There's no way...

that the UK voters will choose to leave the EU

that the Cavaliers will come back from trailing three games to one and beat the Warriors in the NBA finals

that Donald Trump is a serious candidate for President

that Donald Trump will win a single Presidential primary

that Donald Trump will become the Republican Party Presidential nominee

that Leicester City will win the Premier League

that the United States Congress will continue to react to increasing and worsening mass murders and shootings by doing more or less nothing

that the 'restricted' caller who calls me four or five times each day will continue his or her relentless approaches (ok, that one is really just a personal gripe)

that Microsoft will do anything to LinkedIn that won't be fantastic for LinkedIn users - especially the non-paying ones

that your CEO doesn't have the very best interests of you and the rest of the employees there at ACME Widget company top of mind when making his or her business decisions

that the best producing employee on your team will leave to join the competition for a few more dollars - after all - 'You have a great culture!'

that we won't be shocked by the next shocking turn of events - we know better!

Have a great weekend!

Discovering the Next Great HR Technology Company

Quick break from the normal fare to give a quick update and share some information about the upcoming HR Technology Conference that will be held October 4 - 7, 2016 in Chicago.

For several years at the Conference we have presented an "Awesome New Startups for HR" session that has featured many of the most innovative and exciting new HR technology startups that have emerged in the last few years - many of whom have gone on to even bigger and better things since they "launched" at the show.

This has always been a fantastic session and one of the highlights of the Conference, but in the planning process for this year's event, we thought about how to make the "Awesome" session even more awesome. I will skip all the bad ideas and just get to the great one we landed upon - let's make the "Awesome New" session a little bit more like reality TV - in our case the show "The Voice".

If you are not familiar with "The Voice" the primary feature that distinguishes it from other reality talent shows is that a panel of expert coaches guide and champion the talent that is vying for the crown. These coaches on the TV show are experts and stars in their own right, and their insight and advice helps the contestants to not only compete on the show, but will help them in the future as well. It is not every day that an unknown singer gets some personal coaching from an established star.

So what we are going to do this year at HR Tech is borrow from the main concept of "The Voice" and morph the "Awesome Startups" idea into something we are calling "Discovering the Next Great Technology Company", that will take some of these concepts and bring them to the event in Chicago.

To do that, I am partnering with my own team of HR and HR Technology experts - Jason Averbook, Trish McFarlane, Madeline Laurano, George LaRocque, and Kyle Lagunas who will help find, coach, and determine the 'Next Great Technology Company' that will win that illustrious title at the Conference in October. More details on this amazing session are coming soon, but there is one bit of information that I want to communicate right away - the process and information for HR technology startups to apply to be considered for this honor.

Here are the important details:

HR Tech startups can submit to be considered and get more information at:

http://www.hrtechnologyconference.com/ant.html

One that page you will find instructions, information, and the link to the application forms. There is no charge to apply, but the deadline is coming up fast, so interested HR technology providers should not hesitate in applying.

And one last note, because I know I am going to be asked - the "Awesome New Technology" session at the Conference for larger, established HR tech companies will once again be held at the event, and it uses the same application form at the same link as above. We have not, (this year anyway), given that session the reality TV make over just yet.

Thanks for your indulgence on this, and please do share the post and the link to apply to these sessions with any innovative HR tech company you know.

'The truth isn't always criticism. Sometimes it's just the truth'

In the wake of the Cleveland Cavaliers victory in the NBA Finals on Sunday night, former Cleveland Browns (NFL football for those who may have forgotten about the woeful Browns), and NFL legend Jim Brown was being interviewed and was asked to share his thoughts on the city of Cleveland on one of the sports talk radio shows that were recapping the Cavs win. Brown, as the de facto representative and patriarch of Cleveland sports, had all the right and expected things to say about Cleveland, the Cavs, and their star LeBron James.

The interview was not all that interesting, until for some reason the host changed the topic from the Cavs and towards Brown's comments on another former Browns player, running back Trent Richardson. Richardson, as I am sure you do not know, was a highly touted player coming out of college, but for some reason did not translate into a successful, (or even average), NFL player and is not out of the league.

While many NFL talent scouts and media had picked Richardson for a star in the NFL, Jim Brown himself did not - seeing Richardson as 'nothing special', and never considering him likely to become a star or even a productive NFL player.

On the talk show, the host asked Brown about Trent Richardson, reminding him that he was one of the only people to correctly predict Richardson would never be able to live up the the high expectations. and would never be a star in the NFL and in response Brown made the following observation, (I am paraphrasing a bit, but the gist of what he said is accurate):

You know I am not really proud or happy about that prediction, and I was not trying to criticize him at all. I was just telling the truth. And the truth isn't always criticism, sometimes it's just the truth. And that's what it was for him.

Preach it Jim Brown. 

I think this little anecdote is worth thinking about and keeping in mind as more and more organizations transition away from the traditional annual performance management/review process and cadence and more towards a more frequent, regular, and lighter weight feedback scheme. 

More feedback, even if it is the 'truth', (and that is definitely not always the case), increases the opportunities and likelihood for this feedback to be interpreted as criticism, and we all know how much fun being criticized is.

As we see in the case of Brown's 'truthful' observation about Richardson, the difference between 'criticism' and 'truth' often is only determined by who is talking and who is listening. 

Reunion

Yesterday was Father's Day here in the US and I hope any Dads reading this had a fantastic day basking in the adoration of your kids and the rest of your family. I am sure you deserved all the gifts and accolades you received.

I am a Dad myself, and I had a great day with my son even as he was applying a pretty comprehensive beat down on me in tennis. I chalk it up to a slightly injured shoulder. Let's not quibble about the fact that the injury is to my right shoulder and I play tennis as a left hander.

Father's Day naturally makes you think about family, and the value and importance of taking time to get away from the grind and spending time with family, friends, and even just doing the things that make your happy, and that help you remain energized to come back to the office on Monday ready to kick some butt.Maesta - Sean Scully

I don't think we, as individuals and as organizational or HR leaders think about that as much as we should. I mean consciously thinking about how what we do and how we spend our time outside of work (usually) matters far more than the 36 new emails we are going to have in our inbox by 8:40 Monday morning or whether or not we got invited to the 'big' meeting on Thursday.

In what might be classified as ironic, I spent a decent amount of time over the weekend reading and thinking about a recently published study titled Overworked America, by Heather Boushey and Bridget Ansel. In the paper, Boushey and Ansel report that average working hours, particularly in many higher wage, professional occupations continue to climb, at the same time as hours for many lower wage and hourly positions are falling.

You really should read the entire report, but here is the overview so you can get a feel for the research:

Hard work is part and parcel of the American Dream, but at a certain point, working excessive hours can be detrimental to families, businesses, and the U.S. economy. While there are federal laws that govern work hours, these legal protections have slowly eroded, and some Americans are putting in more time at work than ever before. What's more, the United States has seen a polarization in working time, meaning that some segments of the labor market have seen a rise in work hours and others are working much less.

This report looks at the rising number of employees working long hours—sometimes earning high salaries or overtime pay, but too often not—and the implications for individuals, families, businesses, and the U.S. economy.

There's a lot to take from the report - not the least of which is the really interesting theory that the job roles where people tend to work the longest are also the one with the most supply ready, willing, and able set of lower-paid replacement workers. But the big takeaway from me as I read the report was that we all probably should be doing more to find better balance - as individuals that often should be more available and present for our families and friends, and as organizations who should realize that working people excessively is bad for business and for employees too.

I have to admit I did not think about or do any 'real' work on Father's Day. 

I hope you didn't either.

Have a great week!

PODCAST - #HRHappyHour 249 - HireVue, Digital Disruption, and the Big Lies in HR

HR Happy Hour 249 - HireVue, Digital Disruption, and the Big Lies in HR

Recorded LIVE at HireVue Digital Disruption 2016, Park City, Utah

Hosts: Steve Boese, Trish McFarlane

Guest: Mark Newman, Founder & CEO, HireVue

LISTEN HERE

This week on the HR Happy Hour Show, Steve was joined by Mark Newman, Founder & CEO of HireVue, the leading technology provider of video-based technology solutions for talent acquisition, assessment, and talent analytics. HireVue essentially created the category of 'video interviewing', but now are much more than just that, with new technology on assessments, coaching, and deep learning now a part of the overall talent platform. On the show Mark shares the larger HireVue story and then talks about the three 'Big Lies' in HR and Talent - one, We NEED more candidates;, two, Millennials don't want long careers with any one company;, and three, The War for Talent is back on.

Mark shared some great ideas on how organizations can avoid getting trapped by these 'big lies' and how technology plays a role in managing these challenges.

You can listen to the show on the show page here, or by using the widget player below:

This was a fun, and really interesting conversations with one of the most interesting technology leaders in the HR tech space.

Many thanks to HireVue for having the HR Happy Hour at Digital Disruption this year.

And also thanks to our sponsor Virgin Pulse, learn more about them at www.virginpulse.com.

Remember to subscribe to the HR Happy Hour show on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, or any podcast app - just search for 'HR Happy Hour' to never miss a show!