2025 HR INDIANA SHRM CONFERENCE

October Luncheon with Cassandra Faurote
2025 HR Indiana SHRM Conference
John’s Crazy Socks – John & Mark Cronin
Amy Wright – Milestone Contractors
Hilary Kanyi – City of Bloomington
Patricia Miller – Diversified Recruitment Services
Keisha Underwood, Kittle Property Group
Bethany Adams, Villanova University 
Kristi Wilkerson, Brown & Brown Insurance
Jandi Dean, isolved Talent Acquisition
James Mitchell, Minnetrista
Marcie Anderson, Quontic Bank
Gerald Bush, GBKB Consulting
Stephen Gray, Circle Health Partners
Mike Mecklenburg, Paylocity
Daysi Hopkins, Huston Electric, Inc.
Scott Howard, BlueHive
Lisa Bresley, One Eleven Design
Chad Huffman, Marsh McLennan Agency
Erin Stevens, Fortune Brands Innovations
Denise McCormick, Leaders Staffing
Joyita Bandyopadhyay, Limit Break
Bob East, artofbeast.com
Hunter Hartman, IU School of Medicine
Amy, Plymouth Indiana
Chelsea Schmelz, Compass Senior Living
Tracy Benzinger, Zing! Recruiting
Alan Smeltzer, Growing Kids Learning Center
Amanda Sparks, Cook Medical
Danielle Baumer, Ahaus Tool & Engineering
Amy Metzger, TLC Management, LLC
McKenzie Michel, McGohan Brabender
Shawn Rutkowski, Holland LP
Melissa Lock – Welch Packaging
Heather Staggs, Indiana University Indianapolis
Jason Suthimer, MAC – North Central SHRM
DISRUPTHRFW.com

Transcript

Speaker 2 0:20

Welcome to Mike'd. Today. We welcome Cassandra Farot, a respected compensation expert and employee rewards consultant who designs effective and competitive compensation and total reward programs for corporate clients. Sends answers to your questions about employee compensation and total rewards. Farod has more than 30 years of experience in human resources and compensation. She is the founder, owner and CEO of Total Rewards Solutions, a private firm which has provided compensation consulting services to organizations in more than 65 industries. Farot earned a bachelor's degree in business management and holds the designations of CCP, sphr and SHRM SCP and has authored articles in several publications. Cassandra will be joining Naira at our October 1st luncheon in Fort Wayne. Cassandra, if our listeners are interested in attending in person, what can they expect?

Speaker 3 1:29

Well, thank you, Mike. We are going to address the subject of total rewards chaos. You feel that total rewards is currently in a state of constant chaos for the foreseeable future, you know, the rest of 2025 and into 2026. We're in a situation where employee and candidate compensation expectations just keep rising, but at the same time, we've been pulling back on increases as well, as we're seeing benefit costs tick up in a pretty major way going into the next year. So what are employers to do? We're going to look at about 10 different challenges that I personally feel we're going to be facing the rest of this year and into 2020 in this area of total rewards.

Speaker 2 2:28

So, Cassandra, if our listeners would like to find out more about Total Rewards Solutions, how can they contact you?

Speaker 3 2:38

Sure you can contact me via email. That's Cassandra with two S's at TotalRSolutionscom, or feel free to give mea call. I actually answer the phone at 317-589-8529. They're also welcome to our website, totalrsolutionscom, where they'll see just you know everything about our services. Notforprofitpublicationscom, where they'll see just you know everything about our services and that we've done work for clients and just about every segment out there, including not-for-profit, privately held, publicly held, etc.

Speaker 2 3:16

Thank you for your time today, Cassandra.

Speaker 3 3:20

Thank you. I look forward to talking with everyone on October 1st. Thank you.

Speaker 4 3:26

I look forward to talking with everyone on October 1st. Okay, we are here with John's crazy socks. I have John and Mark Welcome. Thank you for joining.

Speaker 5 3:35

Well, Ed, thank you for having us. We're glad to speak to the audience here.

John's Crazy Socks: A Business Success Story

Speaker 6 3:39

Thank you so much. I'm really happy on your podcast. Thank you.

Speaker 4 3:42

Well, I really appreciate you all joining me. You all had an impactful session in there and I just want to thank you for sharing your story. But for those that don't know your story, could you share a little bit about who you are?

Speaker 5 3:56

Well, you want to introduce us, pal yeah.

Speaker 6 3:59

My name is John. This is my partner, my dad Mark. We are John's Crazy Socks.

Speaker 5 4:04

John's Crazy Socks. John's Crazy Socks.

Speaker 6 4:05

So what's, our?

Speaker 5 4:06

mission pal.

Speaker 6 4:07

It's very happiness.

Speaker 5 4:08

So, ed, we can tell you the story of how we got started. I'd love that. Want to go back. Wait to the beginning.

Speaker 6 4:14

Sure.

Speaker 5 4:15

Dad. So you've got to take yourself back to the fall of 2016, and our story starts in a small log cabin in the woods. No, no it starts on suburban Long Island, in a town called Huntington. And where were you?

Speaker 6 4:36

I was in a Huntington house too. I was going to be my last year's school.

Speaker 5 4:41

And, like everybody else, john was trying to figure out what comes next. What were you looking at?

Speaker 6 4:46

I look at job program and school. I can't find jobs that I don't like.

Speaker 5 4:53

And you know you folks in the HR world. You know what it's like looking for a job and for John now you have Down syndrome.

Speaker 6 5:01

I am.

Speaker 5 5:02

And you know. Here's an unfortunate reality. Only one in five people with a disability are employed in this country. But you couldn't find a job you wanted. You're a natural entrepreneur.

Speaker 6 5:13

I am.

Speaker 5 5:14

So what'd you say?

Speaker 6 5:16

I said I want to create one. I want to make one. I told my dad I want to be with him. I'm not going to stop being together.

Speaker 5 5:25

So this is very cool. My son saying it's going to business together. Yes, and you had a lot of ideas.

Speaker 6 5:31

Well, I do.

Speaker 5 5:32

What was one of them?

Speaker 6 5:33

Well, they made a food truck. I saw a great movie called Chef and John Farrow, a new movie about our father's son buying a food truck, right.

Speaker 5 5:46

So a food truck. Everybody out there loves eating from a food truck yeah. And you were thinking what could we make?

Speaker 6 5:53

I like a pork tenderloin. Oh, my word.

Speaker 5 5:56

Now that he's in Indiana. It's pork tenderloin, so we're thinking where could we put this food truck? What would it be like? But we ran into a problem.

Speaker 8 6:05

We can't cook.

Speaker 5 6:06

Yeah, we can't cook, we're playing eating. You're not the only one that can't cook, so okay, it's not going to be a food truck, but then right before Thanksgiving John had his eureka moment.

Speaker 6 6:19

I want to sell crazy socks wide socks, it's fun. It's socks. It's fun, it's colorful, it's creative. It's all it's going to be me. I want to create socks for my whole life.

Speaker 5 6:31

We used to drive around looking for these socks. So this is what we think If John loved them that much, surely other people would too, and we could find those people. So we went to Lean Startup. We set up a website, yeah. We had a little bit of inventory and the only marketing we did was to set up a Facebook page and I would take out my cell phone and make videos. And who was in those videos?

Speaker 6 6:58

I am.

Speaker 5 7:00

And what was your catchphrase?

Speaker 6 7:02

Socks, socks, my socks.

Speaker 5 7:04

So we opened in mid-December to test the idea. The very first day we got 42 orders, wow so and most of them were local, which made sense.

Speaker 6 7:15

Yes.

Speaker 5 7:16

So how did we deliver those first orders?

Speaker 6 7:18

I hope they'll be free. I like red boxes and I put a sock in the box. I put a sticker in there where I wrote I put in candy. It hurt the kids.

Speaker 5 7:30

Loaded up, the car drove around and you knocked on doors delivering socks.

Speaker 6 7:34

I did.

Speaker 5 7:35

How did the customers respond?

Speaker 6 7:36

Customers loved the socks. Customers loved me.

Speaker 5 7:39

They loved you. It's a good thing you're so shy and modest huh, thank you, yes. Well, at the end of really two weeks, we had shipped 452 orders and we knew we had something. Wow, so we've grown the business. It's a slightly different type of business model. It's a social enterprise. So we have a business mission, but we also have a social mission. They feed off of each other. What's our mission? Buddy Spread have a social mission.

Speaker 6 8:07

They feed off of each other. What's our mission?

Speaker 5 8:08

buddy, spread happiness. Spreading happiness, and what do you say are the keys?

Speaker 6 8:13

It's gratitude for others.

Speaker 5 8:15

Gratitude and do for others and the business. We're approaching our ninth anniversary. We've shipped 500,000 orders to 94 countries. How many socks do we have?

Speaker 6 8:28

We have 4,000 different socks.

Speaker 5 8:30

We've created 34 jobs, 22 of those are held by people with different abilities. In our giving back program, john has donated over $800,000 to our charity partners like I like special picks Right, and you like to say $1,000 to our charity partners.

Speaker 6 8:46

I like special Olympics. That's a down, some anxiety.

Speaker 5 8:48

Right, and you like to say I should get started. So there you are. That's kind of us in a nutshell.

Speaker 4 8:54

You know what that is a beautiful story and so impactful, and I just want to congratulate you on your success.

Speaker 6 9:01

Thank you.

Speaker 4 9:02

I think it's very indicative of passion and a mission, and when you have passion and a mission, beautiful things can happen. My son is also disabled. He was born with cerebral palsy and the world of those that have disabilities is personally near and dear to my heart, and these are the stories that I love to see. The reality is it's not easy getting a job. No, it's very hard.

Speaker 5 9:35

We have. Some of our colleagues have cerebral palsy. We work with United Cerebral Palsy. It's hard but you know, and that's part of it of you know you as a parent, and that's supporting your child and you know part of what's really hard is supporting their independence. That's right. We want to protect them, that's right.

Speaker 4 9:53

As a father, there's an added layer of protection, but you don't want to hold them back.

Speaker 5 9:59

No, and if we protect too much, that's right. But it's hard because that means we got to let them fail. That's right.

Speaker 4 10:06

And it's hard to watch your kids fail, Because when they fail it hits home Right. But that's how they learn.

Speaker 5 10:11

That's how we learn.

Speaker 4 10:12

That is how we learn and this is a topic that I'm so passionate about. That I think we could talk for hours, a talk for hours, but I think the reality of where we are as a workforce is the more awareness that we can spread and the more tools and understanding, the more opportunities are going to open up. And I think, john, you are leading the charge, john, you are an example to people with perhaps disabilities, but you're accomplishing beautiful things, man, and I hope that there's someone listening to this that might have been held back because of a disability and they realize look what they did.

Speaker 5 11:00

Well, we want employers to see that too. We hear employers all the time say I can't find enough good workers. And yet we have this vast untapped pool of labor of people with disabilities. Just focus on what people can do. That's right, and we'll see. It's good for your business, that's right. It's not altruism, that's right. Hiring people with different abilities is going to be good for your business. It's going to lift morale, it helps with retention, it will improve productivity and it helps you recruit people.

Speaker 4 11:30

You know, I've said for a while I can draw a solid line of correlation. I would bet my house on this. I could draw a solid line of correlation from mental health to profitability and what you said employee retention, revenue everything skyrockets. And if your employees are in a good mental space, if they're happy.

Speaker 5 11:59

Take care of people, treat people well, oh my word, they're the reason you succeed.

Speaker 4 12:03

I think we tend to overcomplicate this too much. You know, we have all of these policies and and standards and initiatives. At the end of the day, we're people taking care of people and, if we can treat people like people and not like a machine, right, they're not inputs in the spreadsheet, that's right. That's right and and and you all, you, you've touched me and I hope that you touch others, and I just want to thank you for your, for you being an inspiration for all of the wonderful things that you're doing, this relationship that you and father and son have, that's special well, we're fortunate, hey, if people want to find us, where can they find?

Speaker 6 12:43

us. I go to johnscrazysockscom, I'll find our platform. Check out YouTube channel. Find out TikTok.

Speaker 5 12:54

Right, we're on all the social media platforms. They love to see you there johnscrazysockscom or johnscrazysocks, and all those platforms. Thank you very much. Thanks for joining me.

Speaker 4 13:03

Thank you very much, thanks for joining me.

Speaker 6 13:04

Thank you very much.

Speaker 4 13:05

You are most welcome. All right, we are here at HR Indiana with Amy and Hillary, two fantastic guests. So, amy, do you want to introduce your name and what you do?

Interviews with HR Leaders at Conference

Speaker 7 13:19

Sure, my name's Amy Wright. I am the Vice President of Human Resources and Talent Development for a heavy civil contractor, milestone Contractors.

Speaker 4 13:28

And this is certainly not your first HR Indiana conference. What's your involvement with HR Indiana?

Speaker 7 13:33

So I am very privileged to have been a part of the conference committee since around 2017. And for the last four years I've been the conference co-chair with my esteemed colleague Jessica Stevenson.

Speaker 4 13:46

That is sweat equity that Amy is pouring in, and we appreciate everything you do. This is an amazing conference and I'm going to tell you I have received nothing but fantastic feedback. This is the first time I'm telling you this, but I've been interviewing a lot of guests and it is a resounding. This is awesome. So the structure, the location, the flow, everyone loves it. So nice work, amy, hillary. What do you? Do Can you introduce your name and what you do for work.

Speaker 9 14:14

Sure, I'm Hillary Kanye. I'm the assistant HR director at the city of Bloomington.

Speaker 4 14:18

Beautiful. And is this your first HR Indiana conference? I already know the answer Not no. Is this your first HR Indiana conference? I already know the answer.

Speaker 9 14:22

This is not. No, let's see, I have come to HR Indiana since 2021.

Speaker 4 14:29

Okay, so I'm going to ask you both a question. But what do you enjoy about HR Indiana? What keeps you coming back, obviously outside of your obligations?

Speaker 9 14:40

We're both biting over the microphone, I will go. I'll go ahead and go first. I think that the easy answer, the obvious answer, is the people At the HR Indiana conferences. We always, all these HR folks, always come together. We enjoy being around each other. We love going to dinner and enjoying our company after the conference itself and, you know, catching up in between the sessions and during the keynotes or breakfast lunches.

Speaker 9 15:04

But I will say one of the things that I love the most is the programming. So I think what I get out of these conferences is exhausting, but it's because the speakers and the team that curates all of the content does such a phenomenal job of elevating what they bring, kind of year over year. I was telling my brother on the way to the conference Sunday that I really look forward to these and it's great and it's very competitive to be a speaker here. And I think then what happens is everyone that comes and speaks is always, you know, gosh, I got my game so I can get on to HR Indiana, and so they're always you know always forward thinking, being very proactive, and so we're getting these emerging trends, what's coming up in the next, however long, and I love it because it's extremely helpful for me. It is a little bit draining because it's just a lot of information, but it's great information to then take and unpack over the next few months.

Speaker 4 16:01

And that's been one of the themes is the programming, the value, and in HR we have so many changes with legislations and initiatives and well, what's most important today and I think HR Indiana crushes it every year with the programming making it relevant. So, thank you. What about you, amy? What keeps you coming back?

Speaker 7 16:26

Thanks. So, and I agree about the programming you know we have a really tremendous state and we have really wonderful people that live in this state. Not everyone in this state is a hundred percent fully employed to the level that they want to be yet. So I think what keeps me coming back is the opportunity to take things like the wonderful programming and to be able to provide that to our HR practitioners, our HR adjacent practitioners in the community, so they can go back into their workplaces and make the workplaces in our state better.

Speaker 12 17:01

Yep.

Speaker 7 17:02

Because that lifts up communities.

Speaker 4 17:04

I mean, and that's what it's about it's about real tangible value you can bring back. I love a good motivational speaker as much as the next person, but I want to push my company forward and these are the tools to do it. So thanks for thanks for mentioning that. What's one thing that you hope to get out of this conference this year?

Speaker 7 17:24

Well, I mean selfishly. One thing I want to get out is I appreciate the feedback you shared with us both of you on the conference itself, and we'd love to hear more of that. So I just want to we're in a new venue this year and I just want to hear feedback from the folks who are here about what we can do to continue to make it, you know, a destination, a value add, something that folks can't miss.

Speaker 4 17:46

Absolutely.

Speaker 7 17:46

You know what makes it valuable, because it is different for everybody and I want to hear all the things. Constructive feedback, whether it's constructive positive, constructive negative, we would love to hear it.

Speaker 4 17:56

Great. Well, and it's something that I think differentiates our conference is the feedback is you all do a truly great job of really listening and implementing it, and we have some great audio to to to really explain some of that. So, hillary, what do you hope to get out of this year's conference?

Speaker 9 18:15

By the way, the reception last night was wonderful.

Speaker 13 18:17

HR in the city a lot of fun loved all the detail attention to detail, just very classy.

Speaker 9 18:22

It was great. I don't know. I feel like I've already gotten, you know, the things I mentioned that I enjoy, the people, the programming kind of pushing the envelope. I feel like I'm already getting those things. Maybe I'll be able to get a caricature That'd be fun In the back of my mind of course we have a role that we're hiring for. So you know, just maybe I'll get that out of the conference. Someone new?

Speaker 4 18:49

for our HR team. Well, hey, I've heard a lot of different things and that's the first. I love that, but it's honest and that's what we want. So, hey, thank you both. I really appreciate you all jumping on. Enjoy the rest of the conference and we'll talk to you soon. Thanks, Ed. All right, we are here with Pat. Welcome. Thank you so much. Thanks for stopping by. You want to tell everyone your name and what you do for work.

Speaker 16 19:16

You betcha, so I'm Patricia or Pat Miller, ceo of DRS. So Diversified Recruitment Services, global and nationwide recruiting firm.

Speaker 4 19:25

Well, thanks for coming to HR Indiana. I know from firsthand knowledge that this is not your first HR Indiana conference experience.

Speaker 16 19:34

It's not my first gig. Yes, I've been coming for over 20 years 20 years.

Speaker 4 19:39

So you've seen the changes. Yes, what do you think of the conference this year? Awesome, love it.

Speaker 16 19:43

So glad it's back here at West End and easy to navigate. Great to see everybody all in one area. Yes, so organized.

Speaker 4 19:53

Well, appreciate the feedback. I think the conference committee does a great job of, I think, making things relevant, understanding what's important and creating really meaningful breakout sessions. But what's something that you hope to get from the conference this year?

Speaker 16 20:10

I couldn't wait to see the socks, and we cried at the table and it brings so much value to HR and who you hire, how you hire, it makes you think twice about it. These are people who have some amazing capabilities. Yep, and it made everybody think.

Speaker 4 20:30

You know, I think, well, you live the recruiting world, so you know all too well there's so many opportunities that we have as employers. Yeah, to look past what you think you see and get to know someone for who they are and what their abilities are not their disabilities and John's Crazy Socks, I think, tells such a wonderful story of. It's not only inspirational, but there is a means to do this. There is an opportunity for people that might have either a visible or invisible disability to really be. Their mission is to create happiness, right and and more awareness that we can create for employers. I just literally just talked about this, I think. Naturally, people are not consciously, I don't believe, and maybe because I'm you know, I tend to want to see the best in people, but I don't think people explicitly discriminate those with disabilities. I think it's more of, perhaps maybe it's an unconscious bias of some sort.

Speaker 16 21:43

For sure.

Speaker 4 21:45

And the more awareness and conversations that we can have about this, the more of a solid line that we can visibly see between inclusion and profitability and productivity, because the healthier we are as a workforce mentally, the more productive we are and the more profitable our businesses are.

Speaker 16 22:10

Another takeaway was their turnover.

Speaker 8 22:14

Oh, my word isn't that insane, it was insane.

Speaker 16 22:17

So I hope people take away from what that message was because there's so much more to gain as a corporation and I've always said 38 years in recruiting. Everybody has a corporation and I've always said 38 years in recruiting. Everybody has a story. Yes, Can't look at the resume and judge the cover of the book. You cannot have to open that book, dig deep into their story and understand them. And that's what he's saying.

Speaker 16 22:43

Exactly he's saying look at their story, look at their capabilities, look what they can bring, don't look at the cover of the resume.

Speaker 4 22:49

That's right.

Speaker 16 22:50

Because that's just the cover of the book.

Speaker 4 22:53

Doesn't tell the story.

Speaker 16 22:54

It doesn't tell the story, so it's our jobs to do that.

Speaker 4 22:58

Well, thanks for leading the charge on that, pat. Thanks for stopping by. It's always a pleasure speaking with you. Thank you, I know it is and you do great work. Thank you, you're welcome. Thank you so much, ed. All right, we are here with Keisha Welcome.

Speaker 10 23:13

Thank you very much.

Speaker 4 23:14

If you want to tell the world your name and what your actual full-time job is.

Speaker 10 23:18

Yes, so my name is Keisha Underwood. My full-time job is senior VP of HR for a company here in Indianapolis called Kittle Property Group, Been there for about 11 years now. I have been attending the HR Indiana Conference now since gosh 2013,. I believe was my first conference, and I've been volunteering here at the conference also since 2013. And then I've been leading the bookstore since 2017.

Speaker 4 23:51

So you've seen all the changes.

Speaker 10 23:52

I've seen all the changes.

Speaker 4 23:55

So what is your favorite part about conference every year?

Speaker 10 23:57

Okay. So I was just telling somebody today the networking, everybody who meets me thinks that I'm an extrovert. But I tell people I'm an extrovert out of necessity. Yep.

Speaker 4 24:06

I get it.

Speaker 10 24:07

But this is where I network and I absolutely love it, because every year I may not know someone's name, but I know their face, and then they come up and they say, oh, I've volunteered for the bookstore before or I heard you speak at a session, and so this is what keeps me connected to my HR peeps and I love coming here.

Speaker 4 24:30

So, yeah, Well, what's one thing that you hope to gain out of this year's conference? And I know you've been to about 35 of them, but it might be. I don't want to put you on the spot, but do you have anything particular that you're hoping for this year?

Speaker 10 24:44

That's a really good question, and after yes, coming so many years, you know.

Speaker 4 24:50

The one thing I will say is, many years ago we used to have everything here right at the indiana convention center, and then we moved it to the jw. But now we're back right and I think this is a huge opportunity for us as a state council. To sometimes change is good.

Speaker 10 25:08

Yes.

Speaker 4 25:08

And sometimes change opens up new opportunities.

Speaker 10 25:12

I would agree with that as well. So now to your question. Now that I've had a second or two to think about it, just even coming in here into this room, into Hall D and seeing the exhibitors, then we've got the bookstore and then we've got the main stage. Having everything so close together, I think, is a great opportunity, because a lot of times, you know, people get to exhibitors, they may not get to the bookstore because it's been located somewhere differently. Those that are volunteering at the bookstore, like myself, we don't get to hear the keynote speakers because we're at the bookstore, also located somewhere else. So I was really excited this morning. I'm like wow, I'm like we get to hear everybody on the main stage.

Speaker 4 25:56

You know it's crazy. I literally said the exact same thing because I work every single conference, Right.

Speaker 10 26:01

Exactly, exactly. So I would say that's what I'm looking forward to this year is not only seeing the speakers, but being with the folks. Yeah, being with everybody. I've got to. You know, we've got this black curtain here separating us, but I can hear everything that's going on.

Speaker 4 26:18

I love that, yeah, I am looking forward to that this year. Well, thanks for stopping by Keisha. Enjoy the conference. Thanks for all the hard work you do.

Speaker 10 26:25

Thanks a lot.

Speaker 2 26:30

Appreciate it. Hello and welcome to the podcast.

Speaker 21 26:32

Hello.

Speaker 2 26:33

Can you tell me who you are and why you're here at HR Indiana today?

Speaker 21 26:38

Yeah, thanks so much for having me. My name is Bethany Adams. I am an assistant professor at Villanova University and I teach in their graduate HR program. So Villanova is actually the longest teach in their graduate HR program. So Villanova is actually the longest running graduate program in HR in the country. It started in like 1980, and it has been around for a million years and still educating HR leaders on all of the major functions of HR and kind of what it means to be an HR leader today. Strategic, evidence-based HR leader.

Speaker 2 27:10

Fantastic. Is there anything you would like the listeners to know?

Speaker 21 27:13

Yeah, so our program is geared towards adult learners and professionals who are working. So we kind of make it balance you know, your work life, your home life and your academic life. So classes are one night a week for eight weeks and you can take as many classes or as few classes as you want as you're going through the program. So it really lets you go at your own pace, which, as adults, we need. That right, we need that flexibility.

Speaker 21 27:39

We need to be able to kind of come and go as we please. It also allows you to tailor the program. So we have four graduate certificates. So business partner, for those who really want to lean into the business acumen side, there's a leadership certificate. So anyone who's looking for kind of moving up into a more strategic HR role, we have an inclusion and diversity strategy certificate, because inclusion is still important in the workplace and how we all kind of come together.

Speaker 21 28:04

And then org development, because our orgs are changing every single day and so how do we do that kind of work to support our employees? So students in our program can earn one of those certificates in conjunction with their master's, and it allows them to kind of lean into the area or function of HR that they want to work in.

Speaker 2 28:22

Great, and how would somebody contact or find out more information?

Speaker 21 28:27

Yeah, I love that. So Villanovaedu is our website. You can also go to hrprogramsvillanovaedu and that will kind of let you see all of the HR programs that we have, from our graduate degrees that I was just talking about, to some non-credit programs that are shorter, for folks who are just looking for maybe more specific tailored programs. So all of those will be there.

Speaker 2 28:48

Thank you very much for joining us.

Speaker 21 28:50

Yeah, thanks so much for having me.

Speaker 2 28:54

Well, welcome. Thank you, good to be here. Tell us why you're here at Indiana SHRM. Tell me who you are, what organization you're with.

Speaker 23 29:02

My name is Christy Wilkerson. I am with Brown and Brown I am an account executive and we have a booth in the hospitality suite so that the members of SHRM, as they're walking through here if they're looking for a new brokerage firm, if they have questions about benefits, we are the only booth with a candy bar. It's been quite the popular hit. So I encourage you know the candy. We don't want to take it home or eat it all day, but as one of the local brokerage firms here in Indiana, we work with employee benefits, we have P&C, we do individual, all kinds of things. So right now the three of us that are here are on the EB side the employee benefits but we've got a couple of producers and myself. So talking to clients, talking to new clients hopefully, and trying to grow some business.

Speaker 2 29:50

Excellent. And if we wanted, if our listeners wanted, to find out more information, how would they do that?

Speaker 23 29:56

They can look for Brown and Brown on LinkedIn and reach out, or they can reach out to me directly at Christy K-R-I-S-T-I dot, Wilkerson W-I-L-K-E-R-S-O-N at bbrowncom.

Speaker 2 30:10

Thank you for your time. Thank you, hello. Hi Tell me your name.

Speaker 20 30:17

My name's Jandy Dean.

Speaker 2 30:19

Jandy, what organization are you with and what brings you to HR Indiana?

Speaker 20 30:23

I'm here with iSolved. I'm a hiring consultant. I've been with the company for about 10 years and I'm here to help companies in Indiana hire faster and smarter.

Speaker 2 30:34

Okay, so tell me a little bit more about your organization.

Speaker 20 30:38

So we offer software as a service as well as service along with that, with experts who can really give you good advice when it comes to figuring out ways to better market your jobs. We really want to help our clients define themselves as a employer of choice, that you are the person that these people want to come out and work for, and so they want to apply for your job. So we really help you with that marketing. And then, of course, moving those candidates through your workflow. They've got to get interviewed. Maybe you have some pre-hire assessments you'd like them to take. Make sure they're a good culture contributor for your team. And then, of course, you know background checks. Let's run those background checks so we will help you with all of that. And then we also have other services that will help manage your teams all the way through retirement. So anything you might need we can help you with.

Speaker 2 31:30

So if our listeners wanted to contact you, how would they do that?

Speaker 20 31:35

I would encourage them to contact me directly. My email address is jdean at isolvedhcmcom, or they can visit our website. It's isolvedhcmcom.

Speaker 2 31:47

Thank you very much.

Speaker 20 31:48

All right, thank you so much.

Speaker 2 31:52

Well, welcome. I'm here today with James and Marcy. Introduce yourselves. What companies do you work for and why are you here at HR Indiana?

Speaker 24 32:02

Hi Mike. My name's James and I work for a nonprofit in Muncie, Indiana, with the East Central Indiana Human Resources Association. It's a word salad.

Speaker 2 32:14

Start over again Go ahead.

Speaker 24 32:15

We call it ECRA, but again my name is James. I am the past president of the East Central Indiana Human Resources Association. Indiana Human Resources Association, also called ECRA, out of Muncie, Indiana.

Speaker 2 32:29

Nice.

Speaker 25 32:30

I'm Marcy Anderson. I serve in a day job as a chief human resources officer for a digital bank out of New York City called Quantic Bank. I love to fill my free time with IndieSherm, where I'm currently president-elect, and James and I co-chair the programs committee for HR Indiana Conference. This is our first year in this role. We have loved it.

Speaker 2 32:57

So what does the programs committee do?

Speaker 24 33:00

Well, we were tasked by the conference committee to put together the breakout speakers and come up with a great lineup of people that we can learn from and engage with, and we killed it Essentially it was we had a great response from speakers who wanted to come and had to turn away 90% of them because of what we were able to choose, and it was a tough decision.

Speaker 24 33:29

to make all that happen, from the scheduling to the communication and getting volunteers to help us to review those applicants and then provide that feedback. It's been a 10 month process.

Speaker 25 33:41

And it has been so fun. So for a few years I did volunteer management and I was recruiting all the volunteers for the conference. Therefore I was getting to know all of the colleagues across the state. But this year, doing programs, we were able to meet the speakers and build relationships with these speakers. We have committed to sharing all the speaker application candidates to all the chapters in Indiana. That gives them 320 speaker candidates to consider that come from all over the country. We even had applicants from Canada. We have speakers coming from California. We had a phenomenal one from Houston. It's just been great to see the diversity of speakers and ensuring that there was enough BASC competencies for SHRM recertification credits.

Speaker 2 34:29

Fantastic. Well, thank you both for all that you've done to contribute to HR Indiana.

Speaker 25 34:35

Well, thank you, mike, for having us. Yeah thank you.

Speaker 2 34:39

Welcome, Gerald. Tell us who you are and why you're here at HR Indiana. So.

Speaker 17 34:45

I'm Gerald Bush with GBKB Consulting. I'm an HR consultant, speaker and all things HR and this is probably one of my favorite things to do Every summer. I look forward to coming to HR Indiana, not just to speak and engage but ultimately just to see all the great people from around the state that I only get a chance to see at the conference. And I walk in and start thinking about Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and all of the faces and all of the connections that I don't get a chance to see, and I leave here on Wednesday just overjoyed and excited and really start to look forward to the next year because this is probably one of the best places in Indiana to be during the summer, just because of the great people, all the great speakers and just all the work that goes into such a great conference.

Speaker 2 35:30

Great. Tell us about HR Indy Any insights or announcements for that?

Speaker 17 35:37

Yeah, so we're excited. So, as president of HR Indiana or Indy Shurm, sorry one of the things that we're looking to do is that, for the first time in a long time, or first time ever, we're going to do a Indy Shurm conference. And we're going to do is that, for the first time in a long time, or first time ever, we're going to do a indie sherm conference and we're going to put that on in the spring and we're really excited about that because it gives us an opportunity to take a lot of the learning and a lot of the practice from hr indiana and now take those to our local chapter um. So our president elect, marcy anderson, is going to be leading it and we're just excited to see where that takes us, because we're going to do a one-day conference and incorporate our students, incorporate our members and our DEI all in one space. So we're excited to see how all that come together but, more important, to see how that really impacts our HR community.

Speaker 2 36:23

Well, thank you for your time today, Gerald.

Speaker 17 36:25

All right, thanks, my colleagues.

Speaker 2 36:28

Well, I have for your time today, gerald. All right, thanks my colleagues. Well, I have Stephen with me today. Tell us about yourself, your company and why you're at HR Indiana.

Speaker 13 36:36

Yeah, thanks. My name is Stephen Gray. I'm with Circle Wellness and we provide wellness services for companies all over the country, primarily on-site health screenings to early detection, to help people identify things early, to help them stay aware of their health on a regular basis, and we know that when people do that they make better choices and it helps groups save money as well. Not to mention just even the cost of doing the on-site screenings is lesser expensive than if a person were to go to a doctor and have those same tests done.

Speaker 2 37:06

Fantastic. How could our listeners find out more information?

Speaker 13 37:11

Sure, they can go to wwwcirclewellnesscom and there's information there. They can reach out that way, and that's usually the best way is right through the website.

Speaker 2 37:21

Okay, anything else you want to tell our listeners about your company?

Speaker 13 37:25

Well, I think, more than anything is that we make health benefits better because of the convenience of bringing something on site for a person to schedule an appointment at a doctor's office to get just routine preventative testing done. For a lot of people it's a pain to do that and it's time-consuming, whereas an employer bringing it on site, a person can be in and out in 15, 20 minutes and so that convenience it really improves the benefits and the experience for employees.

Speaker 2 37:54

Fantastic Thanks for your time today, Stephen.

Speaker 13 37:56

Thank you.

Speaker 4 37:59

All right, we are here with Mike at HR Indiana. Welcome, Mike. Hey, good to be here. Mike Mecklenburg Yep, Mike, you want to tell everyone what well your name, but also what you do. Yeah, Mike Mecklenburg. Mike, you want to tell everyone what your name but also what you do.

Speaker 19 38:09

Yeah, mike Mecklenburg, I'm a director of sales for Paylocity. Covered basically central and southern Indiana for Paylocity Love being here, love the team, love what we're doing Definitely a true tech company, working in payroll and HR and excited about the product that we built and where we're going in the future for sure.

Speaker 4 38:30

Well, we were just talking and HR is changing so much with legislation and operationally and new initiatives, but how do you control and manage all that without the technology and we were just talking about it where some of this technology that's out right now for HR is insane. So I'm really excited about what you guys are doing with the platform.

Speaker 19 38:53

Yeah, yeah, and it's really growing into different areas of the business too, not just HR and payroll, but getting into finance, getting into spend management, getting into expense management, utilizing AI to make expenses easier and spend management easier. So really utilizing the technology to make everyone's lives easier. And that's been a definite differentiator for us is being able to get into that CFO office. If you will be able to push our product to them, to that group, and then saying, hey, like we can be your full spend management piece instead of just a payroll provider and HR. Obviously.

Speaker 4 39:31

Right, yeah, well, sounds like you all are differentiating yourself, and I love AI, because if you're not integrating AI, you're behind the eight ball. So nice work, yeah, so this is not your first time at HR Indiana, it is not no, I've been here.

Speaker 19 39:44

This is probably my sixth year, as I've been at Paylocity for six years, so yeah, I love the show. The people who are here are amazing. Every year I feel like we get clients coming up saying I love your product. In fact, we met someone here last year and we had a meeting, sold them the product. She came up to me she was the first person I saw this morning. She walked up and she's like thank you, mike, for making my life so much easier. And like that. Stuff is impactful.

Speaker 4 40:20

I love that. You know those success stories is, I think, what fuels a lot of us, because we want to make a difference, we want to make an impact and to hear it firsthand exactly how that happened. That's great.

Speaker 19 40:26

Yeah, A hundred percent. I mean yeah, 100%. I mean that's why I love the company, I love what we do. I did light industrial staffing sales for four or five years and I felt like I was actually helping people and I still feel like I'm doing that in a different sense, Absolutely Helping our clients and employees to have better lives because they could communicate better, their lives are better, they know exactly where all their information is and you know it helps their culture and their companies right. Yep Helps them to have better companies and be better people and therefore helping them in their work life, helping them to provide better for their families on the back end. So it's fun, Love it.

Speaker 4 40:59

Important work, man. Yes, what do you hope to get out of this year's conference?

Speaker 19 41:08

No more business more people, more people like Haley coming up first thing in the morning and saying you've changed my life, right, that's great. Now it's just having having conversations. I mean I think we're we're here. To be honest, probably 60 to 70% of it is seeing current clients keeping those relationships going. We have a ton of partners out here that we work with as well. You know benefit broker referrals, hr consulting companies that we work with as well. You know benefit broker referrals, hr consulting companies that we work with as well. But I mean, obviously it's it's presenting our product too and you know saying, hey, I feel like a lot of people come and they're like, hey, I'm looking at a new payroll HR tech piece and I want to talk to pay velocity, and I've had three of those conversations today. So just presenting our product and what we can do and how we can help them.

Speaker 4 41:51

Well, one of the things I always appreciate, appreciate about you, mike, is you're a straight shooter and you know, when we look at technology or any solution for HR, the most important thing is trust and if we can't have an honest and trustworthy conversation, well it's going to be hard to do business. And definitely trustworthy guy, mike.

Speaker 19 42:08

So thanks for stopping by.

Speaker 4 42:10

All the best to you at HR Indiana, and go check out Paylocity if you haven't already. Awesome, thank you, ed. All right, we are here with Daisy. Welcome Daisy.

Speaker 27 42:22

Thank you, it's nice to be here.

Speaker 4 42:23

Absolutely so. Tell everyone your name and what you do for work.

Speaker 27 42:27

Yeah, my name is Daisy and I'm an HR manager for an electrical contractor.

Speaker 4 42:31

Okay, well, is this your first year at HR Indiana?

Speaker 27 42:34

This is actually my third year here at HR Indiana.

Speaker 4 42:38

Thanks for coming back. This year's a little different. We're at the convention center, which I love because I get to hear the main speaker from over here. But what do you love about HR Indiana?

Speaker 27 42:47

yeah, I love that. It's a lot of local. It's like more Indiana HR based knowledge and sessions.

Speaker 4 42:57

That's what I enjoy about it, because there's a lot of information out there in the world about HR but it's not always tailored to your state and yeah, things like that there's so much going on, I think, with legislation and AI and all these different policies and strategic initiatives, I think HR Indiana does a really good job of personalizing it and making it relevant to today. But what do you hope to get out of this year?

Speaker 27 43:20

Yeah, I just want to grow my knowledge more and be a more credible HR leader within my company.

Speaker 4 43:26

I love that.

Speaker 27 43:27

And I feel like just listening to some of the sessions I've already been to today on day one, such as some from Barnes Thornburg, just hearing from actual lawyers and hearing what they have to say their real life stories. Their Indiana based. It's just really nice to hear that from a really credible source that's more geared towards an Indiana company. They do a fantastic job of talking about the legal side from a really credible source that's more geared towards an Indiana company.

Speaker 4 43:49

They do a fantastic job of talking about the legal side without making it sound so boring. I love Barnes and Thornburg, but hey, thanks for stopping by.

Speaker 27 43:59

I hope you enjoy the rest of the conference, daisy. Thank you so much, you too.

Speaker 4 44:03

All right, we're here with Scott. Welcome Scott. Hey, thank you. Absolutely. Why don't you introduce your name and what you do?

Speaker 30 44:11

So yeah, my name is Scott Howard. I am president of Blue Hive. So Blue Hive's a platform that aims to connect employers with healthcare providers that are trying to manage medical surveillance, occupational health, physical, social compliance and anything under that umbrella.

Speaker 4 44:28

Awesome. Well, you all have a beautiful exhibitor booth over there, so thank you for the partnership For sure, absolutely Is this your first year at HR Indiana. This is my first year. Yes. Well, what do you hope to get out of this year?

Speaker 30 44:42

Really with. So Blue Hive's a bit of a startup under a company that's been around for a while. Our umbrella company is called Medical Informatics Engineering, but we've been around for just about five years, so really it's just to make connections, build our network, get our name out there and let the HR world know that we exist and we're here to stay. Well, that's great.

Speaker 4 45:03

You all have been a great partner to us in Fort Wayne. I hope that the word gets out about Blue Hive. You guys are doing great work. Thanks a lot for stopping by, scott. Yeah, truly appreciate it. Thanks, ed, no problem, all right, we're here with Lisa.

Speaker 32 45:17

Lisa, welcome, hi, thank you Want to tell everyone what your name is and what you do for work. Yes, my name is Lisa Bresley and I am the Human Resources Manager for 111 Design.

Speaker 4 45:26

Well, I think you did forget one portion. What else do you do for work, Lisa?

Speaker 32 45:32

Well, I'm also on the NIRA Board of Directors, which is a very new position for me, and I'm super excited.

Speaker 4 45:38

Well, we're glad to have you. Lisa's our new Conference Director, and we tasked her for making the NIRA Conference bigger and better than ever. And well, what better place to learn and get ideas from than the HR&E conference? So I know this isn't your first year here. What do you love about this conference?

Speaker 32 46:00

I really love the networking, but I also just love the different types of speakers that they bring in and I think it's giving me a lot of good ideas for our conference next year.

Speaker 4 46:07

Love it, super pumped to be here, love it. So what do you hope to?

Speaker 32 46:09

get out of this year's conference, I think, really just learning some new things, but also again, like I said, speakers for next year's conference.

Speaker 4 46:18

I love where your head's at. Yeah, hr is where the action is. Lisa's on the forefront of bringing you all the content, the the, the HR conference magic is going to be happening in Fort Wayne in May of 2026. And Lisa's going to be heading that charge. So thanks for stopping by, lisa. I hope you have a great rest of your conference. Thanks guys, I appreciate it.

Speaker 23 46:42

Thank you.

Speaker 4 46:45

All right, Welcome. We are here with Chad at the HR Indiana Conference Chad welcome.

Speaker 15 46:51

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Speaker 4 46:53

Absolutely so, if you want to introduce who you are, your name, your company, and is this your first time at HR Indiana?

Speaker 15 46:59

It is my first HR Indiana Crazy coming from the payroll world and actually have moved to Marsh McLennan Agency for the insurance side of things. Chad Huffman, excited to be here. Thanks for having me, absolutely.

Speaker 4 47:10

Well, Chad, what's one thing you're hoping to get out of this conference?

Speaker 15 47:14

A lot of things that I need to learn in this conference is not just being like the outside in of the roles of the people that I'm working with understanding HR better, understanding a CFO better, a CEO better, because it's all about who you know and understanding the pains that they're going through. I'm learning is making me much better, not just as a seller, I know, but as a person to these people that I continue to get to keep these relationships with now, where in my former life it was a lot of what have you done for me lately? But now I need to understand these people's lives because they're going to be working with me for years to come, so I'm excited to learn about that.

Speaker 4 47:46

Well, yeah, and you make a great point to service HR, we have to know HR, and to know HR, you have to put yourself in the HR world. So hey, nice work. I think this is a great first step. So talk to me a little bit about how you plan on doing that.

Speaker 15 48:01

Just organic conversations or I mean always face-to-face is key, but a lot of things that I'm working on now, too, is actually paying attention. In the speeches, a lot of people go just to check a box and say that they saw it, but my goal is to pick up one or two key pain points that each person talks about and then doing my research on top of that to come into conversations in the future with solutions to those pain points, with my product or with my connections outside of that.

Speaker 15 48:27

But again, of course, organic conversation, connections outside of that. But again, of course, organic conversations. Beautiful as always. But you know you got to actually do a little bit of homework and I think a lot of that homework can be done here so well.

Speaker 4 48:35

Hey, chad, thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy the conference. Thank you Great.

Speaker 15 48:38

Thank you.

Speaker 4 48:40

All right, we are here with Erin. Welcome Erin.

Speaker 8 48:44

Well, thank you, Ed, for the introduction Welcome.

Speaker 4 48:46

Do you want to tell the world your name and your role?

Speaker 8 48:51

Oh, I have a lot of roles in my life. You're going to have to specify, but Erin Stevens.

Speaker 4 48:57

And what is your full-time job, erin oh?

Speaker 8 49:00

my full-time job. I am a senior TA specialist for Fortune Brands Innovations based out of Deerfield, Illinois, which is just north of Chicago.

Speaker 4 49:10

Beautiful and what is your role with HR Indiana?

Speaker 8 49:13

Oh, also many a role. I have served almost all of them, but currently I am the Core Leadership Area Director, which means I kind of oversee oh gosh, legislative, our SHRM foundation and all communications and stuff like that.

Speaker 4 49:31

Well, Erin is a veteran. She's been around for many years. Erin, what is your favorite part about conference every year?

Speaker 8 49:37

Oh, it's always the people. It's seeing everyone that I haven't seen in either a year or it's like you know, we jokingly have called this in the past HR Christmas, you know, because it's the one time of year that everyone gets together. And you's like you know, we jokingly have called this in the past HR Christmas. You know, this is the one time of year that everyone gets together and you're like oh, my God, I love you.

Speaker 8 49:51

It's so much fun and where have you been and you can kind of connection, you know, connect and reconnect with everyone and it's just, you know, brings you joy and happiness and also you get your CEUs and get some education. But I think for me that's always been the best part is the people.

Speaker 4 50:07

I agree, I always see. I only see certain people one time a year at Seth's HR Indiana conference and I love it, but that's my favorite part. What do you hope to get out of this year's conference that might be different than perhaps other years?

Speaker 8 50:20

Well, I will say, when I was driving up here, I really find that, even though these can be like tiring sometimes, because you're just like on, on, on, I always find that I leave like just feeling so full of, just like happiness and that my soul, you know my soul, is filled with all the great people I've got to see, and it's just so, even though it can be a little like oh God, I'm so tired, but like my soul is just happy and my battery is recharged with just all the great people I get to see and reconnect with, and so that's really, for me, the best part of the conference.

Speaker 4 50:53

Well, I love that. I love you, Erin. Enjoy conference.

Speaker 8 50:56

I love you too, and I will try to enjoy my actually no, I will enjoy my conference.

Speaker 4 51:02

Sounds great. Thanks for stopping by, you're very welcome.

Speaker 2 51:06

Well, welcome to HR Indiana. Can I have you introduce yourself each and tell me why you're here?

Speaker 20 51:14

Sure, my name is Denise McCormick. I'm here with Leaders Staffing. I'm the Training and Development Manager there. I'm here to always just focus on the back to basics and then look for new ways to inspire my team.

Speaker 2 51:27

Great.

Speaker 14 51:27

Fire my team, great. Hi. My name is Joy. I'm here as part of Indie SHRM. I'm part of the membership committee as well as workforce readiness, and I'm so delighted to be here and meet everyone around here.

Speaker 2 51:43

Nice. Thank you both for joining us.

Speaker 20 51:45

Thanks for having us.

Speaker 2 51:46

Have a great time.

Speaker 4 51:49

All right, we are here with Bob at HR Indiana. Bob welcome Hi. Thanks for stopping by. Would you like to tell everyone who you are and what you do?

Speaker 1 51:58

Yeah, my name is Bob East and I am a 2D animator and caricature artist from Indiana, and I was brought in to draw caricatures of the attendees for this wonderful event. So I've had fun drawing little cartoon faces of the attendees.

Speaker 4 52:21

It's a big hit. I just got mine done. He whipped it out in like 30 seconds and I think he did a great job.

Speaker 2 52:28

Yeah, would you be willing to do one of the two of us? Sure, yeah, that would be fantastic.

Speaker 1 52:33

It was more like three minutes but 30 seconds.

Speaker 4 52:37

Nice yeah. So, bob, what do you hope to get out of the conference?

Speaker 1 52:41

Well, I mean, I'm I'm a hired gun to draw people, but I like any event I enjoy. What I like to get out of these events is talking to people and hearing their stories of, like, what do they do, what is their day like, what's their job like, Do they have kids or you know the other stuff that, because you run into people who have different lifestyles than you Like you know this person might be the HR for a company that makes donuts and stuff like that. Well, that's interesting.

Speaker 4 53:13

Well, this is a nice flair. I love this. I can't remember a year HR Indiana had caricatures being drawn and you talk about a differentiator for a conference. Come on, this is great. I really appreciate it, bob, thanks for stopping by. I'm sure, I'm sure there's going to be a lot of people with caricatures walking around. I'm curious to see what the other caricatures look like.

Speaker 1 53:36

But thanks for making this fun, Bob. Hopefully everybody likes them. Check me out at artofbeastcom.

Speaker 2 53:43

Excellent Thanks, Bob.

Speaker 4 53:45

Thank you, thanks for joining us. All. Right, we are here with Hunter Hunter welcome.

Speaker 12 53:51

Hey, thank you guys for having me.

Speaker 4 53:53

Thanks for stopping by. You want to tell everyone what your name is and what you do for work.

Speaker 12 53:57

Yeah, my name is Hunter Hartman. I'm an HR business partner for the Indiana University School of Medicine. This is a mouthful Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics. Oh well, hey that sounds very interesting. Very much so genetics. Oh well, hey that sounds very interesting.

Speaker 4 54:13

Very much sounds way more interesting than what I actually do. Well, it's important work. Thanks for stopping by hunter. So are you? This is are you a returning hr indiana?

Speaker 12 54:20

attendee. I am. This will be my.

Speaker 4 54:22

This is my second indy sherm conference well, what do you like about this conference?

Speaker 12 54:28

I think the diversity in programming is really outstanding. There's a subject. I can never pick just one through each of our sessions. I have like four highlighted or bookmarked in my agenda, so it's tough to decide which one. I'm actually going to go to, but there is just a really great plethora of ideas and information to be shared and really intelligent folks out there doing just that.

Speaker 4 54:47

Well, that's what I love about HR Indiana, because our world of work changes so much and so frequently that I think the HR Indiana Conference Committee does such a great job of making it relevant. Every year, there's certain new additions, new breakouts, new focus areas, and so exactly what you said is what I love, but what do you hope to get out of this year's conference?

Speaker 12 55:10

Honestly, some new strategies kind of across the board here. As you just mentioned, there's always new topics introduced into the workforce and, by happenstance, hr is usually right in the center of all of those changing pieces.

Speaker 4 55:23

Absolutely.

Speaker 12 55:24

Getting a chance to pick the brains of some of the best minds in HR that we have here, pick up on new tips and tricks and grow myself professionally and improve my department. Those are all things I'm looking forward to doing here.

Speaker 4 55:35

Hunter, I love your passion, man. I love it, and please continue pushing the profession of HR forward. I love your take. Thanks for stopping by.

Speaker 12 55:45

It was a pleasure, thank you. Thanks, hunter. Yeah, thank you pleasure.

Speaker 2 55:53

Thank you guys. Thanks hunter. Yeah, thank you. Well, welcome to hr indiana. What, what is your name and what? What brought you to hr indiana this year?

Speaker 28 55:58

well, hello mike. My name is amy and I am here this year to learn more and to connect with my fellow hr professionals.

Speaker 2 56:07

Great. Where are you from, Amy?

Speaker 28 56:10

I am from Plymouth, Indiana. Okay, Blueberry Festival right.

Speaker 2 56:13

Yeah, yes, very nice. So is this your first time at HR Indiana?

Speaker 28 56:19

No, this is probably my 12th year.

Speaker 2 56:22

Oh excellent. What keeps you coming back?

Speaker 28 56:26

They're constantly keeping it fresh and connecting with my fellow HR professionals. Seeing people you know that I see almost every year. I love the way they keep it real. There's always current topics, great speakers helps me get my HR certification credits, which is always helpful. Fantastic and it's a nice break from the day-to-day. It's always helpful, fantastic, and it's a nice break from the day-to-day. It sends you back into your day-to-day office job with a little energy and refreshed.

Speaker 2 56:57

And what do you think of the new venue?

Speaker 28 56:59

I like it Good. I like it A lot more space. I'm hearing some positive feedback from my coworkers and fellow HR people, so I think we like it.

Speaker 2 57:09

Well, thanks for joining us today, Amy.

Speaker 28 57:11

Absolutely Thanks for having me.

Speaker 4 57:15

All right, Welcome Chelsea.

Speaker 14 57:18

Hello, hello.

Speaker 4 57:19

We're at the HR Indiana Conference. Thanks for stopping by our booth Chelsea, do you want to tell everyone what your name and what you do for work?

Speaker 14 57:26

Yeah, so my name is Chelsea Schmelz. I'm currently the People Experience Coordinator for Compass Senior Living. I also happen to be the Chapter President for Southern Indiana SHRM.

Speaker 4 57:38

I love that chapter. Chelsea's been a member of SHRM for many years and a volunteer leader, so you bring a lot of knowledge and a lot of perspectives. What do you love about this conference every year?

Speaker 14 57:50

I love the networking opportunities as well as just the information. My favorite part about it is that it's not just Indiana specific, that a lot of it is stuff you can take back to your company, especially if you are a global organization. If you are one that has several sites in several states, it covers you no matter what, and I think that that's fantastic.

Speaker 4 58:11

Well, I love that, because it is always changing. But what about this year? What do you hope to get out of this year's conference?

Speaker 14 58:19

This year I'm really just looking for more legal compliance type stuff. In my current role, I am the compliance person, and so anything FMLA, i-9, any of that I can get. I'm just soaking all that up this year.

Speaker 4 58:32

Well, I hope you have a tremendous conference. Chelsea, it's always a pleasure seeing you. Thanks for stopping by our booth. Perfect Thanks, Chelsea.

Speaker 14 58:40

Thank you.

Speaker 4 58:42

All right, we are here with a good friend of mine, tracy. Welcome, tracy. Hi, ed, good to be here. Thanks for stopping by, and can you tell everyone what your name is and what you do?

Speaker 33 58:52

Yep Tracy Benzinger. I'm the regional manager for Zing Recruiting. We're a professional recruiting firm nationwide.

Speaker 4 58:59

All right. Well, much needed in today's world. Absolutely. So I know the answer to this, but this isn't your first time at. Hr Indiana. No, it's probably my 10th time, or more. So tell me what you love most about HR Indiana.

Speaker 33 59:17

The people I love the keynote speakers. They're probably my favorite.

Speaker 15 59:23

Yes.

Speaker 33 59:23

Bring a little information, education, inspiration to take back to the team.

Speaker 4 59:33

Yes, well, what are you looking forward to this year? Gary Sinise. Aha, there it is. Right. Are you getting a selfie with Gary this year? I am. I hope you do. Well, Tracy, thanks for stopping by. It's always a pleasure speaking with you. Great, always seeing you. Thank you for all you do. Hey, it is my pleasure Enjoy the conference. Tracy Bye. All right, we are live with Alan Alan welcome. Thank you, thank you. Thanks for stopping by. So do you want to tell everyone your name and what you do?

Speaker 34 1:00:03

Sure, my name is Alan Smeltzer, kind of an HR generalist over at Growing Kids Learning Center at Daycare in Northwest Indiana.

Speaker 4 1:00:12

And is this your first year attending HR Indiana? It is, yes, I'm loving it. What? Do you like about? It. Everybody's so welcoming and kind and inclusive. Yeah, I love that. It's my favorite time of the year. I think the conference committee does a great job with content, making it meaningful and relevant. What are you hoping to yet?

Speaker 34 1:00:33

get out of the conference so far, honestly, just continuing to connect with people. More of the same. So far, everything has been great connecting with everybody. That's been the best part.

Speaker 4 1:00:50

Well, it's a community. We're all here to help. There's so much going on in HR, and the more people that we can connect with and have in our network that helps us do our jobs more efficiently and better with different tools and resources, the better. So I'm glad you're enjoying it. Appreciate you stopping by Alan. Enjoy the rest of the conference. Thank you so much, ed. All right, we are live with Amanda. Welcome, amanda. Welcome, thank you. Absolutely so, if you want to tell everyone your name and what you do for work.

Speaker 35 1:01:14

I am Amanda Sparks. I am the HR business partner at Cook Medical.

Speaker 4 1:01:18

Well, I'm glad to see you again at HR Indiana. This is certainly not your first time.

Speaker 35 1:01:23

It is not. So, what do you love about HR Indiana every year? The wide variety of networking opportunities, but then also the wide variety of topics that we can all learn about and relate back to our jobs.

Speaker 4 1:01:36

I love that, my favorite portion. What do you hope to get out of this year's conference?

Speaker 35 1:01:41

This year I'm looking to find ways one for myself to just kind of get out of that burnout time. I really related this morning to what Lindsay said about the burnout, because that's where I'm at.

Speaker 4 1:01:53

Yes.

Speaker 35 1:01:54

And just trying to figure out how to be a little bit more strategic in the job that I do every day.

Speaker 4 1:02:00

Well, thanks for sharing. You're welcome. And I hope you get those burnout tips If you do share them with everyone, because I think everyone can relate yeah for sure. Thank you, amanda, you're welcome.

Speaker 29 1:02:17

Thank you, happy to be here.

Speaker 4 1:02:19

You want to tell everyone what your name and what you do for work.

Speaker 29 1:02:22

Yeah, so my name is Danielle Balmer. I'm the HR manager of A House Tool and Engineering.

Speaker 4 1:02:27

Well, is this your first year at HR Indiana.

Speaker 29 1:02:30

It is not. I am excited to be back.

Speaker 4 1:02:33

Well, what do you like about HR Indiana?

Speaker 29 1:02:35

So my favorite thing about HR Indiana is just the networking opportunities. There are a ton of resources, a ton of excellent presentations to choose kind of what your biggest interests are and what is most applicable for you, and it's just a great experience.

Speaker 4 1:02:51

I love that, and I think HR is changing so much. There's so many things going on that we do. I think HR Indiana does a great job of personalizing it for what is happening today. So but what do you hope to get out of this year's conference?

Speaker 29 1:03:06

So I mean, obviously HR is ever evolving and changing and just the scope of what we do is ever evolving and I think this year I am most interested in kind of seeing some of the legal updates, catching up with what's the latest and greatest on the Big Beautiful Bill Act and some other items there and just the networking opportunities again. It's truly a great experience overall.

Speaker 4 1:03:33

It is Well. Thank you so much for stopping by, Danielle. I hope you enjoy the conference. All right, we are here at HR Indiana with Amy. Welcome, Amy. Well, thank you. Why don't you introduce what your name is and what you do for work?

Speaker 36 1:03:46

Yeah, so I'm Amy Metzger. I work in long-term care. I'm the VP of HR, so I get to take care of people who take care of people.

Speaker 4 1:03:53

Well, that is important work. Is this your first year at HR Indiana? This is not my first year. Well, so you're a veteran. What do you love about HR Indiana?

Speaker 36 1:04:02

I truly love the topics. I go to a lot of conferences and not all of them have speakers or topics that really impact you, so I more so get CEUs from those. But, this, you truly come back with educational content that you can grow, learn and share with others.

Speaker 4 1:04:18

I love that. Thanks for sharing. What do you hope to get out of this year's conference?

Speaker 36 1:04:31

So this year it's all about what material can I take back to grow my own HRDs and help impact our employees?

Speaker 4 1:04:33

So we're constantly looking for topics because we want to coach and grow the workforce and long-term care, perfect place to do that yeah. Well, thanks for stopping by, Amy. I hope you enjoy the conference. All right, thank you. All right, we are here with Mackenzie. Welcome Hi, ed. Can you introduce your name and what do you do for work?

Speaker 18 1:04:52

Mackenzie, michael, I'm a consultant with Mago and Braebender.

Speaker 4 1:04:55

Awesome. Well, who's Mago and Braebender?

Speaker 18 1:04:58

We are an employee benefits consultant, so specifically focusing on the employee benefits space, healthcare. We don't do property and casualty 401k, any of that. But we'd like to say we are experts in our field.

Speaker 4 1:05:10

I love it, but you're here as an attendee and that's my favorite part is the learning you get to soak it all in. But I don't think this is your first year at HR Indiana, is it?

Speaker 18 1:05:22

It is actually my third.

Speaker 4 1:05:23

Well, what is your favorite part about coming every year?

Speaker 18 1:05:26

My favorite part about coming every year is just getting to connect with all of the individuals that I work with every day and get a glimpse into their world. Like I mentioned, I'm not in human resources, so it's interesting to hear what is being talked about what's new in their field and just grow closer to them that way.

Speaker 4 1:05:45

I just find it fascinating, because every year we have, of course, breakout sessions. It's always relevant to what's going on and I think that's what I love most. Unfortunately, because I do work a lot, I tend to not take in as much of the content, naturally, because I'm always working in booths. But this year I'm very happy to see that the main stage is just adjacent to us, so I can't hear. But tell me something you're looking forward to coming out of this year's conference. What do you want to get from the conference this year?

Speaker 18 1:06:17

Yeah, I guess I really. I just want to focus on what is new in the HR world. I would say, specifically, compliance.

Speaker 14 1:06:25

That is an area that is always changing and people always have questions.

Speaker 18 1:06:28

So if I can come to them with relevant information that might not pertain to benefits but pertain to a different part of their business, that just makes me an even better resource. So I would say the compliance piece.

Speaker 4 1:06:39

Well, where are you based, out of?

Speaker 18 1:06:40

Indianapolis.

Speaker 4 1:06:41

Okay, Well, hey. Thank you so much, Mackenzie, for stopping by. I hope you enjoy the conference and we're looking forward to seeing you here later on.

Speaker 18 1:06:49

Absolutely, thank you.

Speaker 4 1:06:54

All right, we're here with Sean. Sean welcome, thank you. Would you like to tell everyone your name and?

Speaker 26 1:06:59

what you do for work. Sure, my name is Sean Rakowski. I work in the Human Resources Department for Holland LP.

Speaker 4 1:07:06

Excellent, and is this?

Speaker 26 1:07:09

your first time attending HR Indiana? No, I've been a mini-year attendee. Well, what keeps you coming back? The collaboration and learning new ideas. And I really enjoy the vendor fair because I pick up new ideas and build new relationships.

Speaker 4 1:07:23

It's a great way to understand what's out there the tools, the resources because we all do HR, but there's a lot of tools and resources that help us do our jobs better and easier. What do you enjoy about this year's conference?

Speaker 26 1:07:37

I really enjoyed John Sox. Yeah, just very inspirational Just seeing how people can overcome different opportunities and really make a success out of something that you wouldn't think a stock business could be as profitable as what it is Yep.

Speaker 4 1:07:56

It was a great touching story and I think those are the stories that hopefully give us all inspiration. What do you hope to get out of this year's conference?

Speaker 26 1:08:05

I'm really looking to see what is changing from a legislation standpoint Obviously with the election, the tariffs, all the different things that have been happening this year to really see how, as HR leaders, we can help drive the business forward, recognizing the challenges and opportunities that come about from a legal standpoint.

Speaker 4 1:08:30

And that's one of my favorite parts, because HR, of course, there's so many changing laws and legislations and so many new initiatives and areas of focus that I think HR and ENA does a great job of making it relevant what's important to talk about today and, of course, the legal updates. You know they do a great job of not making legal so boring. So well. Thanks for stopping by, sean. Enjoy the conference. I appreciate it. Thank you All. Right, we're here with Melissa. Hi, melissa, hello, thanks for joining. I am great. Can you tell everyone your name and what you do for work?

Speaker 37 1:09:10

Sure, my name is Melissa Locke and I get to lead HR for a manufacturing company, elkhart, indiana, welch Packaging.

Speaker 4 1:09:19

Excellent, so is this your first year attending HR Indiana.

Speaker 37 1:09:23

No, I would say this is maybe my fourth or fifth time coming to this event. It's close, it's, you know, a couple-hour drive. It's convenient and the content is as good as what I would get spending money going to National SHRM, I feel you know for the value that we're getting and the number of sessions that you get to attend, and sure, there's a lot of sessions in National SHRM, but there's only so many hours in the day.

Speaker 4 1:09:48

That's right.

Speaker 37 1:09:50

So I think this is a great, great fit for budget and content Excellent.

Speaker 4 1:09:53

I you know. I think the conference committee does such a great job of making it relevant for what's important this year because, you know, hr changes, there's so many laws, there's so many updates, so many new things to focus on, and if we can have a program where it's catered here, locally, with great speakers we just interviewed John's crazy socks. What a great story. You know, those are the things that, for me, I love and it keeps me coming back. But what's one thing you hope to get out of this year's conference?

Speaker 37 1:10:27

Well, I'm going to my next session to get all the I-9 updates. I think that's top of mind for a lot of folks with the changes requirements there, and so you know, how do you stay up to date on trends? You know you can sit in your office all day, but you don't prioritize learning and keeping up to date on all the things that are changing, and this is an opportunity to focus on that. Continue learning I like to be a learn-it-all, not a know-it-all, and so, yes, and so many people here to learn from and hear stories and, like I spent a lot of my career in one company, and so here you get to hear I don't know, I don't know, you know, so I get to hear other ideas and how they're solving problems.

Speaker 37 1:11:06

So it's awesome networking.

Speaker 4 1:11:08

You know, you said something that I think we should put on t-shirts I'm a learn it all, not a know it all. Because, seriously, be curious, you have to, because I think the minute that and okay, we all know that one person that quote unquote knows it all, but I think the minute you convince yourself, you think you know it all, you're done, you're toast and and that's one of my favorite parts about HR Indiana and and the amount of work that they put in is it is a learning environment and we're with our peers that, hey, what do you do? How does this work for you all? How can I apply, perhaps, what you're doing to my business and just the community?

Speaker 37 1:11:52

Absolutely, and it's a safe space to share some of your HR nightmares.

Speaker 4 1:11:58

We all have a story? Oh, my word, melissa, I have stories, if you have any, I think HR, as we continue moving along with technology with, you know, tiktok and social media, we have to be careful, right, of what we say and don't say. But HR is responsible for so much now, right, we have so much more on our plate now than we did 15, 20 years ago because of all of this Absolutely.

Speaker 37 1:12:32

And I'll tell you one funny story I have. It's my go-to. We had an employee try to sue us because she was dating another employee and was in a car accident while working for us. Oh my word. And it dislodged her birth control. So she got pregnant with an employee at work, and that was something that we needed to take care of.

Speaker 4 1:12:58

That is a first. That is insane.

Speaker 37 1:13:02

So you never know.

Speaker 4 1:13:03

The minute you think you've heard it all, just wait.

Speaker 37 1:13:07

Just wait, that's right.

Speaker 4 1:13:09

Well, thanks for sharing, Melissa. It's been a pleasure. I hope you enjoy the rest of your conference.

Speaker 37 1:13:14

Thank you so much.

Speaker 4 1:13:16

All right, we're here with Heather, heather welcome.

Speaker 23 1:13:20

Hello.

Speaker 4 1:13:21

If you want to. What is your name and a title? Heather Staggs and I'm an HR business partner. Welcome to HR Indiana. Is this your first time here? It is business partner. Welcome to HR Indiana. Is this your first time here? It is Well, I'm glad you joined. It's my favorite time of the year and I've talked to a few people already. I love a lot about this. But what are you looking forward to getting out of the conference this year?

Speaker 22 1:13:41

Just developing that strategic vision, really working towards being a partner for my business and helping us grow.

Speaker 4 1:13:48

That's great. I love to hear that. I've lived in HR my whole career and I see so many changes, so many perhaps policy changes, legislative changes, new areas of focus, and I love HR Indiana because I feel like every year we always personalize the sessions to what's most important. So I hope you get a lot out of this conference. Thank you.

Speaker 4 1:14:14

This is our first year. Well, first year back at the convention center. We used to have it here about 10 years ago, but enjoy the conference, Thank you for stopping by. All right, we are here with Jason. Welcome, Jason Welcome.

Speaker 31 1:14:31

Jason. Thanks, ed, how's it going?

Speaker 4 1:14:32

I'm great, love the HR conference. It's our annual event, great time every year. But Jason is our MAC Membership Advisory Council. Jason, can you tell?

Speaker 31 1:14:44

us a little bit about yourself. Yes, so thanks, ed, for having me. First of all, like you said, my name is Jason Seatimer. I am the Member Advisory Council Representative for the North Central for SHRM. I currently reside in Bismarck, north Dakota, and I work for the North Dakota Adjutant General's Office for a full-time job, but here my volunteer role. Here at SHRM I get the opportunity to work with 10 states across the upper Midwest. So glad to be here my first time in Indiana and looking forward to the conference.

Speaker 4 1:15:09

Well, welcome to Indiana, and you are one busy guy. How do you keep up with all these conferences?

Speaker 31 1:15:16

You know it is. It's great and one of the things starting out when I took them back. My goal was to make it to all 10 states and I'm glad to say I will do that. I still have two left, so you guys are not the last. I'll be happy about that I still have Ohio and Wisconsin yet this fall. But you know, it's just one of those things you make the time.

Speaker 4 1:15:35

And if it's something you want to do, you're going to do it. That's right, Absolutely Well. What's one thing you're hoping to get out of the conference?

Disrupt HR FW

Speaker 31 1:15:39

You know, I think for the conference one of the things as a Mac, it's great to get to all these different States and see what like what they're doing for conferences, everybody on the SHRM side, and seeing what we can. So with the MAC we are actually the voice of the SHRM members throughout our regions to the SHRM board and we present bi-annually to the SHRM board. So I think from this conference, just meeting SHRM members throughout the state of Indiana and seeing what we can do for them and how we can make the HR profession easier for them, because it's so hard keeping up to date on it.

Speaker 4 1:16:06

Great hey. Thanks so much for stopping by, jason.

Speaker 31 1:16:08

Yes, thanks for having me. I'm glad that I'm here and love all the stuff so far. Looking forward to it.

Speaker 4 1:16:13

I appreciate it. Thanks so much.

Speaker 31 1:16:14

Yep have a great one.

Speaker 11 1:16:17

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Speaker 2 1:17:09

I'd like to thank all of our guests that we had today. That's all the time we have. See you next time on Mic'd We'll be right back.

Speaker 1 1:17:26

I'll see you next time.