Wednesday, May 8
7:00 Registration Re-Opens
Registration remains open throughout the day. Please visit Sherman's Convention Bookstore, the SHRM Silent Auction, and the Internet Cafe. THANK YOU Convention Sponsor, MEMIC; Keynote Sponsor, Great Falls Insurance; Reception Sponsors, Career Management Associates and Fragomen; Breakfast and Dessert Sponsor, BGA Financial; Entertainment Sponsor, Northeast Delta Dental; and Workshop Sponsors, Combined Benefits United, Southern New Hampshire University, and F.A. Peabody Company.
Lead Sponsor: 
Registration Sponsor: 
7:00 - 8:00 Early Bird: Mastering the Art of Difficult Conversations
Track: HR Skills and Creativity. According to Catharine MacLaren, Ph.D., SPHR (Workforce Performance Solutions), only 30% of conversations that should happen at work actually do. In this lively session learn how to have these conversations more frequently, easily and effectively. Build your conversation skills. Practice a model for opening conversations, reframing positive communication, managing emotional responses, and normalizing relationships. Limited seating... so if you register for this session, please make sure you'll be there bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
Pre-approved for HRCI general credit.
7:00 - 8:30 Breakfast is Served
Your Host: 
8:30 - 9:45 Keynote: CY WAKEMAN
Reality-Based Rules: The New HR Foundation. Following up on her Tuesday keynote, Cy Wakeman offers a synopsis of 
her new work, "New Rules of the Workplace." She makes a clarion call for HR to adapt its approach to managing change, measuring performance, and creating engagement in order to truly support business missions and strategies. Be in the front line of your organization as you help create a strategic organizational plan that positions HR to deliver aggressive agendas with limited resources in a whole new set of work realities.
Pre-approved for HRCI strategic credit. Keynote Sponsor: 
10:15 - 11:45 Choice A: HR as Strategic Diversity Partner
Track: Get Strategic. "Leverage Diversity and Inclusion!" Discover where MAINE is on the diversity journey and the connection with our trading partners, high tech, and our need to attract talent. Uncover new ways for HR to strategically leverage diversity and inclusion at work. Shilpa Pherwani (Ibis Consulting Group in Framingham, Massachusetts) helps you build an action plan for connecting HR competencies with diversity/inclusion and, in the process, identifies strategies for inspiring and engaging a great Maine workforce!
Pre-approved for HRCI strategic credit.
10:15 -11:45 Choice B: HR Boot Camp - Compliant Discipline and Discharge
Track: HR Boot Camp. "Fairness, Consistency, Efficacy!" To build your HR skills, you must master the art of discipline and discharge. It’s a blend of legal knowledge, understanding the needs of your organization, setting appropriate rules and implementation, plus a big dose of common sense. Dan Rose (Drummond Woodsum in Portland) will help your company establish discipline and discharge policies, conduct investigations, and reward positive behavior in compliance with Maine and federal employment laws.
Pre-approved for HRCI general credit.
10:15 -11:45 Choice C: Meaning Trumps Money
Track: Build a Great Workforce. "Making a Difference!" Sense of purpose is a high priority among the “over fifty” population. Barbara Babkirk (Heart at Work in Portland) helps you understand this generational motivator in the baby boomer demographic and engages you in a dynamic peer-to-peer conversation on the work options appealing to “boomers.” Learn strategies for engaging these employees, addressing your talent needs, and building an inventory of retention resources that provide ongoing support to this talent pool.
Pre-approved for HRCI general credit.
10:15 - 11:45 Choice D: Gay Marriage and the Maine Workplace
Track: Legal Eagles. "The Evolving Law in Maine and the Nation!" When significant cultural shifts occur, they inevitably impact the workplace. Maine’s gay marriage law and the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on DOMA will affect HR, workplace policies and benefits, and your ability to attract and retain talent. Pat Peard and Linda McGill (Bernstein Shur in Portland) will lead a discussion of the marriage law’s business impact, the connection to employment law practices, and the more subtle effects on your workforce.
Pre-approved for HRCI general credit.
10:15 - 11:45 Choice E: How LL Bean Makes References Matter
Track: HR Skills and Creativity. "Getting Feedback!" 96% of HR professionals check references, yet less than 25% of those checks produce information beyond employment verification. Mike Bartkus (SkillSurvey in Wayne, Pennsylvania) and Tammy Noyes (LL Bean) shine the light on modern-day reference-checking as an opportunity to collect 360-degree feedback that predicts performance and retention. Understand the latest research from IO psychologists supporting the new reference-checking and become a better onboarder.
Pre-approved for HRCI general credit.
11:45 - 1:00 Lunch and Roundtables
Enjoy a scrumptious buffet lunch! And for those who enjoy non-stop learning, please join one of three Roundtables. Topics and Leaders: 1) Build Your Talent Pipeline, with Audra Becker and Christy Hillman (Career Management Associates); 2) Workers' Comp Update, with Tom Quartararo (Robinson Kriger); and 3) A Best Places to Work Success Story, with Shannon Kashinsky, SPHR (PeoplesChoice Credit Union).
1:00 - 2:15 Keynote: PAMELA GREEN, SPHR
5 Strategies for Building a World-Class HR Operation. The vibrant Pamela Green joins us from Alexandria, Virginia to make her pitch on how you can build an HR operation that 
transforms you into an invaluable business leader. We first met Pam in her role as SHRM’s Chief Membership Officer, and now she has struck out on a new venture – the Power Project Institute. Her work, and this keynote, builds on the premise that not everyone can “do” HR. She will walk you through the key game changers in HR today and in the years to come – addressing the requisite skills, knowledge, and abilities necessary to lead a world class HR operation. Assess your readiness to elevate your view of HR as business leader!
Pre-approved for HRCI strategic credit. Keynote Sponsor:
2:15 - 3:00 Dessert and HR EXPO
Enjoy savory desserts and visit the EXPO Hall to see the quality HR services and products of 80 companies. The support of our EXPO participants makes much of what you see on the convention floor possible! Hosted by: BGA Financial
3:00 - 4:30 Choice A: From Operational to Strategic
Track: Get Strategic. "HR Runs the Business!" How do you become a partner in the board room? How do you engage upper management to change HR processes to better align with organizational mission? It’s not easy, but Mirjam IJtsma, SPHR (Cultural Chemistry, LLC in Derry, New Hampshire) has some engaging ideas for the effective transition of HR to a more strategic focus. Review the changing core competencies of the profession, a new HR Business Partner Model, and see where to gain valuable skills and insights online and in the print media.
Pre-approved for HRCI strategic credit.
3:00 - 4:30 Choice B: Workplace Bullies Require a New Approach
Track: HR Boot Camp. "Toward a Healthier Workplace Culture!" Workplace bullying legislation has been introduced in 21 states, an indicator of a huge nationwide problem. Suzanne Benoit, SPHR (Benoit Consulting in Falmouth) offers a participatory session that will help eliminate toxic behavior at work by adjusting your culture. Learn what defines workplace bullying and emotional manipulation. Understand the different types of bullies who show up at work. Discover techniques for stopping this behavior and supporting the balance of your workforce.
Pre-approved for HRCI general credit.
3:00 - 4:30 Choice C: Accelerating Peak Performance
Track: Build a Great Workforce. "The Latest Research on Employee Engagement!" Don MacPherson (Modern Survey in Minneapolis, Minnesota) shares data that will demonstrate the extraordinary position HR holds to enhance engagement and arm employees, managers, and senior leaders with strategies that drive business performance. He will place this in the context of HR’s role in enriching organizational values, hiring talent with peak performance potential, and setting expectations for engagement between employees and managers.
Pre-approved for HRCI strategic credit.
3:00 - 4:30 Choice D: Maine's New Independent Contractor Law
Track: Legal Eagles. "Friends Don't Let Friends Misclassify!" Maine has a new law designed to bring uniformity in how independent contractors are defined for purposes of unemployment compensation, workers’ compensation, and other situations. Paul Catsos (Thompson & Bowie), Liz Wyman (Maine Attorney General’s office), and John Rohde (Maine Workers’ Comp Board) will roll out the new employer training program for this law. They will also discuss the law’s historical underpinning, its implications for employers, and penalties for misclassification.
Pre-approved for HRCI general credit.
3:00 - 4:30 Choice E: Collaborative Change
Track: HR Skills and Creativity. "What Leaders Must do to Change!" If you want to be a successful business leader, you must become expert in predicting, implementing, and embedding change. Executing change is relatively easy – predicting and embedding change for long-term sustainability is much more difficult. Lisa Beilstein (Partner’s in Leadership in Burlington, Vermont) will help you assess your talent as a change leader and improve your collaborative skills and the skills of other leaders whom you support at work.
Pre-approved for HRCI strategic credit.
4:30 - 6:00 Reception and HR EXPO
Please join us for hors d'oeuvres, conversations about all the day's exciting moments, and a chance to win some great prizes.
Your Hosts: 
7:00 - 9:00 Lobster Bake
The Samoset hosts a traditional Downeast Lobster Bake for convention attendees and guests. $60/per person, with advance purchase required. You may select this option when you register for the convention.
9:00 - 11:00 Entertainment
It's time for a little music, dancing, and camaraderie. Join convention DJ Greg Powers in the Enoteca Lounge at the Samoset!
Hosted by: 