GNFCC North Fulton HR Forum: Re-engaging Employees (“GNFCC 400 Insider,” Episode 38)
The pandemic-induced business environment has created a host of unique HR challenges, including managing work at home employees, interviewing and hiring virtually, and providing a safe environment for employees returning to the workplace. Five leading North Fulton-based HR professionals contributed to a GNFCC HR Forum panel discussion on these topics and much more. The host of “The GNFCC 400 Insider” is GNFCC CEO Kali Boatright, and the show is presented by the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce and produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®. Business RadioX is the Media Sponsor for this series of Economic Recovery Forums.
Moderator:
Misty Fernandez, Georgia Power
HR Professionals Featured in this Forum:
Michael Young
HR Site Head – JCM/JCD, R&D Quality & AVS
Alcon
Michael Young’s passion has been to connect with people by connecting to the hearts and minds of all those that he encounters. As a child Michael always knew he wanted to be an Educator, he chose the corporate route where he finds fulfillment in Human Resources by connecting people with opportunity. From his days in High School to now he has directed camp programs for Inner City Youth, served on boards for institutions that focus on education, and taught at Vacation Bible School.
In the corporate world, after developing talent in support of several departments across several industries, Michael began working with Alcon in 2016. Today Michael is the HR Site Head for John’s Creek where he continues to connect opportunity to Alcon’s vast talent pool to serve our patients to See Brilliantly.
Julie Weith Smith, MBA-HRM, SHRM-SCP, SPHR
President and CEO
Custom Human Resource Solutions (CHRS)
Custom Human Resource Solutions (CHRS) was founded in 2007 and provides HR strategy and practitioner services to small and medium sized business across the country. Julie Smith is the President and CEO of CHRS and has been practicing human resources for more than 30 years. She has earned a bachelor’s of science degree in business management and an MBA with a concentration in Human Resources Management, and holds a Professional in Human Resources (PHR-practitioner) and Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR-strategist) designation which identifies depth and breadth of HR knowledge on a national level. Julie’s high-level HR competence is credited through the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) through her achievement of the SHRM-SCP designation (Senior Certified Professional).
Julie has been recognized for industry achievements throughout her career including such honors as being named Top HR Professional and recognized as a Business Rising Star and top Women in Business – San Fernando Valley Business Journal. She also provides industry commentary on multiple media channels such as CNN Online, Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) and NPR. Julie was featured in Voyage Atlanta Magazine in their Trending category for 2017 and in the Atlanta Journal Constitution for Best of Atlanta 2018.
Jim Cichanski
President and CEO
Flex HR, Inc.
Jim’s experience includes operational HR management knowledge globally in 32 countries and has merged or transitioned well over 350 companies.
Jim also spent 26 years in the Army National Guard achieving the rank of Colonel, was inducted into the Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame, and received numerous awards including the Legion of Merit. Jim has served or is serving on several boards, was an inside board member of 17 companies and is an angel investor is start-up in several Atlanta firms.
Jim was recognized by the North Fulton Chamber of Commerce as the Small Businessperson of the year and was also listed in Catalyst Magazine as 1 of 18 Companies, CEO’s in Atlanta would like to own. Outsourcing Gazette magazine listed Flex HR as the “Top Most Promising HR & Staffing Service Vendors of 2015”. Inc. Magazine in September 2008, 2012 and 2013 recognized Flex HR, Inc. as an Inc 5000 “Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies in America”. Jim is married to his wife for 47 years, has two daughters and 4 grandchildren.
In the past 2 months Jim conducted over 30 COVID-19 Zoom Webinars touching more then 5,000 small companies in helping direct the Human Capital aspects of this epidemic.
Sonya Buckley
Chief People Officer
Hire Dynamics
Sonya is a Staffing Industry Professional with over 20 years of experience in the Atlanta market. She brings a wealth of knowledge in Senior Executive leading Talent Acquisition, Leadership Development,Human Resources, retention strategies and building a best place to work culture. Sonya has a proven track record in professional recruitment, management, leadership development and succession planning.
Sonya specializes in “Top Grading” methodologies. She has built and transformed a talent acquisition organization resulting in an industry leading retention rate. She has built several innovative initiatives to build leadership depth and entry level apprentice programs. Sonya’s top human capital metric is attracting, engaging and retaining top talent.She has led leadership development and spearheadedEmerging, Growing and Transformation leadership programs to support the growth of Hire Dynamics.
With Hire Dynamics tripling in size over the past three years, she has been instrumental in building a best place to work culture in all the markets they serve.In addition, she works with clients to develop their leaders and culture.At Hire Dynamics, our believe is that “Every Experience Matters”. Her greatest success is building a workforce that delivers consistently a great experience for over 62,000 talent placed in 2019 and over1500 clients served. For the past 10 years, Hire Dynamics has been ranked in the top 2% in the staffing industry clearly rated net promoter program.
Sonya is active in the American Staffing Association (ASA) taking leadership roles inWomen in leadership and Staffing as a career. She served as President of the Georgia Staffing Association and was on the board for 5 years. She is a Penn State graduate.
Mark Bryan
Director, Field and Segment Marketing
Verizon
Mark Bryan is director – Field and Segment Marketing – Verizon Business Group for Verizon, the largest wireless provider with the nation’s largest 4G LTE network. In his role, Bryan is responsible for Marketing activities supporting the $12B Business Markets organization.
During his 14 years with Verizon, Bryan has held positions in the company’s Indirect Sales, Business Sales and Marketing channels as well as its Business Transformation organization. Bryan is a member of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors and is the Chairman of the Board for Haiti Outreach. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from Mercer University and is a certified Lean/Six Sigma Black Belt.
About GNFCC and “The GNFCC 400 Insider”
“The GNFCC 400 Insider” (formerly “North Atlanta’s Bizlink”) is presented by the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce (GNFCC) and is hosted by Kali Boatright, President and CEO of GNFCC. The Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce is a private, non-profit, member-driven organization comprised of over 1400 business enterprises, civic organizations, educational institutions and individuals. Their service area includes Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Mountain Park, Roswell and Sandy Springs. GNFCC is the leading voice on economic development, business growth and quality of life issues in North Fulton County.
The GNFCC promotes the interests of our members by assuming a leadership role in making North Fulton an excellent place to work, live, play and stay. They provide one voice for all local businesses to influence decision makers, recommend legislation, and protect the valuable resources that make North Fulton a popular place to live.
For more information on GNFCC and its North Fulton County service area, follow this link or call (770) 993-8806.
For the complete show archive of “The GNFCC 400 Insider,” go to GNFCC400Insider.com. “The GNFCC 400 Insider” is produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®.
