Jul 5, 2011
Some books are simply indispensable. One such classic is How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff. I have had one of the over million copies sold on my desk since I first acquired a tatty secondhand paperback in 1978. Of course, that’s when content was king and influence was measured in royalties, reprints and guest appearances on the Russell Harty Show.
I was reminded of what a useful reference that book is when I happened on Social Media Saturday: Who Are The HR Bloggers? posted by Laurie Ruettimann on her blog, The Cylindrical Girl.
Social Media Saturday: Who Are The HR Bloggers? features an infographic that visualizes a survey of HR bloggers, presumably those listed in the day’s prior post Ultimate HR/Career Blog List for 2011: V3.0.
Credit goes to Ms. Ruettimann’s lucky intern, comrades in marketing at Starr Tincup, for an otherwise delightfully decorative piece. And full props to Ms. Ruettimann for filing both posts under General Nonsense, even if it is, as seems to be the case, her popular site’s default category.
Read the rest here »
Jun 29, 2011
No doubt, the organizers of the Society of Human Resources [SHRM] 63rd Annual Conference will tell you that their shindigs take a lot of advance planning. One assumes that includes their choice of venue, this year in Las Vegas.
Unable to substantiate my suspicions that the decision to congregate in the Mecca of smoke and mirrors had something to do with “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” I shall refrain from speculating that, if not that, perhaps some polyester PR plonker persuaded SHRM’s leadership that there is no better place to engage the dissenting voices going ga-ga for transparency than on the Vegas Strip. Where better to make a show of it!
Read the rest here »
Jun 6, 2011
In the hopes that it may give pause for thought, a selection of notes taken from phone conversations with John Sumser. The social web was our topic de jour.
1. Data? What data?
It can be difficult to make sense of the data that gets reported under “Social Media.” Harder still, accepting it could be useless in the context of traditional HR metrics, or under any circumstances, come to think it. Teasing intelligence from a new data set can leave one befuddled. Correlating things like “authority,” “increased awareness” “mentions,” and “sentiment” to the traditional metrics like time-to-fill and cost-per-hire may not only be a challenge of Rubik proportions, but ultimately an exercise in futility.
Read the rest here »
May 18, 2011
The Future of Work examines the challenges to conventional notions of work and organization brought on by new digital technologies and trends. As the velocity of change increases, institutions and individuals must adapt. Yet many structures, including those in education, government, business and the economy, often remain rooted in the past.
The report captures the insights of the Nineteenth Annual Aspen Institute Roundtable on Information Technology, where business leaders, technologists, international politicians, academics and innovators explored how global structures and institutions are being confronted by the 21st century realities of distributed knowledge, crowdsourcing, open platforms and networked environments.
Read the rest here [PDF] »
Apr 29, 2011
As business involves more interactions on the internet, the legal and practical implications of what you say and where you say things online is changing. Access to information is instantaneous-thoughtful responses and time to consider are rare.
It used to be that something was written, set aside, edited and mulled over before it was published in one of a few media outlets. Today, information, including photographs and video, get Tweeted, posted, linked, YouTubed, Googled and emailed instantaneously.
The opportunities to create havoc and legal liability abound. Part of it is the disconnect of between the author and the audiences. There is a false sense of intimacy in being able to communicate so quickly to multiple audiences of one.
Posting our hearts out from a computer, we are completely removed from the checks and balances of body language and voice inflections inherent in in-person communications. We like what we’re saying. We think we’re right. It’s often difficult to know when we are completely out of line until it’s too late. And once you post, it’s pretty much too late.
Read the rest here »
Apr 7, 2011
Recruitopian Footnotes [April 7, 2011]
- Can you tell the difference between a) a donkey and a horse; and b) a candidate and an applicant? Calling all readers, Sharlyn Lauby — The HR Bartender — needs you!
- Are recruiters idiots? Candidates say, “Yes,” applicants say, “No.” Suzanne Lucas — Evil HR Lady — says, “Maybe.” And what say you?
- If 84% of employees are looking to change jobs I think we can safely say that employers’ retention policies may need updating, don’t you? “Fire the manager with the lowest retention” and other let-me-eat-my-arm morsels – in a beautifully bound eBook — courtesy of Ben Eubanks — upstartHR. Whatever…
Mar 28, 2011
Recruiting.com has gone through many changes in the years since Jason Davis and friends put recruiting blogs on the map. So many in fact that keeping up with it has become quite a bore.
Despite this being possibly one of the most coveted domain names in the industry, like one of the corpses laid to rest in a Varanasi gutter, Recruiting.com has become one of those things stepped over by most everyone.
Long forgotten for its contributions to humanity, the drama of blogging CEOs, the experimentation with formats, threats of lawsuits, Canadian headhunters, and assorted industry louts, Recruiting.com has been reduced to a shell with no soul.
Read the rest here »
Mar 25, 2011
It is a well known trick that has been spun out a million times before: announce bad news on Fridays. Not that the highly anticipated HRExaminer Top 25 HR Influencers List published today should be viewed as bad news. To the contrary. The list of seasoned blogebrities and HR A-listers is wonderful news for both the influential elite and those of us who are proud to be among the industry’s most easily led.
I am afraid that the bad news today emanates from me, yours truly. But please, don’t shoot the messenger.
Read the rest here »
Mar 24, 2011
Recruitopian Footnotes [March 24, 2011]
- Is “social recruiting” really such a new idea? I think not. After all, affiliate marketers [read: MLM] have been at it for years. Taking self-reference and self-fulfilling prophecy to the next multi-level…Black Belt Recruiting. Some lessons for us all.
- So, you think “Sourcing Samurai” Glen Cathey can slice through the data on LinkedIn, huh? Think twice, no, three times: Understanding Web 3.0 as Data: Reid Hoffman, Founder LinkedIn.
Conclusion: If Glen Cathey is an authority on LinkedIn it might just be question of semantics…if you know what I mean.
- And now for something completely different…Cited in a social recruiting editorial, Florida is, indeed, among the best places to live and work:
“We have all kinds of corruption, violence and scumbaggery. The 9/11 terrorists trained here. Bush read My Pet Goat here. Our elections are colossal cluster#@!*$s”
And to think, I came from missing TruLondon to living in paradise…mind the gap! Personality matters more than platforms
Mar 18, 2011
I came across a rather curious feed today, all the more intriguing to find the post ResuWe Employer charges applicants $25 to apply for jobs had, apparently, been removed. I wondered if the author and vested interest, Dan Boersma, had second thoughts about posting dubiously self-serving drivel, or if this was an indulgence of a different kind.
Before a comment of my own, and in fairness to Mr. Boersma who I don’t know from Adam, here is the departed post in its entirety
“In an effort to cut down on the significant increase in unqualified candidate traffic, ResuWe Employer companies can charge job seekers $25 to apply to a job. ResuWe Employer clients have been asking for this feature to reduce the time required to sift through countless resumes and to ensure each job applicant is pre-qualified.
Read the rest here »
Mar 5, 2011
Industry patriarch and beloved Dumbledorian John Sumser posts on HRExaminer another in his series on branding: Traffic Development. What follows will make more sense if you begin by reading John’s post and our exchange of comments. You may also want to use the restroom first.
I spent a good amount of time trying to post what follows to the original post in reply to a rebuff from John. To no avail. Apparently a plug-in on John’s site may have become unplugged. Feel free to post your comments here or there, at this point it may not matter.
Anyway, reluctant to break the thread, or retire for the night with this undone, here is my closing argument…
Read the rest here »
Some books are simply indispensable. One such classic is How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff. I have had one of the over million copies sold on my desk since I first acquired a tatty secondhand paperback in 1978. Of course, that’s when content was king and influence was measured in royalties, reprints and guest appearances on the Russell Harty Show.
