September
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HR InTouchThe Monthly Newsletter of the Greater Madison Area SHRM |
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In This EditionPresident's Message Compensation and Benefits Compensation & Attendance Updates Community Events GMA SHRM Social Media Our Member Directory is Now Mobile Friendly! GMA SHRM Upcoming Events
September 13, 2013
October 2, 2013 —GMA SHRM Roundtable
October 24, 2013 —GMA SHRM Toolbox Click here to see the full 2013 GMA SHRM Event Calendar. GMA SHRM Announcements Requesting Speakers for Student SHRM Chapters Free Brown Bag Sessions Hosted by WCPE GMA SHRM Member News
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It’s hard to believe that Labor Day has come and gone already. Where has the summer gone? For me, summer has flown by for many good reasons; including a lot of activity with the clients I work with.
In my role at The QTI Group, a full-service Human Resources organization, I am able to see what is happening across so many organizations and industries in the Madison region. I am able to learn not only the HR and business challenges clients are facing, but also the many exciting ideas and HR ingenuity that is happening in our own backyard. For example, recently I had the opportunity to meet with the HR Director of a client who was adopting a fun idea, The Fun Theory. The Fun Theory is an initiative of Volkswagen. As their website indicates, “This site is dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behavior for the better. Be it for you, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better.” There are many excellent examples on the site that I highly recommend watching, but it was great to hear of this theory being adopted by a local organization.
In using The Fun Theory as a model, this organization was able to change behavior successfully. They first tried the theory at the annual conference they host. Every year, their team has to endure the busy, stressful check-in process of the many attendees arriving. This is often not an exciting time for the team as they are responsible for dealing with a vast array of challenges and issues that can arise during this process. Rather than not acknowledging this is a long, daunting process, the HR Director implemented The Fun Theory. The team was charged with keeping track of not only the attendees arriving, but the ‘craziest, out-there’ situations they encountered. At the end of the day, the team member with the craziest story won a prize. This shed some light on these unique situations and instead of dreading them, it actually made them a bit more enjoyable. It encouraged the team to share their stories re-enforcing that they were all in it together. The customer service of the team (the behavior) changed for the better due to this fun idea, The Fun Theory. They also used The Fun Theory to encourage more interaction between company departments. Because their different departments didn’t have a need to interact often, when they did, there wasn’t a high level of cohesion.
To change this behavior for the better, the HR Director created a fun scavenger hunt. It led team members to various departments throughout the work day to answer departmental specific questions to advance on within the game. This led to a stronger understanding, increased interaction, and ultimately, a higher level of engagement. I encourage you to click on the link above to learn even more about adopting The Fun Theory, as did another local, talented HR professional.
As summer is winding down, please continue to keep an eye on our website and the programming events coming up. You’ll have great opportunities to learn about what other organizations are doing, such as the story above, from our excellent line up of speakers. Please don’t forget to register for the next Strategic Summit on September 17th, “The Fierce Leader.” This is one of the most attended events of the year and is a must see! Additionally, please don’t forget about the networking and philanthropic focused golf outing on September 13th! We hope to see many of you there. Warmly,
GMA SHRM Board of Directors
 Compensation & Attendance Updates
Contributed by Bob Gregg, Boardman & Clark Law Firm
Wisconsin changes unemployment compensation standards. The State Legislature amended the unemployment compensation law. The changes include greater job search requirements and changes in the "quit" provisions. The most significant changes are the "misconduct" definitions, which will make it much easier for employers to deny unemployment compensation benefits for poor performance, attendance and rule violations. [For additional information, request the article Key Wisconsin Unemployment Law Changes by Jennifer Mirus, Boardman & Clark Law Firm, jmirus@boardmanclark.com.] The Literacy Network offers a variety of courses, tutoring and other services to Dane County community adults to further reading, writing and speaking skills. Specifically the Literacy Network offers customized language instruction to improve employees' English communication skills both on and off the job. Literacy Network excels at developing programs tailor-designed to meet your company's specific workplace needs. If you are interested in learning more please visit us at: http://litnetwork.org/programs/index.php?category_id=4493
If you are looking for a fun wellness activity this fall, mark your calendars for the Literacy Network Run/Walk! For more information, visit: www.tinyurl.com/literacynetworkrunwalk. Families and corporate teams welcomed and encouraged!
Job Boot Camp Returns
On September 6th from 9am to 12pm, GMA SHRM will be sponsoring a Job “Boot Camp” which will include various activities including one-on-one meetings with HR Professionals, resume reviews with HR Professionals, networking & discussion areas for attendees, and mock interviews. For more information, please see the event flyer here.
GMA SHRM Social Media
Wish you could stay connected with GMA SHRM members? Now you can search for a member, call, e-mail or find directions to their listed location and be confident that it’s up to date. Check it out today, you can now stay better connected to GMA SHRM members and it’s just a click away at http://www.gmashrm.org/mobile
Forward HR Want to know what’s going on in HR for the other areas of Wisconsin? WI SHRM has a new blog, Forward HR. Click here to take a look.
September 13, 2013 – GMA SHRM Annual Golf Outing
Location: Door Creek Golf Course The Most Non-Competitive Golf Outing Ever!!
Join us as we host our seventh Annual Golf Outing at Door Creek Golf Course on Friday, September 13th. Proceeds will benefit Operation Homefront Wisconsin.
You can sign up to play with a specific foursome or as an individual and we will pair you up with a group!
The event is a 4-person scramble, so all golfers at all skill levels are encouraged to participate. We are playing for fun! The cost of the event is $69 for both Members and Non-Members and includes 18 holes of golf with a cart and GPS, continental breakfast, practice facilities, and a cookout reception after golf. Registration and practice will be open from 8:30 to 9:45am and play will begin at 10:00am with a shotgun start.
For more information and to register for this event click here.
September 17, 2013 —GMA SHRM Strategic Summit
What does it mean to be a fierce leader? What sets a fierce leader apart from leadership as we know it today? Can anyone become a fierce leader – and is that a good thing? To find the answers to these questions and more, set aside the morning of September 17th to attend our Strategic Summit on Fierce Leadership featuring Halley Bock, CEO and President of Fierce, Inc. Halley will blow up the conventional wisdom of what enables leaders to become truly effective in today’s world. She will guide us into a new understanding about how fierce leaders find unconventional ways to transform their teams and organizations. In this Summit, Halley will introduce three transformational ideas and seven core principles of fierce leadership that will shift your understanding of conversations and the power that they play in building relationships and changing organizations. If your organization is looking for a jolt of provocative ideas to change the way people lead, engage in conversation, and move through challenges, then this Summit is where you want to be. As an extra benefit, bring one of your senior executives with you to this session for FREE! Just pay for your own registration and your senior executive can attend at no extra charge! What a great way to get your top executives to think in fierce ways! Your CEO attends FREE! Bring your CEO, COO or other senior executives with you to this session for FREE! Just register yourself for the session and your senior executive attends at no extra charge! What a great way to get your top executives to think in fierce ways!
See you on September 17th at our Strategic Summit on Fierce Leadership.
October 2, 2013 —GMA SHRM Roundtable
Topic: Managing Communications at Multiple Locations
Location: M3 Insurance
Even through the recession, many of the companies in the area are fortunate to have managed the storm well and in some cases, grown while maintaining multiple locations. But with this good fortune also comes many organizational and managerial challenges. Whether you are physically traveling to various locations or handling them remotely, whether you have chosen to employ universal policies or have implemented variations based on locations’ unique needs, this roundtable will discuss your challenges and share lessons learned from attendees past experiences.
This roundtable will discuss your challenges and share lessons learned from attendees past experiences concerning multi-site communications.
For more information and to register for this event click here.
Topic: Governmental Affairs
Location: Olbrich Botanical Gardens
The October HR Toolbox will be one not to miss, as it has a number of top officials from the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) discussing the agency’s strategic plan for 2014 and its impact on employers and Human Resources.
There will be a keynote presentation by Jonathan Barry, the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Workforce Development, on key objectives, goals, and how DWD plans to help employers meet their staffing needs. There will also be a panel discussion from three agency divisions on the key compliance and enforcement priorities for 2014. Confirmed speakers include Lisa Boyd, Administrator for the Division of Employment & Training; Bob Rodriguez, Administrator for the Unemployment Insurance Division; and Joe Handrick, Administrator for the Equal Rights Division. The toolbox is on October 24, 2013 from 8:15 AM to 10:30 AM at Olbrich Gardens.
While summer is just getting started and school just let out for the spring semester, our local SHRM student chapters are already planning for their fall semesters. UW Madison, UW Whitewater and UW Platteville have requested GMA SHRM members to speak at their meetings this fall. Topics that have been suggested by the student chapters are: recruiting trends, how to use social media to job hunt, benefits and health care reform, “a day in the life of an HR professional”, generational trends in business, communication, employment law, or any topic that you may be willing to present. Chapter meetings are held during the week and usually start between 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. and speakers have about 45 minutes to present. Chapters usually can be flexible regarding start time, with notice. Please contact Melissa Chadwick at melissa.chadwick@bakertilly.com if you would be interested in speaking and indicate which topic(s) you would be interested in speaking about and which schools you would be interested in traveling to for a meeting. Thank you for your help in supporting our student chapters! Free Brown Bag Sessions Hosted by WCPE
The Wisconsin Center for Performance Excellence presents free brown bag seminars in September and GMA SHRM members are encouraged to attend: Time Management on September 10th and Fearless Reviews on September 24th. Both will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the MetaStar Building, 2909 Landmark Place. For more information about the free brown bags and other programs offered by the Wisconsin Center for Performance Excellence visit www.wisquality.org.
Social Media Director Needed
The Marketing & Communications Committees is seeking a lover of social media for long moonlit walks on the beach and candlelight dinners…wait, forget that part.
We have an exciting opportunity available to become involved on our committee for an individual who loves all things social media. This person will manage the chapter’s Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter accounts and postings. If you are social media savvy and are looking to become involved with the fun-loving Marketing & Communications committee, we would love to talk with you about this opportunity. For more information, please contact Kate Karre at kkarre@pjpower.com or Shaun Thomson at sthomson@dcpcinc.org.
GMA SHRM Member Spotlight Name: LaShana M. Miller
Where do you currently work?
The Department of Workforce Development as a consultant.
What is the focus of your position?
I develop relationships with Wisconsin businesses and help them recruit, hire and retain people with disabilities. I also meet with local businesses to understand their business and human resource needs.
How long have you been in the Human Resource Field?
I have been working in an HR role for about 13 years. My first experience in an HR role was at Poly Cleaners. I was the Assistant Manager and in this role I processed payroll, recruited, trained, and interviewed potential employees. I also made recommendations for hiring employees, disciplinary actions and creating procedures and best practices for the company. To gain a formal understanding of HR best practices, I decided to return to college in 2009 to pursue a Master’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resource Management. It was one of the greatest decisions that I could have ever made as it taught me my rights as an employee, and I learned about precedent cases that have established best practices for dealing with HR situations.
Which of your career accomplishment makes you the proudest?
Getting over my fear to publicly speak (well at least a little bit) - I say this because standing in front of people has always made me fearful, and so I challenged myself to step outside of my comfort zone. I took a job with the State of Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Development as an Employment & Training Specialist. One aspect of the job required me to stand in front of job seekers and provide Re-Employment Services by conducting workshops on interviewing, the job search process, branding, identifying transferrable skills just to name a few.
Providing Re-Employment Services to job seekers allowed me to share my experiences of being unemployed. Through the sharing of my personal experience with unemployment, I inspired job seekers that had given up hope on finding a job. I remember at the end of my sessions job seekers would thank me for presenting the information in a way that they could relate to. If I would have never challenged myself to face my fears, I would not have had the opportunity to inspire hopeless job seekers to reenergize their job search. I would not be able to meet with employers to gain an understanding what their recruiting needs are, inform them of the services the department provides, or help to match qualified people with disabilities with new employment and training opportunities.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
This is really a hard question. I have received a lot of great advice over the years, however for the purpose of the article… I would have to say that Fernando Villeda, Dean of Admissions at Robert Morris University was instrumental in helping me to enhance my understanding in the different career aspects of HR. I remember sitting in his office trying to decide on a concentration for the Master’s program, when I chose Human Resources, he advised me to get a PHR certification in addition to earning a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management. Fernando explained to me that the PHR certification would help me to stand out as an HR professional with credentials.
I took his advice to heart, and signed up to take PHR prep classes at DePaul University in February 2010, while working towards a degree in HR. On June 28, 2010 I took the PHR exam and passed it. The PHR Instructor Eileen Moore was awesome; she painted a realistic view of HR and what it entailed. She advised me to review the macro and micro environment; learn everything about the organization and the importance of every department. That was great advice, and once I started looking at the culture of the organization and management style, it enabled me to match job seekers with the right employers and also with the right position.
Why did you decide to join GMA SHRM?
I decided to join GMA SHRM to learn more, and receive information on HR practices and changes in the laws affecting it, network with HR professionals, and take advantage of opportunities to volunteer.
If you’d like to be published in an issue of HR InTouch, please complete this profile and submit (along with a photo) to Tia Gibson @ tia.gibson@covance.com.
GMA SHRM Volunteer Spotlight
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Greetings,
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Name: Lisa Hirchert |
Sara Christiansen
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CEO
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Ideation Consulting
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Janell East
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Sr. Organizational and Leadership Development
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WEA Trust
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Nicole L. Frank, PHR
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Human Resources Manager
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Dave Jones, Inc.
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Kristine Fredricksen
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HR Benefits Administrator
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NGL Insurance Group
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Katie Heath, GPHRN
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Senior Manager
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Deloitte
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Marcy Holtz
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Kunkel & Associates
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Amanda Lutz, PHR
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The Employer Group
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Mary Moua
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HR Coordinator
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CPM Healthgrades
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Lynette M. Peck
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Placement Consultant
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Drake & Company of Madison, Inc.
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Bridget Ripp
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M3 Insurance
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Karen Smith
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Herzing University
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Dan Spransy
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Realty Executives
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Movin' Up
Have you started with a new company? Has your organization recently promoted you to a new position? Or do you want to recognize a new person or promotion within your department? 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!
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.
GMA SHRM Member Poll
Do you have a burning HR question that you’d like to see featured on our GMA SHRM Member Poll? If so, please submit your questions to Tara Conger at tconger@pjpower.com
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 .
