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2009 Board of Directors

Patricia Schaeffer,Programs Co-Chair

What is your background?

I grew up in Lancaster, PA and received a Bachelor of Arts degree with an emphasis in Biology from Millersville University.
I started my professional career in retailing, first as a store department manager, then as a merchandiser and, finally, as a sales trainer – my big move into the HR profession.

I made another transition, into compensation. That specialty took me into both large corporations – RCA and Campbell Soup – and large consulting firms – Sibson and Mercer. At Mercer I was trained to conduct behavioral event interviews, develop competency models, and design performance management programs that incorporated results and competencies into individuals’ performance expectations.
A Mercer colleague and I left the firm together in 2001 to form Talent Strategy Partners. Talent Strategy Partners is a management consulting firm that specializes in Creating Deliberate Cultures – understanding through research-based models the core competencies, attitudes, and values necessary for peak performance, developing leaders who will advance the culture, and strategically aligning the whole organization to achieve its goals in ways that are consistent with the culture.

Where do you live?
I live on the historic and picturesque Delaware Canal in Yardley, PA with my husband David and our cats Cady and Guster.

How did you get interested in HR as a field?
I can’t honestly say what inspired my interest in HR. But when I decided to leave retail merchandising, it was in pursuit of something more challenging and interesting. HR seemed to offer this and I thought I’d be good at it. I gravitated initially toward compensation because it appealed to my analytical side.

What are your responsibilities on the Board?
I am co-chair of programs.

What issues/changes do you see on the horizon for the industry? For the profession?
I think a big change coming out of the current economic downturn will be greater emphasis on fundamental business drivers. Further, I think the organizations that survive the downturn will do so largely because they focused on a key fundamental – managing/leading their people effectively and engaging employees in achieving organization goals. I hope that leading this charge will be HR executives who can influence and educate, earn the respect of the CEO and their peers in other functions and who are, first and foremost, astute business people. I hope also that the stories of these influential, respected HR executives inspire young people to pursue HR in college, to set a goal of emulating these professionals, and to seek a mentor who can help them achieve this goal.

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