December 2018

Greetings GMA SHRM Members –

We recently held our annual Student Night Out. A huge thanks to the GMA SHRM College Relations Committee for all the work they put into this meaningful event! The night was full of networking, a keynote speaker and panel discussion. I think it was very beneficial for the students in attendance and gave them a glimpse into the exciting world of Human Resources. For eligible students, we also provide a student scholarship each year that provides $750 to two students pursuing a career in human resources. The details and how to apply can be found under our student scholarship section. Applications are due December 21st.

I would like to share some SHRM news in case you haven’t seen it yet. SHRM now has three specialty credentials available for HR practitioners who are looking to further differentiate themselves in these areas: California Employment Law, Talent Acquisition and People Analytics. If you focus on any of these specialties, check out the details on the SHRM website.

The Pinnacle Award winners were recently announced. This award is intended to recognize SHRM state councils and chapters that have made significant contributions to the human resources profession. If you are interested in learning more about the winners and the program, details can be found here.

As a reminder, we have a January Professional Development Summit right around the corner on January 22nd. We will have details on our website in the near future along with the full 2019 programming calendar.

I hope you have a wonderful and safe holiday season!

Take Care,

Tammy Wacek, SHRM-CP, PHR
President
GMA SHRM

Click here to view the full GMA SHRM Board of Directors

Government Affairs & Legal Updates

New Proposed Regulations Could Expand Prevalence and Usability of HRAs

Submitted by: Abigail Darwin, GMA SHRM Government Affairs Committee Member and Employee Benefits Attorney at Quarles & Brady LLC

On October 23, 2018, the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (the “Departments”) released some proposed regulations ("Proposed Regulations") regarding health reimbursement arrangements ("HRAs").  The Proposed Regulations were issued in response to a 2017 Executive Order from President Trump in which the President directed the Departments to consider issuing new guidance that would result in lowering premium costs and increasing choice in the individual health insurance market. 

Notably, the Proposed Regulations effectively reverse Obama-era guidance, which expressly prohibited the use of an HRA to pay for or reimburse premiums for insurance purchased in the individual insurance market.  Under that guidance, the Departments provided that an HRA for active employees must be “integrated” with another group health insurance plan to satisfy the Affordable Care Act’s market reform requirements.  The Proposed Regulations remove the current prohibition on using HRA funds to purchase individual health insurance coverage, provided certain conditions are met, including:

Individuals covered by this type of HRA must be enrolled in health insurance coverage purchased in the individual marketplace and must substantiate and verify that they have such coverage;
The employer may not offer the same class of individuals both this type of HRA and a “traditional group health plan”;
The employer must offer this type of HRA on the same terms to all employees in a “class,” which includes full-time employees; part-time employees; seasonal employees; union employees; employees who have not yet satisfied a waiting period; employees younger than age 25; foreign employees working abroad; and employees working in the same rating area;
Employees must have the ability to opt-out of receiving the HRA (for purposes of receiving a premium tax credit ("PTC") on the Exchange);
Employers must provide certain notices to employees about the HRA and how participation may impact their ability to receive a PTC on the Exchange; and
Employers must offer the HRA on the same terms and conditions to all employees in the same class, with exceptions allowed for age, number of dependents and former employees.

The Proposed Regulations would also create a new special enrollment period for employees to be eligible to join an individual health insurance plan on the Exchange when they become eligible for their employer's "individual coverage" HRA.

In addition, as an alternative to the "individual coverage" HRA described above, the Proposed Regulations would allow employers to set up a stand-alone HRA to pay for employees' out-of-pocket "excepted" medical benefits, such as limited scope dental and vision and long-term care benefits. To be able to have this type of HRA, employers must meet certain requirements, including:

The employer must offer other, non-account based, health insurance coverage to employees that is not an excepted benefit (e.g., not dental- or vision-only coverage);
The amount of employer contributions to the HRA each year cannot exceed $1,800, indexed annually for inflation;
The funds in the HRA may not be used for group or individual health insurance premiums;
The HRA must be made available on a uniform basis to all similarly-situated employees; and
An employer must not also have an "individual coverage" HRA.

If finalized, the Proposed Regulations would apply for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2020.  Unlike most other regulations issued in proposed form, taxpayers and others may not rely on these Proposed Regulations.  Until Final Regulations are issued and go into effect, employers offering HRAs should continue complying with the existing Obama-era guidance. Otherwise, they may be subject to significant penalties.

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2019 WI SHRM Day on the Hill

Submitted by: Jeff Palkowski, Director of Government Affairs GMA SHRM and SHRM Advocacy Captain (Wisconsin 1st CD)

Your GMA SHRM Government Affairs committee is excited to announce the 2019 WI SHRM Day on the Hill event is set for February 13^th and 14^th. Registration is now open on the WISHRM website.

Prior to the Day on the Hill event, online training on how to conduct an advocacy meeting will be delivered. The day of the event will include an employment law update from Attorney Bob Gregg of the Boardman & Clark Law Firm, discussion on SHRM advocacy efforts from Meredith Nethercutt, Director for Member Advocacy at National SHRM, and other educational topics. Sessions will be submitted for preapproval of recertification credits.

The day will conclude with scheduled meetings with your individual Legislators and/or Legislative staff members at the Wisconsin State Capitol. Legislator meetings typically last about 15 minutes, at which you will discuss current issues pertinent to the human resources profession. If you are a first time attendee and unsure of the legislator meeting process, just tell us on your registration form and we will ensure we have someone to attend your first meeting with you! Business attire is recommended for legislative meetings.

The Day on the Hill will provide a great opportunity for you to advocate on behalf of WISHRM and the HR profession, to learn more about the political process, and to have a real impact on the public policy debate in Wisconsin involving critical HR and business issues.

Also, join us at the Top of the Park on Wednesday evening from 5:30pm to 7pm for a social/networking event. Dress is casual. If you are unable to attend the Thursday Day on the Hill event, but would still like to attend the Wednesday networking event, the cost to attend the networking event only is $25.

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Education and Development

GMA SHRM Student Scholarships

Submitted by Tyler Wood, Director of College Relations GMA SHRM

Two $750 Student Scholarships
Two and Four-Year Students Eligible
Apply by December 21, 2018

Greater Madison Area SHRM offers two $750 scholarships to students pursuing a career in human resources. Applications are accepted in the fall of every year with the recipients being announced in early January. This is one of the easiest scholarships to apply for - so apply now!

Applications must meet the following criteria:

Enrolled as a student in a two or four-year business-related undergraduate program, such as human resources or related course of study at a Wisconsin college or university
Overall GPA of 2.75 or higher
Student member of GMA SHRM preferred
Students who have already received full scholarships to attend a university are not eligible to apply

To be considered for a scholarship, students must provide the following information:

A purpose statement one page in length describing why you are pursuing a degree in HR or your related field
Current resume
List all school activities, including SHRM and relevant organizations, in which you have participated during your college experience. List all community activities in which you have participated without pay. Note all special awards, honors, and offices held. Include participation in any research projects as well.
Transcript (official or unofficial)

Deadline to apply is December 21, 2018. To apply visit: http://gmashrm.org/studentscholarship

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New HR Mentorship Program Seeking Mentors

Submitted by Tyler Wood, Director of College Relations GMA SHRM

The GMA SHRM College Relations Committee is seeking mentors to support a new HR mentorship program, launching in 2019. If you have wanted to find a meaningful way to contribute to students and find value in sharing your expertise, this is the program for you! This relationship will empower the mentor and mentee to engage in coaching and guidance to:

Provide information and knowledge
Find ways to stimulate personal and professional growth
Be a sounding board to provide an unfiltered, objective opinion
Learn experiences that are challenging to learn without guidance

The structure will be as follows:

Duration: Spring Semester 2019
Kick off meeting in January
Wrap up meeting in May
Encourage monthly check-in via phone, skype and in-person. 
Expectation- One in-person meeting and attendance to one GMA SHRM event.  This can be combined.  For example, meet for coffee after attending a GMASHRM PD event.

Sample monthly topics to include:

First Meeting- Setting expectations/ Get to know each other
Preparing for job search (Internship or 1^st Job)
Building connections and networking
Managing your personal brand
Developing a Personal Development Plan
Bonus Topic: Understanding your personality style (MBTI, DISC, etc.…)

If you are interested in being a mentor, please contact the Arlette Kambwa-Gitau on the College Relations Committee by December 21st.

Workforce Development and Diversity

Workforce Planning for the Future – Are You Ready

Submitted by: Angela Fischer, Director of Conferences and Events at MRA – The Management Association

You’ve seen the headlines and probably experienced the pain. Hiring is getting tougher. Job candidates can take their pick of employers, and companies need to adapt to survive.

Candidates want to move through the recruitment process faster, start off on the right foot in an organization, and receive instant feedback on how they are doing. Employers who recognize these trends understand that they need to address this current reality to retain top talent, and they are focusing on three main areas.

Technology
Having effective technology solutions to support your hiring and staffing objectives gives you a competitive advantage to elevate your recruiting game, whether that is an updated applicant tracking system (ATS), text recruiting, or video interviewing.

The goal is to make the process—and experience—easier and faster for the candidate. The challenge is not to get too high-tech at the expense of high-touch. Candidates want to feel like they are more than just a number. Face-to-face conversations are still the best way for candidates to understand the personalities and culture of the organization they are considering joining.

Onboarding
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. That’s why it’s critical to connect a positive candidate experience with a great new hire experience.

We all can relate at some point in our careers to starting a new job with a sink-or-swim approach. New hires are deserving of more. They have choices when it comes to employment so you want to ensure they feel they made a good decision to join your company. According to Mark Stein and Lilith Christiansen’s book Successful Onboarding, almost a third of employees employed in their current job for less than six months are already job searching to see if there is something better out there.

That is a wakeup call to any employer. Now is the time to revamp your onboarding practices to ensure new hires have a clear understanding of the mission and culture, make connections with other employees, and are given the time and tools to fully succeed in their job.

Feedback
While performance management is a chore, it has to get done. The answer isn’t to stop doing it, but rather to find out how to do it differently or better. Feedback is important and the trend is toward giving more feedback, not less. A growing number of employers are starting to rely on real-time, in-the-moment conversations to foster better communication about employee performance and development.

Managers play a key role in this process and should be empowered to participate in goal-setting, coaching, and providing continuous feedback.
Workforce planning has changed drastically in the last five years. It’s imperative to remain on the cutting edge of hiring trends if you want to attract and keep qualified candidates. Having your technology in place, making new employees feel welcome and engaged, and staying on top of employee feedback are a few ways to help you win the talent war.

Want to learn more? Attend our January 22, 2019 Professional Development Summit at the Alliant Energy Center as we focus on Recruitment.

Angela Fischer is Director, Conferences and Events at MRA – The Management Association. Follow MRA on LinkedIn: http://tinyurl.com/MRAonLinkedIn, Facebook: http://facebook.com/MRAmeansHR, or Twitter: @MRA_HR_Pros.

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New Job Center – Oakhill Correctional Facility

Jennifer Brikowski, Director, Work Readiness Committee

The Department of Workforce Development along with The Department of Corrections opened a Job Center located inside Oakhill Correction in Oregon. The grand opening was held on November 12th; however, the facility has been operational since early October. They are providing work readiness services to inmates who are scheduled to be released within the next 9 months. These services include: registering with Job Center of Wisconsin and creating a resume, completing on line applications and assistance with interview preparation. The inmates I have been assisting are excited and appreciative of this opportunity they have been given. The goal of this job center is to reduce the recidivism rate by allowing inmates to have a jump start on getting a job prior to release. The staff involved in this project, including myself, are hopeful that employers will be willing to give this group of potential employees' a second chance and provide them with an opportunity to be successful once they are released.

For any questions regarding this initiative, please contact Jennifer Brikowski jennifer.brikowski@dwd.wisconsin.gov

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GMA SHRM Media Relations

The Holiday Party? and Social Media

Submitted by: Amanda Tetzlaff, Media Relations Committee Member, GMA SHRM

Presents purchased? Check!
Holiday parties scheduled? Check!
Decorations hung? Check!
Social Media posts created to drive recruitment and employer branding efforts? Ummmm…what?

The last one caught you off guard, didn’t it? When we think of holidays – especially in the Human Resources Department – we’re usually focused on how to maintain holiday cheer while avoiding potential liabilities within the office. So what does that have to do with Social Media?

In a recent SHRM article, freelance writer Elaina Loveland talks about the potential liabilities that come with the traditional office holiday parties. What if there are employees who don’t celebrate the holidays? What about the liability of employees potentially being overserved alcohol? In light of the #MeToo movement, what about the risk for inappropriate behaviors?

While traditional office holiday parties come with good intentions, the risks could outweigh the rewards.

So Loveland proposes less risky alternatives which strive to boost employee morale and (thanks to social media) shows others the good your company does and improves company image. Suggested alternatives include:

Select a company-wide community service project, or let employees take paid time off to volunteer for a charity of their choice.

Organize a team-building exercise so your team grows stronger for months to come, not just one night over a few drinks.
Instead of spending money on parties, use that money to give employees extra paid time off during the holidays to handle their holiday craziness and stress. More time to handle the stress outside of work will hopefully mean less stressed employees at work.

Now think of all the ways you can share these positive stories via social media!

Share event photos.

Tag the community organization(s) you served, and maybe those organizations will tag you in their posts.
Hopefully your employees will feel so good that they tag and post about your good work on their personal social media platforms, share with their connections and friends as well, and then the likes and shares start rolling in!

Eventually, all of that sharing and liking will spread and word will get out what a great company you are, people will recognize who you are (employer branding), and job seekers will want to work for you (recruitment).

Have a safe and happy holidays, from the GMA SHRM Media Relations Committee!

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GMA SHRM News & Upcoming Events

January 22, 2019 - Professional Development Summit

Session 1: Recruiting Next Gens; Using Internships and Other Strategies

Session 2: Recruitment Strategies for 2019: Recruiting Next Gens and Developing Compensation Strategies

Program Details

GMA SHRM Student Night Out - Recap in Pictures

GMA SHRM’s Facebook post on Nov.15 by Mary Moua

On November 15, GMA SHRM hosted a Student Night Out at The DreamBank. The event offered students pursuing business and HR majors an opportunity to engage with HR leaders and panelists, learn about SHRM, get familiar with scholarship and mentoring opportunities and network. Thanks to GMA SHRM College Relations committee for organizing this event. Also, thanks to the wonderful panel members: Alicia Genin, Tracy Nelson, Jason Willborn, Craig Hanson. Looking forward to the next one!


Student Night Out Networking	GMA SHRM Volunteers	Panelists (L-R): Jason Wilborn, Craig Hanson, Alicia Genin, Tracy Nelson

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GMA SHRM Member News

Spotlight: Government Affairs Committee Spotlight

Submitted by: Jeff Palkowski, Director of Government Affairs GMA SHRM and SHRM Advocacy Captain (Wisconsin 1st CD)

Four of our Government Affairs Committe Members
L-R: Hilary Stone (Chair), Jeff Palkowski (Director), Abigail Darwin, Mary Wilkosz

The Greater Madison Area SHRM Government Affairs Committee was created in May, 2008 to monitor and evaluate pending legislative, regulatory and legal action at the federal, state and local levels that may impact the human resources industry. The goal of our committee is to share information with our fellow GMA SHRM members through newsletter articles, events, and other resources in an objective and non-partisan manner.

Our committee is always looking for new volunteers who are interested in legal updates, employment law, and pending human resources legislation. Some ways to get involved on our committee include:

Providing topics, ideas and articles for the monthly GMA InTouch Newsletter.
Meeting as a group (usually during happy hour) to discuss current employment law and legislative topics several times a year.
Assisting with programming for legislative focused events such as the annual Legal Update/Professional Development Summit and the volunteering at the annual WI SHRM Day on the Hill event held at the Wisconsin State Capitol.
Connecting with the national SHRM Advocacy A-Team as a HR Advocate to learn more about federal issues and if you choose, personally advocating on HR-related issues with your elected officials on behalf of yourself or your employer.

Establishing ongoing, professional networking relationships with your elected officials to help educate them on the HR-industry and the impact of HR-related legislation.

We meet in person as a committee about 4-6 times a year, and also ask that our committee members contribute ideas and/or written articles for the Government Affairs & Legal Updates section of our monthly newsletter.

For more information about the GMA SHRM Government Affairs Committee, please contact Director of Government Affairs Jeff Palkowski or Committee Chair Hilary Stone.

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Welcome New Members!

GMA SHRM welcomes the following members who joined our chapter in October 2018!

Emily Allen		Animart, LLC
Jacob Ernstmeyer		Student - Herzing
Karen Hagen		Baer Insurance
Kayla Statz		Diesel Forward
Lisa Weberg		ETC
Brian Wolhaupter, SHRM-SCP		Wisconsin Army National Guard
Alyssa Yogerst		Spectrum Brands

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Movin' Up

Have you started with a new company? Has your organization recently promoted you to a new position? Or do you want to recognize a new person or promotion within your department? If so, we want to hear about it. Send us an e-mail, and we’ll publish your good news in the next HR InTouch!

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In Transition

If you are a member who is in between jobs, or who is currently employed but seeking new positions or career paths, write us a brief description of your skill set, areas of expertise, what you’re looking for, etc. Send us an e-mail. We’ll publish your information in the next HR InTouch.

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HR InTouch Guidelines

Article Writing:

Do you have an interest in writing for the HR InTouch? We have an interest in learning more about your area of expertise!

Why should you volunteer? Top three reasons: 1) to share your knowledge and experiences to educate others; 2) to become more connected in the HR and Dane County communities; and 3) to contribute towards the advancement of GMA SHRM and the HR profession.

The first step is for you to choose a submission option: you can pre-submit an article to GMA SHRM at any time for us to use in any of the upcoming newsletters, you can sign up to write for a particular month, or we can put you on a list of people to contact in future months whenever we need articles.

Article length:

Because the HR InTouch is now in an online format, the size is flexible. The article should be engaging and hold readers’ attention. Include the core information in your article, and we will advise if it is too lengthy.

Solicitation:

GMA SHRM is conscious not to allow solicitation through the articles, in an effort to protect the interests of our partners and members. The nature of the article should be educational (i.e., what are the business advantages of having a product like yours) or informational. Otherwise, if you truly are interested in advertising through the HR InTouch, you can work with our Marketing Committee. As a rule of thumb for article writing, if the submission relates to a for-profit event, or specifically markets your company (vs. your industry), it is an advertisement, and should be purchased. If it is a not-for-profit event that your company is hosting, or an announcement (i.e., a SHRM member recently joined your company), it is an acceptable addition to the HR InTouch content. If you have any questions related to the appropriateness of your submission, please contact us.

If you have questions, or to submit an article, contact GMA SHRM at chapteradmin@gmashrm.org .

Amended

December 2018

HR InTouch

In This Edition

New Proposed Regulations Could Expand Prevalence and Usability of HRAs

2019 WI SHRM Day on the Hill

GMA SHRM Student Scholarships

New HR Mentorship Program Seeking Mentors

Workforce Development and Diversity

Workforce Planning for the Future – Are You Ready

New Job Center – Oakhill Correctional Facility

The Holiday Party? and Social Media

January 22, 2019 - Professional Development Summit

GMA SHRM Student Night Out - Recap in Pictures

Spotlight: Government Affairs Committee Spotlight

Welcome New Members!

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