Krannert’s MSHRM program hosts 11th Annual HR Case Competition and Conference
Monday, November 15, 2021
On Thursday, November 4, the Krannert School of Management’s MSHRM program hosted its 11th annual HR Case Competition. Fifty-four students from ten universities participated in two divisions. The undergraduate division included seven schools: BYU, Cornell University, IUPUI, Lipscomb University, Marian University, Purdue University, and Universidad Panamericana. The graduate division included five schools: BYU, Penn State University, Purdue University, Texas A&M, University of Minnesota.
Awards were given out for 1st and 2nd place, as well as “Best Speaker” and “Best Q&A” for each division. In the graduate division, BYU took 1st place, while Texas A&M placed 2nd. In the undergrad division, Cornell narrowly beat out BYU for 1st Place. Kudos to these four teams for also producing winners of the individual awards. Judges included representatives from eight organizational partners: dormakaba, IBM, PepsiCo, Proctor & Gamble, Purdue, Wabash National, and White Lodging.
This year’s cases were provided by one of our organizational partners, dormakaba.
The undergraduate teams addressed the post-COVID attraction and retention issues facing so many U.S. manufacturers today. Teams analyzed internal turnover, salary, and headcount data, as well as external market research, to devise a project action plan for dormakaba regarding attraction and retention.
The graduate teams addressed a narrower topic, focusing specifically on workforce planning for the Access Solutions America segment of dormakaba. Teams identified and analyzed internal trends found in the workforce data provided by the organization and used that to project short and long-term workforce needs. Finally, teams combined this information with external research to design and present a strategic workforce planning process for the organization.
The Purdue teams represented well. Purdue’s graduate team consisted of MSHRM students: Alyssa Allen, Shriyam Jairath, Kara Parkes, Danielle Rothchild, and Morgan Wolseley. Purdue’s undergraduate team consisted of Derek Lee, Michael Li, Ellie Renholzberger, and Rachel Zhang.
Congratulations to those students as well as all who participated.
On Thursday evening, the Awards Dinner was held at the Buchanan Club inside Ross-Ade Stadium. Over 75 were in attendance including judges, participants, Purdue faculty and staff, community partners, and volunteers. In addition to the awards ceremony and a meal, the audience heard from the keynote speaker, Jeremy York, president of InvigorateHR and co-author of JoyPowered Organizations.
On Friday, November 5, Krannert’s MSHRM program partnered with HR Indiana SHRM and hosted a half-day HR Conference for students and professionals. The 50-plus attendees included case competition participants, Purdue students, faculty, & staff, as well as HR professionals.
Participants had the opportunity to choose from six different sessions under two tracks: HR Analytics and Emerging Trends.
Sessions under the HR Track included:
- Decoding your HR Analytics and Power Your Success
- HR Analytics to Measure Culture & Impact
- Using HR Analytics to Gain Stakeholder Support
Sessions under the Emerging Trends Track included:
- Performance Management in the Post-Performance Review Era
- Successfully Navigating the Flexible Work Environment
- Engaging Your Staff Without Causing Burnout
The conference ended with a panel discussion on emerging trends in talent acquisition and retention in which representatives from dormakaba, Proctor & Gamble, and Purdue discussed initiatives their organizations are implementing in these areas as well as answered questions from the audience.
For more information on the 2021 HR Case Competition and Conference, please visit the website at https://krannert.purdue.edu/events/echr/