HRA-NCA is a member of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the largest regional network of business and non-profit leaders. Rina Pennacchia, a former HRA-NCA chapter president and director who has been instrumental in forming our relationship with the Board of Trade, will be attending their December 6 Annual Meeting on behalf of the chapter.

The Board of Trade is focused on workforce issues, expanding business opportunities in the region and offering professional development programs. HRA-NCA has continued its membership with the Board of Trade because their mission supports our chapter's goals to support workforce issues and provide networking and professional development opportunities for our members.

Jim Dinegar, President and CEO of the Board of Trade, has expressed a strong interest in having the human resources community involved in their programs. Earlier this year, several HRA board members met with Jim and other leaders in the organization to discuss ideas for partnership opportunities. This has resulted in us working with the Board of Trade on several events.

You may remember that Jim served as keynote speaker at our Strategic Business Awards in April and gave an insightful speech about workforce issues in the region. In October, I represented our chapter by moderating a panel discussion at the Great Places to Work conference sponsored by the Board of Trade. Also, HRA-NCA and the Board of Trade are partnering to present our December 12 event with best-selling author Dr. Bob Nelson at the Capital Hilton - I hope to see all of you there!

We plan to do more with the Board of Trade to provide you with programs and activities in the future.

Lori Golino
HRA-NCA Chapter President
2007-2008

Most employees today feel overworked and underappreciated. During times of change when we are asking them to do more with less, they report feeling less valued and more stressed for their efforts than ever before.

Bob Nelson, Ph.D., best-selling author of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees and The 1001 Rewards & Recognition Fieldbook, will expand your thinking of what recognition means and how you can better and more frequently recognize those you work with -- even with little time, resources, or budget.

More information.

This is a full day of interactive learning using proven techniques to improve your test scores and help you pass. "My approach is to learn by doing. I want to give participants ample opportunity to learn, practice and evaluate their own skills at preparing for and successfully taking the HRCI exam." -- Paul Shibelski

About the presenter: Paul Shibelski holds certifications as both SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources) and GPHR (Global Professional in Human Resources). He has instructed the SHRM Learning System course since 1995. He is a subject matter expert and past contributor to the SHRM Learning System. He has held a variety of volunteer leadership roles in SHRM and is currently the Maryland State Certification Director.

HRA-NCA has the region's best survey resources for comp and benefits professionals to give their company the edge and to plan for 2008. Plus, all HRA-NCA members receive discounts on their order! Budgeting for upcoming pay increases and projecting staffing plans for 2008 are made simple with the recently released 2007 Salary Planning Survey. The 28th Annual Compensation Survey has comprehensive data on 330+ jobs from every industry. The On-line Query tool allows you to gather the comp data you need in an easy searchable format. The 2007 Government Contractors Survey provides extensive job data specifically tailored to the needs of local GC companies. Benefits professionals will find the 2007 Benefits Survey Report packed with useful statistics on Health Care, Welfare, Retirement and Work- life Benefits. Don't delay, surveys are going fast!

Come join us for the first chapter meeting of 2008 as the folks from the Society of Human Resource Management give us a New Year's look at what's happening in HR!

Back by popular demand, Mike Aitken, Director of Government Relations for SHRM, will be with us again to talk about the latest legislative news affecting HR Professionals and impacting the way we do our business. Also from SHRM, Jennifer Schramm will give us the latest skinny on HR workplace trends and what to expect in our trade in 2008 and years to come.

In our only breakfast meeting this year our members were energized with Alice Buchanan and Deanna Banks at our Professional Development meeting that was held on Wednesday November 14th at the Washington Suntrust building.

Our interactive program "Making Mandatory HR Training Fun: How to Turn Prisoners into Learners" kept our members engaged on how to improve the challenge of the "prisoners", those that do not want to be in the training or do not feel they need the training regardless of the subject matter.

We are aware that Telework has moved from being a "nice to have" to a business necessity. Return on investment can be measured in thousands of dollars when you realize the savings in recruiting, retention, real estate, and productivity. But managers and supervisors are the ones who have to implement new business practices while continuing to oversee challenging workloads. What's the best way to address their concerns?

This highly interactive and practical session is for anyone who is interested in exploring the value, opportunities, and challenges of leading a distributed workforce - whether it's "business as usual" or "business continuity."

Successful managers network 70% more than unsuccessful ones, according to Deloitte Research. How about you? In a recent study by Contacts Count of 800 people, only 15% said, "Yes, I have the network I need to get the job done." How will building relationships internally and externally help you get stakeholders engaged, expand your influence, and shape the culture of your organization? Lynne Waymon, CEO and co-founder of Contacts Count, will show you how to activate your network so you can easily uncork bureaucratic bottlenecks, tune into the big picture, round up talent, expand your knowledge base, and become part of the "inner circle."

Many of the nonprofits across the National Capital Area do not have the resources to hire a human resource professional to manage the needs of their employees. Often various human resource- related tasks are divided up between employees of the organization or are handled by members of their boards. HRA-NCA volunteers will help fill this void by agreeing to be assigned to a nonprofit organization and lend support to their staff for a mutually agreed period of time. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Tyronda Boulden, Community Relations Coordinator, at tylboulden@gmail.com.

Would you like to hone your public speaking skills and at the same time train social workers on how to teach resume writing and interview preparation to the people they serve? For complete details, please contact David Remick, Chair, Community Relations, at (703) 769-3712 or remick@worconline.org.

You know what excellence is. It's people...with talent. People who are dedicated and work hard to continually improve themselves, to be the best they can be. They are able to work with others, to be part of a team and to achieve something bigger than themselves. That's what the HR profession is all about. You work behind the scenes to help your employees and companies achieve excellence. You play a major role in finding talented and dedicated people and you help them develop as individuals and team members. This is an exciting time to be an HR professional. The opportunities to provide leadership in your organization have never been greater, but you must continually increase your professional knowledge and stay one step ahead of the rapid changes taking place all around you. The SHRM Foundation helps you to meet these challenges through its support of research, publications and education. The Foundation enables HR professionals like you to make a difference.

The SHRM Foundation: 40 Years of Advancing the HR Profession

You may look up these and other members' information in the HRA-NCA online membership directory, using various search categories. Log in through the "Member Login" on the HRA-NCA website home page. Keep your membership record up-to-date so we don't lose touch!

HRA-NCA Welcomes these New Members

HRA-NCA invites organizations to sponsor our newsletter - or any of the following: monthly speaker presentations, our website, special events, etc. Interested? Contact Chris Cramer, HRA-NCA's PR & Sponsorship Chair, or access our information on the website. For this issue, sincere thanks to the following sponsor.

2007 WORCforce Roundtable

What is the health of Greater Washington’s workforce today?
What are the future trends and challenges in workforce training and education?

Find out at the 2007 WORCforce Roundtable

Four Seasons Hotel Washington DC
December 7, 2007

Panelists:

• Steven Pearlstein, Business Columnist, The Washington Post (Moderator)
• Hugh Bailey, Interim Manager & WIB Director, Montgomery County Department of Economic Development
• Jim Dinegar, President & CEO, Greater Washington Board of Trade
• Gordon Ellis, Human Resources Director, Sodexho
• David Hunn, President & CEO, The SkillSource Group, Inc.
• Margaret Singleton, Vice President, DC Chamber of Commerce

To learn more, please go to http://www.worconline.org/2007 WORCF orceRoundtable.php