Another Day in the HR Field

It's time once again to complete my annual performance review.  This is a time for reflection, documentation, and most importantly improvement.  I have been participating in the annual review process most of my professional career.  Typically it's been a meeting with my supervisor where they go over a checklist type formatted document that all managers use in the organization and basically tell me how I scored.  In the academic arena the tables are turned a bit where it's you telling a committee in written form what you did, how you were evaluated, and what your going to do about it. The latter is the most important aspect, in my humble opinion, because the process requires you to sit down and determine what your next steps are as it relates to improvement in all areas of your professional work.  For me that is teaching, advising, community service, training, speaking, blogging. consulting and branding.  Part of my reflection is to look at what I have bee...

Well that was a blast! Hanging with long time HR friend, Dave Ryan, talking about Running an HR Department of One down south in the state of Louisiana. It was more than a blast...it was a great learning experience. I have always considered Dave mentor on areas of HR where I had little experience. One of those areas is Labor Relations. This go around I learned a lot about some new technologies that will help get the job done more effectively and efficiently.  Among my list of takeaways from Dave include Smart Recruiters, Work for Us, Flubaroo, and Google Docs. Mobile apps have been the rave for a couple of years now but Smart Recruiters seem to have an edge on the recruiting space. The app allows cost conscious HR professionals to post job openings for free and then get picked up by a host of other online job banks. On top of your return on investment for a pinch of your time, it's relatively easy to learn and use. Another related Facebook add on is called Work For Use which do...

I  admit, I am not the most polished among my peers in the HR speakers community. Nor do I attest to "know it all" or have the most interesting "stories". I especially have not worked at a Fortune "any number" organization which usually are the only ones who actually get paid to speak. Well there are those who have authored a book who get paid. I'm not there yet either.  What I do know is how to pick a great partner in crime, what topics are not usually to the level of detail I feel is sufficient and how to dress for the occasion. Like the latter even matters, right? Well you will find a few shopping trip posts on social media where it has mattered to some (myself included).  I also admit that less than a handful of speaking gigs hardly qualify one to be "on the circuit". What I confess to be true about speaking at a conference is:  *I have a fabulous time helping others.  *I meet a great deal of wonderful HR professionals as w...