Last Friday I stepped away after 12 years. I must admit it was more difficult than I thought it would be and I knew it would be difficult to do, however, all good things must come to an end. When I first started on the State Council in 2006 I was asked to join and fill an empty slot that had been open as the Director of Diversity and Inclusion for the State Council. I did so finding workplace diversity being something that I was quite passionate about as it directly related to my day job at Stone Belt and it ultimately became a key point within many of my volunteer activities. That role lead to another role as the Director of Technology and Communications, which let me do so much of what my professional life is now; being in touch with people on this new thing called social media which lead to meeting people online only to become real-life friends. For the final half of my tenure on the State Council I served as a Director-at-Large doing anything that really needed to be done. During the final years, I also had the honor of being part of the HR Indiana Conference Committee and I feel very fortunate to have been working with so many great HR professionals as we created something great in Indiana.

Now that my time with Indiana SHRM is over, I look back with great memories. It also with the conviction that there are still even better things ahead! THANK YOU to all who’ve been part of the journey. I look forward to continuing new journeys in the months and years ahead.

One of the fun memories from my time with Indiana SHRM

The ‘H’ in HR stands for “human” (at least in most places!) and we as HR professionals do not always do a good job reaching out to those who can help us when we face situations that we haven’t encountered before. Building relationships is essential to learning and seeing things from a different perspective. While chatting with people in sessions and on the exhibit floor can begin the process, establishing genuine connections takes more time and sharing common experiences can lead to continued dialogue and bring people closer.

Even if big parties and crowded events are not your thing, there are many opportunities to connect with small groups of people and expand your own network and build the value you can bring to those you support in your business.  If you’re not one to find people on your own, I can certainly recommend the Meet to Eat Program that SHRM does each year. My own network benefits from people I met during a SHRM Diversity Conference at such an event.

One important reminder; take off your SHRM badge before you go out! Introduce yourself in person, not by your credential.