The Cradle of Coaches, or Celebrating your Ex-employees

Note: It's 'HR and Sports' this Friday on the HR Happy Hour show, and in that spirit, I figured I'd try some posts with some kind of sports angle. Apologies in advance, Kris Dunn over at the HR Capitalist does these type of posts way better than anyone else, in fact you should probably stop reading this and click over there right now.

Still here? Ok here goes:

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In American college athletics it is not uncommon for coaches to have some success at smaller programs at lesser-known schools, then move out and up to higher paying, more prestigious jobs at so-called 'major' universities, like Ohio State, Notre Dame, or Florida. It does seem that almost every year one of these highly lucrative positions is filled in this way.

One of these smaller programs is the Miami University of Ohio. Miami of Ohio is known as the 'Cradle of Coaches', based on the numerous legendary coaches that worked there, and then went on to have remarkable success at larger, more well-known universities as well as in professional football. Just some of the coaches that have Miami roots are Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, Ara Parseghian, and Jim Tressel.

Ara Parseghian - Time Magazine - Nov. 20, 1964The interesting thing is that Miami is not the only smaller program to have had this experience, but by embracing it, and celebrating the achievements of former coaches once they have left Miami, they have created a kind of sustainable competitive advantage for talent compared to their most likely competitors for coaching talent.

Any candidate for an opening at Miami would absolutely know of this rich history of successful coaches moving on from Miami to the highest echelon of the profession.  And for a highly competitive field like collegiate coaching this is a huge selling point.  Come and coach here at Miami, and we can help you on your path to becoming the next National Coach of the Year at whatever 'big' school you go to next.  They take advantage of this legacy by fully embracing it, in fact they are planning to erect statues of many of the legends that built the 'Cradle of Coaches' history.

How many 'regular' organizations do you know that celebrate the achievements of ex-employees in such an explicit manner? Think of organizations that typically recruit new graduates or early career professionals.  A compelling factor for the best talent among them might very well be, 'What can I do next with the experience I gain here?'  For smaller companies,or ones in the non-profit or educational sector that can't usually compete evenly on salary and benefits, this may be one source of advantage that can be exploited.

Instead of limiting your pitch to the potential career paths within your organization, what about highlighting some of the success stories of people who left and then went on to achieve success in other places, or as entrepreneurs? Instead of just having current employee testimonials on your corporate job site, why not try and include interviews with some of your most famous alumni who would be willing to talk about how their experience with your organization set them up for long-term professional success?

Who is the most successful ex-employee from your organization right now?

Are you using that story to your best advantage?

Coming up on the HR Happy Hour

We have a pretty full and I think exciting schedule of shows coming up on the HR Happy Hour the next few months.

Here is what Shauna and I have planned: (Times and Guests subject to change):

Episode 8 - 'HR and Sports' - August 28, 2009  - 8PM EDT

What are the connections between Sports and HR and Talent Management? Is managing superstar employees at all like managing superstar athletes? What can coaching Little League baseball tell you about management? Are my beloved Jets going to get the Super Bowl? Shauna and I will talk about these topics and who knows what else with scheduled guests Tracy Tran, Todd Kmiec, Lance Haun and Kris Dunn.

Episode 9 - 'HR and Small Business' - September 11, 2009 - 8PM EDT

Small businesses and small HR departments have lots of challenges.  Lack of resources, budget, time, and access to information can all put small businesses at a disadvantage.  What are some strategies that small business and small HR departments can use to try and level the playing field with their larger, and usually better equipped competition?  Set to join Shauna and I are Charee Klimek and Franny Oxford.

Episode 10 - 'The Job Seekers Show' - September 18, 2009 - 8PM EDT

We know unemployment is almost 10% in the US, and much higher than that in many especially hard-hit states.  This show is all about giving some practical, simple advice and strategies for the job-seeker,  facing the worst economic climate in generations. Folks that are actively searching are encouraged to call in with their questions.  Scheduled to join us and share their expertise are Jennifer McClure, Paul DeBettignies, Deirdre Honner, and Robin Eads.

Episode 11 - 'Talent and Technology' - September 25, 2009 - 6PM EDT

This should be a really fun show coming to you live from the offices of Halogen Software, a leading HR Technology vendor in the Talent Management Technology space.  Shauna and I will welcome some great folks from Halogen to talk about these technologies, the benefits that can be gained from the use of these tools, and some of the critical success factors necessary for organizations that embark on these projects.  Halogen has been a great support of my HR Tech class, and the HR blogging and social media community and I am really pleased to take the show to their headquarters.

Episode 12 - 'The Work/Life Show' - October 9, 2009 - 8PM EDT

The Work/Life balance debate really heated up this summer after the Jack Welch speech at the SHRM national convention.  Is there really such a thing as Work/Life balance?  Do employees have a right to expect flexibility or Alternative Work Strategies?  Should companies toss out schedules altogether and move to a Results Only Work Environment (ROWE)?  Shauna and I will welcome Leanne Chase and Chris Ferdinandi to figure it all out.

Episode 13 - 'HR Horror Stories' - October 23, 2009 - 8PM EDT

Shauna had a great idea for a 'Horror Stories' show to fit the Halloween season.  This show will be all about taking your calls with the scariest, craziest, and most frightening HR stories that you can share. Employee forgot to wear pants to work? Illegal escort service being run out of the stockroom? Anyone pull a George Costanza with the office cleaning lady?  Here's your chance to share with the world.

That's it for now, as always the archives for past shows can be found at my Blog Talk Radio page.

One discusson, three platforms, twenty peeps

Ok, so that was a bad title, this is really just a little story of how some social media tools facilitated some fantastic dialog and ongoing discussion on real business and Human Resources issues.

Last Friday night Shauna and I did a HR Happy Hour Show about Tattoos, Piercings, and Diversity in the workplace. The show was really a discussion on company culture, and how culture is developed and perpetuated in the workplace.  It was a really fun show, and I encourage you to listen to the archive here:

 Also since there is no live show tonight, this should give you your HR Happy Hour fix until next week.

The next morning, Saturday, the culture discussion continued on Twitter among myself, The HR Maven, and Tammi Colson. We kicked around the idea of culture being a top-down, leadership driven construct versus the notion of company culture really begin driven and enforced so to speak by employees themselves. It was a pretty interesting exchange to have early on a Saturday morning, but definitely very interesting and informative

On Tuesday I blogged here about Technology and Company Culture, mostly riffing the conversation from the show and form the impromptu Twitter chat on Saturday morning. The basic question I asked was can the application of collaboration technology actually drive a change in company culture.  There was some excellent comments and discussion on the post.

And of course the debate carried over to Twitter on Tuesday night, where Beth Carvin, Kevin Grossman, Robin Schooling and I debated the whole Technology and culture issue some more.

So by my count the final tally was one radio show with about ten active participants, one blog post with about eight commenters, and two separate twitter chats involving five more people.

All great discussions, all happening in 'off hours' (heck on Tuesday night I was grilling ribeyes and having a beer during the chat), and all enabled by various social media tools.

And by the way, just some of the 'titles' represented in the various discussions - CEO, VP of HR, HR Director, and VP of Marketing among others. Look the titles don't really mean all that much to me, but I mention them to underscore the point that social media in general and Twitter in particular is not all about inane blather about what people had for lunch.

I probably learned more about company culture in the last few days, from this diverse group of people that I had in the last five years.

Trust in Social Networks

I recently read a paper that studied a major organization's use of collaboration technologies (wikis, internal forums, and blogs) indicated the most commonly stated barrier to employee participation in knowledge sharing using online platforms is the fear that one's contributions were not going to be seen as relevant, important, or accurate.

If we accept that these fears are true barriers, then we must try and examine what causes them, and adopt strategies to mitigate them.

Why might an employee 'fear' contributing to an internal collaboration platform, or social network? Some potential reasons:

1. Confusion - I don't know what the heck to post on here anyway

2. Uncertainty - I'm not sure if this is even right information

3. Lack of confidence - I don't think anyone would care about this

4. Doubt - Can I even find important information here?

5. Pride - I really should know this answer myself, I can't ask such a dumb question

It seems that a lack of trust is the underlying cause of these issues.  But there are really two kinds of trust that factor in here, and it is important to understand the difference.Flickr - Salty Grease

One - I trust that you know what you are talking about

When I read your posts, comments, and answers to submitted questions, I have belief in your expertise and authority.  If I rely on your information to help make important decisions, I won't get burned.

Two - I trust that you won't make me look foolish for asking questions or posting information that is incorrect

Communities need a balance of those providing information with those seeking information. Seeking information in online collaboration platforms frequently involves explicit posting of questions, or leaving comments asking for more information or clarification on posted content. In an open, company-wide system this can certainly be intimidating for many employees that would prefer the 'protection' of phone calls or e-mails when seeking information.

Both types of trust have to be in place in an organization for a collaboration platform to take hold, grow, and thrive as an imortant resource.

So what steps can an organization take to help instill this trust, and enable participation in light of the barriers described above?

1. Confusion - I don't know what the heck to post on here anyway

Set some clear guidelines about what kinds of content are meant to be posted on the platform. Enlist some early 'power users' or champions to help seed content of the type and format that (at least initially) the platform is intended for.  Be very firm and clear about what content the organization deems inappropriate for the platform.

2. Uncertainty - I'm not sure if this is even right information

Encourage employees to share first, and question themselves seconds.  Let the community members themselves help guide newer, or less confident employees.  An environment where members comment, modify, and otherwise help to shape content is the key. Give employees the freedom to contribute 'part' of the answer, and not feel pressure to know everything on  given topic.

3. Lack of confidence - I don't think anyone would care about this

This is where a strong feedback loop inside the community is important. When it becomes a standard practice for others to comment on, enhance, and promote or rate contributions, you can start to mitigate the feeling of 'why would anyone care what I post'.

4. Doubt - Can I even find important information here?

Employees will only consult the community if they have success in finding either the information they seek directly, or a way to easily locate and connect with other members of the community likely to possess the needed expertise to help solve their issues.

5. Pride - I really should know this answer myself, I can't ask such a dumb question

Here is where Trust in the organization is really critical. Employees have to feel that content contributions can be made and questions asked in a 'safe' environment. That is not to say that incorrect or irrelevant information should be allowed to remain intact, but that criticism or comments be made in a positive and respectful manner. It is similar to a student that is reluctant to ask a question of the instructor in front of the entire class, but instead approaches the instructor privately, after class to ask the question.  Sure, the student may feel more comfortable, but the rest of the students do not get the benefit of both the question and the answer.  Better still, one of the other students may have had the answer for her in the first place.

In conclusion, organizations considering adopting tools for collaboration, or evaluating why their current projects are stagnant, need to take a very close look at these barriers to participation to see if they are present.  Selecting and deploying a tool is part of the solution, but creating and supporting an open, trusting environment to ensure its success is another matter entirely.

What methods might an organization use to encourage open participation in online employee communities?

Carnival Time - Training Time Style

The latest edition of the often imitated, never bettered Carnival of HR is up at the Training Time blog.

Lots of great contributions as usual, some of my favorites this time are:

Your HR Guy advises not to underestimate your social media connections

The HR Bartender on why some people get desperate when faced with failure.

and Sakib Khan, of HR with Sakib Khan, on how Google Wave can improve collaboration and HR.

And thanks to Training Time for including my post on the conditions necessary for collaboration environments to thrive - Care to Share

Great job as usual on the Carnival and happy reading!