Jennifer McClure`

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Written by Jennifer McClure

In Search Of: The Best Human Resources and Recruiting Blogs of 2014

UT Top 25 HR & Recruiting Blogs

Today, I face something that I haven’t faced in over six years. And I’m doing it intentionally, because it’s time for growth and change. It’s time to discover something new.

This morning, I deleted all of my blog subscription feeds (I use Feedly as my RSS Reader) for Human Resources, Recruiting and Talent Management blogs.

And I feel empty.

Back in early 2008, I discovered blogs. The HR Capitalist (Kris Dunn) was my first.

You never forget your first.

As I read more, followed links to other blogs and subscribed to more, I subscribed to hundreds of blogs. I learned. I built relationships with some bloggers. Many became friends, mentors and business partners.

I’ll always be grateful for the knowledge that they so freely shared and how they helped me to grow as I stepped out of the corporate human resources world into executive recruiting and then into building my own business.

At one point, I subscribed to over 300 blog feeds. Not all of them were HR, recruiting and talent management-related, but many in those categories were definitely in my “must read” folder.

However, over the last couple of years, I’ve been slowly unsubscribing to various blogs and now my “must read” list is down to just three. Which makes me kinda sad.

Why the reduction in force?

I’m tired of reading about the same topics (engagement, performance management, culture, sourcing, onboarding, etc.) without any new perspectives. I’m tired of content marketing. I’m tired of posts that are posted just because it’s Monday (or Tuesday, or any other day of the week).

So, I’m starting over. I want your help. And I’ll share what I learn.

The 31-Day to the Best HR and Recruiting Blogs List Plan:

Here’s the Plan: Leave a comment with 1 – 3 blogs that you love and/or learn from in the comments section. (Heck, you can even nominate your own!)

I’ll subscribe to all of the HR/Recruiting-related blogs mentioned during the period of July 1st – July 31st, and I’ll read (okay at least seriously skim) every post. I’ll share posts that I think are great with my social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter, Twitter and Facebook) to spread the word and share the goodness. I’ll also keep track of how many posts I share from each blog over the course of the month.

In August, I’ll share on this blog my Top 25 Human Resources & Recruiting Blogs of 2014 list, which will be compiled primarily based upon my shares, but also a little bit of magic pixie dust (i.e. personal opinion).

Want to help me out?

Please nominate 1 – 3 of your favorite Human Resources or Recruiting blogs in the Comments below to get them in my Feedly Reader for the month of July 2014 for evaluation.

With your help, I’d love to find some new voices, recognize some old ones and also help you connect to some great resources in this process!

Categories: Blog, Human Resources, Recruiting
Posted on June 30, 2014

Written by Jennifer McClure

Top 100 HR & Recruiting Industry Pros To Follow On Twitter (2011)

One of the more popular posts on this blog is “Who Should Recruiters Follow On Twitter? 100+ Suggestions“, so for this week’s “Top __” list, I’ve created an “updated and improved” version of that list to share with you.

The list includes a variety of professionals in the HR and Recruiting spaces – not just practitioners (although there are many). The list also includes consultants, a few pundits and maybe even a “thought leader” or two. In other words, it’s a good mix of people throughout the industry who share a variety of perspectives and includes many people who’s entire day-job is to study and share best practices with me and you.

Since there are many, many HR & recruiting professionals using Twitter, I wanted to try to create a “Top 100” list of people who are truly engaging and are providing value that is recognized by their Followers. As with prior lists I’ve created, my methodology is not perfect – but at least it’s consistent. To create this list, I looked at hundreds (yes hundreds) of Twitter accounts where Human Resources, HR, recruiting, etc. were mentioned in the person’s bio. (So if you’re not on this list and you think you should be, check your bio to ensure you have the right keywords included for which you want to be found.)

And while people are “ranked” on this list, it certainly doesn’t mean some are better than others. These tweeters come in all flavors. Some are verbose. Some savor their words – quality over quantity. Some share a lot of links. Some include quite a bit of their personal lives in their tweets. But all tweet about HR & recruiting at some point.

Methodology:

  1. Only individual accounts were included (i.e. no company accounts or multi-contributor accounts.)
  2. Accounts were ranked on number of Followers, Twitter Grader score, Klout and the number of Twitter Lists they have been added to by their followers. Each category was ranked 1 – 100 and weighted equally. My goal in using these measures was to not just look at who’s got the most Followers, but also their reach, influence and effect on their Followers.

Want to follow individuals on this list? Click on their Twitter name to check out their Bio and follow or click on this TweepML icon to see/follow the entire list.

*

 Top 100 HR & Recruiting Industry Pros To Follow On Twitter (2011)

1. Jessica Miller-Merrell (CEO – Xceptional HR) @blogging4jobs

Follower: 58278                        Grader: 100            Klout: 77           Listed: 1388

 

2. William Tincup (CEO – Tincup & Co.) @williamtincup

Followers: 51007                        Grader: 100            Klout: 72            Listed: 958

 

3. Craig Fisher (Vice President, Sales – Ajax Social Media) @Fishdogs

Followers: 25045                        Grader: 100            Klout: 70            Listed: 893

 

4. Laurie Ruettimann (Principal Strategist – Starr Tincup) @lruettimann

Followers: 14327                        Grader: 100            Klout: 70            Listed: 893

 

5. Jennifer McClure (President & Chief Talent Strategist – Unbridled Talent LLC) @JenniferMcClure

Followers: 13494                        Grader: 100            Klout: 70            Listed: 1123

 

6. Jenny DeVaughn (Manager, Social Media & Employment Branding – Waste Management, Inc.) @JennyDeVaughn

Followers: 9648                        Grader: 100            Klout: 66            Listed: 1619

 

7. Steven Rothberg (President & Founder – CollegeRecruiter.com) @StevenRothberg

Followers: 88963                       Grader:  100            Klout: 60            Listed: 2190

 

8. Michael Long (Head of Culture Branding – Rackspace Hosting) @theredrecruiter

Followers: 22179                        Grader: 100            Klout: 64            Listed: 850

 

9. Meghan M. Biro (Principal & Founder – TalentCulture, LLC) @MeghanMBiro

Followers: 12941                        Grader: 100            Klout: 65            Listed: 848

 

10. Paul Debettignies (VP Recruiting & Co-Founder – HireCast Consulting) @MNHeadhunter

Followers: 8215                        Grader: 100            Klout: 70            Listed: 759

 

11. Bill Boorman (Founder – @BillBoorman) @billboorman

Followers: 8108                        Grader: 100            Klout: 69            Listed: 810

 

12. Jim Stroud (Director of Sourcing & Social Strategy – Bernard Hodes Group) @jimstroud

Followers: 11103                        Grader: 100            Klout: 68            Listed: 588

 

13. Margo Rose (Social Media Recruiter – Jackson National Life) @HRMargo

Followers: 8366                        Grader: 100            Klout: 66            Listed: 830

 

14. Gautam Ghosh (Product Evangelist – Qontext, Inc.) @GautamGhosh

Followers: 6495                        Grader: 100            Klout: 71            Listed: 880

 

15. Michael VanDervort (Social Media Community Manager – Publix) @MikeVanDervort

Followers: 11225                        Grader: 100            Klout: 64            Listed: 651

 

16. Joe Gerstandt (Speaker/Facilitator/Writer – joegerstandt.com) @joegerstandt

Followers: 9085                        Grader: 100            Klout: 66            Listed: 554

 

17. Morgan Missen (Head of Talent – foursquare) @mm

Followers: 13337                        Grader: 100            Klout: 65            Listed: 481

 

18. Mark Stelzner (Founder – Inflexion Advisors) @stelzner

Followers: 9152                        Grader: 100            Klout: 65            Listed: 578

 

19. Jason Buss (VP, Talent Acquisition & Diversity – Ameriprise Financial) @jjbuss

Followers: 45887                        Grader: 100            Klout: 56           Listed: 852

 

20. Bill Vick (Principal – Vick & Associates) @BillVick

Followers: 13108                        Grader: 100            Klout: 60           Listed: 742

 

21. Kevin W. Grossman (Chief Marketplace Evangelist – HRMarketer.com) @KevinWGrossman

Followers: 7857                        Grader: 100            Klout: 70            Listed: 469

 

22. Shally Steckerl (Executive Vice President – Arbita) @Shally

Followers: 11106                        Grader: 100            Klout: 64            Listed: 490

 

23. Steve Boese (Director, Talent Management Strategy – Oracle) @steveboese

Followers: 6941                        Grader: 100            Klout: 66            Listed: 589

 

24. Jim Durbin (Managing Principal – Social Media Talent) @smheadhunter

Followers: 7343                        Grader: 100            Klout: 62            Listed: 900

 

25. Moises Lopez (Health Sourcing Lead – Accenture) @Moiseslopez

Followers: 16474                        Grader: 100            Klout: 58            Listed: 568

 

26. Recruiting Animal (Recruiter – Self Employed) @animal

Followers: 6880                        Grader: 100            Klout: 65            Listed: 578

 

27. Mike Ramer (President – Ramer Search Consultants, Inc.) @MikeRamer

Followers: 11296                        Grader: 100            Klout: 55            Listed: 603

 

28. Irina Shamaeva (Partner, Chief Sourcer – Brain Gain Recruiting) @braingain

Followers: 14192                        Grader: 100            Klout: 52            Listed: 662

 

29. Rich DeMatteo (Co-Founder – Bad Rhino, Inc.) @CornOnTheJob

Followers: 5609                        Grader: 100            Klout: 66            Listed: 544

 

30. Amybeth Hale (Editor – The Fordyce Letter & SourceCon – ERE Media) @researchgoddess

Followers: 6561                        Grader: 100            Klout: 65            Listed: 479

 

31. Andy Headworth (Founder – Sirona Consulting) @andyheadworth

Followers: 6963                        Grader: 100            Klout: 65            Listed: 445

 

32. Greg Savage (Founder & CEO – Firebrand Talent Search) @greg_savage

Followers: 7557                        Grader: 100            Klout: 66            Listed: 371

 

33. Trish McFarlane (HR Business Partner – St. Louis Children’s Hospital) @TrishMcFarlane

Followers: 6899                        Grader: 100            Klout: 60            Listed: 634

 

34. Bryan Wempen (EVP & Candidate Experience Expert – PeopleClues) @bryanwempen

Followers: 16462                        Grader: 100            Klout: 63            Listed: 318

 

35. Kris Dunn (Partner & Chief Human Resources Officer – Kinetix) @Kris_Dunn

Followers: 6894                        Grader: 100            Klout: 64            Listed: 454

 

36. Charlie Judy (Global Director, Human Capital Strategic Development/Operations – Navigant Consulting) @HRFishbowl

Followers: 5492                        Grader: 100            Klout: 67            Listed: 421

 

37. Susan Strayer (Sr. Director Global Employment Brand & Marketing – Marriott International) @SusanStrayer

Followers: 8554                        Grader: 100            Klout: 53            Listed: 507

 

38. Harry Urschel (Executive Recruiter/CEO – e-Executives) @eExecutives

Followers: 8049                        Grader: 100            Klout: 57            Listed: 408

 

39. Thomas Shaw (Founder & Managing Director – Recruitment Director) @ThomasShaw

Followers: 19596                        Grader: 100            Klout: 44            Listed: 656

 

40. Chris Hoyt (Talent Engagement & Marketing Leader – PepsiCo) @TheRecruiterGuy

Followers: 8487                        Grader: 100            Klout: 51            Listed: 570

 

41. Geoff Webb (CEO – Radical Events) @radicalrecruit

Followers: 4798                        Grader: 100            Klout: 69            Listed: 311

 

42. Glen Cathey (Market Vice President – Kforce, Inc.) @GlenCathey

Followers: 6254                        Grader: 100            Klout: 59            Listed: 443

 

43. Stephanie A. Lloyd (Partner/Director Acquisition Team – Deloitte) @StephanieALloyd

Followers: 7308                        Grader: 100            Klout: 53            Listed: 448

 

44. Karla Porter (Director of Workforce Development & HR – Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce) @karla_porter

Followers: 5575                        Grader: 100            Klout: 60            Listed: 399

 

45. John Sumser (Principal Analyst – HrxAnalysts) @JohnSumser

Followers: 5256                        Grader: 100            Klout: 62            Listed: 397

 

46. Geoff Peterson (Managing Principal – General Lead) @GeoffPeterson

Followers: 32547                        Grader: 100           Klout: 45            Listed: 428

 

47. Matt Alder (Founder & Futurologist – MetaShift) @mattalder

Followers: 5094                        Grader: 100            Klout: 63            Listed: 349

 

48. Sarah White (Talent Acquisition Process & Technology Consultant – HCMFreelancer.com) @ImSoSarah

Followers: 4745                        Grader: 100            Klout: 56            Listed: 498

 

49. Sharlyn Lauby (President – ITM Group, Inc.) @sharlyn_lauby

Followers: 7686                        Grader: 100            Klout: 49            Listed: 454

 

50. Kirk Abraham (Partner – EASTeam) @EASTeam

Followers: 26757                      Grader: 100            Klout: 42            Listed: 408

 

51. China Gorman (CEO – CMG Group) @ChinaGorman

Followers: 5532                        Grader: 100            Klout: 58            Listed: 348

 

52. Lance Haun (Community Director – ERE Media) @thelance

Followers: 4145                        Grader: 100            Klout: 59            Listed: 395

 

53. Barry Deutsch (Partner & Executive Recruiter – Impact Hiring Solutions) @Barry_at_IMPACT

Followers: 10295                        Grader: 100            Klout: 49            Listed: 311

 

54. Jessica Lee (Vice President, Talent Acquisition – APCO Worldwide) @jessica_lee

Followers: 6445                        Grader: 100            Klout: 49            Listed: 471

 

55. Jason Averbook (CEO & Co-Founder – Knowledge-Infusion) @jasonaverbook

Followers: 4678                        Grader: 100            Klout: 64            Listed: 228

 

56. Josh Bersin (CEO & President – Bersin & Associates) @Josh_Bersin

Followers: 7494                        Grader: 100            Klout: 49            Listed: 322

 

57. Miles Jennings (CEO & Founder – Recruiter.com) @milesj

Followers: 5924                        Grader: 100            Klout: 57            Listed: 259

 

58. Harry Joiner (Ecommerce Recruiter – EcommerceRecruiter.com) @EcommerceJobs

Followers: 5567                        Grader: 100            Klout: 56            Listed: 268

 

59. Kelly Dingee (Strategic Recruiting Manager – Staffing Advisors) @SourcerKelly

Followers: 5743                        Grader: 100            Klout: 49            Listed: 376

 

60. Tracy Tran (Owner & CEO – Tran Recruiting, LLC) @tracytran

Followers: 3435                        Grader: 100            Klout: 64            Listed: 283

 

61. Peggy McKee (Owner/Sr. Recruiter – PHC Consulting) @salesrecruiter

Followers: 10183                       Grader: 100            Klout: 42            Listed: 350

 

62. Traci Deveau (Process Consultant – SilkRoad Technology) @Devoted2HR

Followers: 4238                        Grader: 100            Klout: 52            Listed: 370

 

63. Steve Browne (Executive Director of HR – LaRosas, Inc.) @sbrownehr

Followers: 4654                        Grader: 100            Klout: 54            Listed: 305

 

64. Sue Marks (CEO – Pinstripe, Inc.) @SueMarks

Followers: 6508                        Grader: 100            Klout: 50            Listed: 284

 

65. Ben Eubanks (HR Generalist – Pinnacle Solutions, Inc.) @beneubanks

Followers: 4050                        Grader: 100            Klout: 51            Listed: 388

 

66. Keith McIlvaine (HR Corporate Recruiter – Victaulic) @kufarms

Followers: 4688                        Grader: 100            Klout: 52            Listed: 290

 

67. Kristi Jones (HR Consultant – Self Employed) @kjoneskc

Followers: 5639                       Grader: 100            Klout: 49            Listed: 274

 

68. Naomi Bloom (Managing Partner – Bloom & Wallace) @InFullBloomUS

Followers: 3993                        Grader: 100            Klout: 54            Listed: 272

 

69. Karen Mattonen (CVO – HireCentrix) @HireCentrix

Followers: 6979                        Grader: 100             Klout: 50            Listed: 188

 

70. Kevin Wheeler (Founder & Chairman – Future of Talent Institute) @kwheeler

Followers: 4769                        Grader: 100            Klout: 52            Listed: 223

 

71. Jon Ingham (Author, blogger, consultant – Strategic HCM) @joningham

Followers: 5171                        Grader: 100            Klout: 43            Listed: 357

 

72. Peter Gold (Managing Director – Hire Strategies Limited) @petergold99

Followers: 5636                        Grader: 100            Klout: 50            Listed: 216

 

73. Carmen Hudson (Engagement Manager, Sourcing & Social Media Strategy – Recruiting Toolbox) @peopleshark

Followers: 3544                        Grader: 100            Klout: 54            Listed: 233

 

74. Chris Havrilla (Principal – Havrilla, LLC) @havrilla

Followers: 3807                        Grader: 100            Klout: 53            Listed: 220

 

75. Jeff Lipschultz (Principal – A-List Solutions) @JLipschultz

Followers: 4785                        Grader: 100            Klout: 42            Listed: 341

 

76. Adrienne Graham (Talent Acquisition Consultant – Hues Consulting & Management, Inc.) @talentdiva

Followers: 6722                        Grader: 100            Klout: 23            Listed: 319

 

77. Christa Foley (Recruiting Manager – Zappos.com) @electra

Followers: 6488                        Grader: 100            Klout: 44            Listed: 222

 

78. Shannon Seery-Gude (Vice President, Digital & Social Strategy – Benard Hodes Group) @seerysm

Followers: 4639                         Grader: 100             Klout: 49            Listed: 224

 

79. Darryl Dioso (Lead Consultant – Resource Management Solutions Group) @DarrylRMSG

Followers: 7791                        Grader: 100            Klout: 42            Listed: 209

 

80. Shauna Moerke (HR Administrator – The Outsource Group) @HR_Minion

Followers: 3351                        Grader: 100             Klout: 44             Listed: 320

 

81. Nora Burns (Principal/Sr. Consultant – Insightful Endeavors) @NoraBurns

Followers: 4177                         Grader: 100            Klout: 47            Listed: 218

 

82. Michael Specht (HR Technology & Enterprise 2.0 Consultant – Inspect Pty Ltd) @mspecht

Followers: 4222                         Grader: 100             Klout: 43            Listed: 235

 

83. David Graziano (Talent Acquisition Specialist – Social Recruiting Strategist) @DavidGraziano

Followers: 5119                        Grader: 100            Klout: 41            Listed: 220

 

84. Ryan Leary (Sourcing Science/Sourcing Lead – Kenexa) @ryanleary

Followers: 3611                        Grader: 100            Klout; 38            Listed: 294

 

85. Stacy Williamson (Recruiter – ESPN) @RecruiterStacy

Followers: 8700                        Grader: 96            Klout: 60            Listed: 246

 

86. Arie Ball (Vice President, Talent Acquisition – Sodexo) @Arie_Ball

Followers: 4082                        Grader: 100            Klout; 48            Listed: 162

 

87. Deirdre Honner (Associate Director, Human Resources – Calvin College) @theHRmaven

Followers: 3808                        Grader: 100            Klout: 35            Listed: 233

 

88. Ryan Estis (Chief Experience Officer – Ryan Estis & Associates) @ryanestis

Followers: 2753                        Grader: 100            Klout: 52            Listed: 156

 

89. Kimberly Roden (Director of Human Resources – Cover-All Technologies) @Kimberly_Roden

Followers: 2980                        Grader: 98.3            Klout: 62            Listed: 288

 

90. Mervyn Dinnen (Content & Community Manager – Jobsite) @MervynDinnen

Followers: 2775                        Grader: 98.2            Klout: 67            Listed: 213

 

91. Susan Burns (Director, Talent Acquisition & Diversity – Bonneville Power Administration) @TalentSynch

Followers: 3536                        Grader: 100            Klout: 31            Listed: 218

 

92. Glenn Gutmacher (Recruiter – Sourcing SWAT Team Group Manager & Talent Search Architect – Avenade) @gutmach

Followers: 3789                        Grader: 100             Klout: 34            Listed: 166

 

93. Lisa Rosendahl (Human Resources Director – Veteran’s Health Administration) @lisarosendahl

Followers: 3697                        Grader: 98.5            Klout: 48            Listed: 391

 

94. Robin Schooling (Vice President Human Resources – Louisiana Lottery Corporation) @RobinSchooling

Followers: 2685                        Grader: 98.1            Klout: 64            Listed: 244

 

95. Steve Levy (Managing Director, Technology & Social Media – Twiller-Moore) @LevyRecruits

Followers: 3201                        Grader: 97.8            Klout: 62            Listed: 293

 

96. Eric Peterson (Diversity & Inclusion Manager – Society for Human Resource Management) @EPetersonSHRM

Followers: 2793                        Grader: 98.3            Klout: 63            Listed: 213

 

97. Tim Sackett (Executive Vice President – HRU Technical Resources) @TimSackett

Followers; 3098                        Grader: 98.1            Klout: 58            Listed: 264

 

98. Duane Roberts (Technical Recruiter- Andiamo! Group) @DuaneRoberts

Followers: 4097                        Grader: 100            Klout: 34            Listed: 72

 

99. Cindy Ausman (Managing Partner – Gartner Partners, LLC) @CindyRecruiter

Followers: 3618                        Grader: 100            Klout: 31            Listed: 140

 

100. Franny Oxford (Vice President Human Resources – Leedo Building Solutions) @Frannyo

Followers: 2377                        Grader: 98.1            Klout: 67            Listed: 198

NOTE: If you’re wondering how you stack up, minimum number of followers to make the list – 2,377, minimum Twitter Grader score – 96, minimum Klout score – 23, minimum number of lists – 72.

*

So who’d I miss? Who are your favorites – on or not on this list?

Categories: Blog, Human Resources, Recruiting, Twitter
Posted on August 12, 2011

Written by Jennifer McClure

2010 SHRM Annual Conference – Day 1 Recap

Day 1 of the 2010 SHRM Annual Conference in San Diego, California is in the books and in my opinion, it’s off to a great start!

In the Opening Session, the event kicked off with a surprise Flash Mob dance before SHRM President & CEO Lon O’Neil and SHRM Board Chairman Robb Van Cleaves welcomed everyone and shared that attendance for this year’s event is up over 4,000 from 2009 – topping 11,000 attendees and including over 800 international members from 73 countries!

O’Neil and Cleaves were followed by a brief message from Assistant Secretary for Veteran’s Employment & Training Services – Ray Jefferson, a true American Hero who lost all five fingers on one hand while serving his country and protecting his teammates from a hand grenade prematurely detonating. Jefferson offered up one of my favorite quotes of the day – “The death of a dream can be the birth of a destiny”. Nice.

Next up, O’Neil introduced SHRM’s “We Know Next” initiative, positioning HR at the center of changes taking place in business today. He also encouraged HR professionals to use the latest communications tools like LinkedIn and Twitter (yeah, Twitter!). He’s even jumped on Twitter himself and you can follow him at @SHRMCEO.

Steve Forbes was this year’s Opening Session keynote and while his talk sent a few heading for the doors early and a few in my row to focus on the back of their eyelids, when I spoke to many of the attendees later on the Exhibit Hall floor, several mentioned that they really enjoyed what he had to say and felt his talk was very good. Blogger John Hollon begged to differ and quickly shared his thoughts via a post on the new (and very good) HR & Talent Management site TLNT.com – illustrating the challenge of an organization as large as SHRM to find a speaker that can please everyone. They can’t.

After the Opening Session, it was time to hit the SHRM Exposition. This year, I’m attending the conference as part of the Monster.com Social Media Street Team and my goal was to capture some of the sights and sounds of the chaos in the Expo Hall once the doors were opened. I was lucky enough to grab Laurie Ruettimann of Punk Rock HR for some commentary on various vendors and their swag and I’ll share a video of her adventures at a future date. (It’s late here ya’ll.) I also did over 20 brief video interviews with some interesting folks I stopped throughout the evening to ask about their plans for the conference or just to comment on their copious or outrageous swag finds. Below are a couple of my favorites that give a flavor of what it’s like. (Email subscribers – click here to view.)

Stay tuned for more live coverage of SHRM 2010 here on Unbridled Talent from me, and follow the conversation via Twitter using the hashtag #shrm10 and #monsterlive. You’ll also find posts daily from the Monster.com Social Media Street Team on the Monster Thinking blog, from fellow Street Team member Ben Eubanks on Upstart HR and the SHRM Blog Squad over at the official SHRM Conference Blog!

Categories: Blog, Human Resources
Posted on June 28, 2010

Written by Jennifer McClure

Can an Internal Coach or HR Pro Be Trusted With Your Secrets?


At The Conference Board’s Executive Coaching Conference
that I recently attended, we spent some time in one of the sessions discussing concerns with HR pros being designated or trained as
internal coaches in organizations due to trust and credibility issues. (Note: attendees at the conference were primarily external coaches and OD professionals.)

Here’s a tweet I sent out during the discussion:

TCB Coaching tweet

I guess the discussion made me a bit #sad because as a former Human Resources pro myself, I felt like I was effective as an internal “coach”. Whether working with an employee as part of their career development process or providing support to some making it through performance improvement plans, I worked hard to balance their need for confidentiality in the process with my responsibilities to the organization. I took pride in being someone that employees at all levels could talk to and one CEO even referred to me as his Consigliere – which considering some of the bullets I took for him, was kind of fitting.

But I do recall a conversation I had one day with an employee who was experiencing some issues at work. When I offered to listen and provide support, she said “Unfortunately, I can’t talk to you about this. It’s not that I don’t trust you personally. It’s the chair that you sit in. You have the authority to fire me. And I can’t risk that.”

After she left my office, I thought about what she’d said. I wanted to be offended. But I kinda understood where she was coming from. While it was frustrating that she wouldn’t allow me to try to help out just because of my position in the organization, I also knew that sometimes it was part of my role to be involved in making decisions about her career. So sharing a weakness or performance problem with someone who has that type of influence could be perceived as a risk.

Fast forward to today, where I work with clients as an external Executive Coach… The feedback I’ve received from clients is that one of the most helpful aspects of the coaching process is the opportunity to speak confidentially with someone outside of the organization who can listen, support, challenge and guide them. I’ve listened as senior level clients have shared with me a variety of potentially career damaging things – being afraid of making decisions, that they’re intimidated by a peer or they’re unhappy in their jobs. We’ve been able to work through and resolve those issues, but I’ve often wondered if it would be a challenge for me as an internal coach to have access to that same information.

HR often seems to get thrown under the bus in regards to confidentiality and credibility issues (if you’re the one causing that to happen, then please STOP), but I don’t agree that credibility/trust of internal coaches is an “HR” issue. I think it’s more about the perceived confidentiality that an external coach can provide – no matter how good an internal coach may be.

I think it’s hard for employees not to feel at risk when sharing information with people in a position to influence their careers.

What do you think? Can HR pros serve as effective coaches inside their organizations? Do external coaches have an advantage over internals?

The conversation at the conference has caused me to wonder if maybe the employee who was preoccupied with where I parked my derriere each day was on to something…

Categories: Blog, Executive Coaching, Human Resources
Posted on March 4, 2010

Written by Jennifer McClure

Passion: It’s Not a Dirty Word in HR !!

In the wild world of HR, I come across many HR people who either hate the profession or feel that everyone hates them.

Passion - It's Not A Dirty Word In HR

There are blog posts about the death of HR.  Magazines love to fill themselves with how the profession is failing.

Today’s guest post is from my good friend and mentor Steve Browne, who is Executive Director of Human Resources at LaRosa’s, Inc. a regional Pizzeria restaurant chain employing over 1,400 Team Members. Being passionate about HR is a subject that Steve is uniquely qualified to talk about – because that’s how he’s consistently described by others. Learn more about Steve at the bottom of this awesome post.

HR is tough. It is.

That’s because we have to deal with people and people are tough. However, that’s also the BEST reason to be in HR! Seriously. The main reason I went into HR was to mess with people. Trust me. It’s allowed.

When it comes to “passion”, some people tend to think that it’s not appropriate in the work environment. Unfortunately, because many people aren’t passionate at work, they often feel disillusioned and are thinking about how to leave their employer more than they’re seeking how to drive performance.

The reason the TV shows “The Office” and “30 Rock” are so popular is because people know folks that work beside them who are reflected in the characters of the shows.

People who love what they do scare us too! Really. People who are passionate are often under suspicion of not being genuine or just a cheerleader who doesn’t have a clue. That’s sad. We’ve come to a point in work environments where drudgery is often preferred to enjoying what you do! Think about that.

HR, more often than not, is the catalyst of this drudgery because they don’t see the ability, or avenue, to be passionate at work. This needs to change! HR professionals have to ask themselves – “If this is so bad, then why am I doing it”?

HR people who aren’t passionate should get out of HR.

Sounds harsh – but it would be better for you and the profession if you went into a field you were passionate about.

So can you be passionate about HR these days ? The answer is a resounding YES! Here’s how:

1)       JUMP IN OVER YOUR HEAD

Get away from your desk and into your people. Your desk doesn’t miss you as much as you think it does. Your people do.

Too often HR’s answer to people is – “I’ll get back to you” – when we never intend to do it. Stop this! Get in front of your employees and let them know that they do exist, they’re valuable and that you (and the company) appreciate what they do.

2)      BE CONSISTENT

Get out of the fairness and compliance mode. Compliance is the law. We can’t change laws, so quit trying to.

Be consistent with how you handle situations and understand that the majority of what we do is gray and not black and white. Consistency is essential and people will see how “fair” you really are when you’re consistent.

3)      BE GENUINE

Who likes fake people? Anyone? You can’t teach this. You either are genuine or you aren’t. And your employees know it right away.

If you knew me and saw my office, you’d hear my iPod blaring, and see my lava lamp bubbling next to my Magic 8 Ball and the sword on my wall. I also just got a bobble head made of myself! (A gift from a vendor.) I only wish it was a tie dye shirt versus a blue oxford!

I’m passionate about everything I do. Honestly. More often than not people respond to this positively and most of them say that HR at our company is better because this is the tone that HR sets:

Love what we do and what you do!

Give it a try. Passion is awesome! Passion is critical! And – HR MUST be passionate !! – @sbrownehr

———-

Steve Browne bobble head Steve Browne, SPHR is an HR pro who is passionate about connecting people. He runs an internet message board (the HR Net) – with over 7,500 global subscribers – and enthusiastically facilitates monthly HR Roundtable meetings in Cincinnati. Steve actively serves on the SHRM Board of Directors, and is a popular speaker at HR Conferences, HR Associations and business/community groups.

Want to be a part of the HR Net? Let Steve know! Follow him on Twitter at @sbrownehr.

Categories: Blog, Human Resources
Posted on February 15, 2010

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