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Thursday 2:15 - 3:45 pm                  

John Sullivan, Ph.D., Dr. John Sullivan Associates

When the housing bubble burst and financial institutions around the globe started wavering, many in the recruiting profession felt that it was only a matter of time before throngs of recruiters were laid off as organizations attempting to weather the economic downturn shed every cost possible. Fortunately for many fearing the worst, recruiting functions in general were not decimated as in past recessions. This time, many organizations demonstrated through action that strategic recruiting capability is a core business capability and one that cannot be easily eliminated and started up again simply as conditions turn more favorable. Instead of being laid off, recruiters in talent management best practice organizations have increasingly been tapped to play a role in broader talent management activities. During this session with world renowned thought leader and HR strategist, Dr. John Sullivan, you will learn:

• What strategic activities recruiters are taking on in leading talent management functions
• How social networks, generational divides, globalization, and a constant demand for innovation and workforce productivity are changing the game of world-class recruiting
• How to make the business case for broadening the scope of a recruiter’s responsibilities in your organization
• How to evaluate the effectiveness of broader talent management initiatives and
• How to drive sustainability of talent management initiatives when economic recovery begins stretching resources

This session pre-approved by HRCI for 1.5 recertification credits - General Credit

Friday 7:30 - 9:00 am                  

Alan Fine, President, InsideOut Development

It’s a challenging time for leaders, managers, and HR professionals to build and sustain employee engagement and resilience during intense pressure to perform amidst serious cost-cutting, declining resources, and staff reductions. Learn how to:

• highlight and underscore the leader’s role in building employee resilience and performance during challenging times
• provide a coaching framework to educate leaders and managers to be able to effectively coach their direct reports’ core strengths and minimize weaknesses
• engage leaders and managers to want to coach their direct reports
• develop methodology and tools that leaders and managers can utilize to boost performance and morale

Participants will gain a coaching framework, rollout practices, and low cost ways to boost employee satisfaction that can be put in to practice immediately.

This session pre-approved by HRCI for 1.5 recertification credits - General Credit

Friday 9:30 - 11:00 am                  

Todd Manas, Senior Consultant, Towers Watson

Tom Wilson, President, The Wilson Group

We’ve all been impacted by economic upheavals of the recent past where largely, business survival has been dependent on retention or replacement of customers and extreme cost control. To remain financially viable, many have completed a reduction in force and major shifts in base and variable pay at all levels of their organization. This session is designed to explore what’s next. If organizations are to be successful for the long haul by building and retaining their ranks of top talent, pay and benefits strategies must become more focused over the short/retrenchment term as well as the long/re-emergence or growth term… while dealing with the operational mantra, “do more with less.” From the “front lines,” some critical questions have emerged:

• Are traditional assumptions about pay still appropriate as we move forward into the “new world” (e.g. merit pay, pay-for-performance, market competitiveness)?
• What have companies used to deal with the economic downturn?
• What new pay practices are emerging?
• Has the economic downturn changed the way companies are positioning variable pay plans? More? Less?

A focused team exercise will provide attendees with a toolkit to assess, analyze, and strategize solutions related to challenges of talent attraction, retention and motivation as well as provide an opportunity to problem-solve their issues during the session.

This session pre-approved by HRCI for 1.5 recertification credits - General Credit

Friday 1:30 - 3:00 pm                  

Bruce Barth, Robinson & Cole, LLP

Mary Borba, Vice President Compensation and Benefits, Boehringer Ingelheim

David “Brad” Morse, Market Head and VP Sales and Service, Aetna, Inc.

Employer funded healthcare has been, and continues to be, a major fiscal and social challenge for all organizations in this country… further complicated by major changes in federal and state healthcare legislation. This session will provide timely insight on how the current economic, political, and social environment is shaping the “new” healthcare model for employers and employees, including how the “generational mix,” location, and experience-ratings will shape company healthcare plan(s) in the future. Our panel of experts will provide a model for change inclusive of a(n) assessment of an organization’s healthcare situation (including new laws at both federal and state levels) and design and implementation strategies for our new reality. Attendees, by way of an interactive exercise, will gain an assessment tool to enable them to set priorities according to both their business and the new regulatory environment (universal healthcare or not!).

• Understand the social, political, and economic forces that are shaping the impacts on health care for businesses, individuals, and society during a very critical time in U.S. history;
• Learn about recently enacted, major changes in federal and state healthcare mandates including concepts, funding, and rationale behind these mandates as well as implications for HR and their organizations; and
•  Learn how to assess, identify, and lead your organization’s healthcare priorities during this time of radical change in healthcare structure and regulations.

This session pre-approved by HRCI for 1.5 recertification credits - General Credit

Friday 3:15 - 4:45 pm                  

Amy Richman, Senior Consultant, WFD Consulting

Eileen Lavin, Senior Business Program Manager, Aetna, Inc.

Kerry Moyer, Senior Manager, Deloitte Consulting

Michelle Carpenter

The nature of the workforce and the workplace has undergone profound and complex changes over the last 30 years, including an increase in the diversity of our employee base, a more decentralized workplace, enhanced technologies, and a multi-generational workforce with a shift in values and standards that define what people will contribute and what they expect from their employer. At no point in our work history has the pressure for employers to manage their employees with greater flexibility been greater.

Join us in this workshop to learn how HR can drive the leveraging of flexibility as a key management tool for meeting business goals while contributing to cost containment during these turbulent economic times. The studies support that companies who manage their workforce flexibly reap benefits of reduced absenteeism & turnover, increased employee engagement, increased revenues & cycle times, better client service, stronger employee commitment, and reduced stress.

• the business case for workplace flexibility
• critical cultural components that are required for successful flexible work environments
• how you can assess your own staff, including hourly workers to find opportunities to manage them more flexibly and improve business results!
• Aetna’s evaluation of their teleworkers’ results as compared to the general population. 
• Deloitte’s unique approach to a successful communication/negotiation between employee and supervisor. 

This session pre-approved by HRCI for 1.5 recertification credits - General Credit

*A PHR may obtain General Credit by attending any session approved for Strategic Credit or International Management Credit.

To learn more about PHR, SPHR, and GPHR certification and recertification, visit the Human Resource Certification Institute web site at www.hrci.org