Sunday, December 29, 2019

Silicon Valley Women in HR...& Friends Mailing and Event Announcement

Dear Friends,

Our last group event was planned by Jenny Vonderwerth, our new leader. I usually post a few thoughts and then go on to group information and an event update. You can scroll down to find everything.

Important Group Announcement

I have retired from the group and am helping with these announcements for a few months. Jenny Vonderwerth is leading the group and hope you'll join them in monthly meetings. We have a LinkedIn Group and are on Facebook and events are posted on Eventbrite. I hope you join us at future events and online.

A Few Thoughts

My retirement from work came at a time when I was on the bubble: I could retire or I could continue. I had options, and because we knew there were upcoming family needs, we consulted a financial advisor. We had a loved one with needs and I was the logical person to help. Those needs were unpredictable and I could not commit to a work schedule or provide live workshops and webinars.

The past three years have been sometimes routine, sometimes hectic and scary, not knowing what a phone call or visit would mean - could be a day in the emergency room or could be the doctor and pharmacy, could be physical therapy or one of many routine doctor visits.

I'm glad that my skills learned at work: resource location over the Internet, legal information, project management, were all useful.

Our loved one died in September and we have been busy with our plans to take cremains (cremated remains) to another state, manage estate paperwork, dispose of property and go through boxes of papers.

I continued to write during this time but the work is dark and I don't think I'll send it for publishing. I joined other casual groups and saw friends as I could. Not everything was difficult.

It was a huge emotional and learning experience and an important time for all of us. I will wind up writing about it on the retirement blog listed in my signature line.

Event - January 15, 2019,  6-8 PM: Don't Put Your Company in Jeopardy!

Another year has flown by and SVWHR group is preparing for 2020. Let’s kick off the new year with a fun-filled game show that will help you and your company navigate a slew of new laws and avoid traps for the unwary. The presentation will be led by Jane Kow, Principal, and Founder of HR Law Consultants. Jane will keep you and your teammates on your toes as you test your knowledge on the changes in CA employment laws, which will cover a broad range of topics from payment of wages, salary history inquiries, broader protections for employees under the CA Fair Employment & Housing Act, leaves of absence, arbitration agreements, confidentiality and no rehire provisions in separation agreements, independent contractor arrangements ... and more! Don't forget to RSVP yourself and your guests.

Event information is on Eventbrite.

Best wishes,

Marcia

Marcia Stein, SHRM-CP PHR www.linkedin.com/in/marciastein
Author: "Strained Relations: Help for Struggling Parents of Troubled Teens" "Recruiters on Recruiting” www.tellmeaboutyourself.info

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Silicon Valley Women in HR...& Friends Mailing and Event Announcement

Dear Friends,

Our last group event was planned by Jenny Vonderwerth, our new leader. It was a cookie bake and the photos on Facebook looked like a fun activity. Thanks, Jenny!

Important Group Announcement

I have retired from the group and am helping with these announcements for a few months.

Jenny Vonderwerth has since come forward to lead the group and she'll be taking it in new and exciting directions. I'm very pleased and hope you'll join them!

We’ll continue as a LinkedIn Group and on Facebook and events will be posted on Eventbrite. I hope you join us at future events and online.

Event - December 18 6-8 PM: HR Game Night

Event information is on Eventbrite. Looks like another fun event!

Best wishes,

Marcia

Marcia Stein, SHRM-CP PHR www.linkedin.com/in/marciastein
Author: "Strained Relations: Help for Struggling Parents of Troubled Teens" "Recruiters on Recruiting” www.tellmeaboutyourself.info

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Silicon Valley Women in HR...& Friends Mailing and Event Announcement

Dear Friends,

Our last group event was planned by Christine Young, Regina Robertson and me. Thank you for your work, Christine and Regina!

Important Group Announcement

We had planned our last formal meeting for October as we've had low attendance and no one stepped forward to lead the Board. (I'm retiring.) 

Jenny Vonderwerth has since come forward to lead the group and she'll be taking it in new and exciting directions. I'm very pleased and hope you'll join them!

We’ll continue as a LinkedIn Group and on Facebook and events will be posted on Eventbrite. I hope you join us at future events and online.

Event - November 20 6-8 PM

There will be a holiday cookie baking party! It should be fun and a good team-building, friendship-making evening. Click for the invitation.

Best wishes,

Marcia

Marcia Stein, SHRM-CP PHR www.linkedin.com/in/marciastein
Author: "Strained Relations: Help for Struggling Parents of Troubled Teens" "Recruiters on Recruiting” www.tellmeaboutyourself.info

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Silicon Valley Women in HR...& Friends Mailing and Event Announcement

Dear Friends,

I usually make a few personal comments on this page and if you’d like to skip to the invitation, please scroll down. 

We had a lovely summer social planned by Diane Cusano and Galina Karpinska. Thank you so much for your work!

Important Group Announcement

This meeting will be our last formal meeting (unless the group comes back in the future). Although we have over 2,400 members on LinkedIn and fantastic speakers, our attendance has been low. 

We have a wonderful Board and we’re all in life stages where the demands don’t match the time needed to lead the group. I wish I had been able to identify more people interested in volunteering and leadership. I did identify two people a few years ago but both moved out-of-state.

I was in another group that ended suddenly several years ago, and after a few years, they successfully revived the group. That may or may not happen with our group. 

This has been an almost 23 year labor of love for me. We started with a small group of women in human resources meeting over dinner and that was our format for a couple of years. We gradually added speakers, volunteers, and opened the group to other professionals and did not limit membership to women.

It was my philosophy that having a free place to go for information and networking was helpful to people at all levels of an organization, those who were working, seeking another job, unemployed and looking for a new opportunity.

Over that time, members have become friends, found/become mentors, landed new jobs, grew professionally, and learned to speak in front of a group. All of this applies to me, as well. This group has been wonderful to me: I’ve met so many wonderful people, gained knowledge, added important professional contacts and landed jobs.

We’ll continue as a LinkedIn Group and on Facebook. I hope you join us at this event and online.

Event - October 16 - Exceeding Expectations: Life and Business Lessons Learned

We’ve all learned a lot through our experiences and observations, and this is the perfect opportunity to share those lessons. Our Board of Volunteers will be sharing their experiences and thoughts, and we invite you to bring your own life/business lessons to share.

Schedule
 5:30 pm – Registration and Networking  
 6:00 -8:00 pm – Meeting and Networking

Finding the room
There is a monitor in the lobby listing the evening's events/classes and assigned room number on the wall to the left (beyond the receptionist desk) as you enter the lobby. The service desk will be open should you have questions or need directions to the room.

Let us know if you can attend on our Eventbrite page. If you’re bringing a friend, kindly register for that person, too. 

I sincerely hope to see you there!

Regards,

Marcia
Marcia Stein, SHRM-CP PHR www.linkedin.com/in/marciastein
Author: "Strained Relations: Help for Struggling Parents of Troubled Teens" "Recruiters on Recruiting” www.tellmeaboutyourself.info
Retirement on Your Mind https://retirementonyourmind.blogspot.com
Silicon Valley Women in Human Resources...and Friends www.ourhrsite.com

Friday, June 21, 2019

Silicon Valley Women in HR...& Friends Mailing and Event Announcement

Dear Friends,

I hope you’re well.

Please scroll down if you’d like to skip to our event announcement.

Many thanks to Christine Young for planning our event with Jane Kow. It was another fantastic event with a great speaker hosted by our friends at TechCU. Thank you!

I love the movies and went with a friend to see “The Best of Enemies.” It didn’t get wonderful reviews but we enjoyed and appreciated it.

This movie was based on a true story about Ann Atwater and C. P. Ellis. She was a civil rights activist and he was a Ku Klux Klan leader in North Carolina. When the segregated school for Black children was burned in 1971, the court ordered a school desegregation decree to integrate the children into one school. (Yes, it was overdue!)

The community participated in a 2-week charrette to deal with their differences and come to understand each other under the guidance of Bill Riddick. You can read a good article about him here

The main characters were fascinating and difficult, both headstrong and uninterested in dealing with each other. Their journey as guided by Bill Riddick was interesting and remarkable. I won’t spoil the ending but recommend the movie.

Why would I write about this? The methods used in the movie are helpful for dealing with interpersonal conflicts in the workplace and in our personal lives. Given the high degree of anger and angst in our society and spillover into every aspect of life, it’s good to learn some of these techniques. 

Here are the links:

UPDATED EVENT: Wednesday, July 17, 2019

We were going to have a Summer Social at Rootstock in Cupertino! See our invitation on Eventbrite and please RSVP there.

Please join us on LinkedIn and Facebook

I hope to see you soon!

All the best,

Marcia

Author: "Strained Relations: Help for Struggling Parents of Troubled Teens" and "Recruiters on Recruiting” Site

Monday, March 18, 2019

Silicon Valley Women in HR...& Friends Mailing and Event Announcement

Dear Friends,

I hope you’re well.

In addition to a few general comments, I’m providing details for our April event. Please scroll down if you’d like to skip to event announcements and their links.

Many thanks to Marilyn Messer for planning our kick-off dinner. It was a very stormy night and I’m glad some hearty souls joined us. Making those connections are so fulfilling and I was happy to have a chance to connect.

In each mailing, I write about something I hope you’ll find relevant and interesting. This time it’s about discrimination and hatred.

As a young girl, our family lived in the segregated South. The Civil Rights Movement was active and I was aware of the news and integration. My family lived in a rural area and the only Black person I knew was our grandmother’s nursemaid. (Grandma lived with us.) We were the only Jewish kids in our school and we got some comments and outright weird stuff. My parents had their own experiences with discrimination.

Our family loved musicals, and in that time period, we saw the movie “South Pacific.” There were many great songs but one in particular struck me as a child and has stayed with me. It’s called “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” by Rogers and Hammerstein and the character describes how one is taught bigotry and hatred, that it’s not inherent in us. I’m providing two links, one with Oscar Hammerstein introducing the song as a performance, and one from the stage. I hope you take a couple of minutes to view them.

We learn it from others around us, from influences such as media and websites, from people we look up to such as older family members, some religious leaders and some politicians. We’re going to have to work hard to fix this and it’s going to take time. Meanwhile, I’m wishing for peace and understanding.

Event: April 17
Jane Kow Presents "#MeToo — Now What? Effective Investigations in 2019" 

Jane Kow is a fantastic labor attorney who has presented to our group and other local professional groups and is a popular speaker. Please see the details and RSVP on our Eventbrite page. 

Please join us on LinkedIn and Facebook

I hope to see you soon!

All the best,

Marcia

Author: "Strained Relations: Help for Struggling Parents of Troubled Teens" and "Recruiters on Recruiting” Site