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    2014 COLORADO STATE SHRM STUDENT CONFERENCE

    The Spring 2014 Student Conference was held on April 12, 2014 at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. Over forty five students, faculty advisors and guests from six of the ten State Student Chapters attended. 

    After networking over coffee and bagels, attendees settled-in to an engaging presentation by SHRM Southwest Regional Director Scott Ferrin on “The Future of HR in the Workplace”. This was promptly followed by an enlightening interactive case exercise by Dr. Milan Larson on “Constructively Providing Employee Performance Feedback”. Next we were then treated to an excellent presentation by Ms. Lindsay Greeno, the Human Resources Director at Wolfe Robotics, on “What Is It Really Like to Work in Human Resources?”     

    Attendees then partook of a tasty buffet luncheon arranged by the local Student Chapter and engaged in small group discussions of the morning’s content and some more networking. The last presenter of the day was Ms. Ruth Pankratz, who did an excellent job covering the very relevant topic of “How to Write Your Resume So That It Stands Out” and “How To Use Social Media to Get Noticed by an Employer”.

    If you missed this Conference, you really missed-out on a worthwhile fun experience, some great information that could advance your career and a fantastic opportunity to network with your peers from throughout the State!

    We are in the early planning stages for this Fall’s Student Conference that will tentatively be hosted by a Denver-area Chapter! More news as things progress and we hope to see you there!

    JUNE 2014 UPDATE: STUDENT CONFERENCE SURVEY RESULTS

    Following the Conference, attendees were asked to participate in a survey focused on identifying what worked at the Conference and what could be done differently at the next Conference, and the results are in!!!

    Individuals reported attending the Conference for a variety of reasons -- the primary one being to “support the organization”, but also to “network” and because “the topics sounded interesting”.

    Overall, attendees reported being “satisfied” with the event, most were happy with the speakers, the time devoted to each presentation (45 minutes) was right on target, and the overall length of the Conference ended-up looking like a “bell curve” with the overwhelming majority approving of a 9:00-2:00 timeframe.  

    There was a strong consensus for having two Conferences per year and a unanimous opinion that the Conferences should rotate around to the various campuses in the State. Attendees were also open to a variety of presentation formats ranging from individual speakers to panel discussions to small group exercises.

    Topics suggested for future Conferences included: performance appraisal systems, how to evaluate the offer of an international job assignment, the SHRM Assessment of Learning exam, identifying HR openings that would be appropriate for an internship or new graduates, legal issues that a new HR person might encounter on the job and how to handle them, employee retention and managing employee interactions from an HR perspective.

    Things attendees liked about the Conference included: having the opportunity to network with other students and experienced HR professionals, the information presented and that the Conference session was well-organized and ran smoothly.  

    Things attendees would like to see improved included: better advance communication regarding the Conference specifics, having an Agenda well in advance of the Conference and managing any “break-out” sessions a little differently (allowing more time for the exercise and maybe having more of them to encourage group interaction).

    Dani and Bill want to give a “BIG THANKS!!!” to those of you who took the time to complete the survey and your feedback will hopefully help us to make future Conferences meet your needs even better!

    Lastly, a huge “THANK YOU!” to Phil and his group at UNC for all of the hard work they put into hosting this Spring’s Conference -- the feedback regarding their efforts was overwhelmingly positive!!!