning more about us or joining our great group, please send me an email!
Jennifer.brikowski@dwd.wisconsin.gov
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Diversity Observances in March
Submitted by Mary Vesely, Employee Engagement & Inclusion Manager at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation and GMA SHRM Director of Diversity
Why not have fun, celebrate diversity, learn about each other, and use these observances as themes to engage your team!
- Women's History Month
- Irish-American Heritage Month
- National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
- Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday): March 1
- International Women's Day: March 8
- Purim: March 16-17
- St. Patrick's Day: March 17
- National Single Parent Day: March 20
- Holi: March 18
- International Transgender Day of Visibility: March 31
Check out our DEI Resources Page for helpful resources! Stay tuned for semi-annual updates on our downloadable document. We welcome any ideas/suggestions.
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Monthly Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development - Helpful Links
Welcome New Members!
| Lisa | Barry | SHRM-SCP | Peoplelink Group |
| Brittany | Bohling | The New Glarus Home | |
| Stephanie | Breunig | Fine Point Consulting, LLC | |
| Nancy | Carozza | Skyline Services Inc | |
| Denise | Gerdes | Littler Mendelson | |
| Molly | Hanson | Vitense Golfland | |
| Patti | Jackson | Taconic Biosciences | |
| Sara | Jacobson | The Registry, Inc. | |
| Belle | Karls | aPHR | Employee Benefits Corporation |
| Traci | Mandell | M3 Insurance | |
| Amy | Parkhurst | BouMatic | |
| Richard | Verstegen | Boardman & Clark LLP | |
| Veronica | Vilchez | Skyline Services, Inc. | |
| Landon | Vinger | M3 Insurance |
Have you recently earned a professional achievement award? If so, we want to hear about it.
If so, we want to hear about it. Send us an e-mail, and we’ll publish your good news in the next HR InTouch!
If you are a member who is in between jobs, or who is currently employed but seeking new positions or career paths, write us a brief description of your skill set, areas of expertise, what you’re looking for, etc. Send us an e-mail. We’ll publish your information in the next HR InTouch.
