SHRM Blog

Executive Book Club: March 2012

How do organizations manage social media effectively?

Every organization wants to implement social media, but it is difficult to create processes and mange employees to make this happen. The Social Media Management Handbook is geared toward helping you manage every step of the process required to use social media for business, specifically addressing the internal process that takes place within a business before those strategies can be implemented. 

The Social Media Management Handbook provides a complete toolbox for defining and practicing a coherent social media strategy...

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Listening Builds Relationships

Imagine yourself in a sandwich shop and you’re at the register.  The employee behind the counter has just asked for your order.  The conversation goes as follows:

You:  “I’d like a turkey on wheat with lettuce and tomato only.” 

Employee: “Do you want mayonnaise or mustard on that?”

You:  “No, just lettuce and tomato.”

Employee:  “What kind of cheese would you like?”

You:  “I don’t want cheese.  I only want lettuce and tomato.”

Employee:  “It comes with cheese, though.  Are you sure you don’t want cheese?”

This scenario happens to me on...

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Using LinkedIn Responsibly: References and Avatars

We all have a LinkedIn profile, right? With over 150 million members, and growing at the rate of two new users per second, it’s hard to imagine anyone not being on LinkedIn. It’s a great place to share your professional accomplishments.  And, it’s a good place to be seen by recruiters.  But sadly, I’ve also seen articles cautioning LinkedIn users about references and photos or avatars.

Until now, I’ve never thought twice about either of these matters.  I mean, why wouldn’t you put your photo on LinkedIn?  It helps you connect with people.  And, references…well, you...

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You make a difference by inspiring others to make a difference

Here’s how:

1. Stop fixing.

If your passion for excellence and success drives you to constantly fix people, stop it. Problem centered fixers invite self-protective restraint in others.

2. Compassion wins.

The pursuit of personal gain and glory doesn’t inspire; it threatens. Inspiration occurs when others believe you genuinely put them before yourself.

3. Share frailties.

The frailties you’re working through inspire others to work through theirs. Avoid whining. Focus on hope, progress, and benefit.

4. Leverage weaknesses.

Your weaknesses are inspirational opportunities, especially if you’re loved. For example, acknowledging your...

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Would You Want to Work for You? (and 7 Things You Can do to Change a "No" Answer)

I asked a manager recently, “Would you want to work for you?” Stunned, he stopped, wordless for once. Then meekly, he admitted, “No, I wouldn’t.”

Why this manager (and many others) answer “No”

Manager Mike knew he was difficult and habitually gruff. Demanding and impatient, he was often accused of being in a bad mood. He was constantly complaining to his employees about his boss, his peers, the company, the policies, and even the economy and politics. He was so busy managing up to his bosses and out to his customers, that he forgot to lead...

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Your Next Great HR Hire Is at SXSW

I am just back from the SXSW Interactive Conference where I spent time with tens of thousands of geeks, nerds, dorks, and techie wizards. Not everyone at the conference was a Gen Y hipster — although it felt that way. I was tremendously fortunate to meet amazing men and women of all ages who had impressive resumes and interesting stories.

The one unifying theme? Everyone in attendance was passionate about technology, mobile devices and digital media.

It was a fun scene. I couldn’t help but think that the next great leader in Human Resources might be found...

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Let's Talk Social Media @ Work

Social media keeps changing. It’s not just Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, Orkut, Bebo, Ning, Tumblr, Meetup, and Foursquare anymore. Now there’s PinterestGoogle+, Quora, Imgur, GetGlue, and Letterboxd. Tomorrow there’ll likely be some sparkly new network to drag your friends to (Psst: Just today I discovered AamigoO.com, which hasn’t been unveiled yet).

As social networking continues its expansion, it’s pretty much imperative that HR professionals have a grasp on it. The only way to do that is to jump in with both feet.

On March 21—between 3...

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We.Org: Moving Their Company Beyond Bureaucracy

The Beyond Bureaucracy Challenge, Part Two of the Harvard Business Review/McKindsey M-Prize for Management Innovation, seeks to advance progress on making organizations genuinely fit for human beings—more inspiring, open, and free. Management innovators from around the world in every realm of endeavor were invited to share the most progressive practices and disruptive ideas around. After receiving an abundance of big ideas and game-changing initiatives and experiences from management innovators in all kinds of organizations worldwide, seven finalists were selected. We are proud to announce that We.org:The Freedom to Choose, by Dan Bean, Robert Musson and Chermaine Li,...

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Developing Strong Relationships Through Intercultural Empathy

“Self-absorption in all its forms kills empathy, let alone compassion.”  Daniel Goleman knows a thing or two about developing empathy, as the author of Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships.  Showing a genuine interest in others and actively listening to them are clearly key components of empathy.  But when we are talking about global leaders who work across many cultures, how does one develop intercultural empathy?  It’s an important question, since social expressions and behaviors vary widely among cultures.  For global leaders, the answer to this question is more than just interesting.  It’s critical to leadership success,...

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Flexibility, Agility and Operational Success

Quite often, including here at We Know Next, when the term “flexibility” is used with respect to the workplace, it’s often in the discussion of worklife balance initiatives that serve as benefits to the employer and employee.  In this arena, we think about telework, co-working, ROWE, and other employer-supported program to give employees more control over how, when and where they work.  Having a flexible workplace is now viewed as something that smart companies do in order to support their culture, increase employee engagement and loyalty, and ultimately drive business success.

But flexibility, as an attribute of a...

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