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(ATLANTA) – Opting out wasn’t easy. Now, even with stellar credentials, opting back in has become increasingly more difficult for women who made the decision to leave their high-powered careers to focus on their families. According to the Harvard Business Review, “Only 38% of women graduating from Harvard Business School are working full time today and 93% of women who opted out wish to return to their careers.”

To help Human Resources (HR) professionals transition back into the workforce, the Atlanta-based HR firm of Incite Strategies has launched an interactive online headquarters called HR OptIn. This new enterprise matches professionals wishing to rejoin the workforce with organizations seeking part-time or temporary HR project managers. HR OptIn and its parent company, Incite Strategies, Inc., already has relationships with some of the nation’s premier HR departments at Fortune 1000 companies.

“Companies requiring support for an immediate human resources project will be able to take advantage of a pool of experienced women who will dive right in, make an impact, and add value without adding overhead and unnecessary costs,” said Monique Dearth, president of Incite Strategies and HR OptIn.

HR OptIn launched with two clients -- GE and Philips Medical Systems. Both clients are seeking ways to reduce overhead, quickly add highly qualified team members to short-term, high-profile projects, and bring fresh ideas to the table.

GE HR Manager Raghu Krishnamoorthy sees the benefit of having a pool of qualified talent available on short notice. “HR OptIn jumped in right away to provide two managers who facilitated a complete session at the last minute for us. They followed up with defining and managing a robust process,” said Krishnamoorthy. “Most of our employees did not even know they were dealing with external consultants. Everything was seamless.”

The Brain Drain

In 2004, the Center for Work-Life Policy sponsored a survey to investigate the role of women opting in and out of the workforce. The survey revealed that 37% of highly qualified women leave the work force voluntarily. Among women with children, that statistic rises to 43%. But child rearing is not the only reason for leaving. Seventeen percent of women opted out because their jobs were not satisfying or meaningful. Other reasons included rigid policies and glass ceilings.

An impressive 58% of all college graduates are now women and almost half of all professional and graduate degrees are earned by women, according to the Harvard Business Review. If 37% of these female graduates have left the workforce, then the business community has lost valuable human resources.

HR OptIn’s goals are to reverse the brain drain and raise those statistics by helping women prepare themselves to re-enter the workforce and to educate companies on how they can benefit from these opt-ins and accommodate their requirements.

The Balancing Act

Lisa Hart was on the fast track at GE working in a variety of high-profile HR roles before she opted out to start a family. A graduate of Siena College in New York and GE’s prestigious two-year HR Leadership Program, Ms. Hart put an admirable education and career on hold. Now, four children later, she wants to return to the career she once enjoyed while continuing to be engaged in family and volunteer activities.

Women like Lisa Hart are finding HR OptIn to be the perfect solution to balancing their careers with their busy personal lifestyles. “Through HR OptIn, I’m able to have it all,” said Ms. Hart, who has been assigned to lend a hand with the GE projects. “I am now contributing to the business world and to my family’s income in a way that meets the demands of my lifestyle.”

“Two forces in the HR industry led us to the creation of HR OptIn,” says Ms. Dearth. First, is the changing nature of human resources itself into a more dynamic and increasingly specialized, project-oriented set of challenges. Second, is the changing outlook of many HR professionals, including many women, who have sought a transition form full-time status to smart, flex-time positions balancing career and family. Opting in is also about giving back, and Ms. Dearth is committed to enriching the lives of women and children globally. Through the ‘Opting In/Giving Back’ program, HR OptIn provides a donation, in honor of each consultant who completes an assignment, to the charity of the consultant’s choice that supports women and children.

One of the on-ramps to opting in is through HR OptIn’s website, www.HROptIn.com. This state-of-the-art site features a virtual community of career experts, an interactive reading room, and blogging options. Ms. Dearth is one of four recipients of Enterprising Women magazine’s 2007 Enterprising Women of the Year Award. Profiled by the Atlanta Business Chronicle in 2004 as one of “40 of Atlanta’s Most Promising Young Stars under the Age 40,” Ms. Dearth has certainly lived up to the publication’s prediction. In addition to leading one of the fastest growing companies in Georgia, she also is a dynamic speaker on leadership development. Ms. Dearth holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Michigan, a Masters of Labor and Industrial Relations with honors from Michigan State University, and a Juris Doctorate cum laude from Albany Law School. She is married with two children.

A global HR consulting firm based in Atlanta, GA, Incite Strategies focuses on building people capabilities through executive assessment and coaching, leadership training, and organizational strategy providing services to some of the most recognized names in the Fortune 100, including GE, The Home Depot, Earthlink, and Porsche Cars. Incite Strategies is certified as a Women Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

For more information, contact:
Monique A. Dearth
President
HR OptIn
5400 Laurel Springs Parkway, Suite 303
Suwanee, GA 30024
Phone: 678.513.7661
[email protected]
www.HROptIn.com
www.InciteStrategiesInc.com