President's Message

It was great to see and meet so many members at our ‘Welcome to HRMA Orientation’ on September 13 at Champp’s.  There was a lot of great conversation, networking and discussion on how to become more involved in HRMA.  If you were not able to attend and you are a new member or a current member wanting more information on how to utilize your resources and be more engaged within a committee, please contact the HRMA office.

One of the topics I heard in many of the conversations was recruiting and retaining employees.  Once a month, the U.S. Department of Labor issues a report on the change in unemployment rates for the nation’s 367 metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) from year to year.  While the nation as a whole saw unemployment go down 0.4% over that period, no Wisconsin MSA could match that.  Racine came closest with a reduction of 0.3%, placing it 192nd in the country.  As employers, focused on recruiting and retaining employees, this information might be surprising.  Many companies are taking additional steps to attract and retain their employees, as well as reenergize their talent acquisition efforts.  The employer market prevalent just a short time ago, for many has turned to an employee market.  Candidates are much more selective in their job search, based on increased number of opportunities available and the competitive recruiting, benefits and compensation markets currently in effect. 

Are you aware of the best practices currently in place at other companies and how will you stay ahead of industry trends and techniques within recruitment?  Many members are currently faced with this question and have looked to HRMA for the answers.  At this time, HRMA does not have a dedicated committee for recruitment; however, based on your feedback and requests, we realize the need for this focus.  In response and to align with the goal of Serving the Professional (STP), HRMA will be unveiling a new committee before the year end focused on Recruitment and Retention.  Please watch for more updates on this committee, its mission and how you can become more involved!

As you gear up for Fall and fourth quarter, you may be to focused on budgets for 2007, wrapping up the to do list that seemed so attainable in January of this year or maybe you are planning an end of year development opportunity.  If this is the case, don’t forget about the upcoming HRMA webinar on October 25 or one of the many upcoming SHRM conferences.  October is a busy for SHRM, offering a Strategic HR conference, the WI State SHRM conference, or the SHRM National Diversity conference. 

I hope to see you at an upcoming program or HRMA event soon and don’t forget to say hello!

Best Regards,

Zachary Misko
President

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