As any entrepreneur will tell you, sometimes the number of hats you have to wear makes your head hurt. Starting a business, especially in high-tech or biotech, requires not just scientific and technical know-how, but the ability to build an organization from the ground up with a very specialized group of employees.

    About seven years ago a small group was formed to provide support for emerging technology companies in the area of human resource management. HR Connect, a program of UCSD Connect, started with an enthusiastic steering committee and a desire to help companies that couldn’t afford to staff the human resource function.

Abi Barrow,
director of Emerging Technology Programs,
UCSD Connect.

    "It was great fun in those days," recalls Bob Glasberg, vice president of Right Management Consultants and one of the founders of HR Connect. "We'd meet at different people’s offices. Everyone took on a task. We were a fledgling group but we really felt we had a mission."

    The group has grown but the mission has continued to be promoting the growth of high-tech companies through human resources. Today, HR Connect's bimonthly meetings provide information on new and innovative approaches to human resource management and human resource practices that are unique to technology companies. The meetings also provide human resource professionals with an opportunity to discuss their professional growth and network with each other.

Kelly Milne Connors,
Human Resource Manager,
Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center.

    "The issues haven't changed that much over time," says Glasberg. "The challenges surrounding rapid growth in a company are still a priority. Structuring a company, structuring compensation, these will always be important topics for the group."

    One clear image the group projects is of human resource management as a business partner rather than simply an administrative function. "Human resources as a business partner means the top HR position reports directly to the CEO, they have a role in strategic planning, and they are truly integrated into the business," says Bob Zabaronick, the vice president of human resources at Encad, who moves this month over to Safeskin Corp.

Bob Zabaronick,
Vice President, Human Resources,
Encad.

    Zabaronick takes every opportunity to remind his staff that their efforts are an important part of the ENCAD bottom line. "Every staff meeting starts out with a report on how the business is doing, before we deal with HR issues," says Zabaronick. "We have to come up with programs and strategies that are not just good for the people but also are good for the business."

    Understanding the business makes for better human resource decisions. "When an HR person goes on a customer visit, he or she can better understand sales challenges and that might influence how commissions are structured, says Zabaronick. "If an HR person goes to a trade show with the marketing people, he or she gains an insight into the marketing issues of the company that can help in recruiting."

    Each HR Connect meeting includes a speaker and a roundtable discussion. Kelly Milne Connors, human resources manager of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, says the roundtable format is extremely valuable. "It’s a great opportunity to find out what everyone else is doing." What worked, what didn’t work? It’s a chance to get validation for your ideas, and to realize other people are going through the same things you are."

    For Connors, HR Connect offers a chance to meet people who can offer insights on human resources management in organizations where more than 80 percent of the people are scientists.

    Even in large companies, the lessons learned can reap significant benefits. Donna Fremed, human resources manager at Sony's engineering and manufacturing plant in Rancho Bernardo, attended an HR Connect meeting on the topic of employee communication. "I went back to my office and immediately applied some of the ideas I had heard from my colleagues at the roundtable," she says.

    Abi Barrow, director of emerging technology programs at UCSD Connect, has run the HR Connect program from its beginning. She credits a strong steering committee for the group's success. "This is a peer-driven group of hardworking, dedicated professionals. Program ideas come straight from the trenches. In fact, one very interesting program was aptly called 'Tales from the Trenches,' and you wouldn't believe some of the stories! What was remarkable, though, were the solutions presented by these experienced human resources practitioners."

Bob Glasberg, Vice President,
Right Management Consultants.

    The steering committee roster represents an impressive mix of technology and biotech firms. Its members include Dennis Vincent, Paula Serbin, Donna Caley, CEO Consulting; Jack Farnan, Comstream Corp.; Bob Zabaronick, Encad; Jeff White, IDEC Pharmaceuticals; Jan Thompson, Jan Thompson & Associates; Naomi Whitacre, Mycogen; Anna Kochka, Nokia; Dan Sullivan, Qualcomm; Vera Pardee, Seltzer Caplan Wilkins & McMahon; and Kelly Milne Connors, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. For more information about HR Connect, call 534-6114.