2011 Strategic Advice for SHRM: Make SHRM Matter

Voice of HR invited a number of industry contributors to take a critical look at SHRM and offer their strategic advice to SHRM leadership in a web series, 2011 Strategic Advice for SHRM. 

This is a republication of my response posted on Saturday on the Voice of HR blog. 

MAKE SHRM MATTER

So much of my day, I face more competition for my attention than I have time to give. Let's talk about competition for my attention from within my chosen profession - Human Resources.

I've been a Human Resource (HR) professional for over 15 years and counting. I progressed from an HR department of one supporting 75 employees to an HR Director with a staff of 14 supporting 1500 employees. My career has spanned private, public and federal sectors and is still going strong. I am a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a Human Capital Strategist (HCS), I have more degrees than any one person needs and not nearly enough time.

I read. I write. I conference. I search.

I choose. 

My HR colleagues and friends make a difference every day pushing the envelope, generating new ideas and challenging the status quo. They manage HR effectively by changing human behavior and rally fellow HR leaders to develop workforce strategies to generate talent. They deliver on the plan, they seek out the tough questions and they teach. They are in the trenches, they are at the helm and they practice what they preach.

I follow. I lead. I listen. I learn.

I am inspired.

I am a card carrying SHRM member and have been for over 15 years. SHRM, at it's core, is technical practitioner HR.  It's a necessary and solid foundation that was invaluable to me at the start of my career. As a one-person HR department, I had SHRM on speed dial and the professionals on the other end of the line were beacons in the storm and my one-stop for questions. 

Not any more. SHRM is focusing on and meeting a need - but not my need. I am looking for current, relevant, and emerging ideas.

When I have questions or need information, I am online in business magazines, leadership columns, and blogs. I am in Human Capital spaces one day and Talent Management and Succession Planning spaces on another. I live at the Office of Personnel Management and federal HR sites. I seek out conferences beyond traditional and technical HR.

HR is a dynamic profession yet when I think of SHRM, I see a solid, rigid organization. 

SHRM, create a new reality. Start conversations and let them flow. Let go of being big, of being "the one," of being in charge. Collaborate with other organizations and do what you have to do to provide resources to your members- even of they didn't originate from SHRM. Encourage new ideas, let go of "knowing" the future of HR, and be open to the unknown. Restructure to be nimble. 

SHRM, inspire me. Be the change the profession needs.

Make me choose you. 

*  *  *

The series started on last Monday and runs for another few days. The guidance is respectful, thoughtful, productive, provocative and given with the best of intentions.

Give it a read - all of it - and weigh in with your comments. You have a voice.

A Matter of Honor

When people find out I am a veteran, the questions come, I deflect, and people don't understand. So, let me explain.

My introduction to the military was as a freshman in college watching ROTC cadets rappel off the science center. It looked like fun so I joined ROTC. One thing lead to another and, with Bachelors degree in hand, I was commissioned and on active duty soon after graduation.

Active duty. I saw this as a 3 year opportunity to see the world and advance my education. Add in the fact that I'd get a paycheck and it was a mighty good deal for a college kid with some debt and a Biology degree. 

For me, this was a job - a temporary gig.

It wasn't long before I realized that for others, this was so much more.

This was their life and, even as my 3 years turned into 10, I knew in my heart it wasn't ever going to be mine. 

I was single, on my own and with no particular place to be. I didn't give up anything (other than a social life) yet there were sacrifices being made all around me. From the supply sergeant's wife who threw herself into Girl Scouts so she and the girls had something to carry them through the absences, the drill sergeant (psycho-like to new recruits) who kept his daughter's teddy bear in his desk drawer, and the commander who, missing most of her children's birthdays, vowed not ever miss those of her grandchildren - tough heart-wrenching choices were made everyday. 

There was sacrifice but there was not sadness. There was honor and there was inspiration. People question how a mother could leave her children to deploy yet I understand. It's not a black and white "you have to because it's your job," but a deep inner understanding of being part of something bigger than yourself.

And I got to be a part of that. Yes, I served but it's more than that. In between training, leading, commanding and teaching, I honored the commitment, the sacrifice and the honor of the American soldier and of the military family. 

Connect with a soldier or a military family today.

  Photo credit iStockphoto