President’s Pen
by Andrea Davis, SPHR

Happy New Year!
As I begin serving HRACI as its president, I am honored and also excited to continue the momentum and growth we’ve achieved over the past few years. Of course, I’m not doing it alone and am proud to work with our 2005 board of directors. These are members who have been actively involved with HRACI, people who have stepped up to leadership roles in the past and who have raised their hands now to say, “What can I do to help?” It’s volunteer leaders such as these who are making HRACI a valuable organization to us all.

What can our membership look forward to this year?

• Exciting monthly HRACI meetings with speakers addressing the topics you’ve told us are important to you. We’ve taken the challenge and are planning programs to address your top HR issues: Measuring HR’s effectiveness; performance management tools; retention practices; building business partnerships; rewards and recognition on a tight budget; conflict resolution; advancing your career in HR; business trends; creative wellness programs; and controlling rising benefit costs.
• Seminars such as the HR Certification Study Groups, Annual Diversity Conference, Annual Compensation and Benefits Conference, and even more networking opportunities through new Professional Emphasis Groups, similar to our very successful EMA Indiana (www.emaindiana.org).
• The 2005 Indiana State HR Conference held at the Westin in Indianapolis August 29-31, 2005. Details will follow in upcoming newsletters, and www.indianashrm.org remains your best source for up-to-the minute details.

My promise to you is that all of our decision making will be filtered through the following question: Will this advance the profession and/or support our members, as determined by their wants and needs? In order to accomplish this successfully, we need you to communicate with us. So how can you do this?

• The e-mail addresses and phone numbers of every board member are on our website. My challenge to you: Find them! Use them!
• HRACI works with an outstanding association management company, MP Records. Mark Records, our executive director, and his staff are here to serve you, listen to you, and respond to you.
• Write a letter/e-mail to me (or any other board member) sharing your ideas, comments, concerns, and suggestions. They are critically important to us if we are to make this the organization you want it to be.

So this new year, I challenge you to resolve to do what you can to advance our profession and support other HR professionals through HRACI, your professional association. Your colleagues will thank you for your attendance at events because they’ll have the opportunity to network and know you. HRACI will benefit from your involvement because our strength is in our numbers. Thank you in advance for your active participation this year, and thanks to the 2005 HRACI board and committee volunteers for their commitment of excellence.

Andrea Davis, SPHR

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HRACI BoardDinner	HRACI BoardDinner
HRACI Board Snowperson Contest	HRACI December Meeting
HRACI December Meeting	HRACI December Meeting
HRACI December Meeting	HRACI December Meeting

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How Did Groundhog Job Shadow Day Get Started?
Many middle school and high school kids previously didn't have the opportunity to explore various career options first hand by visiting a workplace. In 1996, the first local Job Shadow Day was conducted in Boston. In 1997, the National Job Shadow Coalition was formed to encourage participation in a shadowing initiative across the United States. The goal was to help young people explore firsthand the skills and education needed to succeed in today's and future job markets, and to encourage the development of relationships between students and caring adults. Given the current economy, students need these valuable experiences more than ever.

When is Groundhog Job Shadow Day?
Wednesday, February 2, 2005 is the kickoff to Job Shadowing 2005, a yearlong initiative. Punxsutawney Phil may see his shadow on Feb. 2 this year, but hundreds of thousands of employees will see theirs early, on February 2, as part of Groundhog Job Shadow Day.

How is it different from other career education initiatives?
Groundhog Job Shadow Day gives kids a chance to explore various careers beyond what their parents may do for a living. Job shadowing also provides an opportunity for students in at-risk situations to be exposed to various career options they otherwise might not have the chance to explore.

Does Job Shadowing make a difference?
A recent survey released by Junior Achievement (JA) indicates that American middle and high school students have unrealistic views of their future careers. Job shadowing is increasingly important for students because it acquaints them with the world of work through on-the-job experiences and a carefully crafted school curriculum that ties academics to the workplace throughout the year. In fact, according to the poll, one-third of students learned about career choices from job shadowing.

Who sponsors the Job Shadow Initiative?
Job Shadowing 2005 is a joint initiative of a coalition that includes America’s Promise, Junior Achievement, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Labor. Job Shadowing 2005 is supported through national title sponsor ING and co-sponsors Nelnet and Valpak.

Where will Groundhog Job Shadow Day 2005 take place?
At more than 100,000 participating businesses and organizations (any place where there are working people) across the country. Participating businesses coordinate and support employees to serve as workplace mentors for Job Shadowing 2005. In previous years, the following Job Shadowing activities took place:

• In 2004, Spherion Corporation hosted Groundhog Job Shadow Day events for approximately 1,200 students at more than 500 locations nationwide
• Students shadowed on-air hosts at NBC’s Today show and CBS’ The Early Show
• Marriott properties nationwide hosted more than 4,000 students
• Students shadowed at Best Buy and Home Depot locations nationwide
• Students shadowed at all 2,750 Wal-Mart and 490 Sam’s Club stores around the nation
• Nineteen-year-old Phil Dade CEO of APConnection.com was the youngest adult to be shadowed
• Atlanta students shadowed at BellSouth, Coca-Cola, GE Capital, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and United Parcel Service
• Former Miss Hawaii, Billie Takaki, was on hand with her shadow as the Governor of Hawaii signed a proclamation.
• NYC students shadowed at television stations WABC, WNBC, WNYW and WPIX and visited local deejays Elvis Durn and “Goumba Johnny.
• Nashville hosted a “Music Row Groundhog Job Shadow Day,” where students shadowed at major music companies, the Ryman Theatre and the Grand Ole Opry
• Students shadowed Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske and Boeing test pilot Suzanna Darcy
• Rite Aid Pharmacies, one of the nation's leading drugstore chains, hosted Groundhog Job Shadow Day events for approximately 300 students at more than 100 locations around the country

Past workplace mentors include:

• Former President H.W. George Bush
• Secretary of State Colin Powell
• Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura and hundreds of other Governors, Mayors and other elected officials
• Monster CEO Jeff Taylor
• Miss America Angela Perez Baraquio
• Today Show anchors, Katie Couric, Matt Lauer, Al Roker, and Ann Curry.

Where can you learn more about job shadowing and order information? Visit the web site at www.jobshadow.org.

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Number of firms expecting future employment increases is lowest in 11 months

(Alexandria, Va., December 28, 2004)—December numbers from the Leading Indicator of National Employment (LINE) indicate that new job growth in the manufacturing sector continued to slow over the last month, and is expected to stall further in January. LINE is a project between the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and Rutgers University.

Overall December LINE data indicates that while job growth continues, it has substantially slowed since last July. And while manufacturers continue to recruit for open positions, skill shortages have not been severe enough to cause them to increase overall new-hire compensation.

Concerns about the fragility of the economic recovery may be causing firms to delay the creation of new positions. In addition, recruiting workers with the appropriate skills may be slowing the pace at which firms are able to fill the vacancies that currently exist. More than a third of the responding firms reported increases between November and December in the number of job vacancies that they are actively recruiting to fill.

SHRM/Rutgers LINE identifies early economic trends and growth in the national job market by surveying HR professionals at manufacturing firms. Typically, changes in the manufacturing sector are early signs of shifts in the overall economy. SHRM/Rutgers LINE reports on five employment measures, two of which add to existing indicators, and three of which are new and unique to the indicator.

The following numbers show slowed employment growth through December and into January. An index value above 50 indicates employment is growing, while an index below 50 shows that employment is contracting.

Manufacturing Employment—December index 59.6
The December LINE measurement indicates there was continued job growth in the manufacturing sector, although it does appear to be slowing somewhat from November.

Manufacturing Vacancies—December index 60.6
An increase in open positions is among the earliest indicators of a shift in the balance between labor supply and demand. LINE’s job vacancy measurement for December indicates that there continued to be more than twice as many firms reporting an increase in new vacancies than those reporting a decrease. However, there remains a majority reporting “no change” from November in the number of open positions.

Recruiting Difficulty—December index 55.9
How difficult it is for firms to find highly qualified applicants to fill positions is a measurement unique to LINE and not currently calculated elsewhere. The difficulty in finding qualified applicants will reflect changes in labor market conditions that do not necessarily result in changes in the unemployment rate.

In each of the last nine months, a substantial majority (70% to 80%) of the human resource executives reported that it was neither any more nor any less difficult to recruit highly qualified individuals to fill the vacant positions that were of greatest strategic importance to their firms.

New Hire Compensation—December index 53.3
New hire compensation currently is not measured in any other economic indicator, but it can be an early sign of economic expansion and a tightening job market. The compensation (wages and benefits) offered to newly hired employees should reflect changes in labor conditions more quickly than the average compensation among all employees. The majority of HR professionals said their company’s new hire compensation package had not changed. There is no evidence of wage inflation among the manufacturing firms in the sample.

Employment Expectations—December index 60.5
Whether HR executives expect their firm’s employment to increase or decrease in the upcoming 30 days is a unique measurement not currently found in any other indicator. HR executives are often responsible for implementing hiring and layoff plans and are aware of expected near-term employment changes.

The December diffusion index for employment expectations (60.5) is at the lowest level of since LINE was initiated in February 2004. Nevertheless, the percentage of firms expecting to increase their employment headcount within the next 30 days (35.1%) is still more than double the percentage expecting to reduce their employment (14.4).

In November’s survey, 43.8% reported that they expected to increase their employment between November and December. In this month’s survey, 42.1% reported that they actually did increase employment between November and December. If the December respondents are equally accurate in their forecasts for January, the new year will not begin with a substantial increase in manufacturing employment.

The December SHRM/Rutgers LINE survey was provided to HR professionals at over 500 manufacturing firms.

The indicator is released at 8:30 am EST on the fourth Tuesday of each month—days before most other economic indicators. A copy of the December report and answers to frequently asked questions can be found at www.shrm.org/LINE.

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The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 190,000 individual members, the Society’s mission is both to serve human resource management professionals and to advance the profession. Founded in 1948, SHRM currently has more than 500 affiliated chapters within the United States and members in more than 100 countries. Visit SHRM Online at www.shrm.org.

The School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, is a leading center of scholarly and applied research on human resource management issues. The school creates and disseminates knowledge that fosters a better understanding of the nature of employment and work in modern society. The Rutgers Master of Human Resource Management degree is one of the top human resource management programs in the nation.

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Your Foundation at Work: Graduate Programs Directory
Thinking about getting your master's degree? The SHRM Foundation can help. The Foundation has compiled the first-ever comprehensive directory of master's degree programs in human resource management, HRD, I/O psychology and more. Visit www.shrm.org/foundation/directory to view profiles of more than 114 HR-related master's degree programs across North America. The directory provides information on programs of study, location, curriculum, tuition, student demographics and more. Full-time, part-time, online and distance learning programs are included. Access to the online directory is free to SHRM members and the printed version, Graduate Programs in Human Resource Management, is available for purchase from the SHRMStore by calling 1-800-444-5006.

The SHRM Foundation: Investing in Your Future as an HR Leader

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Rebecca Brown

Merry Juerling