At New Focus HR, part of our business is to share our knowledge with others through speaking engagements. Some of the available presentations are listed below. However, if you have an organization that needs a speaker and do not see the desired topic listed, New Focus HR has the ability to design a program for you.
Speaking engagements include events sponsored by the following associations and organizations:
- Indiana Chamber of Commerce
- Indiana CPA Society
- Indiana Small Business Development Centers
- Indiana State Council for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
- Indiana Telecommunications Association (ITA)
- Various Indiana State Chapters for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
- Various Indiana Chapters of Payroll Associations
- Various Economic Development Corporations (EDCs)
- Various Chamber of Commerce organizations
Leadership Series
Why Businesses Need HR: The “Top 10” Mistakes that Lead to Lawsuits and Financial Exposure
Do you face daily challenges with your employees? Are your HR practices and policies compliant with both state and federal laws? Do you interpret your HR policies and practices fairly and consistently with all employees? These are questions that all business owners should be continuously asking themselves.
In this session, participants will learn that employment-related mistakes result in costs to the organization, i.e. lost productivity, efficiency, effectiveness, sales and revenues, and decreased profitability. They will be able to recognize the “top 10” mistakes that businesses make that lead to lawsuits and financial exposure to include their failure to understand employment-at-will, their lack of knowledge when it comes to employment laws, lack of skill and patience in hiring and poor employee communications, to name a few.
Participants will also be able to recognize that employees are the only true unique component of any organization and that they can help it grow and prosper as well as fail and die. Thus, the investment in effective HR practices and functions and professional advice is as critical to the success of an organization as having the right equipment, materials, products and processes. Those companies that have effective HR practices and policies are more likely to have high trust levels, good communication, high employee commitment, clear lines of sight and the ability to effectively manage change. All business owners, Presidents, CEOs, COOs, CFOs, Managers and employees involved in the human resource function within their organization would benefit from attending this informational session.
Employee Engagement and Today’s Workforce
Are your employees satisfied or are they engaged? There is a distinct difference between employees who are satisfied with their jobs and those who are engaged in the organization. It has been proven that the employees’ connection to the organizational strategy and goals, acknowledgement for a job well done, and a culture of learning and development foster high levels of engagement in an organization.
Without a workplace environment for engagement, turnover will increase and efficiency will decline, leading to low customer loyalty and decreased shareholder value. So, it is vital to foster positive, effective people managers along with workplace policies and practices that focus on employee well-being, health and work/life balance.
This session will assist HR professionals, managers and leaders of organizations in determining if they are employing an engaged workforce or one that is just satisfied with their job. The session will provide them with practical ideas for assisting in increasing overall levels of employee engagement.
Business Communications for Leaders
Do you communicate with others regularly in your job? Do you think about the delivery and timing of your message as well as the characteristics of your audience prior to sending your message? Most of us don’t and for that reason, among others, results in communication breaking down within our organization.
Learning the art of giving effective criticism, speaking assertively, stopping the slang, using humor and communicating bad news are critical to communicating effectively. In addition, learning the do’s and don’ts of face-to-face, business calls, email, blogging, cell phones, teleconferencing, video conferencing and written communications is essential. However, even more important in today’s workplace is understanding the differences between how genders communicate as well as cultural diversity.
Leaders who are sensitive to their own communication responsibilities within their organization will see the benefits of effective communication through increased initiative, teamwork, accountability, quality, productivity, consistency and safety, to name a few. Plan to attend this session and you too can help to improve all of these things within your organization by learning how to be a better communicator.
Delegating for Results
Are you an effective delegator? If so, how well do you delegate? If not, do you understand “why” you are not? Most managers don’t have the right skill set to be good delegators. They don’t understand that delegation includes transferring both responsibility and accountability for the task or job. However, once a manager has gone through the necessary steps for successful delegation, they are able to see the benefits of their time and efforts.
This session will provide you with the information necessary to become a master at the art of delegating for positive results.
Utilizing Effective Motivational Skills
Do you feel like you sometimes lack motivation in your job or at home? Do you know why you lose motivation? Lacking motivation has a direct relationship with losing self confidence and your ability to set goals. So, how do we boost our self confidence to increase our level of motivation?
Maximizing our motivation increases self confidence and allows us to set goals. This session will help you to understand the three levels of goal setting and teach you how to break them down into lifetime goals to include: career, education, family, financial and physical, to name a few. Knowing how to set SMART goals, staying on course with your plan and periodically reviewing your plan will help you to achieve your goals and ultimately keep you motivated.
This session is for anyone interested in increasing their motivational level to boost their self confidence in order to either reconnect with their life’s goals or identify goals for the future.
Human Resources Series
HR Metrics: Are they truly your bottom line advantage?
As an HR professional do you actively seek to add value to your organization? Do you understand the business goals of your organization and the strategy for achieving those goals? Do you have an HR strategy that aligns with the organization’s goals? Have you selected metrics to measure the success of your HR department?
This session is designed for all HR professionals who have a desire to learn more about what it takes to become a strategic HR business partner in their organization. We will discuss things that you need to know to become a strategic partner as well as your role in aligning the HR strategy with the business goals. We will learn how to implement HR metrics to measure success and identify those that have the highest financial returns. By the end of the presentation, you will be able to answer the question, HR Metrics: Are they truly your bottom line advantage?
Creative Solutions for the Modern Workplace: Flexible Work Arrangements
Are flexible work arrangements (FWAs) right for your organization? Do you have a complete understanding of what a FWA is and how to develop a business case for FWAs? If not, come to this exciting presentation to learn more about FWAs and why employers need to start to think about the benefits of offering them to their employees. Find out why research has shown that companies with FWA programs have a more productive environment, happier employees and ultimately a higher return on their investment. For those employers who want to learn more about attracting, motivating and retaining employees, this is a must attend event.
Staying Out of Trouble and Increasing Your Organizations’s ROI at the Same Time
Many companies have job descriptions, but what do those job descriptions actually tell you about your organization? Do they truly reflect the essential tasks and responsibilities that are being accomplished in that job or are they written around the incumbent? Do they reflect the essential competencies that everyone should have in your organization and that each job should entail? Are they classified correctly according to the new guidelines of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) with regards to exemption status? Are they compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA)? Who is managing the “white” space on your organizational chart?
Learn the answers to these questions to help determine if your organization is effectively utilizing their resources to the fullest potential in order to get the desired ROI.
Compensation and Benefits #101
HR departments are not always in alignment with their organization’s strategic goals nor do HR professionals have a seat at the strategic table. In this session, you will learn why it is important for HRs goals to align with overall organization goals and how you may become a strategic business partner. In addition, we will discuss the importance of developing an HR strategy to include a compensation and benefits philosophy to help guide your organization’s comp/benefit activities.
The basics of compensation to include: building a job worth hierarchy, conducting a job analysis, types of job documentation, job descriptions, types of job evaluation, base pay structures, FLSA exemption tests, types of pay adjustments, differential pay, and types of variable pay plans, will be discussed. In addition, the basics of benefits will be covered to include: the elements of benefits, factors influencing benefits, income protection programs, health care benefits, welfare benefits, retirement and investment plans, pay for time not worked programs, soft core benefits, FMLA updates, and Military Family Leave.
This session is designed for the HR professional who would like to become a strategic business partner and may need some new ideas or a refresher on how to accomplish that goal through upgrading their compensation and benefits activities.
Performance Management and Compensation
Do you know what your organization’s overall business strategy is for the year? Do your organization’s performance management and compensation strategies “fit” with that business strategy? In this session you will learn why it is important to link the performance management and compensation strategies to the business strategy. Once you have understood this step, we will discuss performance appraisal from design considerations and the total performance management process. In addition, we will help you understand why organizations measure performance, how to do it and mistakes to avoid. And finally, we will show you how to link both base and variable pay to performance and motivate employees with rewards outside of pay.
This session is designed for anyone who is involved in the performance management and pay for performance processes and has a desire to learn more.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Today/How to Conduct an FLSA Audit
On August 23, 2004, the Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division revised the federal overtime regulations. Currently, the DOL estimates that almost 70% of employers are not in compliance with the law. The number of claims has surpassed EEO litigation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and verdicts have yielded in the hundreds of millions of dollars for employees who were misclassified as exempt and due overtime pay.
Has your organization taken the steps to make sure that you are in compliance? This session will cover the steps necessary for every organization to take in order to make sure that they are in compliance and have the ability to hopefully avoid FLSA claims.
Return to Work Issues: The Benefits of Light Duty
Are workers’ compensation claims taking a toll on your organization? Does your organization truly understand how to manage a claim? This session will educate the HR or safety professional on the different types of transitional work programs and will assist them in determining which type is “best” for each situation and/or their organization. In addition, the session will discuss why the integration with other federal laws is so important to the success of your total workers’ compensation program.