Category Archives: The Changing Workforce

Social Media ROI – Perhaps it’s not what we Thought

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yomamaI recently came across a fantastic article titled “The New ROI for Social Media Recruiting” which not only gave great insight into this year’s ERE Recruiting Conference & Expo but shared a little of why folks still are not jumping on the social media bandwagaon, especially executives. Perhaps we are trying to measure the wrong things.

This article talks of discussions that took place at the Conference that even big named brand representatives are still having a hard time getting their senior corporate managers and leaders involved or even understanding the ROI of social media and how it affects their organizations. We’re still looking at it as an end all, cure all as opposed to a valuable tool and channel of influence to our overall efforts. Perhaps that’s because of how it’s been presented to us.

Social is a grand tool for getting your brand out there and as this article surmises you can’t not be there.

You can’t not be on social because candidates, potential candidates, and those whom you hope to attract and someday hire will see your absence from the social media landscape as a negative. Doing it poorly is equally negative.

When a company fails to post regularly, and especially when comments and questions go unanswered for days or never, or when a company indiscriminately dumps all its job postings into Facebook’s news feed, it says, in the words of one recruiter, “This is a lame company that has no idea what social media is all about. Who wants to work for a company people think is lame?

The great thing that social enables us to do, and especially for brands and organizations, is telling the employer story and building its brand. Things such as the culture of the organization and what to expect in the hiring process on through to the day to day “what it’s like to work there” kind of things. These are the very particulars potential candidates are looking for when deciding whether or not to even begin the hiring process.

We may never be able to obtain ROI in how many folks we’ve hired through Facebook or Twitter (social in general). Instead, we should be looking at the value in branding and reputation building.

What does your company brand look like online? Are you a ghost town?

If you’re looking into a few easy ways to start, check out Glassdoor’s free resources.

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.

Maybe it’s time to dumb down our Social HR presentations

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social 101When it comes to adoption of Social tools into our organizations some folks may be a little behind in adapting. That’s okay, because that was us at one time or other.

I have spoken at my share of events and conferences especially in regard to technology and social tools in the workplace. Something I have to keep in mind is that “Not everyone is on the same level playing field.” We’re all at different levels of adoption and knowledge of these things. And that’s okay.

At a few recent events we (those of us who have been involved in social and technology longer) seemed to have forgotten this and really seemed to have taken it over the top of the heads of the attendees.

Sometimes we talk to our audiences in our own language and they’re sitting out there looking at us like a young calf looking at a new gate.

I try to remember when presenting that it’s best to “keep it simple, stupid” – because you don’t want to lose your audience completely.

When holding social presentations there will probably always be a mixture in the crowd of the following:

  • Those that have no clue about social adoption (as it regards internal collaboration and social media at work)
  • Those that understand the need for adopting but have no idea how to begin
  • Those that think these tools should never be incorporated into the cubicles and spend tons of dollars on “how to block it” at work
  • Those that have jumped in and are getting their feet wet
  • Those that have fully adopted technology (mobile, internal tools, etc) and have seen great success

This will more than likely always be the case. That being said, it does make it difficult when presenting to this kind of crowd. Perhaps it’s best when planning our events to segment our presentations into (a) (b) and (c) groups instead of lumping them all together.

At one of my most recent events I had a few folks (ladies) come to me in the lady’s room afterward to tell me “Thanks for talking on a level we could understand. Most of us aren’t up to speed and you kept it simple and very easy to understand.”

HR is rapidly advancing in social technologies but we must remember to share on a level that folks can understand not only in the need for incorporating these tools, the benefits and ROI’s but also share the “Here’s how to do it” as well.

Cause let’s face it – we can pretty much Google stats and the “WHY you need to do Social” – am I right?

Photo Credit: JohnHaydon

Facebook Groups and Events – A little Do’s and Don’ts Lesson

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block meFacebook can be a great platform in getting your message out there, staying connected and for information and knowledge-sharing within groups. It also allows for the creation of events within those groups.

In allowing you to create groups within the platform, Facebook gives us the option to make the group and / or event,  private or public. What this means is if the group is public and and all updates within the group will show up on all group members walls. These postings will be make public.

If you change the setting to private, no one but those within the group will be able to see the postings going on within the group. These options work great when used properly – and I get it, we’re all still trying to figure out what “properly” means.

I’ve created, as well as been a part of a few groups over the past year or so and I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t work (IMHO) and a few considerations. Let’s start with a few examples of what I like about Facebook groups and events:

  • I’ve been added to private groups such as that of my High School class back in Alabama which allows me to keep up with the local news and happenings around my small home town, stay connected with friends and keep up with class reunions and get-togethers. These groups should remain private so as not to bug anyone else who didn’t attend the same school and don’t want to be bothered by our banter.
  • There are some fabulous HR and professional groups I’m part of where we share blog posts and interesting articles. It also allows for great crowd-sourcing and knowledge sharing. It’s appeared to be a great gathering of peers and experts to share and learn within the theme (mainly Human Resource related) and create great engagement. It works, nicely.
  • I have created a few groups for specific events I was involved with (think ILSHRM and the Social Press Team), for upcoming LIVE Google+ Hangouts that I wanted to invite my industry friends to and it was a great way to stay in touch with the team that I had invited in sharing the event information (dates, times, place). A great new addition from Facebook was document sharing within the group. If folks had questions they could also post them in the group. After the event, I was able to go back and thank everyone for attending, share the link to the hangout if they weren’t able to make it, and answer any additional questions. It seemed a great way to communicate within our favorite platform – Facebook. Oh, and it didn’t cost a thing save for a little time.

I could go on and on, but I think that’s enough for now.

Here are a few things I don’t like and a few other things to consider:

  • If you have an event going on in your local geographical area it probably isn’t a good practice to hit the “Invite all of your Facebook friends” button. I get a crap load of these things where unless it is a VIRTUAL event that I can actually attend – it just gives me more to do. I have to go into Facebook, click “leave conversation” and feel like a jerk because I look like I’m not into what you’re doing. To me, it just doesn’t make sense to invite someone to your local event – unless they live in your local area. And it’s annoying.
  • You can invite folks to your group and / or event and use it for some awesome things but if you do this non-stop and are adding the same people – you’re abusing your power. Let’s face it, we are so busy deleting and sorting through emails and blogs – giving folks more work through Facebook every day will have you unsubscribed in a Minnesota minute. They’re getting a zillion notifications and it’s pissing them off.
  • That being said, I should point out that you can change your personal settings so you don’t get all the notifications – even if you would like to remain in the group. Check them out, I think it will make your life more manageable.
  • Don’t take it personal if folks you’ve added to your group leave. Perhaps they are getting way too many notifications, maybe they can’t attend your local group cause they live in Zimbabwe or maybe they just don’t like the Facebook group thing. It’s more than likely not personal so keeping that in mind is key.

In the end, it’s not these apps and platforms that are driving us all nuts – it’s the way we’re using them.

Okay, what did I fail to mention? Do you have anything to add?

Photo Credit: KeepCalm

Allowing your employees to roll a dubie – Medical Marijuana and the Workplace

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dubieWelcome to end of 2012 where 18 states and the District of Columbia now allowing the use of medical marijuana – and two states, Washington and Colorado, recently approving the use of recreational marijuana in spite of the Federal laws still in place that do not adhere to State approved legislation.

It appears that Illinois may be the next state to pass the medical marijuana law. In fact, it was scheduled to be voted on this past November, but it may not happen until after the holidays.

So how does all that play into work?

According to a recent Employment Law Blog, many employers are ignorant about what the law provides and really should look into how this will affect the workplace in 2013 and beyond.

Here are some key facts employers ought to know now:

What does the weed law provide?

  • It is legal for certain individuals to possess limited quantities of marijuana for “palliative use.”
  • “Palliative Use” refers to the alleviation of a “qualifying patient’s” symptoms of a “debilitating medical condition.”
    • A “Qualifying Patient” is a resident aged 18 or older who has been diagnosed by a physician as having a debilitating medical condition (within the allowed approved States).
    • A “Debilitating Medical Condition” includes cancer, glaucoma, AIDS or HIV-positive status, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, certain spinal cord injuries, Crohn’s disease, PTSD, and any other medical condition approved by the Department of Consumer Protection pursuant to regulations to be adopted.
  • Persons who may possess marijuana include qualifying patients and their “primary caregivers.”
How are the pot laws being implemented and enforced?

What is the impact for employers?

  • Employers may not refuse to hire a person or discharge, penalize or threaten an employee based solely on such person’s or employee’s status as a qualifying patient or primary caregiver.
  • Employers may discriminate if required by federal funding or contracting provisions.
  • Employers MAY continue to prohibit the use of intoxicating substances, including marijuana, at work.
  • Employers MAY continue to discipline employees for being under the influence of intoxicating substances at work.
  • But employers MAY NOT presume that a drug test result that is positive for marijuana means that the employee used at work or was under the influence at work.

This is certain to create chaos in our drug policies, for sure.

What about the interaction with the ADA and Accommodations?
A recent case from the Ninth Circuit suggests the answer to the question: “What do I do if my employee asks to be permitted to smoke medical pot at work as a reasonable accommodation for a disabling medical condition?”
  • Because federal law still prohibits possession/use of marijuana, the court concluded that the ADA does not require this accommodation.
A few considerations
I can see now how employees will be rolling dubies in the parking lot on their designated smoke breaks or passing out brownies at lunch. Having a system in place before you’re faced to deal with these issues is key. We should start by educating staff on the requirements of the new medical marijuana laws and update policies and really get a handle on how this will affect our future workplaces.

Heck, maybe some folks will chill the heck out.

Social Media at work; The new smoke break

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Hey guys! I’m on vacation and trying to unplug (YEAH RIGHT) from the Webs this whole week. I thought I’d share a few previous posts for your enjoyment. Here’s a good one from my blogger friend Buzz Rooney. She is a fantastic writer and HR pro and this post is exceptional. Enjoy!

Photo Credit: Jamacians.com

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I recently overheard someone compare employees using social media sites to taking breaks for smoking at work.

As someone who has spent HR time in production and manufacturing environments, I am all-too-familiar with the battle employers face over smoke-break abuse. I remember when our company installed a card-reader on the smoking area door so employees had to swipe to get back in the building. We pulled the records to find one employee was visiting the smoking area an average 17 times daily for 7 – 10 minutes each time. That’s almost 3 hours per day of smoke breaks — while ON the clock!!! Unbelievable … And of course, we addressed that issue with that employee. But that’s not the point of this post.

The point is, after overhearing that comparison, I wondered: Is Social Media (SoMe) use at work the NEW Smoke Break (SBs)?

Yeah, it kind of is.

  • Like SBs, SoMe can create division. Employees connecting with some co-workers and not others may lead to hurt feelings, gossip and the appearance of impropriety or favoritism. Your workforce may divide into SoMe cliques, just like with Smokers and Non-Smokers. However, there’s also a lot of learning going on through SoMe that can help people be better at their jobs. Blog articles, free webinars and online networking groups are great things for employees to participate in.
  • Like SBs, SoMe can be a distraction and hindrance to productivity. Employees spending 5 – 10 minutes per hour perusing Facebook and Twitter can add up. The time away from the actual work area is more limited with SoMe because employees can check sites without leaving their desk. This makes multi-tasking easier — but it also makes it easier to goof off undetected and make errors.

Knowing this, I still say employers should allow Social Media use by employees. Just like Smokers are given a designated area and generally allowed extra breaks, Social Media users should also get consideration. Neither habit is going anywhere – so employers have to manage it.

Here are a few things to remember:

  • Forbidding and blocking SoMe sites is not a management strategy. It is estimated 60% of cell phone users have smart phones. If sites are blocked, employees can just use their phone or tablet instead. Instead, leave sites open — but protect your network with good antivirus software and firewalls. Another option is to provide wifi and open computer stations in your employee lounge so employees can take SoMe breaks.
  • Have a Social Media usage policy. Yes, another policy. When text message, Facebook and Twitter conversations are being used as evidence in workplace disputes, you need to have guidelines for employees’ online behavior. The policy cannot forbid and should not discourage SoMe use – but it should definitely remind and encourage employees to be mindful about what they post and to guard their online reputation. And it should let employees know that online behavior in violation of the company’s standards of conduct or policy on harassment, bullying, etc may be grounds for disciplinary action.
  • Address abuses directly. When an employee is spending too much work time on SoMe sites — even if it is for their betterment — you should counsel them about it. Work with the employee to better manage their time.

Social media is here to stay, whether your organization has embraced it or not. Until the company decides its own strategy, there should be a way to ensure employees can use it — without abuse, overuse or misuse.

This post was originally posted at TheBuzzOnHR.com and a big THANKS to Buzz for allowing me to share it with you all. 

About the Author:

Buzz Rooney is a practicing HR Professional with over 10 years experience in the production, manufacturing and retail industries.  She currently works for a large retail franchise in North Carolina. Buzz also consults in the areas of management coaching, process improvement, resume writing, and HR compliance.

Buzz has a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies with a focus in Organizational Communication and Leadership as well as a Master’s Degree in Human Resources Management. Buzz is a devoted single mom with two young children. When not working, she enjoys mindlessly watching television, spending time with friends and family, reading, eating and sleeping. You can read more of her writings, connect and contact her through her website The Buzz on HR.

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

Social Media doesn’t mean I play on Facebook all day

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Today’s guest post comes from Crystal Miller from TheOneCrystal.com. I am subscribed to her blog and just recently she posted this amazing piece that I just had to ask her if I could share with all of you.

Originally Titled: “Just Because It’s Social Media Doesn’t Mean It’s Playtime“

The other day I was talking with a former co-worker & friend over coffee.  She made the off-handed comment about our former co-workers, “We’re all jealous… you’re so lucky to get paid to play on Facebook all day. “

*Sigh*  They don’t get it.

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard that comment & truth be told, I’ll joke that I get paid to be on Social Media … but there’s much more to what I do than playing around on Facebook & tweeting all day.  In fact, the status updates & tweets that fly around under my handles don’t even make up 25% of what I need to accomplish as a Social HR professional.  And I’m not alone…

While social media responsibilities have certainly made their way into the job descriptions of HR professionals, Recruiters, and Talent Marketing professionals; it’s certainly not a primary focus.  We still have to do all of the things we did before; but now we need to work that in, too.  In addition to the aforementioned roles, now we have “Digital Strategists” & “Social Community” professionals; who create/manage the online presence for their organizations, brands, products.  For company & ‘profersonal’ purposes, it’s important we’re seen day in/day out on multiple social platforms; creating engaging environments for interests/relationships to flourish.

When it comes to creating engagement in recruiting, there’s a lot more than saying, “I have a job to fill” or “We’re hiring” or making off-handed comments about what everyone’s having for lunch.  You have to inform, inspire, challenge at times, & have a genuine interest in the people you’re reaching out to.  They’re more than just avatars or numbers; these “handles” you talk to represent real people with real goals that we have a responsibility to pay attention to.  We have to understand organizational and consumer psychology; as well as often create digital marketing materials to entice them to have offline conversations with us. It’s part of our jobs.

To do this, we have to spend time paying attention to current trends, analyzing what’s going to be hot, culling content in blog/news articles, white papers & various research; sharing funny antidotes (that we first have to find), and creating our own content that our target audience will respond to.  This? Takes a significant amount of time… and that doesn’t even count the time we need to spend responding to the people who reach out to us on various social platforms & proactively “reaching out” to our target audience on their social landing pages. Then we have to create schedules & themes to ensure cohesiveness with the overall internal & external brand objectives.initiatives we’re working with.

Inevitably, early on most of us have asked the question (usually in frustration) “Who has the time to get all of this done?”  Even some veteran “Social Media Pros” complain that there’s ‘not enough time to do the activities required to sustain influence within our associated communities while actually working.  Even those of us that are supposed to be providing solutions can perpetuate the perception problem that working in social media isn’t really work at all.  Fortunately, though, there are a plethora of existing and emerging tools that help ease the time burden associated with consistency.

For those of us that find a personal assistant to handle the administrative/research side of our ‘#Social Work’ anything but reality; utilizing those tools becomes almost a productivity imperative.  Personally, I’ve got a watchful eye on Social Media Content Management Systems such as BundlePost to help me not only schedule content for my applicable hash-tagged communities; but find the content on the net for me as well.  TweetAdder, Hootsuite, and TweetDeck have long held a place in my world for making Twitter Chats happen & managing 8-12 different Social Media identities.  Wordpress, Twitter, Facebook, & LinkedIn’s associated mobile applications have made it possible for me to be completely connected with my communities at all times; allowing for more ‘real-time’ responses & stable engagement levels.

For many like myself, we then have to take those online conversations offline & handle traditional ‘old school’ recruitment responsibilities of evaluating, matching, and recruitment life-cycle management.  That, in and of itself, is a full-time job for many.  When you add in the aforementioned?  It’s about 10-12 hours a day of real, focused work; if the stars align & we’re really lucky. In a sense, I guess we ARE lucky in that most of the Social professionals I know are truly passionate about the work they do – which helps the massive amounts of it seem a little less overwhelming.

But make no mistake, it’s not playtime – Social Media professionals have to work … and unlike many others, ours never really turns off.  #nowyouknow

About the Author:

Crystal Miller says “I’m just a girl in the world.. that kind of likes to write. Mom of 2 teen girls & work as Talent Attraction & Marketing professional. Oh, & I’m addicted to my phone, Social Media, HR/Talent Marketing & Caffeine”… you can learn more about me at www.theonecrystal.info.

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

PSU, Generations and Culture

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Today’s guest post is from one of my online friends in the HR Vendor world, Chris Capozzi. Chris and I have been connected online for awhile now, engaging and so forth, and had the chance to meet IRL at this year’s Illiniois SHRM State Conference. Take it away….

Are there lessons we can learn from Penn State?

Is there a generational consideration that should be given to Joe Paterno, Jerry Sandusky and others involved in the allegedly horrific crime committed on the campus of Penn State University?  Did the perspective on life that is shown from their generation lead to the actions of the alleged cover up in this case?  Could we learn more on what this teaches us about similar situations?

The answer is yes.  The generational perspective in this case comes from a generation known as the tradionalist group.  This group is from the WWII era and Coach Paterno, born in 1926 falls right in the middle of this group while Coach Sandusky born in 1944 is on the edge of the baby boomers. Let’s examine the key characteristics of this generation and see if this sheds some light on the relationship between these two individuals.

The tradionalist generation are loyal to the employer and expect loyalty in return; possess strong interpersonal skills, enjoy flextime so they can work their own schedule; believe promotion, recognition and raises should come from job tenure. They build a legacy – expect a lifetime career with one employer or at least in one field and have a sense of personal responsibility to work.

Coach Paterno was the leader of this program for over forty years and developed a culture of loyalty from those involved. The corporate culture within the system was solely directed by his life experience.  He has built a legacy but regardless of all the good will that he has built over the years his moral judgment will be forever in question.  While we may never know the truth and circumstances in this tragedy, what we do know is if the culture were different within this team all of the cases that occurred after 2002 could have been prevented.

What would this legacy look like in the corporate world?

The leader that has been in place for decades setting a culture of “this is the way we have always done it” and expects everyone to fall in line with the culture the leader has built as his legacy.  In this company if a scandal was brewing we would see the leader take care of it and expect that he can handle the situation in the way he knows best.  The leader would know that if such a scandal was public his reputation and legacy would be destroyed.

Can we learn from this?  Sure we can. Has this happened before in the corporate world and a different direction taken?  Yes it has.  Think back to 1982, potassium cyanide was placed in Extra-Strength Tylenol throughout Chicago. Seven individuals died from this form of terrorism. Johnson & Johnson (the makers of the pain reliever) could have simply taken Tylenol off the counters in the Chicago area. Instead, the company immediately recalled Tylenol from the stores nationwide. Consumers, advertisers and other businesses praised J&J for its swift actions. Today the company is one of the most well-liked companies by consumers (Bickel, 2011).

Will Penn State University be able to recover from this scandal?  Yes, if they put safe guards in place to ensure this can never happen again.  The school must work to create a safe environment for all staff, students, and visitors. PSU will need to carefully create a standard of operation procedure in reporting and handling such situations in the future.

Future leaders of the institution will need to have a greater understanding on the impact that child safety and the handling of this situation will have on the future enrollment of students and families supporting youth camps on campus.  A policy is not enough.  A culture change is needed and respect for people should be at the foundation if they indeed want to return happy to the valley.

About the Author:

Chris Capozzi is the Director of Business Development for Legacy Business Cultures whose workshops, train-the-trainer programs, and employee climate surveys have touched thousands of organizations, millions of employees, managers and leaders across the globe. Legacy Business Cultures and its partners have been the experts in helping shape organization culture Worldwide for over 14 years. Connect with Chris on twitter @chriscapozzi.