Category Archives: training

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

by

4

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. 

________________________

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

by

1

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

The value of using Google+ Hangouts within your Organization

by

0

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.”

Using Games, Sims and Virtual Worlds – at Work #IHRIMConf

by

5

As you all may know, I’m in Chicago blogging and taking part in the IHRIM HR Technology Conference. I just finished sitting in on an incredible session with CEO Scott Randall, of BrandGames, who is taking gamification to a whole new level. The title of the session was “Games, Sims, and Virtual Worlds – Engaging the next generation workforce.” Using gamification to drive engagement in the workplace. I’ll all about this.

Randall began by telling us all something that we already knew and that being that we are all overworked, over-messaged, and under-engaged at work. We are overwhelmed. Utilizing technology at work is critical if we are to evolve – especially with the techies who grew up on games. “These kids that grew up on SIMS and other games are our current workforce who are expecting to use technology EVERY DAY at work” says Randall. “And we need to be changing with technology in order to keep them engaged and keep our communication methods going forward in a technological world.”

A few stats on gaming:

  • 135 million consumers play at least one hour of video games a month, vs. 56 million in 2008.
  • 75% of US tablet owners play games on their devices, 57% of smart phone owners also play games.
  • 3 billion hours of game play a week are going on, with $60 billion in game sales

Where is this game play happening? – 40% are playing games at work. (Saatchi Gaming Study)

Here is my video interview with Randall after his session:

Randall makes a valid point. If our employees are already participating in games at work, why aren’t we using this same strategy to train and engage our employees?

It is predicted that during 2012 20% of Global 2000 organizations will deploy a gamified application. By 2014 the number will rise to 70%. Those are outrageous stats, IMHO.

Understanding how to apply game mechanics is critical to increase engagement with customers and employees and to motivate positive behavioral changes – and is critical to our success.

Check out BrandGames and find out how you can incorporate gaming into your engagement and training initiatives.

Photo Credit: Gigaom.com

Follow Friday: Sabrina Baker – Make the Connection

by

4

On my second #Follow Friday tribute I would like to introduce you to Sabrina Baker with Acacia HR Solutions.

A few years back when I really started hot-n-heavy with my social media marketing and online presence I connected with a local group on LinkedIn. It is in that group that I first met Sabrina. She was holding a discussion or asking a question in which several of us responded. Then I connected with her online.

When I found out that she and I lived only about 5 minutes apart, I suggested that we meet for coffee. Yes, it was a little awkward at first (like we had connected on this dating site and were meeting IRL for the first time). But we had a nice lunch and had a great F2F meeting. We then connected on Twitter and started engaging on almost a daily basis, you know, shooting the shit! We really were able to get a sense of each others sense of humor, some things and even friends we had in common, and formed a genuine friendship.

After several conversations and meetings IRL, attending conferences together and local group meetups, we were almost inseparable (well, that’s my take on it – you’d have to ask her about where she stands) :)  

Sabrina started her company Acacia HR Solutions and specializes in HR Recruiting, Consulting and Job Search Coaching bridging the gap between the un/underemployed and employers.

She is the shiznik folks, and you definitely need to connect with her. She is a wealth of knowledge in the HR and recruiting space, and also helps with people in their job search. Why don’t I her tell you about it here – Watch this short interview:

My apologies for a whole lotta shaking going on. It was filmed before I invested in my tripod.

We then went on to start a local HR Roundtable and here is Sabrina officiating – Watch this short clip:

I’m super stoked to have her featured as she has become one of my great friends and confidants.

Connect with her here:

Twitter, Facebook, Company FB, Linked In, Website, Blog – HRChatterBox

Really……..You Don’t Know How To Do That?

by

5

Since I’m in the land of dial-up, and resting and re-cooping, I thought I would pull this great guest post from the archives. It comes from my friend Buzz Rooney, an expert pro of all things HR. I love her style. Take a look……

Image Credit: Masterfile.com

My boyfriend is a scuba diver. He seriously dives for lost treasure and wreckage and stuff like that. He swims like a fish –and has since he was seven years old.

I didn’t learn to swim until I was an adult. I grew up in the ‘hood;’ we played in sprinklers and hydrants. There weren’t many pools and most people didn’t know how to swim anyway. So the summer after I graduated from college, I took a class at the YMCA. I learned the basics but I still don’t know how to blow out my breath properly so I can swim laps.

So during one of our trips to the pool this summer, I asked him how. His response, “You don’t know how to do that?? That’s so easy! All you have to do is …” and he went on to describe and demonstrate the technique. Although I knew he was trying to help me, I stopped listening almost immediately so I didn’t learn a thing.

A few days later, I got a call from a manager who was having trouble running a report. I found myself repeating the words “You don’t know how to do that?? That’s so easy! All you have to do is …” And I cringed, knowing that manager was now feeling like I felt that day at the pool and probably tuned out from whatever instructions I’d given him.

Everyone isn’t good at everything. Everything doesn’t come easy for everyone. HR gets called on a lot to explain how and why things work to people who don’t know, both inside and outside our organizations. It’s important that we explain information in ways that do not make people tune out to our message. HR is everyone’s responsibility. The more accessible, practical and understandable we make the inner-workings of our function; the better it is for all involved!

So the next time you get that umpteenth call asking for guidance on an issue that you have explained at least a dozen times before: take a deep breath, resist the urge to criticize or mock, and give clear, concise and compliant directives like only HR can!

What’s All The Buzz?

Buzz Rooney is an HR professional with over 10 years experience in industrial and retail environments. Buzz has a degree in Communication Studies with focus on Organizational Communication and Leadership as well as a Master’s in HR Management. You can read more of Buzz’s writings at her blog, The Buzz on HR (www.thebuzzonhr.com ). You can follow her on Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/thebuzzonhr), like her on FaceBook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Buzz-on-HR/121898154549257 ) , and join her network on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/buzz-rooney/31/b46/342 ).