Pat Kelley, MS, SPHR's Page

**************************

Spotlight Interview With Author Pat Kelley

Pat Kelley, MS, SPHR, is the author of Hiring Right: A Business Blueprint for Lower Turnover and Higher Profits, Second Edition, published in December 2014.

For more than 43 years, she worked as a specialist, manager and Director of Human Resources in banking, manufacturing, food processing and communications.

Certified as a lifetime Senior Professional in Human Resources, Ms. Kelley is recipient of the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arkansas Society of Human Resource Managers.

*************************

Interview:

What makes you proud to be a writer from eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas? Having lived in eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas the longest, I consider myself a home here. The people make this place special. They care about their families, friends, conservative values, their God, their church, and their communities. My kind of people.

What or who inspired you to become a writer? I imagined myself a writer when I was 12 years old. Of course, I had no idea what that meant until I read a few thousand books. I'm most inspired to write non-fiction because of my passion for teaching people about Human Resources management and leadership. I'm inspired to write fiction because I'm constantly asking myself "what if..." when I drive down the road. My novels are about real people in real situations.

When did you begin writing with the intention of becoming published? I wrote my first draft of Hiring Right in the mid-1980s when I was unemployed and bored waiting for the telephone to ring. Writing a book was a way to keep my mind active and to stay involved in my profession.

Did your environment or upbringing play a major role in your writing and did you use it to your advantage? I grew up in a dysfunctional family, and am in the process of writing a memoir. Hiring Right is a product of my 43 years' working in HR. And my latest novel, Rich Mountain, combines my love of HR with the realities of living with a veteran suffering PTSD.

Do you come up with your title before or after you write the manuscript? The title Hiring Right came to me before I wrote the book. The subtitle, A Business Blueprint ... was developed as part of a marketing campaign when the first edition was published in 2004.

Please introduce your genre and why you prefer to write in that genre? I write non-fiction because I have information to share, and am passionate about teaching others what I've learned about the hiring process, and the impact it can make on a company's success. In fiction, I write contemporary women's fiction because that's what tickles my fancy.

What was your inspiration, spark or light bulb moment that inspired you to write the book that you are seeking promotion for? When I was writing the first draft of Hiring Right I realized one day that readers of this book would really be helped by the information. That was my "aha" moment, and still drives me.

What has been your most rewarding experience with your writing process? My first validation was winning a runner-up prize at a major writing contest. I thought, "Oh, my God, I'm really a writer!"

Have you had a negative experience in your writing career? If so please explain how it could have been avoided? I spent too much time and money submitting my manuscript to agents who claimed to want non-fiction, but said I didn't have enough name recognition. It was disappointing, but a part of my learning process. The only way it could have been avoided, I believe, is to have had a contract with a major publishing house. Again, all part of the learning process.

What has been your most rewarding experience in your publishing journey? Having someone call to tell me how much they've benefited from Hiring Right. That's validation of the first degree!

Have you had a negative experience in your publishing journey? If so please explain how it could have been avoided? So far, my only negative as far as publishing goes, is that the process of marketing and selling your books is so much more difficult than I had thought. I should have studied and learned much more about it many years ago and saved a lot of blood, sweat and tears.

What one positive piece of advice would you give to other authors? Keep writing, keep studying the publishing industry, and never stop promoting!

Who is your favorite author and why? My favorite non-fiction authors are people like Lee Iacocca who tell it like it is. My favorite fiction authors are all those who write fabulous characters caught up in impossible situations.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with us? I consider myself to be a teacher as much as a writer. As long as someone is learning from something I've written, I'm content.

*************************

Hiring Right: A Business Blueprint for Lower Turnover and Higher Profits
(A Business Blueprint Book) by MS, SPHR, Pat Kelley

Higher Profits, Lower Turnover With This Hiring Right Business Blueprint.

Hiring Right by Pat Kelley is a common sense, practical step-by-step, need-to-know business guide for finding and keeping good employees.

Whether you are just starting out and need to hire a few employees or business is picking up and you need to hire more this book should be your first reference guide. Pat Kelley lays out her step-by-step, need-to- know guide with facts, numbers, examples and all the forms necessary to help you find and keep good employees. Following her advice and the right incentives you will be able to lower your turnover rate and increase your profits.

Book Part One is made up of five chapters. In Chapter One, Pat lays out mistakes one, two and three and teaches employer how to “Profile” the job that you are offering, “Research” and “Complete A Personality Profile” on each perspective employee.

Chapter Two goes on to teach the employer how to “recruit”, “screen” and “test” applicants. This detailed chapter defines the advantages of promoting from within, considering employee referrals and details how to use all local, community, and technological researches to find, screen and test applicants.

Chapter Three details steps the employer can use to prepare for and conduct an interview.

Chapter Four presents the “Employment Law In Hiring” and alerts the employer to danger zones.

Chapter Five Part One shows the employer what comes after the interview, such as checking references, how to make the job offer with the proper compensation. Chapter Five Part Two goes on to explain the necessary training and work environment to ensure the employee fits in and stays.

Book Part Two is made up of five “Business Blueprints”. These blueprints are include essential “Job Profile”, “Patterned Interview”, “Candidate Offer Letter”, “Orientation Checklist” forms for Office Clerical Positions, Level Labor Positions, Technical Worker Positions, Sales Worker Positions and Management Worker Positions.

The book wraps up with miscellaneous resource materials.

Cold Coffee Press endorses “Hiring Right: A Business Blueprint for Lower Turnover and Higher Profits (A Business Blueprint Book)” by MS, SPHR, Pat Kelley for an instructional guide to help new employers coming into the job market and existing employers that are struggling with a high rate of turnover. We received this book for review in a PDF format. The review was completed on March 28, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press. http://www.coldcoffeepress.com

Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Barnes and Noble Print Purchase Link

**************************

Rich Mountain by Pat Kelley

Love, relationships, change, trauma, community and searching for God's will are all a part of this novel, set in the mountains of the Arkansas/Oklahoma state border during the tumultuous post-Vietnam War years. Minor language, all audiences.

Amazon Print Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link
Barnes and Noble Print Purchase Link

*************************

Homecoming by Pat Kelley

The last thing forty-three-year-old Susan Watson thought she'd be doing at her age is starting over. But after she's set up and fired from her job, she takes her savings and returns to her hometown to do just that.

In the process of creating a new life for herself, she encounters harassment, battery, threats and sabotage. While she's just trying to survive, a crisis occurs at the hometown newspaper she loves and she sets aside her own goals to save the newspaper.

And she rediscovers the love of her life. Or is he simply using her to get his story told?

Homecoming is a complex, fast-moving story involving politics, a community separated by disparate needs, a struggling small-town newspaper and a woman who learns the hard way that she can go home again. Just don't expect things to be the same.

Amazon Customer Reviews
Amazon Print Purchase Link
Kindle Purchase Link

**************************

Payback by Pat Kelley

After more than thirty years in Human Resources, first as a specialist, then manager, and finally director, Millie Morrison is tired. During the last three years especially, a divorce, financial problems, estrangement from her children and constant problems at work have left her burned out and depressed. She badly needs a change but is afraid a new situation won't be any better than the current one. Can she maintain her professionalism in the face of all the stress? As Millie works to resolve the problems that bedevil her and her company, a heat wave and a mad man bring everything to an unexpected head. Come along and see how Millie deals with all the HR issues and personal issues taking away her peace of mind. Payback is the first book in the Human Resources series written by a professional with more than forty-three years experience. The next book in the series is Rich Mountain, coming soon!

Amazon Print Purchase Link

*************************

Lessons Learned: Cases from Forty Years in Human
Resources by MS, SPHR, Pat Kelley

Author Pat Kelley, MS, SPHR, relates detailed actual cases from her forty-three years in Human Resources Management. In practical, down to earth prose, she describes situations, problems and solutions involving employee turnover, hiring, supervision, employee involvement and bad behavior. Included with each case are Discussion Questions and Lessons Learned. Ideal for use as a supplemental text in HR classes or seminars.

Kindle Purchase Link
Barnes and Noble Print Purchase Link

Pat Kelley’s Website
Pat Kelley Management Matters Blog

Cold Coffee Café Author Pat Kelley
Cold Coffee Press Author Pat Kelley