Join Us on March 17 for “Managing the Workplace in Response to the New Threats of the 21st Century”
Embry Rucker Shelter Donations Update
Chapter Discussion Group
Community Assistance
Upcoming Member Survey
Board Meeting Minutes
2004 Dulles SHRM Dues Deadline Approaching
"Telework: Good Business Sense"
HR Leadership Awards of Greater Washington
Book Review #9
"Workplace Breakfast Series: Critical Issues In Employment Law"
Mark Your Calendar
Workforce Education Article
Check Out Previous Newsletters
Join Us On February 18 for "Navigating Through Difficult Conversations"
December 3
For Details on the Program: Click Here
Embry Rucker Shelter Donations Update
During our January meeting, Dulles SHRM members contributed $60.00 for the Embry Rucker Shelter. Contributions were used to purchase three Target gift certificates. Director Anita Bonic extends her sincere appreciation for your generosity.
Chapter Discussion Group
“Compensation Update”
Thursday, March 4
As the local economy continues to improve and employment rates begin to rise, compensation and benefits professionals must remain on the cutting edge of trends and innovation. But what is new and innovative in the world of comp and benefits? Which of the more traditional programs have stood the test of time? And how do you keep your skills and knowledge ahead of the curve? Join us for a discussion facilitated by a seasoned comp and benefits professional, and learn from and share with your peers and colleagues concepts and programs that have achieved maximum results. Our facilitator will be Mark Avery of MarketPay Associates.
In preparation for this session, please reflect on the following questions:
- What trends are we seeing in comp and benefits? How have these trends shifted with the economy? What are we likely to see in the next 12 months?
- What modifications to your organization’s comp and benefit plans have added the most value for your company? What initiatives have not worked? What new ideas is your organization considering for the coming year?
- What are the most effective sources of compensation data relevant to our market? What are the least effective? What new technology tools are available?
- How do you develop professionally and stay current in comp and benefits? What certifications are useful to continue education and marketability?
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. There is no charge for attending. Just be sure to call ahead so we expect you.
To register, please contact Nancy Puccini at Puccini@isccomm.idede.itg.is.irs.gov or call (703) 876-4440. Confirmation is needed at least 24 hours ahead to notify AOL security. Participants should wait in the lobby for an escort to the conference room.
Date: Thursday, March 4
Time: 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Place: Law offices of Odin, Feldman, and Pittleman, PC (Contact: Misti Mukherjee)
9302 Lee Highway, 10th Floor, Fairfax, VA 22031
Phone: (703) 876-4440 (Nancy Puccini)
(703) 218-2117 (Misti Mukherjee Direct Line)
Directions from Dulles Airport and points West: Take the Dulles Access Road from the airport to Washington. Merge onto VA-267 E/Dulles Greenway to I-495 South exit, and then the I-66 West exit to Rt. 243 South/Nutley (second Nutley Street exit, away from Vienna). Go through the first light on Nutley Street. At the second light, turn right on Hermosa Drive (this is the driveway to the building where we are located). If you come to the intersection of Nutley and Rt. 29/211 (Lee Highway) you have passed the entrance from Nutley. If so, make a right onto Rt. 29/211 and turn right at the first light into our office complex. Our office complex has two buildings; 9302 Lee Highway (our office) is the building on the left as you walk to the entrance.
From D.C.: Take I-95 West to I-495 North to Route 66 West. Take the second Nutley Street exit (Rt. 243 South) which is away from Vienna. Go through the first light on Nutley Street. At the second light, turn right on Hermosa Drive (this is the driveway to the building where we are located). If you come to the intersection of Nutley and Rt. 29/211 (Lee Highway) you have passed the entrance from Nutley. If so, make a right onto Rt. 29/211 and turn right at the first light into our office complex. Our office complex has two buildings; 9302 Lee Highway (our office) is the building on the left as you walk to the entrance.
Community Assistance
Dulles Chapter Diversity/Workforce Education Director Evelyn Kaiser presents our February community assistance organization, Workforce Development at Northern Virginia Community College. Ellen Gray, Program Developer, will update members on NVCC’s Workforce Development Initiatives. She will also provide details on the Washington Metro area Customer Service Consortium and related training as well as the Governor’s Career Readiness certificate that is based on the WorkKeys employability assessment system.
To learn more, contact Ellen Gray at egray@nvcc.edu or visit the NVCC website at www.nv.cc.va.us. For more information, see “Career Readiness Certificate and the WorkKeys Employability System,” the last article in this newsletter.
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.
Upcoming Member Survey
Distribution Scheduled for Monday, March 23
Assistant Vice President, Programs Mary Saily, President of HumanR, has volunteered to conduct a member survey for the Dulles chapter. The purpose of the survey is to determine topics of importance to members, including challenges anticipated for the future and areas where Dulles SHRM can provide support and information through dinner meetings, Chapter Discussion Groups, and other activities.
The survey will be conducted electronically via e-mail with distribution scheduled for Monday, February 23. To maintain security, members will log in using their SHRM membership number, then click on the link to access the survey. The survey will take only about 5 minutes to complete. Input is completely confidential. Results will be presented to members at the March dinner meeting and in the newsletter. We encourage all members to participate to achieve our goal of 70% feedback.
2004 Dulles SHRM Dues Deadline Approaching
If you are one of approximately 100 members who have not renewed your Dulles SHRM membership for 2004, we encourage you to continue your member benefits by renewing via our online Membership Form. When completing the form, click on Renewal under Type of Submission and fill in the remaining information. Then send your check for $30 to: Treasurer, Dulles SHRM, P.O. Box 1249, Herndon, VA 20172-1249. Renew this month to ensure that you continue to receive our hard copy flyer, mailermailer e-mail announcements, your upcoming Chapter Directory, and preferred rates at 2004 dinner meetings. We are 184 members strong and growing!
"Telework: Good Business Sense"
Free Breakfast, Thursday, February 26
You are invited to attend a free breakfast with Fairfax County business representatives and telework specialists to learn about incentive-based telework programs in our region. Keynote speaker Gerry Connolly, Chairman, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, will be joined by Danette Campbell of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, Alice Borelli of AT&T, Bob Krollman of the Department of Rehabilitative Services, and Michael Scione of the Assistive Technology Loan Fund Authority.
Date/Time: Thursday, February 26
8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Location: NVCC, Annandale Campus
Richard J. Ernst Community Cultural Center
8333 Little River Turnpike
Annandale, VA
Contact: For more information or to RSVP, call (703) 203-4657
HR Leadership Awards of Greater Washington
Tuesday, June 8, 2004, Ritz-Carlton
The HR Leadership Awards of Greater Washington will be held on Tuesday, June 8, at the spectacular Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C. Please consider nominating a colleague or client or yourself for outstanding contributions to an organization and/or the HR profession. Feel free to share this information with others and encourage participation. Let’s create a BUZZ…
The HR Leadership Awards have been created to recognize exemplary leadership and contributions in the human resources profession in the Washington area. You or your organization may participate in several ways:
- Nominate human resources professionals for the awards. Nominations opened on January 5 and will close on March 15.
- Be a sponsor of the 2004 awards. Limited opportunities are still available.
- Attend the Awards Gala on Tuesday, June 8. The evening program includes socializing and celebration beginning at 6 p.m. and dinner and program at 7 p.m.
Gala keynote speaker will be Darrell Green, former All-Pro Washington Redskin and founder of the Darrell Green Youth Life Foundation. At the Gala, six awards will be presented for human resources professional excellence in large commercial, small commercial, Government, and non-profit organizations as well as an award for ethics and one for community service/corporate social responsibility.
Visit the Leadership Awards website at www.hrleadership.org for additional information.
"Workplace Breakfast Series: Critical Issues In Employment Law"
Jackson Lewis LLP, the nation’s leading law firm representing management exclusively in employment and labor matters, is pleased to announce the inaugural Workplace Law Breakfast Series: Critical Issues in Employment Law to the greater D.C. metropolitan area.
The workshop series began this month. Four interactive workshops remain in the series:
- Untangling the Web of the ADA, FMLA, and Workers’ Compensation (March 23, 2004)
- Approaches to Creating an Effective and Committed Human Resources Team (April 27, 2004)
Workshops are held at the Sheraton Premiere at Tysons Corner from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The registration fee is $50 for each remaining session, which includes continental breakfast and program materials. Join for one workshop or the remaining workshops in the series. Each workshop has been approved for 1.5 HRCI recertification credits, and Virginia CLE Credit is pending.
To register, call or e-mail Brenda Hansen, Office Administrator at 703-821-4307 or hansenb@jacksonlewis.com.
Mark Your Calendars
Upcoming SHRM Conferences and Seminars
2004 Conferences
- March 8-10 - Employment Law and Legislative Conference, Capital Hilton, Washington, D.C
- March 22-24 - SHRM Global Forum, Sheraton Bal Harbour Beach Resort, Bal Harbour, FL
- April 19-21 - Employment Management Association, Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C.
- June 27-30 - SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, LA
2004 Chapter Dinner Meetings
- March 17 - “Managing the Workplace in Response to the New Threats of the 21st Century” with Ari Karen, Krupin O’Brien
- April 21 - “HR Outsourcing-The Answer?” with Michael Hager, Hager Strategic
- May 19 - “Latitude in Attitude” with Allie Bowling
- June 16 - “Changing Trends in Health Care Benefits” with George Lane, Marsh
- July 21 - “New FLSA Rules” with Caryn Pass, Krupin O’Brien
- August 18 - “Succession Planning” with Karen Stacy, Freddie Mac
- September 22 - TBD
- October 20 - TBD
- November 17 - TBD
- December 8 - Annual Holiday Party
- December 15 - Transition Board Meeting
Workforce Education Article: Career Readiness Certificate and the Workkeys Employability System
By Ellen L. Gray
Through Evelyn Kaiser, Dulles SHRM Diversity/Workforce Education Director
In the private sector, there is great concern about the skills gap that exists between skills required on the job and those exhibited by potential and incumbent workers. Employers experience great difficulty in hiring people who have basic employability skills and are trainable for specific jobs. There is also dissatisfaction with the standard of employability of students who graduate from high school and college. Academic competencies are often not supported by employability skills.
Over the last 10 years, WorkKeys has become a widely accepted common language among employers, educators/trainers, and potential/incumbent employees. The power of the WorkKeys system lies in its objectivity and simplicity. Across eight assessments, skill levels are described in terms of single digit numbers with clearly defined meanings. There are three components to the WorkKeys system:
- Job profiling, which identifies the basic employability skills required on the job
- Assessment of skill levels of potential or incumbent workers
- Training to close any skills gap that exists between the skills required and those demonstrated
This latter component is efficient and cost effective because training is conducted ONLY in the specific skills areas where it is required.
Of the many thousand of jobs that have been profiled nationally using WorkKeys, about 85% use three WorkKeys assessments:
- Reading for information
- Applied mathematics
- Locating information
Some states have decided to use these WorkKeys assessments as the basis for a portable credential that is available to all residents as evidence of attainment of basic employability skills. Kentucky, Michigan, and Indiana (and soon Louisiana) have all implemented the state Career Readiness Certificate concept.
A portable credential that is easily and universally understood by employers, educators, and recipients facilitates communication and job placement in our mobile society. A tiered model for the Career Readiness Certificate (bronze, silver, and gold) allows for a progression of development.
It is possible to build on this credential with technical specialties, i.e., a customer service credential, telephone skills, an OSHA certificate, A+ certification, a manufacturing credential based on the VMA curriculum, etc. Because job security now depends on the skills sets an individual possesses, it is important to allow individuals the opportunity to improve their employability with this building-block approach.
Northern Virginia Community College administers the WorkKeys assessments and job profiling and is prepared to work with your organization to develop an appropriate learning strategy. Please visit www.ced-nvcc.com/WorkKeys or contact Ellen Gray at egray@nvcc.edu or (703) 323-3251 to learn more about this versatile human resources tool.
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!
Cindy Loison
President
Dulles SHRM
cloisonhr@aol.com
