Reimagine...
The Employment Life Cycle is no longer 'Business as Usual'
This is not your traditional HR Conference! The employment life cycle is no longer 'business as usual', and neither is this event. Are you ready for some high-intensity (HR) interval training? MRA’s 2018 HR Conference has shorter sessions, more speakers, and will move at a faster pace, just like HR folks do!
As thought leaders, MRA’s focus for this event is: What’s new? What’s the future? What trends do you see? What should HR be thinking about differently along the employment life cycle? Come join your HR peers, set your Fitbits, and get energized! This new format will move fast, get to the main points, and help you reimagine the future of HR!
Love to attend the HR Conference but Minneapolis is too far to travel? Consider our live stream option so you can attend the HR Conference from your home or office without the travel time.
Add this event to your calendar.
Sessions
Thursday, September 20, 2018 (8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
8:05 - 9:15 a.m. - Opening Session: Get It On! What it Means to Lead the Way, Keni Thomas
Keni Thomas is a U.S Army Ranger veteran of the 'Black Hawk Down' mission. His stories of Task Force Rangers are extraordinary examples of leadership and the stories are not about Generals, Colonels or Captains - leadership is owned by each member of the team. In the pace of life it is easy to lose perspective on our value to others. Keni Thomas helps attendees see themselves in the light of 'extraordinary', to understand how your choices impact those around you, and to know what it means to LEAD THE WAY!
9:15 - 9:45 a.m. - Session 2: Bending the Talent Curve, Jim Morgan, Vice President, MRA – The Management Association
The deck seems stacked against you: aging population, lack of diversity, low fertility rates, net migration out. Combine that with generational needs that are turning wages and benefits upside-down, the impact of a country politically divided, and you have more than enough reasons to rethink your career in human resources! Don’t despair, we’ll talk it out. You will leave with a better understanding of:
- How this all evolved
- How to deal with the rapid knowledge transfer of retirements, meet the variety of benefit needs driven by different generations, better utilize educational systems to sustain a talent supply chain, and attract a diverse workforce
- What you can do to be an Employer of Choice
10:00 - 10:30 a.m. - Session 3: Talent Acquisition Game Changers, Beth Mathison, Director, Employment Services, MRA – The Management Association
The war for talent is over and the candidates won! The rules of the game have changed and employers need to shift their hiring mindsets. Technology and the 'Amazon effect' have altered the expectations candidates have when applying for positions. In this session, we’ll explore:
- Data Analytics – why 'time-to-fill' is out and the 'candidate/hiring manager experience' is in
- Connected Recruitment – why your web of influence has to expand beyond (boring) job postings
- Technology – the latest and greatest: chatbots, text, video, on-demand interviews, and more
- The link between the NFL Draft and Recruiting – a proactive approach to building your best team
10:30 - 11:00 a.m. - Session 4: Diversity & Inclusion: The Lens for Innovation, Amy S. Tolbert, Ph.D., CSP, Founder & Partner, Spectra Diversity
Many organizations want to attract "innovators" to their organization only to find their culture won’t support outside-the-box thinking or provide enough creative bandwidth to encourage innovators to stay. Creating a culture of diversity and inclusion can help drive innovation. In this session, you will learn:
- How future employee and customer demographics will dictate the need for D&I
- Why integrating D&I into existing talent functions works better than waiting for specific D&I initiatives
- How widening guard-rails that exist in an organization’s culture will foster innovation
- Unleashing the power of a "what if" culture to encourage diversity of approaches and opinions
11:00 - 11:30 a.m. - Session 5: Onboarding…Connecting a Positive Candidate Experience with a Great New Hire Experience, Valerie Grube, Recruiting and Retention Analytics Business Partner, MRA – The Management Association
Onboarding is more than just orientation, handbooks and forms to be completed. In an experience driven market, onboarding must be a process to remember rather than a boring event that is forgotten. In this session we will talk about how to increase your onboarding success rate including the following:
- When does onboarding officially begin...and end?
- Help your new hire avoid "buyer’s remorse."
- Collecting feedback: From who? How often? What do I ask?
11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Session 6: Benefits Flash Forward, Kelli Kolsrud, CEBS, Director, Research and Publications at International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Organizations that know their workforces have the competitive edge in attracting and retaining the best and brightest employees. In this session you will hear about the latest trends in benefits and the 'hottest' benefits your employees are asking for. We will discuss the pros and cons of innovative benefits like student loan reimbursement, extended bereavement leave, identity-theft insurance, transgender benefits, genetic testing, "pawternity," family planning perks, unlimited vacation, and more!
1:00 - 1:30 p.m. - Session 7: The Future of Learning: How Innovative Technologies are Enhancing Training Capabilities, TBD
1:30 - 2:00 p.m. - Session 8: Getting Ahead on the Compensation Curve! Wendi Lindberg, Compensation Director, MRA – The Management Association
In this employment environment, attracting, retaining and rewarding top talent with an effective compensation strategy is critical. Is your compensation model helping or hurting you? In this session we will take a fresh look at the future of compensation and discuss:
- How you differentiate your compensation program to be competitive.
- Are you getting the 'bang' for your total rewards 'buck'?
- How are pay equity and transparency affecting your future pay strategy?
- If maintaining 'market-based' compensation isn’t enough, what’s next?
2:00 - 2:30 p.m. - Session 9: Sorry, We’re Not Letting You Go, TBD
2:45 - 3:15 p.m. - Session 10: Artificial Intelligence: Disruptive Innovation and the Skills of our Workforce, Kathy Henrichs, Co-chair Talent Pipeline Initiative, Advancing AI Wisconsin
Artificial Intelligence is transforming our lives and has both disruptive and positive influences on the workplace. What impact will AI have on the future talent pipeline, and how will the skills of existing employees need to be re-tooled to prepare for greater integration of AI in the workplace? This session will discuss the challenges created by AI and explore how HR professionals can embrace AI to achieve greater experiences and better results for their organizations.
3:15 - 4:30 p.m. - Closing Session: CEO Perspectives on the Role of HR, Pat Staaden, COO, MRA – The Management Association (Moderator)
CEO Panelists:
- Jim Anderson, IWCO (invited)
What do CEO’s expect and need most from their HR leaders? This panel discussion will address the following issues:
- As a CEO, what do you need most from your HR leader?
- Where does HR need to help you go in the next 5 years?
- What are 1–2 initiatives HR needs to work on to better align HR to your business strategy?