Volunteering: an Eye-Opening Experience

IHRIM Guest Blogger:  Henry Chung, HRIP, Manager, HR Technology and Operations, The Jackson Laboratory

The 2008 HRMS Strategies Conference at Disney’s Contemporary Resort was the first IHRIM conference I attended.  After the first day of the conference, I felt that this was the group that I should belong to, not PMI or SHRM.   People here just “breathe” HRIS.  I became an IHRIM member afterwards and have come to all the annual conferences ever since.  I also earned my HRIP (Human Resource Information Professional) certification in May, 2010.

Working for a non-profit organization with lean staffing, projects and issues seem to have no problem in finding their way to me.  My desk is piled up with folders, user manuals, contracts, training materials and what not.  I had no intention of seeking volunteer opportunities in the same field of my work.  It would be overwhelming.  There was no way that I could handle it.  That’s what I thought.

But in the early summer of 2011, Lynne Mealy, President & CEO of IHRIM, invited me to volunteer on the 2012 Conference Content Committee.  I thought to myself: “Wow! Am I that good?  The CEO of IHRIM is inviting me to join the Content Committee to select what should be in the next strategies conference.  Well, I am HRIP certified and naturally my peers would recognize my aptitude in this profession.”  So, after some serious thinking, I accepted the invitation and took a week of vacation from work to review and rate the presentation abstracts.  After all, you wouldn’t say no to a CEO!

However, the volunteering experience was eye-opening – in a very good way – as it expanded my horizons in the HRIS field.  In order to provide proper feedback and rate the abstracts fairly, I had to do some research on topics that I was not as familiar with.  This increased my knowledge of the HRIS area which I would not have been able to attain just through my regular work.  In addition, all of the new knowledge I gained actually helped me work more effectively and gave me more options in handling the challenges I faced at work.  Not to mention the satisfaction I felt for contributing back to this wonderful group of HRIS professionals to whom I belong.  The experience was priceless, and I just volunteered for the 2014 Content Committee. 

In addition to the Content Committee, I recently volunteered to work the Volunteer booth at the IHRIM 2013 HRMS Strategies Conference in Orlando to introduce the volunteer program to my peers.  I always joke that I work in the “inhuman” side of Human Resources and have enjoyed it.  But to my surprise, I actually enjoy talking to people. And I have to rate this as my most enjoyable volunteer experience. 

To all my peers in IHRIM, I encourage you to participate in the IHRIM volunteer program. (You must be an IHRIM member to join the volunteer group, so if you are not a member, I strongly encourage you to join!)  Find something that will interest you.  Your efforts will not only help IHRIM grow, you will also benefit from the experience, both personally and professionally.   I look forward to meeting you some day and exchanging some of these invaluable experiences.

The IHRIM Volunteer Program provides members the opportunity to become active participants in this vibrant community by sharing their skills and knowledge to help IHRIM and the HRIM profession to grow.  For more information on IHRIM’s Volunteer Program, go to http://www.ihrim.org/Community_Volunteer.html.