I am a failed HR chick, but whenever I spend time with HR peeps (outside of work) I really like them.

And now I’m home from the 2010 SHRM Leadership Conference and I kinda fell back in love with my profession.

Sorta.

Maybe.

I still want to punch it in the face — but you always hurt the ones you love.

*

So you know who’s great? The SHRM social media/PR team. I’m very critical of my association and its late entry into the world of anything hip and relevant. Some members of SHRM would go back in time and find a reason to ban the printing press if they could. But know who’s pretty swell? Curtis Midkiff. He ran a panel with Dave Ryan, Matt Stollak, Ben Eubanks, Jessica Miller-Merrell, and Bryan Wempen — and they did a bang-up job talking about the tactical ways you can use social media to increase membership and engagement.

Now listen… engagement is one of the top 10 words I want to punch in the face in 2010… but that panel represents real progress.

And let me say that I witnessed Donna Rogers get excited when someone recognized her from Twitter.

I’m like, “Where am I?” That would’ve never happened just a year ago. So fun to know that we are evolving — more fun to know someone like Donna who is #HRFamous.

*

You know what else I love? I love it when a crabbypants guy Chicago (who is not all that crabby) comes to these SHRM events and has fun. He smiles. Really. Just don’t ask him about SHRM Connect. I worry that he might get stabby.

*

This is Tracy Tran. Did he belong at #SHRM10LEAD? Uhm, technically, no. Neither did I. So it was great to  meet another party crasher. Tracy is a recruiter who used to read my old blog — and he is one of the most generous people in our industry. So listen, when you tell me that SHRM does nothing, it does one thing for me: SHRM connects me with my readers. I love that part.

I also met Robert Smith who is such a great fan of my blog. How lucky am I to have such awesome readers?

*

I also love hanging out with real SHRM peeps. I grabbed the SHRM names on Twitter, YouTube, and a few other places (back in 2007) to protect the brand from other poachers. I’m still waiting for my thank you note and a big check.

What’s weird is that I tried telling SHRM that I had those names and no one (at first) responded to my email messages. I’m not sure anyone cared — except for Jenny, who is awesome. She connected me with the right people and we’ve been buddies ever since.

*

If you know anything about me, you know that I’m looking for friends with opinions, a voice, and a backbone. And I want to be nice to those friends, get to know them, and develop a great relationship. I’ve found more than a few kindred spirits through my affiliation with SHRM.

I know. That’s weird for me to write. But I’m happy to say that it’s true.

Who else but William Tincup could close out our series on 2011 SHRM Strategic Guidance?

You don’t know William? He is a “what’s next” kind of guy. You can find him here.

*

More Money, Less Problems

All vendors / consultants that sell to SHRM members and / or HR professionals must become SHRM members.  My best guess is that less than 10% of the vendor community are SHRM members.  These folks are making billions off of the profession while not supporting the association that represents the profession.  Start small — like reviewing your contracts for companies that sponsor and / or exhibit at your events and add a simple clause — 10% of employees of sponsoring / exhibiting company must be SHRM members in good standing.  If they want to sell to your audience — they need to care about SHRM.  I wish we didn’t have to force this but alas sometimes you have to legislate common sense.

Get Serious or Get Out of the Certification Game

I’ve probably attended 100 HR conferences, seminars, webinars over the last three years where continuing education credits were offered.  And, when I say offered — that’s exactly what I mean — offered on a plate with little or no supervision and / or constraints.  I’m all for the honor system but if we’re going to have a professional certification then we should be diligent in our continuing education process.  If HRCI isn’t managing this process – then part ways with them and bring certification in-house.  One way or another, certification (and re-certification) should mean something.

Those that make money from HR should be HR certified

Tons of people make money marketing / selling to HR every single day.  Consultants, software vendors, services firms, etc.  SHRM should create a certification track just for these folks.  The content would be about the HR profession.  The vendors would gain status, maybe even preference and have a deeper knowledge of the profession.  An educated vendor will create better, more sustainable solutions for everyone. If you care about the profession — get certified. Think VHR or something snazzy like that.

The BIG social media tent

For the love of all things holy — please embrace the HR blogging / social media community.  Find a way to bring these folks in to the SHRM tent.  SHRM should own the master list of all HR blogs in the world.  Promote the best of the best HR bloggers and / or HR blog posts.  Also, encourage the HR social media personalities to lambast SHRM and / or hold the organization accountable.  Critique is good and healthy for all involved.  SHRM should own HR social media!  They should stop allowing the profession to be defined by anyone with a WordPress account.  HR blogging is not going away — time for SHRM to grow a pair and co-opt this important content / dialogue.

Time to Bring Out the 15 Pounder

Over the last decade (or three) a number of other HR related conferences and organizations have been created and, in many cases, are thriving.  Let’s stop ignoring that fact.  Organizations like: Human Capital Institute, IHRIM, HR.com, etc.  SHRM should work with these organizations, form partnerships, share data, co-market, whatever.  Also, HR events like: HR Technology Conference & Expo, World at Work, ERE Expo, etc.  SHRM should sponsor and exhibit at these events.  SHRM should be omnipresent throughout the HR landscape — via SHRM-related events AND non-SHRM events.  If any of these other organizations doesn’t play ball — then SHRM should actively discredit them with the membership.  In my opinion, SHRM is the 800 pound gorilla that no one fears.  Meanwhile, these other organizations steal mindshare, market share and make the leaders of SHRM look like keystone cops.

The Ultimate Glass House

The SHRM website should scream transparency.  SHRM must become 100% transparent — facts, figures, pay, succession plans, organization goals, everything.  Board meetings should be recorded and made public.  In fact, I think SHRM should release all payroll data and make it public as well.  Also, entire P&L should be public.  Budgets should be public.  Hell, every single expense should be public.  Everything should be public.  I know, I know — transparency is painful — that’s why folks avoid it and that is exactly why SHRM should lead this charge.  Think about the wonderful dialogue this would create for all HR practitioners.  At any given moment, every single SHRM member should know what we stand for and why.

Give Me Solutions NOT another Circus

Vegas baby! Vegas!  Yep — sounds fun — I know, I like Vegas as much as the next guy but the EXPO at SHRM National has become a circus.  Most of the vendors give away cheap plastic crap (CPC) to get data so they can market to potential customers.  Practitioners stampede through the aisles trying not to make eye contact while smashing and grabbing as they go by.  The whole experience is broken.  My suggestion is simple — turn the EXPO into a “Solutions Center” and hold both parties to a new expectation and / or higher standard — substantive conversations.  So let’s set everyone up for success.  No more swag — giving it away OR desiring it.

Safe Bets = Suckage

SHRM needs to hire a renegade for its next CEO.  Not a patsy, not someone from HR, not someone that came up through the ranks, not someone what is even vaguely familiar with HR or SHRM.  This person should be someone that is young, ambitious and wild.  Someone that can help us all re-think the profession.  This hire should terrify the membership.  In fact, if SHRM members are not completely pissed about the new CEO — then we didn’t go far enough.  In my opinion, we need a true change agent as our next leader.

Get Social Media Serious

Turns out — the business of HR has radically changed because of social media.  SHRM is a laggard with regards to social media.  HR is all a laggard with regards to social media.  We need to change that.  It’s high time for SHRM to significantly invest in social media — all facets.  I suggest SHRM revolutionize the HR function around social media AND teach HR how to navigate this important world.  The HR game has changed and the air won’t go back in to the bottle.  It’s NOT a fad — for the love of all things holy — please stop acting like it will all go away when you wake up from the dream.  Own it!!!

Some Folks Love Ambiguity

Ambiguity, passion and brains — turns out — these are really sexy when put together.  Who knew?  SHRM didn’t.  To wit, SHRM should get in to the un-conference business — not ignore it.  The un-conference concept is here to stay AND HR professionals truly like the experience.  They like the typical SHRM conference experiences as well but they get a charge like no other from the un-conference experience.  SHRM should embrace un-conference experience and give members a way to interact with it — own it and stop thinking that your members wouldn’t like “that type” of event / content.

Charlie Judy, SPHR is a global HR Executive and blogger at HR Fishbowl.

*

There was a brief moment in 2010 when “SHRM Bashing” became an IOC recognized event. I can honestly say I didn’t partake…ok, maybe a few tweets here and there…oh and one blog post questioning why their (now former) CEO didn’t have an HRCI Certification. But I was largely on their side this year –- a visible supporter of their 2010 Annual Conference and Expo (and plan on being in Vegas in 2011), promoter of their WeKnowNext campaign, all-around good HR citizen, and long-time active member in good standing.  I’m not really sure when bloggers latched on to this “what I would do to change [pick your favorite punching bag]” theme. I suppose our primary purpose in life is imbuing those who are intellectually less fortunate with our infinite wisdom. And, yes, I too am guilty of this. But I wonder more and more whether we should all just give it a rest — like a moratorium on pretending you know something most people don’t. The very prospect gives me visions of hand-holding, skipping, and My Little Pony.

All-in-all, I actually think SHRM’s got it going on. I’m impressed with the resources they’ve made available, the quality of their content, their legislative agenda and their presence on the Hill, and their foray into the social media realm. Yeah, they definitely need to get their executive team straight — and stable — but what organization doesn’t? So I’m not going to offer any sage strategic advice to SHRM. I will, though, make a plea.

The future of HR hinges almost entirely on the quality of talent we draw to our profession. Ten years ago, “HR” didn’t even show up in a business school course catalog unless you were looking at the one from Cornell’s ILR School. I’m actually impressed by how many of the “Top 10” schools at least claim to have an HR track today. What concerns me, though, is that we still have a bunch of schools and programs that churn out HR box-checkers rather than inject our profession’s pipeline with people who are Ninjas in navigating workplace complexities, optimizing human dynamics, acting with agility, and — above all — thinking critically. We can teach people about benefit plans, employment law, technology, compensation, performance management — blah blah blah — when they get here. But what we really need are people primed to:

• “Think more nimbly across multiple frameworks, cultures and disciplines”
• Leverage the hidden benefits of conflict in the workplace
• Manage the pants off of a project
• Speak (and speak up) in public with confidence and conviction
• Usher change
• Network and sell
• Apply creativity, foster  innovation
• Challenge the status-quo
• Negotiate Jedi-Mind-Trick like
• Lead through influence
• Have presence

Without this stuff, you’re a dime-a-dozen and that’s the last thing our reputation needs. Want to make a lasting impact on our profession, SHRM? Start by focusing on the people who haven’t joined it yet. Forget the rest of us…we’re lost causes. If we haven’t figured this stuff out yet, we never will. But the young-guns can make a difference. You just have to help them come to the table prepared to do so.

Jennifer McClure is a former HR Executive turned professional coach and consultant. You can learn more about her business here.

*

I’ve been associated with SHRM since first becoming a student member back in college. In fact, they actually paid for my wedding after graduation. (No, bridal subsidies aren’t some obscure member benefit buried deep within the SHRM website you just haven’t uncovered yet.) I won hefty cash scholarship – after surviving months of interviews with HR professionals and writing the best paper of my life – that was awarded to me exactly one month before I graduated. And while it was extremely appreciated, it was a tad too late to pay for my education.

So of course I spent it all on a wedding dress, invitations and a honeymoon. Of course.

And that relationship lasted less time than my ongoing love affair with SHRM. Of course.

Looking back, that whole situation kind of defines my perception of SHRM over 20 years later – an organization that provides valuable resources, but the execution and timeliness of the delivery is out of sync with meeting the needs of members today.

But I’m committed to trying to make this relationship work. Of course I’ve left SHRM a few times over the years after questioning the value of my membership, but I’ve always come back. For some reason SHRM, I just can’t quit you…

So how can we get that spark back? What could the powers-that-be at SHRM do to re-energize our relationship and make it seem fresh again? Here are a few ideas:

Bring the SHRM website into the 21^st Century. Have you guys heard about this Web 2.0 stuff? It’s kind of a big deal. Take a look at some of the definitions of Web 2.0 via this link and you’ll see words like interactive, collaborative, shareable content, social networking, etc. SHRM.org? None of that. The site is static, full of links and information (much that is outdated) and it’s pretty overwhelming. Unless I’m looking for something specific – and willing to figure out how to search for it – you’ve lost me.

Need an example of a conservative organization with tons of information to share that is trying to appeal to a wide audience? Check out GoArmy.com. Videos, blog links, access to social network sites, discussion boards, live chat, etc. It’s a pretty good sign that you’re behind the times when the government is more progressive than your organization…

Create a living, breathing Community of HR professionals on SHRM.org. I know you sorta tried – but SHRM Connect? A virtual ghost town. It’s too hard to get into (yeah, remembering a Member ID that you won’t let me change is considered a hassle in today’s world) and there is no Community Manager helping to build community or encourage involvement. How about allowing members to create an online profile tied to their account – which would automatically give them access to SHRM Connect and other interactive resources on the site. Allow them to network, connect, join affinity groups, ask questions of their peers in online forums and maybe even create a blog to share their ideas.

The online recruiting community ERE.net is about a quarter of the size of SHRM membership, but has impressive engagement among the members of their online community who opt-in to receive timely and relevant daily content, participate in discussion forums and search the website for resources and information. And it’s all FREE.

Focus on providing Thought Leadership — not just information. SHRM sends at least 5,341 emails to it’s members each day and adds 2,437,628 pieces of content to it’s website, but rarely shares an opinion that is not whitewashed to translucency. As evidenced by the hundreds of HR bloggers in the universe, there’s room (and demand) for the sharing of thoughtful opinions and commentary. With the resources available to SHRM, a daily (or weekly) editorial post as well as some op-ed writers, could stimulate thought, agreement/disagreement and engage the membership much more than reams of information dumped into Inboxes.

If a site like TLNT.com can build a sizeable audience of HR (and Recruiting and Talent Management) professionals in a short period of time with a mix of reporting, editorializing and opinionated guest posts, then SHRM should take note that many are searching for commentary that makes them think – not just benign content.

After all these years, I still care about you SHRM. You’re like my Rod Tidwell. Because when it comes to HR professional associations – you’re all I’ve got.

Help me… Help You…

Laurie Ruettimann, SPHR is a failed Human Resources professional and the author of two blogs — The Cynical Girl and Mister Scrubby.

*

Our good friends have spent the past few days offering strategic advice and guidance to SHRM. It’s great advice — but if you are new to the HR scene, or you’re just a casual reader, you may wonder what SHRM is and what it does.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 250,000 members in over 140 countries, the Society serves the needs of HR professionals and advances the interests of the HR profession.

SHRM is an individual membership organization, and our members include HR professionals with the following titles:

• President, CEO, Chairman, Partner, Principal
• Chief HR Officer
• Vice President of HR, Personnel
• Assistant/Associate Vice President of HR
• Director of HR, Personnel
• Assistant/Associate Director of HR
• Manager of HR, Personnel
• HR Generalist
• Supervisor
• Specialist
• Consultant
• Administrator
• Representative
• Legal Counsel

Nearly forty percent have titles of director or above. Approximately fifty percent of members work in organizations with more than 500 employees, and approximately thirty-five percent are in manufacturing or service industries.

There is no other organization like SHRM — a group of professionals who have a legislative, social, and cultural impact on the way we work.

And if I were the President and CEO of SHRM, I would take a day in 2011 and wrangle up all of these so-called social media experts & pundits and tell them to STFU.

That’s right.

• Bloggers.
• Tweeters.
• Facebookers.

Shut your pie holes.

To my friends at SHRM — there is nothing strategic about putting yourself in a position where you must listen to the noise from the peanut gallery — any peanut gallery. It’s not inclusive. It’s weak. And for an organization that closely aligns itself with the Republican party, you run your association like a bunch of Democrats. So my strategic advice for 2011 is simple.

• Hunker down,
• your house in order,
• get control of your message,
• and behave like a professional association.

Stop embarrassing me by taking my advice.

Mike VanDervort is a labor and employee relations strategist at a Fortune 100 company. You can read his blog here.

*

In 2011, I don’t want SHRM to change a thing that it has already planned.  Keep up the plans for global domination expansion.  Maintain the drive for the goal line on certification.  Keep stumbling around trying to figure out how to use social media.  These are all good and valid efforts that serve the mainstream SHRM audience in some way.

What I want to see is SHRM do is to add a little spice to this sauce,  put some topping on the ice cream, get a little more edgy and radical at the same time.  Here is how:

1. Require all SHRM leaders to hold regular office hours -  I would like to see all Officers and Directors at SHRM, including the Board of Directors, establish office hours for the membership.   What are office hours?  Just like in college professors do for their students, be in your office at a designated time and place and be openly available to guide, counsel, mentor, and listen to what your membership is saying.  I would suggest 4 hours a month, but hey, start with two and grow it up from there.  Not much in terms of cost, except for the time, and what more valuable way does SHRM have to serve its members than engaging in direct outreach and communication?
2. Make the CEO position an elected post -  voted upon every 3 years by the membership.  I wrote about this on my blog in July when Lon O’Neil. I said then it was a crazy idea, but I still like it.  Wouldn’t it be cool to have to some relatively unknown HR professional step out of their work life and stride onto the staid SHRM scene calling for change like Barack Obama did during his 2008 Presidential campaign?  Who knows what new ideas might be generated, or how much the membership base might be energized by a direct election.
3. Establish a Radical HR incubator - This is the crazy one.  Take a very small percentage of general operating funds and set up an incubator fund that could be used to fund bleeding edge ideas and projects, whether that be unconferences, social media, or just crazy HR project ideas that could use some seed money.   Just use a small percentage of our big mainstream, corporate organization to support the radicals out there who are thinking big, but don’t have a lot of resources.    SHRM could be an angel investors in some new HR projects and ideas, a catalyst for innovation and transformation.  Isn’t that what we are supposed to be doing anyway? Who knows what might com out of it?

Ok SHRM, now you know what I think.  Go forth and conquer lead!

Mike Haberman, SPHR is a Human Resources consultant, author, speaker, and teacher. You can find him at HR Observations.

*

When I was asked “What would you do if you were running SHRM?” my immediate thought was “I would be ‘edgier’.”

SHRM — on the national level and often on the local level — has a rather dry and staid reputation. It is not seen as being a “thought leader” but rather a repository of older information. In sum, it is seen the same way many HR departments are seen within their companies. And that is a problem the profession as a whole has.

So what steps would I take to change this? Here is my list:

1. I would have a VISION, a VISIBLE VISION. Not a plan for the organization of SHRM, but a vision for the profession of Human Resources. What do we want the profession of HR to look like in 10 years?
2. From that vision of the profession I would do some backcasting and determine what the organization of SHRM would need to do to get the PROFESSION to be where we want it to go. Backcasting would provide us with a road map of how we would progress. This would lead to a strategic plan for the organization.
3. I would convene “thinking panels” of edgy and snarky thought leaders to tell me about what’s happening “out there” in the real world of HR.
4. I would hire a VP of Edgy HR to be on the Leadership Team.
5. I would think in terms of a model of the HR professional having broader-based education and experience in operations.
6. I would give a serious look at Josh Letourneau’s model of social networking and having HR drive that process in organizations.
7. I would thoroughly understand the power of social media to disseminate information, drive thought, communicate, bolster efforts and even to ruin companies and reputations.

Those are just a few of my ideas. Well here is one more. Find a CEO soon. One that is not boring.

Matthew J. Stollak, Ph.D., SPHR is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration at St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI. He also blogs at True Faith HR.

*

One of my favorite movies is Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil,” which tells the story of a lonely bureaucrat (Sam Lowry) railing against the system in the hopes of winning the heart of his true love.  As a long-time SHRM volunteer at the local, state, and national level, dealing with SHRM can often make me feel like Sam Lowry (though love rarely had anything to do with it).

I currently serve in the role of District Director for the WI SHRM State Council.  In May and October, we held chapter president forums to discuss general state council expectations as well as the strategic role of SHRM.  Using quotes from the movie, “Brazil,” I will highlight the good, bad, and ugly of SHRM from the perspective of our local leaders.

Jack Lint: “This is information retrieval not information dispersal.”

This is a mixed affair.  On the one hand, SHRM send a TON of e-mail.  In October alone, I received over 20 e-mails (not including several duplicates) from the SHRM Store, HR Week, SHRM Education, SHRM Express Requests, etc.  As a District Director, it is expected we pass along a lot of this information.  However, it is often difficult to separate the signal versus the noise; the relevant from the non-relevant.

On the other hand, SHRM gathers a lot of information, which is not necessarily shared.  All chapters and state councils are required to fill out a Chapter Leadership Information Form (CLIF), which provides SHRM with information about who is involved in the various roles.  However, this information is rarely conveyed back to the chapters and state councils themselves.  Core Leadership Directors are often left to fend for themselves to determine who fulfills the College Relations or Government Affairs role for a chapter.  Similarly, SHRM holds on to the at-large list of members like it was gold, and getting access to it is more difficult than a camel going through the eye of a needle.

Suggestions

1. Limit the e-mails, or at the very least, give me the option of choosing when to receive them (daily, weekly, etc.).  We have the option to opt out of receiving e-mails, but not the choice.
2. Once the CLIFs are received, send out the list of chapter leaders to the respective Core Leadership Directors
3. Free the at-large list.  Trust the state and chapter leaders to use those lists with discretion.

Harry Tuttle: “Listen, this old system of yours could be on fire and I couldn’t even turn on the kitchen tap without filling out a 27b/6… Bloody paperwork”

Sam Lowry: “Sorry, I’m a bit of a stickler for paperwork. Where would we be if we didn’t follow the correct procedures?”

Harry Tuttle: “Listen, kid, we’re all in it together.”

Collaboration amongst chapter leaders is highly encouraged, but carried out ineffectively.  A prime example of this involves recommended and HRCI-approved speaker lists for chapter meetings, state conferences, and the national conference.  It is rare for a chapter leader in Green Bay to know what quality speakers have served at other chapters in the state, let alone across state lines.

Suggestions

1. Create a national database of HRCI-approved programs.  Chapters can look at the HRCI website and select a speaker that meets their demands
2. Shift the burden for becoming a certified program from the chapter to the speaker, and expand the Approved Provider program. Any speaker who wishes to speak to a SHRM chapter should have to get approved by HRCI. As speakers get recognized, their topics would be added to the database.
3. Recruit past state conference programming co-chairs to serve as panel members to review RFPs for the SHRM Annual Conference.  While this duty is currently performed by SHRM staff, the experience of these volunteers would improve the quality of programming at the national level.

Dawson: “I’m glad to see the Ministry’s continuing its tradition of recruiting the brightest and best, sir.”

While Dawson’s quote is intended to be sarcastic, one of the best aspects of SHRM is its volunteers.  Hundreds take time out of their busy schedule to serve the organization.   However, as expectations of volunteers have grown, the sheer number of meetings, webinars, and conference calls are turning many away, particular in this tough economic climate.  Those that do volunteer are not recognized.  As one member put it, “It used to be that SHRM sent out a constant reminder that it is a volunteer organization.  That message no longer is stated and many volunteers no longer feel that appreciated.”  Perks are offered at the local chapter, but it is not enough to attract volunteers.

Suggestions

1. While the current discount for registration at the SHRM Annual Conference is $55, is that significant enough to truly recognize the hard work of volunteer leaders?
2. Create SHRM Pinnacle Volunteer Leader Awards.  While SHRM recognizes the significant and innovative work that chapters perform with the Pinnacle Awards at the SHRM Leadership Conference, why not recognize the significant volunteer work at the SHRM Leadership Conference and at SHRM Annual.

Charlie, Department of Works: “Bloody typical, they’ve gone back to metric without telling us.”

Of late, it has been felt by several chapter leaders that there has been too much emphasis on SHRM membership.  To some, it gives the perception that there is a problem at SHRM.  Are many members no longer renewing?  Further, the percentage growth for SHRM membership in the SHAPE document was too demanding, especially for only one year.  Some felt it was unfeasible, particularly in today’s economic environment.  Further, it focuses too much on numbers instead of the substance of services to members.

Suggestions

1. Lose the tote bag promotion.  If you need to attract members by offering a tote bag as a lure, something is amiss.  If you have to offer an incentive, why not offer a discount to the SHRM book store or an additional discount to attend a SHRM conference?
2. Lower the percentage growth rate for chapters.

Brazil, where hearts were entertaining
We stood beneath an amber moon
And softly murmured someday soon
We kissed and clung together

Then, tomorrow was another day
Morning found me miles away
With still a million things to say

Now, when twilight dims the sky above
Recalling thrills of our love
There’s one thing I’m certain of
Return I will to old Brazil

Music by Ary Barraso/English lyrics by S.K. “Bob” Russell

With the suggestions made above, there’s one thing I’m certain of….Return I will to old SHRM!