The following is the schedule for upcoming Learning & Professional Development programs. Continue checking the calendar of events for specific details regarding these events. The 2008 LPD Committee will convene shortly, so keep an eye out for upcoming 2008 programs!
Upcoming Learning & Professional Development Programs:
Class fees for LPD programs:
2 Credit class:
$35- member
$45- non-member
3 Credit class:
$45 - member
$55 - non-member
Participants can register on the PHRA website (from the Monthly Calendar) unless otherwise noted.
Managing Conflict and Mediation - Diffusing an Explosive Situation
February 6th and February 20th, 2008
8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
PHRA Office
3 CE credits per session (Approved)
This is a two-part series on Managing Conflict and Mediation. Online registration cost covers both sessions at a 10% discount. Contact the PHRA office to register for only one of the two sessions. ($45 for one session- members, $55 for one session- nonmembers)
Course Overview:
Wherever there are choices to be made, differences may provide challenges or opportunities. One difficulty is the possibility that differences will result in increased contention. Supervisors may have to act as mediators and arbitrators from time to time. The advantage of mediation is maintaining responsibility for problem solving and conflict resolution at the level of those who own the challenge. Selecting an outside mediator often makes sense.
Several roles taken on by the mediator include understanding each participant’s perspective; setting ground rules for improved communication; coaching participants on effective interaction styles; equalizing power; and helping participants plan for future interaction.
When the supervisor acts in the role of an arbitrator, it is more important to make a fair judgment than to try to please all workers involved.
Participants will:
�� Defining Boundaries
�� Defining the Problem/Conflict
�� Resolving Conflicts
�� Pre-empting Conflicts
Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and interact in discussions with the presenters and other course participants. Learning will be facilitated by staff from Employee Benefit Resources, Inc. using discussion groups, forums, and other activities designed to involve you in the course.
Benefits:
While almost anyone can lead or manage when everything is fine, real leaders are the ones who persevere even when things are difficult. Therefore, conflict resolution is a very important skill for leaders to have. Conflict is a natural and normal part of life and work. It is not necessarily a sign of a poorly managed team, but it can be. Conflict can also have a negative impact on productivity and morale when it’s not addressed effectively and efficiently. It’s essential that, as a leader, you address conflict issues right away and handle situations correctly so that everyone’s integrity remains intact.
All materials will be available at the beginning of the class. The seminar includes the following:
�� Training by an Experienced Human Resources Professional
�� PowerPoint Presentation
�� Hand Outs
�� Pre-assessment and Post-assessment Tests
�� Certificate of Attendance
�� Question and Answer Session
Presented by:
Susan Henry, PHR, CELS, COHS
Director of Human Resources
Training and Development
eBenefits Administrators, Inc.
Employee Benefits Resources, Inc.
Metrics that Matter in People Management
LPD Program and Networking Lunch
Wednesday March 26, 2008
8:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Location: Renaissance Hotel- Pittsburgh, Room: Symphony A & B
3 Strategic Credits (credits pending)
Save the date for PHRA’s first LPD program with a networking lunch! This half day program will include a 3 hour educational program with a networking brunch to follow.
Schedule:
8:30 - 8:45 Registration
8:45 - 10:05 Program
10:05 - 10:15 Break
10:15 - 11:00 Panel 1 HC Metrics in Practice: HR Scorecards
11:00 - 11:10 Break
11:10 - 11:55 Panel 2 Driving Performance: Leadership and Key Talent
12:00 - 1:00 Networking Lunch
Program Description:
Ensure human capital investments and talent management strategies drive profitable growth in your organization. Understanding and applying human capital metrics enables HR professionals to make informed, prioritized decisions that clearly connect people to business performance. Please join PHRA and Towers Perrin for a program on Human Capital Management. You will learn:
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The business case for the metrics: understanding the impact of human capital in organizations
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Highlights of Towers Perrin-ISR 2007 Human Capital Workforce Study
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A diagnostic approach: how to create metrics and assess benchmarks
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Metrics in practice: HR Scorecards
This course is geared toward the senior-level (management and executive) HR professional, but all interested are welcome! Earn those hard-to-find strategic credits at this program as well! (3 strategic credits pending approval) Registration will be opening soon. Visit PHRA’s online monthly calendar at www.pittsburghhra.org/25.php to register when available.
Presented By:
Dina Beimler, NOVA Chemicals
Lauren McCullough, Alcoa
Antonia Milke, PNC
Scott Schneider, PNC
Leaderhip & Key Talent Panel:
Penny Bayko, NOVA Chemicals
Jennifer Ciccone, Matthews International
Lola Mason, CMU
Effective Discipline and the Termination Process
March 6th and March 20th, 2008
8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
PHRA Office
3 CE credits per session (Approved)
This is a two-part series on Effective Discipline and the Termination Process. Online registration cost covers both sessions at a 10% discount. Contact the PHRA office to register for only one of the two sessions. ($45 for one session-members, $55 for one session- nonmembers)
Course Overview:
This comprehensive training course is designed to provide human resources, supervisors, and managers with a practical understanding of the fundamental principles of Effective Discipline and the termination process. Staff members that have responsibilities that include hiring and firing and need to learn new techniques for employee discipline and remediation will benefit. Or, who want to learn ways and means to prevent employee terminations but who also want to be properly prepared and equipped to terminate if and/or when it is warranted.
Participants will:
�� Determine appropriate discipline
�� Communicate to the employee the rule, regulation, policy, procedure or past practice that has been broken and is the reason for the discipline
�� Discipline staff members regarding unacceptable behavior or conduct
�� Properly document disciplinary action for remediation and/or termination
�� Examples of employee misconduct or poor performance
�� Alternatives to employee termination
�� What to communicate and not communicate to remaining staff members regarding the termination of the co-worker
Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and interact in discussions with the presenters and other course participants. Learning will be facilitated by staff from Employee Benefit Resources, Inc. using discussion groups, forums, and other activities designed to involve you in the course.
Benefits:
Anybody can intimidate staff in order to obtain performance - but will the result be a good one? Employees need information and facts regarding their performance to be able to make behavior modifications to meet expectations. When discipline is properly carried out, challenges are often resolved before they get out of hand. When an employee has a supportive supervisor, he has the potential to stretch far, to feel greatly valued, and to continually grow on the job, making this a positive reinforcing cycle.
Employee termination is often the last step in an unsuccessful attempt to help a worker meet work standards. Termination is a task that sometimes must be performed and must be accomplished with consummate skill and sensitivity. Many managers have no idea how to properly conduct a termination. This lack of knowledge puts the manager and the employer at risk. This seminar is designed to enhance your skills and give you the sensitivity you need by example role-plays and getting coaching and feedback on the process.
All materials will be available at the beginning of the class. The seminar includes the following:
�� Training by an Experienced Human Resources Professional
�� PowerPoint Presentation
�� Hand Outs
�� Pre-assessment and Post-assessment Tests
�� Certificate of Attendance
�� Question and Answer Session
Presented by:
Susan Henry, PHR, CELS, COHS
Director of Human Resources
Training and Development
eBenefits Administrators, Inc.
Employee Benefits Resources, Inc.
April 2nd and April 16th, 2008
8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
PHRA Office
3 CE credits per session (Approved)
CANCELLED
This is a two-part series on Negotiation Skills. Online registration cost covers both sessions at a 10% discount. Contact the PHRA office to register for only one of the two sessions. ($45 for one session-members, $55 for one session- nonmembers)
Course Overview:
At least some aspect of a well-negotiated agreement should exceed everyone's initially anticipated outcome. In order to build solutions that improve on initial expectations, you must devise creative solutions that do more than meet concrete demands. An effective and maximally profitable agreement addresses everyone's underlying needs. When the options proposed acknowledge, validate, and address the needs of all involved, agreement is likely to be reached quickly, and time is not wasted on posturing, demands, or threats. Moreover, negotiating to meet the needs of all can lay the foundation for positive ongoing relationships. When the supervisor acts in the role of an arbitrator, it is more important to make a fair judgment than to try to please all workers involved.
Participants will learn how to:
�� Recognize the value of a relationship and have a mutual desire to continue it.
�� Participate actively in the process.
�� Show consideration and acceptance of each other's perspectives, values, beliefs, and goals.
�� Separate personality from the issue involved.
�� Work together to develop a solution everyone can accept.
Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and interact in discussions with the presenters and other course participants. Learning will be facilitated by staff from Employee Benefit Resources, Inc. using discussion groups, forums, and other activities designed to involve you in the course.
Benefits:
Whether you're negotiating price with a vendor, a long-term contract with a consultant or deadlines with a colleague, better negotiation skills might be essential to your business success. By practicing the negotiation strategies and skills suggested in this seminar, you can make conflict resolution a regular part of your approach to managing relationships at home, at work, and in the community.
All materials will be available at the beginning of the class. The seminar includes the following:
�� Training by an Experienced Human Resources Professional
�� PowerPoint Presentation
�� Hand Outs
�� Pre-assessment and Post-assessment Tests
�� Certificate of Attendance
�� Question and Answer Session
Presented by:
Susan Henry, PHR, CELS, COHS
Director of Human Resources
Training and Development
eBenefits Administrators, Inc.
Employee Benefits Resources, Inc.
Making Sense of Employment Law & Using It To Your Advantage
April 24, 2008
8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
PHRA Office
2 CE Credits (Approved)
Employment law doesn’t have to be described in confusing and complicated terms. It doesn’t have to only be something that works against you. This program provides common sense and helpful explanations of the employment law areas managers are most likely to encounter. Most importantly, this program provides an understanding of how to avoid employment law problems while not having to tolerate problem employees.
Learn how to run your business effectively and avoid common employment law claims. Learn what causes lawyers to walk away from claims against you on behalf of your current or former employees. Have the law explained to you in a clear, common sense manner. Get simple principles to follow to avoid legal claims. This will be done in areas such as:
You are encouraged to come with your questions on any area of employment law. Emphasis will be given to answering those questions and sharing successful approaches.
Presented by:
Craig M. Brooks, Esq.
Houston Harbaugh, P.C.
Driving Business Performance: The Art and Science of Strategic Workforce Planning
LPD Program and Networking Lunch
May 7, 2008
8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Westin Hotel – Downtown
3 STRATEGIC Credits (Approved)
Workforce capability and availability are critical to driving business performance over the next decade. Organizations face unprecedented challenges today with significant demographic changes occurring in the workforce, growing shortages in key skill areas, increased talent competition and new or changing skill requirements brought on by changing technology.
Is your organization prepared for these talent management challenges? Do you have a strategy and plan to meet future talent needs? Learn what other leading organizations are doing now to ensure they have the right people with the right skills in the right places at the right time.
Key topics include:
The current workforce landscape: insights, challenges and trends
Overview of strategic workforce planning processes: diagnostics and solutions
What constitutes a successful workforce planning practice
Actual case studies and outcomes.
Presenters:
Roselyn Feinsod, F.S.A, Principal, Global Strategic Workforce Planning Practice, Towers Perrin David Eisenreich,F.S.A., Senior Consultant, Strategic Workforce Planning Champion, Towers Perrin
Affecting Change in a Change-Adverse Environment:
Preparing for and Engaging in Successful Labor Negotiations
May 21, 2008
8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
PHRA Office
2 CE Credits (Pending Approval)
Imaging a company faced with this problem:
In late 2006, ownership of a major closely held business, with a long-standing history in the community, announced that it was prepared to sell the 220-year-old business unless labor negotiations produced significant cost savings, including job cuts. Since 2003, the Company suffered net operating losses totaling more than $23 million. With 14 separate union contracts representing nearly 1,000 full-time and 200 part-time employees set to expire on Dec. 31, 2006, management was faced with “selling” the unions on redesigned medical plans for active and retired employees – which included employee contributions for the first time ever – as well as restructured pension and compensation plans.
Understanding the difficulty in negotiating around the union contracts that have in place restrictive work rules and an inability to reduce the workforce, the Company needed to quickly create reasonable, comprehensive compensation, health and retirement plans.
The Company was successful in its efforts to redesign its medical and health and benefit plans and modify its pension plan, along with other changes. As a result, the Company was able to negotiate a three-year contract with the unions that will enable reduced future operating expenses. Other changes were implemented that will create additional operational efficiencies.
The challenges facing this company are hardly unique and provide important lessons for human resource leaders regardless of their industry. The lessons learned from the experience not only shed light on obtaining effective negotiating results and how to improve union relationships, as they are often a key to improving overall operations while still providing a cost-effective, comprehensive compensation package including competitive medical and health benefits and retirement programs.
During this program, you will discuss these top three learning objectives:
1. How to play a key part in being a part of a team
a. Understand the financial and operating issues facing your company
b. Assist with devising operating and economic goals
c. Create workable solutions by creating a “menu of options”
d. Negotiating Change: Creating a reasonable, yet comprehensive compensation, employee benefits and pension plans for active and retired employees.
2. Meeting the Challenges
a. Redesigning compensation, employee benefits and retirement plans
i. Analyzing existing plans
ii. Identifying opportunities for cost savings
iii. Designing solutions that save money
iv. Assessing the solutions’ impact on employees
b. “Selling” the solutions during union negotiations
3. Strategies and tips for those facing a similar situation
a. Advance preparation: Early and often
b. Costing models: Understanding the affect on the company and the employee
c. Presenting your solution: The art of union negotiations
Speaker:
Elliot Dinkin
Executive Vice President
Cowden Associates, Inc.
Elliot Dinkin is equally comfortable whether he is in a courtroom providing testimony or in a CFO’s office providing strategic counsel.
The 23-year veteran of the actuarial, compensation and employee benefits realm continues to make his mark. Today, as an executive vice president at Cowden Associates, Inc., Elliot’s defined benefit and defined contribution expertise is especially critical as companies navigate new legislation and look for creative ways to address the escalating costs associated with these employee benefits.
Elliot’s breadth and depth of experience recently enabled him to lead a complex pension-freeze process for a client. Though it was initially underfunded by about $50 million, the freeze resulted in a fully funded $250 million pension plan. Elliot was also instrumental in creating a new executive compensation program for a bank holding company as it prepared to change ownership. This process involved the intricate handling of both current and future owners, while still creating an effective total compensation package that would reward and motivate key executives.
The entrepreneurial spirit that Elliot has at Cowden Associates, Inc., is the same that led him to conceive and build Elliot Dinkin and Associates, Inc., where he served as president for eight years. Elliot’s insight into the challenges facing the C-suite, as well as his understanding of the global and regional marketplace – honed from a stint at Price Waterhouse – make him a natural at servicing clients and continually finding new ways to meet their needs.
In addition to providing value for clients, Elliot’s expert knowledge of management, collective bargaining and pensions has been tapped by publications including The Bankers Magazine and Employee Benefits News. His broad understanding of the issues has also made Elliot a frequent expert witness in legal proceedings on concerns ranging from compensation and collective bargaining issues to retirement.
Valuing Human Capital, Part II: A Panel of HR Managers Describe How Their Companies Have Created An ‘Employees First’ Culture
June 18th, 2008
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
PHRA Office
2 CE Credits (Pending Approval)
In July, Prof. Jay Liebowitz conducted an LPD workshop explaining the concepts of Human Capital Management, and how companies can become more successful by creating an “employer of choice,” “employees first” culture. In this session, four Human Resource Managers from successful Pittsburgh companies will describe how they have implemented this approach in their companies.
Waking up Sleeping Beauty
July 15, 2008
8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
PHRA Office
3 CE Credits (Approved)
This is a magical, interactive session on accelerated learning in the classroom. By attending this presentation, you will experience first hand powerful accelerated learning techniques to enable fast paced learning. Some of the topics covered include:
- Understanding the brain function and how learning takes place in this important organ
- Understanding the insight into what motivates people to learn
- Learning how to capture human attention
- Understanding the psychological needs of our learners
- How to make orientation/onboarding sessions fun including policies and procedures
- How to save training dollars through accelerated learning
- How to make a course evaluation count and to see if learning sticks
- How to get the ROI out of your training program
- How to convert a traditional training program to an accelerated format to save your training dollars
- To explore what Giant Eagle is doing in the training and talent development department
The top three learning or service objectives are:
- To be able to define what accelerated learning is and to identify at least 5 accelerated learning techniques
- To learn how to jazz up a training program and make it fun for everyone while saving your training dollars
- To see how a traditional training program was converted to an accelerated format
Biography:
Diane Marie Word has more than 7 years of training and organizational development background. As an Instructional Designer for Giant Eagle, Diane has many years of experience with accelerated learning. She obtained a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management specializing in training and organizational development at LaRoche College. Diane is a member of the International Alliance for Learning (IAL) and founded the IAL Pennsylvania Chapter where she serves as President. She is a member of the ASTD national organization and has recently been appointed the ASTD Pittsburgh board. She is currently consulting with several colleges and universities in Pennsylvania.
Attracting and Retaining Top Talent in Today's Changing Workplace
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
8:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Location: TBA
2 Strategic CE Credits (pending approval)
Program Schedule
8:45 – 9:15 registration
9:15 - 10:15 program
10:15 - 10:30 break
10:30 - 11:30 program
11: 30 - 12:30 lunch
For the past several years, employee satisfaction has taken a back seat to more pressing marketplace challenges. However, as the job market continues to improve, employers may be facing an alarming exodus of good talent. How significant will this migration be? The most recent Spherion Emerging Workforce® Study reveals that nearly 40% of the U.S. workforce plans to change jobs in the next year. That means many employers will face staggering turnover issues and incur the high costs associated with them.
The compelling question is, “What are we as business leaders doing to keep the skilled contributors we employ today, and how will we be able to recruit the right candidates?” Despite a historically-low unemployment rate and the beginning effects of a labor shortage, the Spherion® Emerging Workforce® Study shows that many workers say their employers are not taking the necessary steps to retain them. In addition, less than half (43%) of the U.S. workforce say they are satisfied with their current jobs.
The most recent data suggest a continued disconnect between employers and employees regarding the effectiveness of various employee retention tactics such as:
· Financial compensation
· Benefits
· Work/life balance programs
Join us as Spherion presents the findings from the Emerging Workforce® Study and explains what you can do about it!
Speaker:
Tom Erb
Regional Director
Spherion Corporation
Tom Erb is Regional Director for Spherion, one of the largest providers of staffing and recruiting services in North America. Mr. Erb oversees the sales team for Spherion’s North Atlantic Staffing region that provides staffing and recruiting solutions to some of the most recognizable and respected companies in the United States. He has been in the staffing industry for nearly 14 years and is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).
Mr. Erb currently serves as an officer of several professional and non-profit organizations. He is immediate past president of both the Ohio Staffing Services Association and the Human Resources Association of Central Ohio. He is also active with Goodwill Columbus, Ohio Business Leadership Network, and West Virginia University’s Central Ohio Alumni Chapter.
Mr. Erb received both a Bachelor and Master of Business Administration from West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Company Profile
Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN) is a leading recruiting and staffing company that provides integrated solutions to meet the evolving needs of companies and job candidates. As an industry pioneer for 60 years, Spherion has screened and placed millions of individuals in temporary, temp-to-hire and full-time jobs. Positions range from administrative and light industrial to a host of professions that include accounting/finance, information technology, engineering, manufacturing, legal, human resources and sales/marketing.
With approximately 700 offices in the United States and Canada, Spherion delivers innovative workforce solutions that improve business performance. Spherion provides its services to more than 8,000 customers, from Fortune 500 companies to a wide range of small and mid-size organizations. Employing 300,000 people annually through its network, Spherion is one of North America’s largest employers. To learn more, visit www.spherion.com.
For up-to-date career tips and trends, visit Spherion’s career blog, The Big TimeTM, at www.spherion.com/careerblog.
Pennsylvania Workers Compensation - What Every HR Administrator Needs to Know
November 6, 2008
8:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
PHRA Office
2.5 CE Credits (Approved)
Pennsylvania has one of the most expensive and litigious Workers Compensation systems in the country. Although our citizens are for the most part honest and hard working, a couple of "bad" workers compensation claims can be very bad for your company. Even legitimate claims can go wrong. For the most part, you rely on your insurance company or TPA to handle your claims. However, this system is very complicated. Even checking the wrong box on a form can cost thousands of dollars. Missing a deadline by one day can cost many thousands of dollars. Even a simple return to work offer needs to follow a complicated process. The most successful employers are proactive partners with their Workers Compensation carriers. This "mini seminar" will help you to understand the system so that you can be an active partner with your carrier in minimizing the cost of workers compensation claims.
Top 3 Learning Objectives:
How to investigate and document a work injury so that the facts can hold up in court.
How to work with your insurance adjuster to make sure that complicated forms are handled properly, and tight deadlines/small windows of opportunity are met.
How to make sure your employee gets the best medical care from providers chosen by the carrier whose goal is recovery and return to the workplace.
Speaker:
Richard N. Held, Post & Schell, PC
Richard N. Held is a workers’ compensation attorney with a maritime background. He is the firm’s Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Act (LHWCA) specialist. He graduated from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1980 and was a ships officer with Military Sealift Command until 1987. After law school, he spent two years with an admiralty firm before coming to Post & Schell in 1992. Mr. Held is the workers’ compensation attorney of choice for several large construction companies with high exposure due to the high earnings of their workers. He is experienced in litigation arising from catastrophic construction injuries, such as the reasonableness of costly home modifications and special vehicles, and the subrogation issues that often accompany these cases.
You spoke, we listened.
First, a big thanks to everyone who participated in the PHRA Learning & Professional Development survey we completed last month. We take your responses very seriously and use them as the basis for all of our planning efforts. But before we let you know about any of the plans we are working on for the year, we wanted to make sure we passed along the results to you. In all, we received 206 surveys from members. Here’s a summary of what you told us...
- TOPICS: You told us the 10 topics you were most interested in are (in order)...
1. Strategic Planning
2. Managing Conflict and Mediation
3. Talent Management
4. Negotiation Skills
5. Effective Discipline
6. Performance Reviews
7. Emotional Intelligence
8. How to Hire and Retain Top Talent
9. Communication Tools
10. Job Descriptions
- LOCATION: You told us you’d like to have programs held in the PHRA office or at a Downtown location.
- PROGRAM LENTH: You told us you’d like programs to be 2 hours in length. Coming up in second and third place were 3 hours programs and 1 hour programs respectively.
- PROGRAM TIME: You told us you’d like to have programs held in early morning. Mid morning was the second most preferred time with lunch time coming in at a close third. 72.8% of respondents indicated that they would be interested in a quarterly program with a networking brunch. 80.9% of respondents showed interested for a quarterly program with a networking lunch.
- LIVE WEBINARS: 79% of respondents indicated an interest in participating in live webinars
- REIMBURSEMENTS: The majority of PHRA members (77.4%) attending LPD programs are reimbursed by their employers.
- PRODUCT BUNDLING: 43.1% of respondents expressed an interest in purchasing Learning & Professional Development programs for the year in a bundle at a discounted price.
The Learning & Professional Development Committee will be taking your feedback into consideration as they begin planning programs for 2008. Thank you for the input and we look forward to another great year or programming at the Pittsburgh Human Resources Association.
As our mission says, we’re committed to providing professional development and educational resources to enhance the value of HR profession. For more information, go the the Professional Development page. See our calendar of events for a listing of upcoming Learning & Professional Development programs and connect with colleagues through our PeopleLink for information and resource sharing. We’ve also provided a selection of frequently used web sites that provide helpful information to assist you on a daily basis on our Industry Links page. As always, if you have information you would like to present or share with the other members, please do so!
