Category Archives: camaraderie in the workplace

HR it’s about your people – not your seat at the Table!

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booster seatI often love to hop on to Youtube and watch a few videos of channels I’m subscribed to as a part of my ongoing learning in this space (okay, and a few funny videos).

I came across a fantastic video from Meet the Boss TV titled “Ten Best Practice HR Tips” that showcases HR and Executives from companies such as McDonald’s UK, KFC, IBM, Google and Mattel  It was interesting to hear how they change their strategies from what previously was being done in their organizations to what they are currently doing in regard to their people.

HR can be a game-changer in our organizations. The very ones who can quite possibly change the course of our ships and create amazing organizations; the very ones who can often change the definition of what’s expected from our leaders and our people. They can become the greatest company brand ambassadors and create amazing change within the structure of our organizations.

Sometimes that takes asking ourselves a few questions such as:

  • What are the business needs around our people that drive performance?
  • What is it that our people truly value about working at our organization?

When we determine the answers to these two things we can often create an energy that can be released around our people – from where it should begin first and foremost. From there HR can then begin to talk about the future talent needs of our organizations, how we can generate better insight around our people, how they can get rid of organizational silos that destroy our progress, and lastly – how we can support change in business.

Back to the video:

We must start thinking differently and perhaps going back to the basics where we do consider it more about our culture and the people that work there than our ever arriving at the table.

The value of using Google+ Hangouts within your Organization

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google hangoutIt’s been a year and some odd months that Google+ brought us the Hangout which we slowly eased into for fear of folks seeing us in our pajamas. Now, we hear about hangouts happening almost every day. And yes, even in Human Resources.

Sometimes we feel disconnected from employees that are perhaps overseas and we talk with them mainly via email or sometimes Skype and are really looking for a much better approach to talking with those with whom we converse on a regular basis.

I love Google+ Hangouts and here’s why:

  • They close the disconnect. Let’s face it, you can only do so much with email. And it’s a known fact, we spend tons of hours a day (up to 2 hours) not to mention the costs associated with it, trying to track folks down, see if they’ve read your emails, find out why they haven’t responded. Hangouts cuts out all that and allows for real-time face-time with up to nine folks.
  • Hangouts can be recorded.  This function can be a great asset to holding virtual sales meetings (or any kind of meeting) that can be recorded, automatically saved to Youtube (marked as private) and shared within your organization at any time. This is especially great for those who don’t show up or are late to meetings. Or, perhaps you have sales teams across geographical points, hangouts would be a great tool for management teams to gather together to share knowledge, brainstorm and then share with their teams.
  • You can share documents, videos and / or presentations within the hangout. Talk about opening new ways to train your team. I’ve used this in several of my hangouts especially with some very cool HR Tech developers to host a demo to those within the hangout. We were scattered all over the globe, yet we were participating LIVE with one another, while watching a presentation, while participating on the demo of the technology within our smartphones and/ or tablets. It’s really a shift in the way we do things…..
  • I’ve also used hangouts to showcase HR conference speakers and bloggers for an upcoming conference. What this does is allow the rest of the world to spy in on your conversations (if you make them available to the public) and really get to know your speakers and bloggers on a personal level. We’ve also used hangouts for LIVE STREAMING our events to those who weren’t able to make the event. It’s a win-win, really.

The only thing that is limited is your brain’s capacity to be creative in how you can utilize these fantastic technologies. These fantastic tools can assist you in creating better engagement, greater communication with your team members across the globe, and aid you in your everyday first-world problems within your organizations.

And did I mention it was free?

Here is an example of one hangout I did. Take a look and get a feel of what it can do for you!

For those of you not yet on the Google bandwagon, here’s a great guide “The Complete Google Guide.”

Halloween office parties gone bad

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Some few years back, when working in the third level of hell, my boss and HR / Office manager thought it would be a great idea if several of us from the office got together and celebrated Halloween. She set the time and place for us to meet and told us we all had to dress in costume and head to one of the local bars in town.

We all thought that rallying the troupes and trying to create some kind of camaraderie in and out of the workplace would be a great idea, at the time.

So there was a buzz of excitement for the next few weeks throughout the office talking about our costumes and how much fun we were going to have at the party. We talked of what we would sing at karaoke, who we were bringing to accompany us, it was going to be “the shiznik.” We also discussed how we were not going to drink that much because we all knew that was never a good idea, and to act civilized which we all agreed was crucial being out with our supervisors and coworkers – God only knows what would happen if we didn’t. We laughed at that thought, and all agreed.

Time came and we all met up in our lovely costumes as we congregated outside the local pub awaiting our perfectly planned evening.

And then things changed………….

Once we walked through the doors, somehow that plan we had conjured up of not drinking too much and maintaining some sort of self-control went to #$%@. People were drinking more than their body weight, dirty dancing on the floor with their boss, and some things I saw reminded me of  an episode of “Girls Gone Wild.”

What happened to the plan? We seemed to have good intentions to begin with but with all the Halloween hooplah, something happened. We all lost our marbles.

Guess what happened on Monday morning? People were walking in the doors with their eyes towards the floor in embarrassment. They had behaved so badly that they couldn’t look any of their co-workers in the eye. They had lost the respect of those around them, and might I add – we all lost respect for each other and especially our managers who too, behaved badly.

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The Ultimate gesture of Respect

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I know many of you watched the 20120 Summer Olympics because I saw your gazillion postings on Facebook. I’m good with that. I don’t get into them that much though I loved the opening ceremony with Rowan Atkinson aka Mr. Bean. He cracks me up.

I do, however, watch the Winter Olympics and especially love snowboarding. It’s probably due to the fact that there’s nothing else to do in Chicago in Winter except hibernate. I kid.

While the Summer Olympics shenanigans were going on I had to hear about it from everyone else and one such case was that of Olympian Oscar Pistorius, the first double amputee ever to run track in the Olympics. Here’s a guy who at 11 years of age had his legs amputated and yet has kept the dream of one day running in the Olympics.

Oscar’s dream was to compete against “able-bodied” athletes in the Olympics, and the man also known as “The Blade Runner” was able to do just that in the 2012 Olympics in London.

Not only did Oscar compete in the men’s 400 meters, he qualified for the semi-finals, which was his personal goal.

Let me first say, that before the Olympics I was somewhere, out and about, and overheard a conversation where someone said, “Yeah, but if they let this guy participate in the Olympics, the rest of them are going to feel entitled.” Ok, this burned my butt. What? And this was in America where I heard this statement. Land of the free, home of the brave, equal rights for everyone. I was appalled.

Entitled? Shouldn’t everyone, no matter their circumstance or disability, be entitled?

I love stories of folks, against all odds, fighting their way to the finish line. They inspire me to go beyond what I feel, think or am going through.

You can read more of the back-end of the story HERE and how he had to fight to be allowed to participate. Some agree that he had the right and some don’t.

Though there are still naysayer’s rambling about shoulda, coulda, woulda’s, yet this story has inspired people from all over the world, including fellow runner and World Champion sprinter from Grenada, Kirani James. Watch what he does at the end of the race:

As soon as the race was over, James, who finished first in the heat and is a favorite to win the gold, walked over to Pistorius, and traded nametags with him in the ultimate sign of respect for all he has accomplished. I love that. And when James was asked about this gesture afterward, said:

He’s an inspiration for all of us. What he does takes a lot of courage, just a lot of confidence. He’s very special to our sport. He’s a great individual and it’s time we see him like that and not anything else.

For Oscar, he leaves London having fulfilled a lifelong dream and saying:

“It just felt really magical. If I could predict what it would feel like or imagine beyond my wildest dreams, this was probably 10 times that. To step out in front of a crowd this massive, it’s a mind-blowing experience. I’ve had support in the last couple of days like I have never felt before.”

This is truly a story of perseverance on the part of Oscar, and adding Kirani James’ inspirational gesture, a story of great sportsmanship. It shows great love and respect for humankind. One without barriers.

Isn’t that, not only the Olympic Games, but what life is truly about?

Now, if we could put this into practice with work, home and our everyday lives.

Photo Credit: BeaumontEnterprise

Appreciating the little guy

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Over most weekends one of my favorite things to do is chill out in front of the tube and watch The Food Network or The Cooking Channel. It is relaxing to me, makes me really hungry and inspires me – all at the same time.

One show I always try to catch is “Chuck’s Day Off” on the Cooking Channel. Chuck Hughes has such passion for what he does. Read more about him here. He’s Canadian, has his own restaurant and cooking show, and has bacon tattooed on his arm. (I’m all about bacon)

One thing I love that he does on this show is what he does on his day off. What’s that, you ask?  He cooks for someone – whether it’s the butcher down the street where he buys his meat to the fishermen that bring in the fresh catch of the day. How awesome it that? It’s his way of showing his appreciation for the “little guy” that keeps his business going.

This past April 1 show was titled “The Linen Guy.” Because Chuck serves his food on fine linens – he gave some astronomical number of how many they go through a day – he has “the linen guy” come by, pick up the linens, bring them back all clean and folded. I would say that was a much needed service.

So here’s what Chuck decided to do for this particular show. He decides to prepare a meal for this guy, his wife and two daughters.  BOOM! Here is the episode.

Not only did the linen guy feel appreciated for his day-to-day (I’m sure a drudgery of a job) service, but his family was able to get in on the action. They were in heaven. This guy prepared them their favorite foods, served them and honored them for their service.

Now THAT’s how you appreciate those with whom you are in contact on a daily basis. This made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

We can all learn a lesson from this. Right? We all need to feel appreciated every now and then.

Hidden truths of motivation

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I came across this little video blurb on Friday and it really makes sense. What motivates us at home and work? Check it out!

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Photo Credit: Celsias