People of the year

HR Magazine, Sept, 1996 by Elizabeth Sheley

This year's recipients of the SHRM[R] Award for Professional Excellence - one each from a small, a medium and a large organization - are true leaders. They challenge themselves to reach new levels of accomplishment, and in doing so, challenge those around them. They represent the best in the HR profession.

Mary E. Kramer

Leadership, whether in the board room or in the Iowa State Senate, is one of the many talents that makes award winner Mary Kramer a model for her peers. Kramer is vice president of HR at Des Moines-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa. With more than 21 years of experience in the field, Kramer has built her vision of HR on the notion that empowered employees empower companies.

"To help you solve problems," she says, "people need to understand the whole puzzle. Then they need the tools, skills and trust to go to work and do their jobs."

Kramer has made hiring and retaining skilled, self-directed employees a priority because she sees them as a resource that can give her company a competitive edge. Kramer is working to launch The Center for Human Development, a strategic initiative designed to offer comprehensive workforce development strategies to business and industry. The Center will give employers the means to create a culture and work environment that will help their employees manage their lifestyle, wellness, education and health care costs.

A place for HR at the table. Kramer says having HR at the table makes a great deal of difference. "When people are planning business strategy, HR issues rarely get considered," she says, "unless someone from HR is actually at the meeting."

Kramer has worked with senior management to retain good employees and curb recruitment expenses. Her efforts reduced the 30 percent turnover rate that plagued the company in the 1980s. Kramer has also retooled many of the company's benefits plans; they are now profit centers.

State and community efforts. Within the community, Kramer's contributions are far-reaching. She was founder of the Des Moines Chamber of Commerce Personnel Managers Group; chaired the Human Resource Committee and Workforce Development Committee for the Iowa Association of Business and Industry; and led the Community Affairs Committee of the Des Moines Chamber of Commerce. She has been a member of the Chamber's board since 1988. Kramer created Iowa's first statewide SHRM conference, and founded the Human Resources Managers Group to explore workforce development issues in Des Moines.

Kramer uses her leadership abilities in the political arena, as well. In 1990, a woman retiring from the Iowa State Senate visited Kramer seeking someone of similar beliefs to run for her spot. Kramer took on the challenge, and was elected. Kramer has served as ranking member of the Education Appropriations subcommittee, and has held seats on the committees for Education, Human Resources, and Rules and Administration.

Kramer notes that both HR and politics require people who are problem solvers, negotiators and consensus builders. She finds it helps to be a good listener in HR, and this skill is also important in the legislature. Her HR knowledge has been useful in discussions with her peers in the Senate about what is appropriate in drug testing, economic development and reference checking. And because the Iowa state legislature controls the pay and benefits for state employees, her technical knowledge is an advantage when those issues come forth. For example, when the Iowa National Guard came to the state Senate seeking tuition assistance, no other legislator knew what it was, and Kramer found herself educating them. In turn, her experience in the legislature has given her a new perspective on workplace issues like school-to-work programs and economic development.

A range of experience. Kramer has never had a dull moment in her career. She began as a pianist, performing professionally before turning to teaching and, ultimately, school administration. When her husband was offered a great opportunity in a new city, Kramer found herself at loose ends with no apparent avenue to pursue.

Her educational administrative experience included hiring and development of teachers. These transferrable skills led to a job in HR with a retail establishment. She joined Blue Cross and Blue Shield in 1981.

Kramer says making the shift from education to business was her first big challenge. The urgency and differences in language at the corporate level were much "like learning a foreign language." But, she says, "I like risk, I like change." HR has brought her the satisfaction of "helping people grow and watching them blossom." She particularly enjoys watching the progress of those who once worked for her.

Thoughts for the future. In planning for today and for the future, Kramer focuses on efficiency and productivity. "HR has to facilitate change and yet remember the company's mission and values," she notes. It is important for the HR department to earn income as well as provide service. Kramer, however, cautions against jumping on the outsourcing bandwagon, "because core efficiencies change, and once they are gone, they are very expensive to recapture."