INTERVIEW: SHRM COO, China Gorman

Sharlyn Lauby

27 Mar 2009

I’ve mentioned before how important volunteerism is to me. I believe I’ve had a fortunate career and should give back to my profession. How can I expect human resources to grow with the changes if I’m not willing to give my time to my profession?

So one of the ways that I do that is by volunteering with the Society for Human Resource Management (aka SHRM). I’ve been a volunteer for more years than I care to admit. And, I’m very proud that this year I was elected to serve as on the Membership Advisory Council (MAC).

One of the reasons that I like serving on the MAC is because I get to work with SHRM’s new Chief Operating Officer, China Miner Gorman. China and I used to cross paths years ago when we were both in the HR consulting arena. So when we recently had a chance to catch up in Phoenix…I asked if she would share her thoughts with the “Bartender”.

1. You’re relatively new to SHRM (as COO). And, SHRM has a new CEO, Lon O’Neill. Can you provide any insight to what the priorities will be for SHRM in the near future?

Lon brings 30 years of experience in strategic HR and I bring 25 years of experience as a business leader in the HR consulting space. In my opinion, we are very fortunate to have Lon’s vision and leadership to create a bold, new SHRM – one that takes advantage of potential growth opportunities and encompasses the needs of HR professionals around the world.

That being said, SHRM’s overarching goals remain the same: to be the HR professional’s career partner every step of way, and to set the new HR agenda . We’re excited about what we’re seeing internationally in the field of human resources and will be addressing many of the emerging human capital issues international HR managers deal with on a daily basis at our Global Conference & Exposition later this month. And we are very excited to have recently gained designation as an HR standards developer American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Our body of knowledge is like no other in the field of human resources. by

As most of our members know, we’re in the middle of a top to bottom Strategic Business Review (SBR). We’re taking advantage of the SBR and current economic climate to look closely at everything we’re doing to strengthen our members and to set the new HR agenda. We expect that out of this review will come some new initiatives that will enable us to support our members – and our future members – more effectively and position them for greater strategic organizational impact. Some things won’t change, though. For example, our work in support of public policy development

in the U.S. We just concluded our annual Employment Law and Legislative Conference in Washington DC and sent nearly 300 SHRM members to the Hill to talk with their representatives – the day after the Employee Free Choice Act was introduced in the Senate. Perfect timing for our members to have substantive conversations about the impact this legislation would have on organizations. And while we expect our Annual Conference to have fewer attendees than last year, it will still be the single largest gathering of HR professionals anywhere in the world in 2009! And we have a few surprises up our sleeve in terms of content, keynote speakers and other features for our attendees. One example is a career transition pavilion where attendees who are looking for work can meet privately with an expert career transition consultant to get help on their resume, marketing plan, or networking approach. Or an attendee who has to plan a restructuring or downsizing can meet with an expert to begin to plan the appropriate steps for their organization.

So, lots going on at SHRM these days! Stay tuned.

2. As a human resources professional, I’m always interested in the C-Suite’s vision for HR. If I worked for you…what three things would you expect from me?

Courage, business savvy and a commitment to continuous improvement – and sharing innovative HR practices our members and HR professionals are designing and implementing to meet the current needs of business with a wider audience.

3. Obviously, SHRM’s is expanding their social media presence by getting out in sites like Twitter. Does SHRM plan to utilize social media with the employees as well? If so, in what way(s)?

Not just with our employees, but with our 250,000 members! Last month, we launched a newly designed SHRM Web site that began integrating some of the social aspects laced throughout the old SHRM site. We are committed to building a world class online HR community enhanced by multimedia components and a new social networking platform for our members. We will be rolling these out later this year. We’re also exploring mobile technology and the best use of other innovative tools to create a robust, interactive online community. 2009 will be an exciting year for us online! Stay tuned!

4. Lastly, here at HR Bartender, we do serious work but try not to take ourselves too seriously. So, my last question is what’s your favorite drink (adult or not)?

I’m not an alcohol drinker, but my favorite “cocktail” is club soda, dash of cranberry juice, squeeze of lime — and no ice! I like to call it a “Chinapolitan.”

Thanks China for sharing with readers the inside scoop with SHRM and that great drink recipe. I look forward to hearing about SHRM’s direction for the profession in the months to come. And now that you’re on Twitter @shrmcoo…we expect to see you at a New Orleans Tweet-up in June!