<p>Callie and Rebecca talk about how volunteering is a gateway to meeting people, connecting outside of forced networking events and even lifting others up. Rebecca talks about her quick path to SHRM chapter leadership and using that opportunity to develop programming for realizing the potential of untapped talent pools. </p>
Callie and Rebecca talk about how volunteering is a gateway to meeting people, connecting outside of forced networking events and even lifting others up. Rebecca talks about her quick path to SHRM chapter leadership and using that opportunity to develop programming for realizing the potential of untapped talent pools.
Callie Zipple:
Hi everybody. And welcome back to Honest HR. I am your host, Callie Zipple. I'm excited to be back for another episode with you all. If you've joined us before, thanks so much for coming back. If you're new, thank you so much for adding us to your HR journey.
I'm excited because today we are actually physically in DC or near DC, I should say, at our SHRM volunteer leader summit, we call it the SHRM VLS, and we will probably call it that for the rest of this episode. So VLS stands for volunteer leader summit. And the event for us is we're with 900 of our closest friends and some of our most engaged volunteers. And we just talk best practices and share some leadership development opportunities with each other. And so I'm excited to be here on site, and I'm excited to talk with one of our volunteers about the benefits of volunteering with one of our SHRM chapters.
So today's topic is literally about volunteering, and I think it's a perfect opportunity for us to be actually on site at VLS and have this conversation. So with that, Rebecca, thank you so much for being here. If you wouldn't mind, take a moment, introduce yourself, tell us a little bit about your role on your chapter, and then we'll sort of jump into the questions that we've prepared.
Rebecca Rowe:
Great. Well thank you for having me. A little bit about myself. So I'm one of those young professionals in the workforce. And my role within my chapter is actually as the chapter president. So came in as president elect onto the board and then transitioned this last year to president. I work in the public sector. I've had experience in both private and public sector, so really able to see both sides of it when engaging with our members.
Callie Zipple:
And did you already tell us what chapter you're with? Sorry. Repeat it.
Rebecca Rowe:
Winona area charter.
Callie Zipple:
And that's in?
Rebecca Rowe:
Minnesota.
Callie Zipple:
Minnesota. Okay. So you've got a Minnesotan and a Wisconsinite on your podcast episode today, guys. So we're excited. I think it's snowing back home for me. So when I leave here, I'm going back to snow. It's beautiful here today, but Minnesota and Wisconsin, I bet you have snow back home. So we have things to look forward to for sure.
Rebecca Rowe:
Yeah, definitely.
Callie Zipple:
Great. So one of the things I'll share too with our listeners is that I was a volunteer with SHRM, prior to coming to SHRM in my field service director role that I'm currently serving in. And I'm so excited that this is the topic we're talking about today because volunteering with SHRM really did springboard my career. And I think it's important for our listeners to hear that volunteering really does that for us.
So the first thing I want to talk about is more about the why. So tell us a little bit about how you became to be a volunteer, how you decided that SHRM was right for you and then why you decided to be a volunteer with SHRM.
Rebecca Rowe:
So I'm going to kind of step it back to when I was in my schooling. So I actually was part of a student chapter. And when I joined the Western Technical College in Lacrosse, Wisconsin, they had a student chapter and I didn't know anything about HR. I just kind of jumped into the field. I was one of those people that kind of lucked into it when my grandma told me, hey, I think this would work for you. And so really went into that open-minded and instantly joined a board. So I was on the student board, I believe a secretary, it's been a few years.
And it was really a good way for me to meet local professionals when I wasn't at that professional level yet, or hadn't entered that workforce yet. So that was a good way to get my foot in the door. So that's kind of my why I started was, more or less, just to figure out what is HR and what is the benefits of it?
Callie Zipple:
So did you go to that first SHRM meeting wanting to understand what HR was? You made a conscious choice in that?
Rebecca Rowe:
Yes, I made that conscious choice, but I'm also one of those people that dreads the word networking. So even at that young age, I was like, oh, I don't want to sit and just talk to a bunch of people I don't know, and have that awkward smile and engage. So for me, that was a way to have some development, to be more confident, to be able to speak to these people in a professional manner. And that was kind of my two why's I went into it. What is HR? What can it do for me? And then this group developed myself a little bit further.
Callie Zipple:
Cool. So, you graduated.
Rebecca Rowe:
Correct. So kind of fast forwarding, I ended up going to complete my bachelor's degree with the University of Wisconsin stout and I did everything online, so I wasn't able to have that presence of a group, which was tough for me because I was so used to it at that student level and then joined the Lacrosse Wisconsin SHRM group, just because I was in the area, I was working as an HR assistant and thought that would be the next step for me. And completed my bachelor's degree, went on to complete my master's with UW Stout as well.
And at that point I moved to Winona, Minnesota, which is where I'm at now, and joined their board of directors instantly when I came into community, because I knew that was important for me. If I'm going to be working now for the community, I need to know the community and that was my way of doing it.
Callie Zipple:
One of the things that I struggled with was, and you sort of just alluded to it, being involved in one community and then moving to another community and trying to restart that involvement with a new group. So tell us a little bit about how you went about making those new connections and what were some of the resources you used to do that and how easy was it for you to get the role on the board? And I'm smiling when I say that because her story is quite funny. It was very easy for her to get involved.
Rebecca Rowe:
For me making that connection was important and it was emphasized to me quite a bit when I started with this city that we represent this community, so we need to be involved. And I'm very lucky that I have support in my efforts, which I think helps a lot when you're volunteering, because it does take up time and your effort. And there are days you're going to have to pull away from work to either attend conferences like this or do different things. So I think that was important for me.
And then making the connections of our local chamber of commerce. That was a big one I started with when I moved to the city, was getting to know the group there and joining different task force and different things. It sounds odd, but I joined a housing task force. It's nothing to do with HR, but when you're trying to get executives to move to your city to fill these larger roles and we're having housing issues, HR and that housing thing, all connect.
So for me, those were some of the connections that I made that helped to join my board. Again, it was easy. I ended up again instantly saying, I want to be a part of SHRM, knew there was a Winona area SHRM, reached out to their current president and said, hey, I'm interested in joining your chapter. And first response I got back was, that's great, hey, are you interested in being on a board of directors too? I had previous experience being on a board of directors. So I was like, sure, why not? And ended up taking on that task and went right into the president elect role for our chapter.
And it was a whirlwind at first because the first thing I did was I came to this last year and I left with my head just spinning of all of the different things that I could do and wanted to do, and had to learn how to reign that in a little bit so it wasn't overwhelming. But it's been a fantastic experience.
Callie Zipple:
And the one thing I'll say for our listeners who are looking to get involved at the chapter level, Rebecca's story is not the norm. Sometimes it's easier to become a member first of an organization and then work your way into volunteering because what's nice about Rebecca's story is that she had prior experience and sometimes that gives us a leg up. But if you don't have that prior leadership experience on another SHRM chapter, it's important to be a member first and get familiar with the chapter, understand all of the offerings it has for members and then be able to participate as a board member. So that's the one thing I will mention to our listeners as well.
Rebecca Rowe:
Because my story is definitely backwards. I think I had to learn it in the opposite way. I had to learn what my board role was, and then at the same time learning, what does this chapter really do? What are their big efforts? What are things they want to focus on? What's their strategic mission? So I kind of learned everything in reverse, versus just coming into it as a member, gaining that knowledge first, and then going to the next step. So yes, mine's not the average, but it's been a fun experience.
Callie Zipple:
Yeah, for sure. So speaking of fun, tell us a little bit about some of the projects or initiatives you've worked on as a volunteer that maybe are your favorite.
Rebecca Rowe:
So big passion of mine is working with young professionals, as being one. So I like to work with the students a lot. We have a really fantastic college relations representative on our board and she does a great job, but our whole board overall has been asked to be involved in a variety of ways. So I just recently completed a four week mentorship with a student and he got to come along for the whole crazy ride of open enrollment with me. So that was really-
Callie Zipple:
At your organization?
Rebecca Rowe:
Yes, at my organization. He got to come along. And working for the city, we have so many different umbrellas with our police department, fire department, all these different areas that he got to see a lot, that he said I haven't got exposure to. So that was a really fun project for me. And I've had two other interns as well through my company that I work for that have gotten to come along on that crazy journey with me through open enrollment and onboarding.
Another way we've involved the students is actually just... While I've been at this conference, got an email from their program director that they want to have a HR advisory board for their university. Last year, about maybe 15 to 20 of us HR professionals got together at the university and shared with them what our thoughts were on the curriculum, because we thought they were maybe lacking in a couple of areas or really were strong in a couple of areas and wanted to share that with the students and the faculty.
And they really gained a lot from that and ended up making curriculum changes. And now they're looking to add a full internship requirement to their curriculum for their students. And that all came from this advisory board that SHRM helped get them the members for and reach out to. So now we are going to have this meet twice a year and go over all of the different ins and outs of the program so that they are really developing strong HR students to get out into that community.
Callie Zipple:
That's wonderful.
Rebecca Rowe:
That's kind of my exciting student front. And then from an employment perspective, we recently partnered with the Minnesota Department of Economic Development and we did a reentering past offenders into the workplace half day session. So focusing on getting those individuals who have that criminal history, we focus on nonviolent crimes to start with... I think we do need to have a focus on those violent crimes, but we started with the non-violent and talked about background check process.
And we actually had two individuals who were past offenders, who have re-entered the workforce on the panel, talk about their difficulties in re-entering, and some of the things they've encountered that have made it challenging. Or given kudos to those employers who have given them the chance to re-enter. So it was a really neat experience to have that whole mixture of the employment legal side, the employment side, and then a fact sharing. It was a very cool experience to be involved in that.
Callie Zipple:
That's amazing. And I know that is something that SHRM national will be focusing on and having conversations around as well, so I'm excited to see that happening at the local chapter level. And I would be very interested in hearing how that continues to go for you.
But I'll just add, based on my experience, what my favorite things have been, and it comes back again for me to college relations, as well. So I was the college relations lead for the state of Wisconsin, and we did a HR games competition for all of the student chapters in Wisconsin. And seeing the students compete against each other and seeing all the volunteers that show up for that, it's just a very cool event. And watching the students interact with those HR professionals and get resumes, building tips and interviewing tips, it's just a very energizing experience to see that interaction happening, so that's been one of my most proud moments is actually putting together that conference.
So both of our interests seems to be students. So it's been a very great opportunity for both of us, I think. And one of the reasons that students is so important to SHRM and to local chapters is that they're the next generation of our members, and our board volunteers. So if we can get them involved at the student level and excited about SHRM at the student level, and frankly about HR, that early on in their education, they'll stick with us, they'll stick with HR, they'll stick with SHRM through their career and we can tap into them as volunteers, once they become a young professional or emerging professional post-graduation. So students are certainly going to be a focus for SHRM and should be a focus for all of our local chapters as well.
Rebecca Rowe:
Yeah. I can't get over what our student chapter has done this year. They've had really great leadership on their board level and they've done mock interviews, they've gone and done volunteer projects and they're highly involved. So that's exciting for me to see that they're already so passionate about the field and that they are all just so ready to go and want that experience and will jump at any opportunity that they have.
So I think that's a really untapped resource in the volunteer aspect is, have your students get involved with your professional chapters. We've had them volunteer for our leadership involvement conference we do every year. And we always say to them, it's great networking for you, you're meeting a bunch of us, you're getting that personal connection. It's led to internships for a lot of them. It's led to entry level part-time positions. So I think that's a really untapped resource that more chapters need to utilize.
Callie Zipple:
And I can only imagine if we can keep them as excited about HR post-graduation, our field will change.
Rebecca Rowe:
Absolutely.
Callie Zipple:
They will be able to bring that excitement into HR and help us elevate the profession, which is the theme of this year's VLS. And that's certainly something that we should think about tapping into and making sure that we cultivate and allow them to continue being that excited once they get into the field itself. So, great.
Well thank you for sharing all of that. The next thing I think our listeners would benefit from hearing is how you feel volunteering with your local chapter has helped your professional career.
Rebecca Rowe:
I don't even know if there's a way to measure how much it's helped me. As I stated earlier from the student level, I went into it thinking, oh, I hate networking, this is just the most gruesome thing I've ever had to do. And that's what's helped me a lot professionally is that ability to just sit down and have an open conversation, like we're having. Just meeting someone randomly at this conference and be able to strike up a conversation and get to know people that I've never met before. We are completely different sides of the globe. I was meeting people from Hawaii and Guam and all these different locations that I would not have opportunities to meet otherwise and to share our best practices.
So professionally for me, it's opened up my networks and my connections so much more, but it's also, I think, added a level of credibility to my not only my resume, but just when people are talking to me and asking me things and finding out that I'm involved in SHRM. I am very proud to say that I'm involved in this organization because this added so much to my career. I am definitely a very passionate SHRM person. And I am sharing that in any opportunity and venue that I can.
Callie Zipple:
And we appreciate you for that.
Rebecca Rowe:
I'm a little marketing tool in Minnesota. There's so much that is added for me to be involved in that volunteer level, being able to meet so many people. I think that the connections is a big thing for me. And I think I emphasize that a lot right now just because that's what we're doing here is connecting and using that... The theme of this whole conference is elevating everybody. I feel like everyone here is just looking to uplift everybody. It's just such a positive environment.
And then just professionally back at home, some things that it's done for me is the ability to get involved in other groups. So it's opened up, as I alluded to earlier, that housing task force. That was a part of working for the city that involved me with that. but I've been asked to be on those advisory panels. I've been asked to come speak to students and be involved in so many ways... Opened up... There's a group out of Rochester, Minnesota called Max Ability. And it's focusing on getting individuals with disabilities gainful employment. And I think it's so important to have those conversations of those untapped resources or those resources that are overlooked. So it's just really been phenomenal doors that have opened for me having my name involved with the SHRM chapter.
Callie Zipple:
And I think what's so great about the Max Ability that you just mentioned, HR probably wasn't part of that conversation prior to inviting you and SHRM into that group. And so getting HR to be more involved in those sorts of conversations via your experience as a volunteer with SHRM is huge.
Rebecca Rowe:
Yeah.
Callie Zipple:
That's one of the things that we've talked about many times is how do we reach more business professionals? And it's ideas like that, getting involved in other conversations that are already happening about people that want employment and want things that HR should be a part of and have conversations about. So that's a really great example of how you're sort of reaching out in your community to get HR more publicity and more visibility in those conversations that are already happening.
Rebecca Rowe:
Yeah. It was a group that I don't lead, I'm not a part of, but being able to be that bystander in the room, that's just absorbing everything and, excuse me, trying to figure out how can we touch on this? What can we do? And we've ended up formulating different chapter meetings for our group on... We have one coming up where we're going to integrate service animals into the workplace. And that's a huge topic coming up, between that and what's the difference between a therapy animal and an emotional support animal and a service animal. So it's all come up based off of these other groups that I've made connections with.
Callie Zipple:
Very cool. And that will benefit, I think, even the organization that you work with for pay.
For me, it's funny that you mentioned networking before and how it's helped you sort of open doors to other people you would've never met before. And that's I think what has been so beneficial for me, back when I was a volunteer, is that it helped me with being more confident walking into those sort of networking opportunities. I don't like networking either. I did a podcast episode with Eric actually on networking and how introverts struggle with it, but can still be good at it. And that was one of the things that I didn't realize until I got involved as a volunteer, because as you are continuing to get exposure to new people, you have to become more and more comfortable and more and more confident in those conversations. Without the volunteering or the involvement in my local SHRM chapter, I wouldn't have gotten to be comfortable walking into a room of people I didn't know before. And so that's definitely a benefit that I've realized as part of my membership and then volunteering with SHRM.
Rebecca Rowe:
It's been very valuable for me because I can go in front of a group of our employees and talk about benefits all day long or things that are directly related to my position, but going in front of a group of my peers is a whole different way of speaking. So the public speaking aspect of it that I've gained as well is... I can't even put that into words. Because prior to that, I would've been dreading going in front of a group of people and talking about what our mission is and what our goals are for the next year and being that leader.
Again, going back to being that young professional in our group, we have very senior experienced individuals who are on our board. So for me to lead that group has also influenced the way that I speak to them, it's influenced the way that I prepare for a meeting. So it's gaining me that experience to go to that next step in my career, being able to be that strategic voice at the table versus just being that other person who's part of the conversation. I'm leading that conversation now. So that has also helped for my career as well, to be able to speak confidently in front of a senior leadership group.
Callie Zipple:
And by the way, next time you are at your paid job and your senior leadership comes to you and says, hey, we need you to present on so and so, you're ready for that because of the experience you've gotten from leading meetings at SHRM.
Rebecca Rowe:
Absolutely.
Callie Zipple:
I love that. And we've sort of already touched on this question or topic, but I'm going to revisit it for those who maybe don't have a SHRM chapter near them, or maybe they're not in HR. Maybe they're a business professional and they're just not interested in getting involved with SHRM.
What are some other ways that people can tap into networking opportunities or volunteer opportunities within their community?
Rebecca Rowe:
Being that I live in a smaller community, I think that it's important that... If you're in a community that doesn't have a SHRM chapter, reach out to other people, maybe there's another manufacturing company in town, or maybe there's another retailer in town. Reach out, find out who does their HR practices and find out who's doing that and just say, hey, do you want to meet up for coffee? Do you want to meet up for dinner? And just make a connection? You might be able to share some really good best practices, things you're encountering. When you're in a small town, you also are sharing a lot of the same workforce.
So I think it's important that you can talk about maybe what your struggles are. Is it pay? Is it benefits? Is it your scheduling? I think even if you're not involved at any chapter level or maybe if you are... I have connections in part of Wisconsin. I have connections in Lacrosse. And I still meet up with my first boss that I had, who is 30 minutes away from me. Her and I will still go out for supper, just to meet up because she's taught me so much, but it's also just good connections and networking to keep. So I think doing things like that.
If you're not comfortable with that, I think going to chamber of commerce meetings, you're going to meet a lot of business professionals there, I think that's important. Connecting at your local university, that's been a huge one for me, as far as meeting up with the faculty and the students that are there. I think there's a lot of different resources that you can tap and don't be afraid to just connect to the national level too. There's different blog posts that you can follow, where you can connect with individuals who may not be in your area, but at the national level you could still... Beauty of technology is we can reach just about anybody now.
Callie Zipple:
Yeah. And one of the things that we offer to SHRM members is SHRM Connect. And it's a mechanism, essentially like an instant message or a message board where you can connect with any other SHRM volunteer or I'm sorry, SHRM member, globally. So you can go out there and ask some questions or look to connect with somebody and have literally anybody respond to you. So it's a really great tool that we've developed for members to connect with other members worldwide.
One of the things that I'll mention too, that I know that our SHRM chapters struggle with is getting volunteers. And I got to think that's not just SHRM chapters. I bet you any other organization struggles with that as well. And so if you're interested in being a volunteer and you're part of another organization, just ask, just raise your hand, or have a conversation about the steps to become a volunteer or just getting involved in general. I think you have to ask the question first in order to understand sort of what that looks like for the organization that you're interested in.
Rebecca Rowe:
And I think don't be afraid of it. It's fun. It is exciting. I've had so many doors open for me being involved at a volunteer level for SHRM that I would've never imagined two years ago that I would've attended this conference twice, that I would've met the number of people that I have. The connection that I've gained just with my state alone is phenomenal. It's such a fun group of... Promoting Minnesota, but we're such a fun group to just exchange the ideas and the amount of stuff that our chapters involved with here is just phenomenal. We keep hearing of different members of ours who are on panels, who are giving presentations who have won awards and we are support each other. It's just such a supportive network. Don't be afraid to get involved. It's fun, it's uplifting and it's such a good professional development tool.
Callie Zipple:
Wonderful. Is there any final remarks, any closing remarks you want to share with our listeners?
Rebecca Rowe:
If you're not involved, get involved. I think for me, that's number one. Take the jump and just do it.
Callie Zipple:
I love that. If you have questions about some of the opportunities that are available at your SHRM chapter, feel free to reach out to your field service director within the state. We can connect you with whoever you need to be connected with to get that information. And we're happy to support you if you do have that aspiration to become involved or become a leader.
So Rebecca, thank you so much for being here. If our listeners want to reach out to learn more about what you're doing at your chapter level or within the state of Minnesota, how can they contact you?
Rebecca Rowe:
They can contact me via email, which I can provide, which is RROWE@ci.winnona.nn.us. Or they can check out Winona area SHRM's Facebook page or website, and I'd be happy to connect you with any one of our members or connect myself.
Callie Zipple:
And if they wanted to reach you on LinkedIn, do you have a profile out there as well?
Rebecca Rowe:
I do, yep. So Rebecca, last name is Rowe, R-O-W-E.
Callie Zipple:
Wonderful. And again, this is Callie, your host. I am on LinkedIn, Callie Zipple. I'm also out on Instagram and Twitter. If you want to connect with me there, I'm @SHRMCallieZ. Thank you again, Rebecca, for being here. It's been an awesome conversation. I hope that our listeners connect with you as well. Thank you again for coming out to another episode at Honest HR. If you want to subscribe, you can go out to shrm.org/honestHR. You can also suggest some guests or topics for future episodes. You can also find us on iTunes or wherever else you listen to your podcasts, really. And again, thank you for coming out and we'll see you for the next episode of Honest HR.