Archive for January, 2010

One of the thing I love about blogging is having the opportunity to interview people I admire and respect. Recently, I had the chance to interview Steve Boese. He shared his thoughts about the emerging trends this year.  Next week on “Compassionate HR” we will interview @Sharlyn_Lauby and @Blogging4Jobs. Jessica Miller-Merrell They will discuss their commitment to community service, and the humanitarian projects the serve http://blogtalkradio.com/hrmargo1 .  Our program features the great and laudable things colleagues in my industry do to make our world a better place. There are those who say “good news is boring, it doesn’t sell.”  The beauty of our blogtalkradioshow, Compassionate HR is that we care only about the good deeds others are doing. We don’t care if it sells or not.  With the tragedies taking place in our world, we need a reprieve.  Therefore, Shennee Rutt and I are committed to telling the stories of those who are doing wonderful, caring things in their communities, both locally and world wide.  This is what matters. This is what makes my heart tick. This is what I choose to do. Too often, people’s volunteer work goes unnoticed.  HR is a compassionate profession.  There are some corporations who have sucked the heart and soul out of our industry. There are those who become cynical.  I will not be telling their stories.  The focus of “Compassionate HR,” is to shout the good news from the roof tops.  Nothing touches me more than the good deeds of others.  Margaret Mead once said, “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

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Today I saw the movie “AVATAR.” Seeing the 3D IMAX film was indescribably vivid! Images leap off the screen, jump on your lap, and stare into your eyes.  If I were in my office, and my colleagues were IMAX images, I’d say they are invading my personal space.  I could develop an entire instructional design for diversity, and sensitivity training on this topic alone. As I watched the film, I had flash backs of almost every colleague, client, and manager I’ve ever had. It made me laugh, it made me think, and it made me remember all the symbolism, and allegory of the struggles employees have when they want to rage at the big machine and “stick it to the man.” I imagined the people of Pandora as union members, and the corporate scientists and marines as management.  I wanted to create a dispute management system, with an anonymous tip line-and-processes through which communication processes could mitigate eminent disaster. It makes for an interesting twist for an employee relations plot.

The back story:

The blockbuster movie – which has already taken more than $1billion at the box office – tells the story of a disabled marine sent on a mission to a planet called Pandora, home to a race of giant blue aliens.  They are a peaceful people who embrace nature, and are stewards of their environment and community.

The Hero is an archetypal character who goes under cover to do reconnaissance.  He learns that the people of Pandora a wonderful beings. Once he sees the corporation’s selfish true colors, he feels compelled to fight back.  By now, I’m sure you are wondering:

What does the movie AVATAR have in common with human resources dilemmas?

1.  An epic conflict takes place between disparate groups.

2.  The conflicts are based on misunderstandings between cultures.

3.   ADA issues arise, and the differently-abled rise above adversity.

4.  A serious conflict brews between labor, management and interdepartmental strife abounds.

And, what say you of potential resolution? If an HR Executive worth her salt were in charge, she would ensure that preventative measures were in place where a few power hungry people weren’t allowed to dominate the environment and cause group think.  Training wouldn’t necessarily be the answer, rather a systems revamp would be in order. The corporate culture would have to shift to allow for different viewpoints, life styles, and roles are valued.  In fighting can often be prevented in communication and resolution systems are in place.  I’m not talking about binding arbitration where everyone loses, rather a system that would include collaborative bargaining where everyone can be heard, and problems can be settled before escalating to litigation.

Would a dispute resolution system prevented the war in the movie AVATAR? Probably not, the greed was beyond compare.  An interesting rhetorical question must be asked, is there really such a big difference symbolically between the conflict that took place in the film that different than the conflicts in modern corporations? You decide.  Please comment and discuss.

Your twitter pal,

@HRMargo Margo Rose Compassionate HR

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Monday, January 11th, I took my maiden voyage into the world of blogtalkradio show Compassionate HR My co-host Shenee Rutt ,and I wanted to start a show that featured HR Pros who were going beyond the call of duty to be stewards in their community.  The idea for this show was inspired from a conversation that I had with Karla Porter and Paul Paris. It’s something I really wanted to do, and I encouraged Shennee to be my co-host.  Our first show welcomed our guests from Oracle:

Meg Bear – VP of Application Development (HCM – Talent Management) – Based in California.

Vivian Wong - Director of of Application Development (HCM – Talent Management)- Based in California.

Amy Wilson – Senior Director of Strategy (HCM – Talent Management) – Based in California.

Angela Doyle – Director of QA (HCM – Talent Management) -  Based in Australia

I heard about the great work they were doing from their blog TalentedApps to help those in need at The Shelter Network.  This led to a conversation where I learned about many projects that Oracle supported their employees and teams to lead. I was so moved when I learned about the work that Angel Doyle, Vivian Wong and her team were doing to help Orphans in India.

Angela Doyle spoke eloquently about her desire to reduce her carbon footprint with her business travel incorporating environmental volunteering into her work trips overseas, and on her own time over the weekends. She has helped organize an event planting trees in Australia for Oracle employees, she has also organized a team event in India to help at a school for underprivileged children.  The school, run by an all volunteer staff, gave kids hope, education and life skills.   This inspired the folks at Oracle to dig deep and help this wonderful educational facility.  The team members gave generously of their time, and personal donations for such a great cause. 

Vivian Wong is the the Application Development Director for Talent Management products at Oracle. Born in China, grew up in Australia and spent the last 11 years living in California.  She’s passionate about helping others in need.  Like me, she is also an animal lover. 

Vivian said “Having managed a global team over the years, I also recognize the importance of team building, and the impact a group of individuals- with a common goal- can bring to the local community. Thus our team bonding activities usually involve the team deciding what they want to work on, finding a time that works for both the receiving organization + our project schedule. We usually celebrate our accomplishments and each other after.”  

Here’s a list of a few other projects the Oracle team has undertaken:

• The Shelter Network that helps homeless families and individuals.
• Alameda Food Bank – 30 people in the Talent Management area (across functions: Development, QA, Strategy etc) delivered a couple of tons of food in one afternoon. It also brought hunger awareness to everyone at the end of the project as they gave them the facts of how many people in the local community need to be fed.
• They volunteered at two different Orphanages in Hyderabad, India for 200 children.  During Vivian’s last visit to her team. She had an idea (on the flight to India) of helping the less fortunate.  Within a week her team pulled off this project to help the orphans.  They created a library of 100+ books for the kids, organized a talent show (where everyone was a winner and received a gift), and each teacher has received a gift as a token of appreciation for their dedication to the children.  According to Vivian “This was the most rewarding experience-seeing the smiles on those children.”

What’s more is that Oracle gave them the time and resources to take on these projects.  My guests reported that this was so much more valuable than the typical annual company picnic.  These volunteer projects built a stronger team.  It is projects like these that build employee retention because it increases worker gratification.  What drew me to want to interview this team of talented people was a quote on Vivian’s most recent blog post http://talentedapps.wordpress.com

“We at Oracle feel fortunate to have a strong support system at work that encourages managers and employees to give back to their communities. We have the tools and resources that are available to every employee:  we can either find available projects on our Global Volunteer intranet site or we can register local causes we care about and recruit volunteers internally. The company even gives us a little budget for snacks and refreshments, as well as team t-shirts. But that’s just icing on the cake.”

I only wish more companies shared these wonderful values.  Shennee Rutt and I are on the look out for people and their companies who are doing great things to make their communities a better place to live.  Please comment and let me know if you have other suggestions for people we should interview.    Our show will be bi-weekly on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Your twitter pal,

@HRMargo

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Today, I had the distinct honor of winning an #Ammy for being a “twitter bug.” According to @Animal this is awarded based on my level of enthusiasm.  According to @animal while I only have 1,533 followers I’ve used twitter to establish a presence, with intensity, and spunk.  Yes, I’m spunky, energetic, tenacious, and intense. On the same token I’m a savvy networker, with keen insights for how to connect the dots to help other’s get noticed.  One of my goals this year was to develop my own personal brand, so that I may leverage my social media talent to help up and coming organizations.

The Ammy might just help me do that.  I worked all day on a social media marketing project for a colleague.  I spent most of the day learning all I could about his business so that I may help his company establish an online presence.   I come home, open twitter, to see all my close twitter pals congratulating me for this twitter bug award.  I tuned into @Animal’s show, and laughed uproariously about all awards given out-many of whom were to people I just love, admire and respect.

@Animal helped me to establish a strong online presence.  I learned at the feet of the leader.   @Animal, @Cincyrecruiter, and @Jlipschultz helped me to develop my brand.  Then I just ran with it.  What I try to do is to weave the personal with the business.  I admire people who express their personality, as well as their core competencies and strengths.  Being who you are-and sharing that with others is what makes you interesting.

I’d rather have 1,500 loyal followers with whom I interact than 6,500 bots, and strangers.  My goal this year is to have personal teleconferences with colleagues that I’ve grown to respect.  I want to get to know my linkedin contacts and learn more about how I might be of service to them.

I believe in giving back. Social Media is a way to do just that.  Shennee_Rutt are launching our blogtalkradio show “Compassionate HR,” which will feature servant leaders, and true stewards in the community.  It’s all about people who are going above and beyond the call of duty to make a difference. This is my passion, it is also my dream.  I want to honor the heroes in HR who are also charitable leaders.

Giving back, developing a social media presence for myself and others, being of service, these are all values I hold dear.  I only hope that I may live up to my #Ammy Award of Twitter Bug of the year.

Your twitter pal,

@HRMargo

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Friends: they are more precious than rubies, shimmer more than pearls of light on the ocean, and glitter as bright as the essence of heaven.  Tonight, I spent the evening with a friend I worked with several decades ago, and it was as if we’d never been apart.  It was so heart warming to learn how his career has changed and transformed.  It met his lovely wife, and shared time with other people I with whom I used to work.

After dinner, I spent the rest of the evening with my best friend.  She’s like my sister, and I’ve known her for 20 years.  On the way home I realized how incredibly priceless our friends are.  There is no value greater than the love I have for my friends. I am fiercely loyal.  I am a good friend, as I believe in nurturing and caring for my friends as I would my own family. I am so blessed to have a core group of really close friends.

Our friends get us through life-we nurture one another’s spiritual growth. We guide one another on our mutual journeys.  The love I have for my friends is poetic, and deep.  My friends are my family by association.  I am also grateful that here in Cincinnati, I have a community that I care about, one in which I am a steward.  I feel deeply rooted in my sense of place and belonging.

As I consider my career transition, I am willing to relocate.  In fact, I hope to move to a warmer climate.  Honestly, I just don’t know how many more Ohio winters I can take.  It’s biting cold tonight, the kind of cold that freezes one to the very core.  I love warmth, cozy places where I can nestle, and nest.

Where ever I land professionally, I will do my best to rebuild the same degree of community that I have here in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Community is in the heart.  We build it and take it with us where ever we go.  No one is a stranger to me for long.  I make friends easily because I am an extrovert.  Yet, the life-long friends I have made in my sweet home town, will never be replaced as their value is beyond measure or compare.  I felt compelled to write a post about friendship because, I have made so many friends on twitter, facebook and linkedin.   I also feel a sense of place and community with my professional friends and colleagues.  That’s the beauty of social media.  I hope that in 2010, I put the “social” into social media, and build as many genuine, meaningful, and mutually beneficial as possible.  May your year be blessed with friendship, and may you carry the love and spirit of friendship in your heart.  Take it with you wherever you go.

Your twitter pal,

@HRMargo

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