Author Archives: Ben

5 Christmas Gift Ideas for HR Professionals

Christmas is on the horizon, and I hope you have already started your shopping! If not, don’t lose hope. I have just the thing for you to get for that semi-geeky human resources person in your life. In the last two years, we have transitioned to doing 90+ percent of our shopping online, and it’s SO much easier. Below in all their glory and splendor, you will find five Christmas gift ideas for HR professionals.

Ranging from notebooks to make the HR pro in your life smile to tech ideas and even into personal care, there’s something on this Christmas gift list for every HR leader!

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Coach before you criticize

criticize coach employeesYou have employees out there who seem to continually mess up. It doesn’t really matter what the project is, because they will find a way to flub it.  It is incredibly frustrating for you, so what’s your natural reaction? Criticize.

I’ve done it myself, so don’t make me think I’m the only one out here. Someone can’t fill out form A correctly? Well, they are just careless. Procedure X is out of whack? That employee is too lazy to do it right. Sure, you can criticize them (we all do), but what does that really change? Nothing. But there is something you can do that might actually make a difference. Continue reading →

Guest Post Blitz #3

I try not to let things catch me by surprise. But it happens anyway. Oh, well! I am on the move much of the time, and I try to save my best writing times for this site. However, I occasionally slip in an article somewhere else, and I try not to let them go by without at least a passing mention. With that in mind, feel free to explore these little seeds that I’ve scattered to the four corners of the online world. Continue reading →

NASHRM Mentor Program

Want to get mentored? Well, you’ll have to wait until next year. This year’s participants in the NASHRM mentor project were announced last week, and I am thrilled to be on that exclusive list. The mastermind of this project, Rusty Brand, passed along this comment:

We believe that the mentor program has the potential to bring tremendous value to the career development of our members.  NASHRM has been considering the idea for a few years and we are excited to get it off the ground in 2010 under the title of Mentor University.  The plan is to utilize a variety of approaches including group, peer, and flash mentoring as well as the more traditional approach.  HR Pros will have a chance to network and engage in a smaller forum and focus their time on areas/topics that are of interest to them, helping them to take the next step within their respective careers.  Its going to be a lot of fun!

Someone asked me the other day why I would use my own limited time and money for this project. My reply: why not?!? You probably know how hard it is to break into the HR field and advance through the ranks. This experience is going to put some of that hard-to-reach information at the fingertips of the next generation of HR leaders. If the others are as excited as I am about this, then it’s going to rock.

One thing that really excites me about NASHRM Mentor University is that the leaders have purposefully kept the group small enough to encourage discussion and interaction. That’s one thing I learned at HRevolution earlier this month. The smaller sessions encouraged a lot of ideas and chatting, but the larger groups were more subdued. The smaller the group is, the more people can absorb and interact. Look for some great posts to come from the interactions facilitated by Mentor University.

HR Unconference

hr unconference

It has been a wild journey, and HRevolution 2009 is in the books. What can I say? It was, quite simply, an amazing experience. I\’ve read plenty of accounts about HR tweetups and HR unconferences, but nothing quite prepares you for what occurs once you arrive. Wait a minute, you don\’t know what an HR unconference is? It\’s basically a conference with much less formality and structure. Instead of being governed by rules and overbearing planners, an HR unconference is more free-flowing and open to the whims of the attendees. While HRevolution wasn\’t as lax as a normal unconference, it still had a lot of flexibility and fun thrown into the mix. Here\’s a quick breakdown of my own timeline surrounding the event. It\’s a weird, rambling version of the events, but I have to untangle it all before I can make sense of anything!

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25 Pieces of HR Awesomeness

Brand New Official HR Carnival Logo

Brand New Official HR Carnival Logo

I’m thrilled to be hosting my first HR carnival, and that’s for several reasons. First, I get to converse with a few great writers behind the scenes. Second, I get the opportunity to promote those writers all in one place. And third, I get to unveil the new HR Carnival logo, created by the illustrious Allen Robinson (or “LogoMan” according to Eric Winegardner). No longer will carnival hosts have to search for an image to use with their rendition of an HR carnival.

If you haven’t read my last post about how to make the HR carnival really matter , please hop over there and read it before continuing. I promise you’ll get more out if it if you do. Enough about me. Let’s showcase those great writers I was talking about! Continue reading →