Human Resources (HR) executives from national and independent AFSA member companies participated in the AFSA HR Committee's forum, held May 19-20 at the Charleston Place Hotel in Charleston, SC. Committee Chair Steve Blake, American General Finance's senior vice president for human resources led the forum, whose purpose was to discuss current challenges facing HR in the financial services industry.

The program began with a presentation on "Helping HR Partner with Senior Management–OR–Beyond the Basics" led by David Ferreira, president of Back Bay Consulting. When he recently asked 15 CEOs what they wished they had known before they took the job, he received these answers:

• The critical need to build a business model...vision, goals, structure and management team.
• A strong focus on changing the culture (getting the right people into the right places)
• The need to communicate the message...over and over again
• People issues are continuous and take up a lot of time

Although this data provides a compelling case for the need for a strong HR function, it is often undervalued, underutilized, or ignored, said Ferreira. "Changing the role of HR is not a new topic...people have talked about it for 25 years," he said.

Ferreira believes HR should be moved from a more functional orientation to a business orientation within the company—a change that includes a shift from an administrative function of policies and procedures to a more strategic function involving analysis and decisions. In addition, HR and top management should ask these questions:

• Who does the head of HR report to?
• What measurements drive the HR bonus?
• When does HR get involved in a business decision?
• Where is the head of HR's office located?
• How often does the CEO and head of HR meet?

Following his overview, Ferreira led an informal discussion with four top executives from AFSA member companies about their expectations for their HR departments and their concerns about developing their company's future workforce. Panelists included:

• Ray Biggs, President & COO, Security Finance Corporation of Spartanburg
• Ben Cheek, Chairman & CEO, 1st Franklin Financial Corporation
• Ben Hendrix, Executive Vice President & COO, American General Finance Corporation
• Virgina Herring, President, 1st Franklin Financial Corporation

Peter Rooney of Hewitt Associates addresses The HR Forum

In addition to Ferreira, other speakers included Peter Rooney, managing consultant, Hewitt Associates, who provided a presentation on the "State of Benefits Today." This included health care benefits, retirement benefits, and HR outsourcing for business impact.

Jim Norwine and Wayne Carlson, ExecuGroup, Inc. showcased a new Web-based program that enables organizations to implement a customized internal career management solution for their entire workforce (small or large).

The HR Forum closed with a committee meeting that featured a roundtable discussion on several topics, including:

• Use of assessment tools to help call centers identify candidates
• HR compliance reviews
• Performance appraisal and management process
• Report on current AFSA initiatives
• Update on preliminary plans for the AFSA Annual Meeting in October

About the AFSA HR Committee—The committee's role is to promote communication among members on all areas of human resources management and identify effective programs that attract, develop, and retain a highly motivated, diverse work force. AFSA members may appoint a representative to serve on the committee as one of the many benefits of their membership. For more information, contact Sheilah J. Harrison, Vice President, Membership Services, AFSA at (202) 466-8602 or email sharrison@afsmail.org.