8:45—10:15 a.m.  - Opening General Session

Why We (Might) Love HR (Someday)  (Room 8005)

The cover of Fast Company’s August, 2005, issue came as a shock to human resources professionals everywhere: Next to the cartoon image of a nasty-looking “HR” girl vivisecting her dolls was the headline, “Why We Hate HR.” Inside, Keith Hammonds explained why the human resources function in most organizations so often failed to live up to its promise—and indeed, to the crucial role it should be playing in a talent-driven economy. In this session, Hammonds lays out what HR must become to serve companies effectively, and to finally merit the “strategic partner” role that it has long sought. He’ll tell the stories of HR leaders and organizations that have begun to realize that potential. And he’ll show us what HR people—and all business leaders—can do to overcome the considerable cultural hurdles that keep HR from doing its job well.

Speaker: Keith Hammonds, Executive Editor, Fast Company Magazine

10:30 a.m. —12:00 p.m.  - Concurrent Sessions

Strategic HR: Preparing for the Workforce of the Future  (Room 8002)

Demographic changes are reshaping the American workforce, and putting the competition for talent at the top of every CEO’s agenda. Successful companies will increasingly rely on their HR departments to provide them with the strategic direction that will spell the difference between success and failure. This session will detail the expected changes in the U.S. workforce and describe how HR professionals can help their companies succeed.
Speaker: Joan M. Crockett, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Allstate Insurance Company

Supervisors Leadership Development  (Room 8005)

As business becomes more and more competitive the need to develop supervisors is imperative. Unfortunately, many organizations world-wide are proud of the fact that they promote from within (which is great), but they do not give these newly promoted people the skills or tools to succeed. This program is designed to arm the new or old supervisor with the leadership skills to encounter the ever-increasing challenges they will face.

Speaker:  Darryl Harris, President, Darryl Harris Inc.

The 401(k) Success Paradigm:  Best Practices and the Pension Protection Act (2006)  (Room 8010)

In this session, Matt Gnabasik will walk the attendees through the 401(k) Success Paradigm™ with its focus on driving positive results. This innovative framework will then be used to examine industry and plan sponsor best practices so that attendees can quickly make sense of the changing Defined Contribution (DC) landscape. He will also cover the main points of the Pension Protection Act with a special emphasis on DC plans. In addition, Matt will cover the topic of “excess revenue” and show sponsors how once they understand the economics of the retirement industry, they can better negotiate lower total plan costs for the benefit of plan participants

Speaker: Matt Gnabasik, Managing Director, Blue Prairie Group

12:15—1:15 p.m. -

Working Lunch - Concurrent Roundtable Discussions

Legislative Action Roundtable  (Room 8002)

HR Professionals often are the point of entry to their organizations for legal developments and compliance issues. However, they often face obstacles getting timely information and then implementing what they have learned. During this session, participants will share their strategies for learning about legal and compliance issues, for getting management to take notice of and for implementing those developments.

Facilitator: Phil Schreiber, Partner, Holland & Knight

Challenges for HR Practitioners  (Room 8005)

As HR Practitioners, we often experience similar situations, but never get the chance to share best practices or learn from each other. During this session, we will have the chance to discuss current "pain points" and possible solutions. Bring your HR "hat" and topics to this session.

Facilitator: Sally Anderson, SPHR, HR Partner, DoubleClick

Changing Perceptions….Tactical to Strategic HR (Room 8010)

Join this roundtable for a lively discussion around the perceptions of HR being tactical or strategic, particularly if we are working at being strategic, but are still perceived as tactical. In our discussion, we’ll try to answer the question, “how can we help shift perceptions to align with our actions?”

Facilitators:  Jennifer Mounce, SPHR, CoachEffects and Carolyn Sperl, SPHR, HR Review

1:30—3:00 p.m. - Concurrent Sessions

Beyond Consumer-Driven Healthcare: Why Disease Management Should be in the Mix  (Room 8002)

The premise behind Consumer Driven Health care is to encourage individual responsibility and accountability for healthcare and health costs. That’s fine as far as it goes. But we need to take that thinking a step beyond.  Consumer Driven Health Plans by themselves won’t achieve the kind of shift in attitudes and behaviors to successfully attack spiraling health care costs. Employers must begin looking at Disease Management programs that use predictive modeling and health risk assessments. We will discuss how to give employees the tools to make the kinds of changes and decisions that will most dramatically and effectively impact health and healthcare costs.

Speaker: Daniel F. Rigby, President/ CEO, Human Resource Management Systems, LLC

Don't Touch that E-Mail: The Perils for HR in New Court E-mail Rules    (Room 8005)
Failure to observe the new rules can result in Court sanctions (penalties, fees and costs) to employers and individuals who do not observe the new rules. It can also result in the court issuing a "negative inference" against the employer to a jury. Ignorance is not a defense. This program will help you, as an HR professional, avoid these dire consequences. Learn the traps. Learn a series of steps that you can immediately use when the possibility of employment litigation arises in order to avoid future court sanctions, penalties and fees.
Speaker: James S. Barber, Clausen & Miller

The Caregivers Among Us: Navigating the Journey of Eldercare in the Workplace   (Room 8010)
The numbers are staggering. With 20 percent of the adult population involved in caregiving, odds are that a large percentage of your coworkers are caring for a frail family member, or are in the sandwich generation. Scores of employees are dropping out of the work force, cutting their hours, or compromising their productivity to provide care for an elderly parent.  In this session attendees will learn how to help caregivers keep the passion, perspective and purpose in their personal and professional lives. Elder caregiver issues including stress, guilt, and caring for oneself while caring for another will be explored. The "Ten Top Caregiver Mistakes" will be presented, as will learning how to show caregivers better ways to recognize how to be 'team players' and gain a new perspective about balancing work and family care challenges. The objectives of this session are: 1) Identifying interventions in how to deal with caregivers increased absenteeism, decreased productivity and increased personal stress, 2) Developing communication and coping skills for caregivers, to help them understand the physical and emotional demands of their ailing family member and 3) Learning about time management skills, financial resources for eldercare, and facts about bringing in outside help.
Speaker: Cheryl A. Kuba, Aging Parent Solutions, LLC

3:30 - ???  Networking Session

Please join us for an informal networking session following the conference at Beef and Brandy, (127 S. State St., Chicago, IL: for directions call 312-372-3451).  This cash bar event will provide continued opportunity to further discuss the day’s sessions, as well as meet other SHRP members, share job leads, and build relationships with potential mentors.  We look forward to sharing with you!