Greater Monadnock SHRM upcoming events

October Chapter Meeting - HR on Purpose: Building Strategy Around People and Performance (October 14, 2026)

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

HR on Purpose:

Building Strategy Around People and Performance

Attention: Please note the updated location for this meeting. This meeting will not be held at our usual location.

8:00am-8:30am: Registration/networking

8:30am -10:00am: Meeting

Location:

RiverMead
150 Rivermead Road
Peterborough, NH 03458

Directions:

Parking: Please park in front of the building whenever possible. If you can, please avoid parking in “the circle.”

Meeting Location: The meeting will be held in the Auditorium on the second floor. Elevators are available for your convenience. Staff will be available to greet guests and direct you to the Auditorium, and signs will also be posted along the way.

Breakfast & Refreshments: Breakfast items, coffee, and juice will be available just outside the Auditorium

Join us after the meeting for a post meeting discussion! Want to suggest a topic? Email info@monadnockshrm.org or use our new forum: https://monadnockshrm.org/forum

Session Overview:

The world of work is changing rapidly, driven by shifting labor markets, evolving employee expectations, new employment models, demographic changes, and the growing influence of technology and artificial intelligence. HR on Purpose: Building Strategy Around People and Performance explores how HR leaders can respond to these forces by moving beyond traditional HR practices and intentionally connecting people strategy to the organization’s broader business strategy.

Strategy requires making deliberate choices about what an organization will—and will not—do. Organizations create competitive advantage by developing an approach that fits their unique circumstances and, very importantly, is difficult for competitors to copy. For HR professionals, this means thinking differently about culture, talent, technology, and AI while asking better strategic questions: moving from “What should we do?” to “What might we do?” and from “What do I believe?” to “What would I have to believe?” By taking a thoughtful, evidence-based approach to people and performance, HR can become an important contributor to organizational strategy rather than simply a provider of HR programs and services.

Duration: 60 minutes

Speaker and Company Bio:

David Watts is the Principal of WattsUp Human Resource Solutions (wattsuphr.com), which provides fractional HR leadership and HR strategy consulting services throughout northern New England.

He has twenty years of success in healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and other spaces, including employment at Dartmouth Health, Simon Pearce and Kendal at Hanover, as well as officer level leadership roles at several non-profit organizations. WattsUp is a values-forward firm, focused on integrity, authenticity, discipline, fairness and excellence.

David earned a Master of Science degree in Labor Studies from the University of Massachusetts and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology (industrial/organizational concentration) from the University of Connecticut. Additionally, David completed a one-year Chief Human Resource Officer program at the Aresty Institute of Executive Education at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, in 2024.

Meeting Sponsor:

Credit Hours:

Greater Monadnock SHRM is certified by SHRM as a Preferred Provider to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP, and this program has been registered for 1.00 PDC in the SHRM Body of Applied Skills & Knowledge™ (SHRM BASK™).

Programs are submitted for 1.00 General HR Credit toward PHR, SPHR, and GPHR certification through the Human Resources Certification Institute.

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Member Benefit!

November Chapter Meeting - Mediation Training for HR Professionals (November 10, 2026)

Tue, 10 Nov 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Mediation Training for HR Professionals

Attention:

Please note that, due to the holiday, this meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 10th, instead of our usual Wednesday meeting.

8:00am-8:30am: Registration/networking

8:30am -10:00am: Meeting

Location:

Cheshire Medical Center
580 Court Street
Keene, NH 03431

Directions:

Park near the West Lobby entrance.
From the parking area, enter through the West Lobby.
The North Conference Rooms 1 and 2 are situated down the first hallway on the right.

Join us after the meeting for a post meeting discussion! Want to suggest a topic? Email info@monadnockshrm.org or use our new forum: https://monadnockshrm.org/forum

Session Overview:

HR professionals have differing roles in organizational conflict. Sometimes they are tasked with holding workers accountable, and other times they are tasked with helping employees in conflict work things out. This training acknowledges these differing roles, but also explore essential skills to increase HR professionals succeed in a mediation role. Primarily we will focus on the skills of neutral problem framing. Other topics covered will include managing the process and dealing with strong emotions.

Duration: 60 minutes

Speaker and Company Bio:

Greg Hessel: Sometimes, we all get a little stuck, so my work is about helping others get unstuck and staying that way. I’ve been doing this for almost three decades by coaching individuals, building teams, and aligning organizations. Much of this work revolves around conflict resolution, managing change, and strategic planning. More fundamentally, I am a guide and navigator for difficult conversations, engaging trainings, and complex organizational dynamics.

My formal training began when I graduated from Woodbury College’s Conflict Management certificate program and earned a master’s in organizational development from American University in Washington, DC. My less formal training involved hitchhiking over 100,000 miles, doing human rights documentation work in war zones of Bosnia, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, and successfully helping negotiate the release of a kidnapped Italian clergy member in Central America. When I’m not helping organizations with thorny problems, I enjoy biking, ping pong, and hanging out with my family.

Meeting Sponsor:

TBD

Credit Hours:

Programs are submitted for 1.00 General HR Credit toward PHR, SPHR, and GPHR certification through the Human Resources Certification Institute.

Connect with us!

Member Benefit!

December Chapter Meeting - Building a Region the Next Generation Chooses (December 09, 2026)

Wed, 09 Dec 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Building a Region the Next Generation Chooses

8:00am-8:30am: Registration/networking

8:30am -10:00am: Meeting

Location:

Cheshire Medical Center
580 Court Street
Keene, NH 03431

Directions:

Park near the West Lobby entrance.
From the parking area, enter through the West Lobby.
The North Conference Rooms 1 and 2 are situated down the first hallway on the right.

Join us after the meeting for a post meeting discussion! Want to suggest a topic? Email info@monadnockshrm.org or use our new forum: https://monadnockshrm.org/forum

Session Overview:

Julie Schoelzel will share how the region is working to attract and retain young people by strengthening connections between education, employers, and community; promoting local career opportunities; and using place branding and marketing to change perceptions about what it means to build a career and a life in a rural region. She’ll explore how cross-sector partnerships, stronger career pathways, and investments in housing and community infrastructure can create more visible and viable opportunities for the next generation.

Duration: 60 minutes

Speaker and Company Bio:

Julie Schoelzel is President & CEO of the Greater Monadnock Collaborative, the Monadnock Region’s chamber of commerce. She works with business, education, community, and state partners to strengthen the regional economy and address challenges including workforce, housing, and long-term economic competitiveness.

Named one of New Hampshire Business Review’s New Hampshire 200 in 2025, Julie serves on the boards of the Business & Industry Association of New Hampshire, Stay Work Play New Hampshire, and the New Hampshire Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, as well as the Monadnock Housing Collaborative Advisory Council.

Meeting Sponsor:

TBD

Credit Hours:

Programs are submitted for 1.00 General HR Credit toward PHR, SPHR, and GPHR certification through the Human Resources Certification Institute.

Connect with us!

Member Benefit!