1st Quarter Council Meeting at Rosen Shingle Creek, Orlando, FL
January 8, 2010
Call to Order, Opening Comments, Agenda and Meeting Rules / President Kitty Fields called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m. and made welcoming remarks. Meeting rules and agenda were reviewed. Robin Bullock moved to accept the meeting rules. Pat Szczesny seconded. Motion carried.Joyce Chastain asked that all Council members complete their HR Florida Roster update. She also requested that she be notified if any name tags were incorrect – she will order new ones if necessary.
Joyce Chastain conducted the meeting icebreaker – Getting to Know you.
Council members and guests introduced themselves. Kitty Fieldsnoted secondcouncil meeting is April 9 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Tampa, the third will be an evening meeting at State Conference on August 31 and the final 2010 meeting will be held October 27 at a location to be determined.
Ms. Vogel presented Council voting members with a gift of recognition: an umbrella since HR Florida will be “Rainmakers for 2010!”
2010 Succession Revision / Ms. Fields presented the 2010 Succession revision. Changes were necessary due to Teresa Vaughn’s resignation from the Executive Council. Ballots were distributed for a formal vote on the revision.Voting inspectors appointed by Ms. Fields were Kelly Marcoux, District Director, Area 4, Laura Rhoad, District Director, Area 8, Trisha Ferguson, President-North Central Florida Chapter and Bill Usher, President-Treasure Coast HRA Chapter. Laura Rhoad reported that the slate of officers (president-elect – Heather Vogel; vice president – Joyce Chastain; Secretary – Pam Baldwin; Treasurer – ShannonLands) was elected unanimously. Dorothy Knapp, SHRM Field Services Director, installed the officers.
What is HR Florida / Ms. Fields shared the organizational chart and described the reporting structure between the chapters, HR Florida and SHRM. She shared the Vision, Mission and Values of HR Florida. Ms. Fields noted the council bylaws are located on the HR Florida website. Members can access them through the “Members Only” section. The new 2010 “Members Only” password is “WeRHR.”
The role and expectations of the council members werediscussed:(a) maintain SHRM Membership, (b) attend all state council meetings, (c) promote and support SHRM, and (d) participate in conducting SHRM business.
The monthly newsletter (eSource) is being revised and the content should be more visible. Two SHRM e-blasts are sent out each quarter.
2010 Plan and Goals / Pam Baldwin, Board Secretary stated that council goals will be updated and kept on the website. She also presented the new SHRM Affiliate Program for Excellence (SHAPE). All council members were encouraged to go to the SHRM site and review the requirements of the state and chapter SHAPEs.
Financial Update / Heather Vogel, 2009 Treasurer and Shannon Lands, 2010 Treasurer, presented a financial update to explain what the Council is doing and why, including making expenditures and the desire to achieve 100% accuracy in reporting. Ms. Vogelpresented the financial snapshot as of 12/31/09 and reviewed the 2010 budget draft of $803,600, which was to be voted on later on in the meeting. To help returning and new 2010 council members understand how the council’s reserves are used when they are needed, Ms. Vogel shared several examples, such as when the council does not host a state conference because of hurricane or when SHRM has the national conference in Florida. She pointed out that SHRM Council Assistance Program ($7,000 to HR Florida) will continue through 2010, which adds to the council’s coffers. Ms. Vogel pointed out that HR Florida represents over15,000HR Professionals, of which 7,000are chapter members. SHRM estimates that number to be only about 20% of the HR professionals in the state. Ms. Vogel thanked everyone for the gift of their time and talents and noted that HR Florida wants to spend some of its money on recognizing that gift.
Ms. Vogel noted that the Council manages to the “bottom line,” meaning that while expenses may be higher than budgeted in one line or account, the overall budget is maintained. The 2010 budget as presented contains a modest increase (10%) over 2009. The Conference call account has been increased to account for conducting more business telephonically rather than in person. The travel budget has been increased to allow chapter members to get out to chapters more. Finally, Ms. Vogel reviewed travel reimbursement policy.
Ms. Vogel stated that travel reimbursement forms will be loaded up on the website once the 2010 budget has been approved andreviewed the process for how that travel reimbursements are made. She noted thata spreadsheet is now sent to the bookkeeper, which has helped to drop the check lag time fromsix to three weeks. The council president still signs and sends out the checks, however. She invited council members to review the travel reimbursement policy on thewebsite.
Ms. Vogel added that the Executive Committee would like to start a Finance Committee for 2010 to assist in making decisions regarding the council’s reserves. She invited participation with Ms. Lands to serve as committee chair.
Questions and Comments from the Floor:
Pat Szczesny, District Director, Area 9 – Is the 2010 expense reimbursement form available on-line? Yes, it will be by the end of this meeting.
Debbie Winkles, District Director, Area 11 – Where will the April meeting be? The April meeting will be held at theIntercontinental Hotel in Tampa if the budget is approved.
Carrie Cherveny, Federal Government Affairs Director – Do we utilize a financial advisor?Yes, our financial advisor is employed by SunTrust Bank, where our current CDs are held.The finance committee may want to review that relationship to determine its appropriateness going forward.
Laura Rhoad, District Director, Area 8 -Who receives and processes the 2009 expense reports?The 2009 expense reports should be sent to Heather Vogel; the 2010 reports should go to ShannonLands.
Robin Bullock, President,SHRM Jacksonville–commented thateveryone shouldroom together to save on costs.Ms. Chastain replied that HR Florida does notask people to share a room.
Robin Bullock – Can the President-Elect be reimbursed for either the hotel or mileage?That would require a policy change, so the change would need to go through the standard council policy change protocol.Ms. Vogeldeferred the question to ShannonLandsto review for 2010. Ms. Vogel thenintroduced how HR Florida contracts room nights for meetings and conferences.
Debbie Winkles - Whomshould we contact if we are interested in participating on the finance committee?ContactShannonLands .
SHRM Update / Ms. Dorothy Knapp, SHRM Field Services Director, discussed 2009 and the difficulties that SHRM experienced. Shecongratulated Carol McDaniel, 2009 Conference Chair for a superb state conference and added that Florida’s attendee numbers were far better than those of the SHRM National convention.The New Orleans conference was half the size of what was expected. Under the leadership of the new SHRM president Lon O’Neal, the SHRM board conducted a strategicplanning andapproved a new five-year strategic plan. Ms. Knapp presented the new SHRM mission, vision and priorities:
SHRM Vision:To be a globally recognized authority whose voice is heard on the most pressing people management issues of the day – now and in the future.
SHRM Mission:To build partnerships; to provide a global community to share expertise and create innovative solutions; to provide thought leadership, education, and research; and to be an advocate on the most critical issues facing workplaces and the human resource profession.
SHRMStrategic Priorities:
- Provide high-value resources to existing core membership.
- Be a global organization.
- Operate as a financially sustainable organization.
- Evolve positioning to become more of an advisor and advocate.
- Attract HR executives and business/organization leaders.
- Engage non-HR professionals.
Ms. Knapp concluded her comments by stating that the Chapter Achievement Plan (CAP) is ending and is beingreplaced by SHAPE. Conference calls will be available for chapters based on chapter size. The new SHAPE has been designed to “raise the bar” in terms of chapter and state council achievement.She encouraged volunteer leaders to get help with the SHAPE and noted that theconference call schedule will be posted online at the SHRM website.
Questions and Comments from the Floor:
Robin Bullock –Will the conference calls by chapter size continue into 2010?Yes.The schedule will be posted on-line.
Heather Vogel – The dues have not been raised in 20 years; are there any plans to do so? Yes, the dues will be raised at some point, but not right now due to the economy.
Heather Vogel – How does the new “Engaging the non-HR professional” definition reconcile with SHRM’s definition as being HR professional?SHRM is still working on the definition. It is trying to maintain its core membership, while seeking out new members in nontraditional areas. The initiative falls under theAdvance the Profession” goal by educating organizations about HR issues.
Membership Update / Membership Director Gerry Hoeffnerdiscussed the details of growing membership in 2010.He stated that because of the new goals the membership team changedtheir titles to Director of Promotions-Membership and Director of Operations-Membership. Mr. Hoeffner stated that HR Florida is #1 because we are the only ones tracking membership numbers – we have enjoyed a 4.9% increase and are the only large state that showed growth in 2009. He said that the membership director team is going to continue to track membership rosters from each chapter. He shared the2010 challenges, including the economy, marketing initiatives, new markets, losing transitioning members, and of course, the challenge of obtaining and maintaining accurate data. Mr. Hoeffner noted that the best time for new chapter member marketing is in the early part of the year.He stated that the 2010 initiatives for the council are the membership data program, SHRM audit program, membership growth program and the membership retention program. The program will utilize reports and the drop list from SHRM. Chapters utilizing the membership can save about 10% of dropped membership. SHRM has agreed to extend the drop list from mega chapters to all Florida chapters.
Questions and Comments from the Floor:
Knapp commented thatshe wants to hear about innovative ways to drive new membershipbusiness and pledged that she and SHRMwill recognize membership directors with a small gift when they achieve their membership growth objectives.
Pam Baldwin, Board Secretary – What net growth will be rewarded?Net growth will be rewarded as such:if the chapter gainedfour new members, but lost five,the chapter will not receive any prizes.
Lara Donlon, President, Palm BeachCounty– Is the net growth to be rewarded to be net growth over year? No, it will be over the previous quarter.
Robin Bullock- Canthe chapters get the report in the month before SHRM membership expires? It could help some expirations from even happening. Premature data might cause some anxiety for members, but if chapters are proactive they might not need SHRM as they can capture that information themselves.HR Florida’s membership team will continueits dialogue with SHRM to continue to provide quality data and has designed a membership-planning guide for chapter use.
Certification Update / Ms. Fieldsrecognized Lori Goldsmith, SPHR for achieving her additional GPHR certification. Ms.Goldsmith pointed out that Florida is #1 in Southeast Region for certification and presented thegoal for 2010: a 12% increase in certification and an 85% certification retention. Two testing windows remain under old recertification rules. Those who recertify by exam must meet the new requirements, or recertify with 60 recertification credits.
Questions and Comments from the Floor:
Trisha Ferguson, President- Central Florida -Can SHRM provide information about members who are certified? Because of privacy requirements, SHRM and HRCI do not share information with each other. There is a line in the online recertification file that provides forchapter notification permission. We need to educate our chapter members to utilize this. HR Florida will provide presidents and certification chairs help with tracking certification information.
-Legislative Affairs Update / Ms. Carrie Cherveny, Federal Legislative Affairs Director and Mr. Damien Taylor, State Legislative Affairs Director announced that the challenge for 2010 in legislative affairs is overcoming apathy regarding getting involved in the legislative process.The Legislative Affairs team wants to establish ongoing communication with chapter legislative chairs, possibly form a committee to formulate policy statements and encourage advocacy on the state level. Ms. Cherveny discussed how SHRM develops policy statements through member surveys, focus groups and special expertise panels. She noted that SHRM takes into account political climate, hot issues, state legislative affairs directors, and state councils views. Ms. Cherveny explained why state councils adopt SHRM’s legislative positions and how SHRM does not speak to state issues; rather works through state councils to set state-level policy. The Legislative Affairs team proposed the formulation of a Governmental Affairs committee, with one member from every district in the state. The committee would include consultation with SHRM.
The proposed committee process for determine state public policy positions is:
- Research and recommend policy statement(s).
- Review and consultation with SHRM.
- Provide comments and feedback to EC.
- EC Review and comments by EC to committee.
- Preparation of final draft.
- Presentation to Council for adoption.
State Conference Update / Carol McDaniel, state conference chair, presented the 2009 review and 2010 conference planning update. The 2010 conference will take place on August 30– September 1, 2010The sales team has already been busy and has brought in over$50K inpre-sales.It is expected that the Expo Hall will sell out by June. Registration feeshave not changed; they are now posted on the website, with registration opening at close of business today. The Rosen Shingle Creek is partnering with HR Florida tooffer an early bird hotel rate of $119, which will expire onFebruary28, 2010. Parking is included in the hotel fee and registration fee. The 2010 state conference goals are 975 paid attendees, $300,000 in sponsor/exhibitor cash, and $100,000K for in-kind sponsors. These goals mirrorthe 2009 goals. The deadline to select chapter ambassadors is February 16, 200/10; Traci Pauley is the Ambassador Chair.The chapter marketing kits will be distributed at the end of the council meeting.
HR Florida has engaged in a partnership with Florida Trendmagazine, whichallows the council to market to a very different demographic, comprised of executives and small business professionals who handle the HR function, but may not necessarily have it reflected in their title.The conference team willmarket heavilyto this sector and will offer a small business track at the conference to meet their unique needs.
Ms. McDaniel presented the newly designed web buttons that can be used for personal/business websites todrive traffic to the conference page on the HR Florida website.She asked that everyone who can utilize the buttons to please do so.
Ms. McDaniel introduced Pete Eiden as Foundation Chair.
Questions and Comments from the Floor:
Robin Bullock commented that she asks SHRM Jacksonville exhibitors to bring a basket for SHRM Foundation auction. The exhibitor who bringsthe most money for the Foundation gets his/her booth free of charge.
Old Business Voting /
- October, 2009 Meeting Minutes:Stephen Tanner, District Director, Area 3 moved to accept the council minutes as presented; seconded by Lori Goldsmith, Certification Chair. Motion carried.
- 2010 Goals:Laura Rhoads, District Director, Area 8 moved to accept the 2010 goals; seconded by Trisha Ferguson, President-Central Florida chapter.Motion carried.
- 2010 Budget:Brandon Young, President-Volusia/Flagler chapter moved to acceptthe 2010 budget as presented; seconded byPat Szczesny, District Director, Area 9.Motion carried.
- 2010 Expense Reimbursement Guidelines: Debbie Winkles, District Director, Area 11 moved to accept the 2010 guidelines as presented; seconded byJacqui Zarba, District Director, Area 2.Motion carried.
New Business /
- Bylaws Committee:Heather Vogel, President-Elect will serve as chair and seeks representatives from each area to serve on the committee. . If interested, please let Ms. Vogel know by emailing her at .
- Ad Hoc Committee:The 2009 council has requested a review of the 2008 council vote to change past president recognition. Sherell Hendrickson, Immediate Past President will serve as chair. If interested in serving on the committee, pleaselet Ms.Hendrickson know by emailing her at . The Ad Hoc Committee will bring their recommendations to the April council meeting for presentation and voting.
- New Council Positions:The Executive Committee is presently reviewing two new positions for the council, Web Master and Social Media Chair, to see if those positions can best serve HR Florida as it moves forward into 2010. The EC will be prepared to ask for a vote on it at the April council meeting.
- Council Meeting Site Selection: The Executive Committee has asked its conference management company, McRae & Company, to serve as the HR Florida site selection committee. Not only will this streamline the site selectionprocess, it will also provide the opportunity for McRae to reduce its conference planning fees in light of future hotel commissions.
Closing Comments / In her closing comments, Ms. Fields noted that it is very important to register for both the meeting and the conferences, should the meeting be held at the same time as the conference (e.g., the Leadership Conference in January and the State Conference in August). Council members will need to make their own personal lodging arrangements with the host hotel. The location of the October meeting will be announced at the April meeting. To stay within the Council’s need to keep meetings centrally located on the “I-4 Corridor,” right now Site Selection is looking at the east coast, Daytona area.
Adjournment / The meeting was adjourned at 3:32 p.m.
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