Showing posts with label Trish McFarlane. Show all posts

One Month Until #HRevolution

by Matthew Stollak on Wednesday, October 8, 2014






On November 8, one month from today, leading HR professionals will be heading to Grapevine, TX and Symbolist HQ to have a little BBQ and discuss the latest HR issues at the 7th iteration of HRevolution.  The full agenda can be found here, but I wanted to give you a taste of what to expect from a couple of sessions.

 Bold HR with Broc Edwards


We all know what bad HR looks like. Bad HR hides behind policy, embraces mediocrity, creates bureaucratic fiefdoms, and becomes a barrier for managers and employees alike. But HR has a bigger vision for itself – we want to be recognized as a player in the business, not just an administrative check box. So we strive to be a strategic business partner with a seat at the table (whatever that all means), but we get bogged down in clichés, “best” practices, and infighting that holds the field back rather than moving it forward.

What if we tossed all that aside and just decided to be Bold?  Easier said than done. Boldness exists as a virtue in myth and legend, but in the everyday it’s easier and safer to say “no” than “yes”. It’s more prudent to replicate the past than create the future. We choose safe over meaningful, stable over fulfilling, secure over interesting, known over opportunity, and comfort over making a difference. And it’s keeping us trapped in mediocre sameness. Enough.

In this highly interactive session we’ll take a look at what Bold HR is and what it isn’t. We’ll explore what it would mean for our employees and managers, for our companies, and for us if we drew a line and started practicing Bold HR. And we’ll come away with practical ideas and plans to put into action when we get back to the office on Monday.

HR Half-Baked Ideas with Matt Stollak & Sir William Tincup

The problem - everyone loves having an office refrigerator to store their drinks and food, and a microwave to cook their meal.  It's both a cost and a time saver for those constantly on the go.  However, after a few weeks, no one wants to open up that brown bag containing a mystery meat with a fresh coating of mold, or clean the crusted tomato sauce off of the roof of the microwave from an unprotected Lean Cuisine.

The Half-Baked Idea: "Mom's Got This," a company that will come in once a month to clean the refrigerator and microwave. 

That's a HR Half-Baked Idea....an idea that is not quite complete.   Will "Mom's Got This" work?  Is it a viable business?  Come to the session to find out this, and 20+ other half-baked ideas, as well as bring your own.

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If these kind of sessions appeal to you, the planning team of Steve Boese, Ben Eubanks, Trish McFarlane, and Matt Stollak would love to have you attend.

Good tickets are still available here.

Thank you to all our sponsors for helping us make the dream a reality. With the help of Mercer, Symbolist, Small Improvements and personal contribution from Lois and Ross Melbourne, this will be a great event.

Hope to see you in a month.


What Should Be In A Book About #HR Technology?

by Matthew Stollak on Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Yesterday, my good friend Trish McFarlane was lamenting the poor state of HR Technology understanding amongst practitioners




I noted a few reasons:


Trish concurred and made a compelling point:


A 2013 SHRM Survey of 372 HR faculty (out of 1,723 invited to participate) backed this up, with 61% of faculty citing Human Resource Information Systems was a perceived deficiency in HR training offered to undergraduate HR students (Risk Management, and Mergers and Acquisitions were the 2nd and 3rd cited deficiencies).

 However, a quick search of "HR Technology" on Amazon or the SHRM Bookstore provides, at best, a cursory or superficial look at the subject.

 Given this background, what, ideally, would you see as a critical item or subject in a book on HR Technology?  Do you feel there is a quality book out there that I am missing?  Chime in.

Eight Things NOT To Do at #SHRM13

by Matthew Stollak on Tuesday, June 4, 2013


Advice has already starting flowing in about what to do while in Chicago for the big event.  In case you missed it: China Gorman provides some excellent advice about maximizing your SHRM Conference experience.  Jessica Miller-Merrill provides you with the top 10 things to do while you are in Chicago and not going to the conference.  Trish McFarlane has brought back her 10 Conference Commandments.

 This will not one of those posts.

 I will be attending my 13th SHRM Annual Conference, and below I, instead, will provide you, based on my years of experience, the things you do NOT want to do while attending.

 1.  Do NOT suffer from SWAG remorse.

 The exhibit hall is going to open at 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 16 and you going to be tempted by every vendor with some sort of gee-gaw or doo-dad that you absolutely have to bring back to the office.  You may have already received an inch tall pile of vendor mail and you've mapped out your strategy for maximizing your haul.  You may have even packed light so that you have plenty of room in your suitcase for the haul.  It is free, right?  You HAVE To grab it.  Trust me, as a former victim, you will suffer from SWAG remorse.  It may take a week....it may take a month, but you are going to look at that tote bag full of "goodies" you brought back and you are going to ask yourself why you grabbed that 7th t-shirt or 14th squeeze ball.  Regret always tastes sour.

 2.  Do NOT bring a rollerbag to the conference

 I have posted this several times since 2010, and people are still not listening.  Rollerbags are the scourge of the exhibit hall.  They get underfoot, and people are often unaware of the people behind them when toting it along.  Don't be that person.

 3. Do NOT get in the way

 You make think the exhibit hall is huge, but the rows are narrower than you think.  If you see someone you know, step out of the way, so that others can traverse the area more freely.  If people have to walk around you, you're doing it wrong.

4.  Do NOT use the phrase "Seat at the Table" or you'll be fined $100

The phrase "seat at the table" is officially barred from mention at the conference.  If you say it, you owe $100 to the SHRM Foundation.  If you overhear it in Chicago, tell that person they owe $100 to the SHRM Foundation. If a speaker uses it in a session, please tweet out the following phrase:

"(Insert speaker name here) owes $100 to the @shrmfoundation for saying "Seat at the table." #SHRM13 #SHRMShame"

5.  Do NOT attempt to scalp your Kelly Clarkson wristband

Unless you're registered as a "ticket broker" with the Illinois Secretary of State, selling/bartering for tickets anywhere at an event venue aside from the box office is illegal.  It is a Class A misdemeanor and you may be subject to a $5000 fine from the state of Illinois. 

Note: I am not a lawyer, nor will I be staying in a Holiday Inn Express while at SHRM Annual.

 6.  Do NOT, under any circumstances, sing "Happy Birthday" to Jennifer McClure at 8:15 a.m. on Monday, June 17.

While it is Jennifer McClure's 32nd birthday on June 17, she would TOTALLY be embarrassed and would just hate it if a capacity crowd began singing "Happy Birthday" to her as she closed out her Mega-Session.  Instead, she would appreciate it if you simply attended...oh, and some Diet Coke, cupcakes, and M&M's.

 7.  Do NOT text or tweet and walk

 There will be 13,000+ individuals in attendance at the McCormick Place.  When that General Session with Dan Pink or Blake Mycoskie lets out, you and all your new friends will simultaneously be trying to get out of the hall and head to the next session, the bathroom, or to grab some coffee.  Please do not start walking and stare down at your phone.  I am excited that you have the Twitter, Facebook, or Hootsuite app, and you are using the #SHRM13 hashtag.   But, inevitably, you will run into the back of someone.  This will not be one of those "meet cute" scenarios you see in the movies. Instead, you will likely be called out because that person you just ran into will see your name on your badge.

 8.  Do NOT wear your SHRM Conference badge at night.
  
As SHRM notes, wearing your badge outside of McCormick Place will peg you as a visitor from out of town and a target for crime.  Even worse, many of you will likely heading to one of the bevy of parties, or, from what I hear, Chicago has a few bars.  Drinking will likely lead to bad behavior on the part of some of you.  Wearing your badge will likely make your name live in infamy as people mention your sordid exploits at future conferences.  Try to drink in relative anonymity and leave your badge in your hotel room.

 So, what else would you tell attendees NOT to do?  Leave a note below, or tweet your suggestion to #SHRM13Festivus (h/t to Laurie Ruettimann for the hashtag)

#HREvolution No. 5 Recap

by Matthew Stollak on Thursday, October 11, 2012

Last Sunday, the fifth iteration of HRevolution took place in the West Wing of the McCormick Place with over 100 attendees and guests in place.  Already, reviews have come in fast and furious - check out:

After attending all five events, speaking and presenting at the last three, and co-planning the last two, here are my impressions from Chicago.

 The Good
  • High-Quality Content - We'll have to wait for the conference evaluation survey to go out, but I heard few complaints about the sessions were offered.  At each breakout time, attendees were offered at least two quality breakout sessions.
  • Cost - Given the quality provided, the registration fee still feels like a bargain compared to many SHRM day long conferences
  • Many New Attendees - Nearly 50% of attendees had not been to a previous HRevolution event.  It's always great to see fresh faces and new perspectives.
  • Sponsors - Aquire, Ceridian, Pinstripe, and SilkRoad were helpful in keeping attendee costs down.
  • McCormick Place - While it is an expansive locale, we only needed a small number of rooms in a confined space, and McCormick Place fit the bill (other than having no Diet Coke and being far away from coffee)
  • The planning team - As always, Steve Boese, Trish McFarlane, and Ben Eubanks were dedicated to making sure the event was a success and were wonderful to work with.
The Not-So-Good
  • Chicago - As much as I like the city, putting the event on the same day of the Chicago Marathon made travel to McCormick Place difficult, as well as hotel cost prohibitive.
  • Missing Friends - While I loved seeing many new attendees, I missed seeing some usual attendees as well as there input.
  • Combative Conversation - Perhaps it was the quality of sessions, but for the ones I attended, there was a lot more one-way presentations with questions than discussion about the HR issues of today and tomorrow.
The Future
We are no sure what the future of HRevolution will be, but here are a few items I wouldn't mind seeing if a sixth event comes to fruition:
  • New speakers and content - While our sessions and speakers were great, there were many familiar faces who have spoken at HRevolution before.  Then again, the 1997 NBC campaign for reruns comes to mind - "If you haven't seen it, it's new to you."  With so many new faces, it was great for those attendees to see some of the best in the business.
  • Sponsored Bloody Mary Bar - I don't know why we haven't seen it before, but given the inevitable Tweetup the night before, providing Bloody Mary's the next morning seems apropos...and I believe at least one potential sponsor has already been identified.
With this in mind...Whether you attended or not, what would bring you back for a sixth HRevolution? What would you like to see differently?