Tag: Training

HR Rocks !!!

You just had to know that I was going to use this title at some point . . . .

Next week thousands of HR pros will convene in Las Vegas for SHRM11 and there are people all over the profession with differing views about the event.  But, I tend to lean more toward Charlie Judy’s viewpoint that it is a significant event for HR pros to attend.  The realization that we need to be continuously seeking professional development is a fact and not just something to comply with HRCI.

You see, if we don’t continue to learn more and be effective in our knowledge – we lack relevance.  Remaining relevant in today’s business environment is honestly our biggest challenge !!  You can cloak it in many different ways, but if we aren’t relevant, we will cease to exist.

So, what can all of us do to combat this?  Go to conferences !!

Unfortunately, I can’t attend SHRM11 and I am bummed because many of my friends from all over the country are going to attend and I am jealous.  However, I want to make sure that all of you also consider another great venue that is a viable option – the State SHRM Conferences !!

The “conferencing” opportunities after SHRM National are plentiful and I wanted to highlight a few for you to  consider:

The 2011 Wisconsin SHRM Conference happening 10/12/11 – 10/14/11 in Madison, Wisconsin.  They offer an incredible program with solid keynotes from Rich Horwath and Scott Christopher and are celebrating their 25th Anniversary as a State SHRM Conference !!

The 2011 Indiana State HR Conference on 8/29/11 – 8/31/11 in Indianapolis, Indiana features two great keynote as well – Steve Gilliland and Marcus Buckingham !!  The HR Florida State Conference & Expo also happens on 8/29/11 – 8/31/11 in Orlando, Florida.  Their keynotes include Tony Hseih, Lisa Ling and Daniel Pink !!

The 2011 Illinois HR Conference and Exposition will happen a week earlier on 8/22/11 – 8/23/11 in Chicago, Illinois.  The theme of HR Leaders: Inspire, Support and Challenge will be anchored by keynotes from Ryan Estis, Jason Lauritsen & Joe Gerstandt and also China Gorman.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Ohio’s conference – HR Rocks !!

You see, I’m the Chair of this year’s Conference and I’m so excited I could pop !!  Our program has been certified for 17.25 HRCI credit hours with 9.25 hours being Strategic !!  The conference happens 9/21/11 – 9/23/11 at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio.  Our keynotes include Simon Bailey and China Gorman and our program features many of the thought leaders you follow in the world of Social Media !!

I hope you can attend these great conferences and I would LOVE to feature all of the great State SHRM Conferences that happen all across the county !!  We need to understand that there is one more INCREDIBLE benefit from attending these events.

HR gets more connected !!  We need to continue to do this intentionally because we are stronger together vs. trying to fight the good fight on our own.  So, I’d like to offer to all SHRM State Conference folks out there, get in touch with me so we can get further connected !!  It would ROCK !!

We’re Just Playin’ !!

When it comes to training and OD, HR tends to take things to extremes.  We hire the best consultants, make sure we follow the newest trend of training noveau, and the more “HRey” it is, the better we feel justfied of our existence.

Okay, that’s a little extreme in itself.  But, the point is this – we try too hard when it comes to training exercises !!

I was made aware of this tendency at a recent retreat we had.  I was excited to be involved in training our great folks.  My topic was “Communication” and Operations told me I could be over the top to make sure we had fun.  I was a little skeptical about this honestly. I don’t mind going over the top whenever I do presentations to HR chapters, conferences or even other businesses, but I wasn’t sure how I would be accepted.

The Ops leaders threw another curve at me when they said they were going to kick off the day with something “fun.”   My abject fear of the Lifeboat Exercise was racing through my mind (when you’re given just one item and then you determine who should survive).  Just what was fun going to be?

When the day of the event came up, we met at a very cool place called Blue Ocean Facilities . Spread out all over the room were board games. Everything from Clue to Apples to Apples. (my personal fave)  The Ops Leaders then pulled out the classic OD training technique of numbering us off from 1 to 6.  Then the radical instructions came – “Okay, now we’ll go by numbers, pick a board game as a group and go play it.”

That was it.  Go play the game. One GM even started by saying “So, what’s the real meaning here that you’re looking for?” Isn’t that sad that we’re conditioned to expect some hidden agenda even before we started?

No agenda. We just played board games for the first 1 1/2 hours of the day.  It was a riot !! BTW – my team picked Apples to Apples and we howled and laughed the entire time. When we finished one round, we had the option to change, but my group stayed with it to laugh even more.

Playing a game set the stage for the rest of a VERY successful day where we did take time to learn about better communication as well as improving our guest’s experience.

Here’s something I’d like all of HR to remember . . .

When we were kids the world was limitless. We could imagine anything from simple household items and change the world with our imagination.  We also played constantly. Everything was a game !!

You know what happens when kids grow up ??  They become our employees.

So, keep things simple.  Play a game !! It’s the best “training” you’ll ever do !!