2020 LWHRA Symposium

Join us this year in our search for clarity, focus, and foresight. What will your HR 20/20 Vision be?

We hope you will join us on February 11 for LWHRA's largest all-day event. Each year we attract more than 350 HR professionals from around the region to learn and celebrate our industry. Our theme this year is HR 20/20 Vision.

It's never too early to think about your HR career, your goals, and your aspirations. LWHRA's 2020 Symposium gives you a fantastic opportunity to Connect, Grow, and Serve with HR professionals.

LWHRA Job Board

Are you a recent grad looking for your first opportunity in HR? Or perhaps ready for the next step in your career growth? In addition to the usual suspects in your job search, don’t forget to take advantage of the LWHRA Job Board!

The LWHRA Job Board is a hyper-local, specialized job board that offers HR opportunities in the Seattle Metro area. Last year, we had 128 jobs posted on our job board. We currently have 10 jobs available, ranging from HR Assistant to HR Director roles, plus specialty roles in benefits, compensation, and more.

Certification Study Group Success

Congratulations on the Successful Completing of the 2019 SHRM Certification Prep Class! 

The LWHRA Spring 2019 Certification Exam preparation class has been successfully completed! The program raised a lot of interest with 25 students attending and completing the course in preparation for the Spring 2019 SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP Exams. Study group participants are still taking exams as the SHRM testing window runs from May through July. All exam results are self-reported, but we know for sure that two students have passed. Congratulations to those students! And we wish success for all other students who are still working to complete their tests.

“There's no way I would have passed the SHRM-CP exam without enrolling in the LWHRA Certification program.” – Sal Canino, Attendee LWHRA Spring 2019 Certification Preparation Class

A warm thank you to all eight amazing HR professionals who shared their knowledge and time as volunteer speakers in the LWHRA Spring 2019 Certification Exam preparation classes. Each brought different HR backgrounds and knowledge to the class. We covered the full SHRM Body of Knowledge and Competencies, ranging from HR Strategic Planning and Talent Acquisition to Workforce Management and US employment Law, which was critical for the success of the program. Volunteer speakers used different teaching methods to spark discussion, engage, and encourage the study group in learning. 

Hosted by the LWHRA Diversity & Inclusion Committee

The LWHRA Diversity and Inclusion Committee will be holding a  Coffee Chat. Come join us to chat and share ideas on building an inclusive and diverse workspace!

2019 LWHRA Symposium | Tuesday, February 12, 2019

It's never too early to think about your HR career, your goals, and your aspirations! LWHRA's 2019 Symposium gives you a fantastic opportunity to Connect, Grow, and Serve with HR professionals. Read more about some of the reasons why you should attend the 2019 Symposium.

YesVets Initiative

Be Recognized by YesVets for Hiring Veterans

LWHRA is thrilled to partner with YesVets to promote their statewide campaign to hire veterans. YesVets recognizes employers who show their commitment to veteran employment by hiring veterans into their workforce. 

LWHRA has joined forces with Employment Security Department, in partnership with the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Commerce, Washington State Military Transition Council, and local chambers of commerce across the state to create a statewide campaign to hire veterans, supporting House Bill 2040. This Bill, introduced by Representative Gina McCabe, recognizes employers who show their commitment to veteran employment by hiring veterans into their workforce. Learn more about how your company can participate.

Recruitment and talent acquisition strategies was the theme of our recent August Chapter meeting. We were lucky to have a knowledgeable presenter, Jenifer Lambert, Chief Revenue Officer at TERRA Staffing Group, who delivered an educational presentation at our meeting. Jenifer has over 25 years’ experience in recruiting/staffing under her belt. She fell into recruiting/staffing right out of college and has worked both in consulting roles and directly placing talent with client companies across a broad range of industries.

There were some great lessons learned at our Chapter meeting. We also used the opportunity to ask Jenifer her thoughts on few more recruiting questions, including her tips on how to avoid biases in the recruitment process and important considerations when selecting the right candidate for the job.

Can you describe what a well-coordinated recruitment process is for you? 
JL: As with most things, a little planning up front followed by a lot of execution leads to success. Upfront, there should be clarity about why the role is open, what business result this role needs to deliver which then feeds into the skills, experience, and qualifications necessary to deliver that result. This informs your sourcing/talent generation strategy. In terms of selection, having clarity up front about who will be involved in making the selection and what their role will be is critical. Who will screen the candidates? Who needs to be involved in the interview(s)? Who has the authority to approve or veto the hire and why? Who needs to be involved to help sell the opportunity? The war for talent is real and we have seen that an uncoordinated process that feels clunky or confusing is a real turnoff to candidates. Just last week, we had a candidate nearly turn down a job because additional interviews kept getting added to the process. He had an offer from a competing firm with a much smoother process and that nearly made the difference. The company that hired him had to get more aggressive with compensation to overcome his concerns generated by a bad process.

In your career, credibility is everything

To perform effectively, you need to develop HR expertise and apply it through behavioral competencies. To advance in your career, your leaders, peer, and employees need to endorse you as a credible HR practitioner. Trust SHRM Seminars to help you build critical HR competencies that will help you establish professional credibility and advance your career.
LWHRA members use promo code 18SEMWASH at checkout to receive $200 off SHRM seminars*. Find a Seattle seminar.

Join LWHRA for the August Chapter Meeting

Tuesday, August 14, 2018 | Hilton Bellevue

July Networking Event

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

LWHRA mixed it up this month with an evening event at the beautiful Newcastle Country Club, a choice so popular that we sold out! More than 60 members and guests attended, spending an enjoyable happy hour networking and mingling.

Here are some thoughts from attendees:

Lake Washington Institute of Technology SHRM Student Chapter Wins Superior Merit Award

SHRM has awarded a 2017-2018 Superior Merit Award designation to the Lake Washington Institute of Technology (LWTech) SHRM student chapter for providing superior growth and development opportunities to its student chapter members. This top award is received by fewer than one-quarter of student chapters per year. This marks the eighth year that LWTech has been recognized as Superior Merit Award or Outstanding Chapter Award winner.

The SHRM student chapter merit award program, which began in 1972, was created to encourage student chapters to require ongoing excellence in the following areas: student chapter requirements, chapter operations, chapter programming and professional development of members, support of the human resource profession, and SHRM engagement.

“...I’m especially honored to thank this year’s award winners because they offer excellent evidence that SHRM’s future is indeed in good hands.”

LWHRA Has Been Awarded the 2017 Platinum Excellence Award by SHRM

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) recently awarded the Lake Washington Human Resource Association (LWHRA) its prestigious Platinum EXCEL Award for its accomplishments in 2017. 

About the Platinum Award

This award recognizes outstanding achievements in chapter operations and a commitment to providing meaningful programs and services to our members. This award is also in recognition of LWHRA’s continued growth and development as a business leader, capable of developing strategies that lead to business success!

UW Bothell SHRM Student Chapter Wins Award!

The UW Bothell SHRM Student Chapter will be recognized at the 2018 SHRM National Conference this summer for the "Honorable Mention Award". 

Student chapters have an opportunity to win this award based on the number of activities they complete during the merit award cycle. 

Use Your Expertise to Help Students

Hopelink is looking for hiring managers and HR professionals from local companies to volunteer as mock interviewers! Can you help?

Hopelink offers English for Work classes to help prepare immigrants and refugees for the U.S. workforce. Each quarter Hopelink holds mock interview events for our students. Mock interviews occur during regularly scheduled class time, and many students have told us that this is the most valuable activity in the course.

General Information

Supporting greater employee and organizational well-being

Managing a workforce so your business stays competitive in a tough economy is challenging. Years of cost-cutting, program-gutting tactics have left everyone stressed and disengaged. And too often the investments organizations do make go undervalued, underutilized and/or misunderstood. It’s safe to say that it’s time to reimagine total rewards so that individuals can enhance their total well-being and organizations can achieve their desired results. Join the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the International Society of Certified Employee Benefits Specialists for a webinar on June 5.

For more information about the event please check out the event flyer or contact Tim Valencia.

In your career, credibility is everything.

To perform effectively, you need to develop HR expertise and apply it to behavioral competencies. And to advance in your career, your leaders, peers, and employees need to endorse you as a credible HR practitioner.

This spring, trust SHRM Seminars to help you build critical HR competencies that will help you establish professional credibility and advance your career.

Enroll in one of 25+ seminars, offered in-person in 12 cities across the U.S. and virtually using the discount code 18SEMWASH at shrm.org/seminars.

Last Chance to Register for the April Chapter Meeting

"The HR Professional Competency Model: A Road Map for Success"

Tuesday, April 10, 2018 | Hilton Bellevue

 Doug Levy – 3/12/18

“Gone but not Forgotten.”  That title belongs to a 1993 novel and a 2005 made-for-television movie, but it is also an apt one for the 2018 Legislature.

This Session will be remembered for a blizzard of legislation on use of force; gender pay equity; gun-violence measures that were (and weren’t) passed; housing and homelessness measures done and one that got away; property tax relief; “net neutrality”; preventing sexual harassment in the workplace; the Voting Rights Act and voting-registration reforms; “Breakfast After the Bell” – and much more.  It was a Session that saw lawmakers succeed in meeting McCleary obligations but fall short in enacting carbon or capital gains taxes, rebating Motor Vehicle Excise Taxes, and abolishing the death penalty.  And of course, there was the surreal passage of and retreat from a hastily-devised Public Records Act bill.

It also wouldn’t be right to pen this report without acknowledging some lawmakers – several of them shining lights – who are making the 2018 Session their last one.  The list includes Sen. Michael Baumgartner (R-Spokane/6^th Dist.), who is running for Spokane County Treasurer; House Transportation Chair Judy Clibborn, who leaves an incredible transportation investment legacy; House Human Services & Early Learning Chair Ruth Kagi, whose imprint on legislation impacting children is equally indelible; House Minority Leader Dan Kristiansen; and Reps. Larry Haler (R-Richland/8^th Dist.), Terry Nealey (R-Dayton/16^th Dist.), Liz Pike (R-Camas/18^th Dist.), Jay Rodne (R-Snoqualmie/5^th Dist.), and Melanie Stambaugh (R-Puyallup/25^th Dist.).

On the heels of Session, the media has produced a series of articles these last few days on winners and losers from 2018, the ambitious agenda of (narrow) majority Democrats, and the ones that got away.  In true egalitarian fashion, I’ve linked two articles each from the Seattle Times, (Tacoma) News Tribune, and (Everett) Herald – all very good reads and reviews of the 60-day Session just completed.