Southwest Washington SHRM
Newsletter
2014 October – November – December
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
On October 14th, we are expecting more than 100 human resource professionals and
business people to attend the annual 2014 Southwest Washington SHRM Conference at
the Vancouver Convention Center at The Hilton. The annual conference is the Chapter’s
primary opportunity to offer members and friends an unsurpassed opportunity to learn
and grow in the human resources profession.
The keynote address, “The Future of Human Resources: A Look Ten Years Out,” will be
presented by Rick Howell, Principal at Howell Management Consulting in Portland,
Oregon. Howell, sought after for his engaging and informative speeches, has over 20
Amy Robinson JD, SPHR
years of human resources experience in various industries including hospitality,
2014 President
manufacturing, and education. Eleven human resources experts round out the conference
Southwest Washington
agenda theme,
“The
Future
of
HR” and which is built upon three tracks: Business Management and Strategy, General
SHRM
HR, and Diversity and Inclusion.
Registration is open to everyone. For further information, visit the Southwest
Washington SHRM’s Conference at http://bit.ly/1umFrxh I look forward to seeing
you at the conference or one of the Chapter’s other upcoming events.
Amy Robinson
Southwest Washington SHRM, President 2014
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Early Bird Special
Register on or before
October 3, 2014
$189 Members
$239 Non-members
Q4 SPEAKER SERIES – LABOR AND EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
October: Annual Conference, no monthly luncheon.
November: Labor Relations Update
Attorney Mark Crabtree will discuss how to ensure that your organization’s Labor Relations activities are compliant
with applicable federal and state laws. He will also share contemporary strategies for facilitating positive employee
and labor relations within your organization.
Crabtree is a Shareholder in the Portland office of Jackson Lewis. His practice focuses on
counseling and litigation in both Oregon and Washington. He earned his law degree from
University of Oregon School of Law.
Buy tickets for November 11th Vancouver Program - 2014
Buy tickets for November 12th Longview Program - 2014
December: Shifting From Reactive to Proactive Employee Relations
Mark Crabtree
Do you sometimes feel like you're always fighting fires when it comes to employee-relations? Are you tired of
responding to alarms and scrambling to manage the risk around sticky circumstances? Join us in December to learn
how to make the shift from reactive to proactive employee-relations. Find out what you can do on the front-end to
position yourself in a more proactive stance, and plan to address potential barriers such as lack of time or buy-in from
others that may be holding you back or getting in your way.
Presenter Linda Frischmeyer is an Attorney at Law at Landerholm. She assists with
strategies that address employment situations, often working to resolve especially
difficult or long-standing situations, and represents clients before federal and state
agencies (EEOC, Human Rights Commission, Labor and Industries, etc.). As an
advisor and advocate, she offers solutions to achieve her clients' goals that
manage legal risk, with an eye toward avoiding litigation.
Buy tickets for December 9th Vancouver Program - 2014
Linda Freschmeyer
MEMBER NEWS
Matthew Warner Honored
Matthew Warner, past President of Southwest Washington SHRM, past President
Matthew Warner received the 2014 NHRMA Distinguished Member Award at the 2014
NHRMA Conference in Spokane, Washington. The award is given annually to members
who have made significant contributions to the human resource profession, the
community and/or the Association.
Matthew Warner
Warner was instrumental in bringing new board members to Southwest Washington SHRM,
providing training and encouragement, and spearheading Southwest Washington SHRM
chapter goals such as streamlining financial recordkeeping, consolidating member data,
increasing membership,
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GUEST ARTICLE
Use Performance Management to Create a Culture of Excellence
By Sean Conrad
A culture of excellence is something to which most organizations aspire,
but which can look different depending on the priorities and strategy of the
individual organization. Whether excellence is defined by corporate profits,
service orientation, teamwork, quality or something else, you must first
determine what a culture of excellence looks like for your organization then
turn to methods to create and sustain it.
An organizational culture is built by the shared experiences of its
participants based on and reinforced as time goes on by a variety of
factors. One of the most powerful factors impacting culture is the
Performance Management Process. No matter how a culture of excellence is defined, the way performance is
actually managed - or not managed - sets the tone for the behavior that is really valued, expected and reinforced. So,
if the culture is less than excellent, take a look at the norms of behavior that are being established and reinforced by
your performance management process.
 Do individual performance goals support a culture of excellence? Examine the impact and potential
unintended consequences that may be affected by departmental and individual goals.
 Are expectations for performance clear? Discussions between managers and employees can help to clarify
the standards of behavior and performance that will lead toward a culture of excellence.
 Are rewards and recognition awarded in a consistent and intentional way, based on the previously defined
standards?
 Are managers providing feedback and coaching to help employees develop and demonstrate the skills and
behaviors that lead to a culture of excellence?
 And, most critically, are leaders walking the talk by themselves modeling the behaviors that build a culture
of excellence? Inconsistency, especially at the leadership level will undermine the very culture you are trying
to build.
Sean Conrad is a Certified Human Capital Strategist and senior product analyst at Halogen Software, He has spoken
at numerous industry events and is a frequent contributor to industry publications and blogs, including Halogen’s
Exploring Talent Management Blog.
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WSU-V STUDENT CHAPTER NEWS
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DISCOUNTS OFFERED FOR SHRM SEMINARS
SHRM is offering a special discounted registration fee to attend a Seminar in
Alexandria VA, Chicago IL, New Orleans LA, New York NY, Phoenix AZ, San Diego
CA, Seattle WA - or a virtual seminar – this Fall!
Program topics include:




Strategic Human Resources: Delivering Business Results
Business Management for HR: Understanding Business Operations
Essentials of HR Management
And much more!
As a local SHRM-affiliated chapter, we’ve partnered with SHRM to offer you the following chapter member discounts
off our advertised member/non-member registration rates:
Chapter Member Discounts:
Use Promo code: 14SEM1DAY - $100 off 1 day seminars
Use Promo code: 14SEM2DAY - $200 off 2 day seminars
Use Promo code: 14SEM3DAY - $300 off 3 day seminars
Use Promo code: 14SEMVCHPT – $200 off any Virtual seminars
Click here to find a program that meets your needs
For more information, contact:
Carlos Marroquin, SPHR
Manager, Educational Programs
Carlos.Marroquin@shrm.org 703.535.6033
SAVE THE DATE!
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Disclaimer
This offer only applies to 2014 SHRM Seminars and does
not apply to Seminars outside the U.S., SHRM Emerging
Leader programs or any SHRM Conferences or Seminars
held at conferences. Offer applies to online and phone
orders only. It does not apply to mailed-in orders, faxed
orders or purchase orders. Offer is not valid on previous
orders and cannot be combined with other promotions.
Discount expires at 11:59 p.m., Pacific Standard Time,
December 31, 2014.
2015 CALL FOR BOARD MEMBERS
Three positions remain open on the 2015 slate of Board Members for Southwest
Washington SHRM.
Programs Director - responsible for setting the agenda for monthly luncheons and
coordinating guest speakers
Communications Director - Compose and distribute press releases, newsletters,
emails, website posts and other Chapter communications
Programs Coordinator for Longview – ensures that program information is
published in the Longview area and that facilities are arranged for bi-monthly
Southwest Washington SHRM meetings in that city.
For further information about any of these positions, please send an email to info@swshrm.org
SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON SHRM CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP
IS FREE!
Membership in Southwest Washington SHRM is a free benefit of your national Society for
Human Resource Management membership. With national SHRM membership comes
discounted participation in our chapter programs and events and member pricing at our
affiliates (Columbia-Willamette Compensation Group, American Society for Training and
Development – Cascadia Chapter, and Portland HRMA).
Because we are a 100% chapter, all Southwest Washington SHRM members must also be members of the Society
for Human Resource Management. To Join the Society for Human Resources Management, go to:
http://bit.ly/MT75Ax
If you are already a member of the Society for Human Resource Management but have not designated Southwest
Washington SHRM as your local chapter, please complete the registration page at this link: http://bit.ly/MT7xyG
DID YOU KNOW?
If your organization is facing a temporary decline in business, Washington Employment Security’s Shared Work
program offers you an alternative to laying off workers. Instead, you can reduce the work hours of your
regular employees and the workers can collect partial unemployment
benefits to replace a portion of their lost wages. This translates into
immediate payroll savings and prevents the loss of your skilled
employees. For further information, visit
http://www.esd.wa.gov/uibenefits/faq/shared-work.php
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