SHRM 2009 – Day 2

Yesterday was a great day at SHRM.  First of all, New Orleans is a great city and it is great to feel a part of contributing to the re-building of the city by being at this conference and giving money to the local economy.  The food is great and the people are too.

Just a couple of highlights of the conference.  I finally got to meet Lance Huan, the author of YourHRGuy.com.  If you haven’t read his blog.  His whole blog is devoted to HR related issues.  We also liked him because he really gets EAPs and their value to companies through support for managers, mitigation of liability, and assistance in keeping employees engaged.

We also got to meet some folks from HRMarketer.com and learn more about what they do.  I know I won’t do this justice because what they do is pretty expansive but here goes.  In essence, they help HR suppliers/vendors get their products and services seen by HR decision makers.  They also have an excellent blog which provides valuable information about what is going on in the HR world.  For instance they are reporting on what is going on at the SHRM Annual conference and specifically pointed out the 2009 Employee Benefits Survey Report which, among other things, reported that “Overall, health care and welfare benefits declined slightly in 2009 though more companies are offering mental health coverage benefits in 2009 than 2008. Seventy-five percent of HR professionals said their organizations offered the benefit last year compared to 80 percent this year. Mental health coverage was the only benefit in this category to be offered by more organizations in 2009 than 2008″.  This has major implications for organizations in that it demonstrates a growing understanding by the HR community of the connection between mental health, physical health and productivity.  Further, it points to the importance of having a good EAP who can help provide education for employees on how to prevent serious mental health related problems and provide resources for those who are already suffering.

Well, I have to leave Starbucks where I am writing this blog and get over to the Conference for another day. 

Tags: EAP, employee benefits, health care, health care benefits, HR, Mental Health, mental health parity, SHRM, SHRM Annual Conference, wellness programs