President’s Pen
by Betty Lonis, SPHR

In last month’s newsletter I announced the winners of the HRACI 2004 Awards for Excellence in Human Resources. This month I am pleased to announce that our chapter has won the Indiana State Council 2004 Chapter of the Year Award. This award recognizes the outstanding achievements in chapter development and contributions to the advancement of effective human resource management.

HRACI was recognized for our work beginning in 2003, in which we made a concerted effort to improve the strategic focus of the chapter. We achieved this through focusing on the mission statement of SHRM, to Serve the Professional and Advance the Profession. To accomplish this, we conducted a strategic planning session in early 2003. We developed goals and objectives to focus on strengthening our community involvement efforts, enhancing the professional development of our members, and finally to strengthen member involvement in the chapter.

By year-end we accomplished all of our goals. Some examples included:

• We provided various opportunities for non-profit organizations, e.g., Domestic Violence Network of Greater Indianapolis, Indiana InternNet, etc., to attend monthly meetings and educate members about their organizations.
• Increased from two to four per year the HRACI sponsored certification preparation courses.
• Applied for and received re-certification credit for members for our monthly programs as well as our two half-day conferences, i.e., annual benefits and compensation update, and the annual diversity conference.
• Launched a mentoring program pairing experienced HR professionals with those newer to the profession.
• Partnered with EMA Indiana to become a Special Interest Group (SIG) of HRACI. We were one of the first chapters to adopt an EMA chapter as a Special Interest Group.
• Offered an educational session on the proposed changes to the white-collar exemption in the Fair Labor Standards Act and encouraged all members to provide comments to the DOL by the June 30, 2003 deadline.
• Created a formalized committee structure so members could become involved in the chapter.

In 2004, the HRACI board of directors again conducted a strategic planning session and developed goals and objectives for 2004. Some of our accomplishments to date include:

• Influencing bills introduced at the state level, creating an expectation of advocacy amongst members, and providing educational information to membership.
• Began publishing minutes from board meetings and quarterly financial statements.
• We have increased our visibility and developed relationships with the local media.
• We leveraged our relationship with the Central Indiana chapter of the American Society of Training and Development to co-host a monthly meeting.
• Increased offerings to members through EMAIndiana meetings.
• We offer re-certification credits for attendance at monthly meetings wherever possible.
• We have collaborated with Junior Achievement and educated members about volunteer opportunities.
• We have provided resources to various career fairs and conducted mock interviews with college students.
• We began promoting MentorIndiana and encouraging members to participate.
• We awarded the HRACI Scholarship to a student interested in pursuing a career in the human resource management field.

I look forward to seeing you at the September meeting! We will have a small celebration to recognize our receiving the award!

Please feel free to contact me at 317-277-5345 or president@hraci.org.

Betty Lonis

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Murray, counsel to Governor Joseph E. Kernan, Lt. Governor Katherine L. Davis and Sheriff Frank J. Anderson, educated the group on the legislative process and discussed Governor Kernan’s “Ten Commandments”.

Deer, chair of Locke Reynolds LLP Labor and Employment Group, discussed recent legislation around wage payment and collection in Indiana. According to Deer, litigation on wage payment and collection has exploded over the last six months. Deer added that there has been an increase of legal ads in the newspapers inquiring if employees who recently left their organizations have received their final paychecks within ten days of their last day on the job. Deer stated that he believes a great deal of time will be spent on Senate Bill 202 which addresses this issue.

Murray stated that legislators take their jobs seriously and citizens can certainly influence the legislative process by contacting their representatives. Murray suggests writing a personal letter and attaching a business card. “Personal contact is key,” stated Murray. He stated that bulk letters and mass emails are not as effective.

If you have questions for Murray or Deer, you may contact them at kmurray@locke.com, tdeer@locke.com.

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Did you know? The SHRM Foundation funds up to $10,000 per year in Education Matching Grants to SHRM chapters. Each year, matching grants of $1,000 to $2,500 per chapter are available to support chapter school-to-work initiatives. School-to-work programs offer chapter members the opportunity to do something for their communities, and to help develop the skilled workforce they'll need in the future. Business partnerships with students, teachers, schools and school districts are essential to overcome the deficiency in basic skills that often exists. Through these programs, students develop workforce readiness skills, gain work experience, and learn about career opportunities. To learn more about the matching grant program, please visit www.shrm.org/foundation.

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

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Don’t miss out on current news and upcoming events!

Remember to update your HRACI personal profile if your contact information has changed, or will be changing. You can update your profile information online in just a couple of minutes!

It’s QUICK & SIMPLE!

1. Log onto the HRACI website: www.hraci.com
2. Open the MEMBERS ONLY tab at the top of the HOME page.
3. Click on MAKE CHANGES TO YOUR PROFILE.
4. You will need your MEMBER ID & PASSWORD to access your profile. (Your Member ID is your Membership Number and your Last Name is your password)
5. Make the necessary changes, and SUBMIT.
6. Remember to update your personal information as well!

If you know an HRACI member who has not been receiving our emails or other correspondence, we may not have their current information on file. Please encourage them to update ASAP!

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL REMINDER

Don’t let your valued HRACI membership lapse!
Look for Renewal information that will be going out soon!

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November 10
12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Indianapolis Marriott
*Nomination deadline is September 10*

Recognize Central Indiana's outstanding young professionals! Junior Achievement of Central Indiana, Inc. and KPMG LLP will recognize terrific young professionals ages 40 and under at the Marriott in downtown Indianapolis with an award luncheon on November 10, 2004. Each finalist will be recognized and be given an award. The 11 winners, determined by KPMG LLP, will be announced and honored at the award luncheon.

Finalists must:

• Be no older than 40 years of age as of November 10, 2004.
• Reside or work in one of the following Indiana counties: Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Morgan or Shelby.
• Have meaningful professional accomplishments.
• Positively affect others around them.
• Demonstrate leadership qualities in the workplace or community.
• Adhere to high moral and ethical standards.

September 10th is the deadline for nominations. To nominate a young professional, visit www.indysbestandbrightest.com

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Members of the Career Services Committee have been involved in a variety of workforce readiness activities and presentations this spring and summer.

Brenda Moore, Shawna Lake, Mikka Mabius, Jim Waldrip and Cindy Wenz gave resume critiques to an estimated 200 job-seekers at the Indy Star/Career Builder career development fair on August 11. Patti Daniels conducted mock interviews for students at the University of Indianapolis and gave a presentation on negotiating skills at Indiana Wesleyan University. Ashima Kapur gave interview practice to Training, Inc. students. Ron Bodach and Janet Pierson offered advice to 30 small business owners at a workshop sponsored by Workforce One. Ron spoke about maintaining personnel files, and Janet’s topic was preparing for unemployment compensation hearings. Janet is also working with the north side Business and Professional Exchange to assist individuals in career transition with resume preparation, practice interviews, and job search tips.

We are receiving an increasing number of requests for these kinds of activities and need additional volunteers. These can be one-time only commitments, and you do not need to be a member of the committee in order to participate. Please consider one or more of the following opportunities to share your expertise as a human resources professional and give a helping hand to someone just starting out or making a career transition:

• Interview practice for students at the Kelley School of Business, IUPUI. September 7,
  9-noon; September 9, 1-4; September 15, 1-4; September 20, 9-noon; or September 22,
  1-4. Contact: Wanda Henderson, wmhender@iupui.edu, 274-2587.
• Resume critiques, practice interviews, and job search advice for the Business and Professional Exchange, St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W. 86th Street, Mondays, 7-9 a.m. (specific dates in September and/or October to be determined). Contact: Janet Pierson, Janet.pierson@ocld.com, 580-7118.
• Resume critiques at the Career Builder career development fair to be held at the Murat on Wednesday, October 20, from 11 a.m to 6 p.m. (a two-hour shift is requested). Contact: Brenda Moore, bmoore@ofgltd.com, 805-5150.

If you would like to be on a list to be notified of other opportunities as they become available, please contact Cindy Wenz, cwenz@carmel.lib.in.us, 814-3902.

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by Larry Burk, SPHR

Reason No. 10—Do “one more thing” for yourself professionally
this year and become certified. Or, if you already have your PHR, plan on taking the SPHR exam or GPHR if you have international HR experience. If you do one more thing to develop your skills each year, or even every six months, you will significantly enhance your effectiveness and credibility with your company.
Reason No. 9—Certification is the “badge” of your profession. It
says that you take pride in being an HR professional and leading the people side of your organization.
Reason No. 8—You receive extremely strong support from HRCI
and SHRM in preparing to take the exam and for your recertification efforts once you become certified.
Reason No. 7—As a state council or chapter leader, you enhance your ability to be a model of professionalism for your fellow board members and your total membership.
Reason No. 6—Among your HR community, the credibility and professional“ look” of your board is enhanced if many or all board members are certified.
Reason No. 5—In these uncertain times, a job search can loom just on the horizon, and a “PHR,” “SPHR” or “GPHR” after your name can increase the possibility of finding a truly desirable position.
Reason No. 4—For three months after becoming certified, you have the right to begin each sentence with the phrase, “Now that I have my SPHR …”
Reason No. 3—Studying for the exam assures that you will become current in your profession, and a commitment to recertifying every three years will assure that you remain
current.
Reason No. 2—Computer-based testing! HRCI’s new approach to administering the certification exams offers a number of advantages to those taking the exam.
And Reason No. 1 to Become PHR, SPHR or GPHR Certified—
You enhance your ability to become a strategic business partner with your company’s top management.

For more information about becoming certified, visit the Human
Resource Certification Institute’s (HRCI) Web site at www.hrci.org.

Reprinted with permission from SHRM.

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Anne Huntley

Elizabeth Reyes-Wade

Raymond Nahlen