Event Details

Transforming Your HR Department Through Technology [VIRTUAL PROGRAM]

Program Details: Many HR professionals are afraid of technology, but we shouldn't be. Even those of us with limited knowledge in this area or who are working in small to nonexistent HR departments can use technology to our advantage, making not only our lives easier, but also the lives of our managers and employees. Be inspired by the example of a 500-employee, 35-location wholesale distribution company that transformed its HR functions with new technology and just two (and a half) team members.

Learning Objectives:

• How to find hidden money in existing contracts to pay for technology upgrades.
• How to leverage your broker relationship for maximum value.
• How to source and select potential technology vendors.
• How to convince the C-suite of the need for new technology.

Presenter: Tracie Sponenberg, The Granite Group

Tracie Sponenberg is Chief People Officer of The Granite Group, based in Concord, NH. An award-winning, third-generation family-owned business, The Granite Group has a proud tradition in the plumbing and heating wholesale supply business dating back to the turn of the last century. Tracie is responsible for leading all human resource functions throughout the company, which has 45 locations, and nearly 600 employees throughout New England.

With expertise in strategic business development, technology selection and deployment, employee engagement and wellness, employment branding, culture development and turnaround, leadership and team development, organizational and strategy development, she has gained broad experience across a wide range of industries in her more than 20 years in human resources, with much of her career focused on working with CEOs to develop people strategies to help the organization grow. She began her career in HR while in college, interning with a global public transportation company, and advanced through the organization over the next five years. Tracie found her HR home in small to medium sized private companies, where she could have the most impact on the business. She’s led the HR function at an award-winning multi-state professional services firm; a Pulitzer-prize winning newspaper and publishing company, and a national wellness distribution and technology company.

Tracie has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from The College of The Holy Cross, and a Master’s Degree in Human Resources from Framingham State University. She is SPHR and SHRM-SCP certified; was named to the 2017 Supply House Times “Women in Industry 20”; was a 2018 Bob Gatti HR Leadership Award Nominee; and was the recipient of the 2019 GSHRC Ry Perry HR Hero Award. Tracie teaches the SHRM certification course at Southern NH University and speaks on HR and business issues locally and nationally. She is a co-founder of DisruptHR NH and HR Rebooted; a member and past president of her local SHRM chapter and a member of the national SHRM Special Expertise Panel for HR Disciplines. Her articles have appeared in CIO Review Magazine and HR Tech Outlook, and she is a regular contributor to the SHRM blog.  Through her work with SHRM, her HR expertise has been featured on NPR, and in publications including USA Today, US News and World Report, Employee Benefits News, Chicago Sun-Times and The Wall Street Journal. She is on the board of her local food co-op; The Harvard Pilgrim Foundation; Red River Theatres; the advisory board of the Framingham State University Master's in HRM program and the advisory board of Families in Transition.

A bookworm and introvert who never spoke in class until college, Tracie recently started getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. Though she now realizes she won’t die speaking in public, to the media, or on camera, she still hates parties and crowds - but loves shoes (especially Toms) and espresso. When not road tripping, heading to Disney World, or hanging out with her family at home in Concord, NH, you can usually find her at a local coffee shop or (slowly) running 5Ks with her husband.

Register HERE!