For a number of years, FlashPoint has supported the WTHR Employment Opportunity Fair at the Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration. This year, we’ll again consult with job seekers on building and/or improving their resumes.
In preparation for the event on July 14, FlashPoint’s Andrea Moore will appear on WTHR channel 13, the Indianapolis NBC affiliate, to provide tips for attendess of the employment fair. Andrea will be interviewed today by Angela Cain at about 12:50 p.m.
Here are the top tips that Andrea will share about how job fair attendees can make a great first impression on potential employers.
1. Get Your Resume and Cover Letter in Order
Do your resume and cover letter represent you well?
Is your resume clear, concise, and focused?
Does your resume emphasize the right skills based on the job you’re seeking?
Is your resume accurate in terms of spelling, grammar, and punctuation?
2. Be Confident
What are your key strengths?
What are your limitations/areas for development and how do they impact your effectiveness?
Smile and feel good about what you have to offer prospective employers.
3. Develop a 30-second Commercial about YOU
Who are you, and why should a prospective employer consider you as a candidate?
The WTHR Employment Opportunity Fair is Thursday, July 14 at the Indiana Convention Center 500 Ballroom from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. To view the list of participating employers and find more information, visit WTHR’s website.
As part of the 2010 Indiana State Human Resources Conference, FlashPoint asked HR professionals to tell us about the innovative HR-related programs they have introduced at their organizations. I had the opportunity to collect these innovative ideas and present them at the conference where attendees voted for the idea they considered most innovative. While a winner was selected (to be highlighted here soon), FlashPoint thought that all the ideas deserved a little more attention. Now I get to share these exciting and innovative programs. My hope is that these “mini case studies” will inspire you and your organization to be innovative!
Innovative idea submitted by: Denise K. Pierce, President
DK Pierce & Associates provides strategic and tactical services across the entire drug life cycle and helps their clients navigate the complex healthcare environment. They are experts in sales, marketing, new product development, national account management, and reimbursement planning.
DK Pierce & Associates developed the DKP MARVELous superhero idea to creatively focus on patient access to care. The goal is to explore how their team collaborates, innovates, and takes action to live the company’s mission and values.
Here’s how it works. During a staff meeting, the team designed superhero names for each employee. Here are some examples:
Gray Matter (this person is the “brains” behind the business)
Green Vortex (this person generates business for the company)
Guano Guy (this person goes into “bat cave” mode when focusing on big projects)
Once they finalized names, the team designed each consultant’s background—identifying what makes his or her contributions integral to the business and what essential functions demonstrate the company’s values (in superhero mode, of course).
Now as they plan staff meetings, the team defines the quarterly issue theme and storyline. Each team member uses his or her superhero frame-of-mind to approach client needs and develop heroic solutions.
We think that this unique way of integrating a company’s mission and values makes tactical execution fun . . . and perhaps more importantly, meaningful. In the end, both DK Pierce and the client win.
What idea does this inspire for you and your company? Each month I’ll highlight another HR-related innovative idea. I invite you to subscribe to FlashPoint’s Blog so you don’t miss similar posts.
As part of the 2010 Indiana State Human Resources Conference, FlashPoint asked HR professionals across the state to tell us about the innovative HR-related programs they have introduced at their organizations. I had the opportunity to collect these innovative ideas and present them at the conference where attendees were invited to vote for the idea they considered most innovative. While a winner was selected (to be highlighted here soon), FlashPoint thought that all the ideas deserved a little more attention. Now I get to share the details of these exciting and innovative programs. My hope is that these “mini case studies” will inspire you and your organization to be innovative!
Innovative idea submitted by: VirginiaWhitham, VP/Director of Human Resources
Organization: Monroe Bank
Monroe Bank, a division of Old National Bank, was founded in 1892 as a community bank. With primary offices located in Bloomington, Indiana, they also serve Central and South Central Indiana with locations in Monroe, Jackson, Lawrence, and Hendricks Counties. This traditional community bank provides a variety of financial services, including: personal checking and savings accounts; business account management services; commercial, mortgage, and personal loans; personal and corporate trust services; and, investment and brokerage services.
Joellyn: Can you briefly describe your innovative HR-related program?
Virginia: Monroe Bank wanted to fully utilize the company’s intranet website software. Most organizations have an intranet which integrates with in-house products. Tracking of personnel items, outside of payroll, was done manually by HR assistants. In the last couple years we’ve reduced our department and have limited administrative support. Therefore, I had to find a way to automate our processes without adding to the bottom-line. There was no budget to expand our ADP products or to purchase an HRIS system. Instead, I’ve made full utilization of our intranet software working with IT to learn how to program our HR intranet site to host forms, processes, lists, question and answer sections, meeting requests, and our annual review process. There was no additional software expense as the resource was right in our own backyard. I invested my time, which was well worth the end result—more efficiency.
Joellyn: Why did you develop this program? What problem/situation were you hoping to address?
Virginia: I needed to address the reduction of administrative support in human resources. There was too much paperwork and not enough administrative support to do data entry and tracking of numerous personnel forms, meetings, and employee relations events. Automating our annual review process allows me to export data into Excel and generate reports by department, category, and overall results.
Joellyn: Why do you consider it innovative?
Virginia: I consider this innovative because I used internal resources that were already available. I took the time to think outside of the box, and learn a new skill myself, including how to do some very simple site programming. There was no additional software expense. We already had the technology and IT professionals willing to do some basic training.
Joellyn: What impact have you seen? How did the program address your problem/situation and how has it improved the company and/or the HR function?
Virginia: This resulted in increased responses to requests, quicker turn-around, better documentation, and better tracking of personnel issues. In addition, I now have the ability to export data into Excel for reports and data mining and have achieved overall stream-lining of the administrative work. It has improved efficiencies and our ability to manage personnel data. We have more time to address issues rather than chase paper.
What idea does this inspire for you and your company? Each month I’ll highlight another HR-related innovative idea. I invite you to subscribe to FlashPoint’s Blog so you don’t miss similar posts.
A recent blog post associated with Indianapolis Business Journal caught my attention and inspired me to comment. The author poses some thought-provoking questions about women entrepreneurs. FlashPoint has at least two of them so I shared my thoughts on the blog and want to share here with you too.
Here is a link to the post on Small Biz Matters hosted by Focus Editor Norm Heikens:
FlashPoint Principals Krista Skidmore and Andrea Cranfill at GROWCO 2011, Inc.'s "Grow Your Company" Conference
While I don’t have a ready answer to some of the questions posed, I do have an answer for this question: “Where are the wildly successful women entrepreneurs?” I know two of them. Krista Skidmore and Andrea Cranfill are cofounders and principals of FlashPoint, one of Indiana’s largest human resource consulting firms. (Disclosure: I am the marketing manager for the business and I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t enter this conversation!) Where are they? They’re out growing our business.
Jennifer Holme’s point [Jennifer authored a comment on the post too] about women not promoting themselves or actively seeking recognition might be somewhat true for FlashPoint. Beyond project deliverables, we spend a lot of time creating extra value for our clients. Client relations have always been our top priority. For us, it’s less about differentiating ourselves from male entrepreneurs or focusing on the fact that our business was started by women. It’s more about being relevant to our clients and helping them achieve their business goals. Through that process, we’re achieving ours.
In the last four months, FlashPoint has added three full-time consultants to handle our growing workload and a business development associate to further grow our client base, bringing our staff total to 16. We are soft launching a new suite of services called Clearly HR. These are streamlined services with a lower, fixed cost for small businesses, nonprofits, and municipalities. Clearly HR complements our fully customized work and was developed to fill a need that we continuously found unmet in the market.
Not only are Skidmore and Cranfill business leaders but they are community leaders serving on boards such as the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Arts Council of Indianapolis, Humane Society of Indianapolis, and Indiana Humanities.
Their talent is well-rounded, deep-seeded, and fully accessible. So, here’s FlashPoint! We’re crushing our sales goals, exceeding our client expectations, and having fun all the while. Now don’t get me wrong, we like awards and attention, and we’re working to earn some of that too.
Joellyn Detjen is marketing manager at FlashPoint and helps tell the company’s story.
As part of the 2010 Indiana State Human Resources Conference, FlashPoint asked HR professionals across the state to tell us about the innovative HR-related programs they have introduced at their organizations. I had the opportunity to collect these innovative ideas and present them at the conference where attendees were invited to vote for the idea they considered most innovative. While a winner was selected (to be highlighted here soon), FlashPoint thought that all the ideas were deserving of a little more attention. Now I get to share the details of these exciting and innovative programs. My hope is that these “mini case studies” will inspire you and your organization to be innovative!
Innovative idea submitted by: Deb Lang, Director, Training
The Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc. (Midwest ISO) is an essential link in the safe, cost-effective delivery of electric power across all or parts of 13 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Manitoba. As a Regional Transmission Organization, the Midwest ISO assures consumers of unbiased regional grid management and open access to the transmission facilities under the Midwest ISO’s functional supervision.
Coaching Certification (Peer Coaches)
Joellyn: Can you briefly describe your innovative HR-related program? Deb: The employee coaching certification program is designed to create peer coaches within the organization. The program consists of classroom training, hands-on coaching, and a final assessment before employees are given the designation of peer coach. Employees are nominated for the coaching program based on criteria including corporate reputation, degree of influence, role within the organization, and relationship skills. Coaches are given assignments that support existing development programs.
Joellyn: Why did you develop this program? What problem/situation were you hoping to address?
Deb: This program provides a resource within each division—someone who assists employees with topics ranging from how to have a career discussion with their supervisor to identifying how to strengthen leadership skills.
Joellyn: Why do you consider it innovative?
Deb: Innovation is found in providing a structured way for employees to empower other employees and, in the process, to provide a non-threatening way to discuss issues (note: coaches are provided with parameters regarding the topics they can address and topics they should refer to a supervisor or HR professional).
Joellyn: What impact have you seen? How did the program address your problem/situation and how has it improved the company and/or the HR function?
Deb: Impact is seen in two areas:
Increasing awareness of internal coaches regarding the impact coaching can have if done properly
Providing a resource to employees who can help them identify how to become stronger employees (creating a more personalized approach to development)
Although the majority of coaching engagements are through assignments made as part of development programs, coaches are now being requested by employees and, in the case of development program assignments, coaches are now seeing requests for extensions beyond the one or two pre-planned sessions. This is occurring with minimal promotion of the program within the organization.
What idea does this inspire for you and your company? Each month I’ll highlight another HR-related innovative idea. I invite you to subscribe to this blog so you don’t miss other, similar posts. Joellyn Detjen is marketing manager at FlashPoint and helps tell the company’s story.
As part of the 2010 Indiana State Human Resources Conference, FlashPoint asked HR professionals across the state to tell us about the innovative HR-related programs they have introduced at their organizations. I had the opportunity to collect these innovative ideas and present them at the conference where attendees were invited to vote for the idea they considered most innovative. While a winner was selected (to be highlighted here soon), FlashPoint thought that all the ideas were deserving of a little more attention. Now I get to share the details of these exciting and innovative programs. My hope is that these “mini case studies” will inspire you and your organization to be innovative!
Innovative idea submitted by: Deb Lang, Director, Training
The Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc. (Midwest ISO) is an essential link in the safe, cost-effective delivery of electric power across all or parts of 13 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Manitoba. As a Regional Transmission Organization, the Midwest ISO assures consumers of unbiased regional grid management and open access to the transmission facilities under the Midwest ISO’s functional supervision.
The Business Challenge
Joellyn: Can you briefly describe your innovative HR-related program?
Deb: The Midwest ISO regularly sponsors The Leadership Challenge® Workshop, which helps our employees develop their leadership skills. To supplement the content, however, we developed our own Business Challenge component. As part of the Business Challenge, we pull together cross-department and multi-level teams of Leadership Challenge® students to identify a business issue that impacts the entire organization.
Students have one month to work on the issue before presenting their findings and identifying leadership skills used in the process. They deliver their presentations to a panel of executives, who ask questions focused on leadership skills.
Following the presentations, students hand off their recommendations to the appropriate department for potential implementation. Students are required to gather data and discuss the issue with departments impacted by the issue, reducing the “surprise factor” when they receive the final product.
Joellyn: Why did you develop this program? What problem/situation were you hoping to address?
Deb: We implemented the Business Challenge for the following reasons:
Students were having a difficult time identifying how to apply what they learned in a business environment.
Executives expressed interest in being involved in The Leadership Challenge® Workshop, yet we wanted to ensure that their involvement had meaning and demonstrated the value of what students were learning.
We wanted to strengthen cross-departmental relationships and knowledge
Joellyn: Why do you consider it innovative?
Deb: The innovative piece of the program is in leaving the success of the program in the students’ hands. Students are provided with very few parameters for the exercise and the presentation. Because of this freedom, the solutions demonstrate considerable creativity. Linking it to providing an opportunity to present to executives also prompts the students to take the assignment as seriously as they would a major project for their department. The results have been impressive!
Joellyn: What impact have you seen? How did the program address your problem/situation and how has it improved the company and/or the HR function?
Deb: The challenge has resulted in raising awareness of key issues, providing additional support to business areas struggling with some of the challenges identified by students, and providing an impactful way to demonstrate the influence employees can have in shaping the organization. This exercise is also one that executives look forward to participating in.
What idea does this inspire for you and your company? Each month I’ll highlight another HR-related innovative idea. I invite you to subscribe to this blog so you don’t miss similar posts.
Joellyn Detjen is marketing manager at FlashPoint and helps tell the company’s story.
As part of the 2010 Indiana State Human Resources Conference, FlashPoint asked HR professionals across the state to tell us about the innovative HR-related programs they have introduced at their organizations. I had the opportunity to collect these innovative ideas and present them at the conference where attendees were invited to vote for the idea they considered most innovative. While a winner was selected (to be highlighted here soon), FlashPoint thought that all the ideas were deserving of a little more attention! Now, I get to share the details of these exciting and innovative programs. My hope is that these “mini case studies” will inspire you and your organization to be innovative!
The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra was formed in 1930 and today performs 200 concerts annually for more than 350,000 people. The ISO is the largest performing arts organization in the state of Indiana and one of only 17 year-round orchestras in the nation.
Professional Development Program
Joellyn: Can you briefly describe your innovative HR-related program?
Shawna: We launched a Professional Development Program in 2010 because we believe that ongoing professional development will ensure the future success of our staff members individually and collectively, as well as demonstrate a commitment to our talented, hardworking employees. The Professional Development Program establishes an incentive program for the successful completion and/or delivery of training programs over the course of each program year. Credit is given for:
Training or certification courses presented by the organization
Training or certification courses presented by external organizations based on curriculum
Continuing education/college courses
Software or other computer training courses presented internally or externally
Developing and presenting training to peers
Participation in the Community Duet Program*
Obtaining new skills or experience through program development
Holding a leadership position with a professional or community organization
Joellyn: Why did you develop this program? What problem/situation were you hoping to address?
Shawna: We had three objectives for implementing this program:
First, we wanted to capture all of the knowledge that our staff members have that is either job specific or industry specific and encourage them to share it with their team members. We facilitated a course for employees to identify what they might want to share with others. Then, we held a second training on facilitation skills.
Our second goal was to offer incentives for those who take an active role in their own development.
Third, we wanted to provide resources and mentors in the community for our employees who don’t have any internal peers in a similar function.
Joellyn: Why do you consider it innovative?
Shawna: Perhaps the most innovative aspect of this initiative is that the approval/certification of each professional development activity requires a conversation between the employee and his/her department head about the objectives and outcomes. This is developing the coaching and leadership skills of those department heads and in turn, increasing their professional development.
Joellyn: What impact have you seen? How did the program address your problem/situation and how has it improved the company and/or the HR function?
Shawna: I have been pleasantly surprised with how many staff members want to lead internal training sessions. One employee not currently part of the HR team has volunteered to help me manage the program and hopes it will lead to career growth into the training and development function.
About 50% of the staff has participated in a voluntary needs assessment and is signed up for software training, which has historically not been popular. The senior leadership of the organization is behind this initiative and is setting expectations of participation. To be successful, programs like this must be organizational initiatives rather than just HR projects.
What idea does this inspire for you and your company? Each month I’ll highlight another HR-related innovative idea. I invite you to subscribe to this blog so you don’t miss other, similar posts.
*The Community Duet Program pairs ISO employees with employees of other businesses and organizations for mutual professional development and networking opportunities. It provides both participants with a point of contact in his/her related field to discuss operational issues, strategic goals, and helps keep knowledge and skill sets current and relevant.
Joellyn Detjen is marketing manager at FlashPoint and helps tell the company’s story.
FlashPoint’s graduate assistant, Megan Crowley, found a helpful resource we want to share with you. I/O at Work: Bringing the Science Behind HR to You, collects the most recent research from established psychology, business, and I/O journals and summarizes it. This allows you to know the latest and greatest research in the human resource field without reading a lot of highly-technical research articles. Not that you can’t handle highly-technical research articles, but sometimes it’s nice to read something a little more friendly. You can even search by topic. Enjoy.
As part of the 2010 Indiana State Human Resources Conference, FlashPoint asked HR professionals across the state to tell us about the innovative HR-related programs they have introduced at their organizations. I had the opportunity to collect these innovative ideas and present them at the conference where attendees were invited to vote for the idea they considered most innovative. While a winner was selected (to be highlighted here soon), FlashPoint thought that all the ideas were deserving of a little more attention! Now, I get to share the details of these exciting and innovative programs. My hope is that these “mini case studies” will inspire you and your organization to be innovative!
Innovative idea submitted by: Laura Smith, Executive Director
Organization: Generations
As one of 16 Area Agencies on Aging in Indiana, Generations provides resources to help the aging, persons of all ages with physical disabilities, and their caregivers. Generations serves more than 3,300 clients in the Indiana counties of Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Knox, Martin, and Pike.
Step it Up
Joellyn: Can you briefly describe your innovative HR-related program?
Laura: Since March 2009, Generations staff members have been participating in “Step it Up.” This self-monitored wellness program offers participants an opportunity to set their own goals for physical activity while receiving encouragement and support from their peers as they strive to meet them. The program is set up in 12-week intervals. Participants log their physical activity daily and team captains check on team members’ progress and morale once every two weeks. Promoting increased physical activity among older adults is one of our agency’s initiatives and this program helps us do more than just “talk the talk.”
Joellyn: Why did you develop this program? What problem/situation were you hoping to address?
Laura: Four out of the six counties Generations serves rank between 73 and 90 out of 92 counties for having the worst overall health, which includes premature death and poor physical health. As a social service agency, similar to a family caregiver, our staff members tend to put their own well being last. While this may be an admirable quality, we must begin taking better care of ourselves in order to be prepared to offer the best quality of care for those who need us most. We are choosing not to become statistics.
Joellyn: Why do you consider it innovative?
Laura: I consider it innovative for two reasons; one, we were not able to find any other social service agencies in our area implementing an exercise program dedicated to wellness for their employees; and, second, as mentioned above we are modeling the behavior we are promoting among the population we serve.
Joellyn: What impact have you seen? How did the program address your problem/situation and how has it improved the company and/or the HR function?
Laura: Staff participants have logged more than 2,379 miles and 1,220 hours since the inception of this program in March 2009. Participant feedback is evidence that the program is a successful tool in improving the overall health of our staff. Participants have said, “This program helps me to stay on track and I can actually see what I’ve done and see where I need to step it up.” Others have said, “I like the accountability of logging my walking and also reading the health tips” and “I am motivated because exercise has changed my life.”
What idea does this inspire for you and your company? Each month I’ll highlight another HR-related innovative idea. I invite you to subscribe to this blog so you don’t miss other, similar posts.
As part of the 2010 Indiana State Human Resources Conference, FlashPoint asked HR professionals across the state to tell us about the innovative HR-related programs they have introduced at their organizations. I had the opportunity to collect these innovative ideas and present them at the conference where attendees were invited to vote for the idea they considered most innovative. While a winner was selected (to be highlighted here soon), FlashPoint thought that all the ideas were deserving of a little more attention! Now, I get to share the details of these exciting and innovative programs. My hope is that these “mini case studies” will inspire you and your organization to be innovative!
Innovative idea submitted by: Susan Rush, Vice President, Human Resources
Organization: Buchanan Group, Inc.
Manager’s Resource Manual
Joellyn: Can you briefly describe your innovative HR-related program?
Susan: We developed a Manager’s Resource Manual including comprehensive forms as a reference & resource for training and information on the mission, values, performance factors & behaviors, recruiting & hiring, new employee orientation, performance management, time off, safety & other workplace policies, separation of employment, and legal compliance.
Joellyn: Why did you develop this program? What problem/situation were you hoping to address?
Susan: Managers did not have a standard or any specific tools to best support, develop and review employees. Additionally, legal compliance was an issue that we needed to make sure all managers were aware of.
Joellyn: Why do you consider it innovative?
Susan: It is a one-stop tool to assist managers in handling the managerial portion of their jobs, including standardizing how we handle employees, reviews, legal compliance, etc.
It has become very widely used and referenced by the managers.
Joellyn: What impact have you seen? How did the program address your problem/situation and how has it improved the company and/or the HR function?
Susan: Managers now have a tool that they can review prior to delving into any topic to ensure legal compliance, to gain tips on handling employees with standard issues, to coach and develop them to meet/exceed expectations, to improve the performance review process. It has helped employees become better equipped to handle situations and provides managers with an immediate resource. It has helped supervisors appreciate the value of the Human Resource department and equipped both parties to better support each other.
What idea does this inspire for you and your company? Do you have a Manager’s Resource Manual?
Each month I’ll highlight another HR-related innovative idea. I invite you to subscribe to this blog so you don’t miss other, similar posts. We have more innovative ideas on our FlashPoint website.
As part of the 2010 Indiana State Human Resources Conference, FlashPoint asked HR professionals to tell us about the innovative HR-related programs they have introduced at their organizations. I had the opportunity to collect these innovative ideas and present them at the conference where attendees voted for the idea they considered most innovative. While a winner was selected (to be highlighted here soon), FlashPoint thought that all the ideas deserved a little more attention. Now I get to share these exciting and innovative programs. My hope is that these “mini case studies” will inspire you and your organization to be innovative!
As part of the 2010 
As part of the 2010 Indiana State Human Resources Conference, 
mphony Orchestra was formed in 1930 and today performs 200 concerts annually for more than 350,000 people. The ISO is the largest performing arts organization in the state of Indiana and one of only 17 year-round orchestras in the nation.
As part of the 2010 Indiana State Human Resources Conference, 
