With this blog I normally try to stick to HR content that you can put to good use, but today I’m going to lean back and give a quick update on the things that are going on.

Talking social for HR

Tuesday I am speaking to a local SHRM chapter (Winfield) about social media for HR professionals. Love talking about this topic and I think it’s unique since I don’t 1) try to sell social media as the best thing since sliced bread or 2) act like the legal universe implodes if you use Facebook for recruiting.

It will be a small, informal group, so I hope to have a good bit of Q&A to keep things lively. (Side note-I love speaking to HR professionals! If you have a group you’d like me to connect with, just shoot me an email and we can discuss the details).

NextChat-Employee Rating Systems

Wednesday I will be doing a Twitter chat with the fine folks at SHRM. The #nextchat will focus on rating employees and will be a lot of fun. If you are on Twitter, I’d love to have you join in the conversation! I will be talking all about how organizations can use rating systems for succession planning and talent management, but I’ll also look at how those tools can be ineffective or even damaging to a company if used poorly.

The last NextChat on how to get a job in HR was a lot of fun! We talked about transitioning to an HR career, both from an entry level standpoint and a lateral move from another profession.

More social, more HR

Thursday I will be speaking to the Huntsville NASHRM Mentor University (NMU) group about social media. I’ll be tweaking this one a little from the Tuesday session to talk a little more about using it for professional development, since I’ll be speaking to the younger/less experienced HR crowd.

I’m honored to go back and speak to this group, because I was in the inaugural NMU class and was able to land a phenomenal job due to the networking within the group. It’s a great initiative and I’m looking forward to seeing the group they have put together.

Other items

On the work front, we’re recruiting for over a dozen positions right now, and while I enjoy the recruiting, it’s taking over my life. I had a nightmare the other night that I couldn’t get the right candidate for a highly specialized job. Whew. We’re going to be starting mid-year reviews in about a month, we are changing insurance vendors, and I’m looking at increasing staff at the local office by about 50% within 4 weeks. Yeah, it’s fun to be a one-man HR shop sometimes! :-p

Also, I just confirmed that I will be covering the Alabama SHRM State Conference as a blogger. More details on that in the next few weeks.

What’s up with you guys? I like staying in touch with everyone and learning what is keeping you busy.