We are drawn to lists. It’s pretty simple, really. With all the information at our fingertips on a daily basis, our brains need some way of keeping track of all the data. It needs a way to catalog resources it runs across, so it sorts, ranks, and filters as needed. Today I have a special list. The Carnival of HR is in town, and I’ve collected 17 fantastic posts for your enjoyment. Whether you’re looking to increase your productivity, get more speaking roles as a trench HR pro, or fire an employee, there is something here for you!

1. Tanmay Vora brings us 10 productivity reminders.
2. Lizzie Smithson shares 7 reasons people hate you on Twitter.
3. Laurie Ruettimann offers up 3 annoying things you do on Twitter.
4. Eric Meyer tells us 6 shocking social media stats.
5. Paul Baribeau lets us in on the top 5 job boards for recruiters.
6. Mark Stelzner preaches on 4 ways “trench HR” pros can get more speaking gigs.
7. Mike McCarty gives us 4 steps to understanding background checks and the FCRA.
8. Jennifer Miller lets us know the 4 critical roles on a project team.
9. Jennifer McClure presents 10 presentations on using social media for HR and recruiting.
10. Dan McCarthy tells us 10 reasons not to do succession planning.
11. Laura Schroeder offers 7 trendy HR trends to follow.
12. Naomi Bloom brings Thanksgiving early with 6 things she’s thankful for.
13. Andrew Tarvin yuks it up with 5 tips for corporate entertainment success.
14. Mike Haberman talks about the number 1 key to retention.
15. Chris Young throws out 4 tips for effective meetings.
16. Susan Heathfield lists 10 “don’ts” when firing an employee.
17. Shauna Moerke coughs up 5 ways to know you should have called in sick.

Thanks again to all the great participants for sharing their expertise! I had a great time reading through these posts and I know you will, too.

17 ways to enjoy the HR Carnival is a post from: UpstartHR

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The ones who started it all...

We have about thirty posts here today from some of the people I respect most in this industry. It’s not because they’re the smartest (although many are brilliant). It’s not because they know all the secret tips and tricks (although they could teach us all a thing or two). It’s not even because they are good looking (those avatars don’t show everything) . It’s because they take the time and make the effort to continue pushing this profession and the people in it to be better. Every. Single. Day. We’re all better off for your efforts!

Because we have so many great posts, I’m going to keep my commentary to a minimum and just share the links to these fantastic recaps, takeaways, and nostalgic moments. If you set aside twenty minutes to start digging into the posts below, I can pretty much guarantee that you will find new blogs/people to follow. Fair warning: you’ll also have an insatiable desire to attend the next HRevolution. What can I say? It’s an awesome event.

Speaking of awesome… We are going to be partnering with the HR Technology Conference to offer a special one-day HRevolution event on October 2nd, 2011 in Las Vegas! More details to come, but if you have been wanting to attend the event but you’re out in the western US, this is going to be your big shot! Stay tuned.

The posts

• Cathy Martin of Intellectual Capital Consulting shares why you should go to HRevolution
• Dwane Lay of the Lean HR Blog offers up the HRevolution speaker playlist and asks what we learned today
• Paul Hebert of Incentive Intelligence writes on his personal blog about why the event sucked
• Lisa Rosendahl of Simply Lisa tells us about passion, energy, and intention
• Mike Haberman of HR Observations reviews the session on managing virtual teams and talks about world class HR
• Krista Francis of AliveHR! brings us thoughts about this (f)unconference
• Benjamin McCall of Rethink HR shares his next steps after HRevolution
• China Gorman compares and contrasts events as two sides of the conference coin
• Donna Rogers, the HR Warrior, shares about her thoughts as a SHRM-ie at HRevolution
• April Kunzelman tells us why her first HRev won’t be her last
• Robin Schooling, one of the sweetest/nicest ladies I know, talks about cursing and HR(!)
• Mike Krupa, the only guy I know who is tech geekier than me, says that, by golly there was tech talk at HRevolution
• Joan Ginsberg offers two of her valuable insights into the event
• Kathy Duffy shares with us about supporting innovation through HR
• Paul Smith talks seriously (and not so seriously) about HRevolution sucking and even gets hijacked by Mike Krupa
• Shauna Moerke, the esteemed HR Minion, lets us know she needs a tardis (time machine, for the less geekily inclined)
• Mervyn Dinnen is one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, and he’s from the UK, so you know I dig his accent; he wrote about the HRevolution love shack
• Gareth Jones talks about his views of the event in Brits Abroad
• Maren Hogan gives us a great view of the emotional/spiritual side of HRevolution by talking about building a history
• Matt Stollak of True Faith HR gives us three shots in Skullcrusher, Dubculture, and Blue Monday
• Tim Gardner, the no-longer-anonymous HR Introvert, talks about fear and influence in the ATL
• My own post, in case you missed it, was about HRevolution being exponentially better this year.
• Jon Ingham, one of our UK visitors, shared about love in HR and at HRev. Speaking of Jon, he also hosted an international HR carnival a few days back and it’s pretty interesting. We could all stand to be a little better rounded in HR, and looking at the international HR scene is a great way to start on that.
• The Monster team’s all star photographer Alana brings us a great helping of HRevolution photos
• Chris Havrilla of Recruiter Chicks tells us what HRevolution has for the recruiters out there

And that’s not all. We have videos from the event coming soon thanks to Maren Hogan and some more great stuff on the horizon. Remember, HRev isn’t your usual conference. We keep the good stuff coming all year long! Thanks again to our sponsors, facilitators, and attendees for making the event as successful as it is. We appreciate you all!

HRevolution Blog Carnival is a post from: UpstartHR

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Brand New Official HR Carnival Logo

I’m thrilled to be hosting my first HR carnival, and that’s for several reasons. First, I get to converse with a few great writers behind the scenes. Second, I get the opportunity to promote those writers all in one place. And third, I get to unveil the new HR Carnival logo, created by the illustrious Allen Robinson (or “LogoMan” according to Eric Winegardner). No longer will carnival hosts have to search for an image to use with their rendition of an HR carnival.

If you haven’t read my last post about how to make the HR carnival really matter , please hop over there and read it before continuing. I promise you’ll get more out if it if you do. Enough about me. Let’s showcase those great writers I was talking about!

Lorrie Lykins and Carol Morrison with i4cp ask the tough question. If we “get it” about talent management and its benefits, then why the heck aren’t we doing it?

Dan McCarthy with Great Leadership by Dan showcases 10 ways to get the most from 360 degree leadership assessment. I like number 8.

Susannah Cesar with Recruitment 2.0 wants to know if you’ll be ready to recruit when the recession ends. This is the fourth post of the series.

Melissa Prusher from The Devon Group gives us four reasons you need a formal social media policy. Good points to ponder for those contemplating a response to the social media craze.

Lisa Rosendahl from Simply Lisa just has to know who the leaders are as people. Everything in life affects who you are, and leaders need to embrace their life experiences.

Laura Schroeder of Working Girl admits that she wants to work for Diddy. I say that’s a good bit better than working for diddly.

Rana Hobbs with InfoHRM implores us to say “yes” to stategic alignment. I love the reference to the janitor that met President Kennedy.

Mark Bennett from TalentedApps tells us why you should improve your analytical intelligence. As a statistics geek, I’m all over some population analysis (and I wouldn’t kill the fish, either).

April Dowling at PseudoHR drops a heavy question of “why go into HR?” Some say it’s because the accounting classes were too tough, but April actually has a good reason.

Wally Bock from Three Star Leadership needs some help. Can you help him recognize a few dysfunctional managers? I recognize them, and not in a good way, either!

Jennifer Miller gives us some help determining the difference between mastery praise and social comparison. Interesting stuff for those in the business of motivating others.

The Benifys team wonders if your organization is losing steam. Hint: if people don’t know your organization’s mission, you’re in trouble.

Sharlyn Lauby, the infamous HR Bartender, brings us a story about the red purse. Okay, so I’m not a purse kind of guy, but I still got sucked into the narrative. Customer service at its finest.

Susan Heathfield with About.com gives us a hard look at how the economy is creating few jobs. It hurts to see the facts, but they have to be said!

Gautam Ghosh addresses the issue of knowledge work and collaboration. I don’t know about you, but I could always use a refresher on that subject.

Mary Jo Asmus with Aspire shows us that excuses for not coaching others are not really valid. If coaching is too hard, should you give up? No, not unless you want to shoot yourself in the foot.

The HR Store deals with the unexpected question after a recruiter mailed the offer letter to the wrong candidate. I’ll just step out there and say that I’m glad I’m not the recruiter who flubbed this one. Ouch.

Lance Haun with Rehaul gives us a great story from HRevolution. From a discussion of the revolution in 1776 to the future of HR, he hits some heavy stuff.

Steve Boese with Steve’s HR Tech is throwing a party. But it’s not BYOB, it’s BYOT (bring your own tech).

Christine Mitchell with the Precept Employee Benefits Blog gives us the bottom line on benefits (hint: knowledge is power). Educating your employees to be educated consumers instead of letting them exist as uninformed drones? I like it.

Mike VanDervort of The Human Race Horses solves an age old question (finally!). In case you didn’t get the memo, HR people are the smartest people in the room.

Allen Robinson kicks off his brand new Logic Writer blog by reminiscing about his love of HR and technology.

HRPufnStuf, the brilliant guy with a laughable name, sends in the smokin’ hot post about how failure is spelled “S-H-R-M.” If you don’t read the comments on this one, then you’re missing 75% of the greatness.

Mark Stelzner of Inflexion Advisors provides a detailed account of his experience as a speaker and attendee at HRevolution.  If you were there, read it. If you weren’t there, read it. That should cover the bases.

After I finished the first 25, I received an email from a friend who has been working on getting her very first blog post completed. Sarah at Talentary is wondering about work/life balance. The post includes research, Australia, and an interesting look at what it would mean to try to “balance” work and life. Give her first post a shot!

Takeaway

Please remember the HR Carnival challenge from my last post. Pick your favorite article(s), print it out, and hand deliver it to someone who could benefit from the information. I’d do the same for you (and I have for many of you, in fact!). Thanks for sticking around. See you guys next time!

25 Pieces of HR Awesomeness is a post from: UpstartHR

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If you’re looking for the newest HR Blog Carnival post, you might like to check the home page for the event. But make sure you read this post so you know how to make the most of this fun and informative event!

I can still fondly remember reading my first HR blog carnival and ravenously devouring each of the great posts linked there. I often speak with HR professionals and advocate for them to seek out and read the HR blogs that they enjoy. Usually the conversation goes like this:

Me: Hey, what sort of news do you read on a daily/weekly basis that keeps you up-to-date on the HR world?

Random HR Guy/Gal: I’m usually too busy.

Me: What if you could get one or two short and sweet (and free) articles a week via email? I could recommend a few.

RHRG/G: Hmmm. Sounds interesting.

Me: Do you have a favorite topic? Training? Development? Leadership?

RHRG/G: (Delivering a beautiful pitch across the plate) Well, I like reading about leadership. I’m the HR director at my organization and it’s hard to find new and interesting ideas on how to lead and inspire my department.

Me: (Swinging for the fence) Excellent! Well, in that case, I recommend that you sign up for the free news feed for both Wally Bock and Dan McCarthy. Your leadership style will never be the same!

What’s the point?

In my next post, I’m bringing the HR blog carnival to you from right here at UpstartHR. I challenge you to find someone in your department or organization who could make use of the great articles there. Find your favorite, print it out, and leave it in a common area. (Heck, print mine and stick it on the toilet. People need to read there, too!) Sharing with these people who are “outside the bubble” is the only way to make a lasting change.

That’s how I got Allen Robinson into this thing, and you can do the same at your workplace.

I already know I’m going to get a visit from each person who submitted a post. They want to see their names in print. I do the same thing when my name is included. But why not direct someone else here? Your boss, coworker, or subordinate could probably stand to take a look as well. My work may not be intelligent enough to read on a daily basis (think “HR zombies”), but the others in the HR blog carnival are definitely worth a look.

Sure, you can ignore the challenge and keep on rolling along, but you’d be surprised to see what reaching out to people can do. Take five minutes to explain how you have benefited from your own reading and research, because it’s very easy to sell an idea when you have your own positive experience to share.

Remember, I’ll see you back here next time with the latest HR blog carnival!

Photo by cupcakes2.

HR Blog Carnival-Make it Matter is a post from: UpstartHR

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