REMINDER: The HR Happy Hour Show on 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 351 - Creating a Culture of Ownership at Anheuser-Busch

HR Happy Hour 351 - Creating a Culture of Ownership at Anheuser-Busch

Hosts: Steve Boese, Trish McFarlane

Guest: Ago De Gasperis, VP, People, North America, Anheuser-Busch

Sponsored by Virgin Pulse - www.virginpulse.com

Listen HERE

This week on the HR Happy Hour Show, Steve and Trish were joined by guest Ago De Gasperis, VP, People North America for Anheuser-Busch who shared how the legendary brewer continues to innovate and develop its culture of "ownership" - where employees are supported and empowered to feel like true owners of the company, and not just dispensable resources whose opinions and ideas don't matter. Ago shared how Anheuser-Busch tries to bring this idea of ownership to life by instilling the idea in leaders and employees and how ownership is embedded in everytihng they do. From creating and shaping a Diversity and Inclusion agenda, to supporting a wide range of employee resource groups, to fostering a culture of innovation - the idea of employee led programs and employee ownership informs just about everything they do. 

Additionally, Ago shared some of the details and thinking that goes into A-B's efforts to recruit, develop, and support the next generation of company leaders and how in particular the People function looks to recruit from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines.

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

This was a really fun show, thanks to Ago for joining us and a big 'Cheers!' to the team at Anheuser-Busch.

Remember to subscribe to the HR Happy Hour Show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, Google Podcasts or your favorite podcast app - just search for 'HR Happy Hour'.

Three Observations from the LinkedIn 2018 Emerging Jobs Report

Recently, our pals at LinkedIn released their 2018 Emerging Jobs Report, a look at the jobs and skills that have been most in demand from employers on the LinkedIn platform, both in 2018 and over the last few years. it is a really excellent look at activity on the LinkedIn platform, which I am pretty confident in stating is the world's largest professional networking site, and which remains for many organizations one of the most important sourcing and recruiting tools.

I have been a little skeptical or perhaps cynical over the years at these kinds of reports, mainly because they always seemed to skew way towards the jobs and skills that Silicon Valley Tech companies were seeking, and was not terribly illustrative or indicative of the overall US labor market. Said differently, the kinds of jobs that LinkedIn usually reports are 'hot' are the kinds of jobs very few people actually have. Office and administrative support or retail salesperson (two of the most common job categories in the US), never make these lists. And while there remains a little of that kind of 'not the real world' feel to the Emerging Jobs Report, (you will see in a moment what I mean), there are also some pretty interesting and important insights in the report I wanted to highlight. So here goes..

1. As I alluded to above, the top 'emerging job' is one almost no one has

Number one on the LinkedIn list for emerging jobs in 2018 is called 'Blockchain Developer' with 33x growth in activity and interested in 2018. If you are a blockchain developer or are an HR or talent person who is recruiting blockchain developers, well, I probably have nothing else to offer you on this post. Suffice it to say, for 99% of us the next blockchain developer we run into will be the first. But let's keep looking through the report.

2. Number three on the emerging jobs list is actually a job lots of people have, most of us have someone in our lives who has this job, and lots of the HR and talent pros reading this are probably recruiting for - Application Sales Executive

According to LinkedIn, there has been a 8x increase in activity for these roles. This is pretty amazing to me, as there have been Application Sales Executives in just about every tech company for ages. For a mature kind of job type to see that much growth year over year is remarkable and also, hopefully a signal that the pace of innovation, development, and new technology hitting the market will continue in 2019. Sales is no doubt not for everyone, but this data suggests plenty of opportunity for those willing to put in the time and effort.

3. The number one skill that LinkedIn claims employers are having trouble finding has nothing to do with Blockchain, or AI, or software development of any kind.

LinkedIn says that 'Oral Communication' is the skill group with the highest shortage in nearly every major city in the country. Think skills like public speaking, effective communication, presentation skills and the like Maybe it's because we (the societal we) have spent a decade or more trying to convince every kid that he/she needs to learn how to code, that many of us, (especially anyone under 30), has essentially replaced phone calls with text messages, or that the classical liberal arts kind of education and background has over time been diminished in value. Whatever the reason, employers are having trouble finding candidates with quality skills in oral communication. That to me is more interesting than however many more people go chasing blockchain development skills in 2019.

Go check the entire report over on the LinkedIn blog. It is a fascinating look at one (admittedly big) slice of the job market.

Have a great week!

PODCAST: #HRHappyHour 350 - The US Labor Market and Economic Trends for 2019

HR Happy Hour 350 - The US Labor Market and Economic Trends for 2019

Hosts: Steve Boese, Trish McFarlane

Guest: Josh Wright, Chief Economist, iCIMS

Sponsored by Virgin Pulse - www.virginpulse.com

Listen HERE

This week on the HR Happy Hour Show, Steve was joined by Josh Wright, Chief Economist from iCIMS to talk about the important labor market trends, why these trends are important for HR and Talent Acquisition leaders, and what 2019 might have in store for the labor market and the economy at large.

Josh shared his thoughts on why HR and Talent leaders should care and follow these big picture data points and trends, why economics is the language of business, and how understanding the economic outlook at a macro and local level can help HR leaders make better decisions.

We also geeked out a little on some of the important economic data sets like the monthly jobs report, weeky new jobless claims, and Steve's favorite, the monthly BLS JOLTS report. In addition, Josh shared why keeping abreast of the housing market can be of value to HR leaders.

Josh also shared the interesting work iCIMS is doing with their Monthly Hiring Indicator, and how that data can help HR and Talent leaders in their organizations. Finally, Josh shared some thoughts on what 2019 might have in store for the labor market and the economy overall.

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

This was a fun and geeky show! Thanks so much Josh for joining us,

Remember to subscribe to the HR Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts - just search for 'HR Happy Hour.'

HRE Column: HCM Trends for 2019

Heading into the final stretch of 2018 and I wanted to share with you, gentle reader, the latest installment of the monthly Inside HR Tech Column that runs on Human Resource Executive Online.

The piece is titled HR Technology Trends You Can't Afford to Ignore, and is a look at some imporant HR and HR Technolgy trends inspired by a recently released report, 2019 HCM Trends Report, from three of the best independent HR and HR tech analysts in the space.

Here's an excerpt from the piece on HRE:

With the end of the year fast approaching, it is natural to turn our attention to the coming year, which means reading, thinking and talking with HR-technology leaders about the trends, developments and new technologies they think will have the most impact for HR organizations in the new year. Fortunately for me, three industry experts who are regular speakers at the HR Technology Conference—George LaRocque, Ben Eubanks and Trish McFarlane—recently released the 2019 HCM Trends Report, which identifies several of the big-picture HCM and workplace trends that will impact organizations and shape the direction of HR-technology innovation in 2019.

I recommend downloading and reading the entire (free) report here, but I also wanted to highlight three of what I think are the more important HCM trends that the authors lay out in the report. I’ll also suggest some ways HR-technology innovation will reflect these trends in 2019 and offer recommendations for HR leaders on how to move forward.

Practical Applications of AI at Work

If there was one term that seemed to shape much of the HR-technology conversation in 2018, it was artificial intelligence. Like many macro-technology trends that have come before (SaaS, mobile, UX, etc.), AI is now increasingly applied to support HR and talent-management functions. But like many emerging technologies of the past, AI seems more like just a cool set of capabilities still in search of the right problems to help solve.

In the 2019 HCM Trends Report, Eubanks makes a great point about where the AI conversation needs to head in 2019 stating, “The thing that’s going to change in 2019 is a greater focus on the actual, practical impacts of AI. It’s no longer enough to shout that your technology has machine learning or automation capabilities if you want attention—you’ll have to explain the problems it solves, or risk being overshadowed by those that do.”

The takeaway for HR leaders who are thinking about how to make AI-enabled HR-technology plans for 2019? Make sure you press any potential technology provider for demonstrable examples of real-world applications of these AI tools, and the ability to see quantifiable results of these projects. In 2019, AI must move past the “hype” and begin to deliver real returns, or as Eubanks correctly implies, the technologies—and your efforts using them—will not be successful.

Read the rest at HRE Online...

You can also subscribe on HRE Online to get my monthly Inside HR Tech column via email here. I promise it will be the most exciting email you will ever receive. 

Thanks for checking out the column, the blog, the podcasts, the 'Alexa' show, and all the nonsense I'm now in my second decade of churning out. 

Have a great day!