ANNOUNCEMENT: The HR Happy Hour Show on Amazon Alexa - #HRHappyHour

I have written quite a bit about Amazon, the Alexa platform, and how excited and optimistic I am about voice interfaces for all kinds of workplace applications. I have been so interested in how Alexa, and voice more generally are going to impact and influence workplace tech, that a few months ago I thought it would be fun and instructive to try and learn how organizations and developers can leverage voice in their applications.

In order to try and have some purpose and structure to this investigation, I set out to achieve a goal - to create and syndicate a short, "Alexa" version of the HR Happy Hour Podcast that would be available to Alexa/Echo users as a part of their device's "Flash Briefing" or the daily news update that many Alexa users listen to once or even multiple times a day.

Long story short - today I am happy to share that the HR Happy Hour Show is on Alexa - as an Alexa skill that users can add to their Flash Briefing. In the Alexa app on your smartphone, simply search the library of skills for 'HR Happy Hour' to add the Alexa version of the HR Happy Hour Podcast to your daily Flash Briefing. On the HR Happy Hour on Alexa, myself and Trish McFarlane will share news, commentary, opinions, and excerpts from the full HR Happy Hour Podcasts. As always, these will discuss topics and issues about work, workplace technology, management, leadership, and more - basically shorter, tighter versions of what has made the HR Happy Hour Podcast so successful since its debut in 2009.

So for folks like me who are absolutely addicted to their Echo device, and talk with Alexa more than almost anyone else, please consider adding the HR Happy Hour on Alexa to your daily Flash Briefing.

As always, we would love your comments, feedback, and suggestions for topics and potential guests for this new version of the HR Happy Hour.

Thanks as always for your support!

PODCAST: #HRHappyHour 294 - Labor Day Special: Talking about Work

HR Happy Hour 294 - Labor Day Special: Talking about Work

Hosts: Steve Boese, Trish McFarlane

Listen to the show HERE

This week on the HR Happy Hour Show, for a special Labor Day 2017 weekend show, Steve and Trish share some of their experiences of work, workplaces, bosses, and more. Bad jobs, great jobs, crazy jobs, great bosses, horrible bosses and more. We also share some of our for the future of work and workplaces as we think about our own kids heading into the workplace soon.

You'll hear stories about horrible promotional trinkets, the pros and cons of working in a cemetery, catching fraudsters at the amusement park, how cold it is in a perishable foods warehouse, bosses that truly cared and made a difference, as well as bosses who left a pair of 16 year-old knuckleheads to run the store.

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

Labor Day is a great time to pause, reflect, and certainly to celebrate work and the workforce. We hope you like this fun episode where we share some of our best, worst, and most impactful memories of our work lives.

Happy Labor Day to all the HR Happy Hour fans and thanks as always for listening.

Thanks to show sponsor Virgin Pulse - learn more at www.virginpulse.com.

And subscribe to the HR Happy Hour Show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow the HR Happy Hour on Twitter - @HRHappyHour and tweet the show with your best/worst/favorite jobs and workplaces.

Life at 2.0x Speed

I was talking to some folks I met recently at an event about the HR Happy Hour Show, and the cool things that are happening there with the other HR Happy Hour Network Shows, (I admit to talking about this a lot. I'm sorry). During the conversation, one of the persons at the table indicated that she would love to listen to more podcasts, but she (like many of us, I suppose), felt like she just didn't have enough time in her day/week to fit them in. With work, family, friends, community involvement, etc, spending a couple of hours a week listening to all the great podcasts that people tell her about just seems not doable for her right now.

At that point another person who was sort of half-participating in the conversation chimed in that he had the same challenge finding time for podcasts too, but he's 'solved' it by now listening to his favorite podcasts at 1.5x or sometimes even 2.0x speed. For those who don't listen to podcasts regularly, or who just may not be familiar with the speed adjustment feature of podcast apps, all of them allow you to increase the speed of the podcast stream to 1.5x or even 2.0x the normal speaking rate. So at 1.5x speed, a 30 minute podcast could be listened to in 20 minutes. At 2.0x you could cover it in 15. It just speeds up everything you hear. It is kind of like the old speed reading craze, except with audio.

But, and this could be just a personal issue for me, listening at 1.5x or 2.0x speed is really unsettling. The podcast hosts and guests all seem really amped up on six cups of coffee, everything about the conversation feels nervous, and listening to people talk that fast for that long, never taking what would seem to be natural pauses or breaths is just really off-putting. But technically you can listen that fast if you, as our friend above, are so pressed for time that turning 30 minutes into 20 is important in your day/life. But I still think you shouldn't do it. It's too weird.

Why do I care about this enough to blog about it?

I probably shouldn't care, but I have thought about that conversation and mister 'I listen at 2.0x' guy a few times since it happened a couple of weeks ago. And I kind of felt bad, (and a little guilty too).

Bad for a guy who is just a representative of our hyper-focused, productivity over all, 24/7, 'more-more-more', professional climate that seems to value doing as much productive work as possible at all times. And in this instance, turning the concept of time itself into something that can be bent to the gods of productivity.

And guilty for the fact that I don't speed up the listen rate when I play back podcasts, I do, often, find myself trying to make people get to the point faster, cut to the chase in emails, and text me instead of calling me - lest an interaction that can be reduced to 16 seconds actually take 3 minutes.

I don't speed up my podcasts, but too often I (try) and speed up lots of other things. And that is probably as unsettling as listening to sportswriters talk about the NBA draft at double speed.

NOTE: I spent 28 minutes writing this post. With any luck, next time I can get it down to 21.

PODCAST - #HRHappyHour 273 - HR Tech 3.0 and More of What HR Leaders Need to Know

HR Happy Hour 273 - HR Tech 3.0 and More of What HR Leaders Need to Know

Host: Steve Boese

Guest: Randy Cooper, Co-CEO, PeopleStrategy

Listen HERE

This week on the show, host Steve Boese is joined by Randy Cooper, Co-CEO of PeopleStrategy to talk about some of the big themes and trends in HR and HR Tech as we begin 2017. First we had HCM 1.0, marked by 'big' systems that helped organizations manage all kinds of back office functions, then HCM 2.0, the beginning of the internet era, where we see the first HR and Recruiting processes migrate to the web.

Think the first ATS tools, Benefits outsourcing, the emergence of SaaS for Talent Management, etc. And now in 2017 we are at the start of HCM or HR Tech 3.0, where (hopefully) the best elements of both HCM 1.0 and 2.0 are coalescing and combining to create a set of greater capabilities, service delivery options, and advanced capabilities that back in the 1.0 days, we only dreamed about.

Does HCM 1.0 and 2.0 add up to HCM 3.0? Should HR leaders chase the next shiny object? Where can HR leaders turn to get better educated on the HR Tech landscape?

You can listen to the show on the show page HERE, or using the widget player below (email or RSS subscribers click through)

Listen to the show to hear a lively and interesting discussion about the current set of HR technologies, the challenges and opportunities they present, and what HR leaders need to know as they plan their organization's HR Tech strategies moving forward.

This was a fun and interesting show, thanks Randy for joining us.

And of course, thanks to our show sponsor Virgin Pulse - learn more at www.virginpulse.com.

Finally, subscribe to the HR Happy Hour Show on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, or your favorite podcast app.

ANNOUNCEMENT: The HR Happy Hour Podcast Network

I am super excited today to share some great news - the official launch of the HR Happy Hour Podcast Network, and the details of the three new shows that will soon debut on the HR Happy Hour umbrella. My co-host, Trish McFarlane and I are thrilled to be joined by such a great lineup of shows and contributors, and you can read the details of the announcement HERE.

Some quick backstory for folks who may not be familiar with the HR Happy Hour Show, (I know, shocking!), that will help explain and set the context for today's announcement.

Back in 2009 I was an adjunct instructor at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY teaching a graduate-level course for HR Master's students on the topic of HR Technology. At that time I got the crazy idea to try and record interviews with HR and HR Tech leaders, and make these audio files a part of the course's required materials for the class. I used the Blog Talk Radio platform to make the recording process a little easier for guests, as back then, even Skype was hardly in use by most folks, and fewer folks were recording podcasts on their own, in even a quasi-professional manner.

Since then, the HR Happy Hour Show has evolved and transformed. The first two or three years featured mostly live-streamed shows broadcasting at 8PM on Thursday nights, complete with callers, a lively Twitter backchannel on the #HRHappyHour hashtag, and even dedicated Google Wave threads!

In the last few years the HR Happy Hour has become a more traditional podcast, generally pre-recorded, or recorded live at industry events, and (lightly) edited to fit the now much more widespread and popular podcast format and formula. The last few years have seen a dramatic rise in the overall popularity of podcasting in a number of topics and domains, and I personally am proud that the HR Happy Hour Show was podcasting before podcasting was cool! We have had a series of great guests, covered the most relevant topics in HR, HR Technology, work, and the workplace, and had a lot of fun along the way.

And now with the launch of the new HR Happy Hour Network, these first three new titles, (details are in the release here), and to be partnering with such a great group of people, I am confident the next seven years of the HR Happy Hour will be just as much fun as the first seven.

Many thanks to everyone who has listened to, supported, or even guested on the show so far - stay tuned for more great and informative content, HR and HR technology insights, and hopefully - lots of fun from your pals at the HR Happy Hour Show and Network.