Our HR Site

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

Friday, November 17, 2017

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

Dear Friends,

How are you doing? It's almost Thanksgiving and I have a few things to cover.
1. Thanks for last month.
2. Next event: December 13 year-end dinner
3. Request to complete our survey.

1. Belina Pignataro and Christine Young, SPHR planned our last event and Dr. ArLyne Diamond was our speaker. Her topic was "HR Adds to the Bottom Line" and it was a reminder to know what value you bring and how to express it. Many thanks to our friends at Oakwood who have provided us event space and treats.

2. Our next event is the December 13 Year-End Dinner. We'll be ordering off the menu at Tao Tao in Sunnyvale. Please click here for our invitation. It is a great way to catch up and get to know each other a little better. I am sorry it lands on Chanukah this year but time constraints are not kind to all of us.

3. We are re-opening our short survey to learn your thoughts about our group. Ou r initial response was so low that we want to expand your time to respond. If you already completed it, please do not do so again. It's available through January 17 and we want to hear from you! Please click here to participate.

I hope to see you at our December 13 dinner!

All the best,

Marcia

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

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

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

Dear Friends,

How are you doing? I have a lot to cover so I'm going to put a number next to each topic.
1. Thanks for last month.
2. Reminder about charitable giving.
3. Breast Cancer Awareness and a new page with tips.
4. A few thoughts on sexual harassment.
5. Request to complete our survey.
6. Our November 15 Event with Dr. ArLyne Diamond.

1. Kirti Mehrotra and I planned our last event. Mary Jeanne Vincent was our speaker and she presented information about the importance of negotiation skills and how much you lose out over time if you do not negotiate. Many thanks to Kirti and Mary Jeanne, and thanks to our friends at Oakwood who have provided us event space and treats.

2. Last month I wrote about community needs and charitable organizations. Given how much devastation we saw in the fires, you might want to revisit that post.

3. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and as a 17-year survivor, it's close to my heart. Having good doctors and being proactive are key to getting through it all. I've added a new page to our site with tips for cancer patients.

4. Sexual harassment cases are coming out of the woodwork! Providing the 2-hour mandatory workshops for supervisors and a modified 1-hour workshop for employees was a huge part of my business for the last several years. Each HR person I met had stories of complaints and investigations, and we know that a lot still goes unreported. You know the "me, too" campaign? Well: me, too. I'll have to write another post about that as it's a big topic with a lot of different facets. I'm glad women (and men) are getting braver about sharing their experiences and I think some people will be concerned about even talking with a woman.

5. We are conducting a short survey to learn your thoughts about our group. It's available through October 31 and we want to hear from you! Please click here to participate.

6. Our next event is November 15 with ArLyne Diamond, Ph.D.'s presentation: "HR Adds to the Bottom Line." Please click here to read all about it and RSVP if you're coming.

I hope to see you at our next event!

All the best,

Marcia

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

Sunday, September 10, 2017

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

Dear Friends,

How are you? How's your summer?

Our last event was planned by Pam Sheppard and me. Our wonderful speaker was Ching Valdezco and her presentation was about improving communication. As a trainer, I thought she was spot-on and she had some wonderful tips. To learn more about Ching's employer, Exec-Comm, check out a sample chapter of their book, Simply Said: Communicating Better at Work and Beyond.

Thanks, Ching and Pam!

It sure seems our world is in need of some help and repair, doesn't it? In our country alone, with hurricanes battering Texas, Florida and maybe more states to come it's been a challenging time.

A few years ago, I was privileged to work as a career coach at Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley ("JFSSV"). This work was enabled by a grant which only lasted a year, and we were in a depression. I helped many of my clients find jobs. This kind of work is very gratifying, and I was also impressed to see what JFSSV did with a very small staff, a lot of volunteers, and not a ton of money. They have many types of programs that help the community at large. Honestly, it was one of the best places I ever worked.

Seeing how much an organization can help individuals and families, therefore helping our community at large, it impressed on me even more the value of such organizations.

During a time when our country's budget will be strained by helping Texas, Florida, and other impacted states, non-profits step up to help fill the void. I've been told by some people they don't donate to the Red Cross due to the situation a few years ago, but they have new leadership and a good bill of health. They have infrastructure and know how to distribute goods and run a huge operation. There are many other organizations that do great work in their communities.

Each dollar you donate will be used and it's very much needed. I suggest that before you give, be sure the organization spends more of the money on their mission and not their internal operations. Here are some great sites:

1. Charity Navigator has a lot of information about selecting charities, things to look for, tips and so on. They do not rank charities unless they meet certain criteria, so not all organizations are listed, even though they may be perfectly sound. Charity Watch rates charities and has a lot of interesting information.

2. KQED Forum had an excellent program called "What to know before you donate to hurricane victims" and you can listen online or download a podcast.

3. Here's an excellent article about donations that help and those that hinder.

4. Through Amazon Smile, you can choose a a charity that will get a small sum when you order through their link. If you have a Lucky's Reward card, you can select a charity to support and they get a small sum when you buy groceries. With a Causes Charity Gift Card you can donate to your choice of one million charities including one of my favorites, Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley.

5. If you're near a CoinStar machine, you can donate directly to charitable organizations.

Our next event is September 27 with Mary Jeanne Vincent presenting "5 Reasons Salary Negotiations Fail." Please click here to read all about it and RSVP if you're coming.

I hope to see you at our next event!

All the best,

Marcia

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

Thursday, June 29, 2017

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

Dear Friends,

How are you? How's your summer?

Our last event was planned by Diane Cusano and Kirti Mehrotra. Arda Ozdemir presented "Women's Self-Empowerment Movement," and this was another one of those talks I really needed! I've learned some relaxation techniques which should serve me well. Crafthouse Cocktails had a table set up for tasting and I thank everyone for this great event.

As I mentioned before (you may have missed it) I'm semi-retired. That means I'm not actively marketing but will provide some training if contacted. I'm still working with this group and encouraging our volunteers. This is a wonderful team! I have a blog about retirement. I'm also helping an elderly relative. (You can read a bit about that on my other blog.)

Because retirement is liberating, I can write more openly about some issues in HR and local companies.

I have to write about Uber. They had already been dealing with complaints and actions regarding employment classifications and wages when Susan Fowler, a former employee, wrote a scathing blog post outlining the harassment and sexism she experienced at Uber. The company hired former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate and make recommendations, and they reviewed over 200 complaints resulting in the firing of 20 people.

Sidenote: why wouldn't they have hired a great local attorney like Jane Kow or Allison West? They've both presented at major conferences, both have stellar reputations, have local resources and probably don't have the same fee structure as Mr. Holder.

Considering the wretched mess that happened at Uber, the fallout will continue for some time. The CEO stepped down, they lost many people in management, they are paying a fortune in fees and will probably pay out a lot of money in legal actions. They have to change their corporate culture and repair their reputation with customers who deleted the Uber app.

And it was all so avoidable, don't you think?

Our next event is July 19 with Ching Valdezco presenting "Simply Said: Communicate Better at Work and Beyond." Please click here to read all about it and RSVP if you're coming.

I hope to see you at our next event!

All the best,

Marcia

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

Monday, May 1, 2017

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

Dear Friends,

Happy May! Is it just me or is the year zooming ahead?

Our last event was planned by Pamela Addie and Mahi Saraf. Linda Lubin Thompson presented "No Bragging Required: Getting the Recognition You Deserve" and she was simply wonderful. I told her she should be a TED speaker. Crafthouse Cocktails had a table set up for tasting and I thank everyone for this great event.

I like to have a little personal message in these notes, and I have a special one this time around. I've been planning for retirement for some time and I'm semi-retired. What's that mean? It means that I'm not actively soliciting business but will do training when asked. I still love it.

I will continue to be involved with our group and work with volunteers so that when the time comes, willingly or unwillingly, to turn over the leadership, there are people who can step up and take over. Succession planning is so important, isn't it? I've been very impressed by our volunteers!

Because we'd been thinking about the coming years and what retirement is, what it means in daily life, I had started to collect weblink and I decided to organize them on another blog about retirement. I'm also helping an elderly relative. (You can read a bit about that on my other blog.)

As retirement liberates me, I plan to write about where I think HR is going, what we do well, what we need to improve upon, and I'm not going to be shy about criticism. Many of my thoughts pertain to other fields, as well.

Our next event is May 17 with Arda Ozdemir presenting "Women's Self-Empowerment Movement." Please click here to read all about it and RSVP if you're coming.

I hope to see you at our next event!

All the best,

Marcia

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

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

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

Dear Friends,

Happy March!

Our next event is Linda Lubin Thompson presenting "No Bragging Required: Getting the Recognition You Deserve." Crafthouse Cocktails will have a table set up for tasting. This will be held March 15 and details with the RSVP link are on our event page.

We had a wonderful time at our 20th Anniversary Champagne Brunch. What a lovely group of people. I'm so glad we had a little time to get to know each other.

This group gave me everything: a good reputation, a brand, job leads, a professional network, ongoing education and what I value most of all, friendship. I've met so many people I would not have met in any other way.

I've seen people new to our profession grow from entry-level to directors, business partners, owners of small companies. I've also seen people move on to their next stage of life, retirement. We've lost members over the years and we've supported people who were ill.

It has been beyond anything I could have imagined when we had that first dinner 20 years ago and I thank you all. I can't tell you how much it meant to me to have this event and celebrate with you.

Thanks to our planners who guided, provided ideas, made calls, picked up items and made our brunch look beautiful. They include ArLyne Diamond, Diane Cusano and Trudy Schapansky.

Our models borrowed clothes from Designers Corner and did a great job of modeling. They looked fantastic! Thanks to ArLyne Diamond, Diane Cusano, Pam Sheppard and Tess Lorico and to our friends at Designers Corner who generously provided discounts to party-goers.

So many people stayed to put away tables, chairs, consolidate dishes and clean up everything. This was a great team and so very kind and helpful.

I hope to see you at our next event!

All the best,

Marcia

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