If you're not
having fun
with your
human resources,
call Arlene today
at 952-996-0975

There's no edict requiring us to "go it alone." Whether you're an employee, manager, or business owner, whatever your field of expertise or service, there are many opportunities for us to team up in a supportive environment and partner with others to achieve more than we might alone.

For the past few years, I've participated in two Mastermind Groups where the objective of each group is a partnership of ideas and support for each other as business owners. In one group, we are six women business owners, members of NAWBO - the National Association of Women Business Owners - who initially sets up Mastermind groups for its members. We meet monthly sharing our successes, experiences, and business issues. We assist each other with marketing, financials, employee relations, hiring, firing, planning, brainstorming, and anything else small business owners encounter in the running of our businesses.

The second group is a Passionmind group, facilitated by LifeShapes, Inc. This is also a group of women business owners who meet monthly to enhance our businesses and we address many of the same issues as in my Mastermind group. However, this group approaches the discussion in a more personal way. We analyze our businesses and business decisions through identifying and understanding our Core Passions, using the Passion Portal Assessment , to identify how our passions drive our professional and personal lives.

These two groups serve me as an advisory committee or Board of Directors. We share our insights and expertise. We provide clarity and feedback to help each other succeed. We have become committed business partners knowing we have each others' best interests foremost in our minds as we support each others' business and personal development.

So, what's out there for you? What groups can assist you in strengthening your knowledge base, support your professional development, provide an ear and offer solutions to your business issues and decisions, and serve as your advisory board?

Many of you know that I have partnered with Schwarz Williams Companies for the past 10 years, providing human resource consulting, training and hotline services to our clients. They have recently joined the Stanton Group where we are introducing a new service: HR Mastery Groups, which I will be facilitating.

If Human Resource tasks are all or part of your job responsibilities, these groups may be the perfect opportunity for you to meet monthly with a group of your peers to enhance your HR skills and knowledge and benefit from their experience and wisdom.

This is a fee-based service where individuals sign up to meet with an assigned group of peers for 12 monthly two-hour sessions. The first hour is open dialogue addressing participants' immediate issues or needs. The second hour is topic-specific and may include expert HR presenters, swapping of information or tools, or peer presentations. Group topics will be determined by each group, including prioritizing the sequence of the topics and defining the depth of information desired.

Depending on the response for this service, my plan is to cluster groups by various demographics of the members such as: organization size, profit status, member experience, or industry. For example, Veterinary Hospitals Association members have requested that I create a group specifically for veterinary practices. We can do the same with other groups and industries.

If this HR Mastery concept interests you, feel free to call me at 952-996-0580 and I'll be pleased to discuss the details with you further and send you an application. I am very excited to partner with Stanton Group on this project knowing how receiving support, insights and solutions from a group of my peers has been beneficial to me. I'm looking forward to sharing that experience with you.

Copyright (c) 2006 Arlene Vernon, HRx, Inc.