Concurrent Sessions

An Examination of a Real Life Employment Law Case From Termination All the Way to a Successful Summary Judgment Motion

In this interactive presentation, attendees will be presented with the opportunity to walk step by step through a real (and recent - 2011) racial discrimination and retaliation employment law case.  The presentation will begin with the Read more.

W. Kirk Turner will address key court and regulatory decisions that impact the workplace and will highlight steps that can and should be taken by HR professionals to minimize the risk of liability and employment litigation.  Kirk will highlight best (and worst) practices in the areas of harassment, discrimination and retaliation.  This session will provid Read more.

Social Media has made communication instantaneous and boundary-less.  Employees post, text, tweet, email and blog.  Communications are shared with anyone who has internet. Workplace incidents go viral.  A business’s trade secrets can be shared with a stroke of the keyboard.  This class will explore the art of managing communication after t Read more.

J. Daniel Morgan, Esq., Newton, O’Connor, Turner & Ketchum, P.C. 
Federal regulations affecting the workforce are ever-expanding.  The government continues to expand its tentacles into all aspects of business.  Are you up to date on posting requirements?  Are your employees being targeted by union organizers?  Is there a federal inve Read more.

With over 300 new federal investigators at the Department of Labor, employers must be more concerned than ever about wage and hour compliance.  This presentation will cover the top wage and hour violations and how to transform payroll practices to get into compliance.  Topics will include independent contractors, newly revised regulations, and new DOL dig Read more.

“Employee wins $15 million harassment lawsuit after ineffective investigation.”

This real-life headline shows the risk associated with investigating charges of discrimination, harassment or workplace misconduct. This session will identify how to conduct effective investigations that achieve your goals and improve the odds of your investigation s Read more.

Participants will learn the basics of improving their organization's leadership development capability.  A core leadership development model will be presented including establishing a leadership competency model, using valid assessment tools, establishing a multitude of targeted learning and development resources, and setting key success measures.  Real c Read more.

When it comes to talent acquisition, revising your recruiting strategy can be daunting. With more recruiting channels than ever before in a quickly changing landscape, many HR executives are finding it difficult to keep pace. Add competing priorities that extend beyond talent acquisition and increased pressure to lower cost and improve quality and time-to-fill, org Read more.

A recent 50-state review by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (2011) further reported that Oklahoma’s rate of labor and employment lawsuits is comparatively higher than other states. Facing a litigious environment requires businesses to be proactive in developing a solid business strategy for avoiding costly lawsuits. Dr. Wright and Kathy Neal will share HR best p Read more.

Remote work (telecommuting, teleworking) is becoming more popular, but there are significant potential pitfalls.

In this workshop, we'll discuss HR strategies and tactics to help organizations set up an effective remote worker program. Topics include: risk management, employee selection, performance management, teambuilding, communication and leadership tip Read more.

It is better to use background screening tools the way a sculptor works at the end of a project than at the beginning.  The EEOC is stepping up enforcement against organizations that are too heavy-handed in their approach to pre-employment screening.  This session will describe straightforward methodologies that minimize adverse impact, yet still afford p Read more.

OESC is an agency dedicated to providing quality services and assistance to Oklahoma employers and job seekers. Information will be provided on OESC’s role as a human resource tool that delivers employer services, such as job order posting, pre-screening for qualified applicants, and applicant referral to employer job openings. Other services that will be dis Read more.

People and talent fuel today’s business environment. Can you picture what the workforce trends look like during the next ten years? Like a sculpture, factors are shaping our future workforce. What questions should every organization ask themselves now to prepare for these expected workforce trends? Join Glenda Owen, PHR, as she shares her insights on th Read more.

Although discussed frequently, cultures where employees are engaged and working together are still elusive.  This workshop will explore a model for understanding the building blocks of an engaged culture and describe a learning process which will develop the individual abilities needed to fuel an engaged culture for the 21st century.

End the conference on a high note!  This roll-up-your-sleeves interactive session teaches you how to design and facilitate a team-building event so you won't need to hire an outside consultant.  Each participant will walk-away with a personally designed event including resources such as a needs assessment, planning worksheet, and evaluation debrief questi Read more.

Never before have there been so many generations in the workplace. This session looks at each of the generations and what makes the “tick.” Participants in this session will learn:

• How the generations are different and why
• What the implications are for HR and the managers of these generations in terms of recruitment and employ Read more.

Employee engagement is critical for increasing organizational results and improving employee morale. Creating a culture of collaboration is an important way to enhance employee engagement. This workshop for human resource professionals will give you a deeper understanding of the principles of effective collaboration, an easy to use model for optimizing collaborati Read more.

There is untapped energy waiting to be released inside organizations that plug into the benefits of positive people practices (P3). Building a positive company culture should be high on your list of priorities. Great places to work outperform their competition and provide higher returns to shareholders.

Five distinct benefits of this presentation are learni Read more.

Drama in the workplace is a vampire of our time, energy and productivity. The dynamics of drama are predictable, understandable, and observable. Dr. Regier will take a insightful trip around the Drama Triangle while taking on tough topics such as "The Hostage Crisis" "The Myth of Complaints", and "Dependence is Not Loyalty". Participants will gain insight into how  Read more.

A must for project managers, team leaders, or anyone who has the task of leading a group project. Learn how to recruit members and create deep commitment from the beginning. Discover ways to; grow that commitment through the stages of the project, conclude the project, celebrate, and send team members back to their previous work responsibilities. Goal: Learn how to Read more.

This session goes beyond “Leaves of Absence 101” and is designed for HR professionals who desire an advanced understanding of how to manage leaves of absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act, Americans with Disabilities Act and Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Act.

• Best Practices for Handling Intermittent Leaves and Requests for Read more.

Too many employee’s and employers suffer from the debilitating disease of insecurity which plagues their environments and efforts to achieve greatness. Confidence releases an irresistible and harmonizing distinction in individuals and company cultures.

Three simple ingredients combined create a delicious masterpiece producing a four course meal of ben Read more.

This session will focus on the best practices for both hiring and firing as it relates to preparation for the defense of discrimination charges and possible litigation.  Given the escalating cost of defending both administrative charges and litigation, these suggestions should help minimize your company's exposure to adverse administrative agency findings and  Read more.

Keith Wilkes is both an employment defense attorney and an Administrative Law Judge for the Oklahoma Department of Labor.  This session will focus on why employers lose claims and what practical steps can be taken to win both wage and unemployment compensation cases and will focus on:

• Understanding the Administrative Processes of the Oklahoma De Read more.

Scam artists and reckless financial advisors prey on baby boomer employees and retirees, often making their first approach through a company's HR department.  Using actual case examples, Former SEC Enforcement Branch Chief Pat Huddleston educates HR professionals about the risks and warning signs of investment fraud and helps them make sure that their employee Read more.

Entry and mid-level employees are the backbone of organizations.  They can also be your best resource to mission-critical positions.  Insight into their abilities and prior learning can help you learn which employees want to excel.  Employee education, career and education guidance, and career maps can be deployed as critical development tools.  Read more.

This presentation will focus on  common traps and mistakes that employers and human resources professionals often face with their employees.  The presentation will provide advice to enable employers to minimize these mistakes and avoid these traps.

Attendees will leave this program with knowledge and practical tips to assist their organization in positioning itself to achieve “Best Places to Work” status. Attendees will learn tactical activities they can execute in their organizations to increase morale, improve perception of benefit structure and critical components of improved communication wit Read more.

Review of Privacy Rule & Privacy Notice; Data Security Rules; Implications for Plan Sponsors and Business Associates; Confirm Understanding of Key Concepts and What Plan Sponsors Need to Do Differently.  Presentation has been updated to reflect changes under ARRA 2009 with an effective date of February 17, 2010 and it meets the "periodic training" requirem Read more.

Have you heard of the latest movement in Oklahoma to reduce health care costs?  Through the use of technology we can reduce unnecessary tests and end duplicated tests.  We can get the patient the right care at the right time and with the provider who has proven to have the best outcomes.  Implementation of the MyHealth Access and similar programs thr Read more.

Compensation can be a complex and challenging aspect/function and the HR professional must carefully construct their program to ensure the recruitment and retention of human capital for their organization. This presentation will simplify the complexities of Compensation and provide an ‘art form’ methodology and illustrate how with the right tools how yo Read more.

The focus of this session is 2 fold.  First to provide a clear understanding of Total Remuneration and how the Benefits components fit into this type of strategy and planning.  The second area of focus is on Benefits including a review of current trends in plan design and a look into 2013 and beyond for redesign considerations and cost control successes.< Read more.

The purpose of Unemployment Insurance is to ease the economic burden of unemployment by providing a temporary source of income for individuals who are unemployed through no fault of their own.

The recent recession and economic crisis of our Nation has put the Unemployment Insurance program to the test of providing economic stability in times of high unemplo Read more.

In a time of international economic and social upheaval, it is not surprising that so many businesses struggle to establish, maintain and grow their ideal culture, leading to poor performance, both organizational and individual.  Multi-generational conflicts are one of the barriers.  Over the past decade, many companies have focused heavily on business an Read more.

What is the difference between Coaching and Mentoring.  What are the five lessons that every leader needs to be successful?  Topics of coaching, mentoring, diversity, global understanding and ethics are applicable to any group.  The approach to leadership development can be applied to any organization of any size.

The goal of any organization is to "make money now and in the future".

Theory of Constraints (TOC), made popular by Eliyahu M. Goldratt,. helps in understanding the way a system functions and identification of elements which constrain the system from achieving that goal.

TOC helps us understand what constrains the business from achieving its goals  Read more.

We've all heard that old saying: "Actions speak louder than words!" Then why do some people still believe that it is acceptable to cheat in order to win? Perhaps it's because they've also heard this old saying: "Don't worry; everybody does it!" Is it true that ethical behavior is related to morale in the workplace? And can an organization's ethics really impact Read more.

HR has a key role in helping organizations develop and maintain and ethical culture. In this session we will discuss the many ways HR policies and procedures impact organizational ethics to include: symbolism and communication, internal controls and governance structure, ethics compliance programs and appropriate talent management structures.

W. Kirk Turner will address key court and regulatory decisions that impact the workplace and will highlight steps that can and should be taken by HR professionals to minimize the risk of liability and employment litigation.  Kirk will highlight best (and worst) practices in the areas of harassment, discrimination and retaliation.  This session will provid Read more.

Having gone through the merger of my company, TalentTree with 3 sister companies, Mr.Scholes will discuss the key efficiencies that an HR Strategic Partner needs to maintain core HR functionality while portraying personal value to the organization. Areas covered will be categorized into 3 areas:

1. The Must Haves (functions that cannot pause and must go Read more.

Succession Management refers to an organization’s processes for identifying, selecting, and managing talent to build bench strength and ensure the readiness of movement into key positions when necessary. In this session, Ms. Sterling will further explain what succession management means, share real-life examples of how it has critically impacted large organiz Read more.

We can’t know what’s going to happen in the years ahead. And the farther out we look, the less certain things become. But it’s not about predicting the future; it’s about preparing for the future. This session will examine key trend “waves” in several “currents” - technology, demographics, culture, and the workplace&n Read more.

Times are changing and those changes have exposed the weakness of old paradigms.  We live in a day where events have conspired to call out the leadership in us all.  Leadership is now a collective process requiring people at all levels to work together to solve problems and make     decisions.  This workshop explores the nature of Read more.

Have you ever been lost? We get lost because we don't have a clear direction or a roadmap. Decision filters are tools we use that enable us to make consistent decisions. They keep us on track so that as we move along the journey of accomplishing our goals we don't get lost.  This seminar provides a templates for making consistent, well-informed decisions.

Time is a canvas. Work is the paint. Time management techniques are the strokes.  We are in control of how we choose to spend our time; the better the strategies, the better the painting. Our work is too important to be sloppy with the brush strokes. Join OKHR friend and leadership expert, Rhett Laubach, as he takes you through the six time management strategi Read more.

In the age of cell phones, texting, social media, and instant messaging, why are we misunderstanding each other more than ever? In this unique, interactive presentation, you will learn practical ways to become a better communicator, how to write better emails, how to deal with rumors, how to announce changes, and much more.  These are take-away techniques HR D Read more.

We can't give away what we don't have.  HR Professionals are in the business of leading and helping others to achieve success, but if we're not healthy and balanced in mind, body and spirit, we can't effectively help anyone else.  This program is an educational and entertaining reminder of the importance of maintaining an attitude of altitude and a sense  Read more.

The Stratactics® Game is a fun and engaging activity that teaches six business principles fundamental to the success of every company. During the activity, teams compete to see who can win the game by employing the most effective strategy and tactics. The activity represents the simulation of a short term project in which participants have to deal with rules, c Read more.

The items to be discussed will include seven steps to a successful wellness program, legal concerns, the impact of  HCR and the PPACA, Programming ideas, do's and don'ts, bio-metric data collection, incentives, contests, and benefit plan options.

Developing a talent pool in any organization today can be challenging.  In order to be well-positioned for future growth, Cherokee Nation Businesses is putting a unique spin on developing talent for their organization by starting leadership development initiatives for Cherokee Citizens before they are hired for the company - even as early as elementary school. Read more.

Mental illness contributes to absenteeism, lost productivity, poor morale, poor work relationships and an increase in medical expenses, resulting in millions of dollars of losses for employers every year. Human Resources professionals are often thrown into the task of addressing these issues, either directly by dealing with employee discipline or indirectly by addr Read more.

What is social media?  How do I use it to become a more effective HR professional?  To tweet or not to tweet? This informative workshop addresses these and other key questions on the minds of HR professionals.  The workshop will provide an introduction to social media and an overview of the various tools being widely used, while providing advice on h Read more.

The social media boom is the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution.

This session will discuss the big three in social media—Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn and demonstrates how social media can help as well as hurt your organization in HR, marketing, sales, and even company and business operations. Learn about current social media trends, cur Read more.

In today's economy businesses cannot take any chances when it comes to making important decisions. With a national rate of 72% of all accidents occurring on the job having some relation to drugs and alcohol, it is imperative that management understand, handle, and control this issue. This presentation will help businesses improve their production, absenteeism rate, Read more.

Companies are finding themselves challenged with not only offering benefits and managing costs, but also preventing chronic conditions of members. Whether it’s to reduce costs, foster a healthy culture, lower workers compensation prevalence, or maintain your health plan- we can help you meet those goals (while satisfying Executive and Employee needs).