Connecting with People On-Line

Susan Avello

Another guest post from ....

Susan Avello is Social Marketing Consultant and Principal of Social Buzz Concepts, specializing in Corporate Social Media Marketing Solutions, Training and Development. She shares her knowledge of Work-Life Balance, Social Media in the Workplace, and the latest in Technology over at HR Virtual Cafe blog, SHRM WeKnowNext and Social Media Today, and is a part of the social press team for SHRM annual conference and IHRIM Technology Conference. She is social media chair for Illinois SHRM State conference and helps Job Seekers and Veterans with their social job search as Co-Founder of DiscoveringSocial.com. She is the recipient of 2011’s Most Influential Women in Business award by Chicago’s Daily Herald Business Ledger, the National Association of Women Business Owners and Women’s Innovation Network. Follow her on Twitter @susanavello.

I'm a part of a fantastic community called #TChat (Talent Culture) and World of Work started by the awesome Meghan Biro. You should check out the TChat radio program on Tuesday evenings and our Twitter Chat on Wednesdays > Read more about that HERE. This is a fabulous global professional discussion where we discuss things from Social Business and Branding to Careers and the World of Work.

This past Wednesday we discussed "Connecting Career Dots" and let me say it was a great discussion. I learn so much from this community. You need to connect with them. It's always great to learn from others in business and hear their expertise, experience and to always be learning. One of the questions that was on the agenda that we discussed was our "What is your advice to those in the Job Market for utilizing technology" and my answer was a big "Build your Community BEFORE you need it!"

Building an online community takes time, effort and patience. Some people just don't get this.

Some people start their social strategy without a strategy and think that they can immediately start selling their wares, themselves, their careers, their resume's or whatever and that's just not how it works.  It takes time to build a trusted brand and community that includes sharing others content, retweeting, interacting, engaging and proving that you're an expert in your field. Why would you want to shoot it all to hell by self promotion?

Social Community Building is a sticky wicked. Granted, you're there to show the world how fabulous you are but there is a thin line between self-promotion and showing you're all that! It's more about relationship building.

I have folks tell me all the time "Susan, you are so connected - how did you ever get that way?"

My answer? I follow folks that I wanna connect with. I engage with them. I share their awesome content. I make them laugh. I comment on their updates. And then they start noticing you.......it starts happening. They start following you back. They start commenting on your updates, and so on, and so on.

Yes, this takes a lot of time and perseverance. But the end justifies the means.

I know that if and when I need anything, I have a community that knows the answer or where to go to get it. These folks trust me and are totally willing to lend a hand, send a recommendation, help me get a job or refer me to someone who needs my goods.

If you were laid off today or needed an immediate answer to a pertinent question do you have that community that you could go to for these kinds of things? Something to ponder.

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This post was originally aired over at HRVirtualCafe.com. .

Photo Credit: Andar360

HR , Job Satisfaction & Bar B Q

I live in Springfield, Il. In case you didn’t know I will tell you that it is the Capital City of Illinois (no it is not Chicago). There is very little manufacturing in the city. The economy is driven largely by government jobs, then health care and insurance. Since there are so many folks working in government jobs, there is one theme that re-occurs over and over. The level of job dissatisfaction amongst government employees seems very high based on the comments that so many of them offer. I read time and time again about how those of us in HR need to engage our employees, and do our best to retain them, I look at these folks and I am dumbfounded.

Recently, I called a State of Illinois office in Springfield, and after a few phone trees I was talking to a fellow who seemed only able to communicate in monosyllabic utterances (higher form of a grunt). I asked him how his day was gong. His response, “… Better in 7 hours and 30 minutes.” Ok this guy is a public servant. I feel sorry for this guy. He needs to quit his government job and find something that makes him minimally happy or provides him some level of fulfillment – even if it is less money. This would make his life better. This is so apparent to me.

Earlier this month my wife and I were on a weekend trip to Rolla, Mo to visit my oldest son, who was in town for an alumni event. On Saturday evening we were going to go out to dinner. We decided to try someplace that we had never eaten, in five years of traveling to this Central Missouri town of about twenty thousand. You can hit most of the places in about 18 months as a parent. So my son and his student girlfriend took us to one of the newer establishment in the area. Just about three miles north of I-44 at mile post 185 is Randy’s Road Kill BBQ & Grill. (573)368-3705

The Ryan Clan dining & Randy Standing behind us.

The four of us sat down, looked at the menu and chatted briefly with our server. We ordered our food, and were served some really grand BBQ with all of the trimmings. Not too long after we had dined, a gentleman stopped by our table to see how everything was. After a fashion I had gathered that this was the proprietor. So I boldly asked him, “You must be Randy?” I was right.

Randy Hrovat then spent the next 10-15 minutes conversing with us, breaking away now and again to squelch a potential problem. He told us he had built this building himself. He came up with all of his own recipes. He had hire and trained all of his employees. Randy has done it all. He quit a successful career in sales to undertake this venture. He has leveraged most of his life savings into this establishment. But – Randy is happy and loves what he is doing. He told us that. You can see it in his eyes and his face. He is passionate about everything in his place of business. Randy has it figured out. Unlike my phone assistant who is employed by the State of Illinois.

I have written other posts on loving what you do. I think this is the only way that people will find true happiness in their work. So for those of us in HR we need to help folks find this happiness, even if that might mean moving them out of our organizations.

And in closing, if you travel between St. Louis and Tulsa on I-44 stop in Rolla and see Randy, being sure to order the Roadkill Loaded Chips as an appetizer – and then head over to A Slice of Pie in Rolla [(573)364-6203] for a decadent desert .

 - Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC - SHRM

Employee Engagement for Volunteers

Today’s blog subject is employee engagement. In search of a succinct definition I turned to Google.  The third return is from Wikipedia and the first thing they tell us is… “This article needs attention from an expert on the subject.”   So it would appear that even Wikipedia is searching for a great definition just like the rest of us in HR. While there is a lot being said and written about the subject, most of that is in the employer/employee realm.  

Let’s move into the volunteer realm, say for example a local SHRM chapter. For the old HR hand, the old joke is this; we pay them don’t we – there’s their motivation!  Well in this instance the answer is no.  So as a chapter leader (PTA, Boy Scouts, Church club – you pick the organization) leader how do you engage your staff, when money is not one of the tools in your tool box.  Now it gets more difficult.

Hopefully your volunteer joined the organization because they wanted be a part of the group – not because their boss/spouse/co-worker goaded them into joining. They may have a special connection to the group, or their motivation may be somewhat obscured.

But in the long run, the volunteer is not all that different than the employee who needs all of the things that a good employer would be sharing with their top employees.

So to get the most out of your volunteers here are some, oh so simple but effective concepts …

• Treat them like paid staff
• Make them feel appreciated
• Share the organization’s mission and goals with them
• Get to know them
• Be passionate
• Be organized – don’t waste their time (remember we’re not paying them)
• Make sure their efforts are not taken for granted
• Celebrate their successes

This won’t guarantee a successful volunteer but it will help. Just because they are not being paid doesn’t mean that they don’t want to be treated respectfully.

- Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC- SHRM