About Me & About My ISC-SHRM Goals for the next 2 Years

Today, being the fifth day on the job as the new State Director for Illinois State Council of SHRM, I thought I would share a few words. No, really our social media director, @DaveTheHRCzar, gave me a little nudge. I have plenty of time to write for our blog site among the overwhelming list of “to do’s on my desk from paid jobs not to mention our upcoming state Leadership Conference this Monday. So, I will be brief!


First, I would like to share a little about my SHRM volunteer responsibilities over the years leading up to my current position on the state council. I joined our local chapter, CIC-SHRM, in the mid-90s and that’s about as clear as my memory gets. What I do know is that in 1997 I became active on the chapter board and joined SHRM in 1998 as a strongly encouraged requirement for being a board member. Before that I did not know anything about the national organization. In 2001, while still being involved in my chapter for another four years I joined the Illinois State Council and have been active ever since. Here is a rundown of the positions I have held in order but I can’t exactly remember the dates. Those 20 years in HR is starting to show!

CIC-SHRM

• Public Relations/Publicity Chair (newsletter)
• Legislative Director (started the first chapter Legislative Conference)
• Vice President/Programs Director
• President-Elect/SHRM Foundation Director
• President (2 year term)
• Outgoing President (finishing in 2005)
• Since then the Chapter Librarian

ISC-SHRM

• Conference Co-Chair (2 years representing my chapter with another state chapter)
• Conference Chair (they made it an official board position)
• Diversity Director
• Director-Elect/SHRM Foundation Director
• Now! Director

Second, I’d like to share a few goals that I would like our state council to achieve during my two year tenure as Director. I have to admit these goals are prior to my looking at the SHAPE plan. So I am sure it will grow. Also, this is prior to meeting with our core council board this weekend which may affect the finalized list and work plan as we move forward (so this is tentative but I don’t doubt I will get support from the board):

1. 100% Chapters signing the ESGR Statement of Support (http://www.esgr.org/);

2. Build SHRM Affiliate Chapters in the Southern part of the state (working on 3 already);

3. Increase awareness of ISC-SHRM & SHRM resources among all state legislators (with SHRMs help as one of the 10 states they plan to work with this year);

4. Reach 1000 attendees at our annual conference (in Aug at Drury Lane in Oakbrook);

5. Reach 100 attendees at our 1st Annual Legislative Conference (last year was our inaugural event);

6. 100% Chapter participation in the annual Chapter Basket Raffle Fundraiser at State Conference;

7. Develop a formal Succession Plan with the assistance of a Nomination Committee to be appointed;

8. Finalize and implement a formal strategic plan started at last year’s Leadership Core Planning meeting;

9. Finalize and implement an updated Website with the help of Carrie Gurski which was started last year; and

10. Analyze our financial situation and develop a backup plan to sustain our council and support our mission for a year or two in case our income is impacted (primarily our attendance at annual conference).

Finally, I just want to say thank you to all those I have met and worked with along the way and to those I will continue to work with on the board and in the chapters. I look forward to meeting all the HR leaders in the state because there are so many of you! I am humbled to serve you over the next couple years and want you to know that my virtual door is always open. Call or text me at 217-414-1297, email me at donna@rogershr.com, DM me on twitter @HRWarrior or Skype me at donnarogerssphr. I look forward to working with you!

Donna Rogers ISC State Director

Changes for 2011 - New Contributors to IL SHRM Site

It is the year’s end and at Illinois SHRM just like at many other volunteer organizations personnel changes usually take place around this time of year. At the top we have a new incoming State Director – Donna Rogers. We also have a new Director Elect Cathy Plouzek, and we have the outgoing, Past State Director John Jorgensen. While we have a number of personnel changes we also have some folks like your truly are hanging around for another year or two.


One of the things that I am going to do next year is add some new voices to this blog site. For the most part, postings so far, have come from me, Dave Ryan, the Director of the Social Media for the State Council. Having looked around at other sites and other organization I have invited more folks who are involved with SHRM here in Illinois to be contributors and give new and varied content  in regards to  what is going on in the World of Human Resources.

The three folks mentioned earlier, John, Donna and Cathy all have agree to generate 4 to 5 posts for next year. In addition to the IL SHRM executive gang, we have lined up IL SHRM’s membership director and all around great guy Jeff Williams to our crew. Jeff currently writes at his own blog site HDLeader. Our Director of Marketing and Communication Heather Hammitt will also be contributing to our blog site.

To another prospective, from the staffing portion of Human Resources, Chloe Rada, The President of Staffing Management Association of Greater Chicago will be a regular contributor to the site.

We have been fortunate to grab two more contributors who have been instrumental in creating a new SHRM chapter in the Metro East area. We are thrilled to have Trish McFarlane who regularly blogs at HRRingleader, and her co-conspirator Chris Frede who also has her own site, HRBouy, as regular contributors for 2010.

So if I go back and count up the bolded names I see nine names listed. The plan was to have 12 regular contributors. So if my math still works I need three more regular contributors. Please let me know if you would be interested in contributing.

In addition to the weekly contributions, we plan to be presenting guest posts from upcoming conference speakers, and others who are present on the HR scene. So be looking for exciting thing coming from this the Illinois State Council of SHRM and this site next year.
- Dave Ryan Director of Social Media Illinois State Council of SHRM

Farewell from Outgoing ISC SHRM Director John Jorgensen

Wow, where has the two years gone? I am rapidly approaching the end of my term as the Illinois State Director of SHRM. It has been a great couple of years working with great people and, in many ways, sorry to see it end.

The Board has accomplished really good things in that time. We’ve continued the great programs started by my predecessors (Carolyn Sperl especially) in that we have expanded our partnership with Blue Cross/Blue Shield in the area of workplace wellness, built on our relationship with the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce and built our Leadership Conference over a brief 3 year period into something to be proud of. Thanks to Carolyn and all those who preceded me.

During the last two years we have done some pretty amazing stuff. The State Conference has been moved into the Chicago area and it paid great benefits. Attendance increased by 50%, we have received some national attention and will continue to grow. We have added Social Media to our Board and garnered more national attention by doing so (we were the second state council to add that as a director level position). Because of that, we were the first state conference to be visited by the newly created SHRM Director of Social Media and PR. All of this is laying the groundwork for an even bigger and better conference for the future. We have secured the same location for the next 2 years so see you at the Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace in 2011 and 2012.

Another new position to the board in the last couple of years was a Director of Communications and we have begun to produce regular newsletters of great quality and to provide media in the state a source for information on the profession of human resources, while making the name of ISC-SHRM better known throughout Illinois.

A position that is not new but has been revitalized is that of District Director. We have been able to use the people in that position and the expertise they bring to help chapters grow and operate and they are playing a huge role in the upcoming State Leadership Conference.

We are on the verge of adding at least 2-3 new SHRM chapters in the state in areas not served currently by SHRM chapters and in the process picking up some amazing new members of and leaders for Illinois SHRM.

Notice that the word “I” only appeared once in this article because “I” did not do all these things. The Board did. I (ok now twice) have been blessed to serve with an amazing group of professionals and volunteer leaders that have made my job so amazingly easy and fun. Thank you to all of you for the outstanding work you have done that has made the Illinois State Council of the Society of Human Resource Management the great organization it has become and will continue to be.

Thanks, John