If I Were Running A Company…HR Question of the Week

Lie to Greatness or Being Fine with Stability?

If I Were Running A Company…Big Data (Again)

I have been going back and forth on big data. There has been tons of blog posts about big data, including from my marketing and HR friends and one thing is clear: big data is here to stay.

With the “big bang” of big data; companies, government, institutions and others will use data to look at patterns of our behavior like what route we took and how fast we’re going, credit card payments, how much people drink at your restaurant, basically recording everyday life. This gives organizations data on how to market individuals and groups to retain their business.

Another great thing about big data is it can discover new things. As you see the video above, big data can discover your DNA sequencing and help third world countries discover areas to get water and clothing no one realize it exists.

On the down side, people who are on big data, are focusing too much on patterns. Big data assumes people will keep doing the same thing and “gaming” our emotions. Another down side is big data is focusing on others, but not themselves. Instead of focusing on their craft, some use to optimize their audience/customer reaction.

My verdict on big data is it depends on how we use data. If you use data for long-term effects, big data becomes very useful and the data becomes satisfying. If you use data for short-term gain like making a profit or capture an emotion, you lose track of who you are.

We made clear big data is here to stay. Here’s another thing that is clear but no one realizes: not one pattern stays forever. Eventually, someone or something will break the pattern. It is up to us of what we’re going to do.

If I Were Running A Company…HR Question of the Week

Automated or Hands-On?

If I Were Running A Company…eHarmony Job Matching

This past year, eHarmony announce they will open up a new job matching service in June to help find job seekers the right people in their field. The following is an exclusive sample questionnaire on what to expect in the new eHarmony job matching service:

1. If you decided to go to work in the morning, what will be your first stop?
A. Breakfast
B. Bathroom
C. Coffee shop
D. Office

2. When at work, how much personal space do you need?
A. I don’t have a great need of “personal space.” I like lots of together time.
B. I find my time spent working is enough personal time, the rest I like to spend with my co-worker.
C. As long as I can get one night a week to myself, my personal space needs are met.
D. When I’m with my co-worker I’m completely there, but I do need considerable time for personal reflection.
E. Screw the co-workers, I want to telecommute.

3. If you had to characterize the end of most of your working relationships, they would be described as:
A. Pleasant as breaking up can be, with both sides feeling it was the best decision
B. Sad, with one co-worker being hurt and feeling betrayed
C. Very dramatic, with lots of hurtful accusations
D. Angry, with lots of feelings of disappointment

4. What you like to do after work?
A. Happy hour
B. Go home
C. Go volunteer to a local charity
D. Get dinner at a restaurant
E. Go to an event

5. How do you like your workplace?
A. Laissez-Faire
B. Exotic
C. Utopia
D. Uptight
E. Dictatorship

6. Where is your dream workplace?
A. In the city
B. At a farm
C. At a beach
D. In the forest
E. At the mountains
F. At sea
G. Suburbia

7. If you have one dish to serve to your co-workers, what would it be?
A. Pizza
B. Deli Sandwiches
C. Burgers
D. Donuts
E. Fruits and Vegetables
F. Bacon
G. Ice Cream

8. Which of the following things would you rather have lots of?
A. Respect
B. Money
C. Fame
D. Power
E. Laughter

9. If you have a bad day, what would your co-worker prefer to do?
A. Take you to lunch
B. Forward a funny video from YouTube
C. Talk with you about the day
D. Go dancing
E. Have a beer
F. Leave you alone

10. How do you like it?
A. On top
B. Second floor
C. Window view
D. No cubicles, only bean bag chairs
E. Open doors

11. If you have one musician to air at your workplace, what would it be?
A. Nickelback
B. Extreme
C. Jonas Brothers
D. Limp Bizkit
E. Chris Brown

12. What’s your preferred mode of transportation?
A. Car
B. Bike
C. Subway/Train
D. Airplane
E. Walking

13. Describe your perfect workplace?

14. Describe your ideal co-worker?

15. Describe your working style?

16. If you follow anyone’s career, who would it be and why?

17. Are you lucky and why?

18. If you have three wishes, what would it be and why?

19. For one day if you have no rules, no penalties, no consequences, and no costs, how would you use the day?

20. What do you find attractive?

21. In negotiations, what would you accept and what you wouldn’t compromise?

22. What do you really want to do?

If I Were Running A Company…HR Question of the Week

Heroes or Legends?

If I Were Running A Company…The Dream Work Schedule

One of the new blogs I have been reading is Ken Levine. Ken is an Emmy-winning writer/director/baseball announcer. He give great insights on the business of television. In one of his recent posts, he was  asked what TV shows influence him. At the end of the post, he gave us his dream 3-hour TV schedule.

This makes me wonder what would my dream work schedule be? Well…here it is:

7:00 AM – 7:30 AM: Wake up, clean up, check answer email, run errands.

7:30 AM – 8:00 AM: Go to a breakfast buffet, eat a big breakfast, and read articles on my iPad.

8:00 AM – 9:00 AM: Take a walk from Ballston in Arlington, VA to anyplace in D.C. while  listen to hard rock music.

9:00 AM – 9:45 AM: Have meetings with staff, clients, and candidates. Game plan for the day and maybe a pep talk or do something out of the ordinary.

9:45 AM – Noon: I do my work and no one interrupts me because the Tony Kornheiser Show is on. I will only have meetings at this time slot if the guests are Mark Maske, Sam Smith, Torie Clark; or he has a day-off. I will send an email notice to my colleagues.

Noon – 1:00 PM: If I had breakfast, I take a walk around D.C. If I didn’t, I go to lunch whomever serves Primanti Brothers-like sandwiches, jumbo slice pizzas, or a big, exotic burger. Maybe an occasional salad or a food truck.

1:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Network on social media, send emails, chat with colleagues, make calls, source, do interviews, talk to candidates.

4:00 PM – 4:30 PM: Last call at work. What they need before I leave.

4:30 PM – 5:45 PM: Happy Hour. Greatest bargains in D.C. I don’t drink, but if bars have great happy hour food, I would check-in on Foursquare and ask people to come by and network. I give them my business card and whip out my iPad since it is a great conversation starter.

5:45 PM – 6:45 PM: Go to a D.C. sporting event by foot and network some more with fans, hand them my business cards and get my dinner. I will check-in and tell them either “Silver Elvis” (baseball), “Jersey Foul Guy” (hockey), or Darrell Green (football) has arrived (I got nothing on basketball). I also check my phone messages and follow-up.

6:45 PM – 10:00 PM: Take my seat, watch the action, and network around my people and give them my business card and cheering on my team. Also, a D.C team win.

10:00 PM – 11:00 PM: Network on the Metro and discuss the game. Also, check on my tablet or phone for the score that affect my teams.

11:00 PM – Midnight: Take a shower; get ready for bed; write a blog post, either personal or work-related; check messages and answer them and pray.

Midnight – 7:00 AM: Sleep.

If you notice, this is not setup as a 9-5 job. Thank goodness for technology. Anyway, what is your dream work schedule?

If I Were Running A Company…Keeping Up With the Joneses

Last week, I went to the HRA-NCA Conference to 1) find a job, and 2) see my friends there. The conference moved to Catholic University instead of the usual Capital Hilton, so I had a few more stops to go in the Metro and missed out on some networking time. I can say this year’s conference was much bigger than last year: the attendance, the food, the bags, the prizes. Also, people were intrigue by the theme of the conference: The Future of HR/Workplace.

I’ll be honest: most of the sessions I went to were nothing new that I already knew about and I have covered those subjects before. There was one session that was giving away webcams and I say to myself, “People have built-in webcams these days unless the company is still using ‘ancient computers.’” The only session I learned something new was the Lilly Ledbetter Act and that HR hates documentation (not a shock, but at least someone was frank about it).

The real disappointment came from the two pictures below:

That’s right: all the live-tweets and notes almost all come from me. I know there were people taking notes on paper and some on their tablets and that’s fine, but if you want other HR professionals know about your chapter; share notes, pictures, and others about the conference. Either they’re shy to share information because they work for a government agency/contractor or they have their own interests.

You can say you are keeping up with the times, but you have to show it. If there’s a webcam giveaway and a mention of Klout, there might be a problem.

If I Were Running A Company…HR Question of the Week

Being the Richest or being the Greatest?

If I Were Running A Company…HR Question of the Week

Legacy or Influence?

If I Were Running A Company…Abolishing the Job Description

There has been a lot of talk recently about job descriptions and almost all of them are not favorable. You can read the sample of the hatred job descriptions here and here.

I agree with most of the blog posts that job descriptions are long, restricted, and don’t describe the realities of the job. Sometimes it’s a pain to read these job descriptions and to be fair, I’m guilty of it myself.

What I don’t agree with is the “job description 2.0″ is the next best thing. Yes, everything is going mobile, video, and big data, but does that really tell about the job? If the company is purely telecommuting, then yes. However, most of the jobs out there have you commuting to a physical building. Video and mobile only works if the person does not have the time going to the place. Although video and mobile job descriptions are the next step, it can be still manipulated because the organization still controls the content on what you are seeing.

So what to do with job descriptions? Let’s admit what job descriptions are: minimal requirements for the job. They are not supposed to give a realistic view of the job because people interpret job descriptions differently. It’s a low barrier entry so it can attract “qualified” candidates. That is why it is important you go above and beyond on your resume/Linkedin profile and cover letter to get the recruiter/hiring manager’s attention and I don’t mean pictures or fancy fonts.

So what is the best method to build a job description? Two words: Open House!

Open house covers so many things about recruiting: meeting face-to-face with potential employees, going to their offices and see the inter-workings of the company and your department, you have a list of people who attend the event and can source them, and prospects can ask questions about the job and the company on the spot.

Before graduating college, I attended an open house for NPR for an HR internship in the summer. I did meet with recruiters at my college job fair, but going to their building and see their operations that made me think, “Yeah, I want to work here.” A few months later, I got the internship.

The downside of an open house is it takes time and effort to execute it. My recommendation is doing it 3-4 times a year. If you have a single office shared by other companies in the building, collaborate with them to have a building open house so people can visit other companies in that building.

Should job descriptions need to be abolished? No. Think of job descriptions as a form of media. Movies and televisions are supposed to entertain at your own home or local movie theatres. That is what most job descriptions are: attract you to apply. If you want a realistic job description, go take the stage and see the craftsmanship of the work first hand. That is the best job description.