Category Archives: General

ALSHRM11-What you missed

Last Wednesday I attended ALSHRM11, also known as the Alabama State SHRM Conference. There were some great sessions, and I have started chronicling the details over at RocketHR. If you’re curious about building a culture of integrity at work, managing the differences between generations, or being innovative in your HR role, then there will be some good content going up on the other blog in the next few weeks.

Feel free to subscribe for email updates over there so you don’t miss anything. I usually only post once a week over there so it’s really easy to keep up with!

HRevolution Blog Carnival

The ones who started it all...

We have about thirty posts here today from some of the people I respect most in this industry. It’s not because they’re the smartest (although many are brilliant). It’s not because they know all the secret tips and tricks (although they could teach us all a thing or two). It’s not even because they are good looking (those avatars don’t show everything) ;-). It’s because they take the time and make the effort to continue pushing this profession and the people in it to be better. Every. Single. Day. We’re all better off for your efforts!

Because we have so many great posts, I’m going to keep my commentary to a minimum and just share the links to these fantastic recaps, takeaways, and nostalgic moments. If you set aside twenty minutes to start digging into the posts below, I can pretty much guarantee that you will find new blogs/people to follow. Fair warning: you’ll also have an insatiable desire to attend the next HRevolution. What can I say? It’s an awesome event. :-)

Speaking of awesome… We are going to be partnering with the HR Technology Conference to offer a special one-day HRevolution event on October 2nd, 2011 in Las Vegas! More details to come, but if you have been wanting to attend the event but you’re out in the western US, this is going to be your big shot! Stay tuned.

The posts

And that’s not all. We have videos from the event coming soon thanks to Maren Hogan and some more great stuff on the horizon. Remember, HRev isn’t your usual conference. We keep the good stuff coming all year long! Thanks again to our sponsors, facilitators, and attendees for making the event as successful as it is. We appreciate you all!

2011 Alabama SHRM Conference

I’m so excited about the upcoming AL SHRM State Conference on May 18, 2011.  We are expecting over 500 attendees.  As usual, we have very informative and timely sessions planned for our attendees this year.  In the past, we have did not have much time available for networking and socializing, this year I’m looking forward to our first pre-conference reception at Saks Fifth Avenue.  As an HR Professional, you cannot afford not to attend the AL SHRM State Conference. –Carmen Douglas, President of the Alabama State SHRM Council

SHRM AlabamaOne of the first blog posts I ever wrote back in 2009 was about ALSHRM. It was the first event I attended as a blogger and Twitter user, and I will never forget it. This year I am going back to cover the event at the request of the ALSHRM state council. I’m excited about content and connections.

Content

This is what I’m looking for as my plan for the day. Pumped!

  • Opening Keynote Session: From Boomsters to Linksters: Managing Friction Between Generations
  • Absolute Honesty: Building a Culture of Straight Talk and Integrity
  • Lunch Keynote Session – Just Like Fine Wine: Cultural Emotional Intelligence
  • The Laughing Warrior: How to Enjoy Killing the Status Quo
  • Closing General Session: How Aflac HR Impacts the Bottom Line

Connections

I have some old friends who will be present (@adowling, @thewitchinghr, @incblot, etc.), and it’s always great to catch up with them. I’m also excited about meeting some new people, including at least one of the speakers. Dale Dauten, author, speaker, and all around great guy is going to be talking about innovation, and I can’t wait to hear what he has to say.

If you’re following on Twitter, I’ll be on the #ALSHRM11 hashtag with some of the other attendees.

In short:

Cheap cost.

Valuable content.

Welcome to the Alabama SHRM State Conference.

Define corporate culture for candidates to make better hires

Define corporate culture… is part one of a series on culture. It’s one of the reasons I love where I work (and we have almost 100% retention over the life of the company). I’m hoping to shed some light on my philosophies when it comes to culture and its role in the workplace.

One of the quotable quotes from HRevolution this year was in response to someone asking what HR does to create culture. I think the role for HR is not to create it, but to communicate and reinforce it at every possible opportunity. At least that’s what I do on a daily basis. I see every opportunity to interact, whether internally or externally, as a way to share what makes us different. Some people like what makes us different and some people don’t, but that’s another post for another day.

A few areas to communicate your unique culture (just in the areas of recruiting and selection): Continue reading →

Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work (book review)

When I received my review copy of Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work: Building a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles of RESPECT by Paul Marciano, I wasn’t sure about what to expect. I’ve talked about employee engagement before, and I feel like I know a good bit about the topic.

This book took it to a whole new level.

See, the engagement stuff is usually “fuzzy.” We know it’s a good concept, but we don’t receive a lot of practical advice on how to make it work. This book covers overarching concepts that affect human psychology at work and actionable ideas for employers to use to affect employee engagement on a daily basis. And the interesting part? It’s all based on respect. Continue reading →