Putting Together Your SHRM22 Virtual Itinerary? Consider These Sessions

​Virtual attendees can choose from many different concurrent sessions at each time slot throughout each day of the conference. With so many choices, sometimes it's hard to decide just which session to attend. Here are some to consider as you put together your itinerary: 

June 12

Empathy Plus Accountability Equals a Balanced Diet for a Healthy Organization
1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. CT
Jennifer Lee, director of learning and development at JB Training solutions, leads this presentation.

Attendees will:
--Create an easy-to-implement coaching plan for people managers.
--Consider personal and professional factors that may affect each employee.
--Communicate employee expectations and exceptions. 

Extinguish Burnout to Ignite Engagement 
1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. CT
This session led by husband/wife team Robert and Terri Bogue, president and chief operations officer, respectively, of Thor Projects LLC, examines how to douse burnout and reignite your passion for your work.

Attendees will:
--Understand the factors that lead to burnout.
--Identify, reduce and resolve burnout in yourself and your co-workers.  

All June 12 sessions 

June 13 

Dear Helga: You Won't Believe What My Employee Did This Time
10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. CT
Often the things that happen in the workplace are strange but all too true. This fast-paced session by attorney Michael S. Cohen, J.D., a partner at Duane Morris LLP, focuses on uncommon HR issues.

Attendees will:
--Recognize the importance of mental health awareness in an increasingly complicated HR environment.
--Discuss and examine the importance of staying abreast of ever-changing issues in our virtual and in-person workplaces.
--Evaluate the impact implicit bias can have on our employment systems.
--Analyze how relevant employment laws are implicated in these often-tenuous employee relations and legal concerns. 

You Can't Cancel Laughter: Understanding How Stifling Workplace Humor Can Also Stifle Creativity and Retention
10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. CT
Led by award-winning Chicago Tribune humor columnist Greg Schwem, president of Comedy With a Byte.

Attendees will:
--Understand there is no correct answer to the question, "What is offensive?" and that in a work environment, there shouldn't be any person or group tasked with answering that question.
--Recognize that the positive benefits of including humor in the workplace far outweigh the negative ramifications.
--Realize a joke, meme or video that one employee posts and another finds offensive should not necessarily result in HR punishing the "poster." 

HR Revealed!! Transforming from Support Role to Strategic Leader
1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. CT
Led by Steve Browne, SHRM-SCP, chief people officer at LaRosa's Inc., and author of HR Rising!!: From Ownership to Leadership (SHRM, 2020).

Attendees will:
--Understand how to be a valued and sought-after resource instead of merely the provider of support.
--Discover how to effectively develop individuals at all levels.
--Effectively assess and place people in roles where they can perform and excel personally and for the organization. 

Do's and Don'ts of an Inclusive Hybrid Workplace Culture
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. CT
Dynamic speaker Sonia Aranza, CEO and principal consultant at Aranza Communications, leads this session.

Attendees will:
--Gain valuable insights about the architecture of an inclusive workplace culture.
--Acquire tips and tools for dealing with remote workers.
--Heighten personal effectiveness in a complex hybrid workplace. 

All June 13 sessions 

June 14

Building Business Acumen—The 5 Business Drivers
7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. CT
To be effective as an HR professional, it's important to develop business acumen, not only to help your organization grow its business but also to help you grow your career. Kevin Cope, founder and CEO of Acumen Learning, leads this session designed to help you understand how your company makes money and how to make better HR decisions that support your organization.

Attendees will:
--Know what your CEO and CFO wish you'd talk more about.
--Identify the five business drivers that shape every company's strategic plan.
--Commit to three steps to link your organization's employees and profit strategies. 

Finally Fixing the Great Resignation—Fresh Ideas for Retaining and Hiring Talent in 2022 and Beyond
10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. CT
The turnover of high performers can be painful for an organization. Karl Ahlrichs, SHRM-SCP, senior consultant at Gregory and Appel, leads this presentation.

Attendees will:
--Balance hiring and retention efforts, starting with the employee/employer relationship, and make mental health a priority.
--Learn to preboard new employees and build a workplace culture.
--Maintain a fair, consistent culture across your workforce. 

All June 14 sessions 

June 15

Sought-After: What It Takes to Be Heard, Be Trusted, and Be Recognized for Your Expertise
7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. CT

No one teaches a midcareer HR professional how to become a trusted advisor, but this session led by Karen A. Young, SHRM-SCP, founder and president of HR Resolutions, offers tips on how to be recognized for guidance and advice your CEO and CFO value.

Attendees will:
--Change career-ending moves into career-defining moments.
--Acquire the tools for communicating with key leaders.
--Lead better even when you have poor leaders above you.  

Inclusivity—Transgender and Non-Binary in the Workplace
9 a.m. - 10 a.m. CT
Dawn Kelley, SHRM-CP, HR manager for the City of Modesto, Calif., is presenting this session. Attendees will:

--Understand the term non-binary.
--Understand gender expression is not a threat to traditional roles.
--Use the power of persuasion to teach leaders that every voice matters.
--Remove biases that prevent employees who are non-binary or transgender from feeling included, and weave inclusivity into your policies and operation. 

All June 15 sessions