SHRM North Central Regional Student Conference

I am attending a conference this weekend. It is a SHRM Student Conference for the North Central region. I am going to be a part of this. I don't know why, but when these things get close I feel like a kid in candy store.  I guess the best way for me to express how I feel was summed up by Flounder in Animal House



Silly isn't it?  Not really.  Most of the conferences I attend have to do with things I feel passionate about, with HR being one of them.  So then when I get to hang out with a bunch of like minded people the energy and excitement gets taken to the next level - and I really enjoy that.

SHRM is bringing together 11 teams from the North Central Region to test their Human Resources prowess against one and other.  Exciting stuff... you bet!  It is going to be a day and a half of hanging with these folks with young minds and high energy levels.   That always charges my batteries just like getting to hear SHRM's Membership Chair Pam Green speak. She doesn't just talk she demands and gets audience participation.




If you want to tweet about the conference, or follow the tweet stream,  the Duke Street Mothership (otherwise know as SHRM Headquarters) tells us the correct hashtag for the event is #SHRMNCStudent.

Here is more information on the Conference...

Group Number	Preparation Room	Room Monitor
1	Harold E. White Building, Room107	Rick Schemm
2	Harold E. White Building, Room109	Philip Deger
3	Harold E. White Building, Room 24	Latecia Braud
4	Science Building, Room 032S	Lindsie Schoenack
5	Science Building, Room 054S	Noreen Mysyk
6	Science Building, Room 108S	Ashley Truhlar
7	Science Building, Room 119S	Teresa Los
8	Academic Building, Room AS121A	Cyndi Hanson
9	Academic Building, Room AS132A	Michelle Robbins
10	Academic Building, Room AS133A	Janelle Leonardo
11	Academic Building, Room AS156A	Dave Ryan

Again, here is the campus map, http://www.lewisu.edu/campuses/pdf/BuildingsLocation.pdf.  It is important that you familiarize yourself with the team preparation room as we’ll be under a tight timeframe.

Building 1 – Harold E. White Building (3 team preparation rooms)

Building 11 – Science Building (4 team preparation rooms)

Building 12 – Academic Building (registration, Friday night welcome and presentation, educational sessions, 4 team preparation rooms)

Building 22 – Learning Resource Center (Preliminary Presentations)

Competition Team Check-in Schedule  **Please arrive 30 minutes before to familiarize yourself with the room location and to register**

Check-in             End-Time

Group #1 and #2              8:15 a.m.             12:30 p.m.

Group #3 and #4              8:45 a.m.             1:00 p.m.

Group #5 and #6              9:15 a.m.             1:30 p.m.

Group #7 and #8              9:45 a.m.             2:00 p.m.

Group #9 and #10           10:15 a.m.            2:30 p.m.

Group #11                       10:45 a.m.           3:00 p.m.

Maps of Campus

The North Central Regional Student Conference will be using a number of buildings throughout the weekend.  The campus map can be found online at http://www.lewisu.edu/campuses/pdf/BuildingsLocation.pdf.

Building 1 – Harold E. White Building (3 team preparation rooms)

Building 11 – Science Building (4 team preparation rooms)

Building 12 – Academic Building (registration, Friday night welcome and presentation, educational sessions, 4 team preparation rooms)

Building 13 – University Dining (all conference meals, Written Judge Room)

Building 22 – Learning Resource Center (Preliminary Presentations)

The campus is fairly compact.  Buildings 11, 12, and 13 are all connected and buildings 1 and 22 are a 3-5 minute walk from the main area.

Here is a virtual tour of the campus, http://lewisu.edu/welcome/vtour/vcampus.htm.  It will provide you with a look at what the building looks like. 

Parking  For the individuals who drive to campus, you can park in Lot F or G.

Attire

Conference participants typically wear business casual attire to the event.  Remember that you will be networking with HR professionals, and it is important to make a good impression. 

Students competing on a case competition team must be in business professional attire on Saturday.

Weather

The preliminary forecast for this weekend is mid to high 60’s on Friday and Saturday isolated thunderstorms and a few showers on Saturday.  As we move closer to the event, you can check the weather forecast at http://www.weather.com/weather/weekend/60446.

Please plan accordingly as we are in a few different buildings for the case competition.

Registration

Conference registration will begin at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, April 8 and last throughout the evening. Registration will be in Building 12 – Academic Building Room AS158A. Please follow the SHRM signs leading to registration. Conference attendees, advisors, and volunteers must check-in at this area.

Tentative Conference Schedule – a full agenda will be provided on-site

Friday, April 8                                                                                                                                    

4:30 p.m.                        Conference Welcome        
                                                               

5:00 p.m.                          Backpack to Briefcase

Pamela J. Green, SPHR, Chief US Membership Officer
               

6:00 p.m.                            Networking/Dinner                                                                 

Saturday, April 9

8:15 a.m.                              Conference Welcome and Day Ahead

8:15 a.m.                              Team Case-Competition Check-in Begins

8:30 a.m.                              Educational Session #1                                
Social Media from College to Business
Dave Ryan, SPHR

9:45 a.m.                              Educational Session #2                                
How to Create a Great Elevator Speech
Jodi Harmeyer, SPHR
                               

10:30 a.m.                           Judges Training                                                
                               

11:15 a.m.                           Educational Session #3
Volunteerism for Life:  Making a Difference While Building a Valuable Skill Set
Donna Rogers, SPHR
                                                                                               

11:30 – 1:30 p.m.              Boxed Lunches Available
               

12:30 p.m.                           Group #1 and #2 Present            
1:00 p.m.                             Group #3 and #4 Present            

1:30 p.m.                             Educational Session #4                
Your Career in Human Resources
Carolyn Sperl, JD, SPHR, GPHR

1:30 p.m.                             Chapter Advisor and College Relations Volunteers
Roundtable Discussion
Chuck Salvetti                   
                                                               

1:30 p.m.                             Group #5 and #6 Present                                            
2:00 p.m.                             Group #7 and #8 Present                            
2:30 p.m.                             Group #9 and #10 Present                          
                                                                               

3:00 p.m.                             Educational Session #5
                                HR Hotdish: Feeding Student Appetites
                               Philip Deger, MSIR, SPHR
                               

3:00 p.m.                             Group #11 Present

4:15 p.m.                             Announcement of Top 2 Finalists             

4:30 p.m.                             Finalist #1 Presentation
5:00 p.m.                             Finalist #2 Presentation
               

5:30 p.m.                             Awards Dinner 

- Dave Ryan Director of SM ISC-SHRM

                                                               

Upcoming Illinois Legislative Conference

Last week I attended the annual SHRM Employment Law & Legislative Conference in DC and visited our states two Senators office and my local congressman's office to discuss health care reform and workplace flexibility in support of SHRMs position. Before the conference started, I also had the opportunity to hear best practices among 48 of our 50 State Legislative Directors who were in the room.  It is absolutely amazing to me what some of the other states are doing from a legislative standpoint (state lobbyist, govt. affairs, state & federal directors, etc.). By comparison, they don't have half as many enacted employment related regulations on the books that Illinois does. We are only beat by California and they were not in the room so I am not sure what they are doing. What are we doing, right now. Well to be honest, NOTHING. However, I personally would like to change that and absolutely need your support.

It is my goal to fund legislative efforts at the state level with the annual Legislative Conference going forward. As we have been preparing for the event (April 12-13) we have discovered almost triple digit bills waiting to be pushed through. Some of them are good for HR and business and some are not. IL State Legislators need to hear from us with regard to those that are not, so they will be less likely to vote them into law.

Illinois is one of 10 states this year that SHRM Government Affairs plans to work with to bring about advocacy in all 19 of our districts. Michael Laymen, SHRM, Govt. Affairs is coming in for our Legislative Conference to not only provide us with a federal update but to train us on how to make those connections and advocate for what we think is right as it affects our everyday life. I hope you will consider joining us in this initial effort. It is of utmost importance that your local legislators hear from you, know you, call on you when they have a question about something that will ultimately affect your job.

Please support the HR Legislative efforts in Illinois by first attending this conference  and second by telling other members and HR professionals about it! We can work together to make a difference in Illinois! As an incentive, the state council will reimburse mileage for one (1) carload of attendees from each chapter. Carpool to save gas, network, and strategize about how you will make a difference. Are you with me?

-Donna Rogers State Director ISC SHRM

You Have to be Like Jay Leno to be in HR

I don’t want to face facts, but the fact of the matter is my wife and I need to buy a new bed.  Our current bed and mattress, I think, are about half as old as I am.  I was thinking about this today and figured I may not have to buy another bed in my lifetime, at least for me and my wife. Ok on to the next thing, tonight my wife and I are going to see Jay Leno perform live, at a nearby college campus.   On our way to see Jay we drove through another college town.  As we passed through town  my wife wanted to take time out to do a little shopping  which forced me to hang out at Starbuck’s watching the college kids wander in and out while I cabbaged onto their wi-fi.

I have two sons one graduated from college in 2010 and the other one (fingers crossed) will graduate in Spring 2013.    Fortunately for me, this allows me to somewhat stay in touch with the college age folks.  My wife was telling me that Jay Leno said he tours college campuses so that he can stay in touch with that age group of folks and he feels like it keep him current..

As a nearly “old” HR guy this got me to thinking, you know if you want to stay relevant in this field you had better buddy up to and become good friends with a few folks college age.  The relationship needs to be such that  you both are getting something out of it.  People in HR need to know people of all ages, religions, ethnic backgrounds etc. to see how they see the world.  I am pretty sure they don’t see it just like I do.

Besides my kids, I work hard to develop relationships with folks 20 to 30 years my junior.  Some of these are on-line, some are at work, my neighbors and in my SHMR chapter. It is important to me to understand how these younger folks think and feel about everything  I plan to attend the student SHRM Student Games in a couple of week. In attend I will no doubt learn a little bit about my younger counterparts

And to the youngsters out there this theory works in reverse, make sure you get to know and  have in your circle of friends, folks who are of a different demographic than yourself.

- Dave Ryan Director of SM ISC-SHRM