SHRM-Atlanta

Last week, the SHRM-Atlanta leadership and staff participated in a Habitat for Humanity build.  It was the 7th and final day of the build which meant there was a lot of landscaping to be done!  We dug numerous holes; planted trees and shrubs; spread pinestraw; and laid sod.

We also painted the interior of the home and touched up the exterior as well.

Since it was the last day of the build, we were also able to participate in the dedication of the home with the new owners.  The CEO of Habitat for Humanity Atlanta was there to talk about the program and what the new owners need to do to qualify for a Habitat home. What an accomplishment for this family!

It was a great day of team building, hard work, dirty clothes and laughs!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Mary Lynn Miller, Chief Operating Officer
404.869.2568
mmiller@shrmatlanta.org

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Jean Yahres, Association Director
404.760.8129
jyahres@shrmatlanta.org

Georgia’s Largest Human Resources Conference to Gather Hundreds for Education & Networking:  Hosted by SHRM-Atlanta October 17-18

Atlanta (September 15, 2011) – SHRM-Atlanta, the Atlanta Chapter of the Society of Human Resources Management, hosts the 21st Annual SHRM-Atlanta Human Resources Conference on October 17 and 18 at the Cobb Galleria Centre. Human resources professionals and other individuals with an interest in human resources from all over Georgia are invited to attend this two-day conference to network, learn and share ideas with other HR practitioners, as well as earn continuing education credits from the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI). The event is the largest gathering of the human resources community in Georgia this year; last year’s conference drew over 1,000 participants. Kat Cole, president of Cinnabon, presents the keynote address, “Transformational Leadership: Building Teams for Success through Times of Rapid Change,” on Monday, October 17 at 9:40 a.m.

The theme, “Working for a Better Atlanta,” spotlights Atlanta’s position as a vital economic center and the role of human resources professionals in shaping a more prosperous future. “The SHRM-Atlanta community has really come together to produce an unparalleled opportunity to meet and explore the critical issues – and opportunities – the HR profession currently faces,” said Mary Lynn Miller, SHRM-Atlanta’s chief operating officer. “Legislative changes and compliance, using social networking for recruiting, tackling recruitment and retention as the cost of providing benefits increases… we’re gathering the experts under one roof so HR practitioners at all levels find new insights and tools to improve their personal and company performance.”

Over 60 concurrent breakout sessions organized into seven educational tracks are planned. Confirmed speakers include leaders from MetLife, Merrill Lynch, Cox Enterprises, AARP and a number of other prominent corporations, consultancies and law firms. Tracks include: Business Acumen & Leadership, Law & Legislation, Total Rewards, Organizational Evolution, Talent Management, Diversity & Inclusion and HR Leveraging Technology.

The Resource Partner Showcase opens on Monday, October 17 at 9 a.m. and features over 100 exhibitors providing products and services to help human resources professionals work more efficiently. For the second year, the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) presents “Tech Row,” a series of vendor booths representing TAG’s member companies providing products and services to the HR community. Admission to the Showcase is free and open to the general public.

A highlight of the agenda is the 2011 SHAPE Awards, taking place Monday, October 17, to recognize individual HR professionals and teams who exemplify the highest professional standards in the industry. Networking opportunities also include a roundtable breakfast held Tuesday, October 18 where conference attendees share ideas and knowledge about specific topics or areas of expertise.

Full-access, student and one-day registration rates are available, ranging from $230 – $650. Group discounts for five or more participants from the same organization are available. Admission to the Resource Partner Showcase (exhibition hall) is free. For detailed rate information, the full agenda and additional information regarding the 21st Annual SHRM-Atlanta Human Resources Conference, visit shrmatlanta.org.

About SHRM-Atlanta
SHRM-Atlanta, the Atlanta Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management, was founded in 1965, and has current membership of over 2500 individuals. SHRM-Atlanta seeks to promote the professionalism of the Human Resources Management field by offering members a wide variety of professional development opportunities and a common forum in which to share ideas and experiences. Serving the Atlanta HR professional, SHRM-Atlanta provides opportunities for career development and community involvement both inside and outside of the Chapter. SHRM-Atlanta – Working for a Better Atlanta!
www.shrm-atlanta.org

On Twitter: @shrmatl
Conference hashtag: #shrmatl11

2011 SHAPE Awards – Nominate by Aug. 1st!

Do you know a SHRM-Atlanta member who goes above and beyond, consistently demonstrating HR excellence?

Are you aware of the significant value she or he brings to business via HR programs, practices and activities?

The 2011 SHRM-Atlanta HR Awards for Professional Excellence (SHAPE Awards) recognize individual HR professionals and teams who exemplify the highest professional standards in the industry. This is one of our signature programs to honor SHRM-Atlanta members leading the way in excellence and innovation.

Complete the easy online 2011 nomination form today. Deadline is August 1, 2011.

All nominees and winners of these prestigious awards will be recognized during the keynote presentation at our 21st Annual SHRM-Atlanta HR Conference on Oct. 17th, 2011.

Atlanta Business Chronicle is looking for the metro area’s 2011 Best Places To Work. If your company is one of the best places to work in Atlanta, this is your chance to be recognized and let others know. Companies can nominate themselves at http://www2.bizjournals.com/atlanta/nomination/9361 now through July 1st.

The top scoring companies will be honored at an event on Sept. 16, 2011, at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis and recognized in a special section published by Atlanta Business Chronicle the same day.

For more information on the event, go to www.chronicle-events.com or e-mail areich@bizjournals.com.

“Companies have long set aside resources to develop and market consumer brands. Now, some are finding that to attract and retain the best job candidates, they need to put similar resources into their so-called employer brands.” (Wall Street Journal, May 16, 2011, pg. B9) How is your organization targeting potential employees to make it a desirable place to work? Furthermore, how is your company retaining its valued employees?

Here are a few statistics for you to consider:

• There are approximately 78 million people in the baby boom generation who will be retiring sooner or later (Maybe, later than sooner but they will be retiring), but only 46 million in Gen X, approximately 32-47 years old to fill those spots. Big labor shortages are coming as is the talent war.
• By 2012, 70% of the workforce will be women and minorities. By 2014, 48% of the workforce will be women.
• The MetLife Inc. ninth Annual Study of Employee Benefit Trends indicated that employees have “grown more dissatisfied and disloyal, to the point where a startling one in three employees hopes to be working elsewhere in the next 12 months.”

Have I got your attention now?  As Human Resource experts, we have our work cutout for us. We need to become an even stronger strategic influencer at the organization table.

How do we play that role well?

1. Bring the near-term future scenario to the table, including the above cited statistics, in order to light a fire within the power players. Senior leaders may have put this issue on the back-burner because it has been an employer’s market over the last several years. Come equipped with the longer-term picture to add emphasis that this is not just a short-term issue. Know the specifics for your industry.
2. Educate senior leaders about the motivations of each generation, what they are looking for in work. Senior leader Boomers need to understand that Gen Xers and Millenials are not motivated by the same things that motivate them. Creating the right culture can do more to attract this talent than compensation packages.
3. Scrub your company’s approach to recruiting. The logo and products or services are not enough to attract talent. For example, include video profiles on your careers website of actual employees. What hard-to-fill positions are available that potential candidates might not know are opportunities in your organization? Appeal to these technology-savvy generations by leveraging LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and iPad apps.
4. As more women move into the ranks of leadership and accept more responsibility, the potential for stress levels to rise is inevitable. Keep in mind, women manifest stress very differently than men. Stressed-out men are Type A (the stress syndrome we have heard about all these years). Women become Type E, everything to everybody, a very different set of behaviors. What is your organization doing to help these high potential women cope? If nothing, these talented women may just find a company that is more work-life balance friendly.

So, what are you and your organization doing to shine its image as a great place to work? Would you advise your best friend (given the appropriate skill set) to work there? Better yet, if you had to do it over again, would you work for your company? Why or why not is a good place to start the discussion to ensure your organization is able to attract and retain the right talent to sustain it. Then, onto a shiny employer brand…

Dr. Jane Goldner, president of The Goldner Group, is one of the nation’s leading authorities on talent retention and trusted advisor to Fortune 100 Companies, government and military organizations, and to mid-sized businesses. She is the author of Driven to Success: A 10-Point Checkup for Achieving High Performance in Business, a step-by-step business guide for leaders. Dr. Goldner is a highly rated adjunct professor at Kennesaw State University Coles College of Business. She is a recovering Type E Woman who focuses on helping other women recognize and address their Type E behaviors.

The job market has changed. It’s more competitive, more fast-paced and the use of social media is now the norm. Job seekers must take an even proactive role in finding opportunities and the importance of networking has never been more relevant. How do you make the big world out there a bit smaller?

One great tool is LinkedIn.

Called “The Facebook for Professionals”, it’s a place where over 100 million people have posted their professional backgrounds for purpose of expanding their network, sharing their expertise and getting known.  Do you have a LinkedIn profile?  If not, you may be left out.

Here are 6 tips on how to get the most out of putting yourself out there.

1. Create a complete free profile at www.linkedin.com.  The site will walk you through the process. Have your resume handy for easy access to key information.
2. Post a professional photo. Key word here:  Professional.  Not a picture of you and your dog, a cartoon or avatar, or worse; no picture at all! Forward-facing, SMILING, professionally dressed, head shot with a neutral background.
3. Invite others to connect with you. You’ll be surprised at how many people you do know out there!  When sending a message to connect, edit the text in the invitation to make it personal. It shows that you took the extra time and makes a positive impression.
4. Be easy to find. To make your public profile URL easier to find, edit it and use your full name. For example, mine is www.linkedin.com/in/MarieCumbest. LinkedIn ranks higher in search engines than Twitter and Facebook so promote your link by putting it on your resume, cover letter, business card, and all marketing materials.
5. Join groups. There are more than 700,000 to choose from and you can join up to 60.  Click on “Groups You May Like” and LinkedIn will make some suggestions for you. When you join the groups, you can connect directly with others in the group – expanding your network!
6. Remember to keep your postings and comments professional. You won’t get a second chance to make a positive first impression.

.
Utilize these tips to get your LinkedIn profile up and running and you won’t be left out.

This post was submitted by guest blogger Marie Cumbest.  Marie is the VP of Client Services at Career Spa, LLC,  the organization that provides one-on-one coaching and support for all professionals who want to elevate their careers to the next level. Find Marie on LinkedIn or on Twitter (@mariecumbest).

can i use a free spell break up by names of my ex boyfriend new girlfriend and
Success stories of getting their ex boyfriend back after they broke up with you or
things to say to your ex boyfriend in a text.
posting things on facebook to make your ex want you back
how to win ex husband back, pick the brain get ex back, etc.

This is a re-post from Jason Lauritsen who blogs at Transforming Business through Talent….

Last Friday, I helped to facilitate a social media “boot camp” for HR leaders in our area.  When we hosted the HR Reinvention Experiment last fall, one topic that seemed to be of paramount interest to that crowd was social media.  It seemed that most HR leaders are getting the message that they should know about and be leveraging social media, but they weren’t sure where to start.  That’s where Friday’s session came in.

I wanted to share a few observations from the session and then a few thoughts about how to start if you are an HR leader (or likely know one) who needs to get caught up with the times in regards to social media.  The first thing that jumped out from the group we had on Friday is at nearly everyone seemed to have some sort of awareness of and was using LinkedIn and Facebook.  Where this group seemed to be stuck was with Twitter and anything else beyond that.  We didn’t spend much time on LinkedIn or Facebook, but I’m guessing that while many said they were users, there is a difference between having a basic profile without a picture or much info versus actually leveraging these sites for the powers of good.  But, that’s just an assumption.

As for Twitter, everyone seemed sort of captivated by it but not many had done too much with it.  We heard all of the usual comments and resistance (“I don’t care what you  had for breakfast this morning, so why would I want to read about it on Twitter?”)  I think by the end of the time we spent together, most of the attendees were much more informed about Twitter and why they might want to get involved.  I think that some of them might even go out and get started.  We’ll wait and see.  For now, I want to share a few of the key things that were discussed or observed in the session.

1. Twitter (and all other social media tools) isn’t something you do, it is something you use to accomplish things. They are tools.  If you are trying to get on Twitter just to be on Twitter, you will probably not get much from the experience.  You have to know why you are using these tools to reap the benefits.
2. Twitter is hard for HR because there aren’t really any rules and the rules change often. You have to let go of needing to understand the rules before you start or you’ll never start.  If you are new to Twitter, google the phrase “How to Twitter” and you’ll get all the info you need to get started.  Then, just jump in.  (It was amazing to me how many people were stuck by not knowing how to “do” Twitter when there is so many free guides out there to help you make sense of it).
3. You have to use social media to understand it. Our organizations are trying to make sense of social media and what we should be doing with it.  If you, as an HR leader, aren’t leading that discussion, shame on you.   To do that requires that you understand what social media is and why people us it.  To understand that, you have to use it.  Period.  There is no short cut.
4. Twitter is like a radio station. The people you follow are like the artists who create music for radio.  You add people who create the stuff you like and not those who don’t.  Once you have a nice station created with enough good artists, you can listen when you want to.  You can drop in and out of Twitter whenever it works for you.  Just like the radio, if you follow enough people (probably need at least 300) there will always be something interesting on when you tune in.
5. Be a little selfish at first. Start out using social media for your own good.  There is no better and more interactive personal development tool out there than social media.  You have access to world class content and experts any time you need them.  You can build a vibrant network of brilliant colleagues around the globe.  All from the cozy seat right in front of your computer.
6. As for the organization, don’t start by trying to solve social media for everyone. Instead, get social media access opened up for your HR team and then experiment with it.  Once you have a few good stories to tell of how you used social media to create some value, use that to make progress organizationally.
7. When you are getting started on Twitter as an HR pro, here’s the first quick steps to follow:
   • Create your profile (use your full name for your username (i.e. JasonLauritsen vs. HRInstigator) and upload a picture. Using your full name and picture helps you build relationships more easily, lets people recognize you more quickly, and it builds your personal brand.  In your description in your profile, write something about being in HR, Training, etc.  That helps people know what kind of Twitterer you might be.
   • Unprotect your tweets.  Social media is a wide open enterprise.  You have to be willing to let go of who sees your stuff to be taken seriously and embraced.  You want people you don’t know to see your stuff and follow you.  That’s how Twitter works.
   • Create a few tweets.  Examples might be “Okay Twitter, I signed up.  Now what?”  or “Hey, I’m new here.  Where’s the cafeteria?”  Your first tweets should tell the world that you are new and that you are going to try to learn on the fly as you go.
   • Now, go find some people to follow.  Assuming you are using Twitter for mainly professional reasons (most of my comments here are geared that way), you can easily find a good list of people to follow.  Simply google the phrase “human resources twitter list.”  This will produce a series of lists that others have created of some of the best HR folks to follow on twitter.  If you don’t know how to follow someone, refer back to item 1 above.
   • Finally, try to create a tweet or two per day for a while.  That will help you build up your twitter stream.  At first, the easiest way to accomplish this will be to retweet the content that you like.  If you devote 10-20 minutes per day to Twitter for a month, by the end of the month you will be hooked.

Twitter is only a mystery until you start using it.  Good luck out there.  Let me know if I can help.

Learn more about Jason Lauritsen:  “Why can’t it be done?” This is the question that defines my life and career. As long as I can remember, I’ve been able to see possibilities and inspire people to join with me to make them happen. I have a vision for HR as a transformative leader within the organization. I turn human resources teams into business leaders who help the organization succeed by unleashing the talent of its people. My required disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed here are mine and do not represent those of my employer or anyone else.

Some of you may have heard that the PEGs (Professional Emphasis Groups) were changing.  However, what you may not have heard but wondered was what happened to the PEGs after the beginning of the year.  The truth is the PEGs have been re-designed and these changes are the result of six months of hard work on the part of our Committee members, Chairs, Meeting Expectations staff, and Executive Leadership.  Ultimately, the program is much richer and will be a part of the larger “Road Map” to be delivered to our members early next month.  This “Road Map” will provide an outline for the year in support of all our members to follow as they create their individual development plans for 2011.

The name for the PEGs has changed.  The new name is now called “Communities”.  Instead of just focusing on providing our members with quality meetings in conjunction with the chapter meetings, the groups will still focus on quality but will now focus on building communities for each specialty in ways that meet the changing needs of our members.

Another major difference is in the number of meetings.  Previously, the PEGs/Communities were meeting prior to the chapter meetings.   Unfortunately, this meant that only four communities could meet before each chapter meeting, which ultimately meant that each one would only be able to provide programming for the membership on an average of 3-4 times per year.  Our communities had so much more to offer the chapter.  Although they will still have the occasional opportunity to meet and provide programs before some of our chapter meetings in the future, they will now partner with the GEMs (Geographic Emphasis Meetings) to provide specific programming all across the city.  In addition, the Communities will offer webinars, blogging about changes in each of their areas and offering networking events just to name a few.  Our world has changed with regards to the amount of things that are pulling our members in many different directions.  Therefore, we are changing the way we do things in order to assist our members in keeping up with the world around us and we are doing it in ways that better meet their needs for flexibility and the use of technology.  In fact, all of our communities will be taking on a larger role as we weave their programming throughout everything we do as a chapter.

We currently have six communities including Global, Legislative, Total Rewards, Employee Relations, Recruiting Practices, and OD and Training.  Later this year, you will see the newest Community (Business Acumen) make its’ debut!   Lisa Stephens of ELI Inc. and Chris Collier of Southern Co., are the CO-VP’s of the Communities and are  working hard to bring you these changes and a whole lot more.

Stay tuned for new updates being rolled out over the coming weeks and months.  In the meantime, please visit our Communities webpage for more detailed information on each of our Communities.

Update provided by:

Patricia Kellner, MS HRM, SPHR | EVP of Programming for SHRM-Atlanta
Hooters of America, LLC | Director of Human Resources

SHRM-Atlanta is accepting speaker proposals for the 21st Annual SHRM-Atlanta HR Conference on October 17-18, 2011 at Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, GA.

We invite you to complete the submission form below for the opportunity to address the members of the premier human resource organization in Atlanta.  SHRM-Atlanta is dedicated to helping HR professionals become strategic business partners in today’s organizations.

Submission and Selection Process
If you are submitting to speak at the 21st Annual SHRM-Atlanta HR Conference, please note that we will be closing our submission form on February 20.  We will be notifying all selected speakers on or around April 4.  If you have not received an acceptance notification by that time frame, your presentation has not been selected for the conference but may be considered for future SHRM-Atlanta events throughout the year.

If you have multiple sessions/topics to enter, please complete one form per submission.  There is no limit to the number of submissions you can enter for consideration.  Session tracks and suggested topics are listed on our call for presentations web page.

Please feel free to forward this on to your colleagues and networks if you think they would be interested in this opportunity as well.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact info@shrmatlanta.org.

Click here to submit

If you are not a speaker, but have heard a fabulous speaker recently, please encourage them to submit.  Wouldn’t it be great to have that speaker at a SHRM-Atlanta event this year and know that you encouraged them to submit for speaking?