How Important is Wellness to an Organization?

Rose Ford of Cuyahoga County Library System introduced me to the propfessional group for Public Employees it is called IPMA-HR. Ms. Ford is the President of the group. Going in I didn't know what to think about this organization. I had never heard of it and wondered if they be would be accepting of someone who was not already in HR?

This group was far more intimate than other professional associations in that, the group was far smaller and it seemed everyone in the room truly knew each other.

The speakers were very engaging. I learned a lot of things I will be able to use professionally. Let me explain.

Understanding that wellness is an important part of any companies strategic and integrated plans is crucial to costs. According to Constance Beutel, Wellness Coordinator from Medical Mutual of Ohio, 75% of all health costs come from preventable diseases e.g alcohol abuse, blood pressure and body weight. If a company can institute a wellness program by asking people to join and quite possibly offering incentives the results, at least monetarily can be immediate. By proposing that employees participate many health care insurers premiums can be minimized.

Who should participate?

Everyone should participate. Usually within a company the vast majority of people live healthy lifestyles. It is only about 20% of people who subsist on McDonald's and refuse to wear a seatbelt while driving. But what about the people who go for checkups regularly and drink three glasses of milk a day? These are the no/low risk individuals whom Ms. Beutel says we should focus on. Make sure they get their 10,000 steps a day and learn how to handle on the job stress easily. In other words healthy people need programs too.

When and how should these programs happen?

Most employers know when people are not in the workplace they can't control for situations. For that reason programming should be set during work hours. Perhaps, a group leader can be chosen to chair and chart progress. This person should be someone the group would like to work with. Someone who has motivating factors about themselves and someone the group can trust.

What are the challenges of having a Wellness Program?

There are two main challenges to a Wellness program. One challenge is employees may believe the organization is being paternalistic and trying to manage their lives.

The other may come from the organization itself. Some companies may not see the value or understand the ROI in implementing Wellness programs.

The HR department must make both the employee and organization understand the benefits and values of the program.

Information on wellness programs can be found at:

http://www.healthyohio.org/wellnesscouncil/

This Not for Profit agency is based in North East Ohio. It is a resource for any department wanting to implement a Wellness program.

Seizing the Day with Dr. Earnest Carpadiem

This morning's SHRM meeting was all about being motivated. This skill is great for everyone. In my previous post I wrote about the fact I hate pity parties. Not only do they bring you down mentally but they wear you out physically.

The speaker brought some much needed humor to this weary job seeker.

I met two great professionals today. One was from Staffing Solutions. Sarah Knudson is the Recruitment Manager. She was very helpful and listened to me explain my situation. I did not mean to monopolize her time, but I just never seem to be able to meet as many professionals in one place.

I also met the HR Manager for Horsburgh & Scott(Monica Priester). She is so young and says she sort of fell into the field of HR. I guess when you are not trying things have a way of happening. Maybe I'll stop trying then I'll get all kinds of offers.

This Week's Setbacks

After Monday I only believed the week could get better. I had three possible job prospects. Of those three one was a full time position and the other two were with temp agencies.

The full time position after two weeks of telling me I would be granted a telephone interview with them decided to go with another candidate. I don't know why companies don't have a professional courtesy to call/email/write a form letter to you, to let you know you are no longer being considered. I do know one thing, when I finally am in HR I will remember what it feels like to be a job seeker. I know it is impossible to contact each individual, however once you are contacted for the interview and nothing comes of it maybe someone should call to let you know you are not going to be interviewed.

Now that I have that off my chest, I am going on with Friday's better news. At the Jobseekers' Meeting at St. Paul's Church I was speaking with the moderator about my job woes. I like him. He is very much like myself, in that he is not going to allow you wallow in despair. He's not touchy feely and he doesn't have time to listen to you throw yourself a pity party.

Although I must say I tried having one of those parties maybe twice. I didn't like the person in attendance and chose to join a new crowd.

It will be better this week.

Human Resources Management Here I Come

I finished my class in Human Resource Management. This class is offered by SHRM for people who are either in HR already and would like help in passing their PHR test or for people like me who want to transition into HR.

I used it as an AP Human Resource class. It brought me up to date as to what the trends are in Human Resources and how to apply them to my new profession.

I will enter my certificate on the site in the coming days. I am so proud of myself.

Every Monday's Moaning

Well, here it is Monday May 7, 2007. I went into the weekend upbeat with a sense of on Monday I'll receive at least one call back. I have been doing what every recruiter has said for a while i.e. call a few HR professionals whether they have a position to offer or not. I called about six on Friday. I was on a roll.

I gave them a brief synopsis of myself. Who I am, what I can offer, how it will be accomplished. All the six were very nice and seemed as if they were interested. I know that I will not receive a call back in 15 minutes (although that would be nice). I just want this process to be over with.

I talked to an area company on Thursday that does third party hires for Lincoln Electric. The recruiter seemed as enthusiastic as me when it came to the position. I first spoke with Amy who said she would pass along my resume. I got antsy when no one returned my call on Friday, so what did I do I called Melissa. Melissa was so nice. She said she would send it over immediately and call as soon as they decided on whom they (Lincoln Electric) wanted. Apparently, the company is still perusing the candidates.

I am also still waiting for the other temp to hire position being offered by Alliance Staffing. The recruiter had a family emergency therefore, I'll let her get back in the swing of things before I contact her.

Finally I'm still waiting on my telephone interview to take place with a large Cleveland area law firm. I can tell they really need me there. I have been rescheduled three times for that interview.

OK no more complaining. This is a going to be a great week. My last day of classes is today and unlike the undergrad years there are no life altering finals. I was able to take this class at my leisure and you know what? I think I learned more that way.

Until tomorrow.

My meeting with Rose Ford

I was referred to Rose Ford by a librarian friend of mine Carol Johnson-Russell. Ms Ford graciously took time out of her busy day to meet with me and answer my questions about entering Human Resources.

Ms. Ford is also a different kind of contact for me, as she is in the public sector. She is the Assistant HR Director for Cuyahoga County Library System. I have been speaking primarily with private sector HR professionals.

Ms. Ford has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and a graduate degree in Public Administration with a focus in Human Resources.

As she looked over my resume she noticed that my undergraduate degree is in Sociology. She said that would be helpful to me in this field. She said Sociology teaches important skills e.g. Organizational Development and Succession Planning. I just learned about this in my HR class.

Organizational Development (OD)Process of enhancing the effectiveness of an organization and the well-being of its members through planned interventions.


Strategic Management Processes and activities used to formulate HR objectives, practices, and policies.


Ms. Ford also told me about an organization that is dedicated to the Public Sector HR Professional. It is called International Public Management Association for Human Resources. Also called IPMA. http://www.ipma-hr.org/content.cfm?pageid=1
I do plan to network there at their next meeting on May 30th.


I asked Ms. Ford a few questions:


"What characteristics would she say make the best HR professionals?'

She said they must have strong interpersonal skills. She also says a professional needs to know the laws governing the profession as well as have the proper skills and abilities to perform the job. However, she reiterated if you are not able to interact with a diverse group of people this profession may not be for you.


"Do you use a question that sort of seals the deal in regards to a candidate?"

Ms. Ford said no, she does not necessarily have a question like that, however she does look for how customer focused her candidate is. She wants to make sure the candidate knows about the company possibly even understands the structure of the company. Have they read the job description? Do they know what the position entails?


"If you were recruiting me for a position within your HR department would you say my skills are transferable?"

Here are some of my skills:

• Responsible for all Human Resource duties for location
• Manage and objectively review a staff of ten
• Manage recruiting, testing, interviewing and performing background checks
• Process paperwork (Action Forms) and add new hires to the database
• Train and schedule all employees
• Calculate timecards, process payroll and maintain accurate employee records
• Handle conflicts as well as communicate and implement policies to employees

She answered a resounding yes.

I am glad someone said yes, I was beginning to doubt myself.

All in all a great meeting with a very gracious lady. Once again, if I can interview this well (whenever I finally get an interview) I believe I may have a job offer.

Reruiting as an Option?

I was able to speak with an HR Professional from a North East Ohio Biotech Company. She gave me great advice on how to transition into HR, namely the recruiting side. I asked her many questions and she answered them all willingly. I am glad I was able to speak with a recruiter. I have been speaking primarily with Generalists. Recruiting is a side I have honestly not thought about. She thinks I might be good in the role of a recruiter, who knew?!

This professional began in the field about ten years ago. She thinks corporate recruiting is a very gratifying career. She has career flexibility and the job still seems very satisfying to her. She said something to me most other professionals I have been speaking with would disagree with, she said: "Cleveland's job market is good right now." Well, I hope it gets better for me...

I asked this recruiting professional:

• "What characteristics would she say make the best HR professionals?"

She told me drive, motivation, determination, persistance, ability to be able to communicate well with management, as well as ability to give or receive feedback from management.

• "What surefire interview question she uses when she wants to know if she's chosen the best candidate?"

She says she doesn't have one, however she did tell me that some companies are leaning toward a targeted selection type interview. I learned about this in my class. We called them:

Behavioral Interview- Type of interview that focuses on how applicant previously handled real work situations. Same concept different name.

I found a great site that helps with targeted interview questions. http://www.pacificu.edu/offices/hr/training/interview/pdfs/TargetedSelection.pdf

A site like that will be able to help me because I don't believe I am a great interviewee.

Whenever I finally do get to interview somewhere hopefully the interview will be as stress free as my chat today.