Louisiana Conference on Human Resources - Concurrent Sessions
Monday, April 8, 2013
10:30 – 11:45
Top Tips for Employers to Avoid FLSA Misclassifications - Brooke Duncan III, Adams and Reese LLP
At the request of the IRS and the U.S. Department of Labor, the Louisiana Workforce Commission signed an MOU with those agencies to significantly step up enforcement of the distinction between employee and independent contractor status and to penalize repeat offending employers. Plus, Act 786, signed into law this past session of the Legislature, calls for criminal penalties when—in the view of the Workforce Commission—independent contractors should properly be classified as employees. Now more than ever employers need to make sure they are properly classifying workers. In this session, we will review the latest criteria for independent contractor determinations, how to establish independent contractor status, and what you need to do to avoid needless pitfalls. (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - General)
HR Thinking Creatively: How all Lines of Business affect your Recruiting Strategy - Cathleen Carlos and Bryan Wempen
In this highly interactive session, attendees will learn first-hand how all lines of business affect recruiting strategy and how a proactive recruiting strategy can positively impact the success of the business. Attendees will work in groups to create a business from scratch and through this process, attendees will learn the challenges that HR’s internal business partners face, and identify the goals that can be achieved through proactive talent acquisition practices. Wempen and Carlos will detail how HR can leverage their new insight to effectively communicate with hiring managers and senior leadership to foster a successful recruiting strategy, finding the talent that will help propel the organization to success and maintain a competitive advantage. (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - General)
7 Steps to Becoming a Practical HR Futurist - Michael Haberman, SPHR
HR professionals often struggle with how to add strategic value in their positions. We are taught that HR is supposed to be “environmental scanners” and understand the impact of all the changes that are going on in the world. But how do you do that? This session will offer methods, tools and resources that the HR professional can apply in their companies allowing them to add the long desired strategic value. What will be covered includes: Looking forward by looking back; getting STEEP; using systems thinking; trends and forecasts; understanding implications; scenario generation; and the impact/probability matrix. (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - Business Management and Strategy)
Succession Planning 101: 3 Things Every Company Can Do To Reduce Risk & Increase Sustainability -Devin Lemoine
Every single day more than 10,000 Baby Boomers will reach the age of 65 and that is going to keep happening every single day for the next 19 years. If human capital is our most critical asset, then every company should give pause and consider the current environment. With up to 10,000 retirements per day and a young talent pool totally untethered from the idea of long term employment, a unique and unprecedented environment has been created. Baby boomers leaving organizations represent a wealth of tacit knowledge, years of experience and leadership capability. The impact to operations and sustainability can be significant. Whether your company is at risk of loss of key employees or needs to build bench strength for growth, learn three things you and your team can do to effectively plan for a successful future. (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - General)
2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
Do Re Me - How Thinking like a Musician can build a Better Team….and a Better Organization – Sandy Michelet, SPHR
Great musicians know one thing: once the lights come on you better be rocking! What happens before the first drum click doesn’t matter. The crowd doesn’t care (and shouldn’t know) that the bass player is sick and the roadie never showed up. Why? Because a band’s number one job is to entertain. And in an organization, a manager’s job is to coach their employees’ performance and ensure their daily activities are focused on the overall goal of the organization. But too often we get caught up in the transactional side (what happens behind stage) that we forget our number one job. Thinking like a musician – although a simple concept – can make a big difference in your team. During this interactive session participants will learn concepts they can apply immediately. From Lady Gaga to Stevie Wonder…they know the secrets. And you can too. And you can rock! (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - General)
HR’s Turning Point: Are You Staying in Place or Moving Forward?- Robin Schooling, SPHR and Bill Boorman
In the Human Resources field we regularly evaluate our role and status as we debate whether we’re strategic or tactical or if we consider ourselves traditional or cutting-edge. Regardless of the labels we use, it is ultimately the actions we take as individual practitioners and leaders that define HR’s role for now … and the future. Therefore, it is critical that HR professionals understand where they can best spend their time and energy in order to contribute to business (and people!) success. In this session we’ll discuss HR’s Turning Point by evaluating the past, present and future from two varying perspectives – that of an HR Leader working day-to-day for a mid-sized organization in the U.S. and that of an individual working in the global space who focuses on exploring the changes brought about by a connected world. Drawing on current research and data from a variety of academic and business sources we’ll discuss:
- The evolution of Human Resources as the profession has moved along the continuum from administration to innovation to organizational strategy integration
- The impact on people, organizations and how-we-do-things that has been brought about by technology, social channels and the ‘shrinking’ world
- The requirement for HR professionals to understand, articulate and incorporate new tactics and methodologies in order to move forward
At the end of the session, attendees will better understand why HR is now at a time of significant change and what they can do to ensure their strategies are aligned for success as we move past HR’s Turning Point. (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification hours - Business Management and Strategy)
Title VII Retaliation Claims: Why HR Needs to Understand the Impact - Jay Stovall, Breazeale,Sachse & Wilson
For the last several years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has reported that complaints of retaliation by employers are at the top of the type of complaints filed with the Commission. In this session we will cover: the 3 required parts of an EEOC retaliation claim (protected activity, adverse action and evidence linking the two); how to establish a clear anti-retaliation policy and complaint procedure, and how best to communicate with employees and supervisors. Attendees will leave with a clear-cut action plan to best prepare their organizations by understanding the importance of evaluating the timing of their employment actions and how best to examine reasons and motives behind employment decisions. (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - General)
Understanding the Business Impacts of Health Care Reform on Your Organization – Michael Bertaut, MBA, CHC, PAHM, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana
HR professionals will leave this session understanding their obligations under the Affordable Care Act including what they can do and what they must do to prepare for 2014. They will understand how to best contain costs and mitigate compliance exposure by taking strategic steps in 2013 to prepare for January 1, 2014. Content covered will include 1. Medicaid Expansion 2. Health Insurance Exchanges 3. Individual Mandates to buy coverage 4. Employer mandate to offer coverage 5. Definitions of what health coverage is "essential" 6. Redirect future spending from Medicare to 1 and 2 7. Redirect Health Insurance, Pharma, Device Manufacturing revenue to 1 and 2, and 8. New Taxes on Individual. (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - General)
3:45 PM – 5:00 PM
Building Social HR Leadership - Doug Shaw, CEO/Founder, What Goes Around
As global HR and business leaders, in order to compete effectively we first have to know how to collaborate and inspire one another and HR professionals are uniquely placed to take a lead on this and build a compelling cause for change. For too long we have tried to fit people into rigid workplace structures resulting in a dehumanising effect on us. Siloing activities and breaking tasks down to component parts have all led to monotony and a reduction in skills. With the growing use of social tools we have a chance to rehumanise work and put people back at the heart of work, not the other way around. We can use transparency, systems thinking and even our vulnerability to create powerful places to work. A lot of this can be facilitated and achieved through dialogue and conversation, face to face and globally across the social media space.
Through this session attendees will learn how people can make stronger connections with each other and deliver (1) Better employee and customer experiences (2) Better cross departmental working (3) Better leadership (4) Better learning. Attendees will take away simple and powerful methods to help make work more engaging, collaborative and inspiring. (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - General)
Extreme Labor Relations: Life in the New Labor Environment - Michael VanDervort
Once a mainstay of the profession, labor relations is now viewed by many in HR as an archaic hold-over of by gone days. This is far from the truth, and ignoring or overlooking the changing nature of labor relations in the United States could have serious repercussions for your organization. This lively session will bring you to the cutting edge of the new labor relations environment, including a look at recent important NLRB decisions, the status of labor unions, and the rapidly developing alternative labor groups that may ultimately replace unions. We will also examine the rise of social media as a tool for labor activism, the NLRB stance on protected activity and your social media policy, and tips on how to create strategies to deal with these issues in your workplace. (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - General)
Social Media and HR Kyle Ferachi, McGlinchey Stafford
This session will take the participants through the alphabet soup of federal/state employment law and how social media impacts the HR professions. Social media is here to stay and all HR Professionals must embrace it and learn how to use it legally and in the company’s best interest. This session will go further that boring legalese as attendees will deal with real cases, hypothetical situations and be active participants.(pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - General)
Creating an Employment Brand Around Company Culture: The Culture Audit, Assessment & Brand Message - Teela Jackson and Matt Charney
Is your company prepared to compete with other, well-known brands in the market? What is your company known for and what is its reputation in the marketplace? Company culture plays a large part in the employee experience and what attracts candidates to your organization. In this session, we will examine company culture and conduct a company culture audit. Following the company culture audit, we will share best practices in creating a competitive employment branding message. A clear, concise brand will help your organization compete in this extremely competitive talent landscape. As a part of this process, we will conduct a company cultural audit and assessment. We will also discuss how the company’s vision, mission, values and strategic direction each play a part in the creation of an employment brand that is memorable, attractive and engaging. (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - General)
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
9:00 AM – 10:15 AM
eTraining: Making the Transition to Online and Hybrid Training Options - Kristin M. Anderson; Upgrade Training and Consulting
This session will look at the value of using online tools to enhance face-to-face training options in the workplace. A rationale for moving to online and hybrid models creates a foundation on which to consider the keys to successful eLearning. The emphasis will not be on online tools as a one size fits all replacement for face-to-face offering, but as a resource that can strengthen current training initiatives by making training more accessible, attending to multiple learning styles, capitalizing on the unique expertise of trainers and allowing for greater interactivity by participants. (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - General)
What’s Wrong with Your Internal Communication Strategy -- and How to Make It Right - Mary Ellen Slayter, Reputation Capital Media Services
Industry research consistently finds that the vast majority of employees are either not engaged or actively disengaged at work. A critical piece of overcoming that gap: effective internal communication. HR leaders must develop strategies to address not only engagement, but also related issues such as retention and talent attraction. This strategy must be in alignment with the organization’s overall mission and culture. With a focus on actionable take-aways, HR leaders will understand how they can assess the effectiveness of their internal communications as well as how to develop a plan to improve them. Attendees will learn to clarify not just what and how but more importantly why they need to define a strategy including (*) Why it’s critical to integrate the communication strategy to organizational vision and strategic goals (*) The need to identify desired outcomes in employee perception and behavior to lead to attainment of those goals (*) How to measure and evaluate current internal communications, which will lead to an understanding of what needs to change in employee’s perceptions, attitudes and access to information (*) The most effective ways to clarify the roles of organizational leaders, managers, employees and communication professionals
At the end of the session, HR leaders will be equipped to implement an internal communications strategy, applicable across all HR and organizational functions, that includes a clear-cut plan for determining the communication activities needed and the corresponding responsibilities. Mary Ellen Slayter will present research, studies and successful practices that will give the attendees information on selecting appropriate communication channels including information on content marketing strategies, internal social networks/channels, intranet. (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - General)
Hiring America’s Veterans: Best Practices in Action - Lynne Broussard, SPHR
Drawing upon actual examples and success stories from Hero Health Hire (H3), a coalition of health care companies dedicated to helping our nation's disabled veterans find and retain meaningful employment, this session will educate attendees on the Value of Veterans. The session will cover topics including tapping into community resources to identify veteran candidates, how to establish partnerships with other LA employers to hire veterans, and tips for collaborating with veterans’ groups to provide support services. (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - Business Management and Strategy)
The Basics of Base Salary Structure Design & Administration - Jim Stodd, SPHR
One of the essential competencies of all HR leaders has to be the ability to build compensation structures, policies and practices that meet the organization’s needs and are aligned with its business strategy. This program will cover the basics of how to develop and maintain a base pay/salary structure that is internally equitable, externally competitive and scalable based upon the organization’s strategies and objectives. This program would be ideal for HR leaders and managers that have limited exposure to base salary administration, or are thinking of revamping their organization’s existing programs. (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - General)
10:45 AM – Noon
No Place Like Home: Changing the Organization with Eight Months of Silo Bustin’, Relationship Buildin’, Educatin’, Innovatin’, Process Improvin’, Job Shadowin’ Fun - Broc Edwards and Cheryl Gochis
Organizations with multiple locations, whether big or small, global or local, face the challenges of isolation, fragmented and disconnected objectives, and us-versus-them silos. What if you could remove the barriers, increase communication throughout the organization, build relationships across areas, create big picture understanding of how each area supports the company, identify process improvements, create appreciation and understanding between areas, identify potential career paths, and reverse global warming?
Ok, some of that just might be too good to be true. We can’t guarantee you’ll be able to do all of those things at the end of this session. But we can show you how Extraco Corporation, with 400 employees in six business entities across 17 locations, used a simple and effective job shadow program to increase communication, understanding, and improve processes across the organization (we’re still working on the whole global warming thing). (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - Business Management and Strategy)
Who do YOU want to Hire? A Monkey, Ninja, or Pirate? - Brad Galin, SPHR
When hiring new employees for your organization what is the emphasis for selection? Are the right factors weighed so that the right fit can be achieved between the organization and the new hire. This presentation examines the factors at play and how to evaluate talent to see if they have what is needed to be the monkey, ninja, or pirate that your organization needs.1. Monkey – How does the person solve problems that are placed before them? 2. Ninja – What are the skills this person brings to the organization? 3. Pirate – Even with good problem solving and skills, could a lack of fit doom future performance? (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours -General)
How to Be an HR Super Sleuth - Sarah Williams
This session will provide practical lessons and techniques managers can use to handle investigation and resolution of workplace conflicts. From interpersonal issues to management failure to theft, harassment and discrimination … popular television crime dramas like Law & Order, The Closer, CSI, etc. provide great tips that can aid us in solving our workplace problems. Examples of what the session will cover include intake of employee complaints, identifying and interviewing witnesses, evaluating evidence for corroboration and relevancy, mitigating risk and determining appropriate discipline, and creating documentation to withstand legal scrutiny. (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - General)
Equal Opportunity and Valuing Diversity: How do they go hand in hand? – Julia Mendez, CAAPS, PHR, CELS, Peoplefluent
Matters of Equal Employment Opportunity and diversity are often handled by two separate departments. However, this doesn’t mean they can’t share common information and partner together. In this session, attendees will learn how to leverage the common thread to attract a diverse group of applicants and hires. They will also learn how diversity training and policies lead to an inclusive work environment, which also decreases the likelihood of discrimination claims being filed. This session will cover the following: Definition of discrimination; Definition of diversity/inclusion; Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP) and Adverse Impact; Reverse discrimination; Unconscious bias; Pros of valuing diversity; Best practices for an inclusive environment. (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours)
1:00 PM – 2:15 PM
How to Best Educate your Employees about Retirement… and more importantly what To Educate Them About! - Paul Powell
Why should you want to educate your employees about retirement? What if you could tell your current employees or prospective employees that 75% or even 85% of the company’s employees are on track for a comfortable retirement? That your company wants them to have a successful career, and retirement. This session will cover techniques for communicating about retirement with your employees in order to see improvement in morale, recruitment and cost-savings! (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - General)
How to Avoid Crappy HR Software Contracts - William Tincup, SPHR
The session will explore how to negotiate your next HR software contract. You've done the easy work... you've selected the "right" application. Now the hard work begins. You don't want to be a guinea pig. You want to manage risk for your firm. You want to create a bulletproof contract that protects all of your interests. Truth is, negotiating software contracts isn't something you do every single day and the vendor community isn't going to teach you. Attend the session and we'll have a fierce discussion about how you come out on top in your next negotiation. (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - Business Management and Strategy)
Going Beyond Social: Using Internal Social Networks/Talent Communities to Improve Communication, Collaboration, and Camaraderie in Your Organization - Crystal Miller
While social media/online Talent Communities as a mean of continued networking with potential hires has been gaining steam in the HR/Recruiting Community, there’s another place for them in the HR organization, as well: in your Talent Management Program. There is a growing concern with the increasing disconnect between employees and the companies/brands they serve. We’ll look at this trend in decreased employee engagement & then discuss how, by going beyond external social media with Talent Networks/Communities to an internal platform, HR leaders can transform their workforce & reengage their employees to the brand. (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - Business Management and Strategy)
How to Master FMLA Compliance - Vicki Crochet, Taylor Porter
Ensuring proper compliance with the Family Medical Leave Act is a necessity for HR professionals and while some situations may cause challenges, there are some proven tips you can follow to ensure you are in line with what needs to be done. In this session we will cover how to best set up and adhere to a process that will serve your organization, and your employees. Items covered will include an overview of the notice of eligibility and rights; why it's important to provide written notice of approval/disapproval of FMLA leave; what to include in a written leave policy and why it's important to train managers on FMLA - and what to train them on. (pre-approved for 1.25 HRCI recertification credit hours - General)
