Networking at the Villas

“I’m so tired of winter, I have so much work at the office where projects keep increasing, my boss is driving me nuts, my back hurts, the kids are driving me crazy, our son missed curfew four times this week, our one car broke down last week, the washer flooded our new wood floor and…. Uhg! STOP!!! I NEED A BREAK!”

Well, we can help. HRACI members join us for complimentary chair massages, paraffin dips, wine and Hors d’oeuvres on March 7, 2006, at The Villa ~ Inn, Restaurant and Spa, from 4:00 – 6:30 pm. There will be gifts for the first 25 arrivals. The first quarter social event is, for sure, the place to be and to be seen. Register now online at http://www.hraci.org/, or by calling (317) 841-3236.

A hint of the splendor that awaits its guests can be seen from the outside of The Villa with its unusual battlement parapet, trefoil window details and stone trim. Herbert W. Foltz designed the home after a Florentine villa and William J. Reid built the structure. In 2001, Ben and Elaine Life purchased the house with their daughter Jeneane Life and her husband Jordan Rifkin. The property under went 4 months of extensive renovations to become The Villa ~ Inn/Restaurant/Spa.

The Villa offers spa amenities, wine and dinner chats, plastic surgery seminars, wellness programs and a cabaret. Their last show this season will be on March 24, starring Roger Schmelzer with musical direction by Loesje Chandler. Located at 1456 N. Delaware St., nestled between 14th St. and 16th St., and Pennsylvania and Delaware, in-depth directions can be found at: http://www.thevillainn.com/location.htm.

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Recap by Susan J. Martin

The February 16, 2006, HRACI luncheon was sponsored by Financial Center Federal Credit Union. The panel of speakers presented Hi-Tech vs. Hi-Touch Recruiting. Are we sacrificing the hi-touch with today’s technology? This was a joint program with Employment Management Association (EMA www.emaindiana.org) and HRACI. Panel members were Torry Corbett, Dunhill Staffing, Kristin Oberle, Eli Lilly, Jennifer Perdun, PHR, Community Hospitals, Harry H. Danz, III with That’s Good HR and moderator Michelle Pedersen, PHR, Human Capital Management, LLC.

Several questions were asked about the strengths and weaknesses of having hi-tech in recruitment functions and the impact on hi-touch. “Technology improves the way we work at Community,” said Jennifer. “Hi-tech means personal service,” said Torry. Kristin stressed that, “going above and beyond to ensure candidates have a positive experience,” is what having hi-tech has meant for us.

Q. What methods do the companies use to ensure that technology is not screening out too far in front of the process to ensure that they have the broadest base of candidates?
That’s Good HR, Community Hospitals and Dunhill Staffing: A person looks at every resume that comes in.
Eli Lilly: Utilizes technology to screen candidates as they get approximately 40,000 resumes a month. Eli Lilly utilizes quality of hire surveys and they have ways of searching the companies resume database for specific knowledge, skills, and abilities. With such a high volume of resumes each month they must use technology.

Q. How do the companies use hi-touch with clients?
Eli Lilly: Ensures the hiring managers know their role in the process, know interviewing techniques, appropriate questions and they are coached on the selection process.
That’s Good HR: On their permanent hiring side they spend time with their clients to understand their needs. They want to get to know the employer so they can deliver the type of candidate they wish to hire.
Community Hospitals: Spend time getting to know the hiring managers as to what they are looking for in a hire.
Dunhill Staffing: Utilizes job shadowing where a staff member will go into the client’s business and shadow the job to gain a better understanding of what KSA’s are needed.

Q. What systems do the companies use for applicant tracking?
That’s Good HR: Uses Ultra Staff, out of Chicago
Dunhill Staffing: Uses E-impact
Eli Lilly and Community: Use their own system

Q. Do the companies required all applicants to apply online? Do the applicants receive any follow-up communication?
That’s Good HR: Does require the applicants to apply online for the temporary job seekers, but for their executive search side they do not require the applicant to apply online. They do follow-up with the applicants via email. They are working on their follow-up system.
Community Hospitals: Only accept online applicants and they are working on their follow-up system.
Dunhill Staffing: They have the capability to utilize online applicant system but they do not use it. They talk with the applicants over the telephone and encourage him/her to come in.
Eli Lilly: Only accept applicants online and that they do receive a confirmation email along with updates on the status of their application periodically.

Q. Where is the first point of hi-touch with your company?
Community Hospitals: The entry level positions receive more attention. This is due to a volume issue. The first steps are a phone screen or an interview stage.
Dunhill Staffing: Utilizes a phone screen right away on call–in applicants to begin to develop a relationship with the applicant. They try to get them in the door right away.
Eli Lilly: Ensures that the candidate has a positive experience through website improvements, better job descriptions.
That’s Good HR: They do utilize phone screenings.

Q. Do the companies accept open applications or require the applicant to apply for a specific job?
Dunhill Staffing: They allow for both to occur. Dunhill wants to continue to accept new applications coming in. For specific needs they recruit.
Eli Lilly: Only allows applicants to apply to specific open positions.
That’s Good HR: Accepts both types of applicants.
Community Hospitals: Accepts applicants who apply to a specific opening.

Q. Are all candidates treated the same?
For all companies the answer was yes, with the caveat that the highly qualified candidate being sought for a very specific job that required specific education and experience level may be given more hand holding.

Q. Do the companies use qualifying questions?
All companies do use qualifying questions of a basic nature.

Q. How creatively do the companies apply a hi-touch process?
Eli Lilly: Focused on ensuring that the candidate has a good experience. The itinerary is solidified, interviewers are on time, they do not ask the candidate the same interview questions and the candidate meets with someone as a host the evening before the interview for dinner which is typically the hiring individual.
That’s Good HR: The candidates are immediately taken to personal interview rooms and all of the interviewers come to the candidates. They help the candidate make informed decisions.
Community Hospitals: They focus on educating the prospective applicants on the career opportunities through career events, such as being at the Home Show, Zoo, Fashion Mall and offering massages and chocolates to the applicants while they explore the opportunities at Community.
Dunhill Staffing: Introduces all staff on site to the prospective applicant. They let them know what to expect of the interview process and they only see two candidates at a time so the office does not have people coming and going.

Q. How do the companies feel about applicants being pro-active and getting in touch with the company to follow-up on his/her applications?
Dunhill Staffing: feels that it is ok to call and that the more pro-active a candidate is the more it shows an eagerness to work.
Eli Lilly: Finds it difficult for them to respond to candidates who call to check up on their applications.
That’s Good HR: They love to have an active and eager candidate, as long as it is professional and reasonable.
Community Hospitals: Certain positions allow for a lot of applicants to apply so the calls would not be a good idea.

Q. What is your Sourcing Strategy – the most efficient ways and or methods to source and attract applicants to our website?
Community Hospitals: Runs advertisements in the Indianapolis Star for specific positions and in professional journals. They have not been successful on job boards. They do rely on word of mouth and try to hire prospective applicants while they are still in school.
Dunhill Staffing: Loves referrals and use referral bonuses. They post on all the major career boards and try to not use the newspapers. For entry level basic employees their best source has been an advertisement in the yellow pages.
Eli Lilly: Sourcing strategy depends upon the skill sets they are seeking to hire. They have moved away from print ads and use online and referrals.
That’s Good HR: They are similar to Dunhill and uses referral bonuses, job boards, and databases that they subscribe to, along with networking in the community.

Q. What are the companies doing to retain the hired employees three – five years down the road?
That’s Good HR: They offer benefits and a 401K match, along with staying in touch with the new hire and client.
Community Hospitals: Has the initiative of providing exceptional patient and employee experience. They have a creative partnership with Dell to offer interest free loans, are improving their benefits, and have increased their tuition assistance.
Dunhill Staffing: has partnered with short term healthcare, offers vacation, holidays and employee of the month.
Eli Lilly: They review their turnover trends and look for what is the root cause of turnover. They utilize an employee survey to gain the voice of the employee.

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February 9, 2006 the HRACI informal “get-together” met at The Rathskeller and toured The Athenaeum: A German legacy. As you can see, we had so much fun we set the fire alarm off! We had over 20 attendees. The food was good and the tour was great. Below are some facts that we learned while on tour. Our next informal “get-

together” will be on March 23, 6:00 PM at the Milano Inn, Indianapolis.

In the late 1800's, Germans immigrated to Indianapolis and brought with them lively social organizations. What may have been the earliest group in Indianapolis was the Turners Society, founded in 1851 to foster fellowship and the German culture. In 1894 a lot was purchased at Michigan and New Jersey street and a stock company was formed, called the Das Deutsche Haus (The German House), which became a social, cultural, recreational and sports center. Other organizations used the building such as the German-English School Society, the German-American veteran's Society, the Socialer Turnverein Women's Club, the German Ladies' Aid Society and the Turner Building and Savings Association. In 1987 the Musikverein (Music Society) was organized which consisted of three distinct ensembles: a 60-piece orchestra, a male chorus and a mixed chorus. The city's oldest orchestra, the Athenaeum Orchestra, sill practices and performs in the building today.

In 1905, the Southside Ternverein joined with the Socialer Turnverein in sponsoring the national Turnfest which included a number of gymnastic teams from the U.S. and Germany. Today, a YMCA is housed in part of the Athenaeum which has the original fixtures. In 1907, Indianapolis was chosen to house the Normal College of the American Gymnastic Union which offered courses for physical education and helped establish physical education in schools through the country. In 1941, it became part of Indiana University, making the School of Physical Education of IUPUI at Indianapolis the oldest school of physical education in the country.

During WWI, The German House changed its name to the Athenaeum and activities declined in German organizations and institutions. Today, it is owned and operated by the Athenaeum Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the restoration and preservation of this German-American landmark.

The German-Renaissance Revival-Style building is a massive brick structure, designed by Vonnegut and Bohn. Elaborate ornamentation is in some of the brick facade and the gables that face to the south. Ballrooms, restaurants, gardens, a rathskeller with a large fireplace, dining halls, meeting rooms, gymnasium, biergarten, band shell and a scholossgarten complete with banners and animal heads providing an Old World atmosphere are present. Stained glass windows showing music symbols finish out the building decor; which is the only 19th-centruy cultural center remaining in the city. The Athenaeum Restaurant is the city's oldest restaurant (since 1894) still in operation today and the critically acclaimed American Cabaret Theatre is also located in the building.

Source: Retrieved 2/13/2006 from: http://www.athenaeumfoundation.com/

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Get Involved! - Volunteer Opportunities at HRACI

Be rewarded for your efforts by participating on a committee this year. It's not too late to sign-up. Many volunteers have found the time spent working with other HR professionals can be a rewarding experience. It provides the opportunity to work closely with and get to know other HRACI members while striving to meet committee goals. Information on HRACI committees is available on our website at http://www.hraci.org/HRACIvolunteeropportunities2006.htm. A volunteer form may be completed online or downloaded here. If you have any questions, please contact Tami Murphy, Volunteer Coordinator, at tami@temporaryavenue.com or 317-469-4141.

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SHRM Releases Its 2006 Survey on Talent Management
(Alexandria, Va., February 1, 2006)—More than half of human resource (HR) professionals surveyed said their organization had talent management initiatives in place, according to a 2006 Talent Management Survey released today by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The survey was based on responses from 384 HR professionals.

Among respondents who reported that their organizations had talent management initiatives, more than 75 percent indicated they were top priority for their organization. HR professionals also said that these initiatives have their greatest impact on recruitment, employees feeling valued, aligning employees with the mission of the organization, and providing adequate professional development opportunities.

“ There is increasing pressure from the global market to compete with workforces of the highest caliber in order to succeed,” said Susan R. Meisinger, president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management. “Effective talent management drives that success by recruiting the best and brightest, providing developmental opportunities and strategies to retain employees by actively engaging them in achieving an organization's goals."

With an increasingly diverse workforce and growing global competition, organizations are looking to talent management as a means of ensuring quality and consistency in the workforce. Therefore, it is important that employees are trained to perform their jobs at a high level, and that ongoing training is budgeted to further develop employees’ skills. Of those organizations that have talent management initiatives, 65 percent have a formal budget in place for training. The survey also found that employees are more likely to stay with their organization if they are offered professional development opportunities.

However, HR professionals also indicated that there remain areas where talent management initiatives need to be improved:

• creating a deeper reservoir of successors at every level (25 percent);
• creating a culture that makes employees want to stay with the organization (17 percent);
• decreasing existing gaps in employees’ competency levels (17 percent).
  A full copy of the survey is available at www.shrm.org.

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The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 200,000 individual members, the Society's mission is to serve the needs of HR professionals by providing the most essential and comprehensive resources available. As an influential voice, the Society's mission is also to advance the human resource profession to ensure that HR is recognized as an essential partner in developing and executing organizational strategy. Founded in 1948, SHRM currently has more than 550 affiliated chapters and members in more than 100 countries. Visit SHRM Online at www.shrm.org.

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Did you know… The SHRM Foundation provides $50,000 annually to fund the Regional Scholarship Program? The scholarships support SHRM members working full-time and pursuing HR degrees or professional certification. New for 2006! Four academic scholarships of $1300 each and eight certification scholarships of $600 each will be awarded in each region. Each of the five SHRM regions receives $10,000 to award to applicants in their part of the country. Members in island nations may also apply for the awards as part of the Pacific West or Southeast region. SHRM members, chapters and state councils may submit an application to SHRM by July 15 for consideration. Scholarship applications and complete details are available here.
The SHRM Foundation: Investing in Your Future as an HR Leader

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Leaving a Legacy, presented by Carl L. Bossung, CPA
at The Indiana State Council of SHRM

The keynote speaker for The Indiana State Council of SHRM was Carl L Bossung, CPA, from Crow Chizek and Company LLC. His presentation was titled, “Leaving a Legacy for your chapter.” The definition of legacy, according to Webster, is a gift by will, especially money or other personal property; something received by an ancestor. Carl’s definition is, “being remembered for really making a difference. What we should strive for in work life, family life, and chapter life.” After reflecting upon 40 years of experience, Carl has determined the six ingredients and attributes that go into the activities and behaviors necessary to leaving a legacy.

The first ingredient is to be remembered for a person of integrity. What does integrity mean? Being a person of your word, someone who can be counted on, have a strong moral fiber, have ethics, and inspire confidence from those around you.

Improvement is the second ingredient. Having passion for individual improvement and organizational improvement for which you are representing. An important question to ask consistently is, “Why?” Instead of being compliant, challenge the status quo. “The more we embrace continuous change and improve, we will make things better,” said Carl. We can always be better from where we are today.

Strategic vision knows the direction you are going. Are you developing and executing organizational strategy? Carl asked, “What kind of strategic vision, coupled with how to improve, do you have?” Strategic vision comes about from gaining a lot of experiences, talking to a lot of people, reading books and attending seminars. People are not born with strategic vision; it has to be developed by taking broad conceptual elements and putting them into workable strategies. Look for the chapter’s strengths and weaknesses in both opportunities and threats, and be honest in the assessment. As a vision is developed, the bigger the change the greater the legacy.

It is important to communicate the vision. By seeking to understand the needs of the audience the vision can be presented in ways to be heard. Ensure that good listening skills are being used. There are people who listen too much however, and a balance between listening and talking must occur.

Select the right people who will contribute to the legacy. People who will get “on the bus”. Teambuilding and leadership of the team are very important. The leader needs to be willing to be open, self confident, and motivational, not controlling. Leave egos at the door. Don’t be too serious about yourself and encourage dissent and conflict.

Having absolute passion for results is another ingredient for leaving a legacy. Passion includes decisiveness, fear of failure and influence. How much approval from people from the outside of the situation do you need before you can act? Carl’s rule of thumb is to, “do it and ask for approval later, if you really believe in it and the results.” The fear of failure can stop your passion. Make your goals high, identify what results you would like and take personal risk.

Possessing the six ingredients is not enough, you must implement them. Develop a great strategy, surround yourself with an awesome team and empower them to act, assign responsibilities. Managers carry out a plan where leaders set the direction. Ensure that your actions are ethical. If you don’t have ethics, or have a tinge of unethical behavior, it will destroy your ability to lead. Carl Bossung impresses upon us to always be positive, no matter what. Being positive enables you to overcome any adversity that you encounter.

If you are interested in becoming PHR/SPHR certified—go to www.hrci.org to learn how. If you are interested in participating in HRACI’s Fall 2006 PHR/SPHR Preparation Class—send an email to Jennifer Lange at jennifer.lange@oldnational.com and let indicate your interest so you are notified when the Fall class begins accepting registrations. Likewise, if you are interested in facilitating a unit for the Fall class—send Jen an email too!

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Sean Woodard
Dennes Smith
Amy Powdrill
Ronda McClurg
Tonya Duncan
Cathy Cain
Stacey Swan
Kathy Wooldridge
William Welter Jr.
Joyce Walters
Kevin Jones
Gregory Cheatham
Roselyn Howard
Michelle Marson
Kelli Safford

Re-Aisha Willis
Brenda Kiger
Francis Tooley
Anthony Bullard
Anne Gillespie
Karin Surber
Frank Horvath III
Tara Jarvis
Kathleen Steiger
Brian Lockner
Heather Patterson
Addie Knott
Rochelle Howard
Mathew Hubbard
Katherine Lerg
Troy Taylor