Social Media & Learning – Renée Robson

Everything is more likely to kill you in Australia right? The snakes, the spiders, the great whites…

When I moved to Australia (from New Zealand, a rainforest-filled paradise with amazing beaches… but a small economy) I had a rude awakening – luckily this wasn’t in the form of meeting the wildlife face to face. Despite having heavily preparing for the changes in employment law I would encounter on my transition ‘across the ditch’ I realised there was a lot I didn’t know. There are a lot of facets of HR that are location-agnostic. Sure, there are legislative differences, and cultural/business practice differences. But the core of what we do is understanding both people and organisations and help them work better together – and that doesn’t change across borders. I relied on this in my move, although I think I underestimated how much there would be that I didn’t know.

Now, 5.5 years later, I’m travelling to the USA to speak about lessons learned over my time working in HR in Australia; the good, the bad & the ugly (just kidding, there’s not too much that’s ugly). I’ve learned from some amazing HR practitioners, both in Australia and internationally, I’ve benefited from some (forced) networking and getting my head around social media and I’m excited to share the lessons learned over the past few years.

In a matter of weeks I’m catching up with my SHRM friends, speaking at both the Illinois and Ohio State Conferences. Even though it was just a couple of months ago that I had the pleasure of seeing many of these superstars at the SHRM18 National Conference, I’m even more excited about this trip, reasons being;

– smaller conferences are less overwhelming (There were 22,000 people at SHRM18 – TWENTY-TWO THOUSAND!) and I find it easier to join more conversations, learn from people and you get a better chance of speaking with keynote speakers at a smaller conference

– the speaker line ups for both conferences are incredible – seriously, check them out

– even though I’ll miss my son I’ll get a good week of uninterrupted sleep – win!

I can’t wait to share my learnings and meet more SHRMers at these conferences. If you’re heading along and would like to find out about something in particular message me – I’d love to chat. I hope to see you there!

#SoMe, Career, Human Resources, Leadership, SHRM, Social Media & Learning, Working in People & Culture

The #HRTribe – they open doors like you wouldn’t believe!

August 15, 2018August 16, 2018 @ReneeRoberz

Next month I’m on my way to the Illinois SHRM and Ohio SHRM Conferences to speak about HR in Australia & the lessons I’ve learned along the way. How this opportunity to speak outside Australia has come about is an excellent example of the collaborative nature of the international HR community (for which I am forever thankful).

A few years ago I had a brilliant conversation with a guy called Steve Browne. You might know him, he’s one of the Board Members at SHRM, he’s an all-round nice guy and he’s an active promoter of everything that’s good in HR. I’d been blogging a bit and was thinking about my professional development and what might be a good investment in my career and had decided that I’d like to apply to be a part of the SHRM Blogging team for 2016.

Well it all happened. And it changed my career and the way I think about HR exponentially.

While I’ve worked across different countries, was a member of SHRM and an avid reader of international HR & business blogs I was not at all prepared for the shift in my thinking that resulted from becoming a part of the SHRM community.

Since attending that first conference, not only have I been lucky enough to attend some phenomenal conferences and see some true thought leaders in the HR/management space (not lame, self-proclaimed ‘thought leaders’ that I think we’re ALL sick of), but I found my tribe (#HRTribe^TM) AND became a part of an incredibly community that seeks to progress our profession and help us adapt to the new world of work as people-people aka HR professionals.

Two years after that first SHRM Conference I’ve now been a part of the Official SHRM Blogging team twice and this September I’m heading to the Illinois SHRM and Ohio SHRM Conferences to speak – what a roller-coaster!

The way HR is evolving internationally is so exciting because I believe it makes us confront what is unique and special about our profession, rather than resting on our laurals as the rule-makers and police. It’s forcing us to consider what those assumptions that may have been holding us back. Gone are the days (well… hopefully) where we are a primarily an administrative function. Having the opportunity to speak to people about what works well in different countries – and what doesn’t – is an incredible gift and one I’m looking forward to sharing an Australian perspective on this September. I’ve loved practising HR in Australia over the past 5 years and think that the quirks of employment law and common practice here definitely have some (interesting) lessons for those operating in different environments!

I owe a huge debt to Steve Brown, Dave Ryan, Andrew Morton, Mary Kaylor & the whole SHRM community (especially the bloggers!) for their generosity in time, guidance & mentoring over the past few years. I sincerely believe that as we further collaborate and learn more from each other we will only serve to further cement HR as a function that is seen as indispensable and valuable to organisations as we all believe it is.

#SHRM #SHRMBlogger #Speaker #HRTribe #Gday

#SoMe, Human Resources, Social Media & Learning, Working in People & Culture

12 good egg HR & people people to follow

May 19, 2017May 19, 2017 @ReneeRoberz

New to HR or new to the wonderful world of free resources that is the net? I was introduced to the wonderful online community of HR & people professionals on the net about four years ago and can’t even tell you what a difference it’s made to my own professional practice.

From keeping up to date on the latest trends (and sometimes hearing about why they’re a load of rubbish) to having a ready-made community who are always keen to help out with a challenging scenario or provide you with a different perspective, I’ve gained so much from this generous online community.

A bit overwhelmed? Wondering where to start? Check out these amazing people! (in alphabetical order, because who on earth could possibly begin to play favourites with these legends???).

Colin Ellis @colindellis
At first glance you might not think you need to be following a project management guru. You do. Colin is phenomenal. If you can ever hear him speak in person do not miss the chance. If that’s not in your near future check out Colin at www.ColinDEllis.com (and sign up for his newsletter, its fantastic), so you can apply great leadership to projects and initiatives that you manage.

Dave Ryan @DaveTheHRCzar
Dave is the Director of HR at Mel-O-Cream Donuts and also an avid cyclist (don’t hold that against him). More importantly though, Dave is a SHRM fountain of knowledge, and is a great sharer of employment law (USA) that makes for excellent reading.

Dr Jason Fox @drjasonfox
Head of www.cleverness.com Jason is a wonderful author, speaker (youtube him and you’ll see what I mean) and is probably the most engaging ‘business’ speaker I’ve ever had the pleasure of engaging with. I say ‘business’ because invariably, people that label themselves this way are overly exaggerated and ineffectual, but I don’t know anyone who hasn’t heard Jason speak who doesn’t think he’s the bees knees. #bumblebeescanfly

Greg Savage @greg_savage
Want to hear about recruitment from someone who has been there, done that and done it better than anyone else? Look Greg up. You can read his take on the world of work at www.gregsavage.com.au and I’d also highly recommend a twitter follow as what he shares is fantastic.

Jeff Waldman @jeffwaldmanHR
Jeff is the founder of @SocialHRCamp and a massive advocate of HR, social HR, recruiting (the smart way) and employer branding. On top of all this (because he needs to be great at more things?) Jeff is a riveting speaker, if you ever see him on a conference line up make sure to get along to hear what he has to say!

Jessica Merrell @jmillermerrell
Jessica is the founder of @Workology and is an awesome source for a tonne of business & HR related thinking. On top of this Jessica is an absolute love and the website www.workology.com is a great source of a range of different writers discussing all things work & HR.

Joey V Price @joeyvpriceHR
Joey is an absolute HR superstar, he’s smart, entertaining (you can also catch his podcast @bizlifecoffee via goo.gl/PEJZ1S or via iTunes) and has a wealth of HR knowledge specially catered for a small business audience. On top of all this Joey is also a big advocate of inspiring the next generation of HR pros and his quick videos are always worth a view.

Lars Schmidt @Lars
Lars is a contributor for Fast Company, Forbes and Tech Co HQ, Lars has written the book (literally) on employer branding (Employer Branding for Dummies), he’s an advocate for the creation of great workplaces (not just workplaces that just sound great), and another fascinating person to follow!

Sharlyn Lauby @sharlyn_lauby @hrbartender
Sharlyn was one of the first people I ever followed in the online world of HR and I must say I find her content to still be amongst the best there is. Sharlyn is all about setting up managers for success in HR and the management of people. She always has practical, easy to understand advice and assistance ready for what seems like a million different scenarios. Highly, highly recommend.

SHRM Research @SHRM_Research
I love SHRM! And SHRM (Society of Human Resource Management) Research is the best place to get your latest HR news. There’s a lot of US-specific information there, but if you’re not practising in the USA don’t let that put you off, there’s also a wealth of employment research and great transferable studies that you can apply no matter where you work. On top of that, www.shrm.org is a fantastic resource, and they put on the best HR conferences in the world!

Steve Browne @sbrownehr
Steve! What can I say? If you want to connect with the person that, without a doubt, knows the most people globally in the world of HR, is possibly the nicest guy on the planet and also has an encyclopaedic knowledge of all things HR then make sure you follow Steve. He’s definitely not one to brag but he’s one of the most wonderful speakers and sharers (is that even a word?) of HR knowledge I’ve ever met. To top it off, Steve also produces HR Net, a weekly HR newsletter (available from www.sbrownehr.com), which is a great source of HR know-how.

TLNT @TLNT_com
Interested in what’s new in the world of HR? www.tlnt.com is the spot to find well-written articles on every aspect of the profession, from culture to remuneration and benefits, it’s all here. You also get a great spectrum of writers so you may find some new bloggers to follow too!

If you have any other must-follows I’d love to hear about them – the amount of my own professional development that is purely from the generosity and sharing of others online I am truly thankful for.

#SHRM16, #SoMe, Reflective practice, Social Media & Learning, Working in People & Culture

The HR World is Becoming More Connected

June 24, 2016 @ReneeRoberz

I have LOVED the #SHRM16 conference and it has really forced me to get out and meet some fantastic people – both ones that I’ve had the opportunity to connect with online and also some completely new friends.

That’s the amazing thing about our HR world becoming more and more connected. Having worked across Australia and New Zealand it was the advent of social media allowing professionals to share and collaborate that really changed the game for me. All of a sudden, it wasn’t just the few having access to information about HR in other organisations and countries through printed journals, conferences and site visits. The many can now collaborate, share and create together, coming together on Twitter, LinkedIn, through blogs and vertical platforms (and many other ways) to work across industries and oceans.

The effect this is having on HR is massive. Our employees were already globalising through migration – but now our HR approach is globalising. We’re being able to access information about state of the art employee attraction schemes happening in the USA, learning and development taking a front seat in the UK and I’m able to talk to the creators of such things through Twitter, Skype and a host of other social platforms. People, and companies, are sharing more: the session from Craig Briscoe and Jenn Saavedra from Dell was a testament to that, an excellent example of a large company inviting others to learn from their journey.

It is through social media that I connected with the good folks at SHRM and had the opportunity to get closer to a whole new world of ways to approach people at work. I had initially used social media professionally as tool to observe – I began to follow some prolific HR and learning experts on Twitter and the more they shared the more engaged in this community I became. I began to share content that was relevant to me and then began to blog myself, I also engaged in tweetchats, LinkedIn groups, discovered more great resources and authors and also began to share this knowledge and my own journey in real life.

Often the ‘social media role’ is, by default, given to a millennial. What is critical to remember is that while these technological changes may be most associated with millennials it does not mean they’re the most expert in the subject, nor that those changes aren’t impacting other generations just as much. In fact, one of the most prolific tweeters I know in Australia is a baby boomer L&D professional who has taught me a huge amount about the value of social media in learning.

My breakthrough HR moment from SHRM16? It, without a doubt, has been that technology has the power to change the world for the positive. Sal Kahn moved every single person present in the closing keynote describing the impact that Kahn Academy has had on people the world over. I was very misty eyed (OK, I was tearing up) when Kahn described the emailed letters of impact from his students from children and their parents around the word. This man has changed the world with his “delusional optimism” and I’m so happy that the world has embraced his message.

Don’t be scared of technology. Don’t think it is something that you can’t learn because you’re of a certain generation or the couple of times you’ve dipped your toe in the water you’ve found it confusing. The power to connect is incredibly powerful and technology is a great way for you to access a world of people who are willing to help you, your organisation and your employees develop.

Just try it.

This article was first published at https://blog.shrm.org/blog/the-hr-world-is-becoming-more-connected-shrm16

Career, Social Media & Learning, Working in People & Culture

From Melbourne Australia to Washington D.C. for #SHRM16

May 24, 2016 @ReneeRoberz

If you cannot feel it radiating through your screen, let me tell you, I’m pretty excited! In a matter of weeks, I’ll be arriving to Washington, D.C. with possibly the best cohort of people you could ever want to conference with. No sarcasm: HR people are the best – we make a difference in people’s lives, we get to work in every industry, and we get to contribute to easily the most interesting part of work – the people! We share, we get energized by improving things, we challenge each other and we’re open to doing things differently.
Whether you hail from the U.S. or not, you need to know that those of us that don’t hear a lot about HR in America. Google any hot topic employment issue, and there’s a company in Silicon Valley dealing with it in a gobsmackingly creative way. Google the ‘death of HR’, and you’ll find a plethora of passionate HR bloggers who, mostly from the USA, are debating how we continue to evolve and shape the world around us. What about Twitter? Where are the best tweetchats happening? Well SHRM are running them! Google paid maternity leave… ok… maybe not a good example?

Obviously the impressive line-up of speakers is a big draw card for the conference. And because of this, one of my most challenging tasks is going to be deciding what I must attend versus what I really, really, really want to attend. If I start sharing my list at this stage, it’s actually just a transcript of the whole line up – proving for once and all that I still need to do some serious reviewing of the seemingly thousands of sessions on offer before my arrival.

This will be my first SHRM Conference this year, and the anticipating is killing me – meeting the other bloggers and SHRM-ers will be excellent! The amount of collaboration and sharing that happens within the HR community on social media is true warm-fuzzy material. A few of the bloggers are even doing a fantastic seminar on social media strategies for HR and business goals (it’s an additional session on the Saturday run by Sharlyn Lauby, Jonathan A. Segal, Craig Fisher, and Aliah D. Wright). I highly recommend this one if you’re thinking about dipping your toe in the water on social media or just want to learn from the best.

The SHRM community and its international impact have been highlighted for me through Steve Browne who has connected many of us internationals with the great minds at SHRM (a big hi to Andrew, Mary, John & team!). The global network this event enables is mind-blowing – the opportunity to interact with other attendees is fantastic. HR is so broad! We work in so many places and industries, have different approaches to strategy and delivery. And yet the common experience means that when you meet anyone in our industry, you instantly have 10 similar issues and opportunities – and the great thing about HR people is they’re willing to share and help each other out.

Along these lines – please do approach me and other bloggers at the conference – we’ll be furiously mashing a keyboard with one hand, having a phone in the other (possibly also pockets full of chocolate), while manically sharing and interacting with others on social media. But if you want to discuss how to engage and better access this wonderful online community, I’m sure every single one of us would love to share our passion with you.

I’m looking forward to meeting you in June – now just to prepare my cork hat, my pet kangaroo and pack the bags! (Just kidding. I’m actually a Kiwi living in Australia, so it will be bringing a rugby ball and hobbit slippers.)

Happy conferencing!

—-

For more information and to attend SHRM 2016 Annual Conference & Exposition, visit www.annual.shrm.org.

This article was first published at SHRM

#SoMe, Brand, Personal brand, PKM, Social Media & Learning

What No-one is Telling You About Navigating Your Company’s Employment Brand Online

September 8, 2015 @ReneeRoberz

Are you hearing this a lot?: “future of work…blah blah blah…. millennial… blah… technological shift”?

Yes yes, it is true, it’s real, and we do need to prepare for change in the world of work. But something I’ve noticed is that we aren’t so great at preparing for is what’s just around the corner.

No I’m not talking about Generation Z – I’m talking about the critical role of social and new media in how we manage our employment brand.

You’re reading this – so I know you can use LinkedIn, Google… maybe even Twitter? I love social media for professional development (and those that know me hear me wax lyrical about it all. the. time.) – but social media for PD is an option for business folk. You might use it, you might not, but it won’t really impact on your ability to do your job (yet).

Something that is right around the corner (and already here if you’re in a big market like the U.S.) – the proliferation of employer review websites and apps. The potential impact on employment brand from social and new media is huge.

You might have heard of some of these review and information sharing platforms: Glassdoor, Vault & JobAdvisor, and apps like Whisper and Canary. If you haven’t, you will.

The likelihood of your organisation getting reviewed or spoken about on one of these platforms in the next year? Growing exponentially.

The likelihood of most HR professionals and business owners knowing how to navigate this tricky topic? Not great.

These sites are to the world of work what TripAdvisor is to the travel industry: an incredible opportunity, but a force to be reckoned with. Just one negative review might dictate 100% of your organisation’s rating on such a platform.

So wait… what?

The platforms I’m speaking about are already common in the USA… and due to the global nature of technology and it’s impact on trends in the workplace it won’t be long until your CEO or investors are asking you why weren’t you on top of this?!

A bit of a rundown on the kinds of platforms I’m referring to:

Glassdoor
One of the most well-known of these sites, Glassdoor is a US-based site where employees (and former employees) anonymously review companies and their management and can post salary data. Glassdoor includes options for employers to pay for an enhanced profile.

Vault
Vault is all about ranking and reviewing companies, internships and schools. With a wider scope than Glassdoor it seems to be more focused on the graduate market.

JobAdvisor
This Australian based site is similar to Glassdoor (except I like the interface better) and has a few more Australian employers listed – similar to Glassdoor & Vault it uses a ratings system and gives you information from individual reviewers based on ‘pros’ and ‘cons’.

Whisper
Whisper wasn’t originally billed as a site to review employers – but it is increasingly being used in reference to user’s jobs, the base concept being it is an anonymous secret sharer where users post their secrets online. It is possible for workplaces to feel the heat from this app (as there’s nothing stopping users naming their workplace in their confessions).

Canary
Billed as ‘anonymous company chatter’ this app allows users to ‘share insider news, thoughts and rumours with your co-workers’. Aside from the potential intellectual property and privacy concerns Canary is designed to facilitate gossip, which, when it’s anonymous, is potentially an HR (and PR) nightmare.

Don’t panic:

Just start by getting familiar with these platforms, as well as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook along with any other collaboration systems your organisation uses if you aren’t already comfortable with them.
Conversations are going to happen, disgruntled employees are going to post damaging things online. We can write all the policies and procedures we want, but the idea of completely mitigating the risk in this space? Impossible.

What do I need to do?

Get familiar with these platforms yourself.
Asses whether your organisation is already being talked about.
Get out ahead: encourage your star staff to engage in this space – next to 20 stand out reviews, 1 negative review won’t look so bad. But if potential employees, stakeholders or customers just see the 1 negative one? Not good.

Repost from LinkedIn article published 6 September 2015

Social Media & Learning

Rethinking Your Assumptions about Social Media & Learning

November 25, 2014 @ReneeRoberz

Does your organisation have a Social Media Policy? A Technology Policy? A BYOD (bring your own device) Policy? A Policy for Creating Policies Policy?

While (as someone who has worked in People & Culture for quite a while and is a bit of a Type A) I appreciate the value of a good policy which helps manage a business need, I think we have a tendency to sometimes get carried away with policies and use them in a reactive, rather than a productive manner.

An excellent example of this is having a Social Media Policy – so many organisations implement these in fear of social media and what employees may say about them online, they forget that anything that an employee says about them in a public forum (like in a town meeting, or on an open Facebook page) can be covered by the Code of Conduct. Why do we insist of having a separate rule book to outlaw/overly police social media?

More often than not it is because the decision makers are scared of what they don’t understand.

Unfortunately this has a negative impact on productive learning within organisations when one of the best tools is treated like it ran over the sheriff’s dog intentionally. Social media isn’t the enemy! It can be a wonderful way to (freely) encourage people to champion their own learning, to build networks, to find resources, to stay up to date in their field. Yes you have to manage its use; you don’t want everyone playing Farmville during work-time. But if you do it right, self-directed learning is such a great way to motivate your staff (and don’t think this is just a Millennial thing, everyone can get involved).

Just a few examples of where I’ve seen this work spectacularly;

– organisations running Facebook ‘Private Closed Groups’ as a way to give a positive ‘shout out’ to fellow staff members and engage in a professional forum – incidental learning and connections can be made within the organisation to promote self-development and informal coaching

– organisations encouraging employees to use professional networking tools such as LinkedIn (or the soon to be released Facebook equivalent) to generate leads, engage with stakeholders and join professional LinkedIn Groups to stay up to date on specific sector knowledge

– professionals using Twitter as both a networking tool and as a way to find out about the latest developments in their field.

Don’t be scared!

Encouraging your employees to network, widen their horizons and stay up to date with professional advances isn’t nearly as scary as losing them and their skills to a competitor who trusts them in managing their own learning. If you put a good framework in place, encourage sensible usage and get your organisation’s leaders on board with making the most of these tools then the returns you receive will far outweigh the effort put in.