SHRM Blog

What technical talent thinks about your job descriptions

I wanted to point out a super piece last week on the Smashing Magazine blog, (a site about and for Web Designers), titled 'The Difference Between Good and Bad Job Requirements', that provides a great look into what technical, (and often hard to find) talent thinks about the typical job descriptions they encounter online.

Long story short - it is clear that the Web Designer that authored the post, and almost all of the 50+ commenters, don't have very many positive things to say about how most design job descriptions are presented.  Their chief complaints -...

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A Holiday Tale by a Jewish Guy Who Wears a Chai

You walk into your building and you see that holiday decorations are everywhere. You pass by a beautiful pine Christmas tree eloquently decorated. A co-worker responds: "The tree is inappropriate to the workplace."

Segal: WRONG. It is beautiful and Christmas can and should be acknowledged (says the Jewish guy who wears his grandmother’s Chai). Don’t remove Christmas from the holiday season. But recognize other holidays, too. A Hanukkah menorah and a Kwanzaa harvest basket would be nice additions.

You head to the elevator and you hear employees complaining about the holiday party. What’s the carping? I don’t...

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In Praise of Average Joes

It has been 18 years since I dwelled in the corner office of a corporation and slugged it out in the combat zone of profit and loss. Conventional wisdom might say I am out of touch. On the contrary, from up here in the clouds everything is much clearer. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that the leadership principles that worked for me as a CEO continue to apply to the current era of light speed communications and decision-making. The times have changed, but the tools that determine success or failure have not. Companies, large and small, cannot...

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#Nextchat: Change Management

You’re introducing a new software solution for…performance management, rewards and recognition, time and attendance management…your choice.  The solution will impact every employee.  You’re heading up the change management project.  What’s next?  Check out this post before you join us on the next #NextChat:  http://chinagorman.com/2012/11/20/competence-enemy-of-change

Change management model?  What’s your favorite?

  • Kotter
  • Lewin
  • McKinsey Seven S
  • Bridges

You have the project timeline.

You have the budget. 

You have the communication plan.

What are you missing?

Training.  Training.  Training.


Please join @weknownext at 3 p.m. ET on November 28 for #Nextchat with special guest China Gorman (@ChinaGorman)....

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Advocating for Veterans; Hire a Hero

Since this month’s We Know Next theme is HR Advocacy and several SHRM members have been “heading to the Hill” in Washington, D.C., I wanted to take this opportunity to encourage the need for thinking differently as it relates to hiring veterans.

We’ve been behind closed doors discussing what it would be like to bring a potential threat to our culture into our organizations by hiring those who may have PTSD. We’ve looked at it as something that might upset the apple cart and make our lives more difficult.

Could it possibly be our misconceptions, created by our fear of the unknown, or stories running around...

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Together as one!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the SHRM Leadership Conference. It is a true favorite for me because it is made up of fellow HR volunteers from all over the United States !!  I also had the chance to meet some great people from SHRM India!

What continues to amaze me at these intentional gatherings is that people still tend to run in the groups of people that they know.  People stick within their State more than cross boundaries to meet others even though we are all in the same profession and we...

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The Future Of Work

Last week I had the good fortune of delivering a new strategic workshop in collaboration with Don MacPherson of Modern Survey. Don and I examined the future of work and the opportunity that HR professionals have to drive business performance through employee engagement. We leveraged the most current data set from Modern Survey research in an effort to facilitate a robust discussion related to what is next in talent strategy and workforce readiness.

I am including a snapshot of the data set used to drive our discussion below. It reveals a few important insights related to leadership...

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"The 5 Biggest Mistakes Intern Managers Make"

There’s a veritable goldmine of tips for intern etiquette out there, but on the employer side—not so much. In a perfect world, hiring managers treat interns with the same professionalism, consideration, and respect they use with full-time employees. We at InternMatch, however, know that this isn’t always the case. Plenty of students who use our services are seeking internships to offset less-than-ideal experiences; we spill the beans on their most common complaints.

1. Inflexibility with Scheduling

Most interns are students first and foremost. That means their Google Calendars are abstract-expressionist works with overlapping commitments in academics, extracurriculars,...

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Lessons of Petraeus Case Are Far From Clear

There are some lessons that HR professionals can draw from the saga of Gen. David Petraeus, who resigned as head of the CIA after an FBI investigation found that he had an extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.

The importance of choosing leaders with integrity--and the realization that there is virtually no privacy when it comes to electronic communications--jump out as key takeaways for HR. However, how HR staffs can apply these principles in their day-to-day work isn’t cut and dried. And the scandal illuminates aspects of human nature that will challenge HR professionals for decades, researchers...

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#Nextchat RECAP: Gen X -- The Invisible Generation

On November 14, SHRM We Know Next chatted with Rebecca Hastings (@SHRMDiversedit) about Gen X- The Invisible Generation.

Gen X is the middle child of history and often plagued by negative stereotypes; however, in the workplace, they view themselves as hard workers, conscientious managers and fair leaders.  They are skilled at communicating up and down the ladder with Boomer and Gen Y peers and they possess both technical and political savvy. They've paid their dues in the workplace and expect to be considered for senior roles.  Workplace flexibility is important to this generation as they're typically taking care of both children...

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