Welcome!

Hi! And welcome to the Your Own HR Pro Blog! I'm Norm Hoffman, lead blogger, I have my blogging shoes on and ready to go! My partner, Bev Sawin, will be stepping in from time to time as well. In this first post I'll give a brief background of Bev and myself and an overview of what Your Own HR Pro is all about.

I've been in the human resources business for twenty three years, and Bev's been doing this for over eighteen, so that makes over forty years of total HR experience! I started as an intern with Preferred Risk Insurance (now GuideOne)and stayed on for several more years to run their compensation and benefits. From there went to GenEx, which morphed into Praxair Distribution, Inc. for a total of 13 years, did some consulting for a couple of years, spent a couple of years with Employee and Family Resources as a workplace consultant, and most recently was with the internal HR group with RSM McGladrey. I met Bev in 1992 when I hired her as a part-time payroll clerk at GenEx. It didn't take long to recognize that she had a whole lot of talent managing systems and training and leading people, and by the time I left Praxair in 2002 she and I were peers. We worked together again as consultants when she left Praxair shortly thereafter. For the past five or six years (I'm sure she'll correct me on this) she has been Client Relationship Manager at Merit Resources.

We formed Your Own HR Pro to bring the best human resources expertise and practices to small and mid-size companies. Many smaller companies can't afford to have a HR professional on staff or it just makes more sense to outsource some of the work. Bev's expertise is organizing HR administration, policies, and training. She is also bilingual Spanish. My specialty is helping organizations develop future leaders. I also have a lot of experience with organization development, culture, employee surveys, and risk management. We have the experience and expertise to make HR easier for you.

We will be posting blogs about emerging trends in human resources, new laws that affect your business, HR tips, and occasionally rants and opinions. This is also a forum where you can comment, ask questions, and jump into the mix. I hope you find it enjoyable and informatve.

Please visit our website http://www.yourownhrpro.com/