Can you Wiki?

Just finished reviewing and evaluating the Leveraging Technology class Wiki projects. I asked the class to create sample intranet content using the Wiki for our class 'fake' company, Ellis Todd Associates.

I was really very pleased with the project and the quality of the student's efforts. One page had more than 200 revisions. The class created interactive content and not just text and links. We had embedded polls from Zoho Polls, YouTube video, presentations from SlideShare and Meebo Me widgets.

The project hammered home the point for me that HR staffs, no matter how small, or seemingly technologically unprepared, can effectively utilize Wiki for numerous purposes. My students built the foundation for a decent small company intranet in about 6 weeks, with no prior experience, all in their free time.

If you are a small organization wondering if wiki technology is right for you, I think the answer is probably yes. Drop me a note or leave a comment and maybe I (or one of my students) can help.

The Links for August 8, 2008 - Week 10

One of the things I do for each week of class is post a list of 'Links for the Week'.  Most are about HR Technology, some are about other HR Topics, and some are just stuff I found interesting that week. 

Since tomorrow is the last class of the quarter, and the class wiki (where I post the links) is going to be 'sunsetted' in a few weeks, I figure I better get some of the best links migrated over here to the Blog.

So, here are (most) of the Links for Week 10.....

1. From 37signals - the  Backpackproduct can be used like the wiki for fast, easy intranet-type deployments


2. Yanks do what they always do - try to win this year - Yanks get Pudge


3. Sun Microsystems uses Second Life for a 12 Hour meeting designed on introducing employees from a newly acquired company to Sun - Meeting details


4. Article from E-week that theorizes that IT professionals should focus on Deploying Web 2.0 applications to their users. I still think it is HR that will and should take the lead in this area, but the article makes some decent points


5. Pirates do what they always do - give up and trade their best players away - MLB Trade recap


6. Searching for my lost ring with one of these


7. From the McKinsey Quarterly article Building the Web 2.0 Enterprise


8. For those folks interested in Flexible Work and new ways of working check out what is going on at Best Buy


9. Excellent overview of SuccessFactors and the software market for Talent Management from Workforce online 

What we've learned about Wikis

As the quarter winds down and the class 'Wiki as intranet' project is just about completed, here are some of the key findings and observations on the project and about Wiki use in the class.

1. If Wikis are new to your program, chances are 90% of the students will have never 'used' a Wiki, beyond reading entries on Wikipedia.

2. Even though Wikis are touted as simple, no-training-required tools, doing more that adding simple text will initially require demonstration and review for most non-technical students.

3. Wikis that make as simple as possible the steps for embedding video, slide shows, Flickr images, chat, and polls (love Zoho Polls for this), will be most effective in the classroom

4. For the best chances of adoption of the Wiki as the primary class communication platform, put everything on the Wiki.  Syllabus, course overview, assignments, presentations, and any 'sign-ups' should all be Wiki pages.  Encourage the class to post questions and comments everywhere.

5. Old habits are still hard to break, you may need to 'cross-post' for a time in both the Wiki and the old course management system.  Certain items like the gradebook still have to reside in the CMS. Try not to make the students have to bounce back and forth between the two platforms too often.

6. Keep the wiki alive even after the class ends.  There's lots of good information there.  Figure out a way to keep it accessible for students in the future.

I am absolutely convinced that Wikis are a much more effective tool for almost all class activities, with the added bonus of giving the students exposure and experience to a technology they will see in the workplace.

A fake meeting in a Virtual World

In my HR Technology class we use a fictional company called Ellis Todd Associates for a number of exercises and assignments.  I even had the students race to figure out where the I got the name for the fake company, (it is the reverse of the great Todd Ellis, Gamecock QB legend).

So for our last in-class exercise I struggled for some time, trying to come up with an activity for the students that would be interesting, relevant, and a 'fit' for the curriculum.

A have a couple of software packages that I use in-class. Aside - many, many thanks to Sandy at SpectrumHR for the very generous donation of her time and access to a demo database of their fantastic iVantage system. 

But I really wanted to do something different and more cutting-edge.  So I decided to ask the class to create Second Life accounts and that for the final in-class activity we'll have an all employees meeting for Ellis Todd Associates in Second Life.  RIT has an island and lots of space, so we are covered for a fake conference room,

A fake meeting of a fictitious company in a virtual world.

I can't wait to see how it turns out.

What is HR Technology?

I think one of the toughest challenges in developing and facilitating a course about HR Technology is deciding which areas of the technology spectrum to emphasize, and what areas to give only passing comment to, or perhaps ignore completely.  Most all mid-size to large organizations already have implemented technology solutions for core HR functions, time and attendance, payroll etc.  Those solutions and systems are mostly well understood by students, and quite honestly pretty boring.

Even more advanced solutions like Employee Self Service and online annual Benefits Open Enrollment are fairly ho-hum to most students.  Many, many organizations have implemented these solutions over the last five years or so. 

Common across all the above types of solutions for those processes is that they rarely, if ever lead to any real competitive advantage in the marketplace, beyond achieving some cost savings and potentially avoidance of any troublesome compliance issues.  Does having an efficient time and attendance system win you any customers?  Does the best talent want to come to your company (and stay) because of your wonderful payroll system?  Most likely no and no.  Good talent may walk away if you can't pay them correctly, but that is another story.

So that leads me as an instructor to want to focus the material on the types of solutions and processes that can add real value, that help attract and retain key talent, and develop that talent for future leadership roles.  Things like recruiting, performance management, succession planning, and the tools and solutions that are available in the market to automate and improve those processes.

And what about newer Web 2.0 technologies that are only on the surface indirectly related to HR?  Things like wikis, blogs, and RSS?  I am certainly seeing the interest and need from the students to learn about and consider these technologies in their HR roles.  But sometimes I worry that by spending too much time on Web 2.0, I lose the focus on the 'core' of HR and the real reason the class was created.

So, if you had to design an HR Technology course, what would you focus on?