ILSHRM News

Today post is from  Cathy S. Plouzek, PHR ILSHRM Directors– Spring 2013

Hey ya’ll!  Happy Spring …

In my last update, I outlined the direction and vision for ILSHRM for the next couple of years.   Our theme is simple -- ILSHRM is HR people helping HR people.  During our Annual Leadership conference last January, we used this theme to help refine the ILSHRM Purpose, Mission, and Vision –

Purpose
We promote and support the interests, success and needs of our members and the Illinois HR community
Mission:
Lead and serve our members as well as the entire Illinois HR community by providing timely and relevant information, ongoing professional development opportunities, and intra-state communication on issues of interest in the field of human resources.
Vision:
Be the “HR HUB” and unifying voice in Illinois, supporting HR professionals, business leaders, legislators and our communities.

One of the many ways we promote and support the interests, success and needs of our members and the Illinois HR community is to offer and/or support five major conferences throughout the year:

ILSHRM Leadership Conference – January

ILSHRM and CIC-SHRM Legislative Conference – April

SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition – June 16-29, 2013

ILSHRM State Conference – August 18-20, 2013

SHRM Leadership Conference – November 21-23, 2013

The ILSHRM Leadership Conference is our annual conference targeted at the volunteer board members of our ILSHRM Chapters. The focus of this conference is to offer volunteer leaders a chance to network and learn best practices that will help them strengthen the work of their local SHRM Chapter. Each year this conference offers a deeper understanding of how SHRM, the Illinois State Council of SHRM and Chapters support the HR Professional.  

We had over 130 chapter leaders attend ILSHRMLead13 – our largest Leadership Conference to date!  Plans are underway for ILSHRMLead14 and I am very excited to announce that Pamela J. Green, MBA, SPHR – President and Founder at Power Project Institute LLC and Former Vice President/Chief Membership Officer at SHRM will be our keynote speaker.  Check out her promo video and stay tuned for more exciting details.

In the past several years, ILSHRM and CIC-SHRM has teamed up to host an Annual Legislative

Conference in Springfield.  Our focus at this conference is to introduce the importance of advocacy and to educate the attendees on the latest trends and changes in employment law.   As an advocate for the HR community, it is important that we keep our elected officials informed on how public policy issues can affect employees, employers, and the HR profession as a whole.  ILSHRM has a group of dedicated volunteers that work with paid lobbyists to stay abreast of the latest issues that affect HR.  This year about 20 HR Pros traveled to the Illinois State Capitol and dropped off ILSHRM fact sheets to our elected Representatives and their Staff.  

Illinois is excited to host the SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition, June 16-19, in Chicago.  This year’s conference will feature keynote presentations from Fareed Zakaria, Blake Mycoskie, Dan Pink, and Mark Kelly, plus over 200 concurrent sessions and the world's largest HR exposition.  A special thank you goes out to Chicago SHRM … All volunteer positions are filled!

The Illinois HR Conference & Exposition is the annual conference of ILSHRM. Each year the event attracts over 600 human resource professionals and vendors throughout the state of Illinois and across the nation. Programs presented at the conference cover all aspects of the SHRM Body of Knowledge. In addition to multiple educational opportunities, attendees will also be able to network with fellow human resource professionals, check out the latest and greatest services offered by the top human resource vendors and have some fun at our social events.   Check out this video and watch keynote speaker Jason Lauritsen leads us in our first ILSHRM Flashmob.  Join in on the fun – August 18-20, at Drury Lane Dinner Theatre in  Oakbrook Terrace.  Registration is now open. 

HR ROCKS! HR ROCKS! HR ROCKS!

The SHRM Leadership Conference is an event designed to give key SHRM volunteers the opportunity to gain information about their volunteer role, network with peers, share effective practices and challenges across regions, and engage with SHRM staff.  This conference also features Capitol Hill Visits where we have an opportunity to join fellow SHRM volunteer leaders and the SHRM Government Affairs staff for a trip to the US Capitol. 

I hope I’ve given you the information you need to consider joining us at any or all of these conferences.  If

not, please connect with me using the media listed below.  A conference is a great place to learn and meet people.  This is networking in its truest form!  You communicate with people daily on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.  Conferences are where you can actually meet people in real life, put a face to the name, and build your ILSHRM Network.  

WANTED Talented Writers Interested in Promoting HR

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