Michigan Works! hosts HR seminar for employers

Michigan Works! hosts HR seminar for employers

The Lansing-based Michigan Works! Association provides services to advance Michigan’s Workforce Development System. Photo via fb.com

Michigan Works! is hosting a free half-day seminar for employers on Thursday to address employment issues impacting small- and mid-size businesses.

Presidents, CEOs, human resources professionals and work force managers are invited to attend and participate in several sessions focused on best practices and new strategies.

There will be seven breakout sessions available during the seminar, including: gender intelligence, health care reform, online learning, employment law, the five-generation work force, hiring returning citizens and Michigan Talent Connect.

“I am really excited to have the seminar on the implications of the Affordable Care Act because a lot of people still have questions about how it’s going to affect them, especially the small businesses,” said Jane Kreha, marketing and communications manager for Michigan Works!

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act update session will cover some key topics that concern employers: marketplaces, health care exchanges, and subsidies; counting to “50” and how to count “variable hour” employees; reform mandates; price changes, including taxes and fees; benefit changes, including reform mandates; wellness incentive expansion; and five strategic reform considerations.

Redia Anderson, co-author of “Trailblazers: How Top Businesses are Accelerating Results through Inclusion and Diversity,” will provide the keynote address. Anderson will share the inclusion and diversity practices that have proven effective in top-performing companies across the globe.

“She is out of Houston and her specialty is diversity and inclusion … What is unique about her is that, I think, a lot of people talk about diversity and inclusion but she has a lot of data to back it up,” Kreha said.

“They’ve actually looked at some of the top companies in the country that practice diversity and inclusion and they have numbers to show how it’s increased their return on investment, so a lot of data to back up what they are saying about why it’s good to be diverse.”

The seminar will be held on Western Michigan University’s downtown Grand Rapids campus from 7:30 a.m.-noon. Registration is open to the first 250 applicants. Sign up at michiganworkska.org.

Breakout sessions

  • Gender Intelligence: It’s Not Rocket Science, with keynote speaker Redia Anderson, founder and managing partner Anderson People Strategies LLC.
  • Health Care Reform Update, with Jeff Rubleski, director of sales strategy for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
  • What Every Business Pro Must Know About Online Learning, with Laura Bergells, Lynda.com author and adjunct instructor at Seidman College of Business, Grand Valley State University.
  • Top 5 Employment Law Topics Every HR Professional Must Understand, with Jeffrey Fraser, an attorney at Miller Johnson.
  • The Five-Generation Workforce: Will Your Lack of Generational Intelligence Sink Your Organization? Chuck Fridsma, of CTF Consulting, and Chris Fridsma, human resources director at Feyen-Zylstra, will lead this session.
  • Hiring Returning Citizens: Employer / Employee Perspectives, with panelists Mark Peters, Butterball Farms CEO; Jimmy Erickson, Butterball Farms team leader; Kelley Losey, director of Quest Sustainable Solutions, Cascade Engineering; Julie MacFarland, director of organization and talent effectiveness, Trinity Health; and Omar Alston, area manager, Michigan Department of Corrections.
  • Michigan Talent Connect will be presented by representatives from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.