September 2006 Newsletter
IN THIS ISSUE
News from Dulles Chapter of SHRM and other timely HR information
"Straight Talk, Crucial Conversations & Generous Listening: Skills for Effective Business Communication"
Wednesday, October 18, 2006 (Breakfast Meeting)
For most organizations, Communication is the number one business issue. Research reveals that even in the best organizations, during the best of times, productivity is greatly diminished due to poor communication. At our breakfast meeting, Marcia Riley, AVP with Inova Health Systems, will speak to us about being a better communicator in business OR in the other parts of your life. Topics will include:
- Communication "self-audits"
- Barriers to effective communication
- The "Pinch" Theory of Communication
- Generous Listening
- Straight Talk
- Surfacing the "undiscussables" that are standing in the way of your productivity and your success.
- High Impact Communication
You will leave hungry for more information about this critical topic and with skills and knowledge that you can apply immediately.
Marcia B. Riley, Assistant Vice President, Talent Management/Chief Learning Officer, Inova Health System. She began her career with Inova Health System 5 years ago in the newly created position of Chief Learning Officer. In January of 2005, she was promoted to AVP of overall Talent Management. Marcia is an energetic and outgoing individual who has a passion for selecting, on-boarding and developing people. She has an outstanding track record working in 7 different industries, but says her heart is now in Healthcare. Prior to joining Inova, Marcia served as the Chief Learning Officer/Corporate Director of Training and Organization Development for Suburban Hospital, and spent 10 years with Sallie Mae, a Fortune 100 Company, as their Senior Training and Organization Development Executive.
October Sponsor:
We welcome our sponsor, Marymount University's School of Business Administration, who offers a wide diversity of undergraduate and graduate business programs. Graduate programs include the M.B.A, M.S. in Management, M.A. in Human Resource Management, M.A. in Legal Administration, M.S. in Information Systems, and M.S. in Health Care Management. For more information, contact the office of Graduate Admissions at 703.284.5901, The School of Business Administration at 703.284.5910, SHRM member Dr. Edward Parks at 703.284.5923, or visit their website at http://www.marymount.edu/academic/business/.
October Community Speaker:
We welcome our community speaker, Melissa Hartman, Ed. D.
Special Education Supervisor and Loudoun County Public School's Transition Consulting Teacher. Melissa will talk to us about what partnering with their transition staff and hiring their students will bring to our businesses. She will talk about building positive Community Relations, investing in the youth by educating them on work demands, providing technical assistance in accommodating in the workplace, business tax credits and deductions and more.
Register online at www.dullesshrm.org.
This program has been approved for 1.0 recertification credit hour toward PHR and SPHR recertification through HRCI. For more information, visit www.hrci.org.
Embry Rucker Shelter Donations Update
Members who attended the August meeting donated $50 in cash! Thank you for your continued support. Reston Interfaith's programs address the most critical issues facing our neighbors: affordable housing needs and homelessness, nurturing and healthy environments for families, and social issues, such as domestic violence and substance abuse. For more on how to help, check out www.restoninterfaith.org.
September Community Speaker
Jay Chandok has been a consultant and instructor in the Information Technology industry with over twelve years of experience. Apart from having a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science, Jay has multiple certifications in Oracle, quality assurance, auditing and project management. His roles in the industry have been Developer, System Analyst, Database Administrator, Project Manager and Technical Director. He has successfully executed projects in USA, UK, Ireland, India, Saudi Arabia and Kenya.
The Volgenau School of Information Technology and Engineering provides learning opportunities to complement the academic degree. Our extensive portfolio of TechAdvance program offerings are delivered to the rigors and high standards of George Mason University quality for course development, instructor expertise and talent, and state-of-the-art learning environments. Our high standards ensure that your training investments will produce the results you or your organization expects.
- Our Experience The School of Information Technology and Engineering enjoys an outstanding reputation for achievements, and for the capabilities of our academic programs and professional certificate offerings.
- Relevant and Current Curriculum Our programs blend theory and concept with skill development emphasizing practical exercises, enriching class discussions, and comprehensive course materials. Our portfolio is based on current IT industry standards.
- Our Convenience To meet your busy work and personal schedules, classes are held in the evenings and on weekends at our convenient locations -- Arlington, Herndon/CIT, Loudoun and Fairfax.
- Lab Environments All courses are conducted in computer labs equipped with the requisite hardware and software. Your practice ensures quick and immediate application of new skills, tools, and techniques back on the job.
- Certified Technical Trainers All instructors have extensive IT industry and training backgrounds. Our courses incorporate their real life experience and practical solutions.
- Continuous Evaluation Our continuous monitoring of programs ensures that they are of the highest quality, and meet your training expectations and needs.
- Certification A George Mason University Certificate of Completion is awarded for successfully completing all course work. A permanent record of your earned Continuing Education Units (CEUs) is maintained by the Registrar.
- Superior Customer Service We are dedicated to optimizing your training experience. Our consistently high customer service ratings reflect our commitment.
2007 Board of Directors
Contributed by Mary Saily, President Elect
The Nominating Committee of the Dulles SHRM Chapter Board of Directors is seeking members who are interested in serving on the 2007 Dulles SHRM Board of Directors or on a Committee. For the Board positions, the nominating committee will consider all who express an interest and present a ballot for membership votes at the November, 2005 Chapter meeting. The new Board as voted by the membership will be installed at the December, 2006 Chapter meeting. The Board serves each year from Jan. 1st through December 31st.
If you are interested in serving on the Board or a Committee, please complete the Willingness to Serve Form and return it to Mary Saily (msaily@humanr.com) by Wednesday, October 4. You can find the Willingness to Serve Form and Board position descriptions available on the Chapter website, and current Board members are available to also answer questions. The Nominating Committee consists of Mary Saily, President Elect; Maggie Chan, President; and Kurt Cowles, immediate Past President.
Dulles SHRM 2006 Scholarship Program
Contributed by Lisa Forester, PHR, SHRM Foundation Rep & Scholarship Coordinator
The Dulles SHRM Chapter is pleased to announce our fourth annual scholarship program. In support of the development of our chapter members, sons and daughters of chapter members, and students from local SHRM chapters, we have allocated $2,000.00 for scholarships, and up to two $1,000.00 scholarships may be awarded.
To qualify, applicants must be:
- A chapter member in good standing, a son or daughter of a chapter member in good standing, or a member of a local student chapter during the time of application and receipt of the award; AND
- Enrolled in a full-time or part-time program earning a degree in HR or an HR-related concentration in a college-level or graduate program.
We encourage chapter members and other eligible individuals to apply! Pursuing an education is expensive, and we look forward to providing these funds to deserving members! Applications will be available at chapter meetings and may also be downloaded from the Dulles SHRM website at www.dullesshrm.org. Applications are due by September 30, 2006. Please send completed applications to:
Dulles SHRM Scholarship Committee
P. O. Box 1249
Herndon, VA 20172
For more information, please contact Lisa Forester at forester.lisa@kingfishersys.com, or 703-635-2952.
Day Inside the Beltway - September 26th 8:45am - 5:15pm
Contributed by Judy Carter, Legislative Liaison
On Tuesday, September 26th, members of the Dulles SHRM Chapter will have an opportunity to visit with their elected Members of Congress. This one-day "road-trip" will include a visit by van to SHRM National Headquarters, a private federal and state legislative and regulatory briefing with SHRM's Governmental Affairs Staff, then on to Capitol Hill for meetings with elected officials from Virginia.
I am pleased to announce that this year's visit will also include a private tour of the Capitol. The van will be provided by Dulles SHRM, free of charge for all participants. And, lunch will be provided free of charge by SHRM National.
This is a great opportunity for you to learn more about what's going on "inside the beltway," how federal legislation directly impacts your day-to-day work, and how to use your HR Voice to influence positive change.
If interested in participating, please contact Denise Henderson at dhenderson@artelinc.com. There are only a few seats remaining. Deadline to RSVP is 9/20/06. This is a full day event. We will leave ARTEL in Reston at 9:00am sharp and be dropped off around 5:15pm. Specific instructions will be provided to those attending the Day Inside the Beltway event.
Employee Benefits 101
What You Need to Know to Build Talent and Manage Costs
Learn how to use employee benefits to achieve your organization's objectives. Identify key trends and strategies, as well as the fundamentals. Meet your peers and executives to expand your network. Receive 5.5 recertification credit hours toward PHR and SPHR recertification. It is FREE to attend and there are two locations to choose from:
1st Choice:
Tuesday, September 26
Wachovia Conference Center
Washington, DC 1300 I Street NW | 11th Floor
8:00 AM - 2:00 PM Washington, DC 20005
2nd Choice:
Wednesday, September 27
Wachovia Conference Center
Tysons Corner 1753 Pinnacle Drive | 3rd Floor
8:00 AM - 2:00 PM McLean, VA 22102
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Special Session: SCA Compliance for Government Contractors
To register:
Ashley.Walley@Wachovia.com or call: Ashley Walley at 202.772.4197
This program is pending approval for 5.5 recertification credit hours toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). For more information about certification or recertification please visit the HRCI homepage at www.hrci.org.
Mentoring Program with NOVA SHRM
Workforce Solutions in Action: Secrets of Successful Mentoring Programs - September 26, 2006 6:30 Program
Contributed by Chas Sumser, Certification Representative
A powerful tool in the talent crisis we face is creating a strong mentoring culture. Mentoring programs are an effective way for organizations to meet workforce challenges in the areas of diversity management, employee on-boarding, leadership development, and retention. Join us for our program where we will present the history and evolution from traditional to contemporary mentoring practices, and how they have been applied in the workplace. Additionally, a panel of mentoring practitioners from the public, private, and non-profit sectors will share their insights on:
- How to design a program that fits your organizations culture,
- How to avoid implementation challenges and pitfalls,
- How to measure success of your mentoring program
- What type of training, guidance, and resources are valuable for program participants.
Register at www.NOVASHRM.org
Members: $35 Non-Members: $45
Location: Fairview Park Marriott
3111 Fairview Park Drive
Falls Church, VA 22042
(703) 849-9400
For more information, go to www.NOVASHRM.org or contact Chas Sumser at chas@fgm.com.
Hispanic Heritage Month Event
Hosted by Booz Allen Hamilton
September 28th at the Ritz Carlton in Tyson's Corner
Booz Allen is hosting an event that will be focused on Hispanic Heritage Month. Specifically they will be looking at best practices in recruiting and retaining individuals from all communities but focused specifically on what has worked well on the growing Hispanic community. They have confirmed a Vice-President of Diversity from Fox Entertainment Group/News Corporation, and of course, they will have a senior official from Booz Allen. They are also working on confirming a board member from the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility. They have extended invitations to the local chapter of the National Society of Hispanic MBA's and are reaching out to additional organizations as well. There will be much time for food and networking as well. If you are interested in participating in this event, please contact Christopher Carlson at Carlson_Christopher@bah.com. http://www.boozallen.com
Virginia State SHRM Conference
October 11 - 13th, 2006 Roanoke, Virginia
Book Soon! The Hotel Roanoke is already booked!
The 2006 Virginia State SHRM Conference will be held in the "Star City" Roanoke Virginia on October 11th -13th at the legendary Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center.
Plan on three productive days of learning from great speakers, conference sessions, and networking with fellow HR professionals. You can register at www.dullesshrm.org or http://www.rvshrm.org/2006conference/.
Mark Your Calendar
HR Events:
- October 11-13 - 2006 Virginia State SHRM Conference, Roanoke, Virginia
Chapter Breakfast/Dinner Meetings:
- November 15 (Dinner Meeting) - "Career Development" Presenter: Steve Arneson.
- December 6 (Dinner Meeting) - Holiday Party
The 2007 Calendar of Events will be posted online and in the upcoming newsletters
Chapter Discussion Group - "Employee Retention," Thursday, October 5
Contributed by Cindy Loison, SPHR, Director, Discussion Group
Retaining good employees has always been a challenge. Employers are finding it harder to hold on to their current talent and recruit new talent, given today's job market. When companies do not have retention plans in place, they can take on a heavy financial burden, and it can affect employee morale.
Denise Henderson, PHR, Senior HR Generalist and Corporate Recruiter for ARTEL, Inc. will facilitate the group discussion on Employee Retention.
In preparation, please reflect on the following questions:
- What is your current retention plan?
- What is working for you right now to retain the employees you would like to retain?
- How do you let your employees know they are part of the team?
- What reasons have your key employees given for staying with your company?
- What recognition plans do you have in place?
You are invited to bring examples from your experience, or, if you have had no previous experience in this area, consider this an opportunity to learn from your colleagues. There is no charge for attending.
To register: Please confirm your participation by registering on-line, at least 24 hours in advance, on the Dulles SHRM web site, Career Growth/Chapter Discussion Groups (www.dullesshrm.org). If you have questions, feel free to call Cindy Loison at 703-265-7520. Participation is limited to the first 25 people who sign up.
Date: Thursday, October 5, 2006
Time: 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Place:
ARTEL, Inc.
1893 Preston White Dr
Reston, VA 20191
Phone: 703-620-1700
Contact: Denise Henderson, dhenderson@artelinc.com
Directions:
From the Toll Road and Dulles:
Take the Hunter Mill Road exit. Turn right at the end of the exit ramp and turn right at the "fork" onto Sunrise Valley Drive. Proceed through the first traffic light and turn right onto Preston White Drive (just past the tennis courts). Continue on Preston White to 1893. Turn where you see the ARTEL sign.
From the Toll Road and Tysons:
Take the Toll Road toward Dulles Airport to the Hunter Mill Road exit. Turn left at the end of the exit ramp and turn right at the "fork" onto Sunrise Valley Drive. Proceed through the first traffic light and turn right onto Preston White Drive (just past the tennis courts). Continue on Preston White to 1893. Turn where you see the ARTEL sign.
Welcome to New Members
Contributed by Lynn Padgett, Vice President, Membership
The Dulles Society of Human Resource Management SHRM welcomes our newest members. Thank you for choosing our chapter!
Steven Steinberg, SPHR, Senior HR Compliance Manager, Booz Allen Hamilton
Renee Wallace, VP, Training & Develop & Diversity, Ahold
Karen Wells, SPHR, HR Consultant
Andrew Drescher, Relocation Consultant, The Paxton Companies
Margaret Borrell, Human Resources Manager, MicroPact Engineering, Inc.
Cynthia Winters, Principal, Winters Management Consulting, LLC
Articles of Interest
Contributed by Evelyn Kaiser, Diversity/Workforce Education Director
Proper Fit Is Key for Workers with Adult ADHD
Once considered a mental disorder affecting only children, psychiatrists now consider attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to be a lifelong condition. Awareness of the disorder will help employers tap into the talent associated with ADHD while avoiding the pitfalls.
By Jeremy Smerd
It took more than 40 years, four doctors and a misdiagnosis of depression before Lew Mills, a family therapist in San Francisco, was identified as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. "It was a slow process," says Mills, who was properly diagnosed in 1998 and is now 49. "Now there's much more willingness to make the diagnosis. Then, adult ADHD was a new idea."
Once considered a mental disorder affecting only children, psychiatrists now consider ADHD to be a lifelong condition. And many adults, like Mills, are being retroactively diagnosed. The number of adults age 20 to 44 who take ADHD medication has grown 139 percent in the past five years, according to a study released in March by Medco Health Solutions.
Despite rising prescription drug costs, which Medco says totaled $600 a person last year, up from $250 in 2000, awareness of the disorder will help employers tap into the talents associated with adults who have ADHD while avoiding the pitfalls.
By conservative estimates, about 8 million adults show symptoms associated with ADHD: disorganization, impulsivity and inattention. Those characteristics can make people feel out of con- trol, anxious and depressed. When employers think about people with ADHD, they might see Bart Simpson misbehaving in school. But adults with ADHD, which used to be known by the stigma-inducing name of "minimum brain dysfunction," also tend to be creative problem solvers, risk takers, and big-picture thinkers, says Kathleen Nadeau, the director of the Chesapeake ADHD Center and author of ADD in the Workplace.
Nadeau cites as an example JetBlue founder and CEO David Neeleman, who turned a tendency to misplace plane tickets into the breakthrough concept of paperless tickets. "What's critical is for companies to match the person with the position," Nadeau says.
"They are going to be dreadful employees if you put them into a position they are not suited for." Exact matches are not always possible. For employees struggling with tardiness, disorganization or other issues, work coaches and professional organizers have been known to help, Nadeau says.
Like so many other adults with untreated ADHD, Mills found himself in a job that didn't fit. As a consultant in the late 1990s in charge of managing a handful of clients, he found it difficult to organize and prioritize his work. Rather than dig in and make phone calls, he became overwhelmed by the procedural details of his office life. His anxiety paralyzed him. Soon he quit, with the company's blessing.
Estimated economic losses associated with ADHD are staggering. Adults who have ADHD have a higher unemployment rate, switch jobs more frequently and are out sick more often because they are more likely to suffer from stress, depression, anxiety and other emotional problems. All told, lost income for adults with ADHD nationally totals $77 billion annually, according to a study published by Joseph Biederman, a psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School and the chief of Pediatric Psychopharmacology at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Since receiving effective medication and counseling, Mills has seen a turnaround in his work. He returned to family and marriage therapy and has seen his practice grow as his clinical and organizational skills improved. He listens more attentively and can quickly process new information to help diagnose patients.
"It's hard to put your finger on it, but there is a change in perspective once you're diagnosed," Mills says. "A diagnosis is helpful in understanding what is difficult. It also helps me be easier on myself. I'm not sitting there saying I'm nuts.
Local Businesses Strain to Find Skilled Labor
Low regional unemployment rate means headaches for local businesses looking to expand.
By Scott J. Krischke
An extremely tight job market has some Herndon businesses scrambling for new ways to recruit skilled, educated workers as one of the hottest regional economies in the country continues to grow at an unprecedented rate. "There aren't any workers left out there, they've all been employed," said Dr. Stephen Fuller, an economics professor and regional economic analyst at George Mason University in Fairfax. "Employers are starting to find that if they're going to fill these positions … these workers need to be attracted from somewhere else in to Fairfax County."
In March, 2006, unemployment rates in Fairfax County were down to 2.3 percent, according to the Fairfax County Economic Index, a monthly economic report published by George Mason University's Center for Regional Analysis, of which Fuller is a part. "When you have a total of 620,000 jobs in the county and an unemployment rate that is very low, it's very difficult to find employees," said Jerry Gordon, president of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. "There's a lot of competition for good labor out there." "The economy peaked and now a lot of people [employers] are going out and trying to find good workers, and they're having to offer high wages and benefits to attract them," said Fuller. "It's like the housing market … the market favors the workers here, definitely."
Because of the limited number of qualified workers able to adequately fill positions in telecom and engineering fields, as well as just about any position that requires a college degree, employers are starting to have to offer larger wages, more complete benefit packages and a more satisfying and upward-moving environment to workers, according to Gordon.
"For the people who live here, it means that they have a lot of options," Gordon said. "Income tends to be higher and working at one place and switching to another location in order to move up is much more common." For recently-graduated college students, this means more flexibility in job selection in Northern Virginia and negotiation of salary and benefits. "For the worker, you can consider more job offers, you don't necessarily have to rush and take the first job that is offered to you," Fuller said. "If you're going to have a limited choice as a worker, you'll get a bad deal, but now its moved to where the employers can't afford to sit around and think about a worker. You better get him quick or someone else will snatch him up."
The Boom Market for workers has affected the towns that headquarter successful businesses as well, according to Gordon. "The Town of Herndon also provides its public services to businesses, so it will get its commercial revenue from that business, which is a good thing for the town," Gordon said. "Residents take up money in services, whereas a business will tend to give more revenue to the town than it uses … so that provides more disposable revenue to the town."
"Also, there will be an influx of residents into the town," he added. "As the population grows, Herndon will continue to see more residents and more businesses and you get more tax revenue for the town from this."
The large number of businesses drawn to Fairfax County has now caused the number of available jobs for qualified workers to begin to swell at the seams, according to Fuller. "I know a lot of places in Fairfax County, they're operating 10 percent empty," he said. "They're having to outsource those jobs out of the area … they can't fill them here." "There is an economic cost to unemployment being so low in that you can't do all of the work out there, so you start losing some of that work," Fuller said. "People [aren't] moving out of here … but the work will."
"When you grow too fast you get congestion, and that's where we're at right now, and the economy will go down," he added. "Just like you don't have enough concrete and steel to build all of the buildings in construction, you don't have enough workers."
According to Eileen Curtis, president of the Herndon-Dulles Chamber of Commerce, finding qualified employment has been a problem for some area businesses but not to the point in which she was worried about a wholesale slowdown of the economy. "I don't see anything at an emergency level," Curtis said. "I do know that there is an undercurrent … in that it's hard to find a lot of qualified people for work." One of the employers who has felt the pressure of finding qualified work in Fairfax County is Danny Vargas, owner of small Herndon-based marketing company, Varcom Solutions. "Since the market is so rich right now, you can't just post an ad and walk away, sometimes it might get filled right away but probably it will just languish," Vargas said. "What I've had to do to find people to work for me is to think outside the box."
Vargas said that he has employed a lot of workers on a freelance basis for several of his company's projects. "The key takeaway for businesses is to be flexible and the second takeaway is being able to look outside the box to find talent," he said. "People have a choice of where they can work," Vargas added. "The day where you could hire someone and not provide a positive work environment for them and expect them to stick around 20 years, those days are long gone."
A rapidly growing economy is met by a growing population and the total number of residents in Fairfax County is expected to increase by about 15 percent in less than 20 years, Gordon said.
"In Fairfax County we're at about 1,050,000 residents, and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments has projected about 1.3 [million residents] by 2025," Gordon said. "That population will grow whether we want it to or not, so our responsibility is to bring more businesses in to help [Fairfax County municipalities] pay for public services."
"Companies come here for the strong, highly-educated work force," Fuller said. "The economy has made this area the premiere economic region in the country."
"It's not like we have very rich people, we just have a lot of people who have very jobs, a high diversity, and that trend will continue," he added.
Despite the fact that the economy will inevitably cycle back into less fortunate conditions than now, Fuller said that local communities have nothing that should cause them to worry too desperately about their region's economic future.
"We have a safety net here in Fairfax County, and that's the federal government," he said. "The economy here might soften up but it won't ever collapse."
"It's like having a rich uncle. Uncle Sam."
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!
Maggie Chan
President
Dulles SHRM
maggie.chan@bearingpoint.com
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