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

Dear Friends,

Another year has flown by and we’re preparing for 2019.  As a child I thought I’d never make it to 2000. Spoiler Alert: I made it!

In addition to a few general comments, I’m providing details of our January dinner and Board of Volunteers meeting. Please scroll down if you’d like to skip to event announcements and their links.

I’d like to thank Christine Young  for planning our last event as well as speaking. Her topic was job hunting during the holidays and she provided great information and encouragement. Thanks, Christine!

Let’s wish each other a Happy Holiday season. I enjoy this season and love the stories we hear about people doing extraordinary things for others, being so kind and selfless. We could all use more of those stories.

We have so many among us who dearly need our help and can use our time, money, blood, platelets, donated goods. There are many options and help is truly needed year-round. 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. 

I’m also aware that this is a time of loss and sadness for many. We have our own family losses at this time of year and we can’t help but associate the season with those people we loved. If you’re missing someone, my heart is with you.

Thanks to Our Board of Volunteers

Thanks to our Board for all of the work they’ve done this year. They’re all busy people and they have taken the time to determine events, contact speakers, reserve space, coordinate with hosts and speakers and lead events. They are shaping the direction of our group and I’m grateful to each friend on our Board. You can see our full list of Board Members on our site. 

Join Our Board of Volunteers Meeting January 26

Our next Board meeting is January 26, a Saturday morning, and you’re welcome to join us. Please RSVP on this page.  

Kick-Off Dinner January 16

Please join us for our next event, a dinner at Pedro’s in Santa Clara. This was the scene of our first dinner and it should be delicious and fun. Please RSVP on this page. 

Please join us on LinkedIn and Facebook. 

I hope to see you soon!

All the best,

Marcia

Marcia Stein, SHRM-CP, PHR

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

Retirement on Your Mind

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

Dear Friends,

Happy October! I hope you're well and happy.

In addition to some brief comments this note will cover our September event. 

Thanks to Christine Young and Belina Pignataro for planning our last event. Bob Loftis' topic of coaching others to manage workplace emotions was useful not only for the workplace for my personal life. Thanks to all and to our gracious hosts at TechCU.

Wednesday, November 14: Christine Young presents "Job Hunting During the Holidays"

Many companies will continue to interview during the holidays to ramp up for 2019. Amazingly, many job seekers scale back their efforts during this time, believing that companies just go dormant. As a result, job seekers miss out on valuable opportunities. 

Don’t be one of them. Learn more! In this special workshop leading by Christine Young, you'll learn how to separate myth from reality and develop effective strategies for job hunting during the holidays. 

Christine Young, a career coach/strategist, applies her business knowledge and deep understanding of the talent acquisition process to the job search. She has hired more than 5,000 people in the high-technology, medical device and pharmaceutical industries. Hewlett-Packard, Sony Electronics, Johnson & Johnson, Intel, and Silicon Valley start-ups have benefited from her career coaching, HR services, and training programs. See details and RSVP and on Eventbrite.

And now for a few words...

The Me Too and Time's Up movements along with the testimony from Dr. Blasey Ford have brought up a lot of bad memories for many women (and men) who have been sexually assaulted. A definition of sexual assault is found on Wikipedia. The Me Too site has good links for help that the Time's Up page has some statistics and resources for those who have experienced harassment. There is a sexual assault hotline and information through RAINN.

There is help out there. If you've suffered from assault, abuse, harassment, I send you my support.

Now for a few other words...

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I had cancer, surgery, chemo in 2000. And I'm here. I was aware of the issue, was on top of my screenings, fired doctors who didn't take it seriously, and was proactive in my choices. Breast cancer is very survivable when you catch it early, and early diagnosis and treatment have improved substantially since 2000. I have links regarding cancer on this site. At least 5 people in our group (that I know of) are survivors. Please take care of yourself, and if you want to talk for a few minutes, you know where to find me.

I hope to see you at our next event!

All the best,

Marcia

Marcia Stein, SHRM-CP, PHR

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

Retirement on Your Mind

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

Dear Friends,

Happy August! I hope you're well and happy.

In addition to some brief comments this note will cover our September event. 

Thanks to Pam Sheppard and Diane Cusano who planned our Summer Social. It was a hit!

Thursday, September 20: Bob Loftis presents "Coaching Others to Manage Workplace Emotions"

Often women are expected to be the nurturers in the office to help others handle their emotions. Dropping into the role of a coach can help lift this burden and assist the other person to come to terms with their feelings. See details and RSVP and on Eventbrite.

And now for a few words...

I was listening to a Senator Kamala Harris who compared the government to a table with 4 legs: the President, Congress, the Supreme Court and the Fourth Estate, a free press. If one of those legs is not working, the table will wobble.

Did you know that the free press is the only profession outside of government that is specifically protected? Our Founding Fathers knew the importance of free and open communication. They had no idea the challenges we'd face in these times! I have some additional information about vetting news sources on my other blog and refer you to the following articles:

    "Constitutional protection: The First and Fourth Amendments" https://www.rcfp.org/electronic-communications-surveillance/legal-and-regulatory-protections-journalists/constitutional-p
    "The Fourth Estate As The Final Check" https://law.yale.edu/mfia/case-disclosed/fourth-estate-final-check

I hope to see you at our next event!

All the best,

Marcia

Marcia Stein, SHRM-CP, PHR

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

Retirement on Your Mind

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

Dear Friends,

Happy July!

In addition to some brief comments this note will cover our July 18 event. 

Thanks to Linda Thompson for speaking to our group again. Her topic was "The Subtle Dynamics of Gender Bias" and it couldn't have come in a better year. Thanks to Idit Stefanson and Galina Karpinska who planned this event and to our generous host, Michele Sauvadon at Buckles-Smith.

July 18 Summer Wine and Happy Hour Social

Come on out and enjoy a relaxing evening where you will have time to chat and connect with other members and any newbies. We'll be waiting for you on the back patio where you can order drinks and food of your choice. Pam Sheppard and Diane Cusano will be there to greet you and make sure we have tables reserved. There is plenty of parking available either on the street or at the back of the building. See details and RSVP and on Eventbrite.

And now for a few words...

I'd like to refer you to two articles of interest.

The first is a potential ban on hiring spouses of people on the H-1B visa. The article is in the Mercury News, and because availability may be limited, here's a brief quote and you can look it up elsewhere if this link doesn't work. "A White House plan to ban spouses of H-1B visa holders from U.S. work will push about 100,000 people out of their jobs and hit companies with major costs, according to new research."

The second article is about companies becoming more open to sharing salaries internally. This is on Bloomberg: "Employers have long discouraged talking about money at work, in part because obscuring salary information keeps compensation costs down. But that attitude is starting to change. In a survey of almost 2,000 employers by the consulting firm Willis Towers Watson, more than half of the respondents said they plan to increase transparency around pay decisions in the next year. "

So what do you think of these articles? I hope the limit on hiring spouses on the H-1B does not come to pass. I've hired so many great people we wouldn't have found otherwise. As for sharing salary information? Even before you could see it on GlassDoor, people had been more open about their salaries and bonuses. I can see the pros and cons. You're welcome to comment on this post or on our Facebook page.

I hope to see you at our social!

All the best,

Marcia

Marcia Stein, SHRM-CP, PHR

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

Retirement on Your Mind

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

Dear Friends,

How are you?

In addition to some brief comments this note will cover our May 16 event. 

Thanks so much to Judy Pearce, Esq. for presenting "Address a Harassment Complaint with Skill & Confidence: Learn Exactly What to Do When an Employee Complains of Sexual Harassment." What a timely topic! Many thanks to our Board members Idit Stefanson and Galina Karpinska who planned and led our event.

Social Networking. We've added a Facebook page and I invite you to join us. As on our LinkedIn group, we'll post event details, articles of interest, and you are more than welcome to join the conversation.

May 16 Event: "The Subtle Dynamics of Gender Bias" with Linda Thompson. Idit Stefanson and Christine Young are our Board Members who've planned this event. You can view event information on our Event Calendar page, Facebook, LinkedIn, or go directly to the Eventbrite invitation where you can RSVP.

And now for a few words...

This month I want to address two topics. The first is "fake news" and it's a terrible problem. On my other blog about retirement, I have a page regarding fact check sites and I hope you'll find this useful. It's easy to share items on social media when it looks like it could be right, but you really do have to fact check. I'm cautious and I've been caught by this a couple of times. I'm much more careful now.

The next topic is leadership. When I provided training, I had a workshop on leadership vs. management as they are mostly different skills with some overlap. We've all seen good and poor managers, some of us have never seen good leaders in the workplace whereas others have been fortunate to see both. 

I want to give you a leadership example, one that makes me sad, inspires me, moves me endlessly. It's the kids who survived the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. These teens in the February 14 mass shooting lost 17 classmates, friends and staff members and saw 17 others wounded. These kids are my heroes. They could have gone through life scared, traumatized and too frozen to do anything. But that's not what they did.

These kids are smart, well-educated, great speakers, open to coaching, they are media savvy and understand how government works (or doesn't work) and they are out to protect us all. They have a vision, a mission, they understand how to communicate it and they are getting results. Isn't that leadership? I'm encouraged to know that these kids are our future.

One more thing: I've written a bit about them on Facebook and have seen some stunning comments knocking them for being coached in any way. It is shocking. These kids watched and/or heard the shooting, saw people being shot and saw blood flowing near them as they hid. No one should ever go through such an experience. I don't want to see one bad word about them.

That's my rant for the month! I hope to see you at our next event.

All the best,

Marcia

Marcia Stein, SHRM-CP, PHR

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

Retirement on Your Mind

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

Dear Friends,

How's this year going so far? 

In addition to some brief comments this note will cover our March 21 Event. First I'd like to thank Susan Strong for presenting her topic in January: "Women In Business: Ambition Is Not A Dirty Word." This fit in perfectly with our theme of empowering women. Many thanks to our Board member Idit Stefanson  who did the lion's share of planning this event with me.

It's easy to get stale and resist change because...well... it's just easier. I've been there, done that. We're making some great changes thanks to our wonderful Board, their ideas and time spent to implement them. 

Social Networking. We've added a Facebook page and I invite you to join us. As on our LinkedIn group, we'll post event details, articles of interest, and you are more than welcome to join the conversation.

A theme for 2018. This year we’re going to have a series of speakers and topics focusing on the theme of "Navigating Challenging Women’s Issues.” Whether we’re talking about assertiveness, leadership, the glass ceiling, harassment or any number of issues, it’s clear we need to focus on improving women’s lives professionally and personally.

March 21 Event: "Address a Harassment Complaint with Skill and Confidence: Learn Exactly What to Do When an Employee Complains of Sexual Harassment" with Judy Pearce, Esq. Idit Stefanson and Galina Karpinska are our Board Members who've planned this event. You can view event information on our Event Calendar page, Facebook, LinkedIn, or go directly to the Eventbrite invitation where you can RSVP.

April 5 HR Symposium Discount. The HR Symposium is offering our group the early bird group pricing of $199 effective through March 13, 2018. Please click here for event details and email Deborah for the discount code.

And now for a few words...

I hate to bring this up again, am truly sick of bringing this up, but we live in a society where we have to be aware of violence. Violence in the workplace, in schools, at the mall, the movies, fast food restaurants and at places of worship. It sickens me.

It is not my intention to scare you but to prepare you. There are two excellent videos available to show you what to do in the event of an active shooter. One is from 2012 and is called "Run, Hide, Fight." The other is called "Surviving an Active Shooter" from 2015. (Dates are noted as there have been many more murders since these videos were created.) Please share these videos with your family, friends, and co-workers when appropriate. I've used them in Employee Onboarding and company safety trainings. There is an excellent website Surviving an Active Shooter with more information and links.

I hope to see you at our next event.

All the best,

Marcia

Marcia Stein, SHRM-CP, PHR

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

Retirement on Your Mind

Visit our Associates and Advertising Page

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

Dear Friends,

How are you doing? I sincerely hope this will be a great year for you.

In addition to some brief comments this note will cover:
    1. Our January 17 Event
    2. Meeting for Volunteers: January 27
    3. Survey Results

I've written before about harassment complaints and how pervasive this is and where to go to learn more including the EEOC website, the SHRM site, classes, workshops or webinars. There's good training available and it's vital that you understand the topic and your role in dealing with it , both as a potential victim and as a professional.

As professionals, we owe it to ourselves and our careers to seek out our own ongoing education and stay on top of new developments, trends and legal updates. The one thing I've heard that bothers me the most is that the person's company won't pay tuition so the person doesn't take classes.

I know many HR people who have tremendous experience, participate in ongoing education, but I also know people who have no curiosity, no interest, or think they have neither need nor time to learn more about their occupation. And  you know what? This ticks me off more than most complaints because people generalize about HR people. If they encounter someone who doesn't know the law and cannot research and understand an issue, take remedial actions or proactive measures, the assumption is that no HR person is professional. You may have encountered this kind of attitude and it's there for a reason. Please don't be one of those people!

1. Our next speaker is Susan Strong and her topic is "Women In Business: Ambition Is Not A Dirty Word". Here's a statement from her topic description: "The inability to stand up for themselves and the lack of strong negotiation skills is an important barrier that is keeping women from rising in organizations." What can you learn that will help you in your career and what information can you share with others? You can view details on our Event Calendar page and save the dates of future events.

Oakwood Worldwide hosted our group in 2017 and will do so again this year. They have been wonderful to us. 

2. Our Volunteers will meet January 27, a Saturday morning. To learn more about volunteering and register to help this year, please view our Volunteers page.

3. We re-opened our short survey to learn your thoughts about our group. A summary of responses can be found by clicking here. I hope this link works for you. Volunteers will be reviewing this survey in our meetings this month.

I hope to see you at our next event.

All the best,

Marcia

Marcia Stein, SHRM-CP, PHR

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

Retirement on Your Mind

Visit our Associates and Advertising Page