MIC'D
HR News brought to you by the Northeast Indiana Human Resource Association (NIHRA).
MIC'D
Shaping the Future of HR
Curious about the dynamic world of HR and communications? Brace yourself as we traverse this fascinating terrain with an ensemble of industry stalwarts who promise to enlighten, inspire, and entertain. Penny Egly, Director of Communications for NIHRA, sets the stage with intriguing insights on her role and vision, followed by Deb Jones who shares her inspiring journey from secretary to a seasoned HR professional. Deb's story of how her MBA has made her skills more marketable is sure to resonate with professionals at every level.
As we delve deeper, we shift focus to the importance of human resources in the current business landscape. Join us as Matt Whitney, the Business Manager of the Grand Wayne Center, candidly shares his transition from an employee to an employer. His unique perspective on the power of data in supporting new initiatives is quite the eye-opener. And just when you think we've covered it all, we explore the impact of HR certification on education with Dr. Jeff Walls!
Dr. Wall's experience in developing marketing and HR programs at Indiana Tech and his commitment to HR certification credentials promises to leave you more informed and inspired. Networking opportunities at Indiana Tech, details about the upcoming SHRM National Conference in Chicago in 2024, and lots more await you in this enriching episode. What's more? We have some exciting surprises woven through our conversation, including the reveal of Matt Whitney's walk-in tune! So, gear up for an episode brimming with insights, stories, and moments that are sure to make a lasting impact.
Well, i'm here today with Penny Egley. She's the Director of Communications for NIRA. Penny, welcome. Thank you, mike. Tell me about your, what you do for NIRA.
Speaker 2:Okay, well, for NIRA, I send out all kinds of communications. So if you get the emails talking about the events that are coming, you get the reminders to get registered for those events and then you afterwards get a survey that asks you what you liked about the event and what you might change about the event. Those are coming from me. I also am sending out text messages lately.
Speaker 1:As you know, mike you do that too. All right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that's what I do with the communications.
Speaker 1:Okay, great. So what do your hopes for NIRA as an organization, what makes you part of it and what's your hopes for what we do?
Speaker 2:Great question. So I love NIRA. We are a great organization to bring a lot of good communication to a lot of people who are doing good work, and that is pretty fantastic, right? That's why.
Speaker 1:I'm a part of it.
Speaker 2:I love to the servant leadership or the being the servant in a situation that helps people do what they want to do to spread good things. What I would love to see from a communications standpoint is NIRA is communicating to our folks in the way they want to be communicated to.
Speaker 2:So, if you get those surveys and you have feedback you want to give to us, make sure that you're answering And if we're not asking the questions you want to tell us about, fill in the comments in the way that you can get your message to us And you can also email us. All of our emails are up on the website, right?
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:So there's another way that you can reach out to us.
Speaker 1:Great. And one last question What do you do professionally as a vocation?
Speaker 2:I am an HR specialist at Indiana Tech here in Fort Wayne. I've been there for a little over nine years And that's a really great place to be as well.
Speaker 1:Go Warriors.
Speaker 2:Yeah, go Warriors.
Speaker 1:Thanks for your time today, Penny.
Speaker 3:Thank you, mike, tapping your last reserve of growth potential. Join us for our next Zoom webcast on July 13th from 9 to 10 am with Keri Van Dale. The next wave of economic growth will come from your subject matter experts. In several of her published articles, keri Van Dale writes about how your chemise should be recruited to deliver training to your other employees. Your chemise can create apprenticeships, mentorships and cross-train. They possess knowledge in your company. There are three solutions for growth Marginal benefit, leverage your chemise capacity utilization. increased production with your chemise. train the trainer performance a standard task or process. Please register today for our July 13th webcast with Keri Van Dale.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the program. I've got Deb Jones with me. She is a retired HR professional And I would like to ask her to kind of tell her story of how she got into HR and her career progression, Deb.
Speaker 4:Thank you, mike. I started my career as a secretary typing on an IBM Selectric typewriter back in the days before personal computers existed, and I was taking classes at IPFW while working. After a few years and a couple of promotions later, i was offered the opportunity to become part of the newly developed employee involvement program that we started at the company. This position gave me the opportunity to work with employees on the plant floor and to help them improve quality and productivity on their own, but using a systematic problem solving approach. Concepts like brainstorming, cause and effect diagrams, pareto diagrams that we're also familiar with today we're just starting to be used back then, and we taught them to employees to aid in their problem solving efforts. I really enjoyed working with employees to improve their products and to see how they could grow during this process, and also being the liaison between them and management so that they can gain approval, because funds were required for many of the projects. I realized, though, at that point that if I really wanted to progress further in the organization, i needed to get serious about getting my degree, so I did obtain my bachelor's degree in business administration. Within a year, i was promoted to human resources manager at the plant level And I found out very quickly that this position in a unionized environment was viewed very differently by employees. I was no longer the friendly person that helped them solve problems, but was part of management who made decisions that oftentimes they didn't like. Learning that some employees didn't like me merely because I was doing my job was a hard lesson for me And I think it's hard for everybody. The plant had a difficult relationship with the union at that time And we went through a pretty tough labor contract negotiation, but it was successful and ultimately kept the plant competitive. After a few years the union relationship was normalized and we began working towards common goals, which I believe is why the plant is still operating more than 25 years later. I was promoted to compensation, benefits and recruitment manager at a corporate level and assisted the corporate headquarters and the company's other plant locations in the country.
Speaker 4:After four years in this position, these functions were moved to Florida And I didn't move to Florida, but I elected to stay in Fort Wayne and return to the plant in my previous job, and I stayed in that position until retirement. During that time, the corporation was starting to divest itself of manufacturing plants And I wanted my skills to be more marketable, whatever was going to happen. So I completed my MBA with a concentration in HR at Indiana Tech and also achieved the SHRM CP certification. I'm glad that I did, as our plant was purchased by a competitor In part, i think, because I had my MBA and the SHRM CP. I was retained and was very involved in integrating the plan to do the new company, as well as working closely with the new corporate management. Since retiring, i've been helping several small businesses with their HR questions and needs nothing too time consuming, but it does help keep me current in the profession And I continue to be a member of NIRRA and SHRM.
Speaker 1:Deb, what insights do you want to share with existing as well as up and coming HR folks?
Speaker 4:Well, early in my career, I was given good advice by a mentor that was very valuable. That advice was to remain open to change and to adapt to whatever situation you're in. I believe I was offered opportunities throughout my career and included in a number of decisions, beingly because I was open to new ideas and I was willing to find a way to make things work. Negativity gets you nowhere. My advice on that subject is to always be open and positive. Now that doesn't mean you have to agree with or go along with everything, because it's your job to let your managers know both the pros and the cons, and not everything proposed should be implemented. It's all in the way you approach and present it. In addition to that, my advice to professionals starting their HR career would be in these areas. One would be learn and stay current on the legal side of HR. It is the foundation of good management and will keep things grounded. It can be tedious and sometimes doesn't seem to be common sense and you'll get a lot of argument back from supervisors and managers, but it is your job to be the expert and let supervisors, managers in your management, know when situations exist that could cause potential issues. Secondly, learn the business of your employer. I believe this is so important. For example, if it's manufacturing, learn the products and the basic manufacturing methods. If it's distribution or a professional organization, familiarize yourself with the work that's done. If you don't and you don't know the business, you can't apply the HR principles or any new ideas. You'll be most effective when you know the business well enough that you can meaningfully apply the HR principles and offer solutions and improvement ideas that are relevant to that organization. Hr exists to further the business and if the business isn't successful, you're not going to be successful.
Speaker 4:Thirdly, conduct yourself so that you're above a reproach and maintain the respect of all employees. Be the person that employees and management alike believe will maintain confidentiality and that you won't make decisions based on personal preferences. Assure consistency when applying policies. Be friendly to everybody, but not too friendly with anyone. Understand that not everyone will like you because of the decisions you need to make and because of the job that you have, but keep doing what's right, consistent and follow established policies. When I retired, an employee told me you know I never really liked you, but you were always fair to everyone. I considered that a compliment.
Speaker 4:Fourth, continue to learn, learn, learn. Nir is providing more and more opportunities for learning, and SHRM is an excellent resource. Hr is changing very quickly and there are many new concepts and requirements out there. You need to be knowledgeable of them Now. That being said, don't be too quick to jump on every new idea that comes along, because not all of them will be advised for your organization. Be thoughtful and selective And, fifth, become the expert in your field. This is related to the last point about learning. You will go far if you take the time to stay knowledgeable and present solutions to current issues and new ideas to your management, and present them in the proper manner. Mike, thank you for inviting me to join you today. I've enjoyed this.
Speaker 1:Thanks for your time, deb, you're welcome.
Speaker 5:Join us for our next networking breakfast on July 20th, from 8 to 9 am at PHP on Magnavox Way.
Speaker 5:Once again, we are planning a time of intentional connection and networking over a delicious breakfast. This time, the networking event is going to be held at PHP, our sponsor for the event. Breakfast and networking will start at 8 am. There will be a short share from our sponsor three to five minutes and our Nira chapter president will review some meetings and membership information. Three to five minutes and the remaining time is simply time for you to connect with your peers and share what is happening in your world. At 9 am there will be an optional tour for PHP for those that would like to stay and participate. This is a free event and please use the networking time as a time to invite connections that you have that are not yet a member of Nira. This is a great way for them to learn more about our chapter, connect with great people and hear about the many benefits that both can provide. Please register today for networking breakfast on July 20th, from 8 to 9 am at PHP on Magnavox Way.
Speaker 1:Welcome to Mike. Today we have our member Spotlight, and Whitney is going to be interviewing and take it away.
Speaker 6:Thanks, mike. It's good to be joining the program again. I do want to share with our listeners today just the uniqueness about Nira connections and our guests today. I actually had the opportunity to network with at the baseball and beer event recently, so today I'd like to share with the listeners I have Matt Whitney. No, there's no relation. He is our business manager or a business manager with the Grand Wayne Convention Center.
Speaker 7:Hi Ann, Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 6:Thanks, Matt, for joining. I'm excited to chat with you and ask you some questions here. The first question is your membership. How long have you been a member of NIRRA?
Speaker 7:Just for a little over a year. I joined after accepting my new position at Grand Wayne Convention Center in the spring of 2022.
Speaker 6:Great, that's exciting. You're a new member and I was intrigued, definitely, to hear some of your thoughts today on things as being a new member. How did you learn about NIRRA?
Speaker 7:Well, my good friend Mike Frederick encouraged me to join after learning that my new position was going to have some components of both human resources, along with accounting and finance duties.
Speaker 6:Awesome, There again another connection, another example of how our connections can lead us to, I guess, more connections and more opportunities.
Speaker 7:Absolutely.
Speaker 6:Matt, you're a new member so I'm curious are you a sure member? Are you considering it maybe?
Speaker 7:Yeah, I'm not at this time, but I do plan on joining here in the near future.
Speaker 6:Okay, perfect, because all the connections. There's lots of ways you can obtain resources and ask for assistance on any of that when the time comes for you.
Speaker 7:Yes, I'm going to follow that.
Speaker 6:What about areas sharing with our listeners about the areas of human resources that you're involved in that do overlap in your current role?
Speaker 7:Yeah, I probably was a business manager to take care of banking, finance those kind of things for the Grand Wayne Center. But I'm also doing recruiting, benefits, payroll, trying to get up to speed on some of the more governmental sides of reporting and things for HR.
Speaker 6:Is that area new to you? Have you had previously any experience with those particular HR functions?
Speaker 7:Yeah, not a lot More so on the other side of being a supervisor or manager throughout my career. so being behind the curtain on the HR side is something new. Fortunately, our executive director at the Grand Wayne Center is Bart Shaw. His bachelor's degree is in human resources, so he is able to help me along the way in my new roles here.
Speaker 6:Why do you think it's important for business leaders such as yourself to understand the dynamics of human resources?
Speaker 7:Yeah, really. Particularly in this post-COVID world with such historically low unemployment, I believe it's important for all levels of company leaders to have a solid understanding of human resources. There are so many organizations competing for the same group of employees that human resources can really help organize and come up with attractive packages to entice those looking for work and to help keep the employees that we have here, so we don't have to find more new employees In your timing with joining NIRAs probably very timely because, as you mentioned, it's a challenging time right now.
Speaker 6:So I think that's unique that you shared that. And then, of course, you be having involvement now with NIRA and having that So awesome. I had asked you this question about the aspects of HR. You know you would feel it changed and, understandably, being more recent to some of those functions, but I guess can you share with us either way, like how you maybe feel personally about how things have changed over the years or even just what recently you've noticed.
Speaker 7:Sure, yeah. being new to the HR world, i have absolutely had more experience answering that from the other side as an employee. But to me, from the time I entered the workforce in the early 90s, the biggest change has been the benefits packages. There are so many more decisions to make in the open enrollment periods now than there were 30 years ago. It feels like it's taking a lot more studying in the options that are offered. It feels like you're making a good and firm decision.
Speaker 6:Yeah that's, yeah, very, very true. It's benefits as a whole. To me, a whole east of an area of human resources. It's almost its own challenging, like you're saying, just from both sides of it. So I'm glad you shared that, because it's definitely different perspectives from the employee side versus being the one that is sourcing that from the employer side.
Speaker 7:Yeah, this past year was my first experience of going through as an employer and trying to decide what benefits we were going to offer and what the cost of those would be to the company and to the employees, and it was really an eye-opening experience trying to come up with a competitive package.
Speaker 6:Yeah, it's such a good thing you mentioned that the perspective of the employee Because I always tend to think about that like, think about it from their perspective, their shoes on understanding all these things that can be complicated. Exactly, what do you consider to be the most beneficial experience about being a NIRRM member?
Speaker 2:A common phrase that runs through my head in my new position.
Speaker 7:a lot is you don't know what you don't know. So for me, the legal ease webinars have been a big help. The most recent one on employee handbooks with Bob Recklone was great for me. Our handbook definitely needs a refresh, So hearing what needs to be included as well as what does not need to be included in an updated handbook was very beneficial.
Speaker 6:Thank you for sharing that, Matt. It's really good to hear that you find that beneficial And we're grateful that we can continue to provide those type of webinars for the members. So great So far. I know, as we mentioned, you're a NIRRM member, But so far, do you have a favorite or a speaker that stuck out at one of our monthly luncheons?
Speaker 7:Yeah, i've only been to a few of the luncheons, but I apologize, i don't remember the presenter's name, but the first one I went to was the leading HR strategy with data analytics. Being an accounting and finance guy, that one really spoke to me When presenting anything new to my organization. I believe it's always a great practice to have good data to support any kind of new initiative, so that was a really, really interesting one for me, and it's one I've used several times in my new role.
Speaker 6:Great, great Thanks for sharing that. Yeah, it's always hard when you have a good lineup anyway.
Speaker 7:And I should add that too, all the ones that I've been to have all been great, so it was hard to choose one. That one's always stuck out a little bit for me.
Speaker 6:So I have some fun questions to ask you. What about a song that you would want played every time you walked into a room for the rest of your life? What song would you choose, and why?
Speaker 7:Well, i think I would go with Pat Benatar's Hit Me With Your Best Shot, and that kind of has to go back to when I was a kid and for a while I played hockey growing up through high school and I was a goalie, so that was a song that kind of always got me ready for games. But my professional life I've always felt like problem solving is probably one of my bigger attributes, and so that song is just kind of stuck with me as people have brought me problems to figure out in my various roles.
Speaker 6:Okay, so when you're stumped by trying to solve a problem, do you put that song on, and does that help you?
Speaker 7:No, it definitely runs through my head So yeah, yeah it does. It kind of helps me bear down and focus on the task at hand.
Speaker 6:Yeah, okay. What about if you could share with us a superpower? if you could choose any of them, which one would you choose and why I?
Speaker 7:think I'd go with being able to fly. My wife and I really enjoy traveling, but I hate commercial airlines and the whole process of airports and luggage and all that. So being able to fly would solve a big problem for me.
Speaker 6:Yeah, you probably could get more added to that list, right? Absolutely, that's a good one, for sure. What do you do in your free time, matt? Do you have any hobbies or anything you'd like to share with our listeners about your hobbies?
Speaker 7:Sure, i've always been a big sports fan and my wife and I attend a lot of Purdue Four Wayne games and different sports, whether it's basketball or volleyball or soccer. So we spend a lot of time doing there. And I'm going to lifelong Detroit Redwings fan And just what happens that our son now works for the Redwings affiliate in Grand Rapids. So we go up to Grand Rapids several times a year to see their games. And I also have a 1989 Corvette that I spend way too much time trying to keep running.
Speaker 6:Awesome, awesome. That was great. Thanks for sharing that. So it's always interesting you know what others do in their free time outside of working in the Naira of course event. So one last thing, matt do you have any encouraging words for someone you know such as similar to in your shoes that would be considering to join Naira?
Speaker 7:Sure, i would just tell them that it's a steal. You know, the benefits of the association far outweigh the cost. And the one thing too. It's been a little interesting for me, being kind of a new HR world. I could see a lot of benefits for other managers in my company to attend Naira events. I don't, it doesn't feel like it's just something that ought to be an HR person. You know we've got there's something good things that could be, you know, learned by all of the leaders in our organization.
Speaker 6:Thank you for sharing that. I I agree completely And I just thank you for for being willing to do the spotlight with me Because really, matt, i was really intrigued, because I wanted to share with our listeners you know, because you are a business manager And that perspective, you know, not just the benefit of HR professionals but but including those that are in our communities as business leaders. So I am just grateful for you participating in the member spotlight with me And it was great to have you on the show today.
Speaker 7:Well, thank you, enjoy doing it.
Speaker 1:Why was it so hot in the stadium after the baseball game? All the fans left. Welcome to the program. Today We have Dr Jeff Walls with Indiana Tech and Carol Platt with Indiana Tech as well. Carol is over our college relations for Naira And she is going to be conducting an interview with Dr Walls. Carol.
Speaker 8:Hi, dr Walls. First of all, i want to say thank you for joining us today. I'm excited to have you on the podcast. I'm going to kick off this question and answer session with first of all, why don't you tell us a little bit about your background and what got you interested in HR?
Speaker 9:Well, i'm absolutely honored to be part of this, and the only problem with your question there is you said a little bit. I mean, like which little part would you like to know as opposed to the full rundown? But let me give you a couple of highlights. If you've got a follow-up that you want to ask me, you certainly can. But so this is as we have just finished this academic year. I have just finished my 34th year at Indiana Tech and will be starting my 35th in the fall. Right now I am not just the senior professor on campus, but I'm not the oldest, but I've been there longer than every full-time employee at Indiana Tech. So I've seen a significant number of changes transpire And I hope that I played a small part in a few of them.
Speaker 9:But when Indiana Tech brought me in as a faculty member, it gave me two specific things that they had hoped that I would be able to develop for them, and at that point in time so this is fall of 1989, they did not have a degree with a concentration in marketing and they did not have one with human resources, and so that was my immediate responsibility to get those created, and I immediately aligned the HR program with SHRM, and so, once again, this is 1989, and this is just as SHRM is transitioning from ASPA American Society of Personal Administrators into Society for Human Resource Management, so the change was really coming, and I then looked at this as just a phenomenal opportunity. And where I came from, though? I came from corporate world. I was at North American Bandlines and I was at their headquarters and I was a byproduct of their full program of tuition, reimbursement and things like that. My undergrad degree is marketing, my MBA is finance and my doctorate degree is entrepreneurship.
Speaker 9:And then I have all of these HR credentials, and I had owned several small businesses and had performed all of the HR activities as the owner entrepreneur, and pretty quickly realized that if I had better people, i could actually beat and I think of it in terms of sports but if I had better people working for me, i could beat whoever the other team might be, and so I pretty quickly came to the revelation that companies that have better people and understand how to keep them are the ones that everybody gets attracted to. But Don Andorffa was the president, and I had the great fortune of he being a golfer and found out that I play an enormous amount of golf. So he and I became pretty quickly golf partners. And what happened then is I went to the Shurm conference in 1991 and saw what it was about.
Speaker 9:It was in Cincinnati. Obviously, it's never been back there since because they're not. The structure of the city just can't hold how big it is And I went there on a kind of a search try to understand, and when I came back I put together a proposal for me to offer a class that would be unique in that no one else in the nation was offering a class for college credit like what.
Speaker 9:I wanted to do for undergrad students And there were things that were running around at a much higher level, but I looked at this as a phenomenal opportunity for undergrad students to go to and that I would teach a class and the students would get three credits.
Speaker 9:And I put it all together and Don Andorffa made the comment to me I've talked about him, i've talked to him about this multiple times since but that he would let me do it one time And he believed that it was too expensive and the students would never go again. And he was right. It is very expensive, but this, in fact, i will be there next weekend. This will be my 30th consecutive SHIRM conference of taking a group of students to, and there's no one, no other faculty member in the world that has that type of a record of taking the students, and it really has become a scenario for Indiana Tech to not just be a small private college but to be one of the top universities in the nation when we're at the SHIRM conference, because we are that well recognized, and so I've given you more information than you asked for on that. But is that kind of what you?
Speaker 8:have. Yeah, yeah, that is some great information That tells us a little, gives us a little leeway into what the conference is going to be about. We'll talk about that here in a few minutes. But I know you have a super interesting background and one of the things I feel is great about your experience is that you do help HR professionals from people that are looking to get into HR to students, to current HR professionals. So tell us just a little bit real, quickly how you help HR professionals or people that are interested in maybe diving into human resources, career changers, students And then after that we'll get into the big finale, talking about the conference.
Speaker 9:Okay, so I have been a huge proponent of the HR certification credentials And in 1994, at the SHIRM conference that year it was in St Louis, that's when I made the dedication So I took my first group of students in 1993 just to make certain that what I believe to be true would be true. And then in 94, i decided that I needed to make the commitment And so I then passed the HRCI, so the Human Resource Certification Institute, their SPHR exam, and now SHIRM has their certification of the SCP certified senior professional and then the CP certified professional. And what SHIRM has done is allow the students to be able to take the CP exam and specifically, that is oriented towards universities that are fully endorsed by SHIRM, and Indiana Tech has the distinction of having that endorsement by SHIRM, and that empowers our program and allows our students to sit for the National Certification exam, the CP, prior to them graduating. And this is from the traditional students all the way through our MBA program. And Mike Frederic was, which he's hosting here, so he's listening in on what I'm saying here And I did, which I feature many of the HR professionals in the classroom, in my classroom specifically, but one of them and I had told Mike this that she will pass, and I've not unleashed this in a big way, but she did pass.
Speaker 9:And so this is what transpires with me When I'm teaching the HR class. So this is the introduction to HR course And I'm the one who put this into the cryptolums that every undergraduate student has to take the HR class, and that really makes our College of Business distinct from many others in that it's a required class for every student And many universities don't do that, shockingly. But I think that what I have done is promote the certification to a great extreme And by doing that, then when our students are interviewed by companies and they don't just have the degree but they have that certification, it's as if that brings their resume to the top of the stack And it denotes a degree of commitment to the profession And I really think that it is a standout item. And when you travel around Fort Wayne and I talk about Fort Wayne being such a small, truly click connected place, but over 34 years then the number of alums that have come from Indiana Tech, that are now some of the top HR people in the area and I could name names, but I would leave out somebody probably, but it is. It's literally.
Speaker 9:Now what happens is that it's not just HR. So we have great HR students and we have great HR people that are Indiana Tech alums, but when an engineering student or a marketing student or any major from Indiana Tech says, so I would really like to work at this company, and then when I say, but the HR person graduated from Indiana Tech, let me give that person a phone call And it's that type of connection that we have in this area that I believe is unmatched, and I think that it is that piece. So when I'm talking to parents of traditional students or when I'm talking to the non-traditional students, whether they're in class or online, it's that level of network that we offer. That is a true game changer. And I think that and it's not just in this area, it's, you know, we've got individuals that are global and it's worldwide. But, carol, i think that we at Indiana Tech sometimes forget how big we really are.
Speaker 8:I agree. I agree with that. You always run into somebody out there.
Speaker 7:Well, no doubt about it, And I think you, know.
Speaker 9:So Caltech, part of TechStron. They have a distinction that I think is unmatched in this area, and once again I'm going to try my best to not name all of the names, but Indiana Tech every year at graduation We recognize our outstanding graduates are number ones And Caltech has five. So they have our last five who graduated with degrees in accounting as number ones And their HR person graduated number one as well. And it's things like that that our companies recognize that and literally call me that and say so, who's going to be your number one And we want to hire that person.
Speaker 8:Right, right, no, i think that's great. It's all about who you know a lot of times, too, and your connections Well, and one of our.
Speaker 9:I don't necessarily think it's an Indiana text slogan, necessarily, but it's something that we believe in, as I mean, we believe in this idea of relationship-based education, and I think you could lose the word based education and just go on the idea with relationships.
Speaker 8:Relationships yep.
Speaker 9:I have lived my life based on my ability to call someone and say, remember when I helped you, yes, now it's time for you to help this next person. And it's kind of that pay forward or give it back, and it's as if I don't need something, but I have somebody who does, and it's like I'm not necessarily calling it in, i'm just suggesting that everybody needs that connection And I like it one hour, especially right here in Fort Wayne, when you can pick up the phone and call somebody and it's like you've got to be kidding me. But of course, let me help, let me make a call, let me believe, and if you say the person's good, if you say this is a superstar, then your word is good for me And that's all I need.
Speaker 8:So yep, i like it. I think it's great. I think the networking and who you know and, like you said, the relationship, it's important. You know it's important in getting the job you want and the people you know. So let's get on to our grand finale and what we both are really excited about, and that's the Sherm Conference in Las Vegas. I know you're really excited We've talked a couple times about it about students who are attending that conference here at Indiana Tech. So why don't you tell us you know what it's all about, how people can get involved if they want to go in the future. All that good stuff.
Speaker 9:Well, this one that's coming up is really going to shape and define where Sherm has really come to, because everybody coming out of COVID based challenges and every similar seminar, every conference and every live event did as well. But I received information a week almost two weeks ago now, but close that the number of in-person registrations was hitting the number of 20,000. And there are only so many cities in the United States that can host something of this size. But if you just go on the idea that if you were a student and it doesn't make any difference once again, what your major is, but if you could get 20,000 of the top HR people in the world in one place at one convention center that just set aside everything else, that's going to be phenomenal, that's going to happen, but just the opportunity to network and then put a price on that. So how much would you pay to go to an event where there's going to be that many people? And then you're going to walk in with somebody like me And this is what's on. I mean it's almost too arrogant. Well, let me restate, we know that I'm arrogant anyway, but to walk into this environment with me and of the 20,000, i'm going to know probably about 40% of that, because, once again, remember I said I've only gone 29 other times, and so everybody knows and expects something, and here's what I mean by this. So it's next weekend And I'm actually going in a day early to meet with a few people and I'll share this other side here in a moment But Sunday is the opening day, and on the opening day, the legacy and the lore is that the Indiana Tech students and it's even got to where the Indiana Tech alums who arrive as well, i will have the walls for them to wear, and what I mean by that.
Speaker 9:If you go to this website, so it's IndianaTechShermorg, so IndianaTech, and then shrmorg. That's a website that our students have and that got pictures. But if you can imagine the old pops dressing up his children in the most wildest, flashiest Hawaiian which you can possibly imagine And for some they might be the most ugly that you could get to, but if we were going to the amusement park and I dressed up my children this way, there's no, there's no chance we'd get lost because everybody would go. And so there is an expectation that we will have these shirts and I will not be disappointing this year. This year, the shirts are just over the top and they'll be shooting photos of us. No doubt about this. But what happens is then and it might sound silly with these shirts In fact shirm has even written multiple articles about me with these shirts and why I do it.
Speaker 9:But for a student, and it could be someone who's 21 and it could be somebody who's 45. If you have a personality that is just a little bit on the introverted side, being with 20,000 people is intimidating. Being with being with 100 people is intimidating, and we can talk about networking. But if you're a little bit on the introverted side, it's not going to be that easy for you to just to walk up to somebody you don't know and start talking to them.
Speaker 9:But when you've got one of my wild shirts on, you don't have to talk to anybody because they all come and talk to you And they say things to you And they they are leading you on because they know you're with Indiana Tech and they know things with me, and they're all wanting to know where I'm at and what's going on.
Speaker 9:But here's the. The amazing thing is that, so they only wear this one day, on Sunday, on Tuesday, so a couple days later, people will walk up to the students and say things like you had that wild shirt on on Sunday, didn't you? Out of 20,000 people. How do you know this? Okay, and it happens every year to the students, and so usually on Sunday they're embarrassed. By Sunday evening they are so proud, and by Monday they're wanting to know where their shirts at for Monday, tuesday and Wednesday, because they're all in on this. But all of that's going to happen.
Speaker 9:The session speakers are amazing. You know to to go from. Each year. It literally belts, and you know I mean to talk that one session will be better than the other. They are just so good.
Speaker 9:And I will have the students, though, attending sessions that talk about the certification exam, that talk about legislation that is forthcoming, that will then have sheet I mean all of the creativity and the humor to two events where the students themselves will be featured. There's a trade show that will have, so Naira has their conference and they have the trade show, but imagine that there'll be 5000 vendors at a trade show, from every company. Imagine So, from a Disney, to a Westgate, to a software, to a how to to a moving company, anything that is going to be related, i mean things that I don't even think of. So like she was companies, shouldn't you have pet insurance as one of your benefits and so, like, the pet insurance companies will be there All of the time? Well, i mean, it's one of these where, if you wanted a job, you could literally walk into the trade show and just work the trade show And you would probably have multiple offers just coming from that.
Speaker 9:But for for a student the way I describe it it's like adult trick or treat that you, every vendor, is giving out whatever's and is just an amazing moment in time that transpires with all of this. But I don't have all of the information on this and I alluded to, i'm going in early, but shirm is getting ready and I'm giving you a preview and I don't have all the information yet. I've already been contacted by shirm about this and shirm is going to create a brand new partnership with the universities to launch of several new programs And they have selected what they believe are the top four universities to pilot this program with and they're going to begin rolling it out then in August, and Indiana Tech has been selected as one of the top four universities in the nation to do that.
Speaker 9:That is great. I'm trying my best to contain myself with this and, but I've got several meetings going on and then a big meeting on Monday evening with it as well. So hopefully, when I come back and maybe on the next podcast I could, i could reveal a little bit more information about this, but I definitely think that the opportunities are too great, and so, for far too many HR professionals, they look at this as something that is, they've not gone or they got to go one time, and I've always looked at it as mandatory. I believe that if you could go to one event that would give you all of the information that you could possibly ever want to have, that it would be the SHRM conference at the national level, and that every HR professional should set the goal that they're going to go, and then, after they go, usually this is what happens. So you go one time and then you're usually mad. You're mad that you haven't been going, and then you're upset with yourself if you don't go the next year.
Speaker 9:And so the number of alums who meet to us at these conferences is just unbelievable and, as an example, the last time it was in Vegas in 2019, i had a couple of the alums meet the students, and one of the alums connected immediately with one of the students that I introduced him to, invited this student to dinner on a one-on-one and after the dinner, made him a job offer. And yeah, it's things like that that I can't do for somebody here in Fort Wayne. It's the creation of something that is so, so special that it just doesn't happen that way. But for us here in Fort Wayne and here in the Midwest if you have not heard this, i'll give you the tip.
Speaker 9:Although Vegas is going to be over the top and the slogan for Sherman Vegas is to drive the change, which I really like, that piece. But here's the preview and every I remember every HR person in this area should get this on their calendars now that in June of 2024, this is amazing the Sherman Conference will be in Chicago and that goal should be to be there, and I'm already working on a separate hotel deal in Chicago and anticipation that the number of students that I'll be taking will be just over the top. So I start planning for the next conference before I even get to the one that I'm going to.
Speaker 8:I know some Naira folks and myself have been talking about Chicago and going so kind of excited that it's going to be close to Fort Wayne next year.
Speaker 9:Well, it certainly makes the logistics of getting there much easier. I don't know the cost-wise it's much different, but logistics-wise it certainly solves some of those complications.
Speaker 8:Right, so I know a couple. well, probably a month ago, you and I talked about the conference and some of the fun things that happen, some of the speakers, some of the entertainment and some of the excursions that you have planned as well. So it's just not all conference. You do give the students experience the area as well. So do you want to touch base on that real quick?
Speaker 9:Well, it's in Vegas And it's, you know, sometimes I forget about this and it's the same thing for Chicago. It's shocking to me how many people have never been to Chicago. All right, and you know like, you're from Fort Wayne, and the same you know, okay. Likewise, not everybody's been to Vegas, and I think that there are things in Vegas that you've got to go do, so you've got to go walk down the strip and you've got to go out to Fremont Street and you've got to experience some things in Vegas that are right there.
Speaker 9:I'm hopeful that we get this taken care of, but going out to Hoover Dam is always on my list of things to take the students to go see, but I think that everybody should see and experience and understand, whatever the city might be, and so when it's in Washington DC, i make certain that the students, at nighttime we go for the evening, walk around the monuments Right In Chicago. In Chicago, we'll definitely be experiencing multiple things. And a little side note in Chicago, my daughter lives there And I'm going to have her catering. She's a phenomenal chef And I'm going to have her cater a private party, okay. So I mean, i always have things going on that help the students to really be a part of everything that's happening, and I think that too often, you think in terms.
Speaker 9:Well, i'll put it to you this way. Here's what I tell the students If your idea of going to Vegas is that you're going to go to the sessions and then you're going to go back to your room and watch TV and you're not going to experience anything, you're actually going with the wrong person. Okay, so I look at it in terms of the room being a place where you need to drop your bags, change, shower and get ready to go, and we are staying at the West gate, and so the students that are coming with me are going to stay at one of the top resorts in Vegas, and it is connected to the convention center, and so we have I think we've got the premier location.
Speaker 8:So yeah, sounds like a right there.
Speaker 9:So every Tuesday night of the conference, sherm always has an event And I'm actually excited about this one And I'm not embarrassed to say this. Okay, i'm excited on this one And I'm looking forward to it, and I've already told the students if they're not, that's okay, they still have to come anyway, all right. But the headline performer on the Tuesday night party that all of the sherm and it will be jumping It is Janet Jackson in concerts And I've got tickets for all of the students.
Speaker 9:I'm excited, i'm not going And the students will get preferred seating, so all of that will happen.
Speaker 8:Right.
Speaker 9:Anyway, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 8:No, I think you guys are going to have a great time And it's just a great opportunity for Indiana Tech students. It's a great opportunity for Naira HR professionals.
Speaker 9:Well and so. So a couple of things too. We have a setup in Indiana Tech where you can get credit. I made this comment, but I didn't give this out in detail. So, because it is actually a different conference every year in a different location, with different speakers, different headline, everything we have a setup in Indiana Tech where an undergrad student can actually go twice, so you could go to Vegas And then, as an example, you could go to Chicago and you could get credit for it two times as an undergrad student, using your electives, if you so choose.
Speaker 9:Likewise, we have it built into our MBA program to where students can pick it up for credit in the MBA as well, and so, consequently, we've had several of our alums. They've gone three times. Then, and if you go with me as a student, shurm treats you incredibly well And Shurm also gives you a phenomenal reduction. I call it a scholarship as opposed to a discount. Shurm scholarships the students to where it is about a $1500 difference in the price that a student pays for the conference as opposed to a professional pays. So going as a student with me, although it's expensive, it's actually a phenomenal deal.
Speaker 8:Yes, and I talked to many students in our MBA program who have gone with you in the past, who are going with you this year and who are considering going next year to Chicago, so I know they're excited.
Speaker 9:They literally cannot contain themselves. I get two or three calls every day from the students And then likewise from the alums, wanted to know where we're going to be at, where can we meet, what's going on? And then most of them want to know if I've got an extra shirt for them. It's all about the shirt.
Speaker 8:It's all about it, i love it.
Speaker 9:I love it.
Speaker 8:Well that concludes my questions for you. Do you have anything else to add that you would like to say today? I know we're going to have you back in the future, so to talk about some other subjects.
Speaker 9:I'm hopeful that I can give you a follow up here on the next cast, as I mentioned. Yes, i do think that what Nira is doing and then what the local HR professionals are doing in terms of promoting the society, being numbers and really trying to make a difference with this, i see it as so. I mean the annual conference. This year's slogan is drive the change, and you see, that's what I believe HR has been doing all along, and you may not have thought of it this way, but when HR believes in driving the change, those are the companies that got it going on. They're the ones where it's not just a matter of that's where people want to work at, it's where their turnover is way down Right, and if you're able to keep your people right now, that's what this is about. And when you go to the SHIRM conference, to the annual conference like this, you come back so energized and so enthusiastic about this that you are driving the change by doing that.
Speaker 9:So thank you very much for inviting me, and I want to put myself out there this way that, whether it is information about the exam, which my study materials are absolutely phenomenal, if it is information about our programs at Indiana Tech or if it's just information that somebody needs. So, as an example, i received a phone call from an alum in Chicago who wanted to know how to take care of a situation. I want everyone to realize that I am your human resource at Indiana Tech and that I'm fully available to assist with anything. So thank you very much. Great, i appreciate that. I appreciate you And thank you for attending our podcast today, thank you.
Speaker 8:I'd like to thank all of our guests that we had today.
Speaker 1:That's all the time we have. See you next time on.
Speaker 8:Indiana Tech.