New Year, New Website: a blessing in disguise

Last October, we thought we were on top of things here at LSHRM. I was all set to take over as the Director of Communications and Marketing—we'd mapped out all the processes from my predecessor and were figuring out the volunteer committee roles.  However, we were in for a special surprise:  we would be forced to re-launch our website and migrate our database by December 31!  Our previous member management company was purchased, so we were not alone in this inconvenience.  Unfortunately I was not aware of this before running for election at LSHRM, but after many hours of training, testing, editing and correcting mistakes, I can safely say now that we are in a good place, and positioned for success with the new site.

The new site is quite similar to the old in the look and feel, but with several new features:

• A more robust profile with additional fields
• More secure online payment system
• Empowerment for members to manage their information, with abilities to:
• View past invoices/receipts/meetings attended
• Manage username and password settings more independently
• Features for LSHRM leaders to access information:
• Many board and committee members will be able to manage and streamline activities utilizing the site’s data.
• We’ve also moved around some of the board duties and expanded board ownership around certain website functions.

In the coming months, we plan to look into some new features for communications and technology at LSHRM, including:

• A more modern check-in system for meeting attendees
• Faster deployment of credits and surveys with more streamlined internal processes
• A method to manage HRCI credits earned through LSHRM meetings with the online profile
• Other features for members, such as Group Boards and a more integrated Blog

Of course, some of these features will be more expensive or time intensive for our volunteer board to manage and train for, so it will take some time to adapt.  But hopefully members will soon enjoy even more new features.

Judging by recent contacts to LSHRM, most of our over 600 members have not experienced any problems. The most common issues have been ones where members have multiple user profiles (usually due to changing e-mail addresses and becoming confused)  and questions about renewal dates (you can see yours when you log in, and you may renew your membership online up to 7 days in advance of its expiration).

In the meantime, if you have questions or issues about anything LSHRM related, please don’t hesitate to contact our VP Administration at admin@lshrm.org, and your inquiry will be answered or routed to the appropriate board or committee member.  Also, make sure to follow and participate in our social media on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, and look for our monthly HR Insights column in the Business First newspaper (contact LSHRM if you'd like to contribute). Thank you to all for your flexibility as we adjust and grow!

--Director of Communications & Marketing