Illinois State Council of SHRM

Second Year ILSHRM Director’s Goals Update

2012-02-01T07:01:00.002-06:00

The fact that my first year as director my "goals"blog post was published 1/7/11and I am just sitting down to write my second year update on 1/26/12 (finalizedon 1/31/12) should tell you something. Either I am extremely disorganized or we have been very busy here at theIllinois State Council of SHRM (aka @ILSHRM). Personally, I prefer the latter even thoughat times I do feel the first reason can and has been true at times.

It has been an awesome year and I am so humbled by thewealth of talent on our board of directors as well as the enthusiasm and hardwork they have put forth to make tremendous headway towards our goals. And by golly they even met and exceeded someof them. The following is a copy of the1/7/11 goals list with noted updates (in bold) as well as additions for 2012which take me through the end of my tenure as Director turning over the reinsto Cathy Plouzek, PHRfor 2013 & 2014.

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I’d like to share a few goals that I would like our state council to achieveduring my two year tenure as Director. I have to admit these goals are prior tomy looking at the SHAPE plan (again thisyears since it just came out). So I am sure it will grow…Our board did meet earlier this month and Iam still in the process of meeting with all of our core board so like this listlast year, it may change as the year goes on:

1. WORKFORCE READINESS (SHRM CLA) 100%Chapters signing the ESGR Statement of Support (http://www.esgr.org/);COMPLETED NOVEMBER 2011! Thanks toMaryJo Martyn and all 20 chapters! JoeSmedinghoff plansto continue her work by first polling the chapters to see what initiatives arealready in place and then building a plan for the entire state.

2. Membership (SHRM CLA)Build SHRM Affiliate Chapters in the Southern part of the state (working on 3already); we now have 4 in theworks. Research was completed in 2011and letters to SHRM members in East Metro, Carbondale, and Mt. Vernon have goneout this week to see if anyone has interest in developing a chapter in thoseareas. An additional chapter interestmeeting is planned for early February in Matteson, IL.

3. Government Affairs (SHRM CLA)Increase awareness of ISC-SHRM & SHRM resources among all state legislators(with SHRMs help as one of the 10 states they worked with last year); this is truly more like a five yeargoal. We did have at least threechapters invite SHRM to do the Advocacy Program and we are nearing 300advocates statewide. We still need astate Advocacy Captain. I’d also like tosee 100% of chapters invite DavidLust to their chapter topresent the program. We had our firststatehouse visit last April and plan our second March 27^th. We added a state legislative affairs director to the board on atemporary basis to develop our outreach process and to work directly with thelobbyist firm we hired to watch for HR related bills that we can reach out tolegislators about to increase awareness about SHRM members and theirneeds. So far this month they found fourbills (two of which were shell bills) that had an impact on the HRprofession. Reach100 attendees at our Annual IL State HR Legislative Conference& Advocacy Day; we did notachieve this goal in 2011 but it is still a goal for 2012. Watch for registration soon! I hope to increase the state house attendanceby at least 5% over last year’s first every advocacy portion of our legislativeevent.

4. Reach1000 attendees at our annualconference (in Aug at Drury Lane in Oakbrook); this goal was a bit out there since we really don’t have a chance atthat number until 2014 (after SHRM national is in Chicago in 2013). The reason is our current venue can only hold972 in the auditorium where all the keynotes present. In 2011 we had 923 totals in the building(which included attendees, speakers, exhibitors, and media). This year we do plan to sell out early becauseJohn Jorgenson is abang up conference director! So plan toget your tickets in advance.

5. 100%Chapter participation in the annual Chapter Basket Raffle Fundraiser at StateConference; we were close in 2011 sothis is still a goal for 2012. We didincrease our council giving by matching what was raised at this event and planto continue.

6. Developa formal Succession Plan with the assistance of a Nomination Committee to beappointed; the nomination committee wasappointed so the real work will be done in 2012.

7. Finalizeand implement a formal strategic plan started at last year’s Leadership CorePlanning meeting; still in process.

8. Finalizeand implement an updated Website; completedin March 2011 – additional improvements are planned for 2012;

9. Analyze our financial situationand develop a backup plan to sustain our council and support our mission for ayear or two in case our income is impacted (primarily our attendance at annualconference). We did appoint a financial committee and added same as an officialstanding committee per our bylaws draft yet to be approved by the board. Both committees will complete goals startedin 2011 this year. and

10. We are still looking atadditional ways to improve the overall operations of the council as we havegrown significantly in a short time frame. Council management professionals are being sought to help improve theoverall operations of the entire.

Finally, again this year, I justwant to say thank you to all those I have met and worked with along the way andto those I will continue to work with on the board and in the chapters. I amhumbled to serve you the rest of this year and want you to know that my virtualdoor is always open. Call or text me at 217-414-1297, email me at donna@rogershr.com, DM me on twitter @DonnaRogersHR or Skype me at DonnaRogersSPHR.

Last but not least I want to shout out to the world famous Dave Ryan for putting up withme, posting this post so late, and for writing most but posting all 87 blogposts last year. Wow!!!

- Donna Rogers State Director ISC SHRM

Video – The New Frontier in Recruiting

2012-01-19T06:00:00.000-06:00

As technologydevelopments keep advancing in all industries, they include rapid developmentsin the human capital service sector. A great example of this evolution isexemplified by the print media industry; newspapers worldwide are declining,electronic notebooks (Kindle, the Nook, etc...) are replacing hard cover books,and content delivered through video is in rapid growth mode. It is easyto understand the logic behind this transformation, humans learn and retain 60%more information through video versus reading straight text.

That video evolution inthe HR space is led by an Illinois based Company called JSTN (Job SearchTelevision Network). They are making big noise in the HR community. JSTNconverts traditional text job openings into high quality video withcutting-edge technology, and it is less expensive than text! We hearthrough the space the importance of quality versus quantity, JSTN's casestudies speak for themselves, increasing leading employers qualified candidateflow to grow for their businesses.

Check out this hardware at JSTN Studios- Ahhhh!

JSTN was host to TheTalent Net Live regional conference on recruiting in December of 2011. Much of that conference was broadcast live onthe internet(see those pieces here) which also showcased some of the other abilities that JSTN has.Several members of the Illinois SHRM Board, who attended the Talent Net LiveRecruiting Event were treated to a behind the scenes look at all that is goingon at JSTN’s Aurora Headquarters. We gotto see just how sophisticated the operation truly is. There were racks of servers everywhere, a geek dream come true.

But what JSTN is reallytrying bring to the forefront is the video report, which allows organizations to showcase job openings in avideo format using diverse, professionalon-air talent. Their intuitive share function allows candidates tovirally spread your video through out the web. Every great message musthave a call to action, their "ApplyNow" button creates just that, plus it links to your Applicant TrackingSystem allowing for full trackability and metrics.

JSTN's viral video canbe hosted on your career site, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and everywhereincluding mobile, allowing you to reach out to quality candidates and attractthem to your organization. All of your videolinks are dynamic as well,that means no more wasting time against a separate campaign for emailversus mobile. Candidates are accessing job messaging from everydevice type, so it is critical that your message renders the best experiencefor them, this is your brand.

In addition toshowcasing your jobs in a dynamic way the Video Job Report can be complimentedwith JSTN's other video product called the "CulturalInsight" which allows clients to provide candidates with a behind thescenes insight into their organization. The industry is a buzz about longterm pipelines, and what tools you are using to create and expand your talentcommunities. Video can provide a more compelling message that candidatesare more willing to open, share, and execute against. Who are some ofJSTN's clients? Organizations like Verizon Wireless, Liberty Mutual,Dolby, and Burger King are using this innovative technology and not just in theUS. Video is mobile and video is global. Whether you are trying toreach a candidate in Poland, Britain or China, they would rather engage withyou via video. QUOTE – Chief Client Officer Lindsay Stanton "We hadthe privileged of rolling out our new JSTN patented "Tool Bar" inSeptember. It is a phenomenal advancement for our direct clients as wellas our global RPO and agency partners, allowing them to access their videoassets on their internal browser. The client's sourcers and recruiterscan then easily access videos to embed within their CRM, ATS, landing pages andsocial media."

JSTN has been workingwith SHRM National and will again be working with Illinois SHRM on our StateConference in 2012. You will be able to meet with them first hand at both events.

We support them asan Illinois based firm and look for continued cutting-edge technology to becoming from them. We hope to soon be announcing plans for a webinar about videorecruiting. Stay Tuned!

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

Keynote Speaker Line-Up for 2012

2012-01-16T05:49:00.000-06:00

Simon T Bailey

The Illinois State Council of SHRM (ILSHRM) is pleased toannounce our keynote speakers for the 2012 Annual State SHRM Conference, heldAugust 6-7 at Drury Lane Theater and Conference Center in Oakbrook Terrace, IL.

Our opening keynote speaker is Simon T. Bailey, a notedspeaker on how organizations and individuals can build a bridge from theircurrent reality to a new brilliant reality. He has been voted as the best keynote speaker heard or used by readersof Meetings and Convention magazine, a category that included Bill Gates, TonyRobbins and Colin Powell to name a few.

He is a founder of the Brilliance Institute and is a formerleader in the Disney Institute and Walt Disney World Resort. Simon is also a repeat speaker at severalSHRM National Conferences and, with ILSHRM, has spoke to at least 15 stateconferences. A note that is not in hisbiography is that Simon has one of the most infectious sincere laughs around.

Talent Anarchy is Jason Lauritsen (L) &and Joe Gerstandt (R)

Back by popular demand, Talent Anarchy will again occupy theafter-lunch keynote spot on Monday to pump up the crowd and revitalize them forthe rest of day one. For repeatattendees, you know what a dynamic and energetic duo they are and for firsttimers, all I can say is fasten your seat belts (here is a little spinet from last year). They have been described as (not my words,but from ILSHRM attendee reviews) as engaging, dynamic, thought provoking andentertaining.

Talent Anarchy is a duo of HR thought leaders, Jason Lauritsen and JoeGerstandt. JasonLauritsen is the corporate guy, the man on the inside. He spends his days inthe belly of the beast as a corporate Human Resources leader where he has toactually “walk the talk” each day. Since his first management job as a corndetasseling team leader at age 13, Jason has been studying people and why theydo what they do. Classically impatient, curious and well groomed, Jason’s earlycareer was a rapid progression of sales and management roles includinglaunching, leading and ultimately selling a small business in his mid-twenties.He’s a leader, sales guy, entrepreneur and corporate executive–all rolled up inone.

Joe Gerstandt is the sage consultant. He’s a middle-aged white guy who is anational thought-leader on issues of diversity and inclusion–need we say more?He brings a unique and powerful perspective to everything he does. The core ofJoe’s work is to help organizations solve issues of diversity, culture andinnovation through consulting, training and speaking. Listening to Joe speak,you will hear tales of his days as a U.S. Marine and Gulf War veteran blendedwith his experience in sales, education, and community-building. To say thatJoe is intense and passionate about his work would be an understatement. He isone part professor, one part philosopher, and one part “not quite right.” Beprepared. This is not your average HR guy.

Libby Sartain

Our closingkeynote is a true HR professional and a noted voice in the industry, LibbySartain. After a distinguished 30year career in human resources Libby Sartain is now an active business advisorand Board Member. As CHRO of both Yahoo!Inc. and Southwest Airlines, Libby led significant business transformationinitiatives as a member of executive leadership teams and guided global humanresources efforts focusing on attracting, retaining, and developing employees.Her focus has been growth companies where she developed employment brandstrategies that helped grow the workforce exponentially while establishingcompany reputation as a leading employer of choice. Both Yahoo and Southwestwere listed on the Fortune 100 Best Companies To Work For in America and theFortune 500 during her tenure.

She served as chairman of the board of the Society forHuman Resource Management in 2001 and was named fellow of the National Academyof Human Resources in 1998. Human Resources Executive named her as one of the25 most powerful women in HR in 2005. Libby has also co-authored several books inthe field of HR and has recently contributed to and co-edited The Chief HROfficer: Defining the New Role of Human Resource Leaders. She is a frequentspeaker and is often quoted as a thought leader in human resources in thebusiness Media.

We think that this line-up of great speakers and HRminds all offer great thoughts and ideas that alone would be reason enough toattend the Conference. Add in atremendous list of concurrent sessions, a great exhibit hall and theopportunity to network with HR pros from Illinois and across the country makesILSHRM12 the place to be this summer.

- John Jorgensen - ISC SHRM Conference Director

Thoughts on the Illinois SHRM Leadership Meeting

2012-01-13T06:36:00.000-06:00

The Illinois SHRM Leadership Conference at Grizzly Jack's

in Utica, IL January 9, 2012.

Upon the closing of the Illinois State Council Leadership Conference, I got in my truck and headed home with my Springfield SHRM chapter buddy Pattie Currie. We talked about the confernce for about the first 30 miles. One of the things we discussed was the merging of old SHRMies and the New SHRMies. The state leadership conference like the National Leadership Conference (which takes place in Nov. at SHRM Headquarters) brings together folks at all levels. This is a challenge, because there are some old dogs, and some folks completely new to the SHRM organization.

Then I got home from our the meeting and my wife says, "Well what did you do?" This really gave me pause to reflect, again, on what had just happened, as I spent the last day and a half with a group of my HR/SHRM friends. What makes us old hands keep coming back? While there is always the new stuff that gets discussed, there is always a bunch of basic stuff that gets re-hashed. After some deep, albeit breif introspection, I have decided it is a deep and unabiding respect and committment to SHRM and the HR Profession. Even though the new people continue to come in and the old hands keep hanging on it is difficult to balance the needs and interest of both groups.

With my involvement in ice hockey, I have seen how USA Hockey addresses this with thier annual officials clinics. After struggling with this for years, they have finally taken thier annual seminars and broken them into two groups. The groups are Levels 1 & 2 (new/begining) and then the Level 3 which are the more Senior officials. In most instance you must have three years of experience to be a level 3 official. I think USA Hockey has decided they will teach the more advance official more advance concepts, and hope that the older officials mentor the younger officials. After years of dropping the puck, USA Hockey has decided that the old dogs either know how to do it, or are never going to learn.

While the SHRM message is always somewhat of a combined message; it is one that everyone needs to hear and then there are the orientation parts. Let's take the SHAPE plan for instance. It is important that we all know the changes to the plan, and I suppose it is equally important for the newbies to know that there is a SHAPE plan and what it is.

So maybe we need to challenge the SHRM format and have at least some break outs for the old dog and some sessions for the newbies. It doesn't seem like it should be that hard to make that happen.

In the meantime, us old dogs will just keep on coming back.

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

Getting Ready for Our State Leadership Conference

2012-01-05T20:38:00.001-06:00

Members of the Board of the Illinois State Council of SHRM are getting together soon, very soon. We will be attending our State SHRM Leadership Conference. This is a big deal because the board in its entirety only gets together face to face twice a year. The other time is for the State Conference (Aug 6/7 see the sidebar). So this is a BIG deal.

There are no secret handshakes or ceremonial hats worn at the event. It is simply HR pros from throughout the state, getting together and discussing our organizations plans and goals for the year.

We should come out on the other side with some great ideas and plans to move the organization forward,

And on a totally unrelated note, the Illinois State Council of SHRM would like to congratulate the Heart of Illinois (Peoria) chapter of SHRM on being named a Pinnacle Award Winner at this year's SHRM Leadership Conference. We have a piece of video (which is raw - I never got it edited) a little shaky and late but nonetheless here it is and congratulations to all of our Peoria area members who helped the chapter attain this award.

- Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

A New Look - More White Space

2011-12-17T15:05:00.003-06:00

This blog has been in place since July 14, 2010 with our first post. The concept was to get "some" social media in place before the 2010 Illinois State Conference. This came right on the heels of the 2010 SHRM National Conference and was really the collective thought of John Jorgensen and Curtis Mikdiff.

Well now that the blog is 10 years old (in dog years) we thought it was time for a little bit of a face-lift, a makeover, a redesign; call it what you will. We have made some fairly subtle changes, to the layout and design. While we are using Google Blogger as the platform, there still are a lot of options. We have tried to keep it simple and go with a lot of so called White Space. I hope this hasn't rocked anyone's world.

Actually, I wonder if anyone would have even noticed. If you have any comments please feel free to share them of email me Dave Ryan.

Top Ten HR Moments of 2011

2011-12-16T07:12:00.001-06:00

There is little doubt which news stories will revisit the airwaves as we recollect and close the year of 2011: the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the death of Osama Bin Laden and Moammar Gadhafi, the loss of business icon Steve Jobs, the pop-culture take-it-or-leave-it rants of Charlie Sheen, and the shocking shooting and miraculous recovery of Gabrielle Giffords. Maybe our stories pale in comparison, but as HR professionals we've also watched some highlights in the year 2011.

1. NLRB and its battle with big business Boeing. I love a good case study. Maybe it's because I'm in education or that I've always wanted to be a lifelong student, but this is good stuff. I challenge anyone to find an HR or labor relations class that didn't follow this story in 2011, and while it appears to be wrapping up at year's end, it will be a precedent for future labor issues.

2. Wisconsin vs. Public Unions. Who doesn't love a good union battle? Regardless of your position, or mine for that matter, the full assault between Governor Walker and the public unions was dramatic (yes, I'm a nerd). Throw in some teachers, pension plans, a multibillion dollar deficit and a contentious political environment and you were guaranteed to see cardboard-sign wielding protesters on your Capitol's front lawn.

3. SHRM National. Keith Urban labels us as SHRMies. And yes, the networking is phenomenal, the sessions are the best professional development around, the exhibit hall is second-to-none and who can forget the tweet-ups and the monster party hosted by Monster.

4. Occupy. A stretch, perhaps,if you think occupy is all about business. But yes, I'll make the ever-heard argument that HR is business. Just ask UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi who's being pressured to step down from her position because of the way the campus police handled the protesters, and by handled, I mean doused with pepper spray. Employee relations, employee communications and leadership development could have gone a long way to prevent this event. Maybe.

5. The Herman Cain conundrum. It might not have any long-term influence on HR policy and it might not have had a realistic impact on the polls, but you can bet a lot of HR managers were revisiting their sexual harassment policies. And I guarantee more than a handful of businessmen were second guessing their past actions.

6. SHRM Leadership - The case for real HR Leadership? It exists. Tiffany, Steve, Ellen, John, Tara, Kristi and Dave among countless others are proof. Giving back to the profession never felt so good.

7. Penn State. Ethics, leadership, power and oversight of leaders. Did you see Sandusky was denied a volunteer coaching position after background check? This story continues to evolve and will surely have human resource repercussions. Lesson learned.

8. Illinois SHRM State Conference. It might not be everyone's top 10, but with Bryan Wempen, Michael VanDervort, Jessica Merrell, Dwane Lay, Charlie Judy, Geoff Webb, Joan Ginsberg, Josh Rock, Kristi Jones, Susan Avello, Ryan Estis, John Jorgensen... ok, you get the idea... fabulous.

9. To infinity and beyond: the last space shuttle flight. As a girl who grew up wanting to be the genie in I Dream Of Jeannie, I imagined nothing but astronauts, palm tress and the beach. As an HR gal, I now see the impact of the shuttering of the space program including over 8,000 jobs lost at Kennedy Space Center alone. The impact area extends into the Space Coast with losses at retail, restaurant, tourism and other businesses. I've got this issue on my watch list for strategic planning initiatives for future developments and municipal and industry transitions (don't you just love a good public administration story?).

10. The Recession. Wait, what year is this? Still? Is this a double dip? Call it what you like, analyze it at will, but for many the recession is still here. Unemployment hovered around 9% in many markets and even topped 10% in Illinois. Our economic woes, health care costs, unemployment, underemployment, and debt continue to influence our HR programs and practices.

Way to go, 2011! It's not a Kardashian wedding implosion, but these stories swept me off my feet... and will be a part of my life for more than 72 days.
Amy Dillman - President Elect Central Illinois Human Resource Group
Photo credit Lake City Community Church

Vince Caldwell Another SHRM Leadership Story

2011-12-11T11:46:00.003-06:00

Vince Caldwell

Those of us who have been to a number of SHRM events notice there is a constant at many of these events. The constant that I am talking about is the SHRM Bookstore. You can find them at SHRM National, at SHRM Leadership, at the SHRM Legislative Conference and at many SHRM State Conferences - and now you can even find the SHRM Bookstore attending NON SHRM events. I know this because I stopped to visit with Vince Caldwell at the Leadership Conference.

Now I have little experience working with Vince as I have helped him set up the bookstore more than once at the Illinois SHRM State Conference and understand that it can be a lengthy and tedious task. Vince along with Andy Cale are the faces that SHRM members see when we see the SHRM Store. They bring all of the fine offerings to the shows. I chatted with Vince to learn a little bit more about him and the bookstore.

Vince's official title is SHRM Store Coordinator. He has been with SHRM for 13 years. The SHRM Store often attends 20 events per year. At every event, most of their merchandise is shipped in from a central distribution point and then returned there after the show/conference. They had quite a display at the Leadership Conference this year.

As I looked at their display in the Crystal Gateway Marriott , I wondered how long it took to set-up. Vince said this effort was a 10 hour set-up, but it was easy because it was near home - not on the road. I was curious as to how they decided what materials to bring to each of the various events. Vince explained to me that that is part of the body of knowledge he has attained over the years. He said different events call for a different flavor of the merchandise they bring to the event. Vince said very succinctly, the audiences are different. He did say sometimes it is a challenge and other times they hit the sweet spot on price and product don't have to return ship much of anything.

If you ever talk to Vince you will find that he is soft spoken knowledgeable guy. He is passionate about his work, but I wanted to know a little more about him. I asked him what is that people don't know about you? He told me that he is an avid Toastmaster. He said that he has held every position in the district and competed at every level. He said is planning to compete in the world competition for public speaking. He said it is an exciting thought to be competing on the world stage. Now - there's something I bet you didn't know about Vince from the SHRM Store.

I wanted to thank Vince for taking the time to speak with me, and wish him luck in any and all upcoming Toastmaster competitions.

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

TNL Is Here

2011-12-04T21:57:00.001-06:00

Craig Fisher telling the pre-conference tweet-up about tomorrow's events.

I have arrived here in Aurora, IL. I am here for the Talent Net Live (TNL) event on recruiting. There are some very sharp people in for the event. You can follow the tweet stream at #TNL on twitter. I understand there be some live blogging. Check out Charley Judy's site (www.hrfishbowl.com) on Monday to see what kind of content he his putting up from the event.

And here is some exciting news from the folks at Job Search Television Network. As the #TNL event is being held at their studio, the JSTN guys are going to live stream several events. This is not going to be a crappy, jumpy feed. The feed is going to be nearly HD quality. Here is the link to the live stream http://myjstn.jobs/event/talentnetlive/stream/ . Watch for Tweets promoting which events will stream live.

Stay tuned for more tomorrow...

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

SHRM Leadership If You're Going to Go, Go All In

2011-11-28T06:00:00.002-06:00

Amy Dillman

If there's one thing I learned at the SHRM Leadership conference last week it's that these people, these wonderful volunteers, don't do anything half way. They're away from work but still check their emails on route to a session and tap their laptops like they're cracking code all while networking, learning and engaging for the betterment of their chapters and for SHRM. They know to take full advantage of the SHRM Leadership opportunity, so they meet, mingle and Tweet. Those from Illinois, even do it in matching red shirts. It's the ultimate show of supreme multi-tasking. It's also the absolute example of dedication.

And SHRM has dedication. Every year, the SHRM Open House continues to be an enjoyable, light-hearted kickoff to the weekend. These guys were ready for us and are ready for Atlanta 2012. There were Coke vs. Pepsi challenges, Atlanta trivia, an HRCI birthday party complete with cupcakes, and We Know Next swag. Did you get your custom made luggage tag? The best moment, for me personally, was when I ran into those dedicated SHRMies, Lisa Horn and Michael Layman. Have you had either of these two to your chapter? You should. If you didn't go, you missed out. If you did go, and didn't feel a renewed energy and purpose, you still missed out. I would imagine it would be hard to find a SHRM volunteer who wasn't motivated to lead after that night.

But really folks, how can you not get motivated? With an entertaining and enlightening line-up, including my personal favorites RyanEstis, Pam Green and Joe Gerstandt, you have no choice but to get pulled in by their passion (that's for you, Ryan). All fluff and prose aside, there were sessions for everyone and for every purpose. Need guidance to lead your chapter? Check. Looking for ideas for membership development? Check. Want real, concrete methods and instruction on chapter practices? Check. Check.

Now just so you don't think I'm a complete pom-pom wielding cheerleader, there was room for improvement. I love a good motivator, but the butterflies on the screen were a bit much for me, but that's just me (ask me about that off line). Many of us wanted a good, hands-on development lab for working on our chapter websites. There was no conference wi-fi (thank God for my mi-fi). And yes, there's just never enough time to ask every question and meet every person. Regardless, I am a crusader for the cause and of SHRM. I believe in HR. It's a strong, invaluable component to bottom-line results and of positive employee work life. And yes, it's a necessity to organizational success.

So, drink the SHRM Kool-Aid. Get on board. Learn your craft. Maximize your ability. Share what you know. Volunteer.

If you're going to go, go all in...and introduce yourself to someone in a red shirt.

Amy Dillman - President Elect for the Central Illinois Human Resources Group (Champaign. IL). You can find Amy on twitter as @RhumbarFan and on LinkedIn.

SHRM Leadership Wrap-Up and Overview

2011-11-20T07:09:00.004-06:00

The SHRM leadership conference is now over for another year. It was my fifth time to attend. I am fortunate to be that lucky. The event is truly marvelous because the SHRM staff all go way out of their way to make the attendees/volunteers feel like royalty. It is the. volunteer leaders that do a huge amount of work to help keep SHRM moving forward, but for me I know that I always get back more than I give. And I like that.

If you haven't been as lucky as me amd have never attended, here is what you need to do. Get yourself involved in a leadership role in a local chapter or state council. Not all members "get" to go, but if you work hard ad s volunteer in your organization you may get an opportunity to attend.

Do you want to know what the conference is all about? Well I can't divulge certain information about the secret handshake or the funny hats (see below), but I can go over the format and the usual things I have seen go on.

Melissa Flores SHRM Staff (Notice Funny/Secret Hat)

The conference officially starts on Thursday, although often times the higher ups or some special committees may have some Wednesday meetings. Thursday morning has usually included prep for, and a trip to Capitol Hill, where SHRM members actually lobby Congressmen/Congresswomen and Senators. There are also pre-conference meetings, which take place. The meetings end, the Lobbyists return and the conference kicks off with a General Session (all attendees). The top people from SHRM always address the troops. sharing information on the direction of the organization. There are several speech and then the attendees are invited to SHRM Headquarters. If you ever attend, I implore you to go to Headquarters. If you were not before you went there you will be SHRMalized when you leave!

After headquarters you are on your own to ride the motor coaches or the Metra back to your Hotel. Then you are free to do what you want, in my years of attending this usually involves drinking somewhere till a nearly unreasonable hour.

Friday there is a breakfast (served) General Session with a notable speaker. Later there are smaller breakout sessions (usually by chapter size). There is a General Session Lunch, with a keynote speaker. This year's speaker was Ryan Estis, and he killed it! I might also mention that Ryan was our opening keynote speaker at our 2011 State Conference, where again he rocked the house with a fabulous presentation.

Friday after lunch there are usually a two more breakout sessions. And again I saw one session that was great. I saw Chester Elton speak on teams. He was great. Chester writes along with Adrian Gosttick and together they are the Carrot Culture and Think Orange, So two sessions end and then it is the HRCI Silent Auction. This is also a social hour(drinks).

Left to Right - Jenny Hughes - SHRM, Dave Ryan,
Kathy Plouzak and Donna Rogers - From the Tweet Up

The auction goes until 6:30 and then it is the Friday Night Dinner. Sometime there is entertainment, this year the Pinnacle Awards were moved to this slot. I particularly enjoyed them this year as three good friend of mine all were involved with teams that won awards. Those fine SHRM folks were Cathy Plouzak, incoming ILSHRM State Director, but her Peoria Chapter is who won. Also winning we're Tara Mauk Arthur for her work with the West Central Arkansas Chapter. And Nancy Slotnick for her work with the WSC (Washington). Kudos folks!

This year just like last year, there was a Tweet-Up Hosted by The SHRM Social Media Guy Curtis Midkiff! Drinks, great music, tweeting, funny pictures with old friends and new friends makes for a great event -Thanks Curtis!

Saturday is often housekeeping stuff and the go home day. This year however there was a lot going on. Speakers, and a visit from Hank and Jose. We will look to another ILSHRM blogger to fill in the Saturday portion.

If you do get a chance to go book yourself a couple extra days in Washington, There is a ton of stuff to do and see. Hope to see all of you SHRM volunteers there next year!

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

SHRM Lobby Day

2011-11-17T23:31:00.001-06:00

Today was really an amazing day. I am this guy from a relatively small town in the mid-west. But today I had an impact on the way our country is governed. While my impact may not alter the events of history, it might. I was one of 900 people who are in Alexandria, VA attending the SHRM Leadership Conference. Of the 900 more than 400 of us went to Capitol Hill (The US Senate and House of Representative) as citizens but also as members of the Society of Human Resources Management.

We had been coached in what to do, what to say and how to say it. Still, it takes just a little cache to put yourself in front of your elected official (or one of their staffers) and suggest to them how they should vote on a particular piece of legislation and why they should vote that way. For me part of that process included telling our elected officials how this bill was going to impact me and my employer.

So after preparing us as best they could the SHRM Legislative Affairs gang put their members on buses and hoped for the best.

Rep Schock with Sandra Donelson

My first stop was Representative Aaron Schock's Office. My partner in crime for this was Sandra Donelson. She too is represented by Rep. Schock. We were welcomed into the office and spoke to one of Rep. Schock's staffers, Margie Almanza. She was most cordial and allowed us to present our case on the H.R. 3094 and S 1843. We made our case - I am not sure how eloquent, but we did our best. Then we were introduced to Rep Schock. We got to speak briefly with him, and talk about our concerns and then were offered a photo op with him. We were happy to accept.

It was the noon hour and Sandra and I split up. I headed over to the Hart Building where I was to have a 1 PM meeting wth Senator Durbin or someone from his staff. I grabbed some lunch in the basement (with the $10 bill provided to me by SHRM - Yes they were handing out money).

I headed up to the seventh floor to Sen Durbin's Office and hooked up with 7 more of my fellow lobbyists. We were invited in right at 1PM as was scheduled. We did not meet with Sen. Durbin, which was not really much of a surprise. We met wtih Nathan Sandals, a Legislative Assistant. He listened to our concerns and allowed us to make our points. He was extremely non-commital on everything we talked about. He did ask a couple questions. He also said he did not know much about SHRM. We educated him about the organization, its mission, its size and strength. Our meeting wrapped up after about 30 minutes. I don' t know that we secured any votes on the two measures, but again we did our best.

I feel proud to have done what I did. I feel fortunate to have had the opprotunity to do what I did. And I hope that our visits changed some minds.

I would like to thank the entire SHRM Legislative Affairs Staff: David Lusk, Michael Aitken, Michael Layman and Lisa Horn. Thank you for putting this together and giving each of us the chance to feel like we are participating in the democratic process.

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

JSTN and TNL Pairing Up for Chicago

2011-11-15T20:38:00.000-06:00

This is another call to action for those of you out there who are still sitting on the fence about an upcoming event in the Chicago area. TNLive is coming to the Chicago area. Please click the link then you can see a video about the upcoming event. The video is the product of Job Search Television Network (JSTN). This is the actual location where the event will be taking place as well; JSTN Hdqrs. 2880 Vision Court Auroa, IL 60134.

Those of us in IL SHRM met the folks from JSTN last summer as they were in attendance at the 2011 State Conference. You may having seen them working closely with Curtis Midkiff, while at the event. They were shooting video of the event and interviewing folks.

Now my question when I read about the location was this; so what's the connection TNL and JSTN. A reasonable question, which I put forward to Lindsey Stanton Chief Client Officer with JSTN. She responded that the two organization are both at the forefront of social media, technology, recruiting and building talent communities. Mike France, Director of Sales for JSTN had hooked up with Geoff Webb (aka the Radical Recruit) at an unconference in Madison, WI , where Geoff in turn introduced Mike to Craig Fisher, who runs and is TNLLive. And viola, there it is - got all that?

Back to the event, where JSTN will be showcasing their unique video capabilities with a LIVE PRODUCTION shoot during the conference. Take advantage of special pricing offered to attendees who produce videos in conjunction with the event. Click here to learn more . . .

Hopefully you clicked the learn more link above and got an idea of how powerful of tool JSTN is offering up. They have an impressive client list, like Mc Donalds, Liberty Mutual, Verizon Wireless, Lowe's, U.S.Air and Macy's to name a few. Not only have they figured out how to do video and do it well, they can also teach you and help you get your video in front of the people you want to view it. When that is done they will report back to you - yes analytics! They can tell you where your video traffic is coming from, even if it is mobile with some very sophisticated mechanism.

So this would be a good chance to learn about JSTN because they won't be taking the show on the road for a while. Lindsey tells me the next show they are doing is not until February where they will be attending an HR Conference in Sarasota, FL.

Oh so let's not forget, while you will get to meet, greet and video with the JSTN gang the purpose in attending the even is to participate in the TNLLive Event, so you can register here. I promise you this, TNLLive will be one of the best events you will attend in 2012 and without a doubt will be the cheapest. Hope to see you there!

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

SHRM Lobby Day

2011-11-14T06:00:00.001-06:00

This week I will be starring in my own version of Mr. Smith goes to Washington. I have the good fortune to be attending the SHRM Leadership Conference. This year there will be over 900 volunteer leaders at the Crystal Gateway Marriott. We will be hearing about the SHRM agenda, sitting through sessions on agenda items, seeing the Pinnacle Awards being handed out, and networking with one and other.

I will be arriving on Wednesday evening. On Thursday morning I am having breakfast with over 400 other SHMR members and volunteer leaders, who will be descending onto Capitol Hill as pseudo lobbyists. Mr.Michael Layman, one of SHRM's official lobbyists has done some cursory preparations with the group last week. He presented an hour long webinar for attendees to hear what our mission was going to be. I have accepted the mission and am most excited about it.

We will be meeting with members from our House Districts in the morning and then with Senators in the afternoon. While they have prepared us to expect to meet with Staffers in many instances, I am sure a number of folks will actually have a chance to speak to their elected representatives. SHRM does have an official agenda for each of us, either as groups or individual, to present to our legislators. It is important that we do this. As it was explained to me earlier in the week of the 535 Senators and House Members - 2 yes Two of them actually have practical experience in Human Resources. Expressed as a percentage 0.4% of our elected representative have HR experience - shocking!

We will have more than 20 attendees from Illinois at the conference. Of those there will be at least three making the trip over to Captiol Hill . We will share with you our fledgling lobbying efforts later in the week, as well other goodies coming from the conference. Stay tuned!

- Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

Social Media, SHRM and Shoes

2011-11-10T20:49:00.000-06:00

This post is a welcome to the newest Director of Social Media to a SHRM State Council. Please join us at ILSHRM in wecloming Kristi Jones as the Director of Social Media for the State of Missouri. Now here is where it gets interesting. Kristi is alleged to be somewhat of a fashion diva. I am basing this on the fact that she brought a lot of shoes with her to the Illinois State Conference this year for a three day stay.

We were quite happy to have Kristi join us. She brought a certain let's call it cache with her. She is a charming young lady as well. Now just as I was thinking about Kristi, in her new role, I was reading my SHRM weekly newsletter and I read a blurb about SHRM collecting shoes at the Leadership Conference. Then I make the connection; this is ....ummmm strange. I will see Kristi again, in about a week at the SHRM Leadership Conference, and again the focus will be on footwear.

I am not sure how this all fits in but it seems to be the convergence of Kristi and shoes where ever she goes.

Good Luck in your new role as Director of Social Media for the Missouri State Council of SHRM!

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

#SHRMChat Goes Live

2011-11-08T22:13:00.000-06:00

Last night was an exciting evening at least for about 24 people that I know from twitter. Now I have met many of these folks face to face, but not all of them. The reason last night was exciting is because it was the first night of #SHRMChat. This was and will be an on-line chat on twitter. This is the brain child of our good friend Joan Ginsberg.

SHRMChat Brain Child Joan Ginsberg

Joan wanted to do something to bring together some of the most active and enthusiastic social media users who are at the forefront of using social media on behalf of their SHRM organization, be it a state council or chapter. Well she did it. Joan pushed it and got it out of the gate; so kudos to her! The plan is to do this chat monthly on the second Tuesday of the month at 8 p.m. Eastern. The hashtag is #SHRMChat.

I could not get a good tweet count, as it appears that tweet cloud has gone inactive. Looking at the tweet reach stats we see we had 24 participants on the hashtag.

There were some interesting ideas thrown out during the chat. Perhaps we could take action on some of these and move the ball forward. If you are involved in any SHRM organization and you are trying to move the organization forward with social media then you should plan to participate in the next chat on December 13th at 8 p.m. EST.

Those of us at the SHRM Leadership Conference will talk this up, but we need more support so please join in next month.

One last thing - THANKS JOAN!

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

TNL Live Coming to Chicago Land

2011-11-07T09:14:00.000-06:00

I recently became aware of an event that is coming not only to the mid-west but right here in the Land of Lincoln and Illinois SHRM. Many of you have heard of HREvolution. Some of you have heard or the Tru Conferences as well, and you may know that they are similar events. Well I am so excited about his event I must go back to one of my favorite video clips of all time from my man Kent Dorfman- enjoy...

What is great? The Talent Net Live show coming to the Chicago area. Craig Fisher is the guy who has put this together. Craig is social media when it comes to recruiting. Where can you find him Linked IN Twitter (Yeah that's right 35,000 followers) Facebook (+2500 Friends) His Blog site.

Craig is taking his show on the road. He has done a number of events in his backyard in the Dallas area, but this is about as far from home as he has taken his Talent Net Live. Talent Net Live is joining forces with JSTN Studios in Aurora. Here is an overview of the December 5th event.

There will be a number of prominent social media folks who are active in the HR space both presenting and attending. Now having said all of this I also have a discount code for Illinois SHRM Members. Simply go to the registration form here. For a 25% discount use the discount code "tnlspecial".

- Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

We will do a follow-up or two to this even, but I hope to see you there.

SHRM Diversity and Inclusion Conference Access Denied

2011-10-25T20:56:00.000-05:00

Conference Planners the Game has Changed: Get on Board or get off the Sinking Ship

The theme for this week's SHRM Diversity & Inclusion Conference at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel is "Game Changers". This inspired this post as I assert that the game for conference planners is "the conference" itself. You could also include seminars, programs, education, etc. as the game that has changed.

The point is we soon will have 5 generations in the workplace and our newest generation is being referred to as the "always on" generation. In some circles, this "always on" mentality is wholeheartedly embraced and in others, they are not embraced at all. How can one be "always on" when conference centers, generally hotels, BLOCK access to what folks want to be "always on"... The Internet.

This conference is not the first SHRM conference to deny my access to “get on" during the conference. However, SHRM is not the only organization I have attended where this has been a problem. I can think of my own Chamber of Commerce function where there were all kinds of businesses from all types of industries trying to get on the internet. My second point is it doesn't matter if you’re a conference planner within the HR space; this is probably an issue at other conferences all over the world. If we are going to consider marketing conferences to the "always on" generation we should consider their needs. Not only that, there truly is a real benefit to your organization to promote, drive and encourage live communication from the conference. It can drive future attendance. Just like employers should really rethink their ban of internet access on the job, the same goes for organizations and business who want people to frequent their organization. I can imagine a time when people will choose a lunch location based on free wifi or not. Even if you don't have free wifi, if you ban it then you will lose. I already chose hotels for vacation based on whether or not there is free wifi. If lunch is the next decision, conferences will be right behind.

So, conference planners are most likely saying the hotels charge an arm and leg for it. We have the power to increase demand and negotiate for what we want and our member's need. I know I will have comments that say we tried and it's easier said than done. The point is why these conference centers not cater to what the customer needs. If they start losing business because of it, they will eventually listen.

The game has changed. Participants do not want access blocked. Get on board with this demand or it can have an effect on future attendance. Do you want a sinking ship or to go forward full throttle? Full throttle is catering to the "always on" generation.

-Donna Rogers, Director ISC SHRM

SHRM Leadership Conference 2011

2011-10-24T20:03:00.000-05:00

It happens every November in Alexandrea, VA. It is the SHRM Leadership Conference. This annual event is put on by the mothership to help spread the word about the SHRM mission and message. If you attend you will find: many first time attendees, many veterans of 10 or more conferences, and many of the SHRM staffers. The event usually offers up the annual Pinnacle Awards which are awarded at a luncheon, it also includes a trip over to SHRM Headquarters with some excellent food and drink.

It is also a great place to network and meet other people. But over the years some folks have become concerned about sharing their contact information with other attendees. Those of us active in the social media are internet extroverts, we want to share and meet new people make new connections, and meet-up in real life (IRL) with people we have met on line.

So having said that at Illinois SHRM we would like to coordinate sharing of contact information for those who wish to do so. You do not have to participate, but if you do you will be given access to all of the others who sign up to share thier contact information. This is somewhat of an experiment in using Google Docs integrated into the blog post.

If this works like we plan, we will share with anyone who is interested how to very easily gather data as we are doing here. If you would like to be included simply fill out this form. Via email you will then be given access to view the spreadsheet so you may see who all wished to network in somewhat of an open fashion.

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Thanks for joining in our networking efforts.

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

WANTED Talented Writers Interested in Promoting HR

2011-10-21T05:00:00.002-05:00

This past summer, we proudly unveiled the first edition of ILSHRM Magazine, a publication of ILSHRM designed to promote the human resources profession in the State of Illinois. With a circulation of more than 10,000, ILSHRM Magazine provides up-to-date news and features on topics of interest to HR professionals at all career levels, in addition to highlighting the importance of human resource professionals in achieving strategic business objectives.

As we look forward to our second edition, we hope to build off of what we did in the inaugural issue by improving the relevance and sophistication of our content. Future editions will include scholarly pieces, articles about regulatory changes, case studies, and real world examples of how corporations are using leadership and management principles in their organizations. Authors will include HR practitioners, educators and consultants who provide a unique perspective or insight on a timely HR topic.

With this publication, we hope to grab the attention of not only HR professionals but business leaders, legislators and all those who contribute to and who advocate our profession. Since the magazine is fully funded by advertisers, they are also a large part of our target audience. Many advertisers place ads around articles that are related to their business products or services, and we welcome content of that nature. We do, however, respectfully request that contributors steer clear of “sales pitches” and focus on products and services generically.

If you or someone you know is interested in finding out more about being a contributor to the second edition of ILSHRM Magazine, please email our Marketing/Communications Chair at newsletter@ilshrm.org. The bulk of needed articles will range in length from 500-1,000 words with feature articles averaging 3,000 words. Final copy will be submitted to our design team in late November. So, we hope to have our contributors secured in the coming weeks. (Keep in mind that your contributions may qualify for recertification credits through HRCI!) Our next edition is slated for distribution in early February 2012.

We are truly excited about this important initiative, but we need your help. Whether you choose to pursue advertising opportunities, write copy for the magazine or simply support ILSHRM by reading and spreading the word, we thank you for your support!

Haven’t seen the inaugural edition of ILSHRM Magazine? Click here for an electronic download or email us at newsletter@ilshrm.org to be put on our mailing list.

-Heather Hammit Director of Public Relations ISC SHRM

SHRM Strategy Conference Wrap-Up

2011-10-13T20:34:00.000-05:00

As a final follow-up to the SHRM Strategy Conference I wanted to share the following press information with you that was written by Kate Kennedy, @SHRMPress.

Oct. 5, 2011 HR Executives Consider Business Risk and Innovation

As human resource executives gathered Tuesday, Oct. 4, in Chicago to examine business risk created by technology, global competition and market uncertainties, an Internet entrepreneur turned the risk posed by social media upside down. The biggest risk associated with social media is not investing enough time with it, BranchOut CEO Rick Marini told the 100 business leaders.

Social media is the most scalable way to get real-time information from customers, who in turn become marketers for you, he said. And Facebook, he added, brings incredible efficiency to keeping in touch. BranchOut is a professional network on Facebook

Marini was the dinner speaker on the opening day of the SHRM Foundation’s Thought Leaders Retreat -- “HR’s Role in Managing Business Risk” -- an exclusive event for chief human resource officers and CEOs.

Other quotable moments included:

· To drive innovation, organizations need to set an aggressive vision and challenge orthodoxies, said Arun Leslie George, senior vice president and head of HR at Coromandel International of India. Align innovation to business goals and metrics, he suggested, noting: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

· The retreat, held before SHRM’s Strategy Conference (Oct. 5-7 in Chicago), continues Wednesday with speakers including Susan Podlogar, vice president of global compensation and performance for Johnson & Johnson.

Oct. 5, 2011 HR Thought Leaders: Balancing Risk and Opportunity

The Society for Human Resource Management’s Strategy Conference opened Wednesday, Oct. 5, with former General Electric HR executive Bill Conaty admonishing the 500 attendees not to forget the “human” in human resources.

“Don’t forget why we are at the table,” he said.

Conaty, co-author of The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers, said the HR leader of the future will need to have a critical fit with the CEO and CFO, the trust and confidence of the senior management team and a capacity for complex problem solving and operational savvy.

Great leaders balance a passion for business with compassion for people, he said. Among his advice for professionals: “Great leaders do great succession planning.” “Be problem solvers vs. problem identifiers.” “When you stop growing, the game is over.”

SHRM CEO Henry G. (Hank) Jackson also included the importance of talent management in his remarks. “The question for all of us is: How do we differentiate our organizations and ourselves? I would argue that as HR professionals … we must ensure that every employee has the opportunity to succeed at his or her greatest degree of potential.”

The 2011 Michael R. Losey Human Resource Research Award was presented to Dr. Sara Rynes, the John F. Murray professor of management and organizations at the University of Iowa and editor of the Academy of Management Journal. In accepting the award, Rynes described research as “the new competitive advantage.”

The conference, which features 17 speakers, continues Thursday, Oct. 6, with presentations by Jeffrey Garten, former undersecretary of commerce, and Bridget van Kralingen, general manager of IBM North America.

The conference followed the SHRM Foundation’s “HR’s role in Managing Business Risk,” an exclusive event held Oct. 4-5 for CEOs and chief human resource officers.

Why are HR executives considering risk now? Wayne Cascio, the Robert H. Reynolds chair in global leadership at the University of Colorado, said concern about business risk is a “byproduct of what happened and what we’ve been through with the global financial crisis.”

But he noted, “The danger of focusing on risk is that we miss out on the flip side – opportunities.” He encouraged HR leaders to put their organizations in “a position to benefit from an uncertain future event.”

Oct. 6, 2011 SHRM's Strategy Conference: Talent Management Critical to Transformation

The company of the future defines its purpose so employees are truly inspired, has a global mindset and a broad network of ideas and talent, and is agile and resilient, finance expert Jeffrey Garten told attendees at the Society for Human Resource’s Strategy Conference in Chicago.

At the heart of the company of the future is HR. “It’s all about having the right people in the right places at the right time,” said Garten, dean of the Yale School of Management.

“The company of the future is a talent machine.”

Garten, former undersecretary of commerce for international trade, opened Day Two of the conference attended by top HR executives. “Leadership development has to be elevated to the same level as strategy and risk management,” he said, adding that he believes top executives need global experiences that allow them to experience culture and an understanding of public policy.

Brian Dickson, senior vice president of professional development at SHRM who hosted the conference, told the 500 attendees about a recent visit to Cuba by a SHRM delegation. At the heart of dramatic change on the island nation, he noted, is a shift from the public sector to the private sector. “Our time in Cuba brought home to me in a very vivid manner that change, anticipating change, adapting and managing change is integral to the well-being and very survival of our institutions.”

Thursday afternoon’s keynote speaker, Bridget van Kralingen, general manager of IBM North America, spoke about lessons learned from transformation and longevity. “Move to the future before it moves to you,” said the executive of the 100-year-old company. Don’t move when everyone sees it. “Move when it’s lonely.”

During the Oct. 5-7 conference, SHRM’s vice president of research, Mark Schmit, briefed reporters on the 2011 Job Satisfaction Survey, which will be released later this month. For the fourth year, job security was the top driver of job satisfaction, Schmit said.

For the first time, research included data on employee engagement and identified gaps between what employees value and how satisfied they are with what matters most to them. While 63 percent of employees responding to the survey said job security is very important to them, only 28 percent said they were very satisfied with their job security.

For more information about the Job Satisfaction Survey, contact SHRM Media Relations.

SHRM’s conference, “Creative, Effective and Scalable Strategies that Deliver Results,” ends Friday with Don Tapscott, author and authority on the impact of technology, speaking about “Rethinking Talent for the Age of Networked Intelligence.”

Birds Fly…Supervisors Die!

2011-10-08T19:58:00.000-05:00

The title above is the outcome of critical thinking that occurred at the end of the SHRM Strategy Conference yesterday at the Chicago Fairmont as Don Tapscott delivered and ended his talk with an analogy that was extremely powerful. Of course, we are not talking about individual Supervisors literally dying. Instead, focus your thoughts on the potential idea of “supervision” perhaps going by the wayside as we continue to move toward more collaboration in organizations. Whereas, I see collaboration is people who work “together” and not “for” others to accomplish the mission of the organization.

As you watch the video here that I found on You Tube (not exactly the one he used), listen to the author describing the way these birds join forces (as an organization) and what they are doing together in the first place (mission). It reminds me of how I chunk the information presented in my Organizational Behavior class at UIS. First we talk about the individuals (the bird), then the groups which are made up of individuals (listen for “groups” of birds), and finally the makeup of the organization and how the individuals, groups and organization itself affect organizational behavior (the swarm). Notice that no one bird continuously takes the lead (supervisor). Ironically, they don’t even collide (conflict). The work together elegantly, swiftly, and precisely to achieve the organizational objective (in this case spotting their prey). I will forever see swarms of birds in a totally different way than I did the day before Don’s talk.

This presentation, by far, was the most thought provoking of all those I attended this week. I give credit to the SHRM conference planners for choosing some outstanding speakers. My second favorite was the one I wrote about in my first ILSHRM blog Steve Cadigan. Others I found insightful, educational, and inspiring where Bill Conaty, Bridget van Kralingen, Cynthia Worden Lee, and of course one of this year’s ILSHRM keynoters Jason Lauritsen. If you are having a conference, I would definitely recommend any of these speakers above.

Other posts written about this conference are: ILSHRM Represented at SHRM Strategy Conference and CEOs Sit-Up, Take Notice, & Incorporate THINK DIFFERENT.

-Donna Rogers, Director ISC SHRM

ILSHRM Represented at SHRM Strategy Conference

2011-10-05T21:41:00.000-05:00

As the State Director of the Illinois State Council of The Society for Human Resources Management (ILSHRM), I am honored to be writing for the SHRM Press/Social Media. My first time but not so for some of my peers here such as Charlie Judy @HRFishbowl, Susan Avello @SusanAvello, John Jorgensen @jkjhr and of course our fearless leaders Curtis Midkiff @SHRMsocialmediaguy and Kate Kennedy @SHRMPress. Honored to be on the same team! So what do I have to write about at the end of this first day. A hellofalot!

The speakers have been fabulous so far and after only one day I would recommend this conference to all SHRM members, chapter members and non members in this great state which if you look at IL BLS data that's about 66k. There are actually about 400 here from around the world.

Let me give you a few examples of why I would recommend this conference so early in the game. First, I started out with a concurrent session lead by the VP of HR for Linked In @SteveCadigan. I chose this session primarily because I have asked my HR students to open a profile to search how Recruiters are using the platform to source candidates (in connection with the two chapters in the text covering recruiting and selection). I also work with several clients who are either looking for talent or looking for a job. My initial objectives were complemented by three words in the session description "employer of choice". My students do a presentation on a chosen organization who have won an award for above. They have not chosen Linked In yet but have chosen employment competitor & neighbor of LI, Google.

The session covered the companies growing pains related to talent acquisition, policy development, competition as an employer of choice and more. So while they are a company who helps other companies with talent acquisition, they have the same problem because of growth. For example 60% of their employee have less than one year of tenure. They have almost 1800 employees now who all help others with services like Linked In Recruiter, Jobs Network, Talent Direct, Recruitment Ads, Career Pages. All of which I have never personally used because my trench HR experience is prior to the birth of this company. I am looking forward to reading the case studies (Allstate, US Cellular, Kimball International, Kaiser Permanente, & Logitech) they provided in the handout.

The day ended with a 40 year HR veteran (and follow-up reception) who had a very straightforward message that all CHROs, CEOs, & CFOs should hear and incorporate in everything they do. Treat people like humans not numbers (aka remember the "Human" in Human Resources). The veteran was Bill Conaty, former GE HR Executive who worked closely with Jack Welch. He was promoting his book Talent Masters but he really got me interested, as you can see from my tweet stream, towards the end when he shared some of his observations of top HR pitfalls. That information is valuable to those who are working on strategic planning in their organizations. Some of us were talking at dinner that this is the kind of keynote we need at SHRM national instead of former movie stars or other big names who have really not made a difference in the HR profession. #JustSayin

Looking forward to Day 2 starting with one of our ILSHRM keynotes @JasonLarquist whom I did not hear at our conference since I was "taking care of conference business" 99% of time in Oakbrook.

- Donna Rogers State Director ISC SHRM

Charlie Judy ILSHRM OHSHRM and LASHRM

2011-09-28T05:00:00.000-05:00

If you have seen some of the things we have posted up here lately, we have kind of slighted our state council. Even though our conference is over for the year, we are already working on next year's event and moving forward with many of our on-going projects, like hosting the SHRM Strategy Conference in Chicago. Oh and by the way this is our 100th post on this site! Thank you very much!

Among other things that John Jorgensen and I did while we were over visiting the Ohio SHRM State Conference, we had a chance to review some things from our conference. One of the more interesting things we did was to check out some digital video from our conference. We compared what we had done to what Ohio had done, in terms of conference openings. Without argument, you must agree that the conference openings for Illinois compared to Ohio were at opposite ends of the spectrum. Each was unique and fit the flavor of their event. After looking at the video below, I think you will find Mr. Judy's comments most enlightening.

Charlie Judy Emcee at ILSHRM 2011 from Illinois SHRM on Vimeo.

Now we think Charlie did a great job. And not only do we think that he did a great job but apparently our friend Robin Schooling, from Louisiana who attended IL SHRM, thought Charley did a good job as well. In fact, she thought Charlie did such a fine job, Robin invited Charlie to emcee at the 2012 Louisiana SHRM State Conference. We found out about this on the trip return back to Illinois from our Ohio experience. I understand Charley attended school at Tulane, thus the willingness to return to Louisiana, or perhaps just Ms. Schooling's sheer charm, who knows.

The bottom line is this. It is all good stuff. Our SHRM state organizations are sharing experiences, speakers, topics, ideas and concepts, and it benefits everyone and it hurts no one.

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

OHSHRM Rock Star Brad Galin

2011-09-24T11:26:00.000-05:00

I just returned from the Ohio SHRM State conference and was reflecting on the trip. I had a lot of time to relect - 7 hours in my S10 to be exact. The conference was in Steve Browne's words AMAZING, and I agree. I was fortuntate to hear some talented people present on some pertinent topics (that is another post in and of itself). I also met a lot of nice folks from the Buckeye state. And I also got renew some old friendships.

The more time you spend with people the better you get to know them. The whole program was themed with Rock | HR Rocks | and Rock Stars. Well I hung out with a true rock star, and an HR guy. My buddy Brad Galin is a rock star.

That's Brad with the shades on. HR guy by day - rock star conference attendee at night. I have met Brad before but I got a chance to spend time with him at OHSHM as a fellow out-of-stater. Brad works by day in the not-for-profit sector. He is also active with the Indana State Council of SHRM.

It is alway enjoyeable to spend time with someone who is like minded, and Brad and I share a number of similiar interest.

I plan to stay in touch with my neighbor to the east over in the Hoosier state, and look forward to catching up with him soon. I plan on attending thier State Conference in Indiana next year. Lastly, I had to put up the post so that I could make him the talk of the office with his rock star pictures. There are a few more here.

-Dave Ryan Directof of Social Media ISC SHRM

On the Road at Ohio SHRM

2011-09-21T14:45:00.003-05:00

I have the good fortune of attending my second SHRM state conference in about a month. I revel in the opportunity to learn about my field of HR. Not only am I learning about HR topics, but also about the task of putting on a Conference itself and all of the details that requires.

I am in awe to learn from two of the best in the business: John Jorgensen and Steve Browne. John is more of a behind the scenes guy and Steve is more of an out front guy, kind of like a say- lead singer of a band. So far, I have attended two sessions, and I am in the third as I write this. The first session was thought provoking and insightful. The speaker was Mark Stelzner. His topic was Social Media and HR policies. After lunch Simon Bailey addressed the group of over 700 HR pros and discussed leadership, leading change, being positive and assertive in your workplace. Simon, a former Disney executive communicated about his time at the happiest place on earth and it came through. Once a cast member, always a cast member.

But the real show stealer was lead conference organizer Steve Browne. Have a look

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

Strategy Equals Improved Bottom Line

2011-09-19T05:00:00.002-05:00

Yes indeed! In my professional opinion, strategic decision making, when it comes to company profit and how good or bad the bottom line is go hand in hand. Having a military background I can appreciate the Wikipedia definition for strategy:

Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked. How a battle is fought is a matter of tactics: the terms and conditions that it is fought on and whether it should be fought at all is a matter of strategy, which is part of the four levels of warfare: political goals or grand strategy, strategy, operations, and tactics. Building on the work of many thinkers on the subject, one can define strategy as "a comprehensive way to try to pursue political ends, including the threat or actual use of force, in a dialectic of wills – there have to be at least two sides to a conflict. These sides interact, and thus a Strategy will rarely be successful if it shows no adaptability."^[1] Strategy has been extended beyond its traditional fields, military and grand strategy, to business, economics, game theory and other fields. Reference Wikipedia.

So looking back at the definition above, I would consider words like: plan, goal, achievement, action, engagement, adaptability, and success. Strategic success, from an business & HR perspective, if the majority of your overall operating expenses is payroll and benefits (which is typically more than half), would be more than advantageous to maintain a strategic staffing plan at the very minimum. However, don’t take my word for it! In a few short weeks you will be able to hear from Bill Conaty, Former Sr. VP of HR at GE, Jeffery Garten, Juan Trippe Professor in Practice of International Trade, Bridget van Kralingen, GM at IBM, and Don Tapscott, Thought Leader on the Strategic Value & Impact of IT.

To top it off one of ILSHRM11’s keynote speakers, Jason Lauritsen, of Talent Anarchy is one of the concurrent speakers. Personally I’d go just to see him! He was awesome at our conference! That’s not the best part! We at ILSHRM have partnered with SHRM to bring you an improved bottom line as well when you register for this conference today. How, you ask? By using the following promo code: SHRMIL2011. This code will save you several hundred dollars on your registration. So register today to move your company toward improved bottom line results!

The SHRM Strategy Conference is a signature event for top-level HR professionals and other business leaders who want senior-level sessions that focus on developing and executing creative, effective and scalable strategies.

Donna Rogers, SPHR @DonnaRogersHR - Chair ISC SHRM

Tim Sackett - The Most Powerful Man in HR

2011-09-14T05:00:00.004-05:00

Kyle Lagunas

Today's guest post is from Kyle Lagunas. He is the HR Analyst at Software Advice – a company that does human resources software reviews. On the surface, it's his job to contribute to the ongoing conversation on all things HR. Beyond that, he makes sure his audience is keeping up with important trends and hot topics in the industry. Focused on offering a fresh take on points of interest in his market, he's not your typical HR guy.

*************************************************************

Tim Sackett
(Presenter at ILSHRM11)

Though my inbox and Twitter feed are flooded daily, rare is the article that catches my eye quite like a recent piece published by Fistful of Talent. It posed a simple question: “Is Tim Sackett the Most Powerful Man in HR?” The answer (“Yes.”) was news to me. After reading Sackett’s piece, I was left with another, more pressing question: Who exactly is this guy?

Having determined that his was a brain worth picking, I scheduled a Q&A with Sackett and quickly found out he’s an HR veteran with a big personality. When I asked him how he got into HR, Sackett said that, like a lot of college kids, “You just fall into something. You either like it and do well, or you don't and you start looking for something else.”

Fresh out of college, his mother – the CEO at HRU Technical Services – offered him a sourcing position as a research assistant. From there, he launched into a 10-year career in corporate HR before returning to take the reins at HRU. Now the Executive VP, Sackett seems to have found his place in the HR world and, thankfully, was willing to share his lessons learned.

Q: HOW CAN RANK-AND-FILE HR PROS BRING THEIR HR DEPARTMENT UP TO SPEED WITH LIMITED RESOURCES?

Sackett: If you have limited resources, the only thing that is going to help you become more efficient is technology.

The only way you are going to do more with less is to utilize the technology that you have available to you, and to educate yourself.

Everyone should be using Google Reader. There are organizations out there that drive a community of HR professionals that share resources and information, and all you have to do is subscribe to them to get their updates in your inbox. I also use Twitter, and at any minute I could go out there and say, “I'm looking for a total comp statement to use.” I have roughly 3,500 Twitter followers, and within five minutes I will have five people send me a link or an email of a total comp statement that they put together.

At that point, I'm not just one single HR professional in northern Wisconsin working on my own. I have all these people who are saying, "Let's use this community to really go out and drive better HR in our organizations individually.” But you’ve go to plug in first.

Q: BEYOND YOUR PHONE, EMAIL, AND THE INTERWEBS, WHAT’S ONE PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY EVERY HR PROFESSIONAL SHOULD HAVE?

Sackett: There's some basic automation in HR that you need to be effective. For me, an applicant tracking system is invaluable. You have to find a way not only to process incoming talent, but also to go back and find that talent that has found you already. When I first started at HRU as a research assistant, I worked with file cabinets full of resumes. A recruiter would say, "I need a Process Engineer.” That's file 63, and the file would literally be five inches thick of resumes. You would start calling and looking at notes people wrote on them six months ago. Really from that experience, I can tell you that an applicant tracking system is worth its weight in gold. You're always going to get your return on investment from that standpoint.

For further reading, check out the full Q&A on Kyle's blog:

-Thanks To Kyle and Tim for a wonderful post - Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM.

Ohio SHRM 2011 - Thought About Attending?

2011-09-12T05:00:00.001-05:00

The Final Countdown is here. The Ohio 2011 SHRM Conference is soon. It promises to be great event starting Sept. 21 and running through Sept. 23. Here are some details from Conference Chair Steve Brown

I was running over the program details and compiled this list of people (in no particular order) who will be speaking at OHSHRM11.

And that list is just the people that I know. There are a number of other presenters as well. And just because I am not familiar with their work means nothing. They may, in fact be the best presenters of the conference.

This conference, just like the Illinois conference is put on by ALL volunteers. Steve tells me that I am going to meet a fabulous group of volunteers in Ohio. He should know. The event currently has over 700 people from five states and Canada registered.

Ok, so why are we trumpeting what is going on in Ohio here on the ILSHRM Blog Site? There are two reasons. First, I was born in Ohio – Toledo/Lucas County to be exact so I am forever connected to Ohio. Secondly and probably more importantly, at least two of us from Illinois SHRM will be attending to learn, observe and share at the event. John Jorgensen and I (Dave Ryan) will be attending.

As the Director of Social Media for ILSHRM, I had certain obligations at the Illinois Conference, albeit far less than my fellow traveler John. I know I speak for both of us when I say I am excited to be attending as a participant, a blogger, a tweeter – someone who gets to attend and take in the conference, learn from the sessions, see some old friends and make some new ones.

Watch for out tweets from the event and we will see you at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, OH.

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

Guest Post From Charlie Judy - a.k.a. HRFishbowl

2011-09-08T11:59:00.001-05:00

Charlie working his magic at ILSHRM11

It was my pleasure playing Master of Ceremonies at this year's Illinois SHRM Conference in Oak Brook. What an amazing community showing! We left feeling smarter, invigorated, and maybe even optimistic about our profession, its future, and the tremendous value we might bring our organizations. And then maybe some of us fell back into our routines and fell prey to the competing priorities, multiple commitments, and the myriad distractions that pepper our lives. And it suddenly got harder to keep that energy flowing. The batteries started to drain and the lights dim. That’s cool…it happens…and it’s not really your fault.

The beauty of this year’s conference was that many of the presenters and speakers share their goodness each and every day through their blogs. You don’t have to wait until the next conference for them to impart their wisdom. Subscribe to their blogs (all it takes is a ‘click’ and zero dollars) and their knowledge, expertise, perspective will automatically flow to your Readers (or your Email box if you prefer) with tender loving care. Here’s a beginners guide to who you might strongly consider subscribing to. All of these Talent Management Bloggers were at the 2011 Illinois SHRM Conference.

In no particular order…

The Blog of Ryan Estis, Passion on Purpose: “[His] premise is passion at work occurs most often when the right person, in the right job is supported through very intentional and strategic action by an organization. Where leadership is aligned with the mission, vision and values and employees are the ultimate extension of the brand.”

The Joe Gerstandt Blog, Illuminating the Value of Difference: “…helping people and groups of people truly understand diversity, inclusion, and culture so they can deliver better on their promises. His work is not about tolerance, sensitivity, or compliance; it’s about letting the dog off the leash.”

The Jason Lauritsen Blog, Transforming Business through Talent: “… [helping] transform human resources teams into business leaders who help the organization succeed by unleashing the talent of its people.”

HR Fishbowl, Charlie Judy: "HR Simply-Engineered...it's about humans for goodness sake. Getting back to the basics of strong connections, good relationships, personal attention, customization, and simplified processes are what he believes to be more important than anything the broader HR community is currently focused on."

The China Gorman Blog: ”Leading organizations that support HR professionals all over the world in making their organizations more competitive and more profitable with highly engaged and productive employees.”

Lean HR Blog, Dwane Lay: “…a firm believer that everyone should spend some of their formative years in a function other than the one they choose as their career path.”

Unbridled Talent, Jennifer McClure: “recruiting/social recruiting, employment branding and leadership/career development”

HR Schoolhouse, Robin Schooling: “there’s a need for folks in HR to keep learning and growing and [she] encourages curiosity, conversation and change.”

The Working Caregiver, Susan Avello: “walking you through work / life issues while sharing [her] own.”

The Human Racehorses, Mike Vandervort: “[shares his] thoughts, rants, advice, training and consulting in human resources, labor relations, and social media.”

The Tim Sackett Project, Tim Sackett: “open dialogue with other HR/Talent Pros…to help in [his] development as a professional and to throw out ideas that challenge our daily perception of how HR should be done.”

Marenated, Maren Hogan: “travel…technology…recruiting/HR…parenting/marriage…boots/cereal”

HR Tailgate, John Jorgensen: “discussing all things HR and then some…”

Rogers HR Warrior, Donna Rogers: “much “to do” about the Illinois State Council of SHRM”

Radical Recruit, Geoff Webb: recruiting, talent, social media, and lots of video.

The Jason Seiden Blog, Jason Seiden: “[his] blog is profersonal™. It blurs the line between professional and personal”

Blogging 4 Jobs, Jessica Miller-Merrell: “intended to be honest, creative, and offer an unconventional POV for the HR, Business, & Human Capital Management industries.”

HR Chatterbox, Sabrina Baker: “All things HR…with special attention given to leadership, communication and building relationships.”

H.R. Official, Dave Ryan: “making light of both of his passions of hockey and human resources.”

HR Soot, William Gould: “learning through the incomplete combustion of people matters.”

Just Joan, Joan Ginsberg: “Where business meets personal, because you can’t separate work and life.”

Lunch Conversations with Drive Thru HR, William Tincup and Bryan Wempen: hear from real HR peeps (#TrenchHR) about the great things they are doing in the world of talent…on live radio…every day.

The greatest thing about blogs is that everyone has their voice…you just have to find the ones that speak to you most. Pick a few from this list of great HR speakers, experts, pundits and subscribe to their blogs: click through and read their posts every now and then. You’ll laugh a bunch, scratch your head, and probably get angry and grind your teeth here and there; your perspective will broaden and you’ll challenge yourself maybe more than anyone else can. But more importantly, you’ll stay well connected to the Illinois SHRM community and the HR profession…in perpetuity.

Looking forward to seeing you in 2012!

Charlie Judy

ILSHRM Master of Ceremonies

ILSHRM All Access - Daily Video Wrap-Up - Day 2

2011-08-31T17:03:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posting the day two wrap up from our 2011 Conference. We owe a big thanks to Curtis Midkiff from SHRM for putting these together. Think of this like fine wine - it is worth waiting for.

- Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

Just the right amount of FANTASTIC!

2011-08-31T05:45:00.000-05:00

Today we have a guest post from China Gorman. China was a recent keynote speaker at our state conference. These are her comments...

China Gorman speaking in the Drury Lane Theater at ILSHRM11

A new casino/hotel recently opened in Las Vegas. Their marketing campaign was “Just the right amount of wrong.” Clearly I wasn’t in their target demographic, because, as a consumer, no amount of wrong is right with me.

I feel the same way about conferences. Especially HR conferences. And I just attended one that was just the right amount of Fantastic!

I was honored to have been asked to be the final keynote speaker at the recent 12^th Annual Illinois HR Conference. With more than 800 attendees – from as far away as India! – this SHRM-affiliated conference really set the bar for excellence in every category!

What makes this so noteworthy to me is that the conference was organized entirely by volunteers! SHRM puts on 5 commercial conferences a year. Only one SHRM event, the big annual conference, is bigger than the Illinois HR Conference. And SHRM has a full-time staff of more than 9 meeting planning and marketing professionals organizing their conferences – including the 4 events that are much smaller than the Annual Illinois HR Conference! This just puts into perspective the incredible achievement of the organizing team led by Conference Co-Directors, John Jorgensen and Cathy Plouzek.

From the other keynote speakers (Ryan Estis and Talent Anarchy, Joe Gerstandt and Jason Lauritsen), to the pre-conference Social Media Bootcamp led by Jessica Miller Merrill, to the incredible lineup of concurrent session speakers, to the venue, the food, the social media engagement and coverage – truly, everything about this conference was just the right amount of fantastic!

From someone who knows conferences – especially HR conferences – I offer my congratulations to the full conference planning team. And I highly recommend that other SHRM state conference organizers contact John and Cathy for tips and lessons learned. These folks are doing it right!

Second Annual WOWIE Awards from ILSHRM11

2011-08-29T05:54:00.000-05:00

Legislators and health care policy experts might consider talking to the 2011 WOWIE Award winners to view for themselves the power of effective employee wellness programs in reducing health care costs and improving employee wellness and productivity.

Six Illinois companies have been honored with the Second Annual WOWIE Award, sponsored by The Illinois State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management (ISC-SHRM) and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL). The WOWIE award recognizes employers who champion the health of their employees and strive to create a work culture that promotes physical activity.

Awards were presented at the 2011 12th Annual Illinois HR Conference & Exposition on Tuesday, August 23rd at Drury Lane Theater.

Applications were divided into two categories: “Companies with More than 200 Employees,” and “Companies with Fewer Than 200 Employees.” Three awards were given in each of the following categories: Platinum, Gold and Silver.
Recipients include:

At the podium Emcee Charlie Judy
(L)Sharyn Hoptay-Blue Cross Sherri Gatto-State Farm (R)

Companies with More Than 200 Employees

Platinum: State Farm Insurance, Bloomington, Ill.
Gold: CDW, Inc., Vernon Hills, Ill.
Silver: Provena Health System, Mokena, Ill

Companies with Fewer Than 200 Employees

Platinum: Robinson Engineering, South Holland, Ill.

Gold: Alper Services LLC, Chicago

Silver: Advanced Rehab, Bloomington, Ill.

State Farm developed its own wellness program called “Live Well, Be Well” and incorporated it into the State Farm philosophy.

“Our Live Well, Be Well initiative encourages employees to make informed lifestyle decisions in the areas of physical activity, nutrition, tobacco cessation and preventive screenings,” said Sheri Gatto, wellness coordinator at State Farm.

“We made a business case for our wellness initiative and sought buy in from our executive team in 2007,” Gatto said. In 2008, State Farm hired Gatto to develop and oversee the program and she now works with a steering committee that provides input for her and a team of occupational health nurses and wellness ambassadors who work to promote Live Well, Be Well initiatives in State Farm’s operational sites throughout the country.

One of the strengths of the Live Well, Be Well program is its communications strategy, Gatto said.

“We have a number of ways to deliver wellness messages to our employees,” she said. Employees receive letters from the company’s medical director as well as emails with wellness messages and information. State Farm is also committed to new media, with a “Live Well, Be Well” website, Intranet and blog that feature positive stories of employees improving their own health and fitness.

State Farm conducts an annual review of its aggregate employee health plan medical claims data to determine areas of focus and measure the program’s effectiveness. "Last year, more than 29,000 employees completed a wellness assessment and knew their cholesterol and blood pressure,” said Dr. Stephen Kindred, medical director and assistant vice president of Human Resources. “We have seen a significant increase in the number of employees who are going to a primary care doctor and utilizing their health plan’s preventive care benefits.

South Holland, Ill.-based Robinson Engineering was not only one of the first companies to ever receive this honor, they are the only company to repeat its 2010 WOWIE Award win with another first-place, Platinum Award in the “200 Employees or Fewer” category with its “Robinson Employee Wellness Program.” Robinson Engineering is a professional civil engineering firm that has been providing services in the Chicago area for nearly 75 years. According to Denise St. Pierre, director of Organizational Development at Robinson, the company added some new initiatives in 2011.

“We most recently participated in the 100-day challenge through a 12-month grant that focuses on wellness in the workplace, awarded by the Chicago Chamber of Commerce “Live Healthy America – Chicago 100 Day Challenge” consisting of eight Robinson teams (an employee participation rate of 67%),” she said. Robinson has also participated in the Virgin HealthMiles pedometer program where 51% of its employees paraticipated.

St. Pierre said that one of the company’s greatest fitness and health achievements was realized when 60 percent of its employees participated in the Biggest Improver contest, a 100-day challenge that focused on making healthier food choices and increasing activity.

“Our employees reduced their BMI 4 % per person and body fat decreased by 11 percent on average per person,” she said.

In addition to the 2010 and 2011 WOWIE Awards, Robinson was also named one of the 100 healthiest companies in America by Interactive Health Solutions and Robinson has been recognized at the platinum level for wellness the last two years and received a Worksite Innovation Award in 2011 by the American Heart Association.

“More and more employers and human resources professionals have come to realize that employee wellness programs are excellent ways to promote positive health care behaviors and
create more productive workers and employees,” said Donna Rogers, director of ISC-SHRM.
-Chris Martin for ISC SHRM

I Am Thankful For.....

2011-08-26T05:00:00.002-05:00

Well, it’s come and gone. I hope that ~~most~~ all attendees at the 12th annual Illinois SHRM Conference (ILSHRM11) had the amazing time I had. We had a record crowd, cutting edge speakers and very intense but invaluable networking and I hope a little fun. I sit here trying to write a thank you post but have so many to thank I don’t know where to start and if I can keep it the length of a post and not a book, because it would not be hard to do.

First let me start with our keynotes, pre-conference speaker and our emcee. Our opening keynote, Ryan Estes, kicked us off with a very motivating and moving presentation that set the tone for the entire conference. Talent Anarchy (Jason Lauritsen and Joe Gerstandt) did what many keynoters fail to do and that is took the tough after lunch spot and they OWNED it. Testify. China Gorman gave our final keynote as only China can, informative, entertaining and classy. As I said in introducing China, when I took on ILSHRM11, I had a short list of 3 keynoters I wanted and I was blessed enough to get all three, China being top of that list. Whew. Jessica Miller-Merrell came in and led our first ever pre-conference session and did everything I thought she would do and more. And what can I say about our first ever conference emcee, Charlie Judy, but WOW. (Already got him committed to ILSHRM12).

Next, I have to thank our concurrent presenters. I wish I could list all 30 of them but space does not allow it (we run into that book length problem). The only complaint I have heard so far is that we didn’t have bigger concurrent break out rooms (we are working on that). They engaged, entertained and educated all of you. If you attended one (or five) great session, I encourage you to reach out to the speaker and connect with them to thank them and network. They are easily findable on the internet and if not, let us know; we will try and hook you up.

Next, our Social Media folks who came in and shared the conference with the world in ways I never thought possible. The number of over 3.8 million internet impressions just staggers me. Thank you Robin, Geoff, Maren, Kristi, Bryan, William, Jennifer, Dwane, Mike, Jessica, Jason S, Jason L, Joe, China and Charlie.

Thank you to the staff at NIU, Drury Lane, MCS and Chris Martin Public Relations for support and your hard work.

Thank you to our exhibitors and sponsors. You help make this amazing event possible. Please check out the list on our web site. Special thanks to our conference sponsor, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois. They have been unbelievable in their support in the last few years.

Thanks to the SHRM staff at ILSHRM. Martha and Kristine, you support us all year long so thank you for sharing two days with us, I know how busy you are. Kattie from HRCI, it was so great to meet in person and thanks to your team for sponsoring our first tweet up and the ILSHRM All Acess video recaps. Curtis, thanks. Without your interest last year, our social media reach would not be anything compared to what it is.

Thank you to all of our Illinois SHRM Board and volunteers. You made this years’ event run as smooth as glass due to all your effort and work. Special thanks go to our officers (Donna, Amy and Marianne), our District Directors (Karen, Lenore, Janeane, Melissa, Connie and especially Pattie), our technology team of Rachel and Dave. Thanks to all the chapter members and SHRM members who pitched into help. Extra special thanks to Sabrina Baker, our exhibitor and sponsor chair and Cathy Plouzek, my Co-Director. You all are super heroes in my book.

Last but not least, thanks to each and every attendee who came and participated. Your energy, enthusiasm and excitement made ILSHRM11 a huge success.

See you at the Drury Lane on August 6-7, 2012.
-John Jorgensen Conference Director ISC SHRM

Talent Anarchy - You Love 'Em or You Hate 'EM

2011-08-24T18:43:00.001-05:00

This year at the Illinois SHRM state conference we did things a little differently. We tried to shake things up, involve a lot of social media and just generally break the mold. We did. Donna Rogers our State Director castigated the Tuesday lunch audience for not being attentive enough as Charlie Judy tried to announce Wowie winners. She made reference to the book "The No Asshole Rule" - need I say more?

But probably one of the most irreverent moments occurred during the Talent Anarchy presentation. If you are easily offended please do not watch the video. Fortunately when this occurred I just happened to be capturing video. Enjoy!

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

All Access Illinois from Curtis Midkiff

2011-08-23T10:14:00.001-05:00

On Monday SHRM's social media guy Curtis Midkiff was with us all day long. He talked to our keynoters and some of the guests. You can check out his wrap up here.

We will have a wrap up from Tuesday later in the week. And for all of the full videos please visit our website.

- Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

ILSHRM11's Social Media Boot Camp

2011-08-22T00:09:00.000-05:00

Dwane Lay checking out where the keynote sessions will be held

We’re off. The exhibit hall opens Monday morning, and Ryan Estis is going to rock Illinois! So to the best of my knowledge all of the speakers are here – on site. The theater hall, new to us this year (pictured left) looks FAB and will be ready for our 800+ attendees on Monday.

The wireless seems to work throughout the facility. The pass code, for the wireless access if you are on site is ISCSHRM2011 (all caps). I am not sure how the quality of the food will be, but if the quantity is represented by yesterday’s buffet there will be enough food to feed the entire metro area.

Out of the gate we held one session on Sunday. It was the Social Media Boot Camp. How did we (ILSHRM & Jessica Miller-Merrell) do? To borrow a phrase from the military – the anecdotal evidence was that the program was very good and informative. The effort was to introduce social media to those H.R. professionals who had no idea what social media is or how to use it. We will get the reviews emailed to participants but my guess is you will see more Social Media Boot Camps at other state SHRM events.

Officially that ended the day’s activities – while tomorrow’s preparations continued. There was a large contingent of speakers and Illinois SHRM volunteers who dined and socialized together at the end of the day’s events. We discussed plans for tomorrow. Be watching for tweets – posts and ILSHRM All Access – right here with SHRM's Curtis Midkiff.

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

Final Thoughts Before the 2011 Illinois SHRM State Conference

2011-08-21T07:53:00.000-05:00

The car is packed up, I am ready to go ride for about three hours up I-55 to the Chicago area for the show (I like that better than conference).

My toys that I am bringing to the show.

It is almost an emotional time. I am going to get to see a number of folks whom I respect and like very much, a.k.a. the HR twitter gang. I am going to get to meet a number of folk face to face for the first time –folks I have interacted with for a long time in several instances. (Susan, Sabrian and Abe)

With the sessions that we have planned for the show, I am going to get to hear from a number of folks who know their stuff and get a bunch of HRCI credits as well. Monday night we are having what I will call a tweet-up. This should be great too.

As the Director of Social Media for the Illinois SHRM State Council, the show gives me an opportunity to do my thing – tweet, take pictures, video, blog things I truly enjoy doing. Along with some serious support from Curtis Midkff, we are going to post a daily wrap-up of events. I am all geeked up about this as well.

Best of all I get hang with about 800 people who tend to think and view things like I do. It should be a great three days. See you in Oak Brook!

12 Reasons to Attend ILSHRM11

2011-08-19T21:29:00.000-05:00

This video below is cool. Although ILSHRM has not authorized or does not necessarily approve the content. The content is solely that of its author and creator. None of what you see has been authorized or verified by officials of Illinois SHRM-

- Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

ILSHRM All Access - Daily Video Wrap-Up

2011-08-18T20:34:00.003-05:00

Here at Illinois SHRM we have been trying to push the envelope, raise the bar, whatever metaphor you want to use, to bring innovation to the 2011 Conference.

Curtis Midkiff

Ryan Seacrest

Today I got some exciting news from an old friend who will be at the conference. Joining us from the mothership on Duke Street will be Curtis Midkiff a.k.a. @shrmsocmedguy. Last year upon his arrival it wasn’t 30 minutes before we were at Best Buy. Curtis is one the edge of the Social Media and technology stuff, and I like hanging with him.

Well this year, Curtis is going to be transformed into ILSHRM’s version of Ryan Seacrest. Curtis will be gathering video both days of the show. Then at the end of each day we will post his video wrap up of Monday and Tuesday. No doubt Curtis will go behind the scenes and get the “real story. “

So Check back with us to see ILSHRM All Access – a daily video recap of the conference on Monday and again on Tuesday. Look at the photos above, and I ask you, who do you think would make a better host?

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

Meet Mingle and Tweet

2011-08-16T20:37:00.000-05:00

Ok all of you social media types headed to the Illinois State SHRM Conference, I am going to lay out there a goal for our upcoming conference. 100 that is the goal!

One of my goals for this conference is to create 100 #newusers on twitter.

This shouldn’t be too hard, I don’t think as our friend Jessica Merrill-Miller (no @blogging4jobs is not her name) will be instructing a social media boot camp on Sunday leading up to the Mondays keynote session. While Jessica’s efforts will no doubt give my goal a giant boost, the omni-presence of social media luminaries should help the cause as well.

But we have to be careful… we want to reach out and welcome all of the folks who are new to twitter and other social media outlets that are in attendance. Ya know sometime we hang together… like a gang or something, which intimidates some folks. Or if we are not hanging out, like a pack of social media wolves, we are all standing around looking at our smart phones and not interacting with other folks. If you really old then you have to hold the phone close to your face and look over the top of you bifocals. So let’s make sure we don’t do this.

Don’t get too caught up in tweeting or blogging while you are in a session. I still have people glare at me like, “how rude.” If only they new I was complimenting the presenter.

We should have some great content coming out of the conference let’s just make we step outside the echo-chamber and engage the rest of the world; to see what they are thinking and doing at the conference.

The mantra for the conference is meet, mingle and tweet!

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC-SHRM

Jake & Elwood Lookout...Here Comes Talent Anarchy

2011-08-15T19:33:00.000-05:00

If you don't know these guys Joe and Jason...check this out

Less than a week... See you at #ILSHRM11!
- Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

The Countdown Begins

2011-08-14T16:53:00.000-05:00

It is less than a week away for our big show here in Illinois. So as we put the final touches on things we are looking over all of the details.

We have put together an impressive list of sessions offering up a ton of HRCI credits. We have created a TWUBS feed so you can follow or embed the tweet stream. We have created a list of twitter users who we know will be in attendance (and would be happy to add you). We will be hosting a meetup/tweetup on Monday evening August 22^nd. We will be recognizing our Wellness at Work – WOWWIE winners at a lunch meeting. We will be hosting official from the SHRM .Bookstore – and all that they bring with them to the conference.

List of bloggers from the TWUBS site.

We will have in attendance two internet Radio sensations (yes I chose that word carefully) Steve Boese host of HR Happy Hour will be in attendance and trying our some new and exciting technology. Also we have the dynamic duo of Bryan Wempen and William Tincup host of the daily internet HR Radio show Drive Thru HR. Bryan and William will be doing two broadcasts from the event.

Also in attendance we will have SHRM’s own Social Media Guru Curtiss Midkiff, who to will be doing something new and different for a state conference. You will have to follow the event to see what Curtiss has up his sleeve.

How about Google + what are we going to do with that? We are not sure yet, but it is on the radar and we are going to try to integrate that into the event somehow.

We have over 25 bloggers who will be on site. No doubt that will generate a sizable about of content coming out of the conference.

We will have nearly 60 vendors at our vendor fair showing off some of the latest things for the world of H.R.

If you haven’t signed up it is not too late. If you are registered, make sure you sign up for the meetup and join our twubs page. See you soon!

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

2011 Fall Conference Speaking Tour - Illinois SHRM Conference

2011-08-09T06:15:00.000-05:00

Today's post appeared on Monday August 8, 2011 on Jenifer McClure's blog site www.UnbrideledTalent.com. Jennifer has been gracious enough to share it with us here at our site. Jennifer is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. If you come to this's year conference you must meet here

It’s finally Fall Conference season

Hopefully, you’ll have an opportunity to attend a few events to network, meet with a few vendors in an exhibit hall and learn from the keynote and concurrent sessions speakers.

First up for me this Fall is the 2011 Illinois SHRM Conference, which will be held August 21 – 23, 2011 in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. The #ILSHRM11 organizers have really embraced social media to communicate prior to, during and after the conference and also to educate their attendees. They’re got a great blog covering ILSHRM happenings year-around and have scheduled a pre-conference Social Media Bootcamp on Sunday with Jessica Miller-Merrell, as well as an entire track of speakers covering social media from a variety of perspectives. I’m excited about being a part of the Social Media Track, where I’ll be speaking about “Using Social Media In HR to Attract, Recruit & Retain Talent”!

Below is a brief video describing some of the speakers and events I’m excited about attending as part of the Illinois SHRM Conference (Email subscribers will need to click through to view the video.)

If you’ll be attending, please be sure to connect and let’s meet in person!

Click HERE for a complete copy of the 2011 Illinois SHRM Conference brochure and HERE for a detailed listing of their concurrent sessions.

Thanks for sharing Jennifer and we will see you in Oak Brook!

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

WOWIE Judge Provides Advice for next Year’s Entrants

2011-08-07T13:48:00.000-05:00

Winners and non-winners of the 2011 WOWIE Awards contest have been notified and a news release announcing the winners will be sent out in August before the ILSHRM annual meeting. For companies that didn’t win, what is the take away message, given they spent hours preparing their application, only to fall short. Fear not employee wellness advocates, because we conducted an interview with one of the WOWIE judges who took the time to provide advice on how to win next year.

Susan Avello

Susan Avello, Vice-president and partner, Aging Info USA, and one of the WOWIE judges this year, came away impressed with the quality of the entries.

“For the most part, the WOWIE applicants were thinking ahead of the game in regard to their wellness initiatives,” she said. “They tried to help their employees think proactively about well-being and this was the key to their benefit message.”

Avello said that winning entries stood out because they went beyond the norm in their effort to create a healthy workplace and compensated their employees on their effort to maintain a healthy lifestyle outside of work.

“I gave high marks and credit to employers who constantly engaged employees with surveys and continued use of technology such as mobile apps, to not only stay in touch with emloyees but also to allow them to use social media and mobile apps for access to wellness benefits,” Avello said.

Avello gave this advice to companies who want to improve their application for 2012:

“Consider implementing a company culture, a well-being culture and new ways ot using technology for employee engagement and accessibility to this technology to keep employees involved.” She further advised companies to focus on the tie between health and wellness and flex scheduling.

“I realize flexible schedules are not an employee benefit, but I would like to see more about how companies can use flex time for their employees and how they can be creative in their approach to help employees with work/life issue that arise.

-Chis Martin - For the Illinois State Council of SHRM

The Conference Twub Site ... Forgive me for I know not what I do!

2011-08-05T05:00:00.001-05:00

I spent most of last evening doing some work on a site called www.twubs.com . This site was introduced to me by Mike VanDervort (who you can see and hear speak at this year's conference) prior to last year’s state conference. If you look, you will see that twubs is a site that integrates with twitter. Some of the work I was doing last night had to do with setting up sessions. While I was doing this, I was trying to understand what is going on with the program. It looks like it has a lot of great features and can assist nicely with a conference. So I am charging ahead with the use of it.

This, for me, is where it starts to get a little dicey. I am not sure of how to use the program, nor do I understand all of the features. But at the risk of looking foolish, I am going to charge ahead with twubs, because my intuition tells me it will be a great thing.

What all does our twubs feed do?

Creates a twitter stream that can be followed or embedded
Let’s a planner set up sessions or other events inside the conference
Assigns (sub) hashtags to sessions [The conference hashtag is #ILSHRM11, the hashtag for Ryan Estis’ opening presentation is #ev3-ILSHRM11.
It allows twitter users to join the event and tweet from the twubs interface
It allows users to sign up to attend or not attend sessions (subsets of the conference)
It allows the posting of other conference related links.
It will display RSS feeds

Now it probably does a lot more than that, I just haven’t figured out what it is yet. So this will be a learning experience for me as well as any of the attendees who are nice enough to sign up and use it.

Here is an embed of the twubs feed for #ILSHRM11.

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://twubs.com/ilshrm11"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;#ilshrm11&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

The embed is a one step cut and paste of HTML code into the post. Even I can do that!

All right - so if you look at this - PLEASE go the our twubs page www.twubs.com/ilshrm11 and join, and together we will figure out what else this site does.

Send me some comments or tweets - if you know more about this than I do.

- Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

Human Resources – Illinois Style

2011-07-29T05:00:00.007-05:00

Todays guest post is from Robin Schooling. You can meet her at our State Conference this year. Otherwise a bit about her...

Robin Schooling, SPHR, is an HR Leader in Louisiana with 20 plus years of experience in a variety of industries and organizations. She writes at HR Schoolhouse and also contributes to the blog Women of HR. She’s an active volunteer with SHRM, ASTD and community organizations. A native of Wisconsin, she doesn’t miss the Midwest winters. At all. Well, OK - maybe at Christmas when there should be a lovely dusting of snow on the ground.

I’m so totally excited to be attending the Illinois SHRM State Conference in just a few short weeks. I’ve been asked to participate as a member of the Social Media Press Corps and am so looking forward to helping share content with a wider audience and spreading the word about great HR practices. But there are a few other reasons I’m excited to make the trip northward:

· I’m an HR nerd (wearing the badge proudly) and just LOVE sucking up all the knowledge and HR goodness I can. Yup; I’m one of those people who read HR/business books, articles and blogs on the weekend. And into the night. And highlight passages and make notes.

· I can’t wait to sample the smorgasbord of speakers and topics that are lined up for ILSHRM11. And I can sort-of speak as a conference veteran because I’ve gone to my fair share of SHRM state conferences in various states over the years (WI, FL, LA) plus a good number of national SHRM conferences. And yes, I can even admit that I work on the state conference planning committee for Louisiana (**)

· I’m so excited to hear what the keynote speakers will be unveiling for us in August. What’s up NOW in the fabulous brains of Ryan Estis, Joe Gerstandt/Jason Lauritsen and China Gorman? Not to mention the awesome concurrent session speakers.

· The last time I was at Drury Lane in Oakbrook was when I came to see my friend perform as a member of the chorus in “Oklahoma” (circa mid 90’s). Singing and dancing her heart out as a prairie girl during “Kansas City.”

**********

And no - I didn’t drive 1,000 miles from Louisiana to attend a fabulous Rodgers and Hammerstein musical; rather, I drove down from Wisconsin. Therefore, reason #5…

· I get to come “homeward” and hang with some fabulous Midwest HR peeps. And sure, HR-is-HR-is-HR. We’re a global economy, we cross-borders, we zig-zag across the country, time-zones and social media channels to share knowledge, information and ideas. But….

There’s still a lot to be said for being back in the region where one, as the saying goes, ‘cut one’s teeth.” You know what I mean? We Wisconsin/Illinois HR peeps were always sort of simpatico. As much as we indulged in cross-border turf wars around the Packer vs. Bears, Chicago Hot Dogs vs. Brats, or Door County vs. Lake Geneva (oh wait… those were both chock-full-off Illinios peeps), we still had sort of this “we’re in this together vibe.” Am I right? chest bump. fist pump. bro hug.

Sigh. I’m getting totally nostalgic for our shared heritage. Cheap Trick. Gurnee Mills. Mars’ Cheese Castle.

**********

But at the end of the day, all I know is this….I am going to get to hang with awesome HR professionals who are attending a conference because they want to learn, advance the HR profession, propel their careers and strengthen their professional influence. And at the end of a few short days crammed full of awesome HR content we will have made new connections and we will have expanded our individual and collective visions of what Human Resources is and can become.

And THAT – above all else – TRULY excites me!

(**) And if you have a desire to come sample the awesomeness that is New Orleans, April is the BEST time of the year. The 2012 Louisiana conference ends on the Friday of opening Jazz Fest weekend. If you can’t resist the thought of a little southern hospitality – please consider this your personal invitation to come check us out!

Drawing Women into Social Media

2011-07-26T16:21:00.000-05:00

I am a minority – at least in SHRM. I am a guy. I did not get the official statistics from the mothership at Duke Street, as they were closed as I undertook to commit this post to hard drive. The reason that this is important is this. This post is being written expressly to appeal to women (although men you are welcome to read on).

As we prepare for our annual conference we here at Illinois SHRM are working hard to make the event rich with Social Media. But what is social media – really? It is different things to different people. It has many applications, uses, purposes and so on. Those of us in the HR space are seeing it as a recruiting tool, a way to change our Company’s image or culture, it is a way to message all of our employees in one fell swoop. There is no shortage of ideas on how we can take Social Media and attempt to use it to our advantage. However, my friends there are other things that people do with Social Media –as hard as that may be to believe.

Yesterday I saw this in an email from oldest son. A fraternity brother of his just got engaged. To share this wonderful announcement he used social media to send out a Youtube video. Take a look…

It took Joel let's say "a little while" to getting around to asking Holly to marry her. So just another use of social media.

I wonder if anyone will get a proposal at ILSHRM11? If they do... we'll post it!

- Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

Don't be a Lurker

2011-07-23T08:23:00.001-05:00

Is this your involvement with Social Media?

Ok, so you are intrigued by this stuff we call social media. The blogging, the tweets, the Facebook stuff, Klout, Linkedin – you got the idea. While you may be involved at some level, whether or not you are truly immersed, or are somewhat of a lurker, or creeper this stuff has got your attention. Whatever your level of involvement, you are curious or intrigued. If this is you – then you must attend the Illinois SHRM State Conference in Oak Brook, IL. Why?

This year, at the conference we have a whole cavalcade of social media luminaries attending this year’s conference. And given that these folks are going to be at the event, this will be one of the best opportunities you may have to meet these folks In Real Life.

I can tell you from many of my own person experiences, when you meet someone on-line and then have a lot of interactions with them – then you meet face to face, it is a wonderful experience.

Sadly, I guess I can’t get through this post without a little name dropping, so I must. If, or when you get a chance to meet some of the cool kids, like say Jessica Miller-Merrell you will find out that she is a sweet, smart, unassuming young lady who is very down to earth like the rest of us. If you go up to her and introduce yourself, I guarantee she will be genuinely pleased to meet you. Jessica is a nice young lady – and a mom.

Should you cross paths with China Gorman and want to meet her, she will be as happy to meet you as you are to meet her. China is well known and respected in the HR space, but she is a down to earth charming lady. How about a guy like William Tincup? If you get a chance to meet him by all means do so. While William may be somewhat unconventional, he is another social media luminary you should meet, if you have the opportunity.

My point is this; all of speakers, bloggers, social media luminaries who are well known in the HR Social Media space are just regular people. None of these folks have their own security entourage or staff that will be traveling with them. So if you see any of these folks, talking to others, or just hanging out and you would like to meet them. Then all you need to do is go up to them and introduce yourself.

This conference will be a fantastic opportunity to meet those who are involved in Social Media. Push yourself to come out of your shell and connect with folks face to face. That’s part of what conferences are about today.

We have been building a twitter list of attendees. You can find it here – let me know if you would like to be included.

-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

Mike VanDervort Speaking at Illinois SHRM Conference

2011-07-18T04:00:00.002-05:00

Pictured at SHRM 2011 Legislative Conference Tara Mauk Arthur,
Donna Rogers and Mike VanDervor

At this year's Illinois State SHRM Conference I will be watching a social media leader, and friend in transition. I have known Mike VanDervort for around three years. We met as friends on line before meeting face to face in 2009.

Mike is actually in transition on a couple different fronts. He has recently taken on new responsibilities in his day job with Publix in Florida. His focus has moved more towards social media away from labor relations. He still is an unquestionable subject matter expert and leader in the area of labor relations. His opinion is sought regularly about matters of labor relations. He also writes about the subject frequently at his blog site The Human Race Horses. Mike is also considered by many to be an expert, as well, when it comes to matters of social media. That is phase one of Mike’s transition.

2010 IL SHRM Keynote Speaker Pamela Meyer PhD.
Pictured with Mike VanDervort.

The second part of the transition is where you will find Mike at this conference. I am sure we will see Mike hanging out, observing, writing, posting, visiting and interacting with attendees what he does at most every event he attends. But this year, Mike is going to be one of the presenters. Mike is presenting one of the Social Media sessions. Mike is presenting “Unions are getting Social with your Employees.”

Mike is going to share some of the things he has learned along the way. For anyone who attends this session you will walk away with a keen insight into how unions are currently using social media.

Mike joined Illinois SHRM last year and participated in the conference and blogged about the event as well. We are excited to have him back again this year and look forward to seeing him in this new role.

- Dave Ryan ISC-SHRM Director of Social Media

Twitter List for ILSHRM11

2011-07-16T10:29:00.000-05:00

We are in the process of putting together a list of active tweeters who will be in attendance or would like to follow the 2011 Illinois SHRM State Conference. Here is a link to the list http://twitter.com/#!/DaveTheHRCzar/ilshrm11tweeps. The official hashtag for the event is #ILSHRM11.

If you are not on the list and would like to be on the list contact me on twitter @DavetheHRCzar or via email at drsrdrkr@comcast.net and provide me with your twitter handle and I will add you to the list.

Look for more frequent updates as our conference date is getting closer. – We can’t wait!

- Dave Ryan ISC SHRM Director of Social Media

Another Reason to Attend ILSHRM11

2011-07-12T20:26:00.000-05:00

As a middle-aged white guy I seem to cringe whenever the topic of conversation turns to DIVERSITY. Given what I am. I have this guilt that I carry around, that me and all of my middle-aged white guy buddies are at the root of the problem, Now I know that this is not the case, but it is easy to feel that way. I have taken it upon myself to become more well schooled in ways of diversity and now I can confidently say this,t diversity is not solely about issues of race, sex or religion regardless of those who would like it to be!

One of ways I have tried to better myself in this area is by attending seminars and other events that discuss the matter of diversity. Earlier this year I had a chance to see Joe Gerstandt speak on the subject at a conference called HRevolution. I must tell you that I was wowed by Joe. He also hails from the white guy club and speaks on diversity. To me, that is refreshing.

Until you have seen him speak you have no idea of the passion that this guy brings to the subject. In fact his passion runs so high, and over the top it can often become “R” rated (for adult ears only).

Now you can see Joe this year at the Illinois SHRM State Conference in Oak Brook. He will be speaking as part of the Talent Anarchy duo, which includes Joe and his partner Jason Lauritsen.

Jason on the left and Joe on the right.

While Joe is not going to be speaking directly to the subject of diversity I am sure it will enter into the comments at some point. Joe and Jason’s program is titled Strategic Relationship Management: The Breakthrough HR Competency.

You can check out their work on line but be sure to register for the conference and see the Anarchists!

-Dave Ryan ISC SHRM Director of Social Media

ILSHRM11's Social Media Press Corps

2011-06-29T12:34:00.004-05:00

THIS JUST IN

We are pleased to announce one addition to the ILSHRM Social Media Press Corps. Trish McFarlane (@TrishMcFarlane on Twitter) aka The HR Ringleader will be joining the social media group covering the Conference, giving her unique view on what to look for, what is being said there and her analysis after the event. She was one of our original social media participants last year and we are thrilled to have Trish back this year.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Last year at the Illinois State SHRM Conference, we experimented with using social media by inviting some well known HR bloggers and social media personalities to attend and report on the Conference. It allowed letting those who couldn’t attend follow the excitement and what was happening at the Conference. It also allowed conference goers an opportunity to “hear” what was happening in other sessions that they couldn’t attend. We were one of the first state conferences to test out using social media as a tool and based on reports and comments it was a success.

This year, we are expanding our use of social media as far as numbers involved and hopefully in creating pre and post conference excitement as well as a method to document what happens at the Conference. Many of our speakers have a powerful presence in social media and we are taking advantage of that to create our Social Media Press Corps, while adding a few other social media reporters to the mix. In addition to the written blogs and tweets, we have several noted social media pros coming to video what goes on at the conference as well as interview speakers and attendees alike. Finally, the only daily internet talk radio show dealing with HR practitioners, Drive Thru HR, will be working from our Conference.

We have added a social media track to the conference to teach HR practitioners how to use these new tools and in order to help HR professionals understand social media and how to use it, the Illinois State Council of SHRM is sponsoring a Social Media Boot Camp, being held on Sunday, August 21 (the day before our Annual Conference) at the Drury Lane Theater in Oakbrook Terrace, the same location as the Conference. This how-to program was a highly requested item that came from our first presentations on social media at last year’s conference.

Below is the roster of our Social Media Press Corps, along with their blog/web site and Twitter handles:

Bloggers

Blogger Blog Site Twitter Handle

Robin Schooling           The HR Schoolhouse @RobinSchooling

Jessica Miller-Merrill     Blogging 4 Jobs                          @blogging4jobs

Jennifer McClure           Unbridled Talent                         @cincyrecruiter

Joe Gerstandt                Joe Gerstandt @joegerstandt

                                    Also Talent Anarchy

China Gorman              China Gorman @chinagorman

Dwane Lay                  Lean HR @dwanelay

Mike VanderVort        Human Race Horses @mikevandervort

Jason Seiden              Jason Seiden @seiden

Ryan Estis                  Passion on Purpose @ryanestis

William Tincup           Drive Thru HR @williamtincup

Charlie Judy              The HR Fishbowl @HRFishbowl

Video

Maren Hogan Marenated @marenhogan

Geoff Webb Radical Events @radicalrecruit

Internet Radio

Bryan Wempen Drive Thru HR @bryanwempen

William Tincup Drive Thru HR @williamtincup

In addition, follow our "house" crew of social media folks of Dave Ryan (@DaveTheHRCzar), Donna Rogers (@DonnaRogersHR), John Jorgensen (@jkjhr), Cathy Plouzek (@smiling26.2), Jeff Williams (@_JeffWilliams) and Sabrina Baker (@Sabrina_PHR) among others who will be using the #ILSHRM11 hashtag.

For the Press Corps members pre-conference thoughts, on-site posts and post-conference wrap ups, follow their blogs and to follow what is happening at the Conference if you are on Twitter, follow our hashtag of #ILSHRM11.

- John Jorgensen SPHR Conference Director ISC SHRM

#NotatSHRM11

2011-06-24T17:21:00.000-05:00

For all of us in the HR space there are now two types of people in this world, Those who are attending the #SHRM11 conference in Las Vegas (group 1) and the other is those who are #notatSHMR11 (group 2). I am in the later group; sadly. Fortunately I did get to attend in both 2009 in New Orleans and in 2010 in San Diego, so I can’t complain.

Since this will be my first time of not attending since I have become immersed in social media, it will be quite interesting to me to see how the conference looks from afar, as opposed to being there and being up to my eyeballs in the event. I will be watching the tweet streams, the live events and streams, and the blog posts to see what is being said about the event and how it comes off from this perspective.

I would suspect that SHRM will be doing some cutting edge stuff on the internet – courtesy of Curtis Midkiff @shrmsocmedguy. . It will make me sad not to be in the thick of it, but I am interested to see what comes out of the event. The rumor over at TLNT.com was that SHRM would be announcing a new CEO at the event. So if you are like me in Group 2, let's sit back relax and see if what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas – or if it get tweeted out and posted on a some salacious blog.

- Dave Ryan ISC Director of Social Media

Membership Querries via Texting

2011-06-22T19:49:00.001-05:00

Click on the Picture to enlarge it.

Tonight I discovered a FREE tool that I think chapters might have some fun with as well as learn a little about their membership without burdening them. It’s called PollEverywhere.com and can be used via website response or texting response. For example, I set up a test question (that of course we definitely want to promote that says “What are you looking forward to at #ILSHRM11?”.

I can send both the text option and the email polling option out to our SHRM members in the state via email, twitter, linked in, facebook, etc. and then wait to see the responses. You can see the picture here shows you the question, the texting, or web submission options. You can also see my test (but sincere) response: “Seeing John Jorgensen”.

So let’s think here a bit on how we might use this as SHRM leaders. One thing that came to my mind immediately was a SHRM Leadership conference a year or two ago whereas leaders in the audience the session facilitators gave us all this little square device. It was a little bigger than a cell phone and we pushed a button for the answer we want to give. Questions were things like: How long have you been in HR?; What size of company do you hail from? What is your biggest HR issue that keeps you up at night, etc.?

Other ideas that I have seen on membership surveys in the past when I was more involved at the chapter level were things like (not worded exactly like this I might add): Do you like this facility? Did you like the speaker? Do you have a suggestion for topics we could cover next year? The thing about this is that the responses can be sent during a meeting (synchronously) or anytime at the convenience of the member (asynchronously). During a meeting you can just pull up the website and watch the responses pop up on the screen. After a meeting you could post the responses in a newsletter or an email as feedback to the participants of the poll.

One thing to note is that everyone who answers will want to see their results. It’s kind of like an employee opinion survey: Don’t ask if you’re not going to do anything with it! My example was open ended but you can have multiple choice as well as other options depending on your needs. Interesting? I thought so.

So let’s really test this. I have asked the question: What are you looking forward to at #ILSHRM11? You can respond via texting (215941; your answer to 37607) or via website (215941 and your message to http://poll4.com). I will post the results in a later blog post so you can see the responses. I look forward to your comments on how you can use this in your chapter

Build television sms voting polls at Poll Everywhere

-Donna Rogers ISC SHRM State Council Chair

IL SHRM 2011 – Let the Excitement Build

2011-06-10T05:30:00.003-05:00

Sabrina Baker

Today's guest post is from Sabrina Baker, PHR, who is working with ILSHRM on the Conference, helping to fill the exhibitors/sponsor rolls. She also writes a great blog as the HR Chatterbox. You can also find Sabrina on twitter as Sabrina_PHR

I know that everyone is gearing up for the National SHRM conference coming up in a few weeks, but truth be told, I’m more excited about our state conference happening in August. The national conference is a great experience and offers lots of opportunity for personal growth, but there is something about bringing that down to a local level that really makes it impactful.

I was lucky enough to see the space where we will be hosting the 2011 conference and participate in discussions around setup. This year’s event is sure to be bigger and better than ever before and I can not imagine anyone not walking away feeling energized and excited about the direction our profession is heading.

Working with the planning group has opened my eyes to how much conference organizers care about your experience. This group is wholly dedicated to making sure this is a meaningful event for you, that conference tracks and speakers are relevant to the issues facing HR professionals today and that you have a sense of pride in not only yourself, but the professional organization that supports you.

If you have not made the decision to attend, I encourage you to do so today. We are expecting over 600 attendees from all over the state and even if you get nothing out of the speakers (which I promise you will) you will have a great opportunity to network and learn from one another. It doesn’t get much better than that.ns around setup. This year’s event is sure to be bigger and better than ever before and I can not imagine anyone not walking away feeling energized and excited about the direction our profession is heading.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield Doing it Right!

2011-06-07T05:30:00.004-05:00

It is another WOWIE Wednesday at the ILSHRM blog and time to promote our partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and wellness at work programs. Today I am writing either a shameless plug or a post that is simply the unfettered truth, depending upon your perspective.

We have received a lot of applications for the 2011 WOWIE Awards and we are extending the deadline to apply to this Friday, June 10^th. Email your application to Chris Martin at cmartin331@comcast.net.

BCBSIL has sponsored the WOWIE program for three years now for the Illinois State Council of SHRM. In that time, the two organizations have recognized employers who really get it and are putting a huge push behind their wellness programs. Recently it came to my attention, in my day-to-day activities of doing my job, how really committed BCBSIL is to the wellness concept.

Now this is where it starts to get murky. At my employer, we are a Blue Cross and Blue Shield client and have been so for more than 20 years. You don’t have to read too much into that to know that we think they do a good job (with an occasional outrageous rate increase now and then – sorry!). In fairness they were market-based increases. Ok, back the wellness aspect of this post. Either I have been remiss as the benefits administrator (most likely) or Blue Cross has not wanted to let me know about their on-line wellness tools and incentives for employees and companies.

So I was offered up some training in how to fully utilize BCBSIL’s employer and employee web sites. I took them up on the offer. After looking at the employer side we then looked at the employee portion. Now I have been here numerous times before but mostly to check on EOBs or to see how much money I had left in my HSA account. After looking at the most of the other features my on-line tour guide asks if I want to look at the wellness stuff. We do so and oh my goodness I was truly amazed at all of what is going on there.

Since they have all of my health records, they can bring them together in one place and give me a total picture of my overall wellness. In presenting this, they point out where the risks are at and where I can make improvements. There is a place to research aches and pains. If you feel you need it, you can have an on-line consultation with an RN. In another area I can log my weight, my exercise routines and my diet. BCBSIL then awards you “Blue Points” (like frequent flyer miles) for doing these activities. If you get enough Blue Points, you can get some really cool stuff. The site also offers tips and support to quit smoking. There are recipes too!

A screen shot from the wellness program.

So speaking as one of their insured, BCBSIL has done a bang-up job on their web-site trying to communicate to me how to get healthy and what I need to do to get healthy. If I choose to do nothing – my bad; but know that BCBSIL has done just about everything they can to try and make me healthy - short of coming over to my house and taking my plate full of food away from me.

Kudos to my friends at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, and thank you for your support of wellness.

- Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

Bigger Portions Means Bigger Employees

2011-06-01T05:30:00.016-05:00

Today's post is from a guest blogger who is helping out ILSHRM on WOWIE Wednesdays . Our guest blogger is Melanie Jatsek RD,LD. Melanie is a registered dietitian, nutrition expert and author Melanie Jatsek, shows people how to get the most out of what they eat by choosing foods that supercharge their health and energy.

Hello there Illinois SHRM members! Would you agree with the old saying “Your eyes are bigger than your stomach”? Think about it—as busy Human Resource professionals, do you often find yourself in a hurry, loading your plate mindlessly with large portions of food when you’re hungry without giving it a second thought? It doesn’t help that portion sizes have exploded over the past 20years. Take a look at the following examples and see if you’re convinced:

20+ years ago That same food/beverage today

Bagel- 120 calories 350 Calories

Fast-food hamburger- 333 calories 590 Calories

Spaghetti and meatballs- 500 calories 1025 Calories

Soda (6.5 oz.)- 85 calories 250 Calories

French fries- 210 calories 610 Calories

Turkey sandwich- 320 calories 820 Calories

8-oz coffee w/milk and sugar- 45 calories 410 Calories

Blueberry muffin- 210 calories 500 Calories

2 slices of pepperoni pizza- 500 calories 850 Calories

Box of movie popcorn- 270 calories 630 Calories (For a tub)

Cheesecake- 260 calories 640 Calories

Chocolate chip cookie- 55 calories 275 Calories

So if you find your pants getting a little tight, control those portion sizes! Pretend you're living in the 80's and:

Split that bagel or muffin in half
Order a burger from the kids menu
Use a salad plate for your spaghetti and meatballs instead of a dinner plate
Make that fancy Starbucks drink an occasional treat instead of a daily indulgence
Eat one slice of pizza and then fill up on a nice green spinach salad with a splash of oil and vinegar
Of course it also doesn't hurt to lace up your tennis shoes and hit the pavement with a nice jog or walk on your lunch hour

To keep your portion (and waistline) in check today, remember two things:

1. If it’s not on your plate, you won’t eat it

2. You control the portions, they don't control you

Go ahead...I dare you to make a change in your eating habits!

Today’s guest blogger is Melanie Jatsek RD,LD. She is actively involved in the National Speaker’s Association, the American Dietetic Association, and has partnered with The American Heart Association to help prevent the nation’s number one killer— heart disease. Melanie has been seen offering her nutrition expertise on ABC, NBC and CBS. Her brand new book for employee wellness, Healthy You: 10 Secrets to a Healthier Body Despite Your Busy Life!, helps employees improve their health behavior for real (and measurable) results!

You can visit her website at http://melaniejatsek.com/ or see Melanie's latest television appearance: 10 Foods That Can Keep You Healthy! http://tinyurl.com/42gg8w4

Going to SHRM National and Traveling By Yourself

2011-05-30T04:57:00.000-05:00

SHRM Leadership Conference 2010

The conference season is upon us. With the SHRM BIG SHOW coming up at the end of June, and many of State conferences (like ours on August 22 & 23) on the horizon, this got me to thinking about conferences the other day. I have been fortunate to get to attend a number of events. I was recounting these in my mind and trying to think what was the most memorable conference/event that I have attended. Of course, many people would think the best stories from an HR conference might be those of drunken debauchery – in the vein of Hangover or Cedar Rapids. And I could go that way but it would embarrass good friends, and me as well, so I will take my post another direction.

I attended a SHRM Leadership Conference last year in the D.C. area. I had planned to go for a while and my travel and accommodations were being funded through my SHRM affiliation and position. I was staying at the conference hotel and planning on having a good time, meeting up with some old friends and making some new ones.

After signing up for the conference, it had come to my attention that a younger colleague of mine was interested in attending but his chapter could not finance the entire trip. Well, since I already had a room – paid for- with the caveat that “I snore” I offered up a bed and shared shower and toilet. So to make a long story short here – if you have complimentary accommodations (especially the $200+ a night rooms) and are attending a conference, it might be a most enjoyable experience to offer up free room to a younger HR pro who might not otherwise be afforded the opportunity to attend.) It was in fact for me, one of the most enjoyable conferences I attended.

And if you are in the giving mode too – you might want to buy them a meal or two or a drink – depending upon their fancy. Keep in mind that if you got there for free, and staying for free; doubling up on a couple meals won’t break you.

At many conferences, hotel rooms are usually nothing more than a bed and a shower, so for $200 a night you are getting double the value if you use two beds and take two showers. You might also make a new friend for life, while you enjoy some communal living and share stories of the other conference happenings.

For the record I made the same offer to another colleague to attend HREvolution with me as I had committed to going and paying for a hotel room. Sadly he declined.

Moving forward, as these events continue to cost more and more to attend – it is a way more of us can enjoy and share the experience. I hope others can at least think about this and maybe put it into action a time or two in the upcoming conference season.

WOWIE Wednesday: Three Questions with Lynn Creedon, City of St. Charles, WOWIE Winner in 2010

2011-05-25T06:00:00.009-05:00

Coming off its WOWIE 2010 Award, the City of St. Charles can offer good advice to those interested in employee wellness programs. Here at the ILSHRM Blog, we thought it might be beneficial to ask Lynn Creedon, SPHR, and benefits coordinator for the City of St. Charles, about how St. Charles implemented its award winning program.

First, some background:

City of St. Charles, Il by Night

The City of St. Charles has had a multi-department wellness team in place for 10 years. (Prior to that time, the HR department handled all wellness initiatives.) The Wellness Team’s mission is to encourage our employees and their families to become healthier, both physically and emotionally, and to achieve greater balance in life. The Wellness Team provides ongoing opportunities through programs, activities, and education to assist in achieving a healthier lifestyle. Additionally, an important part of the mission statement of the HR department is "to hire and develop quality people, and to foster an environment that embraces total wellness.” We have support from top management which allows employees the ability to participate in our many programs. We look at the whole spectrum of wellness and have selected four topics on which to focus this calendar year; we present the topics through various mediums several times throughout the year, which enables us to reinforce these foundational building blocks for a healthier lifestyle. This year’s topics are:

§ Physical/nutrition

§ Safety

§ Emotional

§ Financial

ILSRHM: Was it difficult to convince management to invest in employee wellness?

LC: It was somewhat difficult to get all of the top management on board at first. We had to provide validation of our efforts and did this through showing the reduction in workers’ compensation injuries, the participation in our HEALTHY program, and through employee feedback from our Wellness Team survey. Also, for the past three years, a department director has served on the Wellness team, which has provided top level management firsthand experience of our goals and programs. The Wellness Team meets at least once a year with the department directors and City Administrator to provide updates on the wellness initiatives.

ILSHRM: What advice would you give your HR colleagues about setting up such an effort?

LC: You definitely need the buy-in from upper management. The best way to get this support is to provide quantitative data to validate the importance of offering a Wellness program. (There is much research available as well to validate the importance of focusing on prevention and workplace wellness.) It is also helpful to have employees from various departments serving on the Wellness Team so that a cross section of employees can get the word out about wellness initiatives and provide feedback to the team from a diverse workforce.

ILSRHM: How do you measure the effectiveness of your program?

LC: We do annual surveys to get feedback from our employees, keep data from all of our programs/initiatives, and look at reports regarding absenteeism, workers’ compensation, medical insurance statistics, etc.

If you would like to learn more about the City of St. Charles’ winning WOWIE Award from 2010, post a reply here or email chris@addcmpr.com.

Guest Post from Chris Martin

A Tribute to HR Happy Hour

2011-05-19T21:37:00.005-05:00

Ok, so I think I can do this here on the Illinois SHRM site, since this is about Social Media and I am the director of Social Media for the State Council. Thursday evening was the end of a nearly two year run for The HR Happy Hour – a live radio show on Blog Talk Radio. If you are out here in the Social Media space you are probably all over this. If you don’t know what HR Happy Hour is – you should! Last night we even heard from SHRM’s Curtiss Midkiff - aka shrmsocmedguy on twitter.

It is a radio show that is broadcast live over the internet every week at 7:00 PM Central Time. And while you can listen live on the internet or on the phone, and via podcast there is a lot of chatter going on- on the twitter stream as well. It all happens around the twitter hashtag #HRHappyHour.

For the last two years the show has largely consisted of the complimenting talents of Steve Boese and Shauna Moerke. They have done a wonderful job with this. They are truly visionaries and leaders in this space. Last night Shauna announced that she is moving on; done with the show. It was a bittersweet moment for all of the fans of the show. The show will go on. We will miss Shauna.

Last night was also the 100th episode of the show. This too is monumental. As was pointed out on the show last evening this show HRHappyHour is the glue that keeps this group of: HR Zealots, Social Media enthusiasts and the party monsters together –that along with HREvolution. Once a week, we all get to see the tweets, hear the voices and join in the community that is HRHappyHour. Hopefully HRHappyHour will continue and will grow. No doubt I think Shauna would want it to; especially since she has agreed to come back and help guest co-host.

This just brings to a close a chapter in HR and Social Media. Shauna thanks for all you have given us – Steve, you are not done – we need more. Carry On!

Also, be sure to take a look at this video salute to HRHappyHour, put together by Blog Talk Radio Host Bryan Wempen. Brian does a live internet radio show Monday through Friday with William Tincup - and will be at The Illinois SHRM State Conference this year.

- Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

Feel full without stuffing your face

2011-05-18T05:00:00.002-05:00

Have you ever indulged in a cookie or two or maybe a handful of jelly beans and then said to yourself—”I’m still hungry”? Sure, we’ve all been there! I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with treating yourself to an Oreo once in awhile, but what I am saying is that if the bulk of your diet consists of high-sugar, low-fiber, refined or highly processed foods, you simply won’t experience the “F-Factor” (otherwise known as the “Full Factor”). If you don’t feel full, guess what? You’ll continue eating more of the high-sugar, low-fiber, refined or highly processed foods and in the end, still won’t feel satisfied! That my friend, is a recipe for weight gain.

I’ve got some great news for you! Starting today, you can eat more food consume less calories, and (drum roll please….) actually feel full! All you have to do is follow these five easy steps:

1. Eat 2 to 3 cups of raw vegetables every day
Why? They are loaded with fiber and fiber helps slow digestion, which keeps you satisfied. Eating vegetables also puts you in the “health mindset”. Think about it—you’ll be less likely to dig into that bowl of M&M’s after eating a healthy dose of vegetables with your lunch.

2. Trade in your refined carbs for whole grains
Why? Refined carbohydrates lack the fiber and many key nutrients found in whole grains. After you eat a slice of whole grain bread, you actually feel like you ate something. White bread leaves you unfulfilled and wanting more. Choose:

Trisuit crackers versus Saltines
Whole grain pita chips versus pretzels
Brown rice versus white rice
Whole grain bread versus white bread
Cheerios versus Rice Krispies
Whole grain bagel versus a blueberry muffin

3. Eat protein with each meal

Why? Protein slows the digestion process, helping contribute to the “F-Factor”. Don’t believe me? Try eating a hard-boiled egg with your toast in the morning and notice the difference! Healthy protein-rich foods include skinless poultry, beans and legumes, eggs, fish, nuts, nut butters, seeds, soy, lean cuts of beef or pork (look for “loin” or “round” cuts, and choose “choice” or “select” grades of beef).
Note: It’s always healthier to grill, broil, bake, roast, poach or stir-fry your meats instead of frying them.

4. Add a little healthy fat to your meals
Why? For the same reason you should eat protein with your meals—it’ll help fill you up! Don’t believe me? Try slapping a tablespoon of peanut or almond butter on that slice of toast. Healthy fats include oils (olive, canola, vegetable), nuts, nut butters, olives and avocados.

5. Can the diet drinks
Why? Research shows that diet drinks actually stimulate your appetite. Ditch the diet sodas, juices and fruit drinks and sip on water with a twist of lemon or lime instead!

The goal is to make your calories count. What’s the sense of eating a meal if you’re left unfulfilled and nosing around the kitchen an hour after dinner, looking for something else to munch on? To experience the “F-Factor”, follow the five steps above and actually feel full without stuffing your face!

You can visit her website at http://melaniejatsek.com/ or see Melanie's latest television appearance: 10 Foods That Can Keep You Healthy! http://tinyurl.com/42gg8w4

A Vendor's Prospective on a SHRM State Conference

2011-05-13T18:12:00.005-05:00

Various Booths from the 2010 Exhibit Hall

Sales and marketing teams have a tough job these days. Between tons of competition, busy end users who do not answer their phone or have time for meetings and an economy that makes spending dollars a scarce commodity, the question of how to get their product in front of their targeted audience gets harder and harder to answer. If you are an HR vendor, then Illinois SHRM has a solution for you. A solution that puts over 600 HR professionals in the same room. A solution that allows you to present your product or service at a minimal cost. A solution that only happens once a year and fills up fast. It’s the Illinois State SHRM Conference.

This year’s conference being held in August in Oak Brook at the Drury Lane, and is going to be amazing. With the new addition of our Social Media Bootcamp session which is sure to draw more and more HR professionals than ever before, we are raising the bar on state conferences. We are dedicated to ensuring that every HR professional walks away feeling enriched and empowered to return to their jobs and make an immediate impact in the lives of their employee’s and the bottom line of their businesses – and I bet you have a product to help them do just that.

Exhibiting at the IL State SHRM Conference provides a unique opportunity to join professionals from all over the state, hear first hand what challenges they are facing and find out how you and your business may be able to partner with them on a solution. Many of the HR professionals who attend the state conference each year are the decision maker within their team and have direct access to the financial decision makers in their company.

Want even more access to human resource professionals? Sign up as an exhibitor or to place promotion materials in each attendee’s bag. If you really want to impress the masses, sign up to be a conference sponsor and enjoy all of the perks that go along with having your name literally everywhere that an attendee looks.

So get your pens, highlighter’s, squeeze toys, candy jars and notepads ready with your company logo and sign up to exhibit at the 2011 Illinois State SHRM Conference. Sign up quickly as early bird discounts end June 1, 2011.

The WOWIEs: the Wellness Factor

2011-05-11T05:00:00.002-05:00

Note: The City of Highland Park was one of the 2010 WOWIE Award Winners for its innovative and effective employee wellness program. We asked Jolene Moore, the Wellness Coordinator, to share with her colleagues how Highland Park made a difference.

Jolene Moore

By Jolene Moore

The City of Highland Park wellness program (WIN) was designed to create a culture of health in our organization and enhance the lives of our employees. Employees are encouraged to participate in healthy activities, engage in educational programs and make positive lifestyle changes that will ultimately improve their health and earn a valuable incentive. The WIN Program uses the aggregate biometric employee data to determine the needs of its employees and design programming accordingly.
Any employee who chooses to "enroll" in the wellness program (WIN) has the ability to earn the incentive. To enroll in the program an employee must:

• attend wellness fair

• complete a health risk assessment

• complete biometric screening

Once enrolled, employees complete required activities, i.e. physical and dental exams, in order to earn reward points that will allow them to earn the incentive. Employees are also encouraged to participate in activities that encourage health and wellness. Programs such as an annual walking challenge, weight loss challenge, and access to a free fitness center are provided for employees. Educational resources such as speakers and “lunch and learn” sessions are used regularly to share knowledge. For these sessions, the WIN Program has used local health professionals (i.e. chiropractor, registered dietician) and national organizations (i.e. American Heart Association, American Cancer Association). A WIN library also offers employees myriad health resources.

The City has seen definite improvements in the overall health in many employees and will continue their commitment to further the wellness initiative.

ILSHRM Conference 10 Hours of HRCI Credit

2011-05-09T06:30:00.006-05:00

The Illinois State Council of SHRM is pleased to announce that our upcoming 12th Annual State Conference has been allowed to award up to 10 hours of HRCI certified credit for those seeking recertification for their PHR or SPHR certifications. Every session has received at least general level certification by HRCI and all three keynote presentations and 7 of the concurrent sessions have received Strategic Credit for those who hold the SPHR level certification. In addition, our Social Media Boot Camp being held on Sunday, August 21, has also been awarded Strategic Credit, adding another 3.5 hours credit available to the 10 for the 2 day conference.

While HRCI credit is not the prime objective of the educational sessions, ISC-SHRM realizes that it is a major concern for those who need to add the credit hours as part of their recertification efforts. We are pleased that we are successful in doing so this year, while still holding the cost of the conference at a very reasonable level.

Please join us on August 22-23 at the Drury Lane Conference Center in Oakbrook Terrace for what we feel is one of the premier SHRM State Conferences in the country. For further information, please see the Conference page of the ISC-SHRM web site.

- John Jorgensen SPHR Immediate Past State Director ISC SHRM

ILSHRM Speaker Preview - Dwane Lay

2011-05-07T09:23:00.003-05:00

As one of the writers of this blog, I am afforded the opportunity to say pretty much what I want - within reason. (The ILSHRM execs do jerk my chain once in a while.) Today I am excited to start a series of posts. The series is going going to be an assembly of short videos from some of our speakers for the Illinois SHRM State Conference August 22 and 23.

This post is the first of these. I would like to introduce you to Dwane Lay. Dwane lives is the St. Louis area and will be traveling to Oak Brook for our event. Although Dwane and I live about 90 miles apart I had to travel to Atlanta to meet him recently. He is (at least in my mind) a young man full of energy and creative ideas for Human Resources. So meet Dwane Lay...

-Dave Ryan IS SHRM Director of Social Media

ISC SHRM Update

2011-05-02T18:28:00.000-05:00

Happy Spring!

I hope that you have now had the pleasure of visiting our newly remade website at www.ilshrm.org which features a whole new look and many user-friendly features. In conjunction with this exciting step, another important communication tool will be getting a facelift. Our summer 2011 newsletter will be our first “e-newsletter,” complete with links to your favorite ILSHRM newsletter features including Chapter Notes from around the State and a Message from Our Director! With the look and feel of our website, the publication will mirror other branding efforts for ILSHRM.

One exciting features of this new format will be that we will no longer be limited by the constraints of a traditional newsletter format. This means that we will have much greater flexibility in the number and size of our submissions. While we would like to keep with spirit of a true newsletter with concise bits of interesting tidbits, we will now be able to feature more photos and features.

Our next newsletter deadline will be June 1, 2011 and we have a lofty but achievable goal. Chapter Notes is an important tool for local chapters to share upcoming events, best practices and member recognition. For our summer edition, we are targeting a 100% participation rate from our chapters. Whether it’s a quick note about a successful educational session you’ve held or a new volunteer project your chapter has undertaken, we want to hear from you! So, if your chapter is not a regular contributor to the ILSHRM newsletter, let’s take advantage of this new online format to turn a new page with participation.

Our next publication will also be our final newsletter before our 12^th annual conference August 22-23 at Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace. For those of you who have never attended, or who haven’t attended in recent years, the conference is now bigger and better than ever. Whether you are a seasoned HR executive or new to the HR scene, this event has it all- education, networking, an outstanding display of vendors, and did I mention a top-notch venue in the hub of great dining, shopping and culture!

Heather Hammitt - Marketing/Communications Director for ISC-SHRM

Social Media Bootcamp

2011-04-13T22:00:00.004-05:00

Do you know how to use social media effectively both in your career and in your job? You should because your colleagues are in it and you can bet your employees are using it. Understanding social media is important when crafting your personal and your company’s brand awareness as well as developing your company’s social media policy and recruiting strategy as well as doing any investigations into policy or security violations.

In order to help HR professionals understand social media and how to use it, the Illinois State Council of SHRM is sponsoring a Social Media Boot Camp, being held on Sunday, August 21 (the day before our Annual Conference) at the Drury Lane Theater in Oakbrook Terrace, the same location as the Conference. This how-to program was a highly requested item that came from our first presentations on social media at last year’s conference.

Participants will learn about social media from common terms, tools, tips and applications from an HR professional who literally has written the book. This 3.5 hour session (accredited for strategic HRCI credit) will help you move from novice to being on your way to becoming a Social Media Ninja.

Participants will refine their own social media accounts and learn about brand awareness, improper uses of social media, best practices in social media and how to use LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and blogging to improve your networking ability and improve your ability on the job.

Participants are encouraged to bring laptops as wifi will be available. All we ask is that you have set up your accounts in whatever platform(s) you are planning to use prior to the event. Let us know if you need help with that. The cost for the workshop is $125 if you are registered for the conference and $150 if you are not. Remember, it is for STRATEGIC credit for certified HR pros.

PRESENTER: Jessica Miller-Merrell SPHR is a well known social media presence, CEO of Exceptional HR, the brains behind the Blogging 4 Jobs web site and new media assassin. In addition, she is the author of Tweet This! Twitter for Business.

- John Jorgensen SPHR Immediate Past State Director ISC SHRM

Introducing WOWIE Wednesdays

2011-04-13T07:00:00.003-05:00

The Illinois State Council of SHRM is again partnering with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, like last year to present the WOWIE Awards at our state conference in August. The WOWIE Awards honor Illinois-based organizations or companies that take a creative approach to inspire employees to make healthy, active choices during working hours.

In an effort to promote the WOWIES we are introducitn WOWIE WEDNESDAYS. Every Wednesday until our state conference we will have a post about the WOWIES. Be watching for updates. In the meantime, here is an overview of the program.
The WOWIE Award program has Silver, Gold and Platinum categories.

The Silver award will be given to organizations that demonstrate a solid foundation for success.

The Gold award is given to select worksites/organizations that meet the Silver criteria, as well as organizations that develop comprehensive programs producing results. These programs are strategic and aligned with the organization’s mission, vision and values.

The Platinum award recognizes organizations with well-defined and well-executed worksite wellness programming, and who meet the following criteria:

• Offer employees physical activity support

• Increase health eating options at work

• Promote a wellness culture

• Employ a minimum of 5 people

• Offer a variety of physical activities for employees

Companies that achieve any level of WOWIE award recognition will receive:

• An official recognition letter from ILSHRM and BCBSIL

• A recognition plaque for display

• Recognition on ILSHRM and BCBSIL program Web site

• Recognition by ILSHRM and BCBSIL at local events and in communication materials supporting the recognition program.

Click here for an Applications

The Deadline for submission is June 1, 2011.

Content from CMPR & Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC - SHRM

2011 WOWIE Award Competition: Will the winners repeat?

2011-04-11T07:30:00.002-05:00

The City of St. Charles Group with their 2010 Wowie

Will the winners repeat? That is a common question many sports teams face immediately after winning a championship? But in the employee wellness arena, that question is also germane to Robinson Engineering and The City of St. Charles, Ill.

Not sure what those two progressive outfits have in common? They were both Platinum winners of the 2010 WOWIE awards, sponsored by ILSHRM and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois.

In 2011, the WOWIEs are back and we’ll see if both Robinson and the City of St. Charles enter, not just to see if they can repeat, but to see if another year’s worth of data on their programs bolsters the notion that employers can play a positive role in improving their employee’s health.

The City of St. Charles Wellness Program received a Platinum Award in the “More than 200 Employees” category, in part, because it was able to incent employees to adopt healthy behaviors in exchange for lower health care premiums.

The city’s program consisted of three goals: encouraging healthy lifestyles among employees, reducing health care costs for the city and providing an opportunity for employees to decrease their health insurance premiums by achieving one or more of six health goals:

· blood pressure less than 130/85

· LDL cholesterol less than 130

· weight/BMI within normal limits based on a physician certified chart

· cardiovascular exercise for 30 minutes at least three times a week

· being tobacco free

· completing the online Blue Cross and Blue Shield health risk assessment

South Holland, Ill.-based Robinson Engineering received a Platinum Award in the “200 Employees or Fewer” category with its “Robinson Employee Wellness program,” which was established in 2007.

The Robinson’s Employee Wellness Program provides a wide spectrum of health information and services, from monthly health topics to employee health fairs that all seek to improve employee health. The program consisted of:

· quarterly lunch and learns on health and nutrition topics

· walking clinics

· group activities such as ping pong and employee competitions

· subsidizing health club memberships

· healthy food choices at lunch meetings

· health potluck meetings, ‘Fruit Fridays” and ”Healthy Snack Day”

· pedometer challenges

· CPR/first aide classes

If your company has a program that measures up to these 2010 WOWIE Winners, click here: and get your application. Deadline for entries is June 1.

- Dave Ryan ISC SHRM Director of Social Media