Category Archives: Chicago HR Conferences

My HR manager ruined me from ever wanting to see Kelly Clarkson – even at SHRM13

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Kelly_ClarksonSeveral years ago, when working in the third level of hell, I heard so much of Kelly Clarkson I wanted to bash my own brains in. Now, I’m a huge American Idol fan and was totally there to watch her win as American Idol’s first. But here’s what happened -

I was an HR / Admin assistant to the company Human Resources department managed by a loose cannon. I’m not exaggerating. When I first interviewed for the position I thought “Gosh, I love this gal. She is going to be the best.boss.ever!” Little did I know that was about to change and change it did.

She went from being a nice boss to wanting to get all up in my personal business, share her personal BS with me and go out and party together. Did I mention I found out she lived in the same apartment building as me? That was fun.

On good days, my boss was good. The sun was out, her love life was fantastic and all was right with the world. On days when things went to the crapper I would be called into her office to hear all about how her weekend went awry with her fella and all the details. Then she would spend hours crying in her office while listening to EVERY Kelly Clarkson song over and over and over.

I can remember saying out loud, “Gawd, I hate Kelly Clarkson!” To this day, I can’t listen to a Kelly Clarkson song for being reminded of that horrible working environment.

Unstable managers create unstable working conditions. They make folks want to look for another job, move to a foreign country and live in a shoe.

So Kelly Clarkson is the special guest concert for SHRM13 and I’mma just have to pass, although I’m very grateful for the ticket. I’m looking forward to SHRM13′s annual conference, but it ain’t got nothing to do with KC.

Here’s just a few things I’m looking forward to, if you care:

  • Hanging with my online friends IRL (in real life). This happens mostly once a year (or two) for me and I love getting to catch up with friends and meeting new ones. The after hours and tweetups are always great places to do that – forget karaoke this year and grab an actual person and sit and talk – you might learn something! Oh, and you can get in on the action HERE!
  • The Bloggers Lounge – since I’m an official SHRM blogger and have been for the past couple of years, I’m really looking forward again to hanging out and working in the bloggers lounge sponsored by the fabulous folks from Dice. They really make you feel like you are the shizzle. You can LIVE BLOG while watching the main sessions directly from the bloggers lounge and have a little peace and quiet as well. Oh, and Dice provides us with a CANDY BAR filled with all kinds of goodies and tons of sugar! < who wouldn’t love that?
  • SHRM’s Social Media HIVE – Last year Curtis Midkiff aka @SHRMSMG and SHRM rolled out their social media HIVE which makes way for hands-on training in using social from setting up your profiles to incorporating it into your everyday work and life. Here’s a video of me introducing The Hive from SHRM12. I’m honored to be working in The Hive a few times while I’m there. Come look me up.

There’s so much more I could share but I’m running over my allotted word count! Stay tuned for more updates on SHRM and the upcoming Conference. It’s gonna be a doozie! And no, I won’t be selling you my Kelly Clarkson ticket, I’m pretty sure that’s illegal. I may be willing to trade it for a donut!

Fear and Loathing – Networking, Trade Shows and #SHRM13

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networking 2SHRM 2013 is coming to Chicago in a couple of weeks, and this is one of the real highlights of the HR profession’s year. This year’s event looks like it will be great with the best line-up of speakers I can remember.

This also means lots of people. Really. A lot of them. Not a lot as in the backyard is going to a bit crowded for the barbecue, or can the house hold everyone coming over for the Super Bowl Party. I mean “a lot” as in countless hordes of people descending upon us hell bent to take our last crumb of bread and I have no place to hide it “a lot.”

So – if you like crowds, this will be the place for you! On the other hand, if large crowds make you a bit nervous, SHRM 2013 might be an intimidating event. But – this is a big event, and it is a great opportunity to accomplish all of the things we want to accomplish in professional networking especially meet new people and establish professional relationships.

 Here are few quick tips that might make the experience a little less intimidating for you, and help make networking at SHRM a little easier – no matter how you react to crowds.

  1. Find a buddy. Sometimes it’s a lot easier to meet new people when you have a partner.
  2. Have a plan and a purpose. There is a Conference Community - http://community.shrm.org/2013Conference/Home/ - which is easy to use. Also – identify some vendors you’d like to see in the EXPO – remember, they are people and potentially valuable connections, too! Find people with shared interests or questions and find places and times to meet! That’s WHY a lot of people are going, so take advantage of the chance.
  3. Don’t get caught in “group think.” It’s EASY to go to events and parties with the same group at large conferences like this. The sheer size of the thing really pushes us towards finding a group and sticking with it. But – that means you are missing chances to meet a lot of really nice people who work in your field, share your concerns and probably have questions you can answer for them! S0 – while having a single buddy is a great “safety net”, running in a pack can be counterproductive to effective networking.

I am not a natural networker. Really. I do enjoy meeting people, but I prefer – strongly, I might add – more personal settings for conversations and get acquainted opportunities. But the annual SHRM event is different, so I have to get ready, make my plan and be prepared to meet new people. And – it really works!chris sue and me

I had the great pleasure of meeting Susan at a SHRM conference 2 years ago, and if I’d stuck with a group of people I knew before, or been afraid to “get out there”, I would have missed meeting her and building a relationship that I really value and truly treasure today. So – get out there. You have a relationship to build just waiting to be found!

About the Author:

chris osbornChris Osborn is the VP of Marketing at BizLibrary. He is a strong believer in the idea of content driven, in-bound marketing. So under his direction, his marketing team strives to answer questions HR and L&D professionals are asking by writing and publishing materials like e-books, white papers and weekly webinars on topics like leadership development, employee engagement, and best practices for effective for employee training. Oh, and he’s also a recovering lawyer, so he does know a thing or two about career changing and networking.

BizLibrary provides online training solutions to small and mid-sized companies. They work hard to make training clients’ employees easy by delivering a comprehensive library of content of 1800 streaming videos and 5000 e-learning courses on virtually every business skill topic you might need.

Photo Credit: FreshBooks

A look back into SHRM Conferences in pictures, blogs and videos! #SHRM13

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daydreamingI wanted to research all the posts I had written from the last two SHRM (Society for Human Resource Managers) Conferences I’ve attended and see what I could come up with. I found some pretty cool stuff.

For those of you that don’t know, I’ve been privileged to be a part of the Blogging/Press team for the past two years. I’m also stoked I’m allowed to go back this year right here in my back yard (Chicag0) and look forward to sharing stuff on that in the next few weeks.

Here are 10 links to funny and informative posts, videos and pictures I found from the past couple of years.

Let’s look at SHRM 2012 -

And here are a few more goodies from SHRM11. Check em >

Stay tuned for more posts, videos and pictures soon to come!

 

Review and Demo of @SlideKlowd – a Game-changer app for Events, Conferences and Training

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slideklowd

I’m on vacation in sunny California so I thought I would pull a few of my favorites from the archives. Check these folks out. 

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You never know who you’re going to connect with on the Twitters.

Back a few months I had tweeted a post in regard to me preparing for my SHRM Work/Flex presentation and happened to mention my Powerpoint. I received a follow from @SlideKlowd and checked into who they were – as I often do before simply clicking the ole “follow” button.

Upon my investigation I found out more about their amazing mobile and desktop app that allows greater engagement between presenters and their audiences whether it’s at conferences or events, online hangouts or training. I was so excited about the possibility of doing away with “the way we’ve always done it” and having to fill out those paper surveys after a conference session or keynote, for one. Secondly, I see how this can tremendously affect the way we communicate and present future events and / or training for HR and beyond.

Just think about the possibilities of having real-time engagement with your audience and being able to walk away with REAL data. I guess it could be terrifying to presenters who are boring and those who can’t engage an audience and the like.

My next step was to follow them back online and hear more about their product and services so I did just that. I was hoping to use SlideKlowd at my presentation in October but it was cutting it short.

I sat in with my new-found connection > Justin Foster, one of the founders of SlideKlowd, in a private one-on-one Webinar to share more about what they offered and I fell head over hills with this product. I like it so much, in fact, that I told several of my HR buds about it and scheduled a Google+ hangout for Justin to present the demo to them.

hangout with SlideKlowd

Here is the hangout >

Thanks Justin, for a superb job and for the fantastic job you guys are doing at creating a greater way to drive engagement.

Oh, you’ll want to check them out at SlideKlowd.com and connect with them on Facebook and Twitter. I can’t recommend them enough.

Here is their latest video introduction.

Networking is a bunch of malarkey!

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network meetingToday’s guest post comes from my friend in the HR/Recruiting world Bonnie Ungaro who is in my neighborhood, ya’ll! Bonnie know’s what she’s talking about when she writes about networking and I wanted to share with you to spur you into networking – online and off! Enjoy, and make sure to connect to Bonnie and subscribe to her blog where this post was originally aired. She’s also on the Twitters.

_______________________________________

How to make a real connection with other professionals? 

Ah-ha, gotcha! I don’t really believe networking is BS, however earlier in my career I honestly did not see the value and here’s why – I was meeting the wrong people.

In the beginning of my career I attended several conferences, seminars and networking events and had a decent amount of exposure to HR folks. However, a majority of the time I had the luck of running into one of two kinds of people “The burnt out HR person” and “The blah blah me, me, me person“. Of all the many HR folks I met I only made two valuable HR connections (connections that I am still in contact with today!).

Here’s one super awkward example from my experiences. A couple of years back (before my professional social media days) at ILSHRM, I attempted to “network” during the lunch break. I approached three different tables with people and asked if I could join them for lunch. The first two tables told me they were full, the last table had one woman and she was the “classic burnt out HR person“. It was terrible! I felt like I was in high school, and that I was a huge LOOSER:(

But it’s not just me! Recently, in speaking with some of the younger folks at work about networking I’ve learned they too don’t see the value. Additionally the networking events I do attend in my community (from an eyeball perspective) the average age is 45+, not to mention many of these seasoned professionals have well established relationships so when they are at these event they are talking with each other. This situation is highly intimidating to “younger”/ “foreign” people. (Stay tuned for my post about seasoned professionals and being inclusive.)

Here’s how YOU can network more efficiently:

1:) Use social media to make connections. Using Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and/or G+ or one of the many other social media sites out there will help you find “the good ones”, the people worth connecting to!! It’s kind of like how Match.com changed the dating world. Yeah, you’ll still meet weirdos but you’ll also have a greater chance at connecting with really amazing people in your industry!

2:) Once you’ve established the “superficial” social media connection, schedule a phone chat, G+ hangout or Skype call with the people you see potential value in. This will further your relationship and open the door to a real professional connection.

3:) Ask your new contacts if they will be attending any of the upcoming conferences, seminars, etc. If they are arrange a time to meet.

So that’s you’re 1,2,3 to making valuable connections and networking more efficiently.

On another note, if you’re like me and kind of shy, don’t be afraid to say hi to someone you’ve met through social in person or AKA “IRL”. Some will be receptive and some may not, but at least you can walk away saying you tried.

Meet the Author:

bonnieMy name is Bonnie and I am certified human resources professional, and certified social sourcing recruiter. I have great passion for all HR topics that I share over at TheHRLife. I’d love for you to come visit! Feel free to connect.

It’s not Social Media that’s killing productivity at Work

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I don’t know about you but I’m personally sick of hearing all the hype associated with the loss of productivity debate as it regards to Social Media and whether to allow it or not in the workplace. The reality is that your employees are already using Social Media at work even if they’re hiding under their desks with their smartphones to do it.

How about we try and think creatively as to how to incorporate it and use it to our advantage and business initiates? Sound like a plan?

Last month I presented at SHRM’s Work-Flex conference here in Chicago and my session was titled “Gaining a Competitive Edge in a High Tech World” and you can download that presentation on my SlideShare, if you feel the need.

In the presentation I made mention of the fact that it’s not Social Media that’s killing productivity at work, it’s other things such as email. It was noted that we’re spending 2.5 hours a day sorting, reading, and deleting emails that is just one of our productivity killers. I wish instead, someone would just kill email. I despise it. I mean, I really hate it. It’s such a time-waster and buzz-kill.

Incorporating the use of technology at work is a no-brainer and should instead be looked at as “keeping up with the times.” We’ve dealt with technology at work for years now with fax machines, even email and the use of computers and as we all know technology rolls in and out at the speed of light. By the time you buy that brand new HD TV and get it plugged in at home, the newer model is already on the shelf. That’s just a fact.

Social is changing how we do business, not only how we communicate.

So what are the real time wasters and productivity killers at work? Take a look at this Infographic:

What do you think about this? Do you have anything else that you’ve noticed that’s killing productivity that you’d like to add?

Thanks to the good folks at Compliance and Safety for the fun Infographic.

Photo Credit (TOP) SawPedia

My Recap of SHRM’s #WorkFlex12 Conference – and how it affected me, personally

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I had known for about 7 months that I would be attending SHRM’s WorkFlex 2012 Conference here in Chicago that commenced yesterday because they had asked me to be one of their session speakers. And I knew that they were having a roll-out of some fabulous speakers, but I had no idea how much it would change me personally.

Sometimes we find ourselves in a funk, especially when we’re trying to juggle (Work and Life) the very things we are preparing to discuss in some sort of public seminar or speaking engagement. This used to happen quite frequently when I traveled and spoke across our nation many years ago. I never thought it would happen to me this time.

I’ve been doing this juggling act with work and life now through so many life-changes; the loss of a job, the loss of my husband’s career and trying to help him navigate his next move, car issues, home issues, family issues. Add all this to your current work-load and starting a new business is sometimes very challenging. Who am I kidding? It’s sometimes overwhelming and keeps me up at night (and not in a good way).

I headed to the conference on Wednesday, not making Tuesday because of many of the issues I stated above. I had been up all night the night before heading in and was running on about 2 hours of sleep. I knew it was going to be a long day and I would need to somehow dig down deep for some kind of supernatural strength to be able to make it till the end of my session, not to mention blogging and sitting through numerous sessions and a few keynoters that I wanted to be in on.

I will admit that I have been on an emotional roller-coaster and a bucket of nerves for several weeks now. And I was starting to feel sorry for myself and I could sense myself chewing on a bitter weed of discontent. Even my close friends were kind enough to point it out. I had indeed become a Debbie Downer to be around. One of those very people I can’t stand to hang with, I had become.

And guess what? Something happened.

I had sat in on a couple of fabulous sessions back to back in the morning and was able to live-tweet several nuggets. And then I went in to hear JR Martinez speak.

As he began we found ourselves laughing at his humorous jabs at the audience and then so many of the things he shared began hitting very close to home and I kind of had an epiphany. Something started shifting inside me. A paradigm shift, for lack of a better explanation.

If you haven’t heard his story I highly recommend it. Having come through so many challenges (which seems like an inappropriate word) and finding the strength to go on is his mantra and was what I needed to hear to get me outta my funk.

Here are a few things he shared that struck me:

  • Everybody has a story. (This is something to always keep in the back of our minds, especially when we’re dealing with people. It tends to make us more sympathetic).
  • Being flexible is MUST! Plans change, either by our choices or the fact that life is unpredictable. But even the high rise buildings around us are created to be flexible to be able to stand the atmospheric conditions.
  • Adapt and Overcome! No matter what comes your way.
  • Every single person has strengths and weaknesses. When we find ourselves in a crossroads of life, we need to find our strengths. Dig deep!
  • There comes a point in life when there’s nothing else you can do but simply throw your hands up and laugh! Even in the midst of difficulty.
  • Your life can completely change in one moment. How are you going to respond to it? Are you going to quit or fight?
  • In his darkest of times he made the decision to forget about his long-term plans he had created and focus on the short-term. How could he remain positive – today? Tomorrow will take care of itself.

In the end, he started talking of how he made it out of his “funky time” because he started thinking of how he could give back. He started volunteering his time, through his darkest of moments, and visiting others who had gone through horrible experiences of their own. This drew him out of himself and his own pity party, and once again, created purpose.

Sometimes we need reminders that cause us to think differently, whether it’s how to incorporate new ideas in the workplace, juggling our own work and life initiatives, or simply seeing that inside each and every one of us is a hidden strength that if found can pull us out of the deepest and darkest of places. They cause us to once again help us re-focus, re-group and find our purpose.

Thank you SHRM, for bringing this conference to my city and allowing me to have been a part of something life-changing.

Adjust your Work-Life to join our LIVE Hangout on Work-Life with guest @JudyMartin8

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Today I will be chatting it up LIVE with my pal Judy Martin, of WorkLifeNation.com. We will be hanging out on Google+ which you can join in on the hangout, watch the LIVESTREAM on Google+ or on my Youtube. The recording will be added here after the fact.

Since we are headed to Chicago next week for SHRM’s Work-Flex Conference and October is National Work and Family month, I thought it would be cool to gather an industry expert who is way more qualified than I, to discuss this issue in a LIVE video chat. So I asked my online pal Judy if she would be interested in sharing her knowledge with me and she agreed.

A little about Judy

Judy is an Emmy award-winning journalist and the founder of WorkLifeNation.com. “Transforming Stress in an Always-on World.” She’s been tracking trends in work-life integration, workplace wellness, career development and business for two decades. She has contributed to NPR, Marketplace Report, BBC Radio, CNBC Business Radio, Forbes.com and News 12 Long Island.

As a stress management consultant, Judy combines her skills as a breaking news reporter, volunteering in Hospice-related work and as a yoga and meditation teacher ~ to help business executives better manage stress in the work-life merge. She released her first CD – Practical Chaos: Reflections on Resilience in 2006.

Hangout Overview: Here are a few things we will be discussing during the hangout

  • Is Work-Life Balance even possible?
  • Over-loaded and stressed out employees
  • Technology and it’s affect on work-life
  • Reducing Stress in the work-life merge

UPDATE: We had a blast hanging out with Judy Martin discussing this topic. Here is the recorded hangout >

Think twice before posting that pic to Instagram!

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We’re still in HR Conference mode with two extraordinary conferences here in Chicago this weekend (HR Technology Conference and HRevolution) and then a couple more the end of October (SHRM’s Diversity and SHRM’s Work-Flex Conferences).

These conferences are great and have some of the best speakers and sessions on what’s up in Human Resource Management and also gives us a chance to hang out with fellow HR folk and talk shop – whether it’s the latest technology or the idiot at work who wrongfully tweeted crap about our current President.

They also give us a chance to hang out, get to know each other in a more personal way with all the after hour parties and such.

TAKE HEED

That being said, I think it’s safe to say that keeping in mind that your online brand matters, especially when attending these HR parties (or even your own WORK parties).

We all love Instagram and the ability to immediately share pics of us with our online friends we meet IRL (in real life) and show the world that we think we’re important cause we’re hobnobbing with the cool kids.

But let’s get something straight – posting pics on Instagram and sharing to Facebook or Twitter the one of you dancing on the bar while using the #hashtag of the event,  is gonna bite you in the rear come Monday when you go back to the office. You’re likely to hear the phrase “I’m sorry. You’re no longer employed here.”

Then you’re doing the job search thingy and find that everything has spiraled out of control in your little world. You may even have a heart attack when someone tells you “I’m sorry you’re just not a good fit for the job” because they can’t get that party pic outta their head.

Okay, I know this sounds a little extreme, but this stuff happens. It not only makes you look “wild and crazy” but it takes away from the purpose of the event and sharing socially. It diminishes it, really.

We’ve come so far with Social Business and Social Sharing in the world of work and especially at our conferences in keeping those informed who were not able to attend the conference. Why would we want to ruin it and take us all back to the year 2000? (It only takes one bad apple)

So this is just a friendly reminder to think before you post. Whether at a conference, a church picnic or at work.

And as our friend William TinCup always reminds us “Just use common sense.”