A Carnival as Diverse as Any Other
Posted on | January 18, 2012 | No Comments
As we take time to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this week, this Carnival also focuses on the need to respect and nurture diversity. Diversity of gender, thought, skills, ethnicity, cultural background, language and talent contribute to more than just an inclusive place to work. Our experiences, culture, religion, sexual orientation and work history, among other factors, come with us to work each day and affect how we contribute to our organization’s success. 
While Dr. King led the climb to the mountain top, all of us are an integral part of the journey. In this diversity-themed edition of the HR Carnival, the industry’s always-prolific thought leaders share a range of experiences, perspectives and progress. The Devon Group is thrilled to host this edition of The Carnival and appreciates the range of topics and posts that were contributed.
Without further ado, we present the latest HR Carnival:
Naomi Bloom, at In Full Bloom, shares Ruminations on Being Overweight and Smoking, reminding us we’re all a work in progress.
Prasad Oommen Kurian, at Simplicity @ the other side of Complexity, is busy Decoding the ‘IR mindset’ and provides 10 defining features of the IR mindset.
Mark Stelzner, at Inflexion Point, draws an analogy from travel to one’s career path in 5 Career Lessons from the Road and reminds us it’s important to know where we are going and to have a plan for getting there.
Ian Welsh, at Toolbox.com, asks whether organizations benefit from diversity in the workplace. He answers the question and provides practical advice in Diversity is Simple – Objectivity Essential! – The Benefit is Clear!
John Kotter, guest blogger at Great Leadership, invites readers to consider the danger of getting too comfortable in Success: A Breeding Ground for Complacency. He explores the value of diversity in thought and recommends bringing the outside in by listening to customer-facing employees.
Ben Eubanks, at UpstartHR, touches on diversity in his review of Field Tested: Recruiting, Managing and Retaining Veterans and uncovers different ways to better meet the needs of employees who are former military service members.
Paul Smith, at Welcome to the Occupation, notes that each of us individually has to strive for equal rights and opportunities on our own terms. He advises readers to become the Captainess of Your Own Ship by deciding our own definition of success and power.
Mike McCarty, at SafeHiring Solution, discusses Pepsi Employment Background Checks and the adverse affects background screening can have on minorities.
Chris Young, at the Human Capital Strategy Blog, checks in on the progress of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Dream – Changing Company Culture and reminds us that employers should choose employees based on their character, qualifications, and job fit – and that skin color not be a factor.
Through this edition of the Carnival of HR, we are treated to not only to some of the best advice HR professionals have to offer, but the community’s commitment to advancing the dream and creating inclusive workplaces where individuality and respect thrives. Thank you for stopping by. Come again soon and be sure to follow us on Twitter @devongroup, @melissaprusher and @jeanneAchille.
A View from the Top
Posted on | January 6, 2012 | No Comments
Is your CEO active online? If not, he or she should be. Authentic communication from the top of the organization is rapidly becoming a requirement, not a nice-to-have feature. Employees and customers want to hear from corporate leaders, whether that’s by following their Twitter stream or reading their personal or company blog. CEO blogs – even if they’re authored by other people – are increasingly important in a world where decisions are made in groups and buying decisions are influenced by online interactions. 
Arguments such as “Our CEO doesn’t have enough time” or “All content needs legal approval prior to being posted” no longer fly in today’s transparent business climate. And, with the rapid rate of change, even organizations with well-defined social media policies should allow for appropriate caveats.
Besides being swamped, CEOs tend to be most interested in those initiatives that contribute to the bottom line. As social mediums continue to mature, tracking and analyzing social content can deliver up-to-the-minute feedback on a brand or company reputation, allowing CEOs to see exactly how social media influences product development and corporate strategy and strengthens customer relationships. But, organizations that dig their heels or wait for legal to approve every single tweet, blog post, or comment will never be able to execute a successful social media strategy.
Delivering fresh content from the company’s leaders benefits an organization in multiple ways. CEOs that share the company vision in an authentic and real way can increase customer engagement and attract high-quality talent to the organization. Content written by high-profile members of the organization can help put company-sponsored information on the first page of search results, as Google and other major search engines continuously “crawl” for new content. CEO blogs can also demonstrate thought leadership, increase credibility and showcase the capabilities of the company – all elements that not only look good from the customer’s perspective, but also help keep employees engaged and in tune with their own organization.
Conversing in the digital arena is a powerful tool for telling the company story and driving brand engagement. But, for those worried about giving away trade secrets or freaking out their legal counsel, take a look how some CEOs have made blogging work:
Showcase a human side. David Kirchhoff, Weight Watchers International’s CEO blogs at Man Meets Scale. He lets readers know that the blog contains his personal views on weight loss and fitness, and not necessarily his perspective as a company employee. Yet, the blog taps into the vital components of successful business: making emotional connections, demonstrating an understanding of the customer’s pain points and offering solutions.
Communicate company progress. Blogs don’t have to reveal sensitive information, but they can provide customers with insight into new developments or strides the company is making to deliver better products or service. Comstock Mining’s CEO uses blogging to answer customer inquiries and provide status updates on company initiatives.
Connect with colleagues. Forrester’s George Colony uses his blog to share opinions and analysis on events of interest to other CEOs. High-level networking can help executives share experiences, fine-tune strategies, stimulate innovation and drive competition.
One key, no matter what your approach: understand that executive time is valuable and should be used on moving the needles that matter – whether it’s customer engagement, bottom-line sales or other metrics. Rather than a general approach to blogging, start out with an analysis of what you’d like to accomplish and build an editorial calendar based on your CEO’s pet projects and topics. With the right infrastructure in place, blogging can be systematic, achievable and increase interaction and loyalty with business stakeholders.
Seven Leadership Lessons from Seven Sports Figures
Posted on | December 23, 2011 | No Comments
The wo
rlds of sports and business have a lot in common: pressure to always be the best, the need to take big risks for high rewards and the constant battle to remain ahead of the competition. Despite the cutthroat nature often associated with both realms, there are plenty of valuable lessons corporate leaders can learn from athletes and coaches from all different sports. What follows are some proven methods for success taken straight from the field (as well as the court, track and pool) that can be applied in the office environment.
Give it your all – Legendary long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine was known for the famous quote, “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” With a career record of winning 78% of the races he entered, including being undefeated in NCAA races at the University of Oregon, Prefontaine certainly knew how to put his best into everything.
Each member of an organization has a unique skill set and experience that they bring to their job. To remain competitive, it is important encourage each member of the company to apply their individual gifts to achieve the common goals. When everyone is committed to giving their best, the company will thrive. Read more
Tags: entrepreneurs > hiring > HR > leadership > professional development > talent management
Ten Minutes with Kathi Graham-Leviss, Industry Expert
Posted on | October 26, 2011 | No Comments
Kathi Graham-Leviss is author of The Perfect Hire: A Tactical Guide to Hiring, Developing and Retaining Top Sales Talent and founder of XB Consulting. Combining its proprietary technology-based assessment solution, XC Insight, with years of sales and leadership expertise, XB Consulting shows organizations how to select employees and optimize employee development and productivity. Essential to measuring and predicting human performance risk and potential, XB Consulting’s XC InSight assessment system brings unrivaled clarity and specificity to pre-employment, selection and the development and improvement of the existing workforce.
Your new book, The Perfect Hire, provides a tactical guide to hiring, developing, and retaining top sales talent. What can readers expect to learn?
The Perfect Hire identifies the biggest mistake that companies make when hiring sales leaders and executives – hiring mainly based on technical skills and experience – and outlines a hiring methodology that will help them avoid making that mistake.
In the absence of a selection strategy, most companies rely on resume screening and an applicant performance review to make hiring decisions. As a result, their interview processes are unstructured and can result in loose discussion that focuses on a candidate’s personality and/or listed experience, rather than their soft and problem solving skills. For example, an extrovert may engage interviewers quickly and be charming without having the critical thinking skills needed to succeed in a position. Ultimately, businesses lose a lot of time, money and other resources when they hire poor-fit candidates.
A Room with a View
Posted on | October 17, 2011 | 1 Comment
As the agency of record supporting one of the industry’s largest and most exciting events, The Devon Group has the distinct pleasure of managing The HR Technology Conference & Expo press room and its activities. Year after year, the energy found between its four walls can be inspiring, electric, exhilarating, and yes, at times, exhausting. This year’s press room – sponsored by OneWire, to whom we extend our most sincere thanks – delivered on all fronts. Busy and buzzing from open to close, each of its many tables and designated overflow rooms were filled with registered press, analysts and the blog squad who engaged in highly interactive briefings, demos, discussions and deals each day.
As careful observers, whose ears were perked for feedback, we’d like to highlight several tools and techniques for effectively getting news and messaging out at the conference, especially as your competitors attempt to do the same: Read more
Tags: bloggers > content development > HR Technology Conference > industry analysts > networking > PR > Press Kits > Press Releases
Push and Pull: Social Media and Marketing
Posted on | August 23, 2011 | No Comments
As the company’s messaging machine, marketers communicate to current and potential buyers and ultimately generate sales leads in two high-level ways. Traditional marketing measures (direct and HTML mail, advertising, telemarketing, etc.) are considered a push where information about the company and its services and products is pushed directly to customers and prospects. But as spam-filled inboxes go ignored and buyers better-trust information researched, marketers have adapted and adopted social media marketing to generate leads with an inbound marketing pull, where online educational content and discussions live and become the information researched. Read more
Tags: inbound marketing > Lead Generation > lead nurturing > Marketing > metrics > sales leads > SEO > social media
Make an Impact with Swag
Posted on | July 29, 2011 | No Comments
Marketers, start your engines: the fall tradeshow season is quickly approaching, and while you tackle big picture event strategy, don’t forget the devil is in the details. What are we talking about? Swag, and the impact it can have on tradeshow success.
Hiring & Online Image: The New Background Check
Posted on | July 26, 2011 | No Comments
It’s no secret that in a tough job market every aspect of an application counts. What you might not know is that employers are leveraging new techniques to research potential candidates to get sense of who they really are online.
Tags: hiring > HR > online image > social intelligence > social media
Friend or Foe? Twitter vs. App Makers
Posted on | July 21, 2011 | No Comments
Recently, the New York Times reported on the strained relationship between social media giant, Twitter and the third party makers of its applications. The relationship between parties is a delicate situation as Twitter continues to grow and acquire select applications such as TweetDeck, putting it in competition with other apps like TwitPic. Bottom line? App developers could be put out at any time if Twitter decides to create its own apps for measuring influence or checking into a location.
With social media’s continued success, the company’s relatively bare bones platform leads many to wonder when will Twitter begin to develop its own applications. For now, the company assures app makers that won’t happen but considering past examples from other technology leaders like Apple and Microsoft, something is bound to give.
How quickly remains to be seen. Competition on the social media front is fierce lately, as Google+ rises to challenge Twitter’s microblogging concept and almost every other social networking site on the web, including Facebook’s control over online profiles and Flickr’s lock on photo sharing. As the marketplace floods with more competition and more users, Twitter’s only logical move may be to trounce the application makers.
Me on the Web = Me on Google?
Posted on | June 20, 2011 | 1 Comment
Seems someone at Google read our recent post about controlling one’s online identity and reputation. Just last week, the search engine giant announced a new online application called Me on the Web designed to troll the web to find a person’s name, contact info, or email address configured much like a Google Alert. Open only to Google account holders, the application lives on the user’s dashboard and once enabled can monitor any and all configured alerts.
Actually trying to controlling your results is where things get interesting. To start, Google offers four basic steps for managing your reputation. Three of the steps are fairly self-explanatory: search for yourself, remove unwanted content, and continue to monitor using alerts. However, step two tells you to create Google profile to promote the information you wish to release. Is this related to online reputation control? Sure. Could this be a tactic designed to expand Google’s social network? Certainly.
Google, like many other online giants, has their own reputation when it comes to harboring information. Why then would one want to simply maneuver their online identity from one site to another? As DigitalTrends points out, “One difference, however, is that Me on the Web—and Google’s profiles—collect all that information in one place. The security- and privacy-conscious usually go to efforts to make sure their ego-surfing doesn’t trace back to any one point.”
When it comes to your online identity, hold your personal information close, avoid spreading yourself too wide across the Internet but stay away from giving it up to just one site. In the unfortunate event your reputation is compromised, keep tools like Me on the Web in mind but dig a little deeper to uncover detailed ways to manage your online identity.
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