Blogging4Jobs

Call it whatever you like, the grapevine, water cooler, gossip, or the rumor mill.  Conversations among co-workers happen.  As human beings, we are social creatures who crave community, engagement, and interaction.  Whether it’s talking shop about the boss, layoff rumors after a less than satisfying quarterly earnings report, or gossip about Susie in Accounting and her supposed office extra-curriculars, conversations among co-workers are a guarantee. Management has battled with gossip and the grapevine since the beginning of time.

Supervisors are quick to lay blame to wildfire rumors, half truths, and innuendos at the office as being detrimental to workplace productivity and under-mining management authority.  However, a recent study by two doctoral candidates at the University of Kentucky sheds some light on the positive power of gossip in the workplace (Harvard Business Review 9/2010).

Some Points to Ponder

• Gossip improves an employee’s social understanding of their environment. This concept is the basis of cultural anthropology and the concept of micro-cultures.  Workplace cultures and understanding these norms are no different. 

• Gossip is natural. According to a recent study by the University of Kentucky, 96% of employees admit to engaging in gossip at work.

• It’s not all negative. Seventy-two percent of gossip was evenly blended both positive.  Only 7% of gossip was largely negative.

• Negative gossip is a symptom of a larger organizational problem. Just like a fever or runny nose alerting a person to an infection, negative gossip is no different.

• Perception is Reality. Prior to the written word, the grapevine was a form of historical storytelling. Sometimes the spoken word is more reliable than the written word in the workplace.   Visit any break room or smoking section as a covert HR operation, and you’ll see exactly what I mean.

Just like social media is about engagement and influence outside of a brand’s scope of control, the workplace grapevine to a manager is no different.  Gossip just like social media is an exchange of information between two or more people typically about a third, absent party.  However, managers view this lack of control and democratic environment as a threat instead of a tool or channel in which to diagnose or influence a situation or scenario.

The Solution

Just as in social media, there is no silver bullet to managing gossip in the workplace or via the internet.  One size does not fit all.

Some Thoughts to Ponder

• Conversations require at least TWO people. Managers must be talking to their teams just as companies should be talking to their customers.  After-all employees are our biggest asset and advocate for our companies and brands.

• Don’t bribe or threaten the community. Just as in branding you must be authentic.  People are smart, cynical, and suspicious.  Have conversations, mean what you say and keep your promises.

• Don’t be afraid of the negative. Hearing feedback that is negative about our style as a manager is hard, but it we fail to listen to our audience (our consumers) we risk feeding the beast.  With the internet, nothing is secure.  Your team is not only gossiping at work but also online on social platforms and forums and not just Facebook.  Glassdoor and Forums on Indeed are common sites where employee go to let off steam squarely with in the public eye and with open access. 

• Survey the troops. You don’t have to be a big brand to survey your employees waiting around for your organization to facilitate an employee engagement survey.  Tools like exit interviews and surveys can be created for free using online tools like Survey Monkey. 

About the University of Kentucky study—With Travis J. Grosser and Virginie Lopez-Kidwell, both doctoral candidates in management, Joe Labianca examined the social interactions in a branch of a U.S. company, surveying 30 of its 40 employees about their social networks in the office, whom they gossiped with and how, and how much informal influence each colleague had.  The more staff much members gossiped, the better their understanding of their social environment and the higher their peers rated their influence.

Photo Credit Mushon.

This past March I attended my first SXSW Interactive conference in Austin, TX.  The event was an amazing experience as well as a platform for industry leaders from all over the world to discuss technology, mobile, and social media.   I was disappointed to see or meet only 2 other HR professionals who also attended the conference, and I wrote about my frustrations (We Should Be HERE, March 2010.).   In fact, I believe HR and Recruiters should attend as many non-industry related conferences outside of their scope to help spread the word, learn from others, and talk about the amazing things that the Human Resource Social Media Community is doing because most people outside of our inner circle have no idea.

It’s one thing to talk or blog about it but it’s another thing to actually do something about it.  So in July 2010 I submitted a panel to the SXSW 2011 conference for consideration.  I literally danced in my car late last week when I received an email notification that the panel had made it to the second round of consideration.  The second round consists of voting from website visitors for the various panels that they would be most interested in seeing at the 2011 festival.  The voting process accounts for 30% of total votes.  (Visit this explanation of the Panel Picker process.)

My panel, which I will be the moderator for is called The Sexy Side of HR and discusses how HR and Recruiting is using mobile, social media, and other technologies to recruit and retain top talent.  While the topic and title certainly raises the eyebrows, I am most proud of my panelists who are Joel Cheesman, Blogger & VP at Jobing.com (@cheezhead), Steven Rothberg, CEO of CollegeRecruiter.com (@stevenrothberg), and Carrie Corbin of AT&T Talent Attraction (@thealphafemme).  These panelists are using leading edge technologies and tools to drive our HR industry forward and I am excited to help facilitate the discussion.  You can learn more about the Panelists here.

I (we) need your help.

Voting for the panels does account for 30% of the selection process and is from August 9th-29th by going to the Panel Picker Page. You must click “Sign In” at the top right of the page. Next “click “create a new account” and fill out the simple form. Once you are signed up you will be able to review, rate and comment on all submissions for the 2011 event.

In addition to voting you can certainly follow the Panel’s progress.  SXSW Panel’s are notified in mid November if they are selected.  Be sure to follow @SexyHR, Our Facebook Fan Page, and visit The Sexy Side of HR website to learn more about the panel, our panelists, and to learn more about the 2011 SXSW Interactive Conference.

Just the other evening, On Episode 55 Steve Boese had a guest that reminded me of the first HR Blog I ever read.  I would also be remiss in not mentioning that Suzanne Lucas also started the Carnival of HR.  I am not exactly sure when that was probably about 4 years ago or so. It got me to thinking about how far this whole medium has come in a very short time.  The Evil HR Lady did and still uses a Google blog. Today Google blogs are viewed as somewhat less than feature rich, and when she started blogging, at that time adding pictures to a blog site then was really pushing the envelope.

Now when I compare that to what is going on today, with things like HR Happy Hour and Drive Thru HR (Both on Blog talk Radio), plus video feeds that are used daily in blogs,on you tube, Facebook as well as the other video outlets, it is really amazing how fast all of this technology has come to fruition.  Further, today there is a seemingly endless supply of HR blogs, now, adding me to that list.

This really isn’t news to those of you who follow this, but it did get me thinking about the naysayers. Those of us who are dues paying members to the Church of Social Media know and get that this.  All of this is stuff is fascinating, intriguing and really fun. Mike VanDervort speaking at HRevolution said something about blogging that I took to heart.  Mike said, “It keeps me learning.”  That is about as succinct as it can be.  But…how do we push this to those who are disinterested in Social Media, or to use an HR term disengaged.

All of these tools and things that we (the converted) play with in blogging, social media and the like all have legitimate business purpose, if you know how to use them.  Herein lies the disconnect; they (those who have not been proselytized) don’t understand this. They do not see ROI here..

Today, literally any person can shoot a video and put it up on Youtube. Young children are posting on Youtube. Should not a college educated professional be able to figure this out?  These are employee communication TOOLS, available to everyone. Even a CEO or CFO (maybe with a little help) could record a podcast/audio message and distribute it to the entire Company, that way all employees could hear the same thing from the Company’s top executive. It’s green (no paper) too!  There are many options available that are free for the taking, google blogs, youtube, linkedin groups, Facebook pages/groups.  They are all there for free via the internet AND if you are not using them you are going to be left in the weeds, or said another way. You will be scratching your unemployed a–, trying to figure out what you should have done.

So if you have any friends in HR that are dead set against this Social Media stuff; send them a link to this post, while they still are still employed and have email at work.

Our honest & controversial guest blogger on Blogging4Jobs is Dave Ryan.  Dave has been in HR since it was called Personnel. Dave is active with SHRM in many different aspects.  Dave is also a certified U.S.A. Hockey Official and a frequent speaker at local colleges who speaks about H.R. topics and social media in the workplace. Dave enjoys reading blogs, staying current on H.R. topics, officiating ice hockey, golf, computers and all gadgets electronic. You can find Dave on LinkedInDavetheHRCzar. and on twitter, @davethehrczar.

Photo Credit Godvertiser.

Last year, I put together a list of HR Bloggers by state and country.  It was a great opportunity to network and build relationships with other HR professionals and bloggers, and it’s time that I updated my list.  Since I first announced the HR Blogger Project and Directory in 2009, the HR social media community has grown by leaps and bounds.

To give you some perspective, Since Oct. 2009–

• We’ve had 2 (yes, 2) HR Evolution Conferences.

• The 2010 SHRM Conference had over 1400 tweets with the #shrm10 hashtag in under 7 days and almost 100 blog posts can be attributed to the conference.

• SHRM, the leading HR Professional Organization has seen 2 different C-Suite resignations since the HR Blogger Project was first realized.

• I’ve traveled to three different countries and began consulting full time (including TRU London & Recruitfest).

• Blogging4Jobs has posted over 100 blog posts since October 2009. (We will approach 400 in 2010.)

Anticipate some changes to the next HR Blogger Directory.  It will become a resource for both HR bloggers and those that want access to the social media HR community.  We will segment the list by industry and topic of blogging as well as other new and exciting things.  The directory is open to companies, practioners, pundits, and consultants.  There are no limitations.  Recruiters, Resume Writers, and Career Coaches are also encouraged to be part of the list.

Are you on the list?  Check out the 2009 HR Blogger Directory and let me know if you would like to be added to the list or any changes made.  Look for the new directory to be made available later this fall.

What you need to do–

**Email me directly at blogging4jobs@gmail.com and include HR Blogger Project in the email title.  Include your name, email, blog address, industry, state, twitter, and phone number (if you are comfortable) within the body of the email.  I will do my best to add you to the list.  Be patient because I will get a lot of requests, but I will respond to you that I have received your email and will announce when the HR Blogger Directory 2010 goes live.

Photo Credit Visionary Marketing.

In a city where the first question is always “what do you do” followed very quickly with “who do you work for?”  Prestige is a very big part of Washington DC and those who work here. Last Friday gave firms through the country another chance to add to their reputation with the announcement of the law firm diversity rankings and career fair.

Vault.com in partnership with the Minority Corporate Counsel Association kicked off the morning with a celebration of their 13^th annual top twenty rankings. These were based on 15,000 associate responses about the quality of life at their firms including issues of minorities, women and GLBT issues.

For the second straight year, Carlton Fields was ranked number one overall as well as 1^st in Diversity with respect to women and minorities and 5^th with respect to GLBT. Shannon Williams, firm wide director of recruiting for recruiting, ensured that “diversity is not an initiative; it is who we are… It is everything that we do from staffing matters to deciding who you will bring on.” Williams added that for the first time in the 5 years of the diversity career fair, they decided to participate as it provided “an opportunity and access to a candidate pool that would be interested in our firm”.

Access to candidates was echo across the fair by employers: many felt that this was a chance to meet new people and broaden a candidate pool.

Candidates flocked to the career fair from all over the east coast for an opportunity to speak with representatives from firms large and small. Many of the candidates were seeking a summer associate position for 2011.

Amanda B.* felt that she needed to attend since “DC is where everything was going on” and allowed her an opportunity to meet face to face with the recruiters that knew her only via e-mail. Another candidate, James H.* felt that being at the Diversity career fair allowed him to “increase his marketability”. He felt it was necessary to come to this fair since employers were evaluating “you as a serious candidate and taken seriously”.

During a quick break in the non-stop small talk, resume review and business card exchanging, current ABA president Carolyn Lamm reiterated her desire to change the legal profession to remove the discrimination that might still be there all the way up to the Supreme Court. Lamm stressed that “it is important to have a court that represents our community… and I have stressed to the President that we need an Asian member of the court”.

As a small side note, today happens to be the 20^th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and never lost during the keynote was the need to ensure that not just minorities but those with mental and physical limitation must be welcomed into the legal profession.  Today’s fair provided a chance for many talented job seekers a chance to get their name out in front of employers who are truly dedicated to ensuring that these candidates are not only seen but nurture and mentored once they get hired!

*Candidates asked not to have their last name used

Ben Madden, PHR is an experienced HR Generalist and guest blogger covering the Washington DC Diversity & Career Fair event for Blogging4Jobs.  In his spare time, Ben is an avid football hooligan and rabid Michigan fan. Connect with Ben on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Photo Credits Mannschaft & Ben Madden.

Human Resources practioners who are working in the trenches need access to information, advice, and data immediately outside of HR associations like SHRM and ASTD.  Thankfully, there are HR bloggers, communities, and websites that are providing HR pros with real time information and resources.  Here are a handful of resources, in fact Six resources that I recommend HR professionals add to their RSS readers or bookmark.

• The Human Race Horses.  An HR blog managed by Mike Vandervort.  Mike discusses Human Resource topics, Labor Relations and a mix of social media.

• TNLT.  An HR extension of the popular Electronic Recruiting Exchange or ERE, TNLT is a new network of HR related blog posts and articles.

• LinkedIn HR.  Almost 300,000 members strong.  This is a valuable resource and LinkedIn Group to build connections, ask questions, and learn about news and information concerns the HR Practioner.

• SmartBrief Workforce.  An amazing email newsletter and resource with a collection of leading HR bloggers and practioners.  Last week’s announcement of their new editor and former COO of SHRM, China Gorman is a smart move for this publication.

• HR Fishbowl.  Charlie Judy is a senior level HR practioner and one of my favorite new and upcoming HR bloggers.  He is focused on HR issues and provides an experienced point of view with a focus on strategic and feet on the street human resources.

• The HR Net.  Steve Browne, an HR Practioner from Ohio who has created an amazing HR Forum that is free and available for anyone to join called The HR Net.  He sends weekly updates to members of the forum who are able to post HR questions and comments anonymously.  Connect with Steve directly to learn more at sbrowne@larosas.com.
  

Do you have a great Trench HR Resources you care to share?  Leave a comment let the Blogging4Jobs readers know.

Photo Credit Dry Icons.

The Generational Debate has been a popular topic lately.  As Boomers begin looking to retirement, working, recruiting, retaining, and understanding the current and future workforce is and should be an important focus for managers, human resource professionals, and companies, regardless of their size or volume.

We know (or we should) that Millenials are the largest new and upcoming workforce demographic next to the aging Boomer population.  Gen X on the other hand, is much smaller mainly due to the popularity and widespread use of birth control, specifically “the pill” in the 1960′s, but what about those that fall squarely in the middle?  You know the cusp?

Cuspers are a term to define those that fall between generations.  Cuspers regardless of where they fall are most commonly between Boomer and Gen X or Gen X and Millenials, are those that exhibit traits of both the generations in which they fall in between.

• Boomer to Gen X Cusper. Those that are born between born roughly 1954-1965.  Noteable cuspers include Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and Sarah Palin.  They are commonly referred to as Generation Jones.

• Gen X to Millenial Cusper. Born between 1978-1988.  They are commonly referred to as the MTV Generation, Gen XY, or Generation Doom (because of the video game not XY’s pessimistic outlook).  Noteable celebrities that fall into this cusper category include Brittany Spears and Lindsay Lohan.

The idea and use of creating labels like generational labels and categorizing those around us has been a characteristic of human beings since the beginning of time.   Fields of study like Anthropology, Sociology, and Psychology were created based on our human desire and need to understand others as well as ourselves.   I understand and enjoy this process especially since my educational background is Anthropology and Business.  Learning about your market demographic as well as your competitors is advertising and business 101.  It’s also an important part of being a successful and effective Human Resource leader.

But at what point is there too much of a good thing?

Instead of labeling one another, I encourage a different an unorthodox approach, human interaction, engagement, and good old fashioned conversations with your employees, friends, customers, peers, or whomever.  Of course my impressions could be due to the fact that I’m a Gen XY and Cusper myself.  At 32 years old, I’m essentially an inbetween who is often mis-labeled and mis-understood.  Too old to be a Millenial but too young to be an Xer, I barely remember iconic events like the Challenger Disaster. Cuspers like myself feel extremely comfortable being uncomfortable.  Being inbetween and feeling as an outsider to your own generational label among other things is normal.

What are you thoughts on labeling and generations?  Is it a necessary evil or a way to make us feel special, different, or just plain uncomfortable?

Photo Credit DC Femella.

Networking and relationships are key to any successful business whether you are a job seeker, recruiter, business professional, or entrepreneur.  Beyond.com goes beyond a traditional job board and allows for professionals to network with other professionals in an online location that is secure and specific to the job seeker’s industry and location.  I like niche networks because they are targeted and specific for both parties and niche networks can help you cut through the clutter and establish and build real connections with industry leaders and recruiters.

And according to Beyond’s website they are the world’s largest niche network.  Their 2010 Q1 report mentions that, 70% of Beyond.com job seekers are experienced with more than 5 years in the workforce.  And because niche job networks are typically smaller they are also more affordable for employers to advertise their openings.  In Q1 of 2010, 52% of newly registered companies on the Beyond network employed 50 or less employees.

To hear more about niche networking from Beyond CEO, Rich Milgram, check out this video below live from the 2010 SHRM Global Conference vendor area.

Thanks again to Beyond.com for sponsoring me and fellow SHRM Blog Squad member, April Dowling for part of our trip to San Diego.

Photo Credit by me, JMsquared of an Italian Window Niche.

The SHRM 2010 annual conference is in the books. I think that by any measure it would be rated as highly successful. Prior to the conference I had a guest post, Practioner’s Criticism into SHRM’s Blog Squad.  My thanks to Jessica for giving me the space to share my opinion; I was honored to do so.  In the post, I questioned the wisdom of the make-up of the SHRM blog squad, chosen by the powers that be at SHRM.  My comments centered around this, there were not enough Human Resource Generalist in the group. While I still think that is the case, I must commend the SHRM blog squad – they did a GREAT JOB! All of the bloggers provided a real flavor of the event, pretty much in real-time. I haven’t read all of the posts yet but hope to do so.

In an attempt to support my position, I contacted SHRM to get some demographic data on the organization.  It took several days for them to get back to me but now I finally have the information I needed to support my case. Direct from SHRM HQ, generalist make up a large majority of members at a whopping 52%.

After looking at this data, it would almost appear that they should have had more women blogging as well as women make up 77% of membership. Us HR pros have to hit our demographic numbers all the time, right? If so inclined I guess you could dissect this data in many different ways to get it to support many different arguments.

So one more time, a big thanks to the SHRM Blog Squad, and all of the conference bloggers for a job well done!

Guest blogger on Blogging4Jobs is Dave Ryan has been in HR since it was called Personnel. Dave is active with SHRM in many different aspects.  Dave is also a certified U.S.A. Hockey Official and a frequent speaker at local colleges who speaks about H.R. topics and social media in the workplace. Dave enjoys reading blogs, staying current on H.R. topics, officiating ice hockey, golf, computers and all gadgets electronic. You can find Dave on LinkedInDavetheHRCzar. and on twitter, @davethehrczar.

My co-presenter Robert Capwell of EDI and I led two sessions at the NAHCR conference.  NAHCR is a recruiting and healthcare association, and both of us were fortunate enough to work together and discuss how social sourcing can be used for both social media good and evil.  It was a great session and I was lucky to have a two notable social media HR professionals and friends in the room during our session–China Gorman & Carrie Corbin.

Many of the attendees to our session asked for both the powerpoint presentation as well as the Facebook Fan Page Guide I mentioned during the session which I have linked to this post for those who made it to the conference or didn’t.  Either way, take a look at our presentation, enjoy the white paper, and be sure to check out the video of my half of the presentation.  And thanks again to NAHCR for allowing me the opportunity to present at an exciting conference.

And if you like the powerpoint, be sure to check out my the recorded video of my session.  Get ready, its over 30 minutes long, but it will be almost like you were at the conference tuning in.

Social Media Secrets–Tips,Ttricks and Pitfalls from Jessica Miller-Merrell on Vimeo.

Photo Credit Impact Lab.

Being a mom is hands down the hardest and most rewarding jobs I have ever done.  While I’m only 18 months into my lifelong tour of duty, I feel pretty comfortable about where I’m going.  Put another way, my priorities are on straight, but it’s been a struggle balancing “momminess” with being a wife, friend, and corporate professional.  The art of momminess led me and my family to take a leap of faith working for myself and Xceptional HR full-time as a HR and business consultant.  And according to the Harvard Business Review, I’m not alone.  Nearly 31% of women leave the corporate world off-ramping their careers and voluntarily leaving their corporate jobs an average period of 2.7 years behind.

The traditional role and understanding of women in our culture is shifting.  Women are more than just mommies but respected professionals, driven, educated, and super moms who are changing the face of the workplace and consumer industries.

Super moms and professional women who took a non-traditional career trajectory re-entered the workforce or on-ramped a number of different ways.  Forty percent returned back to the corporate folds while 23% found part time jobs and 7 % (like me) became self-employed.  Even during an economic recession (the survey was completed in 2009) women and their families made the decision to drastically alter their lifestyle choosing flexibility, family, and non-traditional career paths.

And while women are re-entering the workforce after transitioning to a non-traditional career, a larger percentage of women are serving as the family breadwinners or the sole income earner in their households.  The survey  was first conducted by HBR in 2004 and again 2009, found  a 28% increase in professional woman with nonworking husbands.  While we don’t know for sure whether this increase in “house husbands” is directly correlated to the recession and increase in unemployment and job loss, I believe that the female bread winners can also be attributed to the increase of women college graduates since the 1970′s and beyond.

In fact by 2004, Columbia University found that 58% of women were earning bachelor’s degrees compared to 42% of men in the United States.  As the increase in educated women professionals has increased so has their years of experience as they climb the corporate ladder.  And although households are predominantly 2 incomes, studies such as Columbia and HBR are indicating a continued career path shift as the role of women as parents and professionals continues to change in the eyes of the family unit, professional world, and public in general.

What this means for your workforce is that professionals with gaps in employment who are educated are making choices that are non-traditional and different from corporate executive’s point of view.  And different is not necessarily a bad thing.  This pool of non-traditional talent could be a variable gold mind for your future and current workforce needs.  Mommies, daddies, and family care takers are  focusing on family and paving their own career paths without the need or desire to climb the traditional corporate ladder.  For many of us including myself, we are shying away from what’s expected, understood, and predictable opting for the stairs or none at all, instead of the elevator to the corporate office.

As for me, I think I’ll take the stairs.

Photo Credit Jamie Hornbaker (my sister, the super-mom with her little guy, Keaton. She’s a mom of three (11, 6, & 3 mo.) & Public Relations Pro in Kansas.)

I had the pleasure of having Beyond.com serve as a sponsor for my trip to the Global SHRM conference last week.  I took a few minutes to speak with Rich Milgram, the CEO of Beyond.com about networking, the job search, and how a niche job search site like Beyond.com can help.  You might be surprised in how large and expansive their network is and how powerful a niche network can be in making your job search more targeted and stand out in a crowded market.

Beyond.com has an amazing team of folks, and I was extremely impressed with their booth at the conference, their social media presence (@beyond_com), and I certainly enjoyed their yacht and networking cruise.  Be sure to check them and and take a look at my video interview with Rich to learn more about Beyond.com and the power of niche networking.

Thanks again to Beyond.com for sponsoring part of fellow SHRM Blog Squad Member, April Dowling and I’s trip to the SHRM 2010 Conference.

As a first time attendee to the SHRM Global Conference, I wanted to get the most out of every single minute in sessions, keynotes, and evening activities. A conference is more than just sessions, tracks, talks, and the bookstore.  It’s about a state of mind and experiencing your conference experience outside the box and outside of SHRM.

• Self Reflection. The conference is action packed but between sessions and events, we must self-reflect and decompress otherwise we can quickly approach information overload.  I found sanctuary during my state at SHRM in the HRCI Hideaway.  Certified professionals can relax, eat, and engage quietly from the crowds.  One of the highlights of my conference experience was my 15 minute back, neck and foot massage in the Hideaway.

• Mingle. Mingle outside your comfort zone and outside your circle of friends at large and small conferences and events such as this.  SHRM encourages networking among like-minded professionals in a comfortable and controlled atmosphere with a program called, Meet and Eat. I attended dinner at la Fiesta with 19 other strangers over dinner and met some amazing HR professionals from all over the United States. Meet and Eat has groups from large to small at a variety of different restaurants throughout the conference.  I encourage all professionals to attend an event such as this.

• Be Friends with Vendors. To make the most of my time when visiting the vendor hall, I targeted specific vendors in which to meet with.  Just like when making my grocery list, I created a list in order of booth number to make my visits organized, smooth, and controlled.  Because I am a consultant and business owner who is always in sales and engagement mode, I wanted to make the most of my time.  I employ this strategy at the grocery store by writing my list in order of the store and depending on how busy the store is, I leave with a cart full of groceries in 30 minutes.

• Social Stream. Hands down the social stream in my opinion was the best way to engage the conference outside of the box whether you are here in San Diego or listening in from your office, smart phone, or living room.  At the time of this blog post being published, there were over 5,700 tweets that included the #shrm10 hash tag over 7 days.  The Monster Street team with @beneubanks and @cincyrecruiter, Smart Brief’s video coverage of the conference and  along with the other three members of the SHRM 10 Blog Squad, David Bowles, @akabruno, and @adowling.

I think that Eric Winegardner, the VP of Client Adoption at Monster Worldwide said it best, “This conference (SHRM) is about optimisim and with tools like social media we no longer have to say, see you next year.  We can say see you tomorrow.”

Winegardner’s sentiments have been echoed throughout this amazing event.   The openness is surprising refreshing and with the rapid adoption of social media at this conference, SHRM can truly say it’s officially moving to Next and outside of the conference, outside of the box.

Photo Credit Go Smell the Coffee.

It’s no secret that I am a believer in mobile technologies.  As a Millenial/Gen X Cusper and also one of the co-founders of Texting4Jobs (the only text message based job notification platform in the U.S.), I have a vested interest in the use of mobile technologies and also recruiting. So it was a natural fit for me to attend Steven Rothberg, the Founder of CollegeRecruiter.com’s session on mobile recruitment.

Some interesting findings about mobile recruitment and technology that you may be surprised about:

• 94% college students text at least once a day.

• 99.7% of students have cell phones.

• Job seekers spend 9 min. on a corporate phone app vs. 2 min. on a corporate career site and visit app site 20 times per week.

• 85% of college students have smart phones but only 9% are  iPhone users.

In fact, Rothberg mentions that texting is not only the preferred but expected method of communication compared to phone and email.  Because of this, companies who are recruiting candidates and colleges will need to re-evaluate their methods and priorities in which to reach and engage this new and eager workforce.

And while the average millenial only makes three phone calls a day, 81% share photos, 60% play games, and 44% view the internet from their smart phone.

Photo Credit lh3.

Change.  It’s coming.

The concept of change is an underlying theme and focus for the 2010 Global SHRM Conference where I am serving as a member of the SHRM Blog Squad.  Certainly, the simple fact that I am a member of this group of bloggers is reflective of the concept, necessity, and importance of change even for a large and respected organization such as SHRM.  And when I think about the process of change, its meaning, the internal and external struggle, all while considering the necessity of change, I am excited.  I am energized, and I am hopeful.

The Human Resource profession is at a cross-roads.  Issues like  healthcare reform, work/life issues, economic change, and social tools are driving organizations and companies like SHRM as well as your own into a new and different direction.

It is conferences such as these that I feel as though I’m a Change Lepper, embraced and understood by a small percentage of a new movement within the Human Resource professional I call HR 2.0.  As a blogger and social media Human Resources professional I represent HR 2.0 and change, a very big shift in the profession in which I’ve been a member of for over 10 years.

It’s beneficial for the traditional Human Resource population to embrace your leppers of change like me for a variety of reasons.  A change lepper lives on the edge working hard to push the envelope.  You may have a CL at your office.  They are the person that are constantly providing you with creative and innovative suggestions by many that is seen as far fetched.

The question for CL’s is also how to engage and reach the traditional HR audience to help promote our message and educate others on the importance and benefits of  HR 2.0.

Get outside your comfortable zone and try something new.  Push yourself and your organization or someone else will.  Start getting real with change and begin embracing new ideas, new people, and the new and different world in which we live in.  Set aside your excuses, your preconceived notions, and opinions and listen.  Listen to your interns, Generational Y, or even your mother and be open to a new and different perspective.

Be open to possibility, new tools, and information.

Photo Credit Boston Herald.