PNW-HRSF 2006 Annual Conference
November 9, 2006
Washington Mutual’s Cedarbrook Center, SeaTac, WA

"Why Should Anyone Work for You?
Making Your Company an 'Employer of Choice' Culture"

“Wow! I loved it! Thank you so much!!”

“Outstanding. Exactly what I needed at the point in time in terms of what is going on in the company & how I can help it be successful”

“The program was well designed and informative.  Speaker topics were relevant for all attendees. I learned from every speaker!”

Once again, participants are telling us that the information provided at the PNW HRSF Annual Conference was excellent, the ability to engage in meaningful conversation amazing; and, the opportunity to connect and re-connect with HR colleagues wonderful. Over sixty (60) senior level HR professionals attended our 2nd Annual Fall Conference.

Kicking off the first session was keynote speaker John P. Fayad, CEO & Publisher, Business Book Review, LLC. John provided his insights on four of the best business books on making your company an employer of choice.

They included:

• The Enthusiastic Employee, David Sirota, Louis Mischkind and Michael Meltzer
• The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave, Leigh Branham
• A Journey into the Heroic Environment, Rob Lebow
• Confidence, Rosabeth Moss Kanter

To resounding applause, John Medina, Ph.D, Molecular Biologist and founder of Talaris Institute returned for an encore discussion of his research findings.

Dr. Medina spoke on:

• Impacts to attention, productivity and retention
• How we process and act on emotional information – including biological gender differences

The afternoon sessions began with a lively panel discussion from four PNW companies who are either 2006 Fortune “Best Places to Work” or 2006 Oregon Business “Best Places to Work” recipients.

Panelists included:

• Barbara Baker, Executive Vice President – Cultural Enhancement, Umpqua Holdings Corporation (#7 – 2006 Oregon Business’s ‘Best Places to Work’)
• Michelle Clements, Vice President of Human Resources, REI (#9 – 2006 Fortune’s ‘Best Places to Work’)
• Molly Goe, Vice President, HR, Nordstrom (#46 – 2006 Fortune’s ‘Best Places to Work’)
• Jim Sutton, Director of Global Organization & Leadership Development, Nike, Inc (#100 – 2006 Fortune’s ‘Best Places to Work’)

Completing the conference was John Scherer, Author of Work and the Human Spirit, as the closing keynote speaker. John led an interactive session on the necessity of authentic leadership and its relationship to creating an ‘employer of choice’ company.

Networking Opportunities
There were great opportunities to catch up with the other participants in the morning over coffee and pastries, and during breaks in the session. Immediately following the last session, participants enjoyed their favorite beverage and continued the great conversations by the crackling fireplace in the impressive Cedarbrook library.

Acknowledgements

Conference Participants: Thank you for your very helpful comments and feedback on what went well and how we can improve for next year’s conference.

80% of the participants providing feedback strongly agreed that the conference was informative, worth attending and educational!

Conference Committee: Many thanks to our conference committee members who committed many long hours into this year’s conference.
Committee Chair: Jon Anastasio, Nordstrom
Members: Angie Barrie, Watson Wyatt
Linda Mangone, ICOS
Rhonda Stickley, Weyerhaeuser