Tag Archives: Video

Human Resources Entrepreneur Lessons For Better Performance

4 Tips from the Life of a Human Resources Entrepreneur

human resources entrepreneur-secret identityShhh. I have a secret identity. When I’m not working on my blog/business as a human resources entrepreneur, I’m wearing a tie and going to a day job. I love the dual hats I am able to wear, and the experiences from both working a day job and working for myself are doubly exciting.

I also think that I get to make mistakes twice as fast. :-)

I’ve learned some great lessons that I think apply to my daily work in HR. Life as a human resources entrepreneur life isn’t always easy, and there are plenty of pitfalls. I’m going to talk about one of them that translates especially well to the HR profession and then I encourage you to check out the video below for the other three human resources entrepreneur lessons.

Working “on” vs. working “in”

I’m guilty of it. Let’s start off with that.

Do you ever get so bogged down in the day to day that you don’t take the time to step back and make sure that you’re seeing the big picture? I know I do. It’s easy, really. We get comfortable, even when project deadlines are bearing down on us and we feel like we’re fighting a forest fire with a wet towel. We lower our heads and plow through instead of taking the time to work on process improvement or how we can make things better by putting systems in place.

It’s easy, even when work is difficult, to work “in” the department. It’s not just in human resources. Entrepreneur life includes the same challenge.

In the revolutionary book The E-Myth, Michael Gerber talks about how small businesses often fail because the leaders fail to work “on” the business. People get into business for themselves because they enjoy doing something specific–making soap, cleaning houses, or even blogging.

So they focus on that (working “in” the business). At some point they run into a problem and they keep trying to solve it by doing what they’ve always done; however, it’s not the answer. If the entrepreneur doesn’t stop, take stock, and decide what the business needs (working “on” the business), then it’s destined to fail at some point. That’s a simple example, but you get the picture.

If we as HR pros don’t stop and take stock once in a while, then we’re going to be left in the dust. Marketing, finance, IT, etc. all take the time to plan for the future. They look at how they fit into the organization and plan ahead so they are leading the charge, not trying to play catch up. If you’re not making time to work on your HR team (maybe a “state of the HR union address” would be in order?), then you’re going to be left behind.

It might not be today, and it might not be this year, but there will come a time that you are going to wish that you’d taken the time to rise above the daily shuffle to plan ahead and ensure that your work was congruent with the organization’s goals.

I think I’ve made my point on that one. Check out the video for three other lessons learned as a human resources entrepreneur. This life has taught me much (mainly through making plenty of mistakes and learning from them!).

Video: Human resources/entrepreneur lessons

Subscribers click here to view.

(There’s a little bit of echo and the cam shifted to chop my head off after I set it up, but it’s still pretty darn good compared to the early days. I’ve since fixed the echo and head chopping, so there’s a great example of process improvement right there!) :-)

So, what do you think of the human resources entrepreneur lessons I’ve shared? Are you guilty of any of these? Did you learn any lessons that you can take with you into your day job to do it better? Any plans to work “on” the HR function instead of just “in” it?

Employee Productivity Management

Employee productivity management is normally seen as a manager’s job, and that might be a good thing. Recent research has shown that some managers can achieve up to 10% increases in productivity among their staff.

In the video below I discuss this phenomenon and what it means for HR professionals and business leaders. I also talk about a book that has some crossover between the research on employee productivity management and how it actually played out in another study of manager impact on employee engagement, performance, etc. The third piece I discuss is a philosophy of author/speaker that HR’s last great unexplored frontier is employee productivity and how to get more from our staff. I think that’s a key piece of why engagement has become the hot buzzword in recent years (it sounds cooler than employee productivity management), but they both mean basically the same thing: how can we get more work out of our people for the same amount of money?

If it was an easy answer, we’d have answered it already. The book that I talk about in the video covers some amazing concepts for how to develop a culture of belief that is so strong that it drives employee engagement and profits. I highly encourage you to check it out if that’s something you are interested in.

Check out the video and let me know what you think!

Employee productivity management show notes


So, what do you think? How can HR professionals best impact employee productivity?

Want more? Check out the free employee performance management guide!

#HRevolution HR Improv Session Videos

HR Improv was a session at HRevolution where participants had to present on a slideshow that they had never seen before and somehow tie it back to employee relations, recruiting, etc.

Please forgive the shaky portion of the videos. I grabbed the camera halfway through the session when I realized how hilarious this was going to be. I didn’t have a tripod, so I did the best I could with what I had.

Sean Conrad

Sean Conrad of Halogen Software was one of our volunteers. The random presentation we drew for Sean was a slideshow invitation to vacation in Nnoordwijk, Holland, and he had to try and relate that to the recruiting and talent management process. The first few minutes of his session were cut off, but this was the winner of the contest, so I wanted to get him a little love anyway! Continue reading →

How to Read a Resume for Culture Fit

Have you ever wondered how to read a resume to get the best understanding of the candidate’s fit for the job? What’s the most important part to focus on?

Is it the objective? Is it where you went to school? Maybe it’s your last employer?

Google’s staffing director discusses how to read a resume

It’s not any of those things. Well, not according to Todd Carlisle, Director of Staffing at Google. He believes the most important part of the resume is the bottom portion, where people normally list things like hobbies, activities, volunteer experience, etc.

Candidates\’ early work experience, hobbies, extracurricular activities or nonprofit involvement—such as painting houses to pay for college or touring with a punk rock band through Europe—often provide insight into how well an applicant would fit into the company culture.” source

I think that’s a great idea, and I’d have to agree that it could be valuable for ascertaining a person’s culture fit. Many professionals drop those kinds of information from their resume in order to fit in the valuable experience gleaned at other positions, so you could be missing plenty of them with a great history of volunteering and social activities if you’re only scanning resumes.

That’s where the next point comes in…

Stop reading resumes altogether

In the video below Jerome Ternynck, CEO of SmartRecruiters, brings an even more radical approach to the one above: get rid of resumes and use “profiles” instead. I like the idea, but I don’t know how feasible it is. Frankly, it’s easier for any company to sort through ten resumes than it is to sort through ten profiles for candidates.

And despite there being hundreds of great career resources on the web, some job seekers still have ugly resumes, poor interviewing skills, and no real career plan. Then again, that does weed the technically ignorant folks from the hiring pool (at least until they catch on). Check out the video below for more ideas on how we can get rid of resumes once and for all.

You just aren’t that great…

Recently one of my good friends, Daniel Crosby, spoke at a local TEDx event. If you’re not familiar, TED is setting the standard for free, yet incredibly valuable, content. Some of the best and brightest in the world share the TED stage, and Daniel could be one of them. Please check out the video below with his presentation (~20 minutes). Click here to view it directly on YouTube. If you enjoy the content (Daniel is a funny guy), here’s how you can help him to be world famous:

  1. Send the link to your friends and family so they can view and share the video.
  2. Send a quick email to this address: tedxtalks@ted.com. Feel free to cut and paste this short paragraph to make it even faster:
    Hello!

    I just finished watching Doctor Daniel Crosby’s TEDx “You’re Not That Great” speech, and I really enjoyed it. I would like to see Daniel have the opportunity to speak from the TED platform in the future, so please consider him next time you are seeking presenters. He has a great, motivational message wrapped up in humor and psychology, and I know others would enjoy what he has to say. 

    Sincerely,

    Your Name [Or “The Biggest Daniel Crosby Fan Evah!” would work as well]

  3. And last but not least, let Daniel know you appreciate his work! I’m going to make him aware of this post, so if you want to comment below I’ll make sure he sees it. He’s also on Twitter @incblot.

Why HR people don’t blog (and how to get around it)

One of the sessions at HRevolution Las Vegas a few weeks back focused on blogging, and a great question that was bandied about was why HR people don’t do it more often. Is it because they are afraid to? Maybe they just don’t know how? Or maybe it’s because HR people have been trained to keep quiet about their real thoughts and opinions, because knowledge is power, right? Whatever the excuse, it’s a terrible reason to keep quiet. Today we’re going to look at what it is, combat a few of the general excuses, and share some resources on how to get started.

What is blogging?

A really basic definition of a blog is a journal. It’s updated every so often with new ideas, insights, or lessons learned. People come by from time to time and read some of that wisdom and can comment or share it with others who might find it valuable.

That’s pretty simple, right?

Even with all the bells and whistles (see below for some tutorials and the tools I use), that’s really all a blog is. If you have thoughts, then you can blog. All it takes is writing those thoughts out! Even if you keep a private blog and don’t share it with anyone, you will become a better, more well-rounded professional as a result of taking the time to organize your opinions into coherent thoughts.

Why not blog?

If it really is that simple, then why don’t more HR people blog?

  • They don’t know how to use the tools-Check out the video below. 81 seconds to start a blog? Yep, it’s that easy!
  • They don’t know what to say-Start slow. Talk about what you do. Talk about what you enjoy about the profession. Talk about employee horror stories (within reason and without revealing too many juicy details). Read other blogs. As my manager put it, it’s about reading for the job you want, not the job you have!
  • They don’t have time-If you have thirty minutes per week, you have time. And I know you do, because you spent at least that much time checking Facebook, getting coffee, and watching TV commercials in the past 24 hours! Seriously, it takes very little time if you are just trying to get your thoughts out there. Don’t be one of those people who keeps going “Ready, aim, aim, aim…” Just fire the post off already!
  • They don’t want to upset their employer-My new friend Buzz writes a blog and has for about 6 months now. She doesn’t tell her employer and they don’t ask her about it. It’s quite possible to share helpful, valuable content with the world without telling everyone where you work!
  • Know another excuse? Drop it in the comments section below and I’ll respond to it!

Blogging tools and tips

I cover everything you need to know to get started here on the blogging page, including what domains and hosting are and who to purchase from, how to install WordPress, how to use themes and plugins, and a big Q&A section that runs the gamut! However, if you are interested and rearin’ to go right away, you can start your own blog in less than two minutes.

Check out this link for a short video on how to set up a free WordPress.com blog in 81 seconds. Less than two minutes. Anyone can get started with that short of a timeline!

Have other questions about blogging? Feel free to email me! I’ve helped several others get their own blogs going, and I would love to help you as well. 

Employment videos: how to get traffic (and candidates)

AKA: How to use employment videos for social recruiting

Social recruiting is discussed often, but one of the lesser mentioned facets is video. While many companies know it’s something they should pursue, they don’t know how to be successful. Below you’ll find some ideas to pursue in the area of employer videos. Just a quick word of warning, I’m going to be technical at times, because the subject warrants it. However, I’m happy to help if your organization is looking to make a move into the video arena.

First off, you want your videos to be found when people search Google, right? That’s where search engine optimization comes in. It’s a methodology for getting your videos indexed in a way that makes them easy to find by searchers.

Five tips for Video SEO (search engine optimization)

  1. Make the video something people want to share (more detail on this below).
  2. Don’t dilute your videos by posting on multiple sites (YouTube, Vimeo, Viddler, etc.).
  3. Titles, tags, and descriptions are useful when uploading and posting videos online, but backlinks to the videos (with relevant keywords in the anchor text) are more important for search engine rankings.
  4. YouTube is the #2 search engine in the world and the #1 for videos. Use that to your advantage.
  5. If you’re using WordPress as your content distribution platform, create a video sitemap and submit it via Google Webmaster Tools. Every little bit helps!

Now, let’s elaborate on #1 above. That’s usually the first question people have: what do the videos need to be about? Well, there are several ways to go with that, but I like to think of two kinds of people when considering these types of video: customers and potential job candidates. Think about what they would like to know about your company and give it to them!

Five ideas for your employment video content

  1. Interview employees and ask what they do and what they like about the job, dept, or company
  2. Get staff members to discuss the culture and how that affects what they do.
  3. Ask employees to talk about their favorite benefit/perk that you offer.
  4. Film the fun, unique events that make your organization special.
  5. Create content that is outward facing and valuable to your industry. Hint: if you’re providing thought leadership and value at a level that entices competitors to link to you, then you’re on the right track.

This list certainly isn’t all-inclusive, but it’s a great start to generating ideas that would specifically benefit your company.

Thinking about creating some employer branding videos for your company and looking for some help? Feel free to contact me if you’re looking for assistance.Â