These days education is all about change. Certainly change has been forced upon educators by massive budget cuts the past few years.

But change can also be a good thing. For example, some big changes are headed our way from ACSA’s Personnel Institute. Fittingly, the theme of the event is “The Year of Change and Challenge.” In response to participants’ requests, the organizing committee opted to change the date of the event from February to Sept. 30-Oct. 2, since survey respondents had said that February was a difficult time for human resources folks to attend.

That’s one big change, but another is also coming in the way of location. The event had been held for years at Cal Poly Pomona, but this year the Personnel Institute will move to Berkeley at the Doubletree Hotel Berkeley Marina, in response to survey participants expressing a desire for a different environment.

But one thing that hasn’t changed is the richness of the event. The ACSA Personnel Institute offers information relevant to those aspiring to human resources as well as to veteran HR administrators. The event offers the opportunity to learn the current laws, review and refresh practices, network and rekindle old friendships.

Sessions will update educators on all that is happening around the state on a variety of HR topics – negotiations, legal challenges, union issues, budget implications, staffing resources and challenges. Numerous sessions are offered, presented by a mix of practitioners, consultants and attorneys.

By offering all this information in one place, the Personnel Institute is one of the best and most cost-efficient learning opportunities for HR administrators to assist them in staying on top of the issues and to help their districts avoid costly legal challenges.

One of the featured keynote speakers for the next Personnel Institute will be general session speaker Jason Dorsey, aka, “The Gen Y Guy.” Dorsey has been featured as a generational expert on many major TV shows, such as “60 Minutes,” “20/20,” “The Today Show” and “The View.”

HR administrators are always seeking to find ways to reach out to the next generation of education professionals, and Dorsey aims to provide the answers. He has an established record in work to bridge the different generations in the workplace, and he started out teaching corporate executives how to motivate, retain, and develop Gen Y employees – his own generation. Dorsey quickly discovered the key to maximizing Gen Y employee performance was to address the bigger issues of understanding, connecting, and leading all four generations in the workplace.

After extensive research and in-depth interviews, Dorsey developed a step-by-step framework and practice-tested strategies for leading each generation of employee through every step of the employee lifecycle. He will share these insights with Personnel Institute attendees in September.

For further information on the Personnel Institute, contact ACSA’s Donna Eghbal at deghbal@acsa.org.