STAND APART

The conversation around employee pay has changed over the years from one of base salaries, bonuses, and cash compensation, to a “total rewards” approach that seeks the right blend of monetary and non-monetary elements that will engage each employee while generating valuable business results.

Cornell University ILR School faculty Linda Barrington and Diane Burton are the thought leaders behind Cornell's prestigious Institute for Compensation Studies. This team of authors offers a learning experience that applies evidence-based, social science approaches to the field of compensation. This course will equip you with the tools and insights needed to apply a “total rewards” view to compensation that aligns with your organization's strategic goals and operational realities.

Drawing on their deep knowledge of labor relations and conflict management, Professors Alex Colvin and Harry Katz guide students through a series of activities that apply labor relations concepts to their own workplace (or a workplace with which they are familiar).

The course examines the regulatory and organizational labor relations environment and assesses the current state of relations between management and workers. Students learn how to prepare for possible labor disruptions and look at effective negotiations and conflict management. Videos by Colvin and Katz, backed up by additional interviews with industry experts, provide informative content that assists students as they complete a five-part course project aimed at applying the concepts in a practical manner.

While union environments are a significant focus of the course, many of the concepts can be applied to non-union environments as well.

People may assume that it's employee satisfaction or commitment to their job that promotes higher performance, but it's engagement. In this course, you will examine the foundational drivers of engagement and explore the components of successful engagement initiatives. When completed, this course will help you identify strategies for bringing about engagement in organizations.

In companies where 60-70% of employees are engaged, shareholder returns are approximately 24%. Compare that to companies where only 50-60% of employees are engaged: shareholder returns are as low as approximately 5%. Similarly, teams with high engagement experience 4.1% turnover, as opposed to approximately 14.5% turnover for teams with low engagement.  These figures clearly illustrate the significant impact that managers and HR professionals can have if they better understand what impacts the engagement of employees.

Symposium sessions feature two days of live, highly interactive virtual Zoom sessions that will explore today's most pressing topics. The HR Symposium offers you a unique opportunity to engage in real-time conversations with peers and experts from the Cornell community and beyond. Using the context of your own experiences, you will take part in reflections and small-group discussions to build on the skills and knowledge you have gained from your courses.

Join us for the next Symposium, in which we'll share experiences from across the industry, inspiring real-time conversations about best practices, innovation, and the future of human resources work. You will support your coursework by applying your knowledge and experiences to some of the most pressing topics and trends in the HR field. By participating in relevant and engaging discussions, you will discover a variety of perspectives and build connections with your fellow participants from across the industry.

All sessions are held on Zoom.

Future dates are subject to change. You may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete any certificate program. Once enrolled in your courses, you will receive information about upcoming events. Accessibility accommodations will be available upon request.