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Human Resource Professionals Association of Greater Emporia |
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| Improving Human Resources While Building Professional Relationships |
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Well, this year has gone by so fast! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! 2006 has been very busy for our organization. In April, HR-PAGE worked with Emporia State University’s Industrial/Organizational Psychology and Business Programs having master’s level students join our members at work to “shadow” them and learn more about the functions of human resources. A total of thirteen students participated in this event and attended our monthly chapter meeting. It was a great success and proved to be a good networking opportunity for the students. September included our first annual HR-PAGE membership enhancement social where current members and their non-member HR guests came to mingle, eat, win door prizes, and learn about our chapter. We had a fantastic turnout for the after work event. It was a great time! Also in September, we co-sponsored a program that was open to our members and the general public on the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act. We felt that this training was timely in light of current events. All three of these events were part of our chapter goals for 2006. Everything that we accomplished this year could not have been possible without volunteers. I would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to those of you that donated your time and expertise to the chapter – you are much appreciated! I would also like to recognize and thank the 2006 HR-PAGE Board Members; Shelby Harvel, Amy Vajnar, Trudy Hutchinson, Scott O’Mara, and Jackie Scott. I could not have asked for a better group of leaders! Thank you! Our chapter is really coming along and next year looks to be fantastic! For 2007, we look forward to the guidance of our new Chapter President, Shelby Harvel, and say hello to two new Board Members, June Coleman-Hull and Juanita White - welcome aboard! Thank you again for allowing me to serve as your 2006 Human Resource Professionals Association of Greater Emporia’s Chapter President. It has been an honor and I have really enjoyed it! Have a terrific New Year! Sincerely, Shelby Jones
August is already upon us! School will start within the next couple of weeks and, with any luck, the weather will cool down a bit! There are a few things happening in the coming months with perhaps the most notable being the 17th Annual Kansas State SHRM Conference held September 20-22, 2006 at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Topeka. This year’s event boasts some great keynote speakers including Michael Mercer, Ph.D., Turning Your HR Department into a Profit Center; Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., Courageous HR Leadership; The New Imperative; Hunter Lott, HR Preserve & Protect; and David Naster, “You Just Have to Laugh”. The keynotes and breakout session speakers look to provide some excellent information for HR professionals. It is a terrific time – I hope you have the opportunity to attend. For more information and to register for this exciting conference, please visit www.ksshrm.com. Also coming up this year, the Human Resource Certification Institute will offer the exams for PHR/SPHR/GPHR certification. If you have been thinking about getting certified, now is the time to apply! Visit www.hrci.org for additional information, application deadlines, and fees. Lastly, I would like to thank the members who have donated their spare change to the SHRM Foundation Jar. We have accumulated $19.40 so far! Contributions are still being accepted so please check your cup holders, seat cushions, and ashtrays for loose change! Remember, we’re competing with all of the other Kansas SHRM chapters to see who can raise the most money (relative to membership)! Thank you for your continued support of our chapter and the HR profession. Sincerely, Shelby Jones Society for Human Resource Management – National Membership If you are interested in becoming a national SHRM member, check out SHRM’s website at www.shrm.org. Highlight “Membership Center” in the left-hand column. From there, you can choose to go to the Membership Center’s Home Page, Join SHRM, or take a look at Member Benefits. SHRM HR News – Articles of Interest
Hill Speakers Endorse Limited Guest Worker Program
Gen X Most Vulnerable to Retirement Risk
Money Rules, But Flexible Schedule Is Favored Benefit
President’s Perspective
I am sure most of you know - but good news is worth repeating! Our chapter is the proud recipient of the Superior Merit Award for 2005! The annual Merit Award program recognizes chapters for outstanding activities and programs in four broad areas:
This is a great honor and achievement for our chapter. Much hard work and dedication went into obtaining this award so a BIG thank you to Jackie Scott, Past-President 2005, the entire board, and committee chairs and members. We appreciate your support and leadership! You definitely make us successful! Speaking
of success…don’t forget to thank the Statewide Initiative Committee
for their work putting together the ESU Shadow Day.
Many thanks also to the host employers for letting Don’t
forget to visit the Kansas SHRM website at www.ksshrm.com
for information on state news and happenings.
The state conference will be held September 20-22 in Please also remember to bring your spare change to the next several general meetings. It will go in the collection jar to be donated to the SHRM foundation which funds scholarships, research, and publications. So far 2006 is shaping up to be a great year! I hope you all will continue to volunteer your time and resources to further advance the HR profession! Sincerely, Shelby Jones
The
Human Resource Certification Institute (the leading independent,
internationally recognized certifying body for the HR Profession) offers
an assessment exam to individuals wishing to become certified in the field
of Human Resources. Please
click on the link below for more information and to obtain testing
applications, dates of administration, and to find a test site near you. http://www.hrci.org/Certification/OV/
Overview
Certification
is a voluntary action by a professional group to establish a system to
grant recognition to professionals who have met a stated level of training
and work experience. Certified individuals are usually issued a
certificate attesting that they have met the standards of the
credentialing organization and are entitled to make the public aware of
their credentialed status, usually through the use of initials (i.e., Certifications differ from certificate programs because certifications include an experience component. Certificate programs, on the other hand, award certificates once a course of study has been completed and do not require previous work experience. Article from SHRM Online – (www.shrm.org) :
Ten steps for HR to earn that seat at the table By Kathy Gurchiek The
old HR job description might look something like this, session speakers Susan
I. Ashley of SIA Consulting in Prevent the hiring of qualified employees; close the gap between employment and slavery; create ever-changing compensation schemes that prevent employees from figuring out how to maximize their incomes.
It requires building a relationship of trust, she said, by demonstrating that HR shares managers’ goals and that it can adapt to their style, resolve disagreements openly and honestly, and demonstrate integrity. “It takes time to earn trust, but it can be done,” Ashley said. The following are steps HR professionals can take to become strategic partners in their organizations, they said: • Understand your organization’s business and financials. Understand the key drivers of your organization and know the realities of your business. • Spend time in each HR staff meeting educating the team about company matters. Be a communication conduit. • Measure and publish total workforce return on investment—not merely HR metrics. • Be a business partner, not a police officer. Don’t make your first answer “no.” Find something to say “yes” to. • Push the responsibility of policy administration ownership on line management. For example, if HR is told to create an organizational succession plan, offer HR’s help in facilitating the task, but point out that management must “own” the task and responsibility. • Increase the organization’s intangibles—things that “can’t be dropped on your foot” such as integrity, customer service and quality of product—through collaboration, innovation, efficiency and risk management. • Develop and prepare all the resources of the organization to perform at their highest level by auditing and creating organizational capabilities. • Find new ways to get transactional tasks done to free up HR to work on more strategic, more value-adding activities. Payroll, for example, is a transactional task; find a way to handle this as efficiently as possible by developing relationships with vendors or outsourcers to free up your time for more strategic tasks. • Build and cultivate relationships; take someone to lunch. “Get out from under your desk” and let managers know what’s going on in HR, Talani said. • Keep abreast of developments in your professional area of expertise by reading professional books and articles, attending seminars and taking classes. HR professionals must market themselves within their organizations, Talani said. This includes demonstrating the ability to think in terms of the total business; delivering added value; modeling integrity and remaining politically neutral by not aligning with a particular “camp” at work. Serving external and internal customers includes helping line managers by meeting and exceeding their expectations and taking care of administrative tasks flawlessly, Talani pointed out. “You have to compete and market and sell your services,” she said. Kathy Gurchiek is an associate editor at HR News. She can be reached at kgurchiek@shrm.org. For the latest HR-related business and government news, go daily to www.shrm.org/hrnews.
Hello
HR- The
last two months have gone by very fast and it is hard to believe that
spring is upon us. Last month
I attended the Kansas SHRM State Council Meeting.
It was a wonderful opportunity to visit with other chapter
presidents and meet our State Council Members.
We spent time discussing the 2006 Statewide Initiative, received a
National SHRM update from Larry Burk, our Regional Director, and discussed
the Kansas State SHRM Conference to be held September 20-22. Overall, it
was great meeting! To
keep up-to-date on KS SHRM issues, please log on to KS SHRM website at www.ksshrm.com. Additionally,
many things are happening on the HR front.
I am hopeful you all have seen the Legislative Alerts on State
Senate Bill 518 regarding direct deposit and Federal House Bill 1634/S.
772, the Workforce Health Improvement Program (WHIP) Act. Finally,
I would like to take a minute to thank all of our members that have
volunteered to assist or chair a committee. Your
efforts help make our chapter great. You
are truly appreciated! In the
words of Jeannine McKenna, President of the Emporia Area Chamber of
Commerce, “If everyone does a little, no one has to do a lot.”
Thank you again for your time and commitment.
If you have not joined a committee, it is never too late to get on
board! Please let me know
where we can put your talents to use! Sincerely, Shelby
Jones President
LEGISLATIVE
ALERTS State
Legislative Alert! Legislation 1.
Ensure that employers would maintain a timely and efficient method of
payment to wage earners. SHRM believes that companies must deliver competitive products or services to the marketplace at a cost that permits the organization to remain financially viable. Compensation programs should be designed to provide the maximum return to the employees consistent with achieving these goals. SB 518 accomplishes these objectives. Action Needed To Call Your state Representative – Follow the link below, and use the type box in the upper right-hand corner to find the contact information for your State Representative using your home zip code: http://www.kslegislature.org/legsrv-legisportal/redistricting.do To Write Your State Representative – To write your state official, follow these steps: 1. Log
onto SHRM Online by clicking here. Federal Legislative Alert! YOUR SUPPORT IS NEEDED! Please call or write your Senators and Representative and urge them to cosponsor H.R. 1634/S. 772, the Workforce Health Improvement Program (WHIP) Act.
Background
Organizations are increasingly interested in promoting healthy living programs for their workforces as one strategy for addressing rising health care costs. Employees that engage in fitness programs and activities are generally more productive, have lower incidences of workplace injuries, lower health care costs, and are healthier overall. The WHIP Act would enable employers to help their employees focus on healthier habits and fitness, resulting in a healthier lifestyle and fewer health-related expenses.
Legislation
H.R. 1634/S. 772 would enable an employer to deduct the cost of subsidizing or providing off-site fitness center benefits for their employees. Under current law, businesses are permitted to deduct the cost of on-site workout facilities, but not the cost of fitness center benefits. The WHIP Act would provide parity to employers who subsidize or provide off-site fitness center benefits for their employees.
In addition, the WHIP Act would exclude this wellness benefit from being considered taxable income for employees. Under current law, employees who receive the off-site fitness center subsidy are required to pay income tax on the benefit. More often than not, if employees have to pay taxes on a benefit offered by their employer, employees will choose not to participate in the benefit. To encourage employees to participate in this benefit offering, H.R. 1634/ S. 772 would ensure that the wellness benefit from off-site fitness facilities is not taxed as income for employees.
Action Needed
Write or call to your legislators today! This is your opportunity to impact the legislative process at the federal level. To write your elected official, follow these steps:
ARTICLES
OF INTREST Survey: Public Is Big Source of Workplace Aggression President
Signs Law Raising Employer Pension Fees Through
Internships, NFL Players Tackle Their Futures
Contents of this newsletter are as follows:
President's Perspective
Welcome to HR-PAGE Emporia ’s local SHRM chapter! It’s hard to believe it is already 2006! It looks to be a great year as our organization celebrates its 3rd anniversary of affiliation with the international Society for Human Resource Management. I would like to give a big thank-you to Jackie Scott, the 2005 Board of Directors, and committee members for putting in a tremendous volunteer effort last year. Supporting our local chapter is so very important to our success. We truly appreciate you! ‘I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.’ Edmund Evertt Hale If
you have not had the opportunity to join a committee in the past or you
would like to continue your support, please do not hesitate to do so.
We will have a sign-up sheet at the February meeting.
HR- HR- Please check out our website for updates and information and please visit National SHRM’s website at www.shrm.org. Once again, I welcome you! Thank you for your interest and dedication to advancing the HR profession! Shelby Jones President KSSHRM Requests Volunteers for the 2006 HR Games
New
Members HR- Karen
Brown-Gentz – Sauder Custom Fabrication Larry
Green – Kathy
Patton – Emporia State Bank Nikki
Simmons – Camoplast Rockland Ltd. Juanita
White – Kansa Technology, LLC
Washburn
Has Study Group For HR Certification Opportunity Available http://www.washburn.edu/ce/hr/shrm/2006_flier.pdf Please
contact Daniel Schmidt, Program Coordinator at Washburn, if you would like
further information or to enroll Certification
as a SPHR (Senior Professional of Human Resources) or Professional of
Human Resources ( Resources)
and SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources) -- are the certified
designations awarded by the Human Resource Certification Institute, a
group founded by the Society for Human Resource Management, SHRM. Certification
is a voluntary action by a professional group to establish a system to
grant recognition to professionals who have met a stated level of training
and work experience. Certified individuals are usually issued a
certificate attesting that they have met the standards of the
credentialing organization and are entitled to make the public aware of
their credentialed status, usually through the use of initials (i.e., The
main idea of certification is to promote professional standards, say
officials at SHRM. Donowick, human resources manager at York
International, says becoming certified as a SPHR also is a professional
challenge. "It's not the easiest thing to take," Donowick says
of the four-hour test. "But it made me feel good. It
was a personal goal for me to get it, and I'm the first in my company to
have one." Heather
Perkins, human resources manager at Tweco Products Inc., also says she had
a feeling of satisfaction when she passed the exam earlier this year.
"It gives me recognition in the profession," says Perkins, who
earned an SPHR designation. And although Perkins is content with her
current job, if she were to look for another HR position, being certified
would give her an advantage in a competitive marketplace, she says.
"You're starting to see more and more help wanted ads for HR
professionals that ask for certification," Perkins says. "It's
also an extra plus and gives you an edge in advancing your own
career." Handyside,
director of human resources at
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Having a seat
at the table, though, requires that HR professionals are seen as partners
that help their organization achieve its goals, build its organizational
capability and focus on deliverables, Ashley said.