College of Business Administration to Host HR Forum

Nov. 13, 2014 - PRLog -- Kent State University human resources professors in the College of Business Administration have joined together with industry professionals to host the HR Forum “Health and Wellness Trends in Employer Sponsored Benefit Programs” on Nov. 19 in the KIVA located in the Kent State Student Center.

 The HR Forum “Health and Wellness Trends in Employer Sponsored Benefit Programs” is designed to provide students with an understanding of how direct benefit costs continue to escalate for both the employers and companies.

The HR Forum will feature keynote speaker Michael Schechter, Ph.D., Director of BE Well Solutions. Schechter will talk about trends in wellness programs and the panelists will provide insight into their individual companies programs.

The panel will consist of professionals Michelle Peterman, Component Repair Technologies Inc.; Amy Robinson, Automated Packaging Systems; Heather Hennekes, Vitamix Corporation and Mark McLeod, Kent State University.

Attendees will leave with an understanding of:

·  “Best Practices” for creating a wellness program

·  How to be HIPPA compliant with your wellness offering

·  The difference between "participator" verses "incentivized" programs

·  How to manage an effective wellness program in a union environment

·  How to build the business case and the importance of executive sponsorship

Schechter has been the Director of Operations for BE Well Solutions since 2006 and thrives on being a model for his family and others close to him in regards to living a happy and healthy lifestyle. He is a public health professional promoting prevention and early intervention to reduce the economic burden and suffering chronic diseases inflict on society today.

Schechter received his masters from The Ohio State University and his Ph.D. in Medicine from John’s Hopkins University.

Peterman, HR Generalist for Component Repair Technologies began her career with Target six years ago, where she fulfilled the position of Human Resources Executive and was further promoted to Store Team Lead. During this time, she discovered her passion for working with a team and began to expand upon her Human Resources knowledge to make a greater impact.

Peterman received her bachelor’s degree from Kent State University.

Robinson, Senior Benefits Coordinator of Automated Packaging Systems is passionate about creating an HR vision, building teams, growing leaders and developing sophisticated yet practical operational processes. She has experience in the HR field and prides herself on being a key influencer, coach and advisor for executive teams and has created a leadership development program to support newly promoted managers.

She received her Bachelors of Arts in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts.

Hennekes, Director of Global Compensation and Benefits for Vitamix Corporation is a HR professional with more than 20 years of experience. She is responsible for designing, developing and implementing Vitamix’s global compensation and benefits strategy in alignment with corporate goals and objectives to achieve and maintain a competitive advantage for the business.

McLeod, Manager of University Benefits at Kent State University is responsible for designing, negotiating and administering the employee benefits programs for the university’s 4,000 full-time and 2,800 part-time employees.  These benefits programs include medical, dental, vision, prescription, life, disability insurance as well as retirement plans, workers’ compensation, employee assistance and worksite wellness.

McLeod holds a bachelor’s degree in human resources management and has worked in the human resources management field for more than 20 years.

The event is free and open to the public.

For more information visit the Kent State University College of Business Administration website at http://www2.kent.edu/business/.

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Kent State University’s College of Business Administration is one of only 180 colleges or schools of business worldwide to achieve dual accreditation in both business and accounting from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International, the global accrediting body providing specialized accreditation at the bachelor's, master's and doctoral level.  The College of Business Administration is home to 4,502 students, the second largest college of business in Ohio.  The college boasts a satellite office of Kent State University’s Career Services Center dedicated to business students, and operates the Global Management Center, the Center for Information Systems and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation all propelling scholarly research, establishing innovative industry partnerships and providing outreach to Northeast Ohio and beyond.