HR Happy Hour #4

So the latest HR Happy Hour is in the bag and available in case you missed it. This time we brought out the big guns and focused on the SHRM '09 Annual Conference.

Sure, we had some technical difficulties and more dog barking in the background (Darby the HR Dog will not be silenced!), but the awesomeness could not be stopped!

In addition to Lance Haun, Kris Dunn, Mark Stelzner, and Laurie Ruettimann (Late to the game but impressing everyone right away!), Jessica Lee and China Gorman (SHRM's COO) were both able to join the conversation as well!

With so many HR superstars on the call, with so much insight and intelligence, the awesomeness could barely be contained. You have to check it out below!

You play the victim and I'll be the bad guy

Sometimes, HR sucks. What's worse is that there is no way to mitigate the suck either. Is there anyway you can just not fire the guy with the bad performance, but two young kids to care for? Of course. Is termination the necessary and the best thing for the company to do? Yes, it is. Well, that was an easy decision. Does it suck any less? Hell no. Do we look any less like jerks? Not in the slightest.

This is why I am convinced that no matter how much value we provide, no matter how much we kick ass, a lot of people are still going to view HR in general, and sometimes you in particular, as the bad guy. Because everyone is the hero/victim of their own story. It was a similar icky situation that caused me to ditch out early today to go home and eat something covered in cool whip and chocolate sauce. And yet, despite the hard times, I still love what I do. I just don't have to love everything about it.




You play the victim and I'll be the bad guy. I know better than that, I know better. - Meiko.

SHRM Thingy

So I'm super excited to tell you all this but coming up next Friday, July 3rd at 6 pm EDT we will have a very special HR Happy Hour: SHRM Thingy. Well, Steve calls it the SHRM '09 Special, but, whatever.

Anyway, we will be speaking to HR Blogging Superstars: Kris Dunn (HR Capitalist), Laurie Ruettimann (Punk Rock HR), Lance Haun (Your HR Guy), and Mark Stelzner (Inflexion Advisors). All will be attending the SHRM '09 Annual Conference (thingy is faster to type out I might add) and they have all been kind enough to join us and provide their perspective on what went down.

I can't tell you how excited I am for this so please just imagine me giggling, bouncing up and down, all while clapping my hands in delight and that should just about cover it.

So, you'll like totally be there too, right?

Let the clowns out Carnival of HR!

The newest Carnival of HR is up now at the Inflexion Point Blog, hosted by Mark Stelzner. Mark has brought together a great group of bloggers and a lot of great content so be sure to stop on by to check out all the carnival fun!

The next carnival is scheduled for July 8th hosted over at the Effortless HR blog. And if you would like to get on the email reminder list for the Carnival, please drop me a note at hrminion@gmail.com.

That's not recruiting, that's telemarketing

Yesterday, I got a rather odd phone call.

Random Guy: Hi, I'm calling from XYZ company and I was wondering if you were still looking for a job.
Me: Uh, yes.
Random Guy: Great, do you have a pen and some paper?
Me: Uh, yes?
Random Guy: Great, I'll give you the name and number of the manager.
Me: Uh, wait a minute, what is the job?
Random Guy: Well, I don't have a job description.
Me: Okay, so what is this for? What is the job title?
Random Guy: Well, they are hiring for a bunch of positions, from clerical to IT.
Me: Uh, I'm not going to just call some manager without knowing what this is about.
Random Guy: Okay, have a good day. *click*
Me: What just happened?

If I understand this situation correctly, this company has hired people to do random job board searches under broad categories and then calls them without any actual thought. Wow. They might as well be using random phone number generators and dispense with the "image' of recruiting at all. This is not recruiting, this is telemarketing and most certainly doesn't make me want to work with them. If finding a job is a full time job in and of itself, why would I waste my time on them? Fail. Major fail.

Guest Blogger! Moving beyond minion-hood in HR

Today, we have a very special Advice for Minions post for all my darling minions out there. Ben Eubanks of Upstart HR is going on a guest blogging blitz because, well, he's hopped up on Diet Mountain Dew and M&M's so what else is he going to do with all that crazy energy? I'm kidding, I'm kidding...maybe. Anyway, Ben is all kinds of awesome and so is his guest post, which starts... Now!

Disclaimer: Being the HR Minion is cool. Being a random HR minion isn’t cool.

Minion -A loyal servant of another, usually more powerful being. While there is only one HR Minion, there are “little” HR minions everywhere. In fact, I'm one of them. I do my master's bidding and shuffle around like I have a grand purpose. My real (secret) purpose? Overcoming my status as a minion.

In recent weeks, I've been having trouble accepting my seemingly inevitable fate. I am working like mad just to stay in one place. My efforts are barely keeping me afloat in forms, letters, and files. My little internal voice tells me that I don't want to do this forever. I want to be good at HR. I want to make a difference. Sure, everyone needs to have a file and they should be updated every seven minutes and blah, blah, blah. It's sometimes hard to be positive when you can see how the next week/month will be played out before it ever arrives. I've committed myself to moving beyond minion-hood, and here is how it's going to happen.

At Work

I'm going to take a sharp knife and... Wait, I can just do it mentally. I'm going to carve my time into pieces specifically dedicated to certain tasks. Google has the resources to offer employees 20% of their time as a way to participate in self-directed projects. I don't expect to get that much time, but I'd settle for just 10% of time to dedicate to learning, networking, and working on projects I have a personal interest in. You're probably thinking to yourself, "How can I get 10% of my time back?" Most of us spend that much time surfing, tweeting, chatting with coworkers, etc. during the week. If not, then you're considerably under the average, and you'll have to make it happen using the next suggestion.

Beyond Work

The day job is maxed out. It's time to go beyond. Find a cause you're interested in. Everyone has some type of skills that can be useful to someone. Whether you're coordinating a networking event or writing a blog, your time away from the day job can be as valuable as (if not more than) your actual work in regards to professional growth.

Here’s a relatively simple example. Unless you're living in Botswana or Lithuania, you probably have a local SHRM chapter (or some other local leadership/professional organization). If you don't know where else to go for professional development outside the workplace, this is a great way to start. There are committees for every conceivable function in the organization, and you can happily settle yourself where you're most comfortable. It will help you to network with local professionals and build your own skills at the same time.

So, while this post may have started writing this in a frenzy, you now realize that there are ways to move past the life of a minion. You never know when that one activity (whether inside the office or out) will pay off in the long run.

HR Happy Hour #3

The HR Happy Hour is back and this time, we came for the West Coast. Aww, yeah!

A lot of fun was had and we discussed all sorts of topics: twitter & peer pressure, social recruiting, SHRM's annual thingy (as I call it), Sports, and even BBQ. Plus a lot more.

If you wish you were there, and I know you do, be sure to listen in below. I promise, you won't regret it!



Steve's still working on finding the right intro song, when he isn't trying to do one of a million other things! He needs a vacation.

Even better, we talked about getting me some nice corporate sponsorship (Sweet!) and my puppy Darby is all set to become the amazing Darby the HR dog! Check out his picture below, in all his cuteness.



Next time, we're hoping to get some SHRM thingy attendees to participate in our next HR Happy Hour and I even called some of them out to participate. You know who you are!