February 7, 2005
MITRE
Tysons Corner, VA

Attendees:

Kurt Cowles, President
Evelyn Kaiser, Diversity/Workforce
Mary Walter Midkiff, AVP Programs
Denise Hartman, Legislative Liaison
Maggie Chan, President Elect
Bonnie Little, Membership
Andrea Evans, Student Chapter Liaison
Mary Saily, VP Programs
Cindy Loison, Past-President
Lisa Forester, SHRM Foundation Rep & Scholarship Coordinator
Judy Carter, Treasurer
Amy Lourenco, Secretary
Nancy Streeter, Communications Director
Judy Perrault, Director-at-Large

Agenda:

- Mary made a motion, seconded by Judy P, to approve the January minutes as amended. The motion passed unanimously.

- Kurt asked Nancy to wait until minutes are approved before posting them on our website.

Treasurer Report:

- Judy Carter presented the monthly Treasurer's Report. She noted that the Bank Analysis Service Charge of $10.23 was an error that would be credited back to our account. Amy Lourenco questioned the web maintenance fees that had almost doubled from December to January. These charges vary with the number of changes made with many changes made in January.

- Judy Carter presented a rough draft Profit/Loss Summary of Chapter Dinner Meetings. We frequently lose about $200 per meeting, so we discussed under-guaranteeing in the future. Nancy Streeter and Judy Perrault said they always called in no more than 80% of the number they expected. Nancy Streeter also suggests calling in 41 so they will set an extra table as well as never upping the number for late registrants. Nancy Streeter will contact Lynn Padgett to discuss.

- Judy Carter talked about the 26 no-shows we had in January (there was a snow storm that day). Despite that, we had enough walk-ins that we only lost $247. Judy Carter suggested that we forgive the people who no-showed due to the weather to build goodwill. There was a lot of discussion around the topic. In the end, we decided to send them invoices (by e-mail). We will also continue to collect at the door for previously owed monies if someone shows up in the future. Ultimately, if someone refuses to pay what's owed, we'll . discuss the circumstances and determine approach, but potential loss of membership may result.

- We spent some time discussing our inclement weather policy. We will post it on our site as well as on the registration page and in the confirmation that is sent when someone registers. We will strengthen the language to indicate that, since the Chapter is responsible for the money, we expect people to pay. The Marriott has agreed to be our point of contact for bad weather days and have us list their number on the website. While they will work with us if the weather is really extreme, we are responsible for our guaranteed headcount. Kurt Cowles will review suggested wording with Judy Carter and send suggested notice to Nancy Streeter for posting.

- Judy Carter presented the budget for 2005 (Dulles SHRM Expenses).

- Cindy Loison mentioned that there were 33 people at the last discussion group. Given that, the amount budgeted for food at these events is probably too low. Alternately, we can stick to our original plan and reject any more than the 25 who are permitted to register. We decided to increase line 2020 on the budge to $200 (from $144).

- Nancy Streeter mentioned the need to add a line item for Hostway (web hosting) in the amount of $47.85/year. This amount is currently being charged to Nancy Streeter's personal American Express card.

- The cost of the holiday dinners is being underestimated at $31.50. We increased line 2011 to $3,300 to reflect the true cost of $55/person.

- We need to add a line item for Board meeting light fare. It was suggested that we budget $450 ($50 per meeting x 9 meetings).

- With these adjustments made, the 2005 budget is finalized.

Presidents Report:

- Kurt Cowles reported that our Chapter Activity Plan (CAP) has been completed. This is required by all chapters regardless of the number of points they accrue.

- We have enough points (83) to qualify for Superior Merit -- the highest rating available.

- We've provided a year-end Chapter roster to verify our 203 paid members as of 12/31/04. We were also asked to compare our number of certified members against the previous year, which is difficult to do as it is not clear that all member certifications are listed. We were able to do it for the Board as requested. Going forward, Bonnie Little will ask members to ensure their certifications are listed accurately for publication.

- Kurt Cowles presented the SHRM Chapter Charter for our review. This is being required of all chapters. Amy Lourenco moved, and Cindy Loison seconded, a motion to allow Kurt Cowles to complete and submit the Chapter Charter on our behalf. The motion passed unanimously.

Programs Report:

- Mary presented a current schedule showing speakers scheduled through April (plus September) and sponsors through July.

- Mary presented an update on topics and speakers for our consideration.

- Misti Mukherjee volunteered to speak on a variety of topics. We will wait until the June Board meeting to finalize, but the Board seemed to lean towards latest sexual harassment legislation/cases.

- There was general agreement on the topics of performance management, coaching, and culture, as well as panel leaders for the first two. Several people made suggestions of companies that could participate in panels on those topics.

- Mary moved, and Amy Lourenco seconded, a motion to have HumanR survey our membership. The motion passed unanimously.

- As last year, HumanR will be doing the survey gratis (THANKS MARY!!!). We will be sending it out in late February to people that paid in 2004. Mary will provide an article for the newsletter.

- We discussed leaving some meetings open (perhaps October & November) to allow programs to be planned in response to the survey.

- We decided to not have any "connections" question. Rather, we are encouraged to talk about the use of SHRM national resources. Also, if the announcements are done early in the evening (as they were in January), that can lead to discussion. [We talked about the timing of the announcements -- early vs. late -- and perhaps varying monthly and/or by size of group.]

Membership Report:

- Bonnie Little reported that we have 85 paid members. [Judy said she has received additional checks to bring the number to 108.] Of those, 22 are new members and 63 are renewals.

- Bonnie Little will provide a newsletter article regarding membership renewal.

- SHRM national has done an "at-large" mailing. We have been received a lot of questions on membership. We need to find out what they said in their mailing so we can potentially do a follow-up mailing or call.

Scholarship Report:

- Lisa Forester reported that the two scholarship winners have been notified and will be able to attend the February Chapter meeting. We will send a letter to those whom were not selected stating that they weren't chosen and encouraging them to re-apply next year.

- Lisa Forester will also be sending letters (using a letter Nancy Streeter wrote as a template) to the students regarding how they get their awards.

- Lisa Forester will be checking on the school financial aid schedule so that we may coordinate our scholarship program with that for 2005.

Certification Study Group Report:

- A survey of the participants was done using SurveyMonkey and Maggie Chan presented the results. The response rate was a terrific 72% of the 21 who finished the course. Overall the results were positive.

- Maggie Chan commented on the fact that only 11 (approximately 1/2 of the class) took the exam. Of those, nine reported that they had passed -- an 81% pass rate. This compares very favorably with the national averages of 50ish% for SPHR and 60ish% for PHR test takers. Next time, we'll also ask which test they took.

- We talked about scheduling the course on Tuesday night next time, so as not to conflict with our Chapter meetings.

- We discussed the need to do additional education about the certification process as a whole. Maggie Chan got many questions throughout the process that indicated a lack of basic understanding. We talked about possibly incorporating this into an orientation session or doing one separately on certification.

Student Chapter Liaison Report:

- Andrea Evans reported that she is working with Tina Cabasa of the NOVA Chapter on the HR Games. They are scheduled for February 26th in Richmond. She will be facilitating study sessions with George Washington University and George Mason University students.

SIG Report:

- Cindy Loison reported that the last meeting was terrific, with large attendance.

- Locations are needed for future meetings, as well as facilitators.

- The March 3 meeting is on tuition reimbursement.

- The April 7 meeting will be facilitated by Leslie Sorg-Ramsay of the McCormick Group. The topic will be agencies -- perspectives for candidates and businesses.

- Mary Walter Midkiff suggested topics of telecommuting and outsourcing for future meetings.

Questions or Comments? Contact the President

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