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July 16, 2001 Issue

Highlights of This Year's Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Conference
The 53rd annual Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) conference was held June 24 - 27 in San Francisco. Approximately 12,000 human resource professionals and 1,000 vendors were in attendance. The conference began with an information and emotion filled speech by General Norman Schwarzkopf, focusing on his vision of the leadership needed for tomorrow and the importance of making a difference in people's lives. Taking examples from his book, It Doesn't Take a Hero, General Schwartzkopf spoke of the challenge we face today in developing the leaders of the future that will influence our country's success or failure.

The theme of recruitment and retention was prevalent throughout the conference. While there were informative sessions on a wide variety of topics, here are highlights of those impacting recruitment, retention, and compensation.

Retention an Issue? Build Your Employment Brand!
Peggy Simonsen, Managing Vice President, Talent Management Practice, Right Management Consultants

The focus was on the concept of "talent management," defined as a comprehensive process that addresses the strategic needs of an organization by
  1. aligning employee performance and career goals with business goals and
  2. helping individuals seek and perform satisfying work that adds value to the organization.
This is accomplished by employee branding in which you define your value proposition and build corporate identity that positions you as the employer of choice by the talent you need. The value proposition differentiates you from others competing for the same talent.

Developing and Enhancing a Results Driven Retention Plan for a Diverse Workforce
T. Scott Cawood, Human Resources Leader, W.L. Gore Associates

The focus was on what the speaker called "People Practices." These include
  1. no one stays because you have a great retention plan
  2. don't guess why they leave - ask why they stay
  3. find career paths internally for employees
  4. don't force employees to choose between family and work
  5. define the organization's philosophies and strategies (compensation, benefits, career development, individual development, retention) and recruit based on them
  6. counteroffers are usually counterproductive
  7. loyalty to employers is dead - loyalty to colleagues, team, and bosses is alive and well
  8. assist employees in putting ideas into action
  9. use entry and exit interviews.
Winning the Competition for Talent: Becoming an Employer of Choice
Nancy Ahlrichs, SPHR, Director of Organizational Evolution, EOC Strategies LLC

The focus was on six foundation strategies:
  1. Treat employees as if they are customers.
  2. Retrain and develop employees for the future.
  3. Build and support processes to ensure the ongoing success of these Foundation Strategies.
  4. Make improved recruiting and retention a strategic goal - and hold all in management accountable.
  5. Build and communicate an "employer of choice" reputation.
  6. Hire well or not at all.
Taking the Pulse of Your Compensation Program: Is it Still Alive?
John White, Ph.D., J.D. White & Associates

Discussion was on the four signs of trouble with your compensation program.
  1. Is there blurry vision? If so, the connection between the compensation program and the company's objectives / mission is weak.
  2. Infrequent check-ups. There is no consistent evaluation of whether the compensation program is achieving its objective(s).
  3. Identity crisis. The exact roles of line management and HR in making the compensation program work are unclear.
  4. Blank stares. Employees don't understand the program and distrust the decisions that are made.
Retention of High Tech Employees
John Hotta, Senior Manager, Accenture

Three key points were emphasized during this session.
  1. Your compensation program must be able to attract the talent required. Compensation is the best way to retain high tech employees.
  2. Improve manager and supervisory performance. High performers quit bad bosses. Improve supervisory and management skills, provide meaningful and engaging work to high tech employees, develop skills with a commitment to training, and make career opportunities available.
  3. Integrate retention into your business. All must be held accountable for the retention plan's success or failure.
Employee Compensation, Are You Getting Your Money's Worth?
Robert Oliver, Vice President Compensation & HRIS, Gannett Co. and Robert Greene, Ph.D., SPHR, CEO Reward $ystems, Inc.

Focus was on developing an effective compensation strategy. It is important to clearly define the
  • organization's competitive posture
  • size of the total compensation package
  • elements and use of different compensation elements
  • which elements of compensation will be used to reinforce performance, and at what level
  • how decisions are made about allocating resources.
The importance of developing different pay strategies for different skills was also discussed. Do you respond to "market," irrespective of the impact on internal equity? Do you align skill price with contribution to the organization? Do you use different forms of rewards for different categories of employees?

Check out http://www.shrm.org for more information on this year's conference.

Along with these helpful sessions, a highlight was the Tuesday night event with Sinbad performing live. Sinbad asked the HR audience about the sessions they attended and improvised his routine. Just use your imagination. You can imagine what he did with Workplace Violence, Back to Basics, Putting Fun to Work, Creating an Inclusive Work Environment: The Next Generation of Diversity, Employee Compensation: Are You Getting Your Money's Worth? and Turning Employee Discipline into an Opportunity for Improvement. This last session Sinbad could not stop commenting on. An enjoyable evening was had by attendees at both of Sinbad's performances.

See you next year, June 23-26, 2002, in Philadelphia!

 


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ISSN Number 1549-0467