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

#ILSHRM13 - You, Your Team and Your Culture, We've Got You Covered!

We have a guest post today from ...

Sabrina Baker

Sabrina Baker (@sabrinalbaker) is a certified human resource professional who spent eleven years in the corporate trenches before experiencing a layoff in 2010.  That experience drove her to start her own human resource consulting and recruiting business focused on not only helping employers, but employees too.  She is passionate about helping job seekers and in 2012 co-founded Discovering Social in an effort to help job seekers navigate this very different job market.  Sabrina serves in several volunteer roles including the current conference chair for the Illinois State Council of Human Resources

The annual ILSHRM conference is committed to providing HR practitioners, vendors and consultants across the state a chance to learn, grow and network.  Every year we spend a great deal of time focusing on how we can make the annual event something that allows attendees the opportunity to walk away with ideas to improve themselves and their work environment.

This year will be no different.

Even though ILSHRM is sharing its city with the National SHRM Conference in June, we are still planning on a full ILSHRM event in August.  On August 18-20, ILSHRM will be hosting its 13th annual state conference.  The event will be held at Drury Lane in Oakbrook, IL.

My goal as Conference Chair is to provide every attendee with a to-do list when they leave our conference.  It is my belief that after every conference one attends they walk away with one of three thoughts (or variations thereof):

"Wow that was nice, but not sure what to do with all of that info."

"Well that was a total waste of time.  Can't wait to see how many emails I have waiting."

"I learned some great things over the past couple of days and cannot wait to start implementing."

I want everyone walking away thinking that last one.  Yes our conference is nice and yes you will walk back into work with 337 emails to answer, but hopefully you will walk away with some key takeaways to help improve both you and your professional lives.

To that end, I am very pleased to announce the following keynote speakers.  We have a Doctor, a Chief Human Resource Officer, an operations-turned HR leader and a self-professed failed HR pro turned influential speaker, writer and social media pro.  Sounds like a pretty eclectic group right?

Dr. Daniel Crosby (@incblot) will be kicking us off with his motivational speech, "You're Not That Great!"  Dr. Crosby is a psychologist and behavioral finance expert who helps organizations understand the intersection of minds and markets.  He has been featured in the Huffington Post, Registered Rep and Risk Management Magazine.  He was recently named as one of the 12 thinkers to watch in the world of organizational psychology and has worked with clients such as Morgan Stanley, Grant Thornton and NASA (yes NASA).

The duo of Laurie Ruettimann (@lruettimann) and Kris Dunn (@kris_dunn) will be walking us through the "9 Faces of HR".  If you have pictures of a traditional nine box grid often used in succession planning, you are on the right track.  This nine box however will have the Laurie and Kris flare added to it.

Laurie has over a decade of Human Resources experience in Fortune 500 companies.  In addition to creating Punk Rock HR which was recognized by Forbes as one of the top 100 blogs for women, she was also the co-founder of several new media start-ups including HRM Today – the first social network for HR professionals.

Kris is a VP of HR type who has led HR practices in Fortune 500s and venture capital-held startups. He works for a living, and believes that the key to great business results is to get great people, then do cool stuff to maximize their motivation, performance and effectiveness once you have them in the door.   In his own words, here are his professional stats: 3 degrees. One marriage. An SPHR that's been recertified twice. 2,000+ hires. 1,000+ fires.  In addition to his own blog, Kris founded Fistful of Talent, a multi-contributor blog which provides daily HR insights.  Kris is one of the most transparent HR pro's you can find. 

As if those weren't enough, Dwane Lay (@dwanelay) will be wrapping up our conference with "Lean Culture: The Impossible, The Possible and Living on the Difference".  Dwane is the Head of HR Process Design for Dovetail Software a leading provider of HR case management and employee request management.   He is recognized as a leading authority on the application of Lean tools and techniques in Human Resources, as well as having a wealth of experience in applying business technology to improve HR processes.  Dwane holds an MBA from Lindenwood University, as well as having earned a Six Sigma Black Belt and is a certified Senior Professional of Human Resources.

I am thrilled about this lineup.  I believe each speaker is going to allow our attendees the ability to take a good look at themselves, their teams and the culture around them and figure out ways to improve all three.

Be on the lookout for other key announcements as we continue to prepare for the ILSHRM conference.  We anticipate attendee registration to open March 1, 2013.  We are also preparing an exciting Sunday event which should allow us to help HR professionals across the state with a very specific need (cryptic I know, but can't share anything more than that right now).

Hope to see you in August,

Sabrina Baker, PHR

ILSHRM Conference Chair

ILSHRM - HR people helping HR people

Cathy Plouzek

Hey ya’ll!  As our Blogger in Chief – Dave Ryan so eloquently put it…he has a new boss at ILSHRM!  The torch has been passed, the guard has been changed!  Welcome to another year.  I am really excited about this new “gig”.  We’ve got an enthusiastic team ofHR professionals  on the board and we are eager to get started.  Before I get into what’s new with ILSHRM, allow me to formerly introduce myself….

I’ve been an HR Pro for over 25 years.  Yes, for those of you counting, I started in HR when I was 10. In addition to my new ILSHRM responsibilities,   I just started a new “paid gig” as IntegratedHR Solutions Advisor for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.  

At the 2008
Chicago marathon. 

I’ve also served on Chapter and State Council boards for… let’s just say, a LONG time.  At the Chapter level, I’ve held positions of SHRM Foundation Chair, Membership Chair, President Elect, President, Past President, and Treasurer.   I joined the State Council board in 2010 as Conference Co-Chair.  Yes, I’ve no doubt drank the SHRM Kool-Aid!  

In my spare time, I run marathons for fun.  My husband and I enjoy hitting the pavement on our 26.2 mile runs for some “quality” couple time.  Who said running marathons is not FUN.

In his last post, our Blogger in Chief subtly suggested I use this space to share a few comments about our organization and my plans for the next two years.   For me, ILSHM is HR people helping HR people.  A few years ago, someone asked me why I volunteer for ILSHRM.  My answer was – NETWORKING, NETWORKING, and NETWORKING!  The friendships that I have made (both personally and professionally) while serving on the local and state boards are “second to none”.  It is a very comforting feeling to know that anytime I have a question or a challenge or a new project to tackle, that help can be found by phoning a colleague, sending an email, tweeting, Facebook posts, making a LinkedIn connection…  the list is endless.  That’s what I want us to focus on – building our ILSHRM network.  We have over 11,000 HR Pros/SHRM members in the State of Illinois – let’s get connected! 

On Sunday, January 27^th, the ILSHRM core board will hold our Strategy and Planning meeting where we will refine our vision, mission, and strategic priorities.  I’ve also asked the board to come prepared to discuss 3 chapter/at large and 1 state council initiative(s) that they want to tackle in 2013.   These initiatives will be recorded on a scorecard with deadlines and deliverables to help keep us on track.  On Monday, January 28th, volunteer leaders from all over the State will join us at our Annual State Leadership Conference.  The agenda for this conference is packed with workshops and breakout sessions to help us connect with each other and share best practices.  We will also present our scorecard and ask for feedback.

Well, that is a little about me, ILSHRM and a glance at where we are headed in the next couple of years.  Now, I’d love to hear from you.  What is ILSHRM to you?  Contact me on Twitter, LinkedIn or email  Share your ideas, stories, goals – and let’s get connected! 

-Cathy Plouzek - State Director ISC SHRM