Learn HR Best Practices From Top Local Companies

When the San Diego Humane Society took over animal services for the city of San Diego and five other jurisdictions, its officials ramped up staff by 200 in just two months in anticipation of an additional 20,000 animals. How were they able to expand so quickly while maintaining their values and standard of care?

That’s the question a group of UC San Diego Extension students and alumni asked in early April. They traveled to meet with SDHS leaders as part of the HR Leadership Alumni Series. Here, Maria Williamson, Extension’s business program manager, explains more.
 
Tell us about this series.
MW: It’s a monthly event that switches between hosting local HR professionals to speak and visiting local companies like Illumina, Quidel, Qualcomm, WD-40, Cubic, and Dexcom on their own turf.
 
So SDHS’s expansion was a big opportunity for students looking for a glimpse of HR’s cutting edge?
MW: Certainly. They did this wonderful presentation walking us through the process. The idea is to offer that next step in experience to our students, to give them a networking event as well as to hear extremely relevant topics in their field.
 
What are some of the takeaways students have gotten from this series?
MW: These learning opportunities are especially valuable given the sea change currently taking place in the human resources field, wherein managers are seeking to have an increasingly strong voice in making business decisions, and recruiting and retaining top talent. 
 
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