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.

HRA-NCA thanks Marriot ExecuStay for sponsoring this meeting.

Career Management Seminar (CMP)
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
6 - 8 p.m.

Having the Difficult HR Conversation

This workshop will explore how to "professionally" and "successfully" engage in positive (yet difficult) HR conversations. We will discuss: asking for a salary increase, discussing unethical behavior, telling your boss about their management style and much, much more.

Our speaker for this seminar will be Donnie McKethan, Director of HR for the Boys and Girls Club of America.

Please contact Stephanie Simpson at 202- 220-0767 or via email at ssimpson@fmi.org if you would like to attend.

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."

HRA-NCA has the region's best survey resources for comp and benefits professionals to give their company the edge in 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!

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.

Before trying to 'fix' a perceived problem in your organization, first stop and take a moment to check your premises. That is the message shared by Gallup CEO Jim Clifton at the SHRM Foundation Thought Leaders Retreat. Based on the polls and research conducted by the Gallup Organization, Clifton asserted that most thought leadership today is either wrong or just a little bit off. Poor decisions in politics and business are often based on wrong premises due to ignorance of pertinent facts on the part of the decision- makers. Before taking action, leaders must take time to listen to the people whose lives are affected. Unfortunately, leaders seldom examine premises. They often accept them as true. People then build their business and people management strategies and programs on these untested assumptions.

For example, we assume that CEO's care about the people in the organization, when in reality they are most concerned with bottom line business results. This means that if HR recommends a new program because it is "good for employees," the CEO is not likely to accept it. HR must build the business case for investing in people based on hard data. HR professionals must become far more financially literate. They must focus on research rather than instinct and assumptions as the basis for their recommendations regarding people management. To be effective, HR must learn to check its assumptions and bring a hard analytical approach to soft people issues. Research has proven that having a spirited and engaged workforce impacts bottom line results, and HR is uniquely positioned to provide strategic leadership in this area.

To read the entire text of Jim Clifton's remarks, visit www.shrm.org/foundation/engaging.as p.

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.

FREE Posting and Pre-Screening Service for Non- exempt Jobs

A community-based 501(c)(3) organization, WORC assists Greater Washington's diverse population in finding jobs that can lead to sustainable careers. WORC serves as an employee referral agent between employers in DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia and our region's workforce development organizations.

• WORC distributes a weekly eNewsletter, the WORC Job Board, to over 600 workforce development professionals. It contains hundreds of job openings for non-exempt positions.
• WORC collaborates with the area's workforce development organizations to identify and screen resumes - ensuring that qualified applicants are referred to hiring managers.

- 1 out of every 4 resumes referred to an employer by WORC receives an interview.
- 88% of WORC-referred individuals are still employed.

Are you looking to access a pool of qualified, pre-screened employee candidates? Please contact David Remick at 703-769-3712 or remick @worconline.org.

Visit WORC at www.worco nline.org.