Please tell us a
little about your professional life such as what your job entails; how you got
involved with HR technology; major accomplishments; current projects or
challenges, etc.
I quickly got involved in HRIS because of my major in
Management Information Systems. It seemed like a perfect fit and not many
people in HR at the time knew what a relational database was. Over the years I moved from being more
technical focused to business analyst work to now managing HRIS and Payroll.
Recently in my role as the Sr. Manager over HRIS and Payroll I have created a
plan for the next three years of global HRIS/Payroll system upgrades and implementations;
great for job security too. Many ideas on this plan have been helped by
attending the IHRIM conference and learning about new trends. We want to keep
up with best practices and ways to best support our employees but we need to
plan for resources. One new system we implemented last year is a global
recognition program which I will be speaking about at IHRIM in June 2014. This
year is a full plate of electronic filing, new time and attendance and
selecting a new payroll system and an applicant tracking system
for China.
When did you join
IHRIM and why?
I first joined IHRIM in 1997. I started a new job
and my manager was a member and took me to my first IHRIM Annual Conference my
second week on the job because someone else was too busy with a project.
What is the greatest
value you get from your membership?
I would say both the connections I have made and
the learning sessions at the annual conference.
Is there any advice
you would give other members?
Take advantage at the conference to connect with others and link with
them because there will be a time when you or they can benefit from connecting
again.
What was the primary reason(s) you became an IHRIM volunteer and joined
the Volunteer Connections Group?
IHRIM over the years has always provided me with
many opportunities for learning both about technology but also how to grow in
the world of HRIS. I wanted to be able to share my knowledge and help enhance
that opportunity for newer members.
Please describe your IHRIM volunteer experience as a session coordinator
for the conference.
I have
presented three times at IHRIM in the past and really appreciated the session
coordinator’s help during those times. I thought it would be great to be able
to help someone else presenting for the first time knowing what it was like to
be in that position. Being a session coordinator gave me the opportunity to see
sessions I normally would have not have selected; so I learned about some new
areas. Then I was still able to have the conference CD so I wouldn’t miss out
on the sessions I normally would have attended.
What have you enjoyed most about your volunteer experience(s)?
The people! It really is
amazing how smooth everything runs with mostly just volunteers. Everyone is
working hard to make it a great experience for the attendees.
How do you see being a volunteer benefiting your career?
Keeping connected with
IHRIM keeps me up to date on the latest ideas and trends. This way I can be the
first to bring them back to my company or at least I am knowledgeable when my
VP brings them up in a meeting. “Have you heard about xxx?” Volunteering and
expanding my network gives me more ability to reach out to others when I run
into tough spots and need advice from others in HRIS.
Any other
perspective you want to share with the IHRIM audience?
Even if you don’t
volunteer I encourage IHRIM members to be involved. This might be asking
questions in sessions at the annual conference, participating in webinars, or
posting/commenting on questions in CORE.
One final
question - if you could meet one person in your lifetime who would it be and
why?
Well it would be hard
because he has already passed on but it would be Gene Roddenberry. He was such
a visionary of what the future could be like. Almost all of the technology on
Star Trek, outside of the super-fast space travel, has come to life. Here are
just a few items communicators, disks for computers, computers that talk to you
and take commands from you, computers that hold all the history and information
of the past not to mention all the medical equipment. It’s amazing the speed of
technology advancement over the last 20 years, let alone since Star Trek was
first aired in the 60’s. I just hope the actual space travel part will come
true and maybe I will get to experience it in my lifetime. For more information on IHRIM’s Volunteer Program and how you can get involved, go to http://bit.ly/IHRIM_Volunteer_Program.
