Apology To Our Speaker
And Speaking of Speakers...
And Speaking of Officers...
Board Meeting Minutes
And as we think about Next Year--Got any Program Ideas?
Special SHRM Information
More SHRM Information Online
"Effective Strategies for an Anger-Free Lifestyle"
Chesapeake Bay Organization Development Network
SHRM Fall 2001 Seminar Series
Middle Atlantic Carrier Counseling Association(MACCA)
Department of Transportation's Revised Drug and Alcohol Policies
Knowledge Management Requires Diversity Awareness
Mark Your Calendars
Upcoming Meeting Topics
Check Out Previous Newsletters

Apology To Our Speaker

Please note the correct last name spelling for tonight’s speaker, Karen Lehr. Karen is President of Clear Management, a human resources consulting firm based in Northern Virginia. The firm specializes in compensation, performance management and other HR areas in small to mid-size organizations. If you would like more information about Karen please visit her web site at www.clearmgmt.com.

And Speaking of Speakers...

You don’t want to miss next month’s meeting where we are honored to have Helen Drinan, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), as our speaker. We have asked her to share with us her views for the future of our profession and for SHRM. Also invited are our colleagues from the Leesburg Chapter.

PLEASE NOTE: We are going to extend our meeting until 8:30pm due to this special event! We want to make sure we have enough time for both Helen’s remarks as well as questions.

Drinan, who became President and CEO in January of 2001, has more than 20 years of human resource management experience, the last 19 of which have been spent with the BankBoston Corporation. In 1993, she became BankBoston’s Executive Vice President, Human Resources, reporting directly to the company’s CEO. In this position, Drinan was a key member of the corporation’s Executive Management Group, its top management committee responsible for setting business strategy, leading change initiatives and establishing tactical priorities.

At BankBoston, she redesigned all compensation and benefits programs into a comprehensive performance-driven rewards program. The executive component of the program was rated number one in Executive Compensation in the Banking Industry, published by Credit Suisse First Boston in 1998. From her position directing a staff of 200 HR professionals, Drinan executed an award-winning diversity planning model and developed a comprehensive work-life strategy which helped the company receive recognition by Working Mother magazine. Among many other accomplishments, Drinan collaborated with executive management at BankBoston to create a global human resources agenda for all units in the United States, Asia, Latin America, and Europe.

Drinan is a member of the Board of Directors for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and is a member of the Advisory Board of PNC Advisors, Boston, Massachusetts. She is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources through the Human Resource Certification Institute, the credentialing arm of the Society. She received her undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts and earned her Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Science degrees from Simmons College in Boston.

And Speaking of Officers...

October (can you believe it’s next month already?!?) is when we announce our slate of officers for the next year. We have one in place, our Prez-Elect Nancy Streeter, but now we need to fill the Board with folks to work with her. (And as a side editorial comment, I think she will be terrific to work with!)

The Dulles Chapter has a history of understanding that volunteer leaders have busy professional and personal lives. We try whenever possible to provide opportunities for members to share offices, so that no one is over burdened. Having been an officer for 5 years now I can definitely tell you that your return on investment in professional growth and affiliation is well worth it! Please contact me (LynnLorenz@aol.com) or Nancy Streeter (nabbs@aol.com) with your questions or your offer of help.

These are the positions that we currently have open on the Board:

• President Elect
• Treasurer
• Assistant Treasurer
• Secretary
• VP of Programs
• Sponsorship Coordinator
• Newsletter Editor
• VP of Membership
• Diversity Director
• Foundation Director
• HR Alliance Representative
• Legislative Liaison
• Member-at-Large (2-3)

Please thoughtfully consider having a more active role in your Chapter next year. The commitment is small, but the rewards are HUGE!

Board Meeting Minutes

Starting this month we will be posting the minutes from Board meetings on our web site - please take a few minutes to review them in full. Click Here to View.

And as we think about Next Year--Got any Program Ideas?

We are beginning work on next year’s programs and would love your input. Please share your ideas with Nancy Streeter at nabbs@aol.com.

Special SHRM Information

SHRM's web site has a special page of information to help you and your employees through this national tragedy. If you go to the SHRM home page at www.shrm.org, you can click on several different things.

One is a personal posting site where HR professionals have just posted their thoughts and what their companies are doing. Another is information about giving blood and helping the Red Cross. A third is HR Responds to Terrorism. This is a site that contains links to crisis management White Papers, EAP information, National Guard employer support information, the Religious Diversity Toolkit, sample crisis communications, and more. You can also share your stories. Some of this information is for SHRM members only; some is for anyone.

More SHRM Information Online

There are a few great new additions to the SHRM web site for SHRM members! These new benefits can be found in the Information Center at www.shrm.org/whitepapers.

There's a new section on Business Literacy that includes resources for business planning, budgeting, finance, strategic planning, marketing plans, payroll, and starting a business.

Also available are State Resources: Need to find your state's resources for wage and hour, discrimination, unemployment, layoff, and worker's compensation? Answers are available on the SHRM web site!

Touching Lives Calendar: It has long been recognized that HR practitioners have the influence to positively impact the lives of your employees as well as those of the people in your communities. To assist you and your organization in your goal to touch the lives of those around you in unique ways, the Information Center has compiled the HR Touching Lives calendar. In choosing which events to include, we decided to focus on four areas: employee relations, health & safety, diversity, and community relations. Where possible and appropriate, we've included contact information for you to learn more about getting involved in these events.

"Effective Strategies for an Anger-Fee Lifestyle"
presented by Dr. Dole Gentry

The Society for Human Resource Management of Central Virginia in partnership with the Lynchburg and Bedford Chamber of Commerce will be sponsoring two half-day training sessions on Anger Management. Practical strategies for self improvement as well as steps in dealing with angry bosses, co-workers, and employees will be presented by Dr. Doyle Gentry, Ph.D, noted author, educator, scientist, consultant and practicing psychologist. These sessions will be held on October 12th in the Memorial Ballroom located at Lynchburg College. The cost is $65 per person or $55 per person for 3 or more from the same business. Pre-registration is suggested. For more information, contact: Donn Schnarr, President of SHRM of Central Virginia at: 434-376-8325.

Chesapeake Bay Organization Development Network

One of our sister organizations is the Chesapeake Bay Organization Development Network, who has a Tyson's Corner SIG. CBODN membership is not a pre-requisite, although encouraged. No pre-registration and no fees are required for SIG meetings. Meetings are normally held on the third Friday of each month.

Friday, September 21st meeting - "How to survive a re-structuring." Kathy Nevins and Harrison Snow will host a session on how (or not) to help clients conduct major organizational change and alignment. This subject has become highly topical within the local hi-tech community. Bring your own stories, models and experiences to share as we explore this timely topic. This session will include guest panelists who will draw on their experiences from the private and government sectors, and share their perspectives as both change initiators and recipients.

The meeting will be held at Booz Allen offices in Tysons Corner, at 8283 Greensboro Drive, McLean, VA 22102. Free parking is available near the visitors’ entrance. Alternatives include using the Orange Line Metro train to West Falls Church station and taking either the Booz Allen courtesy bus or the Rte 427 bus directly to Booz Allen offices. Sign in at Booz Allen Central Reception and pick up a visitor's badge. The meeting will be held in ALLEN building, room 1169. The start time is 8:00am.

Friday, October 19th meeting - "Succession planning and high potential employees" arranged by Kim Clark-Pakstys, Burgess Levin and Phil Samawicz. This session will include a guest panelist, Steve Bauman, who is VP for HR at Marriott Corporation. He will describe Marriott's approach for the identification and retention of high potential employees.

Sunday, November 18th - "Performance measurement and self-assessment technologies" arranged by Sunny Davis and Barbara Hampton-Barclay.

December - Date and location not yet fixed - "Knowledge Management" arranged by Norm Fisher and Joe Houck.

Saturday, January 19th - "Fostering Creativity" arranged by Dara Fulkerson and Mary Kirby.

SHRM Fall 2001 Seminar Series

SHRM announces that they will be bringing the Certification Preparation Course to our area this Fall. The information, including other dates/locations, is as follows:

10/10/01 - Washington, DC
10/15/01 - Dallas, TX
10/22/01 - Orlando, FL
10/29/01 - Phoenix, AZ
11/05/01 - Baltimore, MD
11/12/01 - Atlanta, GA

For more information; please log on to the website: www.shrm.org/seminars.

Middle Atlantic Carrier Counseling Association(MACCA)

Announces its 2001 Fall Conference:
CAREER COUNSELING IN TRANSITION
October 24 - 26, 2001
Willow Valley Resort & Conference Center, Lancaster, PA

Featured presenters: Robert Chope, John Gardner, Cynthia Glover, Carol S. Pearson, Jack Rayman, Maria Santos, Nancy K. Schlossberg.

For information on how to register and directions to Willow Valley, please log on to the web site at www.macca.net or you may contact Cherryl Bonner by email at bonnerc@bucks.edu.

Department of Transportation's Revised Drug and Alcohol Policies
A Legislative Update

Jason M. Branciforte, Legislative Liaison,
Littler Mendelson, P.C.

This newsletter alerts employers whose activities are regulated by the DOT drug and alcohol rules review and update their DOT-mandated drug and alcohol policies, since the DOT is in the midst of revising its drug-and-alcohol-testing procedural regulations (49 C.F.R. Part 40).

Modified and reorganized regulations, which completely replaced the prior rules, took effect on August 1st. Additional technical amendments were published in the Federal Register on August 9th (66 Fed. Reg. 41943), as were conforming rules changes adopted by several DOT operating agencies, such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Further conforming amendments to fully coordinate the approach of all DOT agencies are anticipated shortly. For more information, see: www.littler.com/nwsltr/asap_dotrules.html

Knowledge Management Requires Diversity Awareness

Myrna Marofsky, ProGroup President

"Knowledge," says Thomas A. Stuart, "is more valuable and more powerful than natural resources, big factories, or fat bankrolls. In industry after industry, success comes to the companies that have the best information or wield it most effectively."* It's not surprising, then, that books and presentations on "knowledge management" have proliferated during the past few years.

What is surprising is that many knowledge management specialists seem not to understand that managers who try to manage knowledge and knowledge workers, without paying attention to workforce diversity and the resulting dynamics, won't have much success. Systems and procedures may, in fact, be sufficient to gather data - isolated facts. They may even be able to gather information - data placed in context. But they cannot, by themselves, elicit either tacit or explicit knowledge - conclusions drawn from the data or information - from people who lack confidence that their company wants their input, or see little benefit to themselves in sharing what they know with others. For example, women, both Black and White, often report that others ignore their contributions during meetings, then take credit for them at a later time. They also report that they often quit trying to offer ideas rather than experience ongoing frustration.

This is, or should be, of prime concern to managers. Withheld knowledge or wisdom is of no use to them or their organization. "Like money in a mattress," says Hugh MacDonald, "intellectual capital is useless unless it moves. It's no good having some guy who is very wise and sits alone in a room."*

It's equally "no good" to have people working in groups or teams who see little reason to tell others what they know. And it's clear from our work in organizations that this is what happens when managers fail to consider differences and to create workplace environments that ensure that everyone - those who "fit in" and those seen as "different" - are treated with fairness and respect.

How can you integrate diversity into your knowledge management efforts? You can begin by doing the following:

1. Communicate your understanding that knowledge, like truth, has many facets. The White male manager's knowledge comes from his life experiences and information. The Asian-American female's knowledge comes from hers. Who is right? Who knows? Whose is most useful? That's determined by the context. What matters is that the knowledge of both be accessible to their organization. To do that, this knowledge must be shared. Only those who feel confident that they are respected and that their contributions are valued will give what they "know" to others.

2. Identify whose information you currently value and whose you discount. Determine what would help you to value the information of those you currently discount. Decide how you could communicate this to these people in a way that they could accept and understand.

3. Ask yourself: Is my way of receiving information in sync with the way that different people prefer to share it? If you don't know, determine how you could find out. If you find out that communication differences are a problem, work together to reach common processes.

*Both quotes are from Thomas A. Stewart's Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organizations.

Thanks to Deidre Iannelli, our chapter’s Diversity Director, for finding this article for us.

Mark Your Calendars

Upcoming SHRM conferences and seminars:

• SHRM Leadership Conference, November 15-17, 2001, Alexandria VA
• SHRM Workplace Diversity: New Challenges, New Opportunities Conference, December 3-5, 2001 in San Diego, CA
• 2002 VA SHRM State Conference, October 9-11, 2002 in Roanoke, VA (never too soon to block the time)

Upcoming Meeting Topics

Upcoming meeting topics:

• October 17 - Helen Drinan, SPHR, President/CEO, Society for Human Resource Management - joint meeting with Leesburg/Greater Loudoun Chapter
• November 14 - Benefit Trends- Dave Downer with The Segal Company - note the date: the second Wed
• December 5 - Holiday party and installation of officers
• January 16 - Legislative update by Jason Branciforte, Chapter Legislative Liason
• February 20 - Managing Your Boss with chapter member Marty Brown

That’s all for this month unless you have any ideas or suggestions? We received some great feedback after the last meeting. This is your chapter - let us know what’s on your mind!

Lynn M. Lorenz, SPHR
President
Dulles SHRM
E-mail