SHRA 2009 is coming to Gardiner

Check your travel budget and book your tickets, SHRA is coming to Gardiner, Montana. SHRA, the Seasonal Human Resources Assocation, will be gathering for the 21st time in the land of CoolWorks.com. Two of our team members make Gardiner their home and I'll be flying in for the festivities. The conference will take place from Sunday, October 25, to Thursday, October 29. By virtue of being on our home turf, Patty, aka SHRA Queen, has scored some great deals on the conference center and hotel. Fun should be had by all.

You can learn more and register for SHRA 2009 on the SHRA website.

Anticipated topics will include:

• Legal Update and Workshop ~ Employment Law presentation - Mark Berry, partner with Davis, Wright and Tremaine, LLC
• HR in the ObamEconomy - How our worlds have changed
• Social Networks - The fine line between maintaining a presence, being informed, being resourceful and lurking
• Employee Communication
• HR record keeping - updates, options and practices
• International Employee Session - J1 student market update, with additional H2B information
• A Christian Ministry in the National Parks ~ 2009 in review
• CoolWorks User Group - optional - chance to scheme/inquire

Human Resources is truly a career where having other HR folks in your virtual rolodex is key. Come meet colleagues, and in some cases, lifelong friends. Your office will appreciate your good mood once you return. Join us in Gardiner!

The group at the 2008 conference at Edgefield in Portland, Oregon.

Register TODAY!

A How-To Guide to Corporate HR Blogging

Kudos and HUGE props to Ben Yoskovitz of Standout Jobs and Susan Burns of Talent Synchronicity for putting together this guide about blogging from a corporate HR department, or a one-(wo)man department as it may be for many of Cool Works' clients, called A Definitive Guide to Corporate HR Blogging. I highly recommend requesting this free guide from their website and reading it cover to cover. It's worth your time and energy and for those of you who have heard me speak at SHRA conferences about dabbling in social networking or blogs, here is the document you can share with your boss(es) to prove I'm right their value.

To Do List (hearkening back to Mark's legal presentations at SHRA) -

• Get the Free Guide!

That is all.

Another SHRA for the record books

The 20th annual SHRA (Seasonal Human Resources Association) conference has come and gone and what a time we had! About 35 HR folks and International Sponsoring Agency folks gathered at the McMenamins Edgefield property in Troutdale, Oregon, just east of Portland from October 26 - 30. As always, this conference is a chance to make new friends and catch up with the old ones. Some have been to every conference and for some it's their first of hopefully many.



The conference topics ranged from succession planning, to the greening of HR, an International hiring update, social media and web 2.0, taught by yours truly, an update from ACMNP (A Christian Ministry in the National Parks) and the always important legal update.

Like any conference though, the seminars are only a part of the equation. Getting to know human resource professionals at other properties to share success stories and failures is priceless.

And, being that we were at McMenamins Edgefield, famous for its beer, wine and spirits (and not just the kind you can drink!), we had much fun strolling the grounds, imbibing their fine elixirs and soaking in their heated, salt water pool.

The conference ended on a free afternoon so many of the crew ventured east along the Columbia River Gorge for a little hike and a stop at the beautiful Multnomah Falls. Almost like the ghost tales of Edgefield, we were all spooked again by a passing train. But like true HR professionals, we were able to shake it off and keep on going.



If you are interested in connecting with the attendees of the 2008 conference, please consider joining our social network, created at the conference for effect and purpose.

SHRA 08 Social Network

If you want to learn more about SHRA and possibly attend a future conference sometime in the fall of 2009, please visit the SHRA website.