On March 7th, HRACI members received luxury treatment at The Villa, an inn, restaurant, and spa located in downtown Indianapolis. Creating a relaxed and inviting atmosphere, The Villa offered members complimentary paraffin dips, chair massages, and samples of great wine and hors d’oeuvres.

For those interested in learning more about NHT, please visit their website at www.hntindiana.com or call 317/489-4817.

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by: Terri Ryckaert, HRACI Communications Committee

Career Portfolios are useful to employees and employers. For employees, it’s an opportunity to showcase work samples, professional goals, management philosophy, community services as well as degrees, certifications and awards. Employers can use career portfolios to track their employees’ skills or use them to motivate employees.

“The more we understand, the more we get out of our employees”, said Anna Graf Williams, Senior Partner, Learnovation, LLC. Graf explained that Marriott Corporation tracks the skills of their employees, even those that are not necessarily related to their jobs. For example, some employees have talents in quilting and competitive singing. Through the use of career portfolios, the Marriott is able to identify employees and their areas of expertise. These employees are then able to meet and greet certain groups when they are in town for events.

In order to create an effective career portfolio, Graf stated that you need to be good in packaging the message. Areas of the career portfolio include works in progress; certifications, diplomas, degrees or awards; letters of recommendation; community service; certifications; professional memberships; plans of study from course work; faculty bios and references. Graf stated that the skill area of a portfolio is key. She suggested using three to five areas of focus. Each skill area can be a tabbed section in the portfolio and may include corresponding work samples. Obtaining work samples may be tricky, as you do not want to use proprietary work samples, Graf stressed that you need to make sure the work samples are really yours to use.

Graf said that career portfolios are becoming more common in the workplace. In fact, Universities and Colleges are requiring portfolios because employers are asking for them. However, it doesn’t just start in college. Graf stated that she sees these in 8th and high school.

For additional information contact Anna Graf Williams, Learnovation, LLC, anna@learnovation.com

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Reminder to all SHRM Chapter Members

THE COURAGEOUS HR PROJECT
Our local SHRM chapter needs your help with an exciting nationwide project.

We invite you to submit a story about times when you have acted courageously to affect positive change, in any of the following areas:

• A Seat at the Table
• Crisis & Risk Management (Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, earthquakes, workplace violence, etc.)
• Harassment and Discrimination
• HR Professionals developing a path for individuals and organizations
• Courageous Conversations and Negotiations (salary negotiations, performance evaluations, etc.)
• Building an Ethical Workplace
  Culture Clash
  or submit your funniest HR story!
  We need your stories!
  

The Courageous HR Project is currently collecting stories from HR and other Management professionals, all around the nation, and will be combining the very best stories into an extraordinary book. If you ever had an interest in being published, this is a great way to do it and to help future HR & Management professionals deal with similar situations effectively.

This project will not be a success without you!

• You can submit a story online at www.courageoushr.com.
• Stories should be 700 words or less.
• The deadline for story submissions is April 15, 2006. We will send out periodic reminders as the date draws near.
• We do not want any part of the regions or country under-represented!
• When the book is published, you will enjoy looking.
  through and finding familiar chapter member names as author contributors.
• You can submit a story, even if you're not a good writer! If you have a good story, we can ghost write for you!
  

If you have any questions about the project or how you can help, visit our website at www.courageoushr.com, or email us at courageoushr@comcast.net, or call Ruth Alstadt, Marketing Chair for Courageous HR at (206) 268-8848 or Lynn Robbins, Project Director at (425) 746-9481. We look forward to working with you on Courageous HR stories!

This is a grass-roots project, sponsored by the Lake Washington Human Resources Association (www.lwhra.org). We will not profit from the book (proceeds beyond costs will be donated to charity), and Northwest chapter volunteers are managing the project. Any assistance we can get from our fellow chapters to get the word out is absolutely crucial to the success of the project. Thank you!

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Don’t miss this year’s Get on Board event! 70 nonprofit organizations are eager to recruit much needed board members and leadership volunteers. The Lacy Leadership Association is once again presenting Get on Board to provide a vehicle for the participating nonprofit organizations to make connections with a diverse group of individuals who are interested in making a positive impact on Indianapolis. Get on Board 2005 resulted in several hundred newly involved individuals who are now making a significant contribution to the nonprofit community.

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Calling All Students

It is always a good time for students to join HRACI and enjoy our member benefits like professional development and job services. Now is an especially good time, though, for upcoming graduates to become members. Joining now, students pay just $62.50 to become HRACI members. After graduation, the regular membership rate is $125.00. If you know of any students or upcoming graduates that may be interested, let them know more information on HRACI membership is available on our web site at www.hraci.com/HRACImembership.htm or by phone at 317-841-3236.

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AT SCHOLAR’S INN DOWNTOWN

What: Human Resource and related folks meet, talk, and enjoy a drink or two. (HALF PRICE MARTINI NIGHT)

Why: Just a place and time for HR and guests to “get away” for a bit. No planned agenda or presentations, just casual discussion, advise, war stories, or just relax and network.

Who: You and any guest(s) you want to bring along!

When & Where: 6:00 PM Thursday, April 20th,
SCHOLARS INN, 725 Massachusetts Ave. 536-0707. Ask for the HR group. (Location will change each time we meet)

Contact Greg Medcalf, 317-788-6890, ext. 257 with any questions.
See you there!

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If you are like most HR professionals, you probably have trouble keeping up with the latest research findings in human resources. To help make research-based knowledge more accessible, the SHRM Foundation has created a new series entitled Effective Practice Guidelines. The guidelines compile and summarize the HR practices in a given area that have been shown to be effective based on research studies. A subject matter expert with both research and practitioner experience distills all relevant findings and expert opinion into specific advice on how to conduct effective HR practice. The first report in the series covers Performance Management and was written by Elaine Pulakos. The report may be downloaded free from the SHRM Foundation website.
The SHRM Foundation: Investing in Your Future as an HR Leader

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Skilled Worker Shortage
a Growing Issue for U.S. Organizations

Many Employers Hiring Foreign Nationals to Alleviate Skill Shortages

(Alexandria, Va., March 13, 2006)—In a new survey, half of the human resource (HR) professionals polled say that new workers lack some competencies, and many organizations are recruiting skilled workers from outside of the United States to fill skills gaps. These major findings of the 2006 Access to Human Capital and Employment Verification Survey, released today by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), are based on responses from 489 HR professionals.

Respondents cite overall professionalism, analytical skills, business knowledge and written and verbal communication as the skills that new employees lack most frequently. More than 25 percent of the respondents also indicate that there is a shortage of qualified candidates in positions that require degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. To address the skills shortage, organizations are offering undergraduate educational assistance (59 percent), graduate educational assistance (48 percent), job-related skills training (55 percent) and internships (38 percent).
" It will take a collaborative effort by all the stakeholders—workers, government, the business and academic communities, and the HR profession—to reverse the skills shortage trend," said Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR, president and CEO of SHRM. "A skilled workforce is vital for America's future economic health."

In addition to providing educational assistance to close the skills gaps, 29 percent of HR professionals surveyed say that they hire foreign nationals when they cannot find a U.S. worker with the necessary competencies or skills. However, respondents indicate several challenges organizations face when recruiting and hiring foreign nationals, including visas/green card processing delays (64 percent), an overly complex visa/green card process (55 percent) and excessive processing fees (42 percent).
The survey also highlights other issues HR professionals are dealing with, including U.S. immigration policies, employment-based immigration programs and employment verification—all of which are affecting the workplace.

For more information about the impact alcohol has on the workplace and steps that can be taken to minimize the risks of alcohol use, please click here.
Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems
Working Partners for an Alcohol- and Drug-Free Workplace

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Michael Jenkins
Julie Fellure
Philip Hill
Travis Campbell
Tiffany Giles
Richard McGarvey
Deborah Ringer
Alysia Coulmont
Lisa Arbuckle

Danah Ambrose
Bob Viscomi
Kristina Green
Rupal Patel
Torry Corbett
Jackie Powell
David Richey
Chris Smith
Helen Huber