Monthly Archives: March 2018

How to Get the Employee Experience on the CEO’s Agenda [eBook+Webinar]

employee experience business impact
Short version: I’m co-hosting an upcoming webinar focusing on the employee experience and how to get executive attention and investment in building your own firm’s employee experience. Read on for details about how to sign up and how to get a free copy of the new eBook!

It’s hard to turn around today without hearing about the employee experience. Virtually every vendor is laying claim to this concept, yet for most HR practitioners the concept is fuzzy, and for executives, it’s even more abstract. In that case, good luck getting support and investment for yet another “squishy” HR program that doesn’t impact the business… Seriously though, what is this idea of the employee experience, and more importantly, does it connect to the business in a meaningful way?

This question is the one my HR Federation partners, George LaRocque and Madeline Laurano, and I set out to answer. George and I will be leading a webinar on March 29th at noon Central to explore the concepts in the eBook and to dig a little deeper into the employee experience. It will be a fun conversation full of ideas to help you up your HR game. Be sure to register here for the session so you can get those insights. In addition, we’ll be giving registrants a copy of the eBook for free!

About the eBook

Our latest collaborative piece adds some much needed clarity around the concept of employee engagement. The eBook specifically looks at how to get the employee experience on the CEO’s agenda.

In the eBook, you can learn about how to connect key business metrics, such as innovation, revenue, productivity, customer satisfaction, and employee retention, back to this overall concept of employee experience. As any leader knows, having an executive-level discussion about the business will inevitably turn back to the data, and this guide arms you with specific examples to help build a business case for embracing and investing in the employee experience.

In addition, if you have questions about the employee experience (what is it, how does it work, why should you care, etc.), feel free to bring those to the discussion Thursday and George and I can address them in the flow of the conversation.

How to Attend an HR Conference (and make it worth your while) [Podcast]

One of the greatest compliments I get from you, the listener, is when I have the opportunity to share something highly practical with you that you can use to improve your results in a powerful way. Today’s discussion is one of those.

Think about the last conference you attended. What did you learn?

No, specifically, what did you learn?

Research tells us that within a few days we forget most of what we hear in a single training session, much less a whole conference with a wide range of topics. That’s why today’s episode is focused on how to get the most out of the HR conferences you attend. Over the course of my ten-year career I have attended dozens of conferences, seminars, and events, and I would imagine you also attend a good number of events as well. Let’s get the most out of those, shall we?

I attend a lot of conferences. I meet people. I hear sessions. I meet vendors. It's part of my world. But what about yours? Chances are you attend a limited number of conferences, seminars, and events as part of your ongoing professional development. How do you make sure you approach these learning opportunities strategically, enabling you to not only solve today's problems in your business but also to build a network of people that can help you solve tomorrow's problems as well?

In today's podcast, I interview a friend (and fellow parent of twins) about how she prepares for events. Donna Quinney is the HR Manager at Ignite in Huntsville, Alabama. In the episode Donna explains how she connects with her manager prior to attending an event to make sure that they get the most out of their investment, what content and topics to prioritize, and more. Whether Donna's method works for you or not, it's a great reminder to be thinking about how to get the most from the events you attend to make the best use of these amazing professional development opportunities.

If you'd like to check out an HR conference I'll be at this year, definitely consider signing up for the SilkRoad Connections User Conference. I will be leading a series of workshops on innovation in HR and helping attendees to solve some of their most pressing challenges across the spectrum from engagement and retention to diversity and talent.

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#UltiConnect 2018: AI Means HR Can Be More Human

 

perspectives ultimateThis week I spent some time at the Ultimate Connections conference in Las Vegas with the team from Ultimate Software (Twitter stream here). There were tons of product updates and great sessions, but one of the biggest takeaways for me was around AI and what it takes to build a great workplace.

During a recent event I was speaking with someone and she mentioned Ultimate Software. I said I knew the company, and her response shocked me. She said, “I wish I could…” And my brain jumped to the conclusion: “I wish I could get that software.”

However, her response was something else! She said, “I wish I could work there.” That, in a nutshell, embodies what Ultimate is all about. The firm is known within the HR community as a great place to work, has won virtually every award you've ever heard of (and probably some you haven't), and has some pretty astounding Glassdoor reviews. Continue reading →

8 Reasons to Marry an HR Professional (From the Archives)

Last year my wife and I celebrated our tenth anniversary. Four kids, three houses, two sets of in-laws, and hundreds of silly arguments about toothpaste, dirty clothes, or what to eat for dinner later. And we’re still going strong.

 

Several years ago I wrote a piece on funny reasons to marry an HR pro. After having to pull out my HR skills to handle yet another conversation this week with my wife’s former employer about retirement benefits, this has been top of mind for me. So, what are the best benefits of marrying someone working in HR?

Reasons to Marry Someone Working in HR

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The Secret to Great Team Performance May Surprise You [Podcast]

The way we have done business in the past–it’s not going to work in the future. The world is volatile, complex… There’s rapid change. We have to change ourselves. It’s not making a change with tech or tools, it’s about the soft things: thanking people, helping them articulate the mission, helping them with careers. We have to be hard with the business, soft with people. -Adrian Gostick

If this concept inspires you, then this episode of We’re Only Human is going to get you excited about how to drive performance within your organization. I believe so strongly in the ideas in this book that I’ve worked with the publisher to set up a contest to give away a few copies! Here’s how it works:

Want to win a free book? Share this episode link on your LinkedIn feed, tag me and 2 or more of the BEST people you’ve ever worked with, and you’ll be entered to win a copy of the book!

Subscribers, click through to listen in. Continue reading →

I’ll be at #SHRM18 — My Interview on #DriveThruHR

Last week I had a quick conversation with my long-time friend Michael Vandervort on the DriveThruHR podcast. As one of the official social media team members for the SHRM 2018 Annual Conference, Mike wanted to chat about me, my background, and my current projects as a lead-in to the event.

It was one-sided (as interviews must go!) but if you’ve listened to my podcast We’re Only Human or if you’ve followed the blog here for any length of time, you might be interested in learning more about me and what’s going on in the background when I’m not writing blogs at upstartHR. We cover everything from my writing process for the new book to the triumphant return of the HRevolution event later this year. Check out the link below to listen in!

Episode Link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/drivethruhr/2018/03/02/meet-the-shrm18-bloggers-ben-eubanks