Author Archives: Ben

Knowledge looking for a home

blogging connection communicationToday’s post is by a student in my buddy Steve Boese’s HR Technology class at the Rochester Institute for Technology. Carolina Correa, the author, likes my blog. You can already tell she’s brilliant, right? :-)

Her comments on communication are worth reading twice, and I picked my favorite phrase from her selection as the title for this post. She kept the formatting simple, so any emphasis is mine, but the eloquent words are otherwise her own and make my writing look like an arthritic one legged mule in comparison. Please make her feel welcome!

Blog, Blog, blog, blog…. What is the big deal? Let\’s face it-blogging is a form of freedom but not necessarily for everyone. It is a pure form of communication that allows the “blogger” to express an opinion or facts to an audience that either “gets it” or maybe not, and gives the reader a chance to provide feedback whether or not the blogger wants it…

As a tool to the HR community as with many other professional groups, blogging offers a place, a sanctuary of sorts, filled with both familiar and comforting statements and tidbits of industry wisdom stirred together with some thought provoking and sometimes controversial viewpoints.

I digress, the essence of any great blog site has to be value; a message, a connection, a common thread or the clear sense of community and purpose. The usefulness of blogging is pretty much undeniable but nonetheless somewhat misunderstood in the mainstream. To blog or not to blog is a debate that only finds answers when discussed in the context of finding value, this is true not just for the HR community but just about any profession seeking the comforts of connectedness.

Interesting though is the fact that a big part of the HR profession and the community that endeavors to make a living in this field is connection; maybe it\’s a wayward piece of knowledge looking for a home, a missing skill set, the “right” person for the job or maybe just a missing perspective on a particular issue for some poor soul trying to save the world (or just his/her job).

Why blog? Who cares why, it\’s the process that creates the value and the connections that prove to be both powerful and impactful in helping change the sometimes muddled viewpoint found inside our four walls. HR is alive and blogging is giving us depth of understanding, community, connections and meaningful feedback… or not….

Well? What did you think of Carolina’s post? Leave her a comment below to show her some love.

Technology-Easier Than It Looks

Technology... Could it really be this easy?Recently I was working with a friend to figure out an easy (free) way for her to create a place for her coworkers to share documents and connect with each other from remote locations. The half an hour we spent setting up the site showed me just how easy it is to collaborate with coworkers using free and readily available tools.

There really isn\’t any reason not to do it, but you\’ll still get some pushback in several ways.

Too Technical

With thirty minutes of training, I can get someone up and running with a basic understanding of a WordPress (my preferred web software) site. And that\’s for the administrator. Users can usually handle the interface with relatively few problems. These things have been developed by people much smarter than me to be used by people who are beginners in the technology area.

Too Expensive

In the aforementioned solution, I incorporated two tools that I also personally use on a daily basis: WordPress and Gmail. These two highly capable pieces of software come at the steep price of zero, and they\’re not alone. With the extensive availability of free options, there are more useful tools than ever available at no cost (and little risk).

Too Time-Consuming

I\’ll admit that I\’m a geek. But like I said before, I can teach someone the basics of one of these things in under an hour. If you invest that time block in learning to use a new technology instead of chatting at the water cooler, you might be surprised at how much benefit you get from the experience.

You have to be willing to learn.

As you can see, it\’s really not too difficult to handle. You have to be willing to learn, but if you are, I\’m sure there\’s someone around you who can teach you the basics of one of these tools. And if there\’s not someone nearby, there’s no harm in trying to go it alone. I\’ve done some of my best learning by trying and failing half a dozen times, and that type of experience leaves you with a better understanding overall, too. And if worse comes to worse, just let me know if I can help in some way.

Are you one of those people who has one of these three issues with technology?

Want to get free updates? Enter your email address to bump up your awesomeness quotient tenfold:

Orientation from across the table

I’ve been at my current organization for nearly a year now, and I really enjoy what I do. Just recently we have started an orientation process where our VPs of HR and Operations go out and meet small groups of new employees. It gives them a way to connect with the new people, and it shows our new staffers that we have them on our minds.

I wrote a post about participating in an orientation session from the new employee side of things, and I think it’s worth restating.

Take it from someone who will tell it to you straight. Do an orientation with new employees. If you want it to be more useful, wait until they\’ve been there for a few weeks (or do it in two parts). That way you can ask about problems/issues before the person begins to feel powerless, and hopefully you can rectify them in some way. It makes a big difference to people when they feel appreciated. I\’m walking proof of that.

But whatever you do, just do something. As a semi-new employee, I left the meeting with the desire to do something amazing for my organization. Wouldn\’t you want your employees to want the same thing?

I’d be interested in learning more about some of your organizations. Do you have an orientation/onboarding process? What’s involved in that procedure?

The GPHR exam

GPHR examIn all of the HR certification talk that I get into, I really don’t know much about the Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR) exam.

What’s on it? Who takes it? Is it worth the effort?

GPHR Tips and Advice

Recently I had the opportunity to interview Lori Goldsmith, SPHR/GPHR (LinkedIn, Twitter) about what her experience was like. If you’re wondering what the GPHR exam is all about, you’re going to learn from someone who’s been there and done that.

If you like this post feel free to subscribe or check into the study guide. It’s not GPHR specific, but the testing tips are definitely helpful for the HR certification exams and you have a money back guarantee. If you are looking for a GPHR specific study tool, here’s the one I would use.

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Me: Why did you decide to get GPHR certified? Continue reading →

We all have something to offer

What do you have to offer the world?

A week or so ago, I was doing some research for a leadership project I’m working on. I came across a moving video that I really think you should check out. It’s longer than most, but the message is worth the wait. Check out The Butterfly Circus video below. (Email/RSS subscribers may need to click through to view.)

Here’s the original link to the video.

My thoughts

What does this mean for your employees?
What does it mean for you as an HR pro?
Are you aligning your staff’s talent with the organization’s needs and motivating them to be the best they can be?

Just what is RSS really?

What the Heck is RSS?

And why should I care?

What is RSS?

Good questions. First, here\’s why you should care.

Unlike getting website updates or ezines by email, RSS feeds give you absolute, 100% complete control over the situation.

You don\’t have to reveal your email address. If you want to stop receiving content, you don\’t have to request to be “taken off the list.”

One click, and poof… the subscription is gone. Continue reading →

Detour

business takes wrong turnOkay, so I usually don’t do this, but today I’m sending you elsewhere to get your weekly RocketHR fix. Please check out this post titled “The HR Capitalist Challenge.”

But please don’t just read the post and walk away. There are three very important questions in there regarding how you make yourself a better HR pro by what you do outside the workplace. I’d really appreciate if you could take 60 seconds and leave a comment on the post.

If you can answer all three questions for yourself in your comment, I’ll feature your response in an upcoming post on the site!

Check it out!