SHRM’s Member Advocacy Program: What Role Can You Play?
SHRM’s Member Advocacy Program:
What Role Can You Play?
Overview of Today’s Remarks:
> Advocacy – What is it and why is it important in
today’s political environment
> SHRM’s Advocacy Program – Where are the
components of a successful advocacy campaign
> With regard to Member Advocacy – Where we
are and where we need to be
> SHRM’s Advocacy Team Initiative
> Conclusion and Q & A
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What Is ‘Advocacy’?
According to Webster’s Dictionary, the
noun “advocacy” is defined as:
“The act of pleading or arguing in
favor of something, such as a cause,
idea, or policy; active support.”
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“Why is Advocacy Important?”
“America is not governed by the
majority, but by the majority of those
who participate.”
Thomas Jefferson
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“Can You Really Make an Impact?”
“A small group of thoughtful people
could change the world. Indeed, it's
the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead
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Anatomy of a Successful Advocacy Campaign
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SHRM’s Direct Lobbying Capabilities
4 full-time lobbyists on staff:
 Mike Aitken, Director of Government
Affairs (immigration reform, etc.)
 Lisa Horn, Manager of Health Care
(health care and workplace flexibility)
 Michael Layman, Manager of Labor
and Employment Law (EFCA, ENDA,
paycheck fairness, etc.)
 Kathleen Coulombe, Manager of Tax
and Benefits (COBRA, Sec. 127
benefits)
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SHRM Partnership Activities
Washington Outreach
•
Governmental
–
Office of Disability Employment Policy
–
President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy
•
Public- and Private-Sector Entities
–
Congressional Management Foundation
–
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
–
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute
–
Congressional Quarterly
–
National Journal
–
Democratic Leadership Council
–
Republican Main Street Partnership
–
Families and Work Institute (FWI)
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Example of Paid Media
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Example of Earned Media
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Member Advocacy
SHRM’s Greatest Advocacy Asset!
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Member Advocacy
SHRM’s Greatest Advocacy Asset!
 Over 265,000 Individual Members
 Located in Alexandria, VA – just 7
miles from Capitol Hill
 50 State Councils & Over 575
Affiliated Chapters (most with a
dedicated “legislative director”)
 Our members are located in every
Congressional District & State
 4 staff Federal lobbyists, 2 member
advocacy/state affairs staff, 1
legal/regulatory affairs staff person
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Member Advocacy
SHRM’s Greatest Advocacy Asset!
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Member Advocacy
Opportunities to Showcase SHRM’s Greatest Asset
 Capitol Hill Advocacy Day during
SHRM’s Employment Law &
Legislative Conference
 SHRM’s Day Inside the Beltway
(DITB) and Day Inside the District
(DITD) programs
 SHRM’ HR Voice Letter-writing
Program (Federal & State)
 HR Issues Update e-newsletter
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Member Advocacy
Then and Where We Need To Be
Increased Effectiveness
SHRM Government Affairs
Team (GAT)
District-by-District Presence
Recurring, Tracked District Meetings
Mass Letter-writing
 Capitol Hill Advocacy Day
During Legislative Conference
Limited Days Inside the District
Sporadic Days Inside the
Beltway
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 Tracked District Interactions
(Phone Calls, Town Halls, etc.)
Enhanced Communication Flow
to Chapter / Council / Legislative
Directors
Mass Letter-writing to Continue
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Using Diverse Advocacy
Strategies can be More Effective in
“Breaking Through the Dam”
than Focusing on Only One
E-mail campaign
Phone calls from VIPs
Constituent visit
Town hall meeting
Congressional Management Foundation 2008 Findings
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The Most Influential Communications
are Personal
47%
Constituent Representative
96%
96%
44%
Individualized Letters
94%
34%
Individualized E-mail
91%
30%
Individualized Faxes
88%
20%
Phone Calls
93%
15%
Lobbyist Visit
A lot of Influnce
Some Influence
99%
60%
Constituent Visits
Form Letters
3%
Form E-mail
3%
Form Faxes
3%
0
65%
63%
57%
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Congressional Management Foundation 2008
80
90
100
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About the A-Team
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SHRM Advocacy Team
 Intended to build upon the successful (but mostly) ad-hoc advocacy
efforts already underway across the country
 Year two of five-year implementation (incremental rollout)
 Informs legislators of policy impacting employers and employees in
their district
 Two levels of participation
1. HR Advocate – broad-based participation to engage members at he
state and district level
2. “Advocacy Captains” – one per congressional district in each
target state who takes a leadership role
 SHRM’s Regional-Chapter structure does not necessarily align with
boundaries of legislative districts
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Advocacy Captain Requirements
 Must be a SHRM member in good standing
 Strong preference for prior or current experience as an HR
professional (HR certification highly desirable)
 Must live within the congressional district he / she is representing as
an Advocacy Captain
 Appointment is made by SHRM with input from state councils and
chapter representatives, among others
 Serve a two-year term beginning the first day of January and ending
the last day of December. May be reappointed for additional terms. It
is advisable that an individual serves in this position for multiple terms.
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SHRM’s Greatest Advocacy Asset
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“All Politics is Local”
President Ronald Reagan with Former House Speaker Tip O’Neill (D-MA)
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Sharing Some Quality Face Time with HR
Who better to share the HR perspective on an issue than you?
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SHRM’s Member Advocacy Program:
What Role Can You Play?
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