Alternative Chapter Structures Karen L. Verrico, CAE Pacific West Regional Director, SHRM Jeff Fox S

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Alternative Chapter StructuresKaren L. Verrico,
CAEPacific West Regional Director, SHRMJeff
FoxSHRM-Atlanta, Director of GEMsVice
President, Smith James GroupApril 26, 2007
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Traditional SHRM Chapter

• Most common SHRM affiliate structure -
• one chapterone cityone program site
• 70 of SHRM chapters are under 100 SHRM members

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Chapter Concerns Expressed

• Struggle with
• Distance issues
• Time needed to get to a central meeting place
• Volunteer resource issues
• Desire for closer opportunities
• Financial resource issues
• Chapter dues pool not large enough for major
  projects
• Duplication/Competition issues
• Nearby chapters are doing the same thing
• Struggle with
• How do we increase our resources without losing
  that small-chapter, more personal interaction?

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Structural Shifts

• Some Chapters have created other models to
• Reach out to more HR professionals with services
• Increase the membership base
• Expand volunteer base to meet their mission
• Merge existing chapters to pool resources
• Pool financial resources to be able to share
  administrative support
• Providing the Member with easier access to
  services and improved services should be the
  primary reason for considering any change

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Member Advantages of Alternative Models

• Increased mobility
• Member can work in one city, live in another and
  belong to one chapter
• Multiple programming options to choose from
• Local and expanded networking opportunities
• Local and expanded leadership opportunities
• United visibility in a regional area
• legislative and media
• Increased employment listings from employers
  wanting a broader reach

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Affiliate Chapter Advantages of Alternative
Models

• Easier to maintain affiliation requirements with
  a broader base
• Capture at-large members in remote areas
• Subgroups can focus better on one or two goals
• Reduced duplication of effort less volunteer
  burnout
• Larger chapters attract more vendor revenue
• Increased retention because you have the niche
  the individual is looking for

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Important Points to Remember

• The structure is under ONE SHRM affiliate
• All subgroups under the same affiliate number
• All subgroups operate under the same charter
• All subgroups operate under the same association
  name and logo
• All subgroups operate within the affiliate budget
• All subgroups operate under the same bylaws
• There is one legal entity for corporate and tax
  purposes

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Subgroups to Consider

• Geographic subgroups
• Meeting the needs of the member in a geographic
  location
• Functional subgroups
• Meeting the needs of members with specialized HR
  expertise

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Geographic Subgroups

• Names used by current affiliate chapter
• No formal name just program committees
• Satellites
• Chapters
• Districts or Areas
• GEMS geographic emphasis groups
• Keep your chapter brand!
• Geographic subgroups are a
• member service of your chapter.

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Models to Consider

• Programs Committees
• No formal local boards
• Satellite locations
• Primary location with one or two alternate sites
• Regional Umbrella
• Several subgroups with central administration
• State Affiliate Chapter
• All groups in the state have a single membership
• Lets look at some current SHRM chapter models!

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One affiliate no formal subgroups

• NEHRA - Northeast HR Association www.nehra.org
• Members in the chapter area are served by program
  committees that develop breakfast meetings.
• Not a governing body, no positions on Chapter
  Board
• Current regional committees
• - Boston - Route 495 Area
• - North Shore - South Shore
• - Rhode Island - Worcester
• - Route 128 - Merrimack Valley

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One primary location satellite locations

• Host chapter in original city forms program hubs
• Vermont
• River Valley HR Association www.rvhra.org
• 130 members in two states
• River Valley HR Association NE Kingdom
• River Valley HR Association - Claremont
• Tennessee
• Middle Tennessee SHRM www.mtshrm.org
• 500 members
• MTSHRM Metro (Nashville)
• MTSHRM South (Brentwood/Cool Springs)

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Satellite locations the easy way

• San Diego SHRM
• About 1000 members
• Recognized the need to serve members in the North
  County area (60 people)
• North County members could not travel 45 minutes
  to the downtown meeting location
• Program Committee plans the 9 meetings held each
  year
• Chair sits on the SD-SHRM Board of Directors
• Be careful not to make it more complicated than
  necessary. The benefits to the end-user, the
  member, will not improve.

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Affiliate umbrella multiple geo groups

• Central administration of multiple subgroups
• Valley of the Sun (AZ) http//www.vshra.org
• changed name from Phoenix HRA to reflect
  expansion
• 400 members - 3 chapters
• - Central Valley Chapter (formerly MPHRA)
• - North Valley Chapter (formerly NVHRA)
• - West Valley Chapter.
• NCHRA (No. CA) www.nchra.org
• 3500 members - 9 chapters - chapter boards
• individual monthly meetings
• NCHRA Office education programming,
  administration
• PIHRA (So. CA) www.pihra.org
• 4500 members - 18 districts district boards
• individual monthly meetings
• PIHRA HQ education programming,
  administration

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SHRM-Atlanta Subgroups Case Study

• Has grown to over 2000 members through the
  development of meaningful subgroups for its
  members
• GEMs Geographic Emphasis Groups
• East GEM (Conyers/Covington)
• Central Atlanta GEM (Midtown)
• South Atlanta GEM (Union City)
• North Atlanta GEM (Alpharetta)
• Northeast Atlanta GEM (Norcross)
• Northwest Atlanta GEM (Marietta)

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Creating the GEMs

• At what point did SHRM-Atlanta realize that they
  needed to do something different?
• How did you decide where the GEMs should be?

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Coordinating the GEM Activities

• How do the GEMs function?
• Do they develop programs independently?

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SHRM-Atlanta Board

• Are the GEMs part of your governance structure?
• How do you keep them connected and invested in
  the bigger picture and overall mission of
  SHRM-Atlanta?

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Effect on Membership

• Have the GEMs influenced membership growth?
• What about retention?

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Cautions

• Has there been any disappointments since creating
  this structure?
• Were there any dissenters?

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What are the future plans?

• Do you plan to have more GEMs or are you at about
  the right size?

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Challenges for the Affiliate Chapter Board

• Communication among the subgroups
• Balancing overall chapter and CLA goals in
  subgroups
• Assuring broad representation in governance
• Developing a model of inclusion
• Retaining all-chapter meetings along with the
  subgroups meetings
• Centralized database easy access to local
  information
• Need a clear operational manual on how subgroups
  operate Example Valley of the Sun (AZ)
  bylaws.
• Assign a GEM and PEG liaison

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Mergers and Competition

• If you choose to grow, be proactive about
  creating a plan
• If there is no current HR group in the area
• Ask your Regional team for lists of at-large
  members
• Hold a formation meeting and measure the interest
• If the existing group is not a SHRM chapter
• Approach them about the benefits of being part of
  an existing SHRM affiliate
• If there is a SHRM chapter close by
• Discuss the member benefits of merging
• Be open about the issues

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State Level Affiliates

• Possibility Thinking -
• Membership at the State Level with local
  subgroups
• Example SHRM Hawaii
• 2003 State Council and four affiliate chapters
• Examined resources and member priorities
• 2004 Reorganized into one affiliate at the
  state level with four island chapters (called
  foundations)
• Resulted in a more efficient SuperMega Chapter
  with 1000 members while retaining a smaller,
  focused connection in multiple locations

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SHRM Hawaii

• Local islands focus on
• Programs
• College Relations
• Workforce Development
• Certification
• Specific Island Needs
• Local islands provide
• Convenient volunteer opportunities in small
  chunks
• Limited goals and activities to achieve
• Local Chair serves on State Board

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SHRM Hawaii

• The affiliate state chapter focuses on a unified
  statewide approach for
• Membership Development
• Legislative and Govt affairs
• Outreach PR and marketing
• State Conference
• Website and Communications
• Fund Development
• At-large Members
• Research
• Administration dues, finance, staffing, legal
  entity

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Other Chapter Subgroups

• Meeting the needs of members with specialized HR
  expertise

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Subgroups by HR Focus

• Can be by HR function
• Can be by Industry
• Often called
• Forums
• SIGs Special Interest Groups
• PEGS Professional Emphasis Groups

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SIGs and PEGs

• While a significant of members are HR
  generalists, many HR professionals have
  specialized functions in their organizations
• These functions are sometimes temporary and often
  members are expected to be flexible in filling
  multiple specialized roles
• A member should not have to leave their current
  chapter to find information on their
  specialization.
• SIGs and PEGs should be a member-only benefit

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SIGs and PEGs

• NEHRA www.nehra.org
• Benefits Compensation Diversity
• Consultants Staffing Ethics
• International Not-for-Profit Outsourcing
• Small Business HR Training and Development
  Technology
• Seattle SHRM www.seattleshrm.org
• Construction Industry Non Profit
  Recruitment
• Comp Benefits Organizational Development
  
• Portland HRMA www.pdxhr.org
• Benefits Comp HR Technologies HRM (Sr.
  Exec)
• Employee Relations Recruitment Selection
  Training Dev
• SHRM Atlanta www.shrmatlanta.org
• Comp Benefits Consultants Forum Global
• Staffing Management Organizational
  Development

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SHRM-Atlanta PEGs

• How do the PEGs meet ? in person or
  virtually?
• Do you recommend using technology like Listservs
  if our chapter site can manage that?
• Do your PEGs have other duties like writing for
  your newsletter or website?

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Marketing Your Subgroups

• Include your subgroups in all chapter promo
• Members will travel if the topic is right
• Promote subgroups prominently on your website
• Map of the geographic regions/districts on the
  website and membership information
• Give each subgroup a page to list activities with
  easy tab access
• Use a tagline like Serving the Fort
  Collins/Loveland/Greeley Area
• On the SHRM website list all major areas
• San Diego/North San Diego

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Promotion of Purpose

• From the River Valley site
• River Valley Human Resource Association
• Bringing together the best and brightest of the
  human resources profession in the Connecticut
  River Valley.
• Serving the Lebanon Hanover Claremont, NH
  areas - as well as - White River Junction,
  Springfield, Bellows Falls, and Northeast Kingdom
  VT areas

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Promotion of Programming

• From the Website Event List of NEHRA
• Breakfast Workshops
• Route 128 Workshop - Communicating in a High
  Tech World What You Need to Know to Avoid a
  Lawsuit April 26, 2007
• North Shore Workshop - Why Performance
  Management Matters in a Flat WorldMay 1, 2007
• Worcester Workshop - Massachusetts Wage and
  Hour LawMay 8, 2007

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Promotion of Structure/Opportunities
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Visuals of Your Geographic Groups

• PIHRA map

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Operational Recommendations

• Accounting
• Subgroups budget within the overall affiliate
  budget
• One central bank account
• Dues
• Subgroups do not have their own dues structure
• Paying dues to the affiliated chapter should
  cover all services available to the membership
• Education
• Subgroups should coordinate their topics with
  other subgroups
• Require all geographic subgroups to establish
  member/nonmember fees. Subgroups are a Member
  benefit.

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SHRM Administrative Reminders

• There is one SHRM affiliate regardless of the
  number of subgroups
• All subgroups must comply with SHRM charter,
  bylaw and operational guidelines
• One CAP includes activities of subgroups
• CFSP (Chapter Financial Support Program) to one
  entity one membership list
• Chapter President is Chief Elected Officer
• Regional staff can help answer questions but
  chapter affiliate manages their subgroups

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Questions?

• To learn more
• Review the websites of the chapters with
  alternative models
• Contact your Regional Team
• Watch for additional tools on the VLRC
• Speaker Contact info
• Karen Verrico kverrico_at_shrm.org 1-877-252-9984
• Jeff Fox jfox_at_smithjames.com 1-770-667-0212 x230