OPP - Other People's Posts

Jessica Lee - SHRM09 Wrap Up... The SHRM's Recovery + Rebuild - Yes We Can?

Michael VanDervort - Getting Strategic with the HR Bartender

Laurie Ruettimann - SHRM Explainer: What is a HR Tweet Up?

Kris Dunn and China Gorman -

KD + China Gorman from Fistful of Talent on Vimeo.

For Three Strange Days...at SHRM

Okay, so really it was 4 days that I spent in New Orleans for the 2009 Annual SHRM Conference. I'll say right up front that I feel honored and privileged to have been able to go. Thanks again to SHRM for having me as a member of the "press." Also, briefly, I want to thank all of the wonderful HR bloggers and other attendees for making it another good conference experience. You guys are GREAT!

Like I've said before, and I'm quite sure that I'll continue to share that I love Twitter and its power to connect like minded people. I'd list all of the folks I met but it would take a long time. Just check out my twitter account to see who I follow and / or search by the hash tag #shrm09 and you'll see all the cool folks out there. This is the future of connecting. I read a comment on Laurie's blog from a guy who complained about people who use their BlackBerry / PDAs in the bathroom and maybe the possibility that as a group we've gone too far. For posterity sake, since I'm a child of the Ferris Bueller generation, "you can never go too far." I will agree that I too am against any phone being used in the bathroom because it's just plain disgusting, disrespectful and gross. But, at this point, you'd have to rip the phone or computer out of my hands before I would stop tweeting.

I intend on doing other posts about my opinions and summaries from certain sessions, but here are a few highlights from SHRM in New Orleans now that it's all over.

• The community of bloggers and twitters is strong and vibrant. I am happy to be counted amongst this talented and non-risk adverse group. Read these folks' words. You might just learn something, and also, the next time you attend an annual conference or otherwise, you might just have some new friends to meet.


• Lee Woodruff is an honest, compassionate and capable woman and I'm so glad to have her heard her story of love and learning regarding her husband, Bob Woodruff of ABC News. I'll eventually pick up Lee's book Perfectly Imperfect. What a gal. And, for that matter, what a guy.


• Generational differences are nothing but different lenses for viewing the world. Each of us has more in common than is different. There simply isn't any good reason to pick on any generation for their so-called faults. Each generation was shaped and molded by the generations before. In other words, we created what we got. Stop blaming and just learn to work together.


• Hurricanes are strong and the French Quarter is a whole other world.
• Voodoo doctors exist.


• Hurricane Katrina presented the city of New Orleans an opportunity to reinvent itself and show just how resilient its residents are.


• Sheryl Crow ROCKS!


• The Morial Convention Center is LONG.


• Humidity is not something I enjoy for extended periods.


• SHRM is running as fast as it can as a giant, traditional organization to catch up with the changes happening around it. There are some leaders including China Miner Gorman and Amy Thompson leading the charge for change, and I think in future years, there will be a better connection between the HR office, the blogosphere and social media. As Gerry Crispin says, if you want change within SHRM, you have to get involved and be that change on the inside. Or was that Gandhi? ; )


• Most of the food in New Orleans is fried, but there are glimmering rays of sunshine and non-fried options at yummy places like Cochon. Long live pork heaven!


• My friend, Erin, who runs her own HR consulting company is great. I'm glad we got to experience another SHRM conference together. It's nice to have a deep and meaningful conversation about what is really important in life.


• Whoever believes that you can't create meaningful friendships with people you met on the Internet has his or her head in the sand.


• I already miss Cheezhead, PunkRockHR, TheRedRecruiter and Stelzner.


• Beignets are tasty.


• Mobile is everywhere, but you know what? I didn't hear it mentioned ONCE at the SHRM conference.

I guess that's it for now.

Photos from the conference can be found on my Flickr page - Kari Quaas' photos.

Tweets from the sessions I attended and general impressions can be found on my Twitter page if you didn't catch them along the way.

Lastly, be on the lookout for more posts about SHRM as my mind processes all that I heard, saw and experienced. Thanks again to SHRM and for reading!

First Day in New Orleans for SHRM

Greetings from the Big Easy. This will be short and sweet since I got up WAY too early for my taste and only was home for 36 hours between the Cool Works Yellowstone / Teton adventure and taking off for NOLA. One could say my life has been a bit of a whirlwind. Also, in the midst of the 36 hours at home, I learned that all three of my photography entries made it into the juried photography show at the Shoreline Arts Festival. Yay me. I also did a lot of laundry.

Back to New Orleans. First, I'm happy to be here and to be sharing with other HR folks who could not make it to the 2009 conference. Merci beaucoup to the SHRM folks for giving me this opportunity. I am also thrilled to meet some of my long time twitter friends and other HR / recruiting bloggers whom I have admired for some time. Also, it's great to see "old" friends from previous conferences. No doubt, the virtual world is fantastic, but it sure is wonderful to have face to face conversations. I look forward to many more over the next few days.

I think the biggest take away I got today from SHRM directly was their influence in creating a standardized curriculum for HR students. They've created a template that has been implemented at over 100 schools across the U.S. This is a wonderful start. Certainly, when I was in college and already had an inkling that HR was something I wanted to do, the classes weren't there. I took one HRM class as a part of my business minor, but that's it. I'm glad to know that they're moving forward with this idea. Having a basis of knowledge in addition to what is tested on via the HRCI certification exams is good.

And, if you follow me at all, you knew that there would be photographs. They're not fancy, but you get the idea.

For real time updates, please follow me on twitter, or get the daily summary from here in New Orleans at the end of each day on this blog. Thanks for reading.

Blogging from SHRM in New Orleans

Just thought I would officially share that I'll be blogging from the annual SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management) conference in New Orleans later this month. I am looking forward to being surrounded by talented HR folks out there getting the job done every day. Plus, I get to hang out with many of my good HR and Recruiting friends, and other personalities, who I follow via social media like Laurie from PunkRockHR, Joel from Cheezhead, Erin from ADEPT HRM Solutions, Austin from MyFirstPaycheck, Sharlyn from HR Bartender, and many more.

I'm especially looking forward to seeing the HR Bloggers present on Wednesday, July 1st at 11:30am hosted by China Gorman and Sheryl Crow on Tuesday night. Woo Hoo!

Someone recently asked me what "former HR person" meant to me in my Twitter bio and jokingly asked if that meant I was a "recovering HR person." After a mini-conversation, which is easy to accomplish in 140 characters, I explained that I pay attention to HR, but it's not my day job anymore. So, I've updated my bio to reflect that I'm an "HR Spectator," as suggested by another tweeter, and I suspect that I'll always be one of those. HR is an incredibly fun and challenging career, and although I don't do it day-to-day anymore, I still admire those who do, and I do my best to keep my skills sharp to honor their efforts.

Give me a shout if you'll be at the SHRM conference or follow this blog or follow me on twitter throughout the conference to hear the latest and the greatest from the HR world.

Hope to see you in New Orleans!

I-9 Revised Again - Didn't I Just Write This?

Yet again, there is a newly dated I-9 Form per the USCIS. The content of the form has not changed, but the expiration date at the top right has. It now states June 30, 2009. What do you need to do and how can you be green doing it?

• Recycle your old forms.
• Go to this link to acquire the new form - USCIS - New I-9 Form
• Only print what you need at the time - don't print a bunch of these in advance.

According to SHRM, I-9 inspections are on the rise and employers who are suspected of employing unauthorized workers are being targeted. If you are a member of SHRM, you may want to visit their website to learn more.

FMLA may be expanding

Not sure how many of our employers will be affected by this change, if it goes into effect pending Bush's approval, but worth noting that the Senate voted to expand the FMLA. The change would affect those whose spouse, child or parent is called for active duty in the military. You can read more here on the SHRM website.

Tips, Resources for Dealing with Addiction in Workplace

About a week ago Bill posted an article stating that food service workers were a part of the group that had the highest rate of drug abuse across industries. We know that many of the employers who advertise job opportunities on CoolWorks.com have many food service positions and we hope that this is not a large problem for you. However, if you have experienced addiction within your workforce, please check out this article from SHRM by Kathy Gurchiek about The Hazelton Foundation tips on dealing with addiction in the workplace. http://www.shrm.org/hrnews_published/articles/CMS_022376.asp#P-8_0

Gen Y Worker Lures - Let Them Volunteer!

This is quite an interesting article on the Society for Human Resource Management website regarding the desire of young people to volunteer and the benefits to employers who let them.

Enjoy and have a nice weekend!

http://www.shrm.org/hrnews_published/articles/CMS_021362.asp