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From the President
January 2007
Dear Members,
Welcome to 2007!
I am honored to greet you as the incoming President of HRM-RI for 2007.
HRM-RI is filled with vibrant, creative, and knowledgeable HR Professionals,
and I am pleased to be working with you all for the next year or two.
I have been fortunate to have recently attended the SHRM 2006
Leadership Conference in Crystal City, Virginia, just a block or two
from the Pentagon. Over 1000 volunteer HR leaders from across the country,
representing over 500 local chapters like ours, were all in one place at one
time. Together we explored programs and ideas that have worked, and some
that did not. We shared new ways to look at our membership, new ways
to provide services, and new ways to better serve the community.
Those of us who attended soaked up as much information as we could,
and brought it all back here to be discussed.
So, in a nutshell, we have some work to do.
- We want to continue to improve on the excellent foundations provided
to us by current
and past volunteers.
- We want to incorporate what we’ve learned from last year’s HRM survey,
and the
marketing plan that was created from it.
- We want to reach out to our membership to find new and exciting ways to
get each
and every one of you involved in something – what ever you feel you
can do --
no matter how great or small.
Survey & Marketing Plan
- Last year, you may recall that we presented the membership with an on-line survey,
which basically identified the various components of our membership (job type,
leadership responsibilities, practitioner level, etc). This provided key data for
North Star, the marketing firm we engaged. Their expert analysis resulted in the
creation of a marketing plan. Some aspects of this plan can be addressed immediately;
other portions will have to be implemented later on.
Joining the HRM Team
- Organizations like this one thrive only when members MAKE it thrive. The content of programs,
diversity of topics, and pertinence to your work -- are all factors of the group that’s making
it happen behind the scenes. Right now, only a precious few people (as volunteers, mind you)
are working hard to provide the membership a quality product.
- Ask any expert on group attraction and retention why most people don’t volunteer,
and s(he)'ll tell you, "Because no one asked".
So I’m asking. Please come join us and help out. Join the committee of your choice.
Ask to be a part of the next project. Make yourself available to call a couple of phone
numbers, if so asked. Any part you play, large or small, makes us a better organization.
- Most of us think, when asked to volunteer, that we’ll be saddled with an
entire project, all by ourselves, and left to finish it by ourselves. I
assure you that this is the last thing we want to do to us or to you. Instead,
we’ll
find ways to share the projects, and as others come to volunteer, the individual
responsibilities become that much easier.
- There is another way to look at the need for volunteers. Our membership is
diverse -- younger and older, entry-level and senior-level, on-the-job education
and formal scholastic education, Gen-X, Gen-Y, Baby Boomers, Traditionalists
and so on. These differences make the group strong!
- It's ludicrous to think that a small, unchanging group could ever satisfy the professional
development needs of so diverse a membership. It’s the old argument about having "new blood on the team".
You are different from your fellow member. This gives you a unique perspective concerning what our
fellow members want from HRM-RI. To meet the needs of all, we must be represented by all.
So here we are, at the end of the soapbox speech. If you take anything away from these words,
please take away this:
HRM-RI is only as good a product as we make it. The more people who
participate, the better it becomes. You do not need to spend vast amounts
of time volunteering to have made a difference. Start off with something
small, but PLEASE – start
off with something!
I look forward to working with you all in the months ahead. Please feel free to write or call
at any time.
Thank you,
David Goldman, SPHR
401-793-3156
President@hrm-ri.org
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