SHRM Blog

Mobile Collaboration: An Interview with Michael Kroth, author of "Managing the Mobile Workforce"

by Sharlyn LaubyOn November 28, 2011 0 comments

The growth of mobile technology is simply staggering. According to mobiThinking, there are 5.3 billion mobile subscribers (that translates to 77% of the world's population.) By 2014, it's expected that mobile will overtake the PC as the most popular way to access the web. People are using mobile technologies for commerce, entertainment, and productivity.

No surprise, this trend has a definite impact on business and the workplace. The International Data Corporation (IDC) has estimated that the mobile workforce will exceed 1 billion people in 2011. The reasons that businesses are moving in this direction vary...

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Five Recommendations to Power-Up Employee Communication Trending

by Kevin KennemerOn November 24, 2011 0 comments

How would you like to keep track of trending topics within your distributed workforce at any given moment in time? This valuable tool would give the chief human resource officer the ability to apprise the CEO of internal workforce trends.  Important workforce and operational decisions could be made quickly by taking advantage of this Internet technology.

Having served as a chief human resource officer for a large private energy company located in several countries, the ability to keep track of trending workforce and operational issues would have made the employee survey process, including flash surveys, look like the...

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Pyrrhic Victory: Judge ok's firing for Facebook post, but...

by Eric B. MeyerOn November 23, 2011 0 comments

In September, a National Labor Relations Board Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ruled, for the first time, that an employer could legally fire an employee based on Facebook activity. In Karl Knauz Motors, Inc. d/b/a Knauz BMW and Robert Becker, the ALJ okayed a BMW dealership firing an employee who posted pictures (accompanied by some snarky comments) about a neighboring Land Rover dealership. 

Ameet Sachdev of The Chicago Tribune describes the facts of Knauz: 

The NLRB filed a complaint on behalf of Robert Becker against Karl...

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Overachievers and Why We Hate Them

by Jessica Miller-MerrellOn November 22, 2011 0 comments

I work very hard at what I do with every client, presentation, and article I write.  Some may call me an overachiever.  I work long hours, solve complex problems and do it all with a passion and smile most days.  I love what I d0, but not everyone loves me back.

Hate is a very strong word.  It’s an emotion, a feeling.  Tied very closely to love and lust.  So why do organizations, leaders, and co-workers hate overachievers?

Over the weekend I watched one of my favorite movies from the 90′s with John Travolta in Phenomenon....

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Harmony is Overrated

by Joe GerstandtOn November 21, 2011 0 comments

As a loud and proud advocate for diversity and inclusion, I am supposed to be all about harmony right? Well, I am not. Harmony scares me.

At the core of the definition of harmony is:

a consistent, orderly, or pleasing arrangement of parts; congruity

It is hard to have real order or a “pleasing arrangement of parts” when there are awake and alive human beings involved. The fact is, if we are being authentic and honest with each other, we are all different.  And difference brings tension into relationships and groups. Clearly we need to be able...

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Avoiding the Boomer Drain

by Hank JacksonOn November 18, 2011 0 comments

Like most developed countries, the U.S. faces a major demographic challenge. This year, the oldest of nearly 80 million baby boomers turn 65. According to the Pew Research Center, about 10,000 Americans reach that milestone every day.

Most organizations can’t afford to suddenly lose such a reservoir of work experience and seasoned judgment. And that maturity and judgment is of particular value in forging collaborative teams within a workforce that now includes four and soon five generations.

To keep those experts on board as long as possible, human resource professionals are pursuing innovative strategies like flexible work...

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Four Generations of Workers in the 21st Century (Part 1)

by Ross Smith, FRSA On November 17, 2011 0 comments

Note: This series is based on the paper My Generation.

Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.  - George Orwell

For perhaps the first time in recorded history, labor markets in the 21st century are comprised of members of four generations. This situation presents very real challenges – and opportunities - to organizations and how they address issues of talent engagement, leadership development and people management.

As society continues to adapt to the prevalence of a multi-generational workforce, it...

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Leaders and Accountability in the Wake of the Penn State Scandal

by Beth MirzaOn November 16, 2011 0 comments

“When you are the top person in your profession, even if you do everything right, you can have a bad day that brings it all down,” said Dr. Jack Stark, a psychologist who has counseled professional athletes and worked with Fortune 500 company leaders.

Joe Paterno, 84, was the longest-serving and winningest coach in NCAA Division I football until his career came to a screeching halt Nov. 9, 2011, when he was fired by the Penn State board of trustees in connection with the scandal involving former coach Jerry Sandusky, who has been accused of sexually abusing young...

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Just The Facts About Workplace Social Media

by Jessica Miller-MerrellOn November 15, 2011 0 comments

I’m captivated by infographics.  They, in my mind are the preferred alternative to boring reports and bullet-filled craptastic powerpoint presentations.  For me an infographic is a great way to explain a point of view or organize a group of interesting facts and data points designed to please the eye.  Kind of like how social media is the new alternative to email.

I’m pretty passionate about social media in the workplace. Last week I flew to New York City to speak at Jeff Pulver’s BrandsConf and this week I’m traveling to San Diego where I’m speaking and training a group...

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The Essence of Strategy (Part 2)

by John BellOn November 14, 2011 0 comments

Last week’s blog post bemoaned the lack of strategic discipline in today’s world of business. I posed three simple strategic questions that on the surface appear easy to answer.

  1. What business are you in?
  2. What will you sell?
  3. To whom will you sell?

You’d think executives from the same organization would offer the same responses. More often than not, their answers can be as different as night and day. Why? Because people struggle with specificity; they hate strategic...

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