Comments on: Putting the Pieces Together: HRevolution

By: Trish

Trish — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:25:37 +0000

To all who commented about ‘Putting the Pieces Together- HRevolution’, I say thank you. Thank you for reading and thank you for sharing your views. While there are many different opinions of what HRevolution was, could have been, or even should have been, it all comes down to what each individual’s purpose was for coming. This was not envisioned as a traditional conference. Quite the opposite. Many companies are not paying for HR employees to attend conferences during this downturn in the economy.
HRevolution was a way to bring HR people together to discuss current trends in HR, talk about tying HR to the “business”, learn about blogging, and most importantly, to build relationships with other HR professionals so we can draw from a larger network of people. The entire un-conference was created by the participants- everything that happened did so because it was suggested by them from the location to the topics. The thing I learned is that the un-conference model does not work for everyone, and that is ok. It works for me. It was a great experience and I hope to attend more un-conferences in the future.
As for the Twitter stream, I think my fellow attendees said it best. We were all so involved in the discussions there was no time to tweet. Maybe the takeaway for the next one is to have a “designated tweeter”, so chalk that up to a lesson learned. Overall, a very positive experience.

By: Deb Exo

Deb Exo — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:20:26 +0000

The number one revolution for HR is your first bullet! Enough HR degrees…we (HR) need business degrees AND HR degrees. We should be working in other areas of the business as well as HR. We need to learn how to speak the business language with our specific expertise (in this case around the talent of the business)…that is what a CFO does! Instead we often go deep into the HR speak of “can/can’t”, rules, company picnic, HR processes and no surprise we quickly seen as the HR administrators.

I propose that we spend time (via a blog?) asking and answering the hard question (and we may have imperfect answers but lets get the conversation going) of how we (HR) are driving profit at our businesses…

By: Jon Ingham

Jon Ingham — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:39:21 +0000

Trish, everyone,

I was talking to Scott McArthur last night, and we both thought it would be great to do something like this in the UK.

Perhaps the next stage is to do something virtually to include other HR bloggers from all around the world?

All the best, Jon.

By: Frank Zupan

Frank Zupan — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:56:54 +0000

Trish-OUTSTANDING follow-up post that made me even more thankful that I took the opportunity to attend HRevolution. Again, “thanks” to you and the team for pouring your energies into this.

One topic of the ensuing dialogue that I’d like to share my thoughts on is the 90/10/10 discussion. First, I agree with your estimations and general descriptions. Further, I’d agree that the 10% of haters aren’t salvageable.

If I consider the 10% that “wants to help make a change” and are “climbing on top” of the table rather than waiting for a seat: I agree that this 10% are adept at understanding the business, early adopters of the tools at hand, able to “sell” the conceptual side of HR value (which is considerable), and are absolutely committed to their profession. You’ve done a great job of defining key differentiators within our profession!

Rather than write off the 80% of “content” HR professionals, I’d prefer to recruit converts from the pool. The recruiter in me says that if you want to increase your numbers, you go to a target-rich environment. The tactician in me says that no army will win a war or even a battle with 10% troop strength.

Example: I share at least five relevant pieces of content per week, derived from my use of “social media” tools, with member of the HR leadership team. Chief People Officer, VP of HR, and members of our team all receive content (seeds of thought/action), and I always let them know where I found it. Example: I follow Sue Meisinger, past President of SHRM. Couple of weeks ago she tweets a great article written by Cappelli about the difficulties in finding qualified workers. I send it to leadership team (with origin noted) and get comments back from all. Commence the dialogue. This week, a piece by John Sullivan posted on ERE went from me to CPO to CFO. Continue the dialogue.

I don’t agree with leaving 80% of the troops behind. I want to become better at learning how to take the next steps, AND at transferring that knowledge to others willing to wage the war.

By: Alicia Arenas (@AliciaSanera)

Alicia Arenas (@AliciaSanera) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:02:33 +0000

Lance, I think your comments are right on. Focusing on the things or areas we cannot influence leads only to frustration and wasted time. (That’s why I don’t take just anyone on as a client.) If we focus our efforts and energy in the areas we can influence, with the people who are committed to creating a better future, all of us will win.

Jason – I understand your point. I too felt the Twitter stream was a bit cluttered. But I had a different reaction; it didn’t bother me. I guess I didn’t expect meaty tweets on what was happening. Yes, as a person who could not attend, I am anxious to learn more about what happened there that day. However, I think I realized before the conference that the meat would come from blog posts, HR Happy Hour, and other discussions in the future. I believe the best is yet to come. I’m enjoying reading the initial reactions in posts. I’m looking forward to reading more meat as the ideas and concepts continue to percolate.

Steve – That’s a good question. It’s all about expectations isn’t it? Maybe it would be worth while to have someone designated to tweet at the sessions and streaming video will help the people who can’t attend see glimpses of what is happening. But, I still think the benefits of a conference, especially an unconference about revolution and evolution will come to light after the event is over.