Utah State Students Take Top Places at Regional HR Games

Two teams from the Utah State University Human Resources Department took first and second place in the Southwest Regional HR Games in Denver on April 8.

The first place Utah State team will advance to the national competition in Washington D.C.

 

This is the sixth year the HR games have been held and the fifth consecutive year that Utah State has won its state and regional competitions.

 

Members of the 1st place USU blue team are: Brandon Dansie, Rebecca Norfleet and Preston Chandler. Members of the 2nd place USU white team were: Ben Harper, Michelle Loertscher, and Celeste Porter. 

 

The USU blue team will go to Washington, D.C., to compete at the national competition in June.

 

There were 15 teams competing at the southwest regional competition this year. Utah State competed against other universities from Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona and Kansas.

 

Clifford R. Skousen, interim dean of the College of Business, said the students worked hard to prepare for the competition, and special recognition and appreciation should also go to coaches Al Warnick, executive in residence, and Megen Ralphs, academic advisor in the management and human resources department.

 

Ralphs said the students start preparing at the beginning of the academic year. They practice in the evenings, as well as have classes twice a week.

 

The HR Games were created to help Human Resource Management students prepare to take the HRCI Exam (Human Resource Certification Exam). They also provide students a networking opportunity with professionals in human resources who serve as judges for the competition. The judges get an opportunity to see these students in action, so they can observe that the students are knowledgeable about their profession, Ralphs said.

 

The games are a Jeopardy-style format, in which two teams of three students compete in each round. There are 10 rounds with two semi-finals and then a final round. The questions are on human resource management-related topics, such as labor relations, international HR, compensation and benefits, safety and training.