Staffing Managment Association of Greater Chicago Pledges Support to ESGR in 2011

The Staffing Management Association of Greater Chicago is kicking off their year by signing a Statement of Support for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). Currently there are more than 1.3 million in the National Guard and Reserve and our pledge recognizes the essential strength they provide to our nation and the well-being of our communities. SMAGC is committed to helping these men and women return to their job or find a new job as they return for their military duty.


Our signing ceremony will be taking place on January 20th at Maggiano's in Chicago at 8:30AM, in conjunction with a panel discussion on Military Talent Programs. Moderated by Thomas L. Aiello, Sears Holdings, Division Vice President, Public Relations, we will invoke conversation on how to best implement sourcing, interviewing strategies and retention solutions to better assist those transitioning from the military duty into the civilian workforce.

Panelists include:
• Marjorie James, Volt Workforce Solutions, President of Hire America’s Heroes’ and Program Manager at Volt Military
• Anthony Kaylin, IBM, Global EO Programs Manager, Global Diversity
• Vincent W. Patton, III, Ed.D., Military Advantage/Monster Worldwide, Director of Community Outreach

Discussion topics will include:

• Sourcing from this Highly Skilled Talent Pool – How do you find the best and brightest to meet your needs.
• Recruiting —How to identify military professionals ready to transition to the civilian workforce and effectively interview to ensure a good match.
• Retaining —The unique concerns that military professionals face adapting to the civilian workplace, how to link veterans’ long-term interests to their new civilian employer, and concerns about hiring veterans.
• Translating Culture and Values—How to best bridge the differences between military and nonmilitary characteristics, concepts, terminology, technical and leadership skills.

Join us as we work together, SMAGC, ESGR and the Employers in the Chicagoland Area, make a positive impact our community and the lives of our Citizen Warriors and most importantly, their families, who support their service.

To learn more about SMAGC and register for this event, go to www.smagc.org To keep abreast of our 2011 events and initiatives , follow us on Twitter @SMAGC and like our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/smagc

Chloe Rada - Chapter President at Staffing Management Association (SMA) of Greater Chicago

Our State Council Leadership Meeting 2011

The Illinois State Council of SHRM held its fourth annual Leadership Conference on January 9 and 10th in Utica, on the fringes of Starved Rock State Park. Sunday was designed to be a planning session for the board and Monday included state council members as well as state-wide chapter officials. In total there were a little over 100 attendees.
The two day event was designed to bring volunteer leaders from all parts of Illinois together to help grow and improve their organizations.

We heard from author and speaker Clint Swindall on Monday. Clint spoke about employee engagement and working with volunteer leaders. Clint referenced several topics from his most recent book Engaged Leadership.

My Takeaways from the event were this.

• Ironically when you get a group of HR folks together to work on Mission, Vision and Values statements, they struggle just like most other groups.
• SHRM volunteers at all levels give a tremendous amount of their time and effort helping their respective organizations.
• To hold a successful conference these days, the host facility and hotel must have reliable wireless internet service through out the facility.
• A hotel bar is essential for conference networking, a hotel without a bar will stifle networking.
• It takes one heck of a commitment and a hell of a lot of time to be Director of a State Council of SHRM. Thanks to our friend John Jorgensen for all that he has done for this organization!

Pictured below are current IL SHRM State Director Donna Rogers with Immediate Past Director John Jorgensen at the conference.  To see more pictures from the event click the Picasa Tab at the top of the page.