Workforce Readiness & Diversity

Greetings!
 
As I’m writing this month’s article a few weeks before our Human Capital Conference held on May 3rd, I know you will be reading this after our one day conference. We are expecting an awesome event with record attendance and I’m confident it will be the best conference we have held yet! Thank you Melissa Chadwick, President-Elect, and the conference committee for all your time and effort involved in making the HCC come to life! 
 
In this month’s President article I’d like to provide our members with an update to our 2016 compensation survey. We are unfortunately in a situation we were in just a few years ago. At that time we were approached by our then compensation provider that they were no longer going to be offering their services for our compensation survey.  At that time we created a committee, did our research and determined the best option was to partner with QTI Consulting to coordinate and perform the new survey. QTI chose to use a third party, The Social Company, who provided an online platform to host the survey and its results.  Regrettably we were recently contacted by QTI that the Social Company is no longer supporting these services for 2016, cutting our contract with them short by a year and putting us in a situation where we will need to search for a new provider. Given these unforeseen circumstances, we have worked with QTI to determine the best course of action is to move forward with a new survey as it is a valuable resource to the Madison area HR professionals.  To give the process its due diligence and be able to select the best fit for a vendor, the timeline is such that we will not be able to conduct the survey in 2016, but hope to have a vendor selected and to resume data collection in early spring 2017. We will be working with those who have purchased our survey to provide information they need to continue to do their job successfully during this transition. Those members will be contacted directly by our Chapter Administration. We apologize for the inconvenience and also thank you in advance for your understanding and patience as we look forward to continue offering this valuable resource in the future to our members.  
 
I’m excited to announce a new feature on our website for our members: The Idea Exchange. This is in the member’s only section of our website under the File Library tab. This is a forum exclusively for members to collaborate and share ideas, best practices and general HR knowledge. Another resource similar to the HR Advice network groups mentioned above except its online and not in person. It’s a great way to get your questions answered or to help out a fellow member regarding their questions. I encourage you to check it out!   
 
As always, please reach out to myself or anyone on the board if you have questions or comments about our Chapter. 


Dawn Koopman, SHRM-SCP, SPHR
President
GMA SHRM

Gender Pay Gap Grows

Submitted on behalf of Bob Gregg, Boardman & Clark 

The Dept. of Labor's new statistics show an unexpected increase in pay disparity between women and men. During 2015, women's overall pay rose 0.7% while overall men's pay rose 2.8%. Women's pay was 80.4% of what men earned; compared to 82.1% in the prior year. This is contrary to the trend; the earning gap has significantly narrowed since 1977, when women overall earned only 39% of what men received. Is it discrimination? It is difficult to draw a concrete conclusion from one year's statistics.

Occupation matters, with financial, management and business administration paying the most, and service positions the least. There are many more women in service positions, and this may skew the overall results. (One could ask "why" more women are in service vs. management and finance?)

The "dip" may or may not be due to discrimination. Following the 2008 recession, women had a sudden, and short-term, upswing. Many manufacturing jobs, mostly held by men, suddenly disappeared. Women, in "pink collar," "white collar" and "service" jobs had more stability and were now the primary family breadwinners. So, short-term ups or downs may not show a long-term trend. Life choices may play a role with more women than men electing to take family time away from full-time work. Regardless of reason, the figures have greatly improved since 1977, but continue to show a disparity; and show a recent and surprising "dip" increasing that disparity.



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Complaint Backfires – Training Director Fired For Bullying

Submitted on behalf of Bob Gregg, Boardman & Clark 

A hospital's Director of Training filed a complaint with Human Resources, alleging that she was subjected to hostile remarks and derogatory comments made about her by other employees. The HR investigation found that employees were indeed making negative comments concerning the Director's pattern of bullying, threatening and intimidating others when they disagreed, or when she did not get her way. The investigation found the Director engaged in retaliatory behaviors, threats to have others fired, and had established a hostile environment for the other employees. The hospital discharged the Director. She sued, claiming sex and age discrimination and retaliation for having engaged in the complaint process. The court dismissed the case, and awarded attorneys' fees against the plaintiff. It ruled that it is not retaliatory to fire someone, if significant wrongdoing is discovered during the investigation of their complaint. The "derogatory comments" of which she complained, were the results of her own inappropriate behavior. Gladue v. St. Francis Med Center (8^th Cir., 2016).



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Professional Development

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. 


 

 

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SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition - 2016

The SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition is the largest and best HR event in the world, providing your organization with the tools and resources you need to create and implement the successful HR practices that will ensure that your company will thrive.

Your company will get the targeted strategies and practical takeaways that you need to achieve your goals – from talent management to federal compliance to cutting-edge business strategies.  We know that you'll go back to your office supercharged with new strategies, improved skills, and enhanced perspectives so you can thrive in your career, your team, or even your organization. Still not convinced?  Find more information here.

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Workforce Readiness & Diversity

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GMA SHRM Member Spotlight

Name: Tracy Bredeson
 
Where do you currently work?   National Guardian Life Insurance Co, Madison, WI
 
What is the focus of your position? 
I oversee all aspects of Human Resources at NGL.    This includes workforce planning, training & development, performance management, HR metrics and analytics, employee relations, strategic planning and benefits & compensation. I am an NGL Executive and work directly with our CEO and Senior Vice Presidents on the human capital side of our corporate initiatives.
 
How long have you been in the Human Resource field?
21 years
 
Which of your career accomplishments makes you proudest? 
The career accomplishment of which I am most proud is launching successful management and leadership development programs at organizations without formal T&D departments.  There are many individuals who helped make these programs possible and I think together we did some great work implementing opportunities for business leadership to grow their skills and knowledge.  It was very rewarding.
 
What is the best advice you’ve ever received? 
I was fortunate to have a great mentor early in my career.  Her advice was to be proud of my successes, admit my mistakes and don’t spend too much time apologizing. 
 
Why did you decide to join GMA SHRM?
GMA SHRM is an excellent source for training specific to our field, the latest information on best practices and the networking opportunities are terrific. I love being able to meet other HR and OD professionals. I appreciate the variety of services GMA SHRM provides to the Madison and surrounding area.  We are lucky to have such a strong organization.

 

GMA SHRM Volunteer Spotlight

Name:  Kathy Wright
 
How long have you been volunteering with GMA SHRM?        
I think 8 years.
 
What committee are you volunteering with? 
Professional Development & Education committee
 
Have you volunteered on other committees? 
Yes    

If yes, which one? Workforce Readiness & Diversity committee
 
What do you enjoy about volunteering?
Getting to know other HR professionals, developing new friendships, and being involved and seeing the results of what we do within the community.
 
What would you say to others who are considering volunteering with GMA SHRM? 
Just do it!  Pick a committee that resonates with your interests and get involved. 
 
What have you gotten back from volunteering with GMA SHRM? 
It’s a wonderful way to meet and work with people from different backgrounds. I also feel a fulfillment seeing the results of what we do within the community.



If you’d like to be published in an issue of HR InTouch, please complete this profile and submit (along with a photo) to Brittany Hanson @ brittanyahanson@gmail.com

 

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Welcome New Members!

GMA SHRM welcomes the following members who joined our chapter in March 2016!
 

Movin' Up

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In Transition

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.

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HR InTouch Guidelines

Article Writing:

Do you have an interest in writing for the HR InTouch? We have an interest in learning more about your area of expertise!

Why should you volunteer? Top three reasons: 1) to share your knowledge and experiences to educate others; 2) to become more connected in the HR and Dane County communities; and 3) to contribute towards the advancement of GMA SHRM and the HR profession.

The first step is for you to choose a submission option: you can pre-submit an article to GMA SHRM at any time for us to use in any of the upcoming newsletters, you can sign up to write for a particular month, or we can put you on a list of people to contact in future months whenever we need articles.

Article length:

Because the HR InTouch is now in an online format, the size is flexible. The article should be engaging and hold readers’ attention. Include the core information in your article, and we will advise if it is too lengthy.

Solicitation:

GMA SHRM is conscious not to allow solicitation through the articles, in an effort to protect the interests of our partners and members. The nature of the article should be educational (i.e., what are the business advantages of having a product like yours) or informational. Otherwise, if you truly are interested in advertising through the HR InTouch, you can work with our Marketing Committee. As a rule of thumb for article writing, if the submission relates to a for-profit event, or specifically markets your company (vs. your industry), it is an advertisement, and should be purchased. If it is a not-for-profit event that your company is hosting, or an announcement (i.e., a SHRM member recently joined your company), it is an acceptable addition to the HR InTouch content. If you have any questions related to the appropriateness of your submission, please contact us.

If you have questions, or to submit an article, contact GMA SHRM at chapteradmin@gmashrm.org .