Monthly Archives: October 2009

Featuring HRevolution Sponsors Doe Anderson and Fusion Frames

This is the second post in the HRevolution sponsor series, and I am excited to talk about two more amazing organizations who really understand the significance of this HR and social media event.

Doe-AndersonLogo 4C

Doe-Anderson

You\’ve heard me talk before about how important it is to turn employees into brand champions. One of the first things I learned about Doe-Anderson was so similar to that thought that it looks like I snagged it from their own site (and hey, it\’s a great idea, so why not share?).

Creating brand enthusiasts is at the heart of all we do. We know that creating deep and lasting relationships with a brand’s core customers, regardless of the business category, is the most efficient method of growing our clients’ businesses.

Wow. The Brand Enthusion idea sounds powerful, right? I thought so, too. Doe-Anderson is a full-service national agency specializing in all areas of communication, PR, advertising, and more. I know I speak for the rest of the team when I say “thank you” to them for their support.

And it just wouldn\’t be right if I didn\’t also give a hat tip to Crystal Peterson of Doe-Anderson for being indispensable in the planning process for HRevolution.

fusion frames

Fusion Frames

I\’ve seen Lyn Hoyt tweeting here and there, but until I actually had a chance to email with her back and forth, I never realized just how excited she was about the event. It hit me full force when she emailed me this little ditty:

Fusion Frames thinks it will take all areas of HR (tech, generalists, law, recruiters, vendors, etc) to collaborate and formalize cutting edge methods for using social media in HR. HRevolution represents a real learning and sharing opportunity. To meet people in person that I have been sharing information with online is the real benefit. In the end it is all about people communicating and team building. That is what HR is all about.

It almost brings a tear to my eye! Wow! But what Fusion Frames does is quite serious. They design, supply, and sell stock and custom frame award products to businesses and nonprofits. Unlike other similar companies, they are heavily invested in social media and the online world. Lyn is a new blogger (and her HRevolution anticipation post was absolutely amazing!), and I for one am thrilled to see where she is headed. The Fusion Frames brand is complemented with a partner site that specializes in only award certificate frames of the 8-1/2”x11” variety. Looking for a sweet frame to jazz up your wall? Go with Fusion Frames.

Just as a teaser, I know that Lyn has a special surprise for each of the attendees at HRevolution, so make sure you come prepared!

Employee horror stories

I\’ve mentioned it before, but I grew up working in a small business that my parents owned. When I heard about the HR Happy Hour last week, I figured I could get some juicy stories to share. Well, I was partially correct in that regard. See, the hiring manager takes everyone who passes the interview and makes them do a dry run of the job duties. That\’s also known as a realistic job preview. With a machine shop where they make precision parts around dangerous equipment, it\’s very important that the person be familiar with the basics of the job.

If the candidate does well enough, they can start the new gig as soon as they are able. If they don\’t make it that far, then they are never hired. With those reasonable hurdles to employment, it severely cuts down on the number of wild and crazy stories about employees. But it didn\’t diminish the number completely (amen to that!). Here are some of the employee horror stories highlights.

Snagger

Snagger got his position through a program with a local community college so he could get some work experience during school. Snagger started to work, and things started turning up missing. One day, the supervisor glanced in Snagger\’s toolbox, and he saw that one of the stolen items was in the box. Snagger told him it was a gift from his dad. Later that day, the supervisor called the guy\’s dad to check, and the dad said it wasn\’t from him.

So the supervisor plans a sting operation. He\’s going to catch him red-handed. He called the liaison with the college, told him to keep it quiet, and warned him that he was going to catch the guy. The darn professor called Snagger into his office to talk about the theft, spoiling the sting operation and ruining any chance of recovering the stolen items. Then, to top it all off, Snagger\’s dad called to accuse the supervisor of spreading rumors about his son. Gotta love supportive parents.

Squeegee

Squeegee needed a break. He just needed a little chance, and he would be the best employee ever. Yeah, right. The guy started to work and started being late. Squeegee told his supervisor that he didn\’t have a car, so he was riding with a friend.

The supervisor, with his golden heart shining, offered to extend a loan to cover a cheap car for Squeegee to get to/from work easier. All Squeegee had to do was bring in the title and pay it off a little each week.

I bet you can see where this is going.

Squeegee kept “forgetting” to bring the title, and he finally screamed, “It\’s my car” and left, taking the car (which was an atrocious choice, by the way) with him to wherever he ended up.

But the story doesn\’t end there. Squeegee\’s mom called the supervisor. He had been stealing from her at home, and she wanted the car situation to be rectified, so she told him where the car was hidden. The supervisor worked with the car lot manager to get the vehicle back, and the money was divvied up at the end of the transaction with each getting back whatever they could.

Shifty

Shifty was a pretty good worker. He did his job well, and he even stayed late to pick up the slack whenever he could. He could have stayed there for a lot longer if a customer hadn\’t called the owner one day to let him know that Shifty was going through the Rolodex every night, calling the customers to try to underbid his own employer. Shifty? More like Scummy, if you ask me.

Okay, those are just a few of the employee horror stories I\’ve seen over the years. Do you have any you can share? Feel free to change the names or post anonymously!

Off topic: NaNoWriMo

As November gets closer, I\’m still on the fence about participating in this year\’s National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). It\’s the first year that I\’ve even been aware of the event, and it sounds like something I’d really enjoy. Before I started writing about “serious” stuff, I actually wrote some short horror and fantasy stories that weren\’t half bad. :-)  Anyway, it\’s been on my mind recently, and it\’s an amazingly large project to comprehend. The challenge?

Write 50,000 words in 30 days.

Now, I am definitely out of practice on the fiction front. And I don\’t even know what topic I want to use for sure. However, I do have some ideas that could make for interesting stories. The organizers of the event tell people that writing that fast will virtually guarantee that some of it is horrible, but that\’s okay, as long as it gets out of your head and into the record books as you chase the special NaNoWriMo badge awarded to those who complete the challenge successfully. I’ve already heard from Krista Francis, and she and her son are planning to give it a whirl (so I’m not alone on this crazy train!).

If you\’d like to participate in this free event (and even if you don\’t think you\’ll be successful, it still sounds like a lot of fun), then head on over to the NaNoWriMo site and learn a bit more.

Encouragement? Derision? Give me something people, because a good shove could get me on either side of the fence!

Photo by annais.

Office gossip

Gossip is degrading and will destroy an organization.  It is important to develop and maintain a culture in which negatives are handed up and positives are handed down. –Dave Ramsey

What would happen if your employer banned office gossip? How would people react? Well, a company led by Dave Ramsey did just that, and they\’ve had some interesting results.

Below is the link to the audio file so you can listen to the explanation for yourself (and you should!). I\’d love to hear your opinion of the policy. Is it feasible? Would you like to work for a company with a “no gossip” policy? Why?

“No gossip policy” audio

Photo by babrosa.

Reader question-Facebook at work

If you\’ve read much in recent months, it\’s probably had some flavor of social media running through it. It seems like there\’s no way to get away from the topic, no matter where you turn. But every once in a while a great question comes up that can\’t be ignored, and that\’s what happened this week. Check it out:

We want to let our employees know that we have set up a Facebook page, but we don\’t want to give them the impression that it\’s okay to use Facebook at work. What should we do? As the HR rep at my company, my boss is waiting for a response. Help!

-J

My take on Facebook

  • I think it\’s a great tool for your business to interact with people on a more personal level (assuming you\’re maintaining it once it\’s set up).
  • If you\’re worried about employees spending all day surfing the web, that\’s a problem with your own culture and leadership, and it\’s not affected by this decision.
  • How many of your employees have personal cell phones? They can access Facebook at any time, even if you block it with your company firewall/filter.
  • If the point of your Facebook page is to get the word out about your company, then make use of your employees. They know a lot of people, and they are your marketing team to the world. Turn your employees into champions for your brand.
  • If you want to encourage the use of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media sites at work, but you don\’t want it to be completely out of control, why not create a social media policy? Here\’s a site with 40 examples of social media policies.

Anyone else have an opinion they\’d like to share with J?

If you have a question you\’d like to get an answer for (whether publicly or privately), just shoot me an email.

Photo by daveynin.

Featuring HRevolution Sponsors Blogging4Jobs and Sanera

By now I’m pretty sure you’ve heard about HRevolution. It’s going to be huge. But there are some people out there who have been willing to support this thing financially despite the fact that it still has that “new conference smell.” :-) Today, I’m going to talk about two of those sponsors.

Leap of Faith

If you’ve learned anything from me, you know that I am a huge supporter of small businesses. My family owns one, I have a microbusiness, and I applaud those who go for that kind of lifestyle. They live on the tight budgets and truly understand the value of an investment. That’s why I’m thrilled by the faith that Jessica and Alicia have in this event. Alicia at Sanera and Jessica at Blogging4Jobs are the type of people who make things like HRevolution happen. Despite the planning that has been put into this, our wonderful sponsors helped us to make the leap from “cool idea” to “cool event.” 

saneraSanera

If you have a small business or an idea for one, talk with Alicia. As a business owner, I can honestly say that she knows her stuff. She has given me amazing advice time and time again, and her coaching will hit the spot if you’re struggling. Plus, you can also get free marketing and business advice through her blog, with gems like The Fight Club Guide to Selling. I’ve also had the chance to check out some of her offerings that are on the horizon, and they are going to be very helpful to the people who choose to take advantage of it. 

Fun fact about Alicia: The name is pronounced “a-lee-cee-ah;” that totally threw me off the first time I spoke with her.

blogging4jobsBlogging4Jobs

If you are looking for social media or HR consulting services, then you need to get with Jessica. It’s refreshing to see how Jessica tailors her help toward job seekers. As someone who has had a career in HR and recruiting, it’s great to have someone who can see both sides of the issue. She also has a book coming out in just a few short months called Tweet This! Twitter for Business. Her blog has helpful career advice and even some for HR professionals thinking about social media, and she also hosts a live show for job seekers on Sunday nights.

Fun fact about Jessica: She has a goal to visit a Starbucks in every country. She got seven down and a few to go.

Remember to check out the HRevolution wiki for more info!

Culture, VHRG, and a funny

Culture

I’ve been reading a lot about culture at work recently, and I have to say that I’m intrigued. Before my current job, I would never have thought that it made much of a difference, but now that I have seen the benefits of a solid, positive corporate culture, I am convinced of the value it brings to the organization.

If someone tells you that culture doesn’t matter, they probably don’t have a good one.

  • Instead of being treated like a child or a criminal where each movement is tracked and must be given a specific reason, I now have the freedom to come and go pretty much whenever I please (as long as I get the job done).
  • I have never laughed so much in my entire working life as I did in an HR department meeting a while back. Do you ever laugh in meetings? I hope so, because it’s a heck of a lot of fun.
  • At any time I can walk into my supervisor’s office, sit down, and tell her anything at all. While we have fun together most of the time, we also share some serious moments that impact my career and the business. I love the wild changes in tone. I’m definitely someone who needs to laugh at work, and she is happy to oblige!
  • I can talk about zombies whenever I want.

These are just a few examples (and looking back, most of them are about humor–interesting) of what my work life is like and how it is different from my previous jobs. But I absolutely love it, and there’s so much room for growth and improvement on my part. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.

jobs

Can you say "instant relief?" I can.

VHRG and Leadership

I don\’t know if you\’re a regular reader or not, but Venting HR Guy is a funny human resources blog that showcases some of the daily events we all face. The difference is that VHRG can be a little more forthcoming in detailing his workday, because his identity is a secret. It makes for an interesting blog, that\’s for sure.

Anyway, VHRG often has issues that he tries to deal with at work. However, the response from his boss, known by the clever name “The Boss,” is often to side with the employee for some reason. Have an employee getting payroll advances several times a month for more than a year? Instead of cutting the guy off, VHRG will probably be forced by The Boss to give into the demands of the financially moronic employee. And that’s just one example.

While you might not have that specific problem, I\’m pretty sure that plenty of you have seen this in your own workplace (and if not, count yourself lucky!). You want to handle a situation that is within your realm of influence, but someone upstream gets word of the issue and wants to handle it a different way. How in the world can HR be taken seriously if they\’re constantly hamstrung and second-guessed by senior leadership?

They can\’t.

That\’s why I think VHRG needs some leadership. He needs a change. He is already looking for a new job, and I know that many of us would love to help, but with the whole “cloak of anonymity” he has going on, it\’s a bit tough to do. If you have suggestions for how he can deal with his spineless leaders, please drop them in the comments below. I\’m going to collect and pass them along to him.

In contrast to VHRG’s leadership problems, I spoke to a friend recently who was looking for a new job. She was ready to move on from her current position, and she had her eye on several positions. Then a new leader was brought into the organization, and it’s been amazing to see the change. She’s more positive, excited about her work, and the “leaving” part has completely been pushed out of her mind. It’s amazing to see what positive leadership does, but it’s also sad to see what happens when that leadership is absent, which is what’s going on in VHRG’s situation.

I\’m not picking on my pal here; I just know that there are lots of other HR professionals who have the same issue, and they know that their “leaders” won\’t back them up when a tough issue comes along. And if you have any tips on how he can move into another job, please post them in the comments, too. Every little bit helps, and the HR community is well-known for its helpfulness!

Culture

I’ve been reading a lot about culture at work recently, and I have to say that I’m intrigued. Before my current job, I would never have thought that it made much of a difference, but now that I have seen the benefits of a solid, positive corporate culture, I am convinced of the value it brings to the organization.

If someone tells you that culture doesn’t matter, they probably don’t have a good one.

  • Instead of being treated like a child or a criminal where each movement is tracked and must be given a specific reason, I now have the freedom to come and go pretty much whenever I please (as long as I get the job done).
  • I have never laughed so much in my entire working life as I did in an HR department meeting a while back. Do you ever laugh in meetings? I hope so, because it’s a heck of a lot of fun.
  • At any time I can walk into my supervisor’s office, sit down, and tell her anything at all. While we have fun together most of the time, we also share some serious moments that impact my career and the business. I love the wild changes in tone. I’m definitely someone who needs to laugh at work, and she is happy to oblige!

These are just a few examples (and looking back, most of them are about humor–interesting) of what my work life is like and how it is different from my previous jobs. But I absolutely love it, and there’s so much room for growth and improvement on my part. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.