Teamwork Helps Job Seekers

Laurie Textor, EPA personnel coordinator in Human Resources Information Management, was honored for her role in organizing a televised call-in program in June that provided job search advice and assistance to more than 1,000 Triangle residents.

Textor served as co-chair of the all-volunteer effort, called “HR on Call – A Resource for a Community in Transition,” which was developed through a partnership between the region’s two human resources professional groups: the Triangle Society for Human Resource Management (TSHRM) and the Raleigh-Wake Human Resources Management Association.

The national Society for Human Resource Management gave the team effort two thumbs up, presenting the organizations with its highest honor, the Pinnacle Award, at a ceremony last November.

Organizing the seven-hour call-in program was a difficult, but rewarding, task, Textor says.

“We only had a month to pull it together, but it was very formal,” she says. “We wanted to make sure it was a professional event, that we could pull it off well, and that people knew what they were doing.”

Organizers developed training materials, including an orientation booklet and resource guide, then recruited and trained 75 volunteers to handle calls from job seekers. The program was broadcast on WRAL to 23 North Carolina counties, reaching more than one million households.

Among the volunteers were some of Textor’s colleagues from NC State: HR specialist Jennifer Hopp, employment consultant Ann Bowman and employment specialists Heather Hundley and Heather Holland.

“It was a very big challenge, but we have a philosophy here at NC State,” Textor says. “We’re problem solvers.”