Searching the Valleys for the Best HR Professionals

All of us business managers think we are human resources directors. Even if we merely manage an assembly line or are editor of a newspaper. How hard could managing people be, making sure that their workplace is a safe, clean, productive and happy place in which to spend eight hours each day? Just be a considerate and thoughtful boss and everyone will be happy. Yeah, right. All of us business managers know that in managing people these days you need to really know how to react properly, manage situations astutely, not act on emotion and know laws concerning the workplace – especially in California which has more protections for workers than many other states. So that’s why we have human resources directors and why these professionals are more important than ever in any business. And that’s why the Business Journal is once again planning a special report on the HR profession and will be honoring several individual HR directors at an event on March 3. We want to honor those professionals who have done much for their companies in their HR role and by doing that set some standards in the profession as a whole. But great HR directors aren’t as readily apparent as great CEOs or even great CFOs. It’s not a job that gets a lot of attention. HR people are the ones who essentially keep the operations of a workplace running smoothly. If nothing goes wrong, which is usually the case, then they don’t get noticed. Kinda like a lot of other things in life. Because these great HR professionals don’t come out of the woodwork, we’ve been asking readers, business leaders and HR trade groups to help us with identifying the best HR directors in our greater-Valley area. We’re coming down to the wire on this. You’ve only got until Feb. 5 to send us nominations of people you feel are deserving of being honored as great examples of HR professionals. This is my personal plea for readers to send in nominations. We want to blanket our area and make sure that we have the best of the best to choose from in making our picks. A committee made up of outside professionals from varying industries will help our editorial staff pick the honorees who will be showcased at the event and in a special report publishing March 15. So what are the rules and regulations of this HR nomination process? HR professionals must be in a paid, full-time professional position. They must have a “human resources” type title. Nominees who have other responsibilities such as office management, IT, accounting or other duties must work as a human resources professional at least 75 percent of the time. They must spend 90 percent of their time working in the greater San Fernando Valley region, which includes the San Fernando, Conejo, Simi, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys. Nominees may live outside the region but must work inside the region. They must have a minimum of five years as an HR professional and must attend the awards luncheon on March 3. Oh, you can self nominate if you want. Those are the rules. We’re encountering a problem as we try to get nominations for this report even though this is the second time we’ve done it: HR directors are pretty bashful about putting themselves out there for any type of honor. They are accustomed to doing a great job and not getting much fanfare – or media attention. I said this last year: It’s time human resources directors get recognized because of the incredibly important work they do for every company large and small. They keep a business moving smoothly. They do this by effectively dealing with issues concerning any company’s best asset – its employees. Nomination forms are available at our website sfvbj.com under EVENTS. Or if you don’t have time to fill out a form, just contact our researcher Brian DeWolf directly at [email protected] or at 818-316-3130 and give us a name of an HR director you feel is deserving of an honor and we’ll do the due diligence from there. As always, you can always call me too at (818) 316-3125 or e-mail me at [email protected] with any names or with any questions concerning this. Let’s get a good group of HR professionals to honor. They deserve it. Business Journal Editor Jason Schaff can be reached at (818) 316-3125 or at [email protected].