Got a cool HR strategy? Win an iPad in HRExaminer's Blank Slate Challenge.

Inspired by Apple's announcement of their "game changing" iPad, the folks at HRExaminer have announced a very interesting contest.

In their words:

"Imagine an HR led strategy that could produce results in your organization like the iPhone has for Apple. How would you change the way you recruit, hire, develop and retain your employees so they could reach their full potential while keeping them engaged?

How would you change your company go-to-market strategy in areas like product, sales and marketing? Step in their shoes for a while and then come back to your expertise – people. Would you re-design one of your own internal HR functions like Recruiting to drive your game-changer? What is it going to to take to produce a game-changer? Who is it going to take to produce a game changer?"

Interested?

If so, you can submit a 200-1,000 word essay describing a game-changing HR led strategy that you could announce by February 28 in your company and begin implementation by the end of Q1 2010 – around the time the Apple iPad is set to ship. DETAILS HERE.

The folks at HRExaminer.com "see this as a way to re-challenge your own assumptions for 2010 and that of your organization – even what HR ‘does’. Assume that your CEO loves the idea, the CFO is cutting the check, and that you will get everything you need to make your plan happen. Tell us how HR will transform your company into a better place to work and work better".

Very cool. We look forward to reading about the winning strategy!

BTW - for those who don't already know, HRExaminer.com is a new magazine focused on the people, technology, ideas and careers of senior leaders in Human Resources and Human Capital. The company is located in Bodega Bay, California. Keep an eye on them - I think they are going to be a welcome and impactful addition to the human resource marketplace.

Mass Career Customization (MCC) - Flexibility for ALL Employees

Jessica Toonkell Marquez researched and wrote an outstanding article in the latest Workforce Magazine titled "The Perfect Fit". (I wish I could link to the story but this publication does not put their articles online - ughhh!).

The cover story article features Cathy Benko, Vice Chairman and Chief Talent Officer for Deloitte LLP and her "Mass Career Customization (MCC)" program.

What is MCC? In the words of Cathy (who also wrote a book about MCC):

"Mass Career Customization is a wake up call to corporate America and a guide book for business leaders. Centered on the powerful insight that today's career is no longer a straight climb up the corporate ladder but rather an undulating journey of climbs, lateral moves, and planned descents, the book provides a refreshing answer to attracting talent and strengthening leadership pipelines while providing more varied and paced career journeys."

Cathy Benko does not believe traditional flexible work arrangements are that effective - in terms of serving the needs of all employees in an organization. This belief inspired her to create the Mass Career Customization program which has been rolled out to 80 percent of Deloitte's US businesses.

I cannot do it justice in this blog post (and if you are in the HR space you really should subscribe to Workforce Magazine and get the article) but I will jot down some miscellaneous tidbits from the article about MCC:

• Employees periodically fill out a profile detailing whether they want to stay on their current course, "dial up" by taking on more projects or more responsibilities (which is NOT necessarily a promotion), or dial down whereby they reduce their hours or travel.
• 12 months after MCC was implemented employee satisfaction with "career/life fit" at Deloitte increased 25 percent and retention of high performers improved.
• Dial-up requests outnumbered dial-down requests by a 3-to-2 ratio.

David Rosenblum, a partner at Deloitte consulting, summed MCC up best:"

"[MCC] is a mechanism for forcing conversation around what people's objectives are and if we can figure out ways to accommodate people for periods of time so that they stay with the firm."

Right on.

One person familiar with MCC was quoted in the article as saying "the average company isn't there yet and that most companies haven't gotten to the stage where they are good at offering flexible work arrangements."

Sadly, this is correct.

We've practiced a form of MCC at HRmarketer since our founding nearly ten years ago although we have no formal policy and we don't even have a name for it besides just common sense management.

But I know with 100% certainty it has made us a better organization.

To me, being flexible to employee's needs is not about cost savings or a workplace benefit so much as a business imperative if you want to recruit, retain and motivate key talent that you otherwise would not have access to.

But it requires a cultural change that for whatever reason many companies and managers are unable to deal with. It means mutual trust and respect between employee and company. It means the employer recognizes that people have lives and important responsibilities outside of the work they do for you - and that this is OK and does not mean they are less committed to the company. It means breaking away from the belief that employee's have to "be at work (face time)" or they cannot possibly be productive. It means that if an employee wants to reduce his/her hours they are not being lazy or less engaged.

Ultimately, it is about assembling a responsible and talented team of dedicated professionals committed to servicing the needs of the organization on a schedule and workload that meets the needs of both parties - and then getting out of their way so they can perform :-)

Admittedly, this type employer/employee partnership is not for every individual or company but what a terrific model Cathy Benko has developed with MCC. Kudos.

I wish her luck with spreading the word and getting companies to buy-in.

Holy Smokes, we've got a marketing and PR "Cloud" upgrade.

You're probably wondering what the heck does that mean? Is that fluffy hi-tech product launch marketing jargon?

Yes. Yes, it is.

It's pretty cool stuff, though. You can read the press release or read on below.

Our latest innovative product development better meets HR suppliers' marketing and PR needs.

Specifically, it helps you better plan, manage, execute, track and measure your marketing and PR efforts.

Google Analytics: Effective best practice marketing combined with HRmarketer.com results in increased traffic to your web site, which you can now monitor from your HRmarketer dashboard with our latest My Google Analytics "cloud" computing feature. If you use Google Analytics, you can activate this feature in your dashboard module, conveniently displaying the last 12-months of your company's web site traffic.

Related measurement features already available on HRmarketer include Keyword Rankings (measure your company's SEO effectiveness) and My Company News (measure your company's online visibility - including Twitter activity). Following our marketing best practices and using HRmarketer properly will increase your company's:

• Online visibility
• Website traffic
• Search engine rankings

Improvements to Direct2Net (our search-optimized press release distribution platform): In addition to some cosmetic enhancements, you can now automatically send a Tweet about your press releases (with a link to it) if you have a Twitter account. To use this feature, simply complete the necessary "Twitter" fields when sending your next search-optimized release via HRmarketer. Other improvements include the ability to schedule your wire releases for a specific date/time, and save/retrieve your uploaded news images. Finally, you can now assign "categories" to your release that help categorize your release on selected syndication sites we partner with.

Recent Journalist Tweets: Twitter has become an effective media relations tool and its adoption rate amongst journalist is skyrocketing. For media contacts that have Twitter accounts you can view their tweets on their HRmarketer profiles - updated in real time. We've now aggregated all recent tweets from HR media contacts and show them in the new database "Recent Tweets" - a new link on your left sidebar under the Media Outlets section.

New Configuration for Left Sidebar Menu: We've reorganized HRmarketer.com user interface to group features around the service’s key benefits of helping HR vendors plan, execute and measure their marketing and public relations. A summary of these features includes:

• Plan/Manage: Information databases including detailed profiles on media outlets, editorial calendars and opportunities, industry analysts, journalists, bloggers, advertising opportunities, speaking and award competitions, conferences and trade shows, buyer guides, associations and direct marketing lists.
• Execute: Press release distribution, direct marketing, content syndication, social media integration and more.
• Track/Measure: Clipping services, keyword ranking tools and Web site metrics.

We have plenty of other exciting features planned for 2010 which you will hear about soon!

Contact us at info (at) hrmarketer.com or call 831-685-9700 for more information on any of these features or schedule a free HRmarketer.com demonstration.

If you're a current HRmarketer.com member, contact us for a refresher course at info@hrmarketer.com or call 831-685-9700.

Post by Kevin W. Grossman (join me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn - and now join HRmarketer on Twitter!)

The LAMEness of Leadership Development

When developing ourselves as leaders, unfortunately there are learning moments we miss like peripheral wisps of smoke.

And then there's yesterday at 10:47 a.m.

Weeks of meticulous planning, promotion and preaching a new way to deliver on behalf of a client, and then poof -- technical failure and poor contingency planning calls for an immediate decision.

Kill the project or forge ahead -- a split-second decision that has to be made, for better or for worse. A semi-rational decision that's emotionally driven made from the "gut" because of the situational duress (I'm reading How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer, fascinating book).

Decision made. Consequences dealt with.

Because of our good friends and clients like Glowan, Impact Achievement Group, TRACOM, RealTime Performance and LeadershipIQ, along with the leadership folk I follow like Dan McCarthy, Jason Seiden, Jane Purdue, Steve Roesler and Wally Bock, I understand the importance of mindful presence on every leadership decision made, every employee engaged, every client project delivered, every logistic and task completed.

And every failure that's needed to further development and triumphant successes.

I say needed because I'm a big believer in the fact that, without it -- failure -- as leaders we'd never develop the capacity to:

• Learn
• Adapt
• Modify
• Elevate

You know, the LAMEness of Leadership Development.

Big fail spectacularly day yesterday -- and the bigger the fail the bigger the lesson -- especially when you're paying attention.

We've all had them. We all need more LAMEness.

So after all this, why am I channeling Gloria Estefan?

Because for those of you who know me, it's like that.

Turn the beat around, love to hear percussion. Turn it upside down, love to hear percussion. Love to hear it.

Post by Kevin W. Grossman (join me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn - and now join HRmarketer on Twitter!)

It's Here! HR Buyers' Behavior: What to Expect in 2010

Our long-awaited HR Buyers' Behavior -- What to Expect in 2010 is finally friggin' here and now available to download at our new HRmarketer Content Library where you can post comments, share via Digg, Twitter, Facebook and more.

Download the report directly here. No registration required. Feel free to share the report!

According to our latest survey, HR buyers plan to increase their budgets by 25 percent in 2010 for corporate social networking tools, employee wellness programs, management and leadership development initiatives, performance management systems, and other training and development programs.

This positive forecast is now available for direct download!

The key trends outlined in this survey reveal much about the online HR buying process. Highlights include:

• Thirty-one percent of HR professionals report their company will hire 10-20 percent more staff in 2010.
• Forty-five percent of HR buyers are "somewhat optimistic" about the economy and think that business is starting to improve in 2010.
• HR buyer participation in social media and the consumption of social media content such as blogs, social networking sites, white papers, research reports, podcasts and webcasts continues to increase.
• And many more valuable insights.

In an economic year as dismal as 2009 has been, it’s hopeful to hear that HR buyers are more optimistic about 2010. Having an online presence and participating in social media are more important than ever for HR suppliers, because that’s where more buyers are participating.

Seventy-seven percent of survey respondents were executive management across a variety of industries and eighty-eight percent of survey respondents come from companies with annual revenues exceeding $5M.

Download the report directly here. No registration required. Feel free to share the report!

Contact us with questions or comments. We'd love to hear from you. And don't forget to check out our new HRmarketer Content Library where you can post comments, share via Digg, Twitter, Facebook and more.

Post by Kevin W. Grossman (join me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn - and now join HRmarketer on Twitter!)

4 in 100 leads Buy. The Importance of Aggressive Marketing and Lead Nurturing.

An article/chart from Marketing Sherpa states "one of the most challenging obstacles to marketing is the time span from lead generation to sales conversion" and that "these long sales cycles put pressure on marketers to streamline the lead nurturing process".

100% agree.


In fact, Sherpa correctly points out that when prospects first enter the pipeline, they are likely months away from purchasing. This is completely normal. This is why lead nurturing is so critical. And also why it is so important to be relentless in your marketing and PR so you can keep those leads coming.

Check out the graph on this page from the Sherpa article. If you do the math it shows that for every 100 "leads" you generate, 4 will purchase. Wondering how accurate this was I asked our head of sales, Jonathan Goodman, how the metrics for our SaaS product HRmarketer.com compared to Sherpa's research.

Our close ratio in 2009 was nearly identical.

Interesting.

Granted, 2009 was a lousy year for just about everyone including us but compared to a lot of companies we did pretty darn good - and we did not cut our marketing spend in 2009.

Imagine if we did? Scary thought.

The Sherpa article went on to state:

"It is marketing’s responsibility to identify and fulfill the information needs of prospects at each stage and to advance prospects through the pipeline to a sales-ready stage as rapidly as possible".

Amen.

Word to the wise - don't cut back on your "lead generating" marketing and PR in 2010. You need as many leads as you can get.

And when you get them, nurture them at every stage.

Virtual Presentations: Tinkering with Possibility (starts with our Workplace Violence Webinar)

Sometimes a workplace topic deserves more than the standard webinar format: boring slide presentation heavily laden with eyes-glazing-over content while attendees have to wait until the end to get their text-only questions answered.

The level of attentiveness decreases with every dry moment that passes, and then when the end is reached, the first question asked is "Can I get a copy of the presentation?" -- and what that really means is "I'll most likely never read it or share it, but thank you for sending."

Sometimes a workplace topic deserves a different treatment, a different way of reaching and engaging attendees, of teaching them something they can apply to their companies today -- like what we're doing with tomorrow's Violence in the Workplace: Interactive Roundtable, sponsored by EmployeeScreenIQ.

A new low-cost, high-return, highly-engaging format that includes:

• A better story-telling presentation tool like Prezi or Keynote (although for those MS PowerPoint power users, I understand you can do cool things with that as well)
• More video and other multimedia interaction beyond the presentation (including Internet sites if applicable, using Skype video conferencing or Yugma web conferencing for presenters, etc.)
• More poll and survey questions throughout to keep folks focused
• Multiple panelists representing differing expertise and angles about the topic
• Allowing attendees to ask questions or make comments live via audio and/or video
• Allowing attendees to ask questions or make comments more frequently throughout the presentation and not just at the end
• Streaming video (like Ustream) if you're giving a live presentation to a live audience

And there are a lot more presentation possibilities "presenting" themselves every single day.

So join us tomorrow, January 20, at 2:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m. PT) for the Violence in the Workplace: Interactive Roundtable where we'll be tinkering with possibility:

Every year over two million incidents of workplace violence occur in the United States, costing businesses $70 billion a year, including over $64 billion due to lost productivity. Workplace violence includes co-worker violence, customer/client violence, domestic violence and criminal violence per the Bureau of Labor Statistics survey data.

The special guest panel will include:

- Kim Wells, Executive Director, Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence
- Mark A. Lies II, Partner, Seyfarth Shaw Law Firm
- Dennis Butler, SPHR, Owner/Consultant, Crossings HR Solutions, LLC (Former Vice President, Workplace Solutions Liz Claiborne, Inc.)
- W. Barry Nixon, SPHR, Executive Director, National Institute for the Prevention of Workplace Violence, Inc.
- Bernard S. Dyme, President & CEO, Perspectives Ltd

The topics will include:

- The roots of workplace violence and why workplace violence been on the rise (or not).
- The many risks companies face legally and financially because most don’t have formal policies on workplace violence.
- What employers should do to better assess, address and prevent workplace violence.

Post by Kevin W. Grossman (join me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn - and now join HRmarketer on Twitter!)

Good news: It looks like we're more mature than Charlotte Simmons going in.

UPDATE (1/22/2010): Now Available - “Trends in HR Marketing: HR Buyer’s Behavior – What to Expect in 2010” Download Now, no registration required.

-------------------------------------

I'm reading a Tom Wolfe's I am Charlotte Simmons about a young high school graduate from a poverty-stricken rural town whose intelligence and hard work at school have been rewarded with a full scholarship to a prestigious college. Book learnin' isn't her problem, but it's her first semester and mercy does she have a lot of social learnin' to do, which she does with her own unique strength and mindful presence.

Besides reminding me of the bacchanalian college lifestyle students can lead, especially those in the Greek system (of which I am a TKE), it also reminds me of the mass adoption naivete of many good folk of unique strength and mindful presence exploring social media.

Wait, what? That's a segue leap my mind takes. You should let it buy you lunch someday.

Social media can be an informative relationship-buidling marketing endeavor, or it can be a big beer-bong fest with bass a-thumpin' and drums a-bumpin'.

Usually somewhere in between polarizing at the former based on my experience. Even in the HR marketplace where HR buyers frequent social media more and more -- for example in our latest survey report launching this week, LinkedIn ranked an overwhelming first (72%), followed by Facebook (51%), SHRM Connect (35%), HR.com (31%), and Twitter (20%).

And participation only continues to grow.

What about the HR suppliers? Our previous research shows that they're experimenting more in social media (and I see them everyday out there), but aren't we all still Charlotte Simmons's fumbling our way through the first semester?

I conducted an impromptu survey last week and asked HR suppliers what social media activities are they -- you -- participating in? How are you reaching your buyers and influencers via social media? Are you measuring your results? If so, how and what are those metrics?

Here are some of the preliminary highlights of those who responded:

• 93% of HR supplier respondents are participating in social media.
• Of the 7% who aren't, 60% say it's because they don't see the business value.
• Over 50% of social media participants are CEO's, business owners and executive management.
• What folks are doing with social media is evenly distributed across a variety of reasons, but the top reason with 82% is sharing content and news, which was true from CEO's to HR to marketing to customer service reps.
• 55% of HR supplier respondents who say they measure social media results include both web-based traffic and lead-conversion (sales) metrics.
• What did HR suppliers increase the most with social media marketing? Online visibility by an overwhelming 67%.

Not so fumbling after all. In fact, even though I'm sure most of the respondents are those already fully engaged in social media, I'm happy to report that social media is being integrated into the arsenal of HR supplier marketing and PR activities -- as it should be.

For those of you who haven't responded, you still can. I'll be putting a marketing summary brief together in the next few weeks to release into the social media wild.

Good news: It looks like we're more mature than Charlotte Simmons going in.

Are you interested in sharing your specific social media successes with HRmarketer and be highlighted in a case study and other future presentations or reports? If so, please DM me at @KevinWGrossman or email me at kgrossman@hrmarketer.com.

Post by Kevin W. Grossman (join me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn - and now join HRmarketer on Twitter!)

[Subliminal Social Media Message ~~ Take our HR Supplier Social Media Survey]

Listen, with all the hullaballoo about social media these day, you'd think that most B2C companies are participating with B2B right behind.

[Subliminal Social Media Message ~~ Take our HR Supplier Social Media Survey]

For example, social media usage by companies on the Inc. 500 has grown in the past year, with 91 percent of companies reporting that they use at least one social media tool, compared with 77 percent of companies surveyed in 2008.

[Subliminal Social Media Message ~~ Take our HR Supplier Social Media Survey]

And the fact that the vast majority of top marketing executives intend to increase their budgets for social media marketing in 2010, but indicate they plan to get more rigorous in trying those expenditures to revenue goals.

[Subliminal Social Media Message ~~ Take our HR Supplier Social Media Survey]

But where are all the HR suppliers -- you -- and what social media activities are you participating in? How are you reaching your buyers and influencers via social media? Are you measuring your results? If so, how and what are those metrics?

I wrote about some you in our Conversation Starters eBook, and I keep blogging about it and participating in it, but I'm always looking for more updated examples and success stories from the HR marketplace.

[Subliminal Social Media Message ~~ Take our HR Supplier Social Media Survey]

Are you interested in sharing your specific social media successes with HRmarketer and be highlighted in a case study and other future presentations or reports? If so, please DM me at @KevinWGrossman or email me at kgrossman@hrmarketer.com.

Thank you!

Post by Kevin W. Grossman (join me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn - and now join HRmarketer on Twitter!)

What I've learned since is this: I'm no social media expert.

Gerry Crispin posted a status update on Facebook recently that said something to the effect of:

There are more social media experts out there than those participating in social media.

The facetious post really hit home with me, particularly after coming off the holiday break and re-entering the work atmosphere, face pressed firmly against the heat shield.

It was a busy friggin' week, and a humbling one as well.

I kept thinking about what Gerry posted and the fact that in his blog bio the first thing he writes is that he's a student of recruiting.

A student. That's so true. I've been in higher education, hi-tech and HR marketplace marketing communications for over 22 years, and I know a lot of stuff, but yet I learn something new every day.

That's the way it's supposed to work, right?

Unfortunately I've seen the proliferation of social media experts fill the virtual air around us with enough hot white noise to lift off from the ground and carry followers into oblivion.

A slight exaggeration I know, but c'mon. Let's get back to:

• Sharing
• Caring
• Listening
• Learning
• Teaching
  
• Participating
• Networking
• Building relationships
  
• Being real

Notice I didn't use the words marketing or selling. Don't get me wrong, social media is a powerful marketing channel -- albeit one of many that is more personable, more focused and must involve more listening and TLC than any other marketing activity you engage in.

Executives and captains of industry may not want to ride unicorns and jump over rainbow rivers whilst singing "So happy together", but for those who do -- figuratively mind you -- participating in social media is a learning, growing, networking and relationship-building experience like no other. Don't even think about tracking hard ROI or I'll sick David Meerman Scott on you.

Social media marketing is all about combining the power of online marketing and social networking so that you converse openly with your buying and influencing universe about anything and everything – good, bad and all in between.

In our latest report due out soon (I swear), when HR buyers were asked what social networking sites they frequent, LinkedIn ranked an overwhelming first (72%), followed by Facebook (51%), SHRM Connect (35%), HR.com (31%), and Twitter (20%).

And participation only continues to grow.

Many of our HRmarketer team members participate in social media and we see the number of HR buyers and influencers growing daily; it's only begun to migrate into mass adoption.

Although you can follow us on Twitter at @HRmarketer, don't hide behind an avatar, icon or brand. Ensure that you and staff who participate in social media are visible -- real, fallible human beings -- and visibly connected to your company.

When I wrote Conversation Starters: Social Media Marketing in the HR Marketplace eBook last year, I was trying to make sense of this channel and the power therein for HR suppliers and buyers.

What I've learned since is this: I'm no social media expert.

I am a student of business, of the HR marketplace, of marcom, of social media and global citizenry, of fatherhood, of living mindfully moment to moment.

Teach me what works for you and I'll teach you what works for me.

(But I am pretty good at some stuff. Really.)

Post by Kevin W. Grossman (join me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn - and now join HRmarketer on Twitter!)

Yes, I was a hired HR hit-woman, but tread lightly.

I went to see a movie called Up in the Air the other night. I highly recommend it.

The story is about a corporate downsizer and his travels. Played by George Clooney, it follows his isolated life and philosophies along with the people that he meets along the way.

He is, more or less, an HR hit man.

He comes into a company for a day or two, and lays off some of the employees. This interesting character sounds like he would be shallow and uncaring, but surprisingly, is quite authentic in his approach to this task. He searches for a connection to the individual, and tries to help that person create a vision for his or her future. One employee he lays off had wanted to be a chef, so Georges’ character helps him to pursue that dream.

A few years ago, I was hired at a local Mortgage company, to be their human resource manager. Within two weeks, I was tasked with overseeing lay-offs. This was for a 15 year old company that had NEVER laid off a single employee.

I was a hired hit-woman.

Unfortunately they did not inform me of this when I was hired, but that is another story. Suffice it to say, that was my last official job as a human resources professional.

I have very mixed feelings about the idea of outsourcing layoffs. That does seem callous, and certainly not the best message to send your employees. Ever heard of Survivor Syndrome?

Survivor Syndrome, according to the Conference Board, refers to a marked decrease in motivation, engagement and productivity of employees that remain at the company as a result of downsizing and workforce reductions. It entails a series of complex psychological processes and subsequent behavioral responses. Those who actually carry out the downsizing are also "survivors."

One key thing to remember about HR people, that is often overlooked, is how isolated, they are from their co-workers, and how they take the brunt of the emotional impact of things that happen to employees.

In bad economic times when companies are forced to downsize, working in human resources is emotionally draining and can cause burnout. While HR vendors can offset some of this and help ease job stress by taking over certain HR functions for companies, it can also be unnerving. With the cuts now so close to the bone, some HR professionals do see outsourcing of HR functions as a threat to their own job.

So, as a formal HR professional I ask HR vendors to keep this in mind in your discussions with HR departments in 2010, and tread lightly.

Post by Dawn Passaro