Tag: SHRM conference

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SHRM 2024: What You Can Miss in Chicago

Oil Painting of The Bean

With the SHRM Annual Conference almost upon us, HR professionals everywhere are filling up their itineraries for their visit to the Windy City. But if you aren’t a local, how are you supposed to know what is worth your time and what is truly a waste?

Tourist traps are expected in every large city. As locals, we here at Workforce.com feel like it is our duty to ensure you DON’T spend your time and money at some of these admittedly alluring locations.

Check out this list of tourist traps to skip while in town:

1. The WNDR Museum

The WNDR Museum in Chicago is often considered a tourist trap, as it focuses more on providing Instagrammable moments than meaningful art experiences for middle and high schoolers. Given the limited depth and originality of the installations, the hefty admission fee is hard to justify, making it a disappointing visit for those expecting a genuine museum experience.

2. 360 Chicago Tilt

The 360 Tilt in Chicago is frequented by out-of-towners but offers a brief, overpriced experience with minimal payoff. Located at the top of the John Hancock Center, the attraction tilts visitors outward for a few seconds to provide a unique but fleeting view of the city. Many find the $20+ ticket price does not match the short duration and long lines, especially when compared to the free or more reasonably priced observation points in the city that offer equally stunning views without the gimmick. 

3. Museum of Ice Cream

Another Instagram trap with a ticket price of $50+ per person. The steep ticket prices gain visitors access to a series of brightly colored, themed rooms that are more about photo opportunities than immersive or informative experiences. The limited sampling of actual ice cream is underwhelming compared to the cost. Go to Jeni’s Ice Cream for ice cream that’s actually worthwhile.

4. Giordano’s Pizza

Giordano’s Pizza in Chicago is often seen as a tourist trap because it capitalizes on its reputation without delivering the authentic deep-dish experience that we locals prefer. While heavily marketed to those coming from out of town, its pizza tends to be overly doughy and lacking in a flavorful sauce and the ideal crust that defines authentic Chicago-style pizza. You can get Giordano’s in the frozen foods section of almost any grocery store in the nation. Instead, I would strongly recommend Pequod’s or Lou Malnatis.

4. The Starbucks Reserve on Michigan Ave

As they have a great espresso martini, the Starbucks Reserve’s crowds aren’t worth their prices. While the building is an elaborate, multi-story setup with unique menu items and brewing methods, the experience is usually accompanied by long lines and a busy atmosphere. Many find the prices hard to justify, especially when the quality of the coffee isn’t significantly better than what is available at standard Starbucks locations. I’d check out a local coffee roaster rather than your run-of-the-mill Venti coffee from Starbucks.

5. Navy Pier Ferris Wheel

Navy Pier should be walked through for its historical significance to the city, but no need to partake in any of its tourist attractions, such as the Ferris Wheel. Despite its iconic status, the ride provides a short and relatively unremarkable view of the city, which many visitors find disappointing given the high ticket cost. The surrounding area is typically crowded and heavily commercialized, detracting from the overall enjoyment.

6. The Bean

I hate to break it to you, but our beloved bean is under construction until mid-August. Regardless, the site is typically swamped with tourists, making it difficult to appreciate or capture it without crowds fully. Compared to the many culturally and historically rich attractions in Chicago, the Bean tends to be a superficial stop that doesn’t offer much beyond a photo opportunity, making it feel a bit overrated. I still highly recommend strolling through Millenium Park but be warned that you might not get the view of the Bean that you’re hoping for.

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SHRM Releases its Annual Benefits Survey

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The Society for Human Resource Management released its annual benefits survey today at the organization’s annual conference in Las Vegas.

The survey confirmed some facts that HR has known for a while, like that employers find that retirement and health care benefits are most important to their workforce. It also highlighted some major trends that are impacting the benefits landscape including health insurance costs, competition for top talent and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

Not surprisingly, employer-sponsored health care is a major concern for both employees and employers. The SHRM survey found that eighty-five percent of organizations prefer Preferred Provider Organization insurance plans. Meanwhile, though, interest in high deductible health plans linked with health saving accounts is rising. Fifty-nine percent of organizations offer an HDHP plan option that’s linked with a savings/spending account while 19 percent offer an HDHP option that’s not linked with an account.

Also read: The 4 Myths of Health Care Cost Reduction

Employers in general are aware that social determinants of health may impact an employee’s ability to afford to access coverage, but the survey data doesn’t show a response to that in the form of something like wage-based premiums or a reduction in cost-shifting, according to SHRM Chief Knowledge Officer Alex Alonso. That being said, he sees an increase in “cafeteria-style benefits” as a way for employees to access what benefits they need for their individual circumstances.

The survey also shared some details on how health care costs are being split between employers and employees. For full-time employees, it depends on company size. Twenty-eight percent or companies with 1-99 employees fully pay for health insurance premiums, compared to 9 percent of employers with over 500 employees.

Also notable is that offering health insurance to part-time employees is becoming more popular in order to attract and retain talent. Still, 19 percent of organizations require part-time employees to pay their premiums in full, while 36 percent of organizations share the cost.

According to Alonso, there has also been an increase in telemedicine. It can be a “convenient health care option” for employees, especially those in rural areas where there aren’t as many health care providers as more urban areas.

On the more surprising side, employers as a whole ranked wellness “near the bottom in importance to their workforce.” SHRM Director of Data Science Liz Supinski said one reason behind this is that insurers are increasingly offering services like chronic disease management programs that used to only be offered through wellness services.

Between and 2015 and 2019, a couple key areas of health care have seen a dramatic drop of prevalence, according the survey. Ninety-one percent of employers offered mental health coverage in 2015 compared to 83 percent in 2019, and 83 percent of employers offered contraceptive coverage in 2015 compared to 71 percent in 2019.

Supinski noted that this is not necessarily a negative sign or employees who need to access mental health or reproductive health services. Rather, before the Affordable Care Act, these areas were not automatically included in the core, basic health plan, and then the ACA mandated them as essential health benefits. The survey question refers to extra services that exist out of the health plan.

More 2019 SHRM Conference Coverage:

Exclusive Video Interviews from the 2019 SHRM Conference

The State of #SHRM19 Speech: Wait Until Monday

Day 2 at #SHRM19: It’s All About the Underutilized Talent Pool

Brené Brown at SHRM Conference: ‘Leaders Are Never Quiet About Hard Things’

 

 

 

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SHRM 2017 Conference Kicks Off in New Orleans

The world’s largest HR association kicked off its annual membership conference and exposition in New Orleans on Sun, June 18 with a focus on innovation.

“A new era in business, a new era in HR requires us to be all in,” said SHRM Board Chair Coretha Rushing from the main stage, highlighting the conference’s designated theme, “All In,” intended to show the role of HR plays in engagement, innovation and inclusion.

Rushing stepped onstage following New Orleans jazz musician Irvin Mayfield Jr. who opened the conference with a ringing trumpet solo, followed by his recommendations for navigating the Crescent City like a local. Remember to smile, avoid counting calories while in the city and above all, relax and have a drink, he said.

The 2017 conference, SHRM’s annual gathering for its 290,000 members, brought an estimated 15,000 attendees at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans for the three-day conference and exposition.

The conference also marked the final opportunity for outgoing SHRM President and CEO Hank Jackson to address the membership in person before retiring at the end of the year to make way for incoming CEO Johnny C. Taylor. Jackson took the stage and laid out the challenges facing HR.

SHRM President and CEO Hank Jackson greets members at the society’s 2017 annual conference. Photo courtesy of SHRM.

“The biggest challenge is the tremendous pace of change barreling at us,” he said. “Real winners don’t scramble to adapt to change, they get ahead of it and shape it. They lead it.”

“HR must be the force that shapes the new world of work,” Jackson told the assembled audience, launching into the case for his legacy as SHRM’s leader. That 7-year tenure included continued membership growth, the creation of the SHRM Competency Model and the controversial decision in May 2014 to sever ties with the HR Certification Institute, SHRM’s longstanding certification partner, in order to establish SHRM’s own certification, the SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP.

That decision sparked unrest among some members, many of whom held PHR and SPHR accreditations from HRCI and professed confusion about the difference between the two. In the three years since, SHRM has certified 101,000 applicants and aims to increase that number to 300,000, said Alex Alonso, SHRM senior vice president of knowledge development and the architect of the competency model, in a subsequent press conference.

At that same press conference, Jackson said he envisions the SHRM Competency Model and the accompanying SHRM certifications “as a vehicle for a new level for HR expertise and leadership.”

In comments during the press conference as well as his welcome address, Jackson pointed to his experience as a business leader, a sore spot among some former board members who believe the SHRM leader should have an HR background, as a primary driver for his decisions as SHRM’s leader.

The work of HR is more than administration and regulation, Jackson said, and the competency model and SHRM certification are aimed at moving HR certification beyond what Jackson called a “knowledge test” to a competency-based certification.

Incoming SHRM President Johnny C. Taylor attended the 2017 SHRM conference. Photo courtesy of SHRM.

“You’ll always need those basics [but] I’m a CPA – when I came to SHRM I knew that much of my success was because of the people around me,” Jackson continued. “Why wasn’t there a higher standard of certification? It took several years to convince the board to do it.”

During his tenure, Jackson also said SHRM has raised its profile among lawmakers and policymakers in Washington on a number of issues related to employers and the workplace, highlighting the association’s ongoing work on workplace flexibility and immigration.

Jackson said the focus of his time at the helm has been to lead HR beyond a partnership model to focus on playing a more active role in the workplace.

“It was all about leading change,” he told the audience. “I am proud of where the HR profession is today. We have laid the groundwork for the future. We have changed the conversation about what HR leadership looks like.”