What’s Coming Up in March?
2002 Chapter Invoices
Mark Your Calendars
Chapter Activity Plan Results
WARN Outlook for 2002
Board Meeting Minutes
We Have a Sponsorship Representative!
Chapter Discussion Groups
Wanted: SPHR Study Partner
HR Leadership Awards
Peak Performance Handbook (Free)
New for 2002: Member Madness
Dulles SHRM Partners With WTPF
Is the Gender Gap Growing?
SHRM National Letter Writing Contest
Check Out Previous Newsletters
What’s Coming Up in March?
Measuring the Employee Life Cycle: A Tool for Improving Retention
Wednesday, March 20, 2002
Have you ever wondered what your employees are thinking about your organization? And how these perceptions may be affecting retention? At our March meeting, Mary Saily, Senior Vice President of HumanR, Inc. and Linda Simon, Director, Organization and Leadership Effectiveness, America Online will discuss measurement tools that you can use in your organization and how the resulting data may assist you in reducing turnover.
Using a case study approach, our presenters will feature practical examples of how America Online has used such information to enhance employee retention. In particular, they will discuss the following measurement tools:
- New Hire Surveys
- Employee Opinion Surveys
- Top Talent Studies
- Exit Interviews
Join us for a provocative discussion packed with information you can take to work the very next day!
2002 Chapter Invoices
You should have received an invoice for your 2002 Chapter dues with your February meeting flyer. We urge you to renew as soon as possible by sending your $25 check to:
Nathalie Laforet, Treasurer
Dulles SHRM
P.O. Box 1249
Herndon, VA 20172-1249.
You may also renew at the March dinner meeting.
Mark Your Calendars
Upcoming SHRM conferences and seminars:
- SHRM Annual Employment Law & Legislative Conference, March 11-13, 2002, Washington, D.C.
- SHRM 54th Annual Conference & Exposition, June 23-26, 2002, Philadelphia, PA
- 2002 VA SHRM State Conference, October 9-11, 2002 in Roanoke, VA
Upcoming Meeting Topics
Upcoming meeting topics:
- March 20 - "Measuring the Employee Life Cycle: A Tool for Improving Retention" - Mary Saily, Vice President for HumanR and Dr. Linda Simon, Director of Organizational Effectiveness for America Online
- April 17 - "Removing the Mystery From Mentoring: Practical Answers to Common Questions About Mentoring Programs" with Ann Johnston of ProGroup (with book signing)
- May 15 - "Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace" with Jennell Evans of Strategic Interactions
- June 19 - "Traits, Customs, and Practices Found in the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America" with Scott Cawood of the Great Places to Work Institute
- July 17 - "Governmental Affairs Update" with Deron Zeppelin of SHRM National
- August 21 - "Update on Current Immigration Issues" with Priscilla Muhlenkamp and Ryan Freel of Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, PC
- September 18 - “Latest Trends in HR Technologies,” a panel presentation with representatives from the consulting world, private industry, SHRM HRTX, and academia
- October 16 - Leadership with Book Signing with Dr. Virginia Bianco-Mathis
- November 20 - “Annual Benefits Update” with Dave Downer, The Segal Group
- December 4 - Holiday Party with everyone
Chapter Activity Plan Results
Many thanks to 2001 Dulles SHRM President Lynn Lorenz who submitted our 2001 Chapter Activity Plan late last month. Our submission shows a tentative point total of 971 with the possibility to increase to 1,021 - Superior Merit Award status. Stay tuned for the final, official total from SHRM.
WARN Outlook for 2002
Presented by Carrie Johnson, The Washington Post
Wednesday, March 13
Sheraton Premiere, Tysons Corner
5:30-7:30 p.m. Cash Bar and Good Food
Learn about the job market for technology workers, recruiters, and Human Resource professionals, new etiquette in the post.doc era, the status of the job market, and how local businesses are pitching themselves to the government sector. WARN is offering the same fee for members and non-members -- $40. For more information, check out the WARN website at www.warn.net or call the WARN Hotline at (703) 450-WARN.
Board Meeting Minutes
The minutes from the Board meetings are available on our web site - please take a few minutes to review them in full. Click Here to View.
We Have a Sponsorship Representative!
Amy Lourenco (alourenco@va.rr.com), Assistant Vice President, Membership, has graciously volunteered to be our sponsorship representative for 2002. If your organization would be interested in sponsoring one of our meetings OR you know a vendor or other organization that would be interested in reaching 50-60 human resources professionals at one of our dinner meetings, please contact Amy
The benefits of sponsoring a Dulles SHRM meeting include:
- Direct contact at the meeting with anywhere from 50-60 chapter members.
- Exposure on the Dulles SHRM website with a mention about being the sponsor, a brief description of what the company does, and a link to the company's website.
- Table set up next to the registration table during the reception/networking time prior to the meeting.
- A mention in the meeting flyer about the company and its website address.
- An introduction at the meeting with an opportunity to briefly overview the company’s products or services.
The cost is only $250 for members and $500 for non-members
Chapter Discussion Groups
Folks are raving about the value of the chapter Discussion Groups!
Come find out why!
Dulles SHRM’s monthly Discussion Groups are an excellent tool for learning about the latest trends and workplace practices across a variety of hot HR topics.
Discussion groups meet monthly and anyone is invited. Typically about a dozen chapter members attend. There is no charge. Just be sure to contact Cindy Loison (cindy.loison@lafarge-na.com ) or (703) 480-3706) ahead of time so we expect you. Also contact Cindy for the exact meeting location. Click Here to check out our 2002-2003 Discussion Group schedule.
Our topic for March 7 is “Applicant Tracking Systems”
Presented by Darsey Horan, Director, Sales & Marketing, Gill & Piette, Inc.
Wanted: SPHR Study Partner
Lori Leatherman, Director, Human Resources, Veritect, Inc. is looking for a study partner in preparation for the SPHR exam this May. If you’re interested, contact Lori at (703) 788-9848 or lori.leatherman@veritect.com.
HR Leadership Awards
The HR Leadership organization of the greater Washington area is inviting nominees of HR professionals for four different awards. For more information, check out the website at www.hrleadership.org.
Peak Performance Handbook (Free)
DecisionWise is offering its latest work, Peak Performance, a handbook for making better decisions to achieve personal and organizational results. The handbook contains ground-breaking research, practical advice from the best leaders and organizations, real-life examples and charts, self-test for assessing your team’s performance, and performance measures to help leaders make immediate and sustainable results.
For your free copy, go to www.decwise.com/best_practices_studies.html, or contact DecisionWise at (801) 374-6232.
New for 2002: Member Madness
Help Us Recruit New SHRM Members
SHRM has unveiled a new program for recruiting SHRM national members. The new program, Member Madness, is designed to reward SHRM chapters for recruiting SHRM national members and to reinforce SHRM’s commitment to members and to the human resource management profession. The campaign covers the 2002 calendar year. The basis for winning an award is the chapter’s percentage of net gain in SHRM members.
For example, if a chapter’s SHRM membership increases from 50 to 60 members, this represents a 20% net gain. Of course the new member must designate Dulles SHRM as the member’s chapter affiliation. Check out more about the rules and prizes at www.shrm.org/membermadness
Dulles SHRM Partners With WTPF
Get Great Savings on the New, Improved WTPF Compensation Survey
Under leadership of Mark Avery, WTPF is revamping its Compensation Survey for 2002. Look for an expanded list of jobs to include executive positions and significantly increased corporate participation. Dulles SHRM is partnering with WTPF to make the new, improved Survey a great success. In return, you will receive a $300 discount to a discounted price of $1,200 for participants and $1,500 for non-participants. Key dates:
March 22 - Participation packages sent to members
April 10 - Job matching meeting for participants
May 9 - Deadline for data submission
August 7 - Report available (on-line access may be available sooner)
If you are interested in participating, contact Mark Avery at (703) 299-0450 or mark@marketpay.com, or visit the WTPF website at www.wtpf.org.
Is the Gender Gap Growing?
Submitted by Dulles SHRM Diversity Director Deidre Iannelli
Trendwatcher
Issue 98, February 1, 2002
Conventional wisdom holds that the U.S. is slowly but steadily closing the male/female wage gap and raising, if not shattering, the "glass ceiling” that makes it difficult for women to win top management jobs. That's why a recent government analysis suggesting that the wage gap grew during the late 1990s is causing some consternation and controversy.
The late 1990s was a time of labor shortages, especially in terms of skilled and talented employees. Common sense suggests that, in such an environment, organizations would tend to look beyond gender in their promotion and compensation practices. Yet, when the General Accounting Office (GAO) used government data to gauge the wage gap between female and male managers in 1995 and 2000, there were some surprising results. The study focused on 10 U.S. industries employing 71% of women and 73% of female managers. It found that in seven of the 10 industries the wage gap between male and female managers widened during that period of economic boom. The data also indicates that women held management jobs proportionate to their share of the workforce in only half of those industries. "It is compelling evidence that the glass ceiling remains a powerful obstacle to women in the workforce, and it suggests things may be getting worse, not better," said U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D- Mich.), who commissioned the report along with Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY).
The authors themselves, however, point to some weaknesses in the analysis, which was based on data from the Current Population Survey (CPS). First, it is based on self-reporting, which can lead to a relatively large number of errors. Second, it doesn't take into account two important factors that drive salary levels: years of experience and level of managerial responsibility.
Such weaknesses are damning in the eyes of critics such as Ed Hudgins of the Cato Institute, a conservative think tank. He and others note that women are much more likely than men to interrupt their careers to raise children, and this is their choice. Even if women with children stay in the labor force, they're more likely to take jobs with shorter and more flexible work hours, a decision that ultimately affects work experience and so compensation. Younger women without family obligations don't seem to suffer from wage gaps. University Wire reports, "Research conducted by the Employment Policy Foundation found that there is no gender pay gap for full-time workers aged 21 to 35 living alone, and the gap is only 3% for workers of the same age who don't have children."
Of course, the fact that women tend to pay a higher price than men for having families is, in the eyes of some, another example of the cultural pressures underlying gender inequalities. The GAO-based report states, "Overall the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that in 2000 the pay gap among all working women and men was widest among parents. And although both men and women managers need to reconcile work with family, the CPS data suggest that combining parenthood with advancement into management is particularly difficult for women." In short, family obligations are more likely to interfere with women's managerial aspirations than with men's. This affects work experience and, therefore, wage levels.
Yet, there are also studies that take work experience into consideration and still find gaps. One recent example comes form the American College of Healthcare Executives, which conducted a study with the help of Catalyst, an advocacy group for businesswomen. It found that, despite equal levels of education and experience, female healthcare executives earned a median salary of $85,000, about 19% less than their male counterparts. This compares with an 18% differential in 1995 and a 17% differential in 1990.
If not experience and education, what could account for such a gap? One clue may come from a study conducted by Sara J. Solnick of the University of Vermont. She created an experiment in which players engage in the so-called ultimatum game. One player is given some cash, which he or she then offers to share with another player. The size of the offer is decided by the first player. The other player either accepts the offer or balks at the size of the offer, in which case neither person gets any money. She designed the experiment so that the players couldn't see one another. But in half the games, players were given one another's first names, a maker of gender. BusinessWeek reports, "The results were revealing. When the player's sex was known, men and especially women made lower offers to women. And on the receiving end, both men and women insisted on a higher amount when they knew the offer came from a woman." The implication is that both men and women tend to assume that female applicants will accept a lower wage than their male counterparts. Such cultural assumptions, even if formed subconsciously, might play a role in causing wage gaps.
SHRM National Letter Writing Contest: “It Is Up To You In 2002!”
SHRM will be sponsoring a national Write Your Member of Congress Contest during the month of April. Members are asked to use the SHRM automatic “Write Your Member of Congress” web feature to let your voice be heard on Capitol Hill. The first contest will be for the chapter with the most number of letters written. There will be three categories: Small Chapters, Medium and Large Chapters, and Mega and Super Mega Chapters. National recognition and prizes will be awarded to each winner.
The next competition will be for the chapter with the most member participation. The same three categories apply. Member participation is defined as the number of unique member who write at least one letter as a percentage of the chapter’s entire membership.
The last category will be for first time participants, either chapter or at large. Ten of these awards will be presented by a random drawing of all first time users.
More information will be announced in coming months.
That’s all for this month unless you have any ideas or suggestions? This is your chapter - let us know what’s on your mind!
Nancy Streeter
President
Dulles SHRM
E-mail
