HR Matters
Texas SHRM
Promote the SHRM Annual Conference via e-mail to all chapter members. ·
Be sure that you are maintaining your chapter affiliation requirement throughout the year. If there have been any changes in your volunteers, report them to your Regional Administrator.
Keep SHRM informed of any changes to volunteer e-mail addresses, contact information, and role changes.
Recommended Action Items:
Host a speaker on current/upcoming legislative issues (see governmental affairs best practices in the SHAPE planning workbook for other ideas).
Promote HR Certification program and encourage members to become certified. Set up or determine the feasibility of having a local study group or provide certification prep materials and available courses to your members.
We hope you will plan to join us for this 1 day State Leadership meeting focusing on leadership development. This meeting meets your SHAPE Leadership meeting/conference attendance critera and HRCI credits will be available for the day's presentations.
All official members of the Texas State Council, as well as all chapter board leaders, are encouraged to attend.
To register simply log on to http://texas.shrm.org
BV-SHRM is currently partnering with several of its members to assist them in achieving their goal of becoming PHR or SPHR certified by sponsoring and providing certification preparation and professional development classes. BV-SHRM members interested in participating in the certification training class were offered the opportunity to purchase the SHRM Learning System through BV-SHRM at a significantly reduced rate. The classes are being taught by BV-SHRM SPHR certified board members, who are SME’s in their respective fields. The classes are held one evening a week for 13 weeks, ending May 2nd, 2013. Using the facilitator’s guide of the 2013 SHRM Learning System, the trainers have access to valuable resources that complement their individual teaching styles. In addition, instructors have access to student resources that can assist them in improving the overall learning experience of the students. The 11 members who are currently participating in the program are learning through repeated and varied exposure and through an invaluable exchange of ideas and experiences with their peers. Similar programs can cost hundreds of dollars, but BV-SHRM is able to offer this tremendous educational experience to its members at little to no cost because of the dedication and commitment of its members; members who have graciously volunteered and donated their time and facility to make this possible.
BV-SHRM would like to thank the following members: Diana Dean, SPHR, HRCI Certification CLA Director; Bob Hensz, SPHR, Facilitator; Cheryl Young, SPHR, Facilitator; Stacy Overby, SPHR, Facilitator; Retha Youell, SPHR, Facilitator; Tom Owen, SPHR, Facilitator; Sarah Tobola, SPHR, Facilitator; Thom Holt, SPHR, Facilitator; and Katherine and Justin Kleemann, facility usage.
Veronica Sanchez was recently named as Concho Valley Human Resources Professional of the Year for 2012. Among the reasons cited in her nomination was her diligent work as Chapter President during 2012 to plan and execute initiatives in order to gain recognition from national SHRM.
In addition, Veronica agreed to continue as Chapter President for 2013 in order to allow the chapter to develop other members for leadership roles. The City of San Angelo recognized Veronica during their March meeting. Members of Concho Valley SHRM were present as Mayor Alvin New and the City Council honored Veronica for her accomplishments.
Veronica is currently the Human Resources Manager for the City of San Angelo and has worked in the human resources field for over 8 years.
(Pictured: Stacie Cox, Veronica Madrigal, Bernie Coffee, Mayor Alvin New, Veronica Sanchez, and Kenny Green)
We were very excited to host a Strategic Planning Workshop for our Board of Directors and past Presidents. We were honored to have Sherry Johnson, SHRM Field Service Director, as our key note facilitator. Michelle Flower, our District Director, hosted the all-day event at Valero on Friday, March 1, 2013. HRCI certified our event for 3 hours Strategic Credit! There was a lot of hard work, but we came away with a Vision and Mission statement, and a strategic long-term plan! We even made time to review our bylaws. We’re looking forward to a very exciting year – pursuing our long-term goals and amending our bylaws!
Welcome Aboard!
The Corpus Christi chapter has incorporated a new initiative for all New Members! During the month of February, several New CCHRMA Members received personalized visits from Membership Chair, Cynthia Garza and Board Secretary, Patti Gonzalez. Missy Garcia, VP of HR, and Wendy Tapia, Employee Development Manager, of Coastal Bend Community Federal Credit Union were two of those visited. During our visit, the new CCHRMA Members received the special gesture labeled "CCHRMA mugged". A welcome packet was provided that consists of the benefits to CCHRMA a national affiliate with SHRM, included in the packet are SHRM educational pamphlets.
Creation of New Vision Statement
Founded in 1972, Corpus Christi Human Resource Management Association # 185 (CCHRMA) is committed to the HR profession and taking a leadership role. On March 14, 2013, the CCHRMA Board placed thought behind the vision of CCHRMA as providing information, programs and services in support of its membership to develop personally and professionally. The outcome among the Board resulted in the CHRMA-SHRM Vision Statement:
CCHRMA-SHRM Vision
The vision of the Corpus Christi Human Resource Management Association is to advance the HR profession as a leading resource for HR professionals in education, personal growth and collaboration with other organizations. We Maintain Advocacy For Legislation updates / Workforce Readiness / Student Chapter at A&M University and Colleges in the service area / Community Outreach Program / Scholarship Award for Area Students / Jobs in corpuschristi.com for employers and job seekers / Professional Certification for the PHR/SPHR- Prep Classes and Recertification Hours / Membership.
April brings more than Showers in Fort Worth! The 14th Annual Employment Law Update will be held on Thursday, April 18th at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary – The Riley Center. This all-day event has become known as the premier HR Law update in Fort Worth. For Members, the registration fee is $165; for non-members it is $190. To register click here: ELU registration. This full-day has been submitted to HRCI for 7.5 hours of General Recertification Credit.
On March 7th, HR Houston held a special General Meeting to recognize the contributions of the chapter’s Past Presidents. The theme of the event was Honoring Our Past, Connecting to Our Future. Twenty-five of HR Houston’s Past Presidents attended and were individually recognized at the luncheon. During a special dessert reception, they each received a personalized plaque to commemorate HR Houston’s 70th anniversary. Programming for the meeting was provided by the Center for Houston’s Future and featured presentations by senior leaders from Houston’s business community. During the luncheon, the Center shared its ground-breaking project, Scenarios 2040, with a discussion led by James Calaway, Chairman of the Board for the Center for Houston’s Future.
The Board of the North Texas Chapter of SHRM has agreed to support the UNT Student Chapter in raising funds for the Student Conference and Competition to be held in Austin in April. The Student Chapter will be able to sell raffle tickets at the March luncheon and the Chapter will match their sales 2 to 1. NTSHRM will donate a minimum of $250.00 and a maximum of $500.00 toward the Student Chapter’s expenses.
The NTSHRM Chapter presented a check in the amount of $500.00 to Philip Montgomery, the President of the TWU Student Chapter to support their efforts to go to the Conference and Competition.
The annual NTSHRM conference will be held May 16 and 17, 2013 at the beautiful new MAC Building in the Unicorn Lake area of Denton. Plan to attend to hear Lon Williams, Trey Darby, and Susie Humphries among other informative guest speakers. Registration forms online at www.northtexasshrm.org. All of the programs have been submitted to HRCI for credits.
On March 1, we were notified that we were awarded the Membership Superstar status for 2012. Our goal for this year is to meet or exceed the 3% challenge for 2013.
The North Texas Chapter will be holding its annual conference May 16 -7, 2013. For more conference information, please contact Paola Vizcaino at pvizcaino@coserv.com.
The South Texas Human Resources Symposium (STXHRS) is the leading educational event for Human Resource Professionals in the Central and South Texas areas. Symposium participants represent the full spectrum of HR disciplines and experience - they work for small organizations and Fortune 100 companies. They represent public, private and governmental sectors, including for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.
Why you and your team should attend - It's a great value! Compare our pricing to other regional HR conferences! Professional Development - More than 30 concurrent sessions presented by experienced speakers who are industry leaders, attorneys, and HR professionals. Hot Topics - Topics will include those at the top of the HR radar screen and will keep you informed on issues vital to your organization. Expand your network by attending our networking events, conference sessions and keynote sessions. More than 40 companies will be on hand in the exhibit hall to offer their latest products and services. Earn recertification credits toward your PHR®, SPHR® and GPHR® certification(s) This year’s symposium will present you with many opportunities to network with others who share your passion for this great profession, while providing many opportunities to strengthen your HR education and experience.
For more information log on to www.sahrma.org
Secondly, we would like to introduce our newest Chapter member, Margot Porterfield! Margot joined South Texas SHRM in February. She is currently the Human Resources Manager at Mid-Coast Family Services here in Victoria. Welcome, Margot! We look forward to getting to know her better at our next meeting on April 18th at the Victoria Advocate.
We would like to share with the other small chapters that we changed our meeting format for 2013 to a roundtable session. This allows both members and presenters to interact on a more casual level within a Q&A setting. The members are more engaged and the presenter is more comfortable. WOW – a Win Win!!!
Speaking of meetings....our last meeting, held on Feb. 7th, was really interesting and informative. Gay Bruns and Linda Pulliam from the Golden Crescent Workforce Solutions Office here in Victoria lead the roundtable discussion on various topics related to unemployment insurance. Attendees chimed in with questions, concerns and comments. The discussion was very educational for all!
As mentioned earlier, our next meeting will be held on April 18th at 4:00 at the Victoria Advocate. Our Program Committee (Clem Cantu and MeLisa Rogers) or our Event Planning Committee (Peggy Venglar and Peggy Sanders) are always ready and happy to search out and invite meeting facilitators/presenters who will address HR topics of concern and interest. South Texas SHRM’s focus for 2013 is WIFM....What’s in it for Members???
Dr. Augustine Ogho, in his article on "Perspectives of Senior-Level Executives on Effective Followership and Leadership", from the Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies OnlineFirst, published on April 21, 2009, explains that senior-level executives rank honesty/integrity as the #1 characteristic for effective followers and leaders. And not surprising, leader competence is ranked as number 2. As organizations move forward, past experience has made us understand that followers are looking for integrity from their leaders as their number one concern. Integrity is first and students must understand that honesty, which means just basic honesty in class, with friends and with people in general is what integrity is made up of.
With all the problems the business world has encountered over the last ten to fifteen years, it is important to know that companies are looking very heavily at ethical behavior. Of the values that make up an organization’s culture, ethical values are considered highly important for leaders and their followers and have gained a renewed emphasis in today’s era of financial scandals and moral lapses. While we may believe that there is a general or common understanding about ethics and integrity, we must remember that there is often much more ambiguity and confusion than is typically acknowledged. An individual’s understanding of ethical behavior may be influenced by life experiences and practices that may be considered acceptable in certain cultures and organizations. Leaders and followers may assume that those around them have the same understanding of ethics and integrity when they in fact have a different, even if subtle, set of rules and guidelines to which they ascribe. This is why, as a new person in the workforce is imperative for you to read the written code of conduct your company has available, which states their expectations. A many times used example would be if your employer, (or perspective employer) ask you if you have ever stolen from a company? Well, your first answer would be no; but is this really true? What about taking that paper clip home or eating a hamburger off the grill, or doing personal business on company time. These may well be examples of "stealing from your company," but based on your cultural background or value system, they may not seem to be. As a new employee to the organization you need to understand that ethics is the code of moral principles and values that governs the behavior of a person or group with respect to what is right or wrong. Ethics sets standards as to what is good or bad in conduct and decision making. Many people believe that if you are not breaking the law, then you are behaving in an ethical manner, but ethics often goes far beyond the law. You should realize that the standards of ethical conduct are embodied within each employee as well as within the organization itself.
When asked by the FBI, during their raid at ENRON, "why did you do that" the answer was, "because everyone was doing it, I thought it was OK". Despite the best intentions, repeated cases of individual ethical failures are recurring features in the popular business press and academic journals. For all the positives found in character strengths and virtue, individuals have vulnerabilities and weaknesses. These vulnerabilities pose challenges for individuals. Individual fallibility and vulnerability can be addressed in an organizational culture based on respectful confrontation and honest feedback, but you as the new team member must embrace the company culture and learn to live within its boundaries. Remember the key characteristic of such cultures is that no one is above it! Hence there is a need for personal accountability.
All team members and especially new ones must read and understand their companies Codes of conduct as they will be what sets forth the expectations of organization for itself, its leaders, and its followers and should be embraced by and understood by all. Integrity must come first as the key characteristic of the best leaders and followers. New employees must work hard to find the correct understanding about ethical standards, human fallibility and conflict of interest.
So, remember, making yourself aware of these ethical perspectives can contribute to building a culture of ethical leadership and followership within which businesses do good while earning benefits for all concerned
A recent stat shows 90% of consumer buying decisions start on the web. Is it easy to learn about membership, see the benefits and the price and then join and possibly renew online? If not, put some time and energy into that! A bad online experience will only make it harder to get those people interested later.
