Recently one of my good friends, Daniel Crosby, spoke at a local TEDx event. If you’re not familiar, TED is setting the standard for free, yet incredibly valuable, content. Some of the best and brightest in the world share the TED stage, and Daniel could be one of them. Please check out the video below with his presentation (~20 minutes). Click here to view it directly on YouTube. If you enjoy the content (Daniel is a funny guy), here’s how you can help him to be world famous:
Send the link to your friends and family so they can view and share the video.
Send a quick email to this address: tedxtalks@ted.com. Feel free to cut and paste this short paragraph to make it even faster: Hello!
I just finished watching Doctor Daniel Crosby’s TEDx “You’re Not That Great” speech, and I really enjoyed it. I would like to see Daniel have the opportunity to speak from the TED platform in the future, so please consider him next time you are seeking presenters. He has a great, motivational message wrapped up in humor and psychology, and I know others would enjoy what he has to say.
Sincerely,
Your Name [Or "The Biggest Daniel Crosby Fan Evah!" would work as well]
And last but not least, let Daniel know you appreciate his work! I’m going to make him aware of this post, so if you want to comment below I’ll make sure he sees it. He’s also on Twitter @incblot.
One of the sessions at HRevolution Las Vegas a few weeks back focused on blogging, and a great question that was bandied about was why HR people don’t do it more often. Is it because they are afraid to? Maybe they just don’t know how? Or maybe it’s because HR people have been trained to keep quiet about their real thoughts and opinions, because knowledge is power, right? Whatever the excuse, it’s a terrible reason to keep quiet. Today we’re going to look at what it is, combat a few of the general excuses, and share some resources on how to get started.
What is blogging?
A really basic definition of a blog is a journal. It’s updated every so often with new ideas, insights, or lessons learned. People come by from time to time and read some of that wisdom and can comment or share it with others who might find it valuable.
That’s pretty simple, right?
Even with all the bells and whistles (see below for some tutorials and the tools I use), that’s really all a blog is. If you have thoughts, then you can blog. All it takes is writing those thoughts out! Even if you keep a private blog and don’t share it with anyone, you will become a better, more well-rounded professional as a result of taking the time to organize your opinions into coherent thoughts.
Why not blog?
If it really is that simple, then why don’t more HR people blog?
They don’t know how to use the tools-Check out the video below. 81 seconds to start a blog? Yep, it’s that easy!
They don’t have time-If you have thirty minutes per week, you have time. And I know you do, because you spent at least that much time checking Facebook, getting coffee, and watching TV commercials in the past 24 hours! Seriously, it takes very little time if you are just trying to get your thoughts out there. Don’t be one of those people who keeps going “Ready, aim, aim, aim…” Just fire the post off already!
They don’t want to upset their employer-My new friend Buzz writes a blog and has for about 6 months now. She doesn’t tell her employer and they don’t ask her about it. It’s quite possible to share helpful, valuable content with the world without telling everyone where you work!
Know another excuse? Drop it in the comments section below and I’ll respond to it!
Blogging tools and tips
I cover everything you need to know to get started here on the blogging page, including what domains and hosting are and who to purchase from, how to install WordPress, how to use themes and plugins, and a big Q&A section that runs the gamut! However, if you are interested and rearin’ to go right away, you can start your own blog in less than two minutes.
Posted September 19th, 2011 in General, Video by Ben
AKA: How to use employment videos for social recruiting
Social recruiting is discussed often, but one of the lesser mentioned facets is video. While many companies know it’s something they should pursue, they don’t know how to be successful. Below you’ll find some ideas to pursue in the area of employer videos. Just a quick word of warning, I’m going to be technical at times, because the subject warrants it. However, I’m happy to help if your organization is looking to make a move into the video arena.
First off, you want your videos to be found when people search Google, right? That’s where search engine optimization comes in. It’s a methodology for getting your videos indexed in a way that makes them easy to find by searchers.
Five tips for Video SEO (search engine optimization)
Make the video something people want to share (more detail on this below).
Don’t dilute your videos by posting on multiple sites (YouTube, Vimeo, Viddler, etc.).
Titles, tags, and descriptions are useful when uploading and posting videos online, but backlinks to the videos (with relevant keywords in the anchor text) are more important for search engine rankings.
YouTube is the #2 search engine in the world and the #1 for videos. Use that to your advantage.
If you’re using WordPress as your content distribution platform, create a video sitemap and submit it via Google Webmaster Tools. Every little bit helps!
Now, let’s elaborate on #1 above. That’s usually the first question people have: what do the videos need to be about? Well, there are several ways to go with that, but I like to think of two kinds of people when considering these types of video: customers and potential job candidates. Think about what they would like to know about your company and give it to them!
Five ideas for your employment video content
Interview employees and ask what they do and what they like about the job, dept, or company
Get staff members to discuss the culture and how that affects what they do.
Ask employees to talk about their favorite benefit/perk that you offer.
Film the fun, unique events that make your organization special.
Create content that is outward facing and valuable to your industry. Hint: if you’re providing thought leadership and value at a level that entices competitors to link to you, then you’re on the right track.
This list certainly isn’t all-inclusive, but it’s a great start to generating ideas that would specifically benefit your company.
Thinking about creating some employer branding videos for your company and looking for some help? Feel free to contact me if you’re looking for assistance.
Posted September 1st, 2011 in General, Video by Ben
I have read The Levity Effect: Why It Pays to Lighten Up, and I think it’s a fantastic book for people to read in order to understand the impact that humor and levity can have in the workplace. Scott Christopher, the author of the book and speaker at the session, had so many fantastic quips and quotes that it might as well have been a comedy session with some learning thrown in. It was phenomenal and I can’t say enough how much I enjoyed hearing him speak.
One of our core values is to have a safe and enjoyable workplace. That’s why we have photos of office staff in men’s helicopter flight suits and videos of bagpipers playing in our lobby. We take the enjoyable part very seriously. Well, not so seriously. Anyway, you get the point.
Five quick points:
Figure out what’s fun and share that (healing patients vs. serving food, building relationships vs. recruiting candidates, etc.)
Herb Kelleher-Southwest Airlines-order of recruiting importance from least to greatest: education, experience, humor
“Hard” interview question? What’s the most fun you’ve ever had at work? Ask things to find out what people like? Ask how people would respond to wacky situations that might be common at work.
Google’s gives their engineers 20% of their time for fun/non-work related stuff
Think this social recruiting thing is a fad? 80% of employers are using it in some form or fashion to find talent, so that theory doesn’t fly. Check out the video below for more observations from the new Jobvite report on the state of social recruiting.
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Will I see you at the next HRevolution? Las Vegas is right around the corner (October 2, 2011), and I hope to see you there. In the video below I discuss some of what makes HRevolution different from other events and why it’s so popular. If you’re ready to get your ticket, head over to the Eventbrite page and make it happen!
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Today I’m going to make the case for leadership development at all levels, not just at the top of the organization. Think about it, do you want those employees positioned closest to your customers to have that training? I would. Yes, it’s a question of cost for many companies, but if your customer-facing people aren’t doing the right thing, then cost won’t matter when you lose the customers!
