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The member newsletter of the Tri-State Human Resource Management Association
Serving the HR Communities of Southern NJ, Northern DE, Southeastern PA
46th Edition • September/October 2014
PRESIDENT’s MESSAGE
Margaret McLaughlin, SPHR, President, Tri-State HRMA
Hello Tri-State Members, Welcome Back to Tri-State!
I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing July and August and are ready for an exciting 2014-2015 year
with Tri-State HRMA. This year promises to be a dynamic one as we begin with an acknowledgment of TriState HRMA’s 30th Anniversary. According to Lori Rosenthal, Tri-State HRMA s Diversity Chair, and Member
at Large, the traditional 30-year anniversary symbol is the pearl. So be prepared to gather many Pearls of
Wisdom during this year as we deliver to you top-notch sessions.
What is additionally exciting is that we are approaching this year’s programming, per our
Programs Chair, Debbie Deissroth “with the intention to be as responsive as possible to the feedback you gave us on last year’s
member survey.” What a treasure of learning we gleaned from that survey! Thank you again to all those who participated.
However, for me, the true treasure of Tri-State HRMA is something much more – it’s YOU! Since 1985 when I joined the
chapter, I have come to know a membership who care so much about this association that they constantly and consistently
volunteer their thoughts, professional expertise, resources, time, energies and hearts to keep the organization thriving
these past 30 years. To look back at all we’ve accomplished is awe-inspiring - particularly when we know it’s mostly done
by our volunteer members. Volunteerism is truly at the core of Tri-State HRMA’s success. Wikipedia defines Volunteering as
“generally considered an altruistic activity and is intended to promote goodness or improve human quality of life.” I define
it as YOU!
Looking ahead, especially with the talent we have on our board and our committees, I can only imagine the
new heights we will reach. Thank you again for all you’ve done, are doing and will be doing as
we venture forward!.
Influence Your Staff
to Peak Performance
Five Characteristics of an Under
Performing HR system
By Ronald M. Allen, Managing Change, LLC
by Morris Yankell, Principal, HRComputes
Why do people work? Do people work for money?
Do people work because they love their jobs? Alternatively, do they work because they fear failure?
In most organizations, employees work out of
fear. Fear can wear different faces – fear of failure, demotion, insult by management and one’s
peers. Not achieving established benchmarks in
production or being fired. Thus, in all such cases
the motivating factor is fear. When you read up
on the profile of humans in psychology, you will recognize the ‘animal’ in us
all that is fearful of its element and this natural fear is carried over into the
work environment. Fear is a natural trait of all living entities; it is an alert
mechanism and in my opinion can be used to develop a heightened sense
of our environment to protect ourselves against pending situations. Hence
employees can perform effectively in a ‘fearless’ environment.
A good manager/supervisor should strive for a positive cause for motivation. A positive cause can be defined as wants, needs, drives and impulses
Continued on page 6
If these sound familiar, you are not alone! Today,
it is more important than ever that HR capture accurate data, include managers and employees in the
process and report verifiable metrics in a useful and
timely manner. Read on to recognize the pain and
gain some useful ideas about solving it.
1. Managers and employees are not really using the
system. A big red flag is that data isn’t being captured in the system. Users aren’t comfortable with
the system so they don’t utilize it. How can you promote from within when
you have more information on external candidates than internal employees?
Why is approval of employee data changes still done through phone calls or
emails?
-Solutions: Employee self service to update education, training and skills data
and automated workflow are just 2 readily available tools available in many HR
packages today. It might be as easy as opening up existing functionality for
ESS or setting up manager relationships and hierarchy in the existing system.
Continued on page 4
www.tristatehr.org
Tri-State HRMA Chapter News
You can submit your articles, photos, and news items to
Diane Irwin, at her email address below. Feel free to
contact her with any questions about publishing in our
newsletter. Your comments and suggestions are welcome.
Diane Irwin, [email protected]
Articles of interest would include but are not limited to:
• Legislative Issues
• Community Involvement
• HR News
• Awards that any of our
• Best Practices
Tri-State Members
• Upcoming Events
have received
DEADLINES:
• October 15th for November 1st publication • January 15th for February 1st publication
My Tri-State Food Network
On behalf of the Mentoring Initiative Team | Nick Goblirsch, PHR, is
Director, Human Resources, Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust
Let me tell you a story about this guy I know. About
nine years ago he held a job at one of those telemarketing call center places. He was responsible for
all the onsite human resources and what he thought
was all the “people stuff”. He was a student of HR,
too. He attended a PHR certification course and one
of the students told him about this thing called TriState. This is where once a month there’s a meeting
of like-minded HR people talking about HR stuff and
followed by casual dinner among friends. My friend
was really unhappy at his job. He felt alone in his sole
HR position. He was the only HR leader at his workplace and no one else really
spoke his language. However, at Tri-State everyone did.
At first this man came to Tri-State wanting something, specifically wanting another job, a way out of his current situation. What he wanted out of Tri-State
was selfish. Soon he learned that no one wanted to listen to that guy that hated
his job and was looking for a handout. It took my friend two years to figure that
out. Once my friend learned that he was looking for the wrong things he realized he needed something else. Soon members of Tri-State realized this, too, and
knew my friend was hungry. He was hungry for the right things and experienced
members of the chapter began feeding him.
That knucklehead guy was me. Nine years ago, attending my first chapter meeting, I was a different person and a different professional. I did not know what
success looked like to an HR professional. Others wanted me to figure it out but
I still needed help. When I mustered the courage to ask for help rather than a
handout, I finally satisfied my hunger and had a taste for Mentoring. I learned
it came in all shapes and sizes, formal and informal. Mentoring happened in a
ten-minute stop-and-chat during the cocktail hour. It happened during a twohour dinner engagement with a fellow chapter member. Not until I knew what I
was looking for did I see mentoring for what it is. It isn’t simply a give or a take.
Mentoring is more about giving than taking for yourself. Through mentoring I
could see the benefits, benefits for me and those who helped me.
In the past nine years of my membership at Tri-State my wife and I have had
two awesome children, moved three times, changed jobs three times, and was
promoted three times.
Despite all these events in my life and the challenges they presented, I found
that with mentors I was never alone. When I needed help, I asked for guidance
and support. My mentors offered me wisdom and occasionally told me what
I didn’t want to hear. They had the courage to be honest and I savored that
honesty. I have become the man I am today and experienced the success I’ve experienced both personally and professionally because of my Tri-State mentors.
If you are new to Tri-State and you are here for the right reasons, look around
at our next meeting. There is a wealth of knowledge just waiting to be tapped.
To the members that know what success looks like, pay it forward. There are
members of Tri-State who are just like I was, hungry to excel and hungry for
what the chapter has to offer.
If you would like to know more about Tri-State’s mentoring program, contact
me or any member of the Mentoring Team. Before each dinner meeting we introduce mentoring to new members and provide program brochures across from
the registration table.
What do Lyndon B. Johnson,
Mel Brooks, Tri-State HRMA
and the World Wide Web
have in common?
The Diversity Committee
The obvious answer is all are celebrating milestone anniversaries. What may
not be as clear is their involvement with Diversity and Inclusion.
50th Anniversary: Civil Rights Act of 1964 (July 2, 1964)
Lyndon B. Johnson became President of the United States following the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The Country was in mourning, the Vietnam War was raging, and Civil Rights legislation was being filibustered in
Washing, DC. Using exemplary negotiating skills and partnering with Hubert
Humphrey, LBJ was able to maneuver the powers to be in DC to pass this
legislation. The goal was to fulfill the tenets of our Constitution by treating
everyone equally under the law. Special groups, facilities, etc. were identified separately as a way of being inclusive. From a Diversity perspective,
it was about dividing citizens into distinct and separate categories, so we
would treat them all the same.
40th Anniversary: Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles (February 7, 1974)
Mel Brooks has never been known for conforming to the norm. In his comedy movie Blazing Saddles, one could argue he did exactly the opposite of
LBJ’s actions. Rather than trying to treat everyone the same with a single
brush stroke, Brooks exaggerated and noted what made individuals and
groups unique. No one was left untouched. For example, Boris the Hangman
hangs a man in a wheel chair, and a man and his horse, and concludes this
skit with Boris making a joke about “everyone being equal in his eye (as he is
wearing an eye patch).” Then of course there is the line of villains looking to
join Hedley Lamarr’s team (if you don’t know the scene you have to view the
movie). Brooks wanted us to recognize and celebrate what makes each person unique. The sad epilog to this movie is Brooks recently expressing his belief the movie would not be made today. Has the pendulum swung too far?
30th Anniversary: Tri-State HRMA (1984)
It was in a restaurant on Route 73 that the seeds were planted for our great
professional organization. Six HR Professionals came together to share mutual concerns and to network. Following their first meeting, a commitment
to growing this organization was born. Over the past 30 years, their commitment and vision for building a professional organization which encourages
professional growth and development, networking for sharing best practices,
educational programs for meeting today’s standards and certification, and
community involvement has touched the lives of thousands. But that is not
enough, by challenging the status quo, reaching out with the Garden State
State Council, National SHRM, state and national leaders, Tri-State serves
as a continuing force for ensuring best practices to meet the needs of our
members and the organizations we impact.
25th Anniversary: The World Wide Web (March 12, 1989)
From a Diversity perspective, the greatest contribution of the World Wide
Web is the connecting of global communities into one all encompassing community. No longer can people, communities or nations be defined by limiting
factors. Truly, each individual is unique, making each one special. When
delivering products or services, it is both easier and more difficult to identify
consumers. How individuals define themselves, is now determined
Continued on page 6
September/October 2014
pg 2
C
CAREER MANAGEMENT O
R
Time for your career check-in?
N
E
R
October 2nd Meeting: 4pm start time
Before you take that vacation to the shore, you check in with your mechanic to ensure a smooth journey.
Now you can do the same with your HR career.
We will gather a little earlier than usual for the October 2nd Career Management meeting,
to provide the opportunity for a one-on-one conversation with other Tri-State professionals
as well as the Career Management Team of experts about your career goals, opportunities and insights to ensure
that you start the new Tri-State year off on the right track.
We will have some time for a brief full group meeting as well as some announcements prior to the dinner meeting.
The career check-in will conclude in plenty of time for you to register for the dinner meeting and take advantage
of pre-dinner networking.
Come to the registration table for directions to the Career Management check-in.
We have an exciting line of programs to help manage your career! These are no-cost meetings held monthly at the Westin Hotel on Fellowship Road
in Mt. Laurel, prior to the monthly Tri-State HRMA meeting. For further information, contact Bill Emerson at [email protected].
Tri-State HRMA
Officers
Margie McLaughlin, SPHR –
President
Joe Giamboi, SPHR – Past President
Lou Lessig, Esq. SPHR– Vice President
Sue Learn, SPHR - Secretary-Elect
John Baldino, SPHR – Treasurer-Elect
Directors At-large
Lori Rosenthal, SPHR – Director-Elect
Lisa Monte-Carlo, PHR – Director-Elect
Board Committee Chairs
Spencer Broad – Membership
BJ Anderson, SPHR – Conference
Debbie Deissroth, SPHR – Programs
SHRM Garden State Council
Laraine Knauss, SPHR,
GSC Executive Director
Margie McLaughlin, SPHR
- Chapter Representative
Administration
Phyllis Jones
[email protected]
Ruth Hanker
Conference
BJ Anderson, SPHR
[email protected]
Co-Chair – Rose O’Hanlon, SPHR
[email protected]
• Officers • Board of Directors • Committees and Initiatives
Diversity and Inclusion
Lori Rosenthal, SPHR
[email protected]
Co-Chair Alison Lewis, PHR
[email protected]
Finance
John Baldino, SPHR
[email protected]
Kim Groff Alexander, SPHR
[email protected]
HR Career Management
Bill Emerson
[email protected]
Jeanne Page-Soncrant
[email protected]
Mentor Initiative
David Cheatham
[email protected]
Investments
John Baldino, SPHR
[email protected]
Louis R. Lessig, Esq., SPHR
[email protected]
Monica McClintock, SPHR
[email protected]
Legislative Affairs
Louis R. Lessig, Esq. SPHR
[email protected]
September/October 2014
Marketing/Public Relations
Ken Bode
[email protected]
Social Media Marketing
Ron Scully, PHR
[email protected]
Membership
Spencer Broad
[email protected]
Lisa Monte Carlo, PHR
[email protected]
Newsletter
Diane Irwin, CPRW
[email protected]
Professional Development
HRCI Study Group
Carla Wilson, PHR
[email protected]
Steve Husband, SPHR
steve.husband@executive
edgeconsulting.com
Programs
Debbie Deissroth, SPHR
[email protected]
Sponsorships
Tim Greble
[email protected]
Sr. HR Executive Forum
Donna Jack, SPHR
[email protected]
Lauri Plante, SPHR
[email protected]
Annaliese McMenamin, SPHR
[email protected]
Student Relations
Maria DeQuinque, PHR
[email protected]
Succession Planning
Past Presidents
Volunteer Placement
Coordinator
Monica McClintock, SPHR
[email protected]
Workforce Readiness
Louis R. Lessig, Esq. SPHR
[email protected]
Young Professionals Initiative
John Baldino, SPHR
[email protected]
Rose O’Hanlon, SPHR
[email protected]
pg 3
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
Summer 2014
Continued from front page
Five Characteristics of an Under
Performing HR system
Name
Company
by Morris Yankell, Principal, HRComputes
Eli Allen
Hailey Arbelo
Amy Barker Suzanne Barth
Michele Bernard
Angela Biggs
Lynn Boland
Dana Bookbinder
David Bounds
Ingrid Broadnax
Kate Burch
Denine Butler
Jo Ann Butler
KellyAnnCascio
Zeynep Cevikel
Jeffrey Czaplicki
Joshua Dupuis
Robert Eastburn
Beth Firgau
Ebony Foreman
Amy Fratkin
Michelle Gaiorowski
Gabriel Gonzalez
Tom Guggino
Gary Harvilla
RosemariHicks
Marshelle Hightower
Brooke Hughes
Anne Marie
Kevin Jones
Alise Jordan
Julie Kinkopf
Pauline Kleinburd
Sandra Kretzu
Andrea Lloyd
Sharon Martinez
Kande McDonald
Jenna McEntee
Brenda McNeil
Laura Missan
Kathy Morgan
Rosa Ortiz
Monika Pajecka
Armand Pasquini
Eric Pederson
Isabel Perez
Angela Peterson
Lynn Rockwell
Sara Rosa-Strollo
Tara Roysdon
Sherry Russell
Dolly Santos
Steven Sweeney
Maria Tarry
Walter Tarver
Felix Thai
Julia Thompson
Roebe Thompson
Michael Thompson
Katie Thompson
Amy Troendle
Jennifer Turner
Katie Walsh
Sheila Walters
Majestic Images
Rutgers School of Law – Camden
Audio & Video Labs
JBR Staffing Solutions
2. Your HR systems have problems communicating with one another or with
your ERP. Integration issues remain one of the top problems when discussing HR systems utilization. Maybe it is the result of an acquisition that was
not integrated, a Phase 2 roll out that never happened or over time you have
purchased a variety of separate systems, but your HR System is not sharing
data seamlessly and in a timely and accurate manner. This leads to double
data entry, additional manual work and data integrity issues. While patches
and band-aids work for the short term, the workarounds are not a long-term
solution. The catch is that so much time and effort is being spent on maintaining the minimum functionality that there is no time for business innovation, process improvement or Phase 2.
September/October 2014
Spaulding Automotive
Bancroft
Begley Law Group
Project H.O.M.E.
FGG Consulting
Rowan University
Nixon Peabody LLP
Strive Physical Therapy
Gate Consulting Group, LLC
Randstad Technologies
Signature Technology
Rutgers University
Pepper Hamilton LLP
Bowman & Company, LLP
Integrity Staffing Solutions
GPI Communications
Aluminum Shapes, LLC
RHC Consulting
Unique Industries
Wilmington University
Johnson Marlin Business Services
MtS Software Solutions
Wyndham Mount Laurel
Kinkopf Law LLC
Wyndham Mount Laurel
Marsh & McLennan Agency
-Solutions: Sharing data has come a long way in the last 10 years. First, agree
on the basic demographic and organizational data. Don’t get greedy or too
fancy. Share the basics, walk before you run and stop duplicate data entry.
3. The data is there but you can’t get it out. ERPs are great at collecting data
but not so user friendly for tracking of metrics. Data warehouses provide a
solution but are expensive and less flexible that many users prefer. Meanwhile, managers want metrics. If they can’t, or believe they can’t, get them
then they may designate an employee to maintain and update a separate
spreadsheet or system. While this may seem to solve the manager’s problem,
it causes duplicate work, wasted time and results in arguments about data
validity and a lack of data trust and aggregation to a common set of metrics.
-Solutions: Concentrate on defining measures that are important to your
company. Work with managers to clearly articulate things like “regrettable
turnover” or “cost of hire” using easily available data. Then work with your
vendor or a consultant to produce a scheduled, repeatable, time saving process to deliver the information on a regular basis.
4. The system is not “sexy.” Today’s technology changes, take your pick,
KM Coaching & Consulting
Children’s Hospital of Phila.
Global Auto Processing
Virtua
Integrity Staffing Solutions
AFLAC
Temple University
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
daily, monthly and annually! Your Vendor-supplied system has probably
changed through upgrades and new releases.
NJCU/MBA
5. The Train-ing has left the station. The go live training is long gone and so
Rockwell Financial LLC
Pinnacle Foods
Datwyler Pharma Packaging
Denton Vacuum LLC
AFLAC
National Employee Management Resources, LLC
New Century Transportation, Inc.
Richard Stockton College of NJ
Rowan University
Bowman & Company, LLP
Curran & Conners
Capitol Beverage Service, Inc.
AnnieMac Home Mortgage
Marsh & McLennan Agency
Marsh & McLennan Agency
Pluese Becker & Saltzman LLC
-Solutions: You need to get a handle on the new functionality and how to
get there. Most vendors have a program in place to help you understand the
new functionality and manage the technology change. Reach out to them
and see what’s new!
are many of the people who received it. If no one is getting trained on new
functionality, reminded how to use functionality and new hires are not being
trained for the first time then no one knows how to get on track.
-Solutions: Utilizing web-based tools and an internal user group for training can give employees quick access to frequently asked questions and provide standards for best practices and experts around the company to help
with specific issues. Training needs to be thought of as an ongoing process
in which users are encouraged to expand the use of the system for self service, reporting and cross functional flexibility. Then communicating the new
to encourage adoption and keep the system relevant will make the system
exciting and topical.
We are at a cross roads in HR and technology can offer the solutions you
need for seamless use of data, higher levels of performance, and improved
organizational effectiveness.
pg 4