Author Archives: Ben

Get more out of your SHRM chapter membership

get more shrm membership

How can SHRM chapters and members get more out of membership? Read on for a few ideas. This post is a part of the SHRM Chapter Leadership Guide.

HR Barbie, AKA Tamara in Ohio, asks the following:

I am so glad I found your site.  It is so important for the newly minted HR Professionals, like me.

It was extremely hard for me to transition into HR, and like you, I did not find an HR position until I began attending CSHRM meetings (Cleveland chapter).

My problem with SHRM in general, is that it is directed more towards the management side.  For professionals new to HR like myself, who only implements policy and is not a policy maker, it can be very off putting or in some cases a waste of time to attend.

I really want to join / attend on a more regular basis.  Perhaps in one of your next posts you can write about how we can make chapter SHRMs benefit all levels of HR.

I’ve heard from others like my buddy Tamara here, and I know it isn’t a local problem for her. I don\’t know if these chapters are expecting the national chapter\’s offerings to make up for their lack of value or what, but it seems pretty silly to me.

What can SHRM chapters do? Continue reading →

HR Ninja Course Week One

Social Media NetworkingIn an effort to bring more people to the free HR Ninja course, I’m going to go through the lessons myself and post my updates as it goes along.  Enjoy!

Weekly Topic

This week was all about networking and making connections. The final challenge of the lesson was to take advantage of the social media tools available to crank networking up beyond the ordinary “here’s-a-business-card-now-we’re-buddies.”

Weekly Challenge Continue reading →

A Simple Thanks

Thank you!This is just a simple thanks. Really. I don’t say if often enough, but I appreciate everyone who listens and participates. I’m working on the next lesson in the free HR Ninja course, so this is going to have to count as my get-out-of-work-free post. :-)

I will ask you to do one thing for me while you’re here, though. Would you think about subscribing? You can get the free updates via email or RSS. I would really appreciate it, and you’ll look like a genius. Win-win.

How to set an ATM on fire

That\’s a snazzy title if I do say so myself! Where did it come from? Well, I was reminiscing about crazy work stories with my coworker, and I then remembered that I\’d never really told the story of how I set an ATM on fire while on the job. So… Here we go!

In the summer after I graduated high school, I wanted to get a job other than working for my parents as I had for several years. So I talked with a friend who was a branch manager at a local bank and she recommended me for the summer hire program. So for the first time in my life, I went to interview for a job.

Needless to say, I got the job. And strangely like my current profession, I was one of the only men to do the job of a bank teller. :-) Anyway, I had been working at different banks in the area, rotating to a new one every other week. Finally I ended up at a location that I really liked. The other tellers were friendly and really enjoyed having me around.

A new opportunity Continue reading →

How to be brilliant: find someone smarter than you

So. You want to be brilliant, huh? I have a tip to help make that come true. Want to hear?

Find someone smarter than you

Now, let me just start by saying that I\’m by no means brilliant. I am painfully aware of that fact. However, I\’m working to change that by paying attention to people way smarter than me.

I\’ll be the first to admit that it\’s easier to interact with people on your level, but making an effort to step that up and surround yourself with smarter people will have a major effect on your intellect. There\’s a fantastic quote I\’ll defer to that makes the point crystal clear. Continue reading →

How to be an HR Ninja

When I participated in a collaborative eBook project recently, I really looked forward to seeing the finished result. However, even though it was a relatively short and to the point guide, I had a hard time focusing on all of the different thoughts. With so many great avenues to pursue, I struggled to do well in any of the areas. So I created a short worksheet and used it to draw some useful, actionable, and personalized takeaways from the guide.

Then I realized how powerful that could be for others.

So I took the eBook (thanks to Chris for using a Creative Commons license that allows me to spread the content to anyone I choose) and chopped a few of my favorite pieces out, formatted them into lessons, and created a few resources to help you get everything you can out of this free (but VERY valuable) content. Interested? Here’s what you have to do: Continue reading →

Leaders Have Followers

leaders have followersOn Tuesday I had the pleasure of hearing Laura  Huckabee-Jennings speak to my local SHRM chapter. She did a fantastic presentation titled Leaders Have Followers, and I took a page full of great notes. I had to laugh though. I was thinking to myself that my manager should have attended, because there were some things in there that she would be interested in implementing. Then I looked up and she was sitting two tables away looking right at me! Be careful what you wish for!

Below you’ll find my tweets/notes from the event. Because they’re chronologically ordered, you’ll have to start at the bottom and read up to get them in the right sequence. If you see one that stands out for you, mention it in a comment below. I’d like to know which ones really resonate with you. Continue reading →