CalSHRM Student Case Competition 2022

Published March 25, 2022

On March 11 and 12, 2022, the College of Business at CSULB hosted the annual Human Resource Management Student Case Competition presented by the California division of the Society for Human Resource Management (CalSHRM)!

This year’s competition brought together Human Resource (HR) professionals from California and the Long Beach community with over fifty HR students representing nine California universities, including the CSU system, the University of California (UC) system, and beyond.

Ten undergraduate teams and three graduate teams presented their analysis and solutions for this year’s case. Four panels of HR professionals judged multiple rounds of case team presentations, challenged them with critical questions, and offered developmental feedback. The case centered on a regional community bank restructuring its remote work practices after the COVID-19 pandemic. Students needed to balance competing concerns for worker flexibility, organizational culture, competitive advantage, and legal protection. We would like to congratulate the undergraduate team from San Diego State University and the graduate team from the University of Southern California for their first-place victories!

Friday evening, the event kicked off with a networking session and keynote talk on building adaptive and effective teams by Amber Vandenburg (Founder of the Pathwayz Group). Students even received a complimentary copy of her newly released book, Uniquely Better!

Throughout Saturday, students attended even more exciting events as they competed. Andrew Hoag (Fisher Phillips in Los Angeles) presented a timely update on impactful California labor laws. Half a dozen HR professionals hosted an hour-long set of roundtables to answer students’ questions on everything from technology in HR to beginning their HR careers. In the Saturday keynote session, Terrell Holmes (Founder of The Good Org) discussed the importance of engagement and personal growth in career success. The day concluded with an exciting guided boat tour of the Port of Long Beach around sunset.

We are deeply grateful to our many outstanding sponsors including CalSHRM, our very own Human Resource Advisory Board (HRAB) here at CSULB, The Port of Long Beach, the Professional In Human Resources Association (PIHRA), Northern California SHRM, the Santa Barbara Human Resource Association (SBHRA), the Bay Area Human Resources Executive Council (BAHREC), and the College of Business here at CSULB!