NEHRA recently did an on-line survey of its members regarding the programming that is being offered.  Two surveys were sent out, one to members who have attended a NEHRA program in the past six months and one to those who have not attended a program in the past six months or have never attended a NEHRA program.  We had a total of 619 responses which is approximately 16% of our membership - a good return.

Have attended in past six months                          255 responses
Have not attended in past six months                     364 responses 
(or never attended a NEHRA event)

We were gratified to find that the results indicated that in most areas NEHRA is very much on target. The responses did, however, provide us with insights into a number of areas that we would not have had otherwise, and we are very grateful to everyone who took the time to respond.

Here is some of what we learned:

When the group who had not attended a NEHRA program in the past six months was asked why, the response was not surprising: 40% cost, 24% time, 22% location, 15% topics.  Even before the survey went out, NEHRA was in the process of identifying ways to provide some programming to members at a lower cost and even no cost.  We will be announcing these programs in the coming months.

There was a large request for more programming in Boston.  We are committed to making that happen.  We are presently looking for alternative meeting locations in Boston and Cambridge.  To that end, would welcome hearing from any member that has a meeting room that can accommodate 30-40 people which they would be able to provide at no cost to NEHRA for a breakfast workshop.

It is interesting to note that Webinars are where most respondents go for HR programming other than NEHRA. Webinars meet a need when members have less money and time to invest in educational programming.  NEHRA is in the process of developing relevant and useful programming for webinars and will be announcing these new offerings shortly.

When asked "what are the biggest challenges they are facing in their jobs and/or professional lives", two answers were way above all the rest:  keeping up on changes to employment laws and regulations and the economy (doing more with less) were the top answers.  Finding a job, dealing with layoffs, employee morale and work/life balance were also mentioned numerous times, but far behind the first two.

When asked how NEHRA could help them deal with these challenges, the primary response was to continue providing programming that is on target with what HR professionals are dealing with in their jobs and to do it at a lower price.  There were also many requests for more networking opportunities.  When times get tough, people have a need to be among their peers to receive and give support and to know they are not alone in what they are facing. 

From the group that has attended a NEHRA event in the past six months, there were many comments about the high quality of NEHRA programming.  This is due in large part to the hard work of the various planning committees that put together the content of NEHRA programs.  The average overall rating for 2009 programs thus far is a 4.6 out of a 5.0. 

We are looking at ways to provide low or no-cost programming and have already started hosting member-in-transition networking events.  We will be scheduling more events in Boston and start offering Webinars beginning in the fall and are working on programming that addresses the issues raised in the survey. 

DEMOGRAPHICS - The demographics of both groups was almost identical:

Position                                             Have attended                  Have not attended

HR Director/Manager                     41%                                        46%

HR Generalist                               17%                                        17%

SVP/VP                                        11%                                        12%

Consultant                                   11%                                        6%

HR Specialist                                 9%                                          7%

Provider                                        8%                                          3%

Other                                            3%                                          2%

Years in HR                                         Have attended                  Have not Attended

1-3                                              12%                                        9%

4-7                                              15%                                        15%

8-11                                            18%                                        16%

12-15                                          14%                                        19%

Over 20                                        27%                                        26%

REASON FOR NOT HAVING ATTENDED AN EVENT IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS OR NEVER ATTENDED A NEHRA EVENT
(292 responses)

Cost                       40%

Time                      24%

Location                 22%

Topics                     15%       

I WOULD ATTEND IF: 
(223 responses)


Top answers given:         

25%        Cost was lower

22%        Programs were held in:  Boston (20); Southeast (8); No. Shore (10); RI (7); NH/MV (4);

10%        I had the time

9%          I had a job

8%          Topics were more relevant to my job (Benefits, HR Policy, OD, HR Strategy, Small Business Issues)

6%          Events were free

4%          Topics were more advanced

3%          Events were over lunch or after work

There were a number of personal reasons given.

PREFERRED TYPE OF EVENT
(569 responses total)

They were asked to check all that apply.  Again, responses were nearly identical in both surveys.

                                                Have attended (245)                      Have not attended (324)

Breakfast Workshops                           70%                                           71%

Half-day Seminars                               67%                                           67%

Full Day Prof. Dev.                               46%                                           45%

Full Day Conference                             28%                                           23%

Town Meeting/Hot Topic                        26%                                           29%

Round Table Discussion                        33%                                           30%

PREFERRED LOCATIONS
(574 responses total - asked for their top 2 choices)

                                                Have attended (248)                      Have not attended (324)

Waltham                                             62%                                           44%

Boston                                                41%                                           37%

Metro West                                          27%                                           22%

South Shore                                         22%                                           22%

Cambridge                                           21%                                           18%

North Shore                                          16%                                           24%

Worcester                                             13%                                          11%

Providence                                             9%                                           12%

PREFERRED TIME OF DAY
(575 responses total - asked to select one)

                                                Have attended (246)                      Have not attended (329)

Morning                                               79%                                             69%

Lunch                                                    8%                                             15%

Afternoon                                              8%                                               7%

Evening                                                 5%                                              9%

PREFERRED FORMAT
(573 responses total - asked to select one)

                                                Have attended (246)                      Have not attended (327)

Lecture w/ Q&A                                   48%                                             44%

Panel of experts                                23%                                              23%

Case studies                                       5%                                               6%

Interactive exercises                           13%                                               9%

Roundtable discussions                        7%                                                8%

Webinars/e-learning                            4%                                                9%

WHERE ELSE DO YOU GO FOR HR PROGRAMMING
(488 responses total - asked to select all that apply)

                                                Have attended (224)                      Have not attended (265)

Webinars                                           60%                                              64%

SHRM National Events                          27%                                              30%

College or University                           25%                                               27%

Other SHRM Chapters                         16%                                               20%

Chamber of Commerce                       16%                                                16%

HRLF                                                 12%                                                 7%

HRC                                                  11%                                                 8%

Free vendor seminars                          4%                                                  7%

HAS YOUR BUDGET FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CHANGED IN THE PAST YEAR 
(546 responses total)

                                                Have attended (235)                      Have not attended (311)

Yes                                                    38%                                          55%

No                                                     62%                                          45%

WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU ARE FACING IN YOUR JOB/PROFESSIONAL LIFE

Have attended - 170 responses                               
Have not attended - 227 responses

• Keeping up on changes to employment laws and regulations (60)
• The economy - doing more with less (59)
• Finding a job (31)
• Dealing with layoffs (27)
• Employee morale (17)
• Work/life balance (10)
• Getting senior leadership to focus on tomorrow and the future, and not just the bottom line of today.
• Adding value to the company through the executive's eyes is always my goal.
• Being supported and not marginalized after raising concerns related to compliance and fairness.
• Keeping up with new trends and developments.
• Senior leadership's short-term thinking and difficulty buying in to the concept of employee engagement and how it benefits the business.
• There were several comments about not having any opportunity to grow in their current position - no opportunity for advancement.
• There are so many changes happening it is difficult to keep up. My focus has turned from needing to know the technical aspects of HR (laws, compliance) to the need to have more organizational development skills to lead my organization through sudden change.
• I was laid off from my position as an HR Manager on my 18^th anniversary. I kept myself active and engaged in HR through attending workshops and the most recent conference. Recently I accepted an offer at a great small company and I credit the learning and professional development workshops I attended at NEHRA for putting me in a position to not only get a position, but get a better position than the one I previously had.
• Takes so much time to do the day-to-day things that it is difficult to have time to think strategically.
• Time management with additional work load - old methods aren't working very well now.
• Panic decisions by management.
• Getting my managers trained in the importance of communication, collaboration, allocating resources effectively in a lean environment to keep morale up.
• Finding time for professional development/continuing ed.
• Creative strategies with all aspects of HR (benefits, development, etc.) to keep organization strong when resources have dwindled.

HOW CAN NEHRA HELP YOU DEAL WITH THESE CHALLENGES

Have attended - 126 responses                               
Have not attended - 132 responses

• More networking opportunities (14)
• Keep running excellent programs as you have been doing (11)
• Provide low cost or free educational programming (7)
• More programs on Best Practices (6)
• Hold webinars
• Have programs on:
• o Strategic change management
• o Stress reduction
• o Immigration law
• o Life in a post-RIF world
• o How to speak the language of C-level Executives
• o Solid recruiting strategies and retention programs
• o Job description writing
• o How to present data convincingly
• o Employee issues for companies in bankruptcy
• o Run a program for HR Consultants
• o Passive recruiting
• o Time Management
• o How to tame the busy work week
• o Hearing from executives who historically didn't "use" HR and then someone in HR turned their perspective around
• o Panel with CF)s talking about the challenges and opportunities during these periods
• o Seminars on working in cultures very diverse, run by other cultures
• o What companies are doing to keep staff engaged and ensure they will stay once the economy picks back up
• Don't know; not certain; afraid you can't; send help; TBD
• Publish a list of "must reads"
• Keeping up to date information and regulations within a user friendly "what you must do now" format
• NEHRA is my last source of information about legislative changes and it should be one of the first, like SHRM. The BLR legal updates that you send are way behind other legal updates that are provided by law firms or SHRM.
• Keep the website up to date with meaningful information for those times when you can't get to the actual program
• Provide current, accurate information about new policies and laws that are being passed, and provide employers with a "how to" guide for implementing them in various work settings
• Email real update - I don't need one email a day telling me about upcoming programs that I already know about and can't afford to attend anyway
• Convince HR execs to be more strategic (see beyond the trees)....more willing to go outside of traditional comfort zone and conventional HR solutions....gain greater discretion to fund experiments/new approaches not in preset budgets....go beyond CFO's exclusive control