Fern Powers Profile

Fern Powers has been with the company since 1978 when she joined her mother, Jean Powers, who founded Powers HR Services in 1975. Ms. Powers keeps the business focused on quality, customized service. It is this reason, along with personal involvement with the clients that Powers HR Services has continued to flourish over the years. Many corporate clients have maintained a strong working relationship with Powers for the past thirty-five years.

Ms. Powers views Powers Consulting as a natural result of working with very busy human resource personnel, often with companies too small to have a full time trained Human Resource staff member. She knows that it is impossible for business owners to keep up with the new and constantly evolving federal or state regulations.

In January of 2009 alone, several major changes and amendments were added to the FMLA and ADAAA Acts. This necessitates not only updating polices, but also new training for managers and supervisors. Nevertheless, these are addressable issues whose solutions would lead to retention of personnel and help guard against avoidable problems such as litigation alleging discrimination and harassment.

To address these needs, Ms. Powers has formed Powers Consulting and has brought in top professionals in the areas of training and development as well as employment law.

It is a priority of Ms. Powers that Powers HR Services help organizations search for the right applicants with the necessary skills and Powers Consulting help the companies to empower, develop and better utilize their employees.

Ms. Powers says, "A healthy belief in strong work ethics is incorporated into the everyday workings of the company. It is still a thrill to match an applicant to a position at one of the firm's client companies. Hearing about the applicants later successes at these companies is just icing on the cake."

Clients say that Powers HR Services is very different from any other firm. The client companies are handled on an individual basis. It is Ms. Powers’ goal to know the companies well and be proficient at making the right choices, policies and “Best Practices” to meet each company’s needs and goals. This goal is carried out throughout the firm, from recruiting projects, human resources consulting, training, program development, HR assessments, utilizing assessment tools through our customized outplacement programs.

Fern Powers received an undergraduate degree in Education from Temple University and attended Columbia University for a Masters Degree program in Guidance and Counseling while teaching full time. She created an after school and summer program for three and four year olds for socialization with incidental learning. Instead of pursuing a Doctorate Degree Ms. Powers returned to Philadelphia and joined Powers HR Services, which had become a flourishing entity.

Villanova University certified Fern as a Human Resources Professional and she has earned the title of Professional in Human Resources (PHR) from SHRM. She attends seminars and trainings to be aware of any changes in the law as well as any new process that can be helpful to her client companies, a must to keeping up this designation.

Fern has also been trained and certified as an Authorized OSHA General Industry Outreach Trainer. She is also being certified in all the assessment tools Powers recommends to its clients to support her assessment consultant for greater depth of integration into training programs.

Ms. Powers was an active member of the Variety Club, an International charity for handicapped children, for many years serving as the first female president of the Variety Club Camp and Developmental Center. She is listed as an honored professional in the National Directory of America's Professionals, a member of the National Registry of Who's Who, recognized in the National Association of Female Executives. Fern Powers has guest lectured at Strayer University on HR topics.

Fern is an active member of the Philadelphia SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management). She was a board member and the Chairperson of Exhibitors and Sponsors for the DVHR Summit 2004-2005.

Fern also chaired a committee for the Philadelphia Chapter of the SHRM that developed a mentoring program for undergraduate students and area companies, which she feels is an extremely important component of the HR theory and practice learning model. After developing the initial outline and goals for the program, she formed a committee that developed an 80 page binder from mission statement to evaluations.