This was the sickest I can ever remember feeling, and the duration of the illness is still stunning to me.

I beg you, go get your H1N1 vaccination, you do not want to pick up this bug.

Yesterday I took my son to a locally sponsored, free H1N1 vaccination clinic for so-called 'Phase I' patients, little kids, elderly, and folks in various at-risk groups.  Naturally, there was significantly high demand for the the vaccine, we arrived at 10:00 am, and based on the volume we were staring at a four hour wait time.

Rather than have hundreds, if not thousands of people standing in a massive line on a cold, gray day, the clinic used a 'virtual line'. You took a number then simply had to return to the door when your range of numbers was called.  So due to some smart, and forward-thinking by the Town of Penfield, NY, we waited it out from the family room instead of in the car, or in a lawn chair outside.

How?

Because in addition to on-site announcements, a low power FM radio station, and a web site, the town also provided updates as to the progress of the virtual line via Twitter updates, (see townofpenfield on Twitter). 

What a great idea, and so simple.  I was able to pop the Town into my 'Friends' tweetdeck column and easily follow the 'line' and return to the site of the clinic (about a 15 minute drive) at just about exactly the right time.  Maybe this isn't really revolutionary, but it was convenient, smart, and at least for me a fantastic example of a municipality 'getting it' and providing value on Twitter.

Lastly, I want to apologize to the numerous folks that I let down, that I owe a response e-mail, guest post, or follow-up phone call.  I am digging out slowly from this illness, and I ask your patience for a few more days while I get back to 'normal'.

Get your shots!

Specifically, experience working in one of the leading HR Technology vendors, perhaps one that focuses on Talent Management technology like a Halogen or SuccessFactors, provides an excellent knowledge base for future success in an HR organization, and that an HR leader in search of talent should consider HR Technology companies as a great source. 

Traditionally software companies have looked to recruit from customer organizations (I was recruited by Oracle many years ago in this way). It was an interesting, and I think correct observation. The best technology implementers possess the following attributes, all of which would benefit the internal HR organization.

Problem Solving

No two HR technology projects are ever the same.  Even if the consultant has spent a few years implementing the same solution, each project haFlickr- raptortheangels a unique set of requirements, demands, personalities, and pressures to make each one unique.  Solving new problems is a critical component for success, and one that the best consultants can master. In particular, being adaptable to varying levels of support from clients, and knowing when to take decisions and when to get help are skills that come easier to experiences tech consultants than to some others.

Results focus

Lots of technology vendors hold their consultants to extremely challenging target for utilization, revenue and profitability.  It can be, at some companies, a high-stress, high-reward type environment. To be a successful technology implementer you have to be able to deliver under pressure, managing multiple and sometimes conflicting demands and expectation.  A good, experienced tech consultant will be cool under pressure and probably be able to teach the rest of the HR staff a thing or two about successful project delivery.

Customer driven

Delivering successful technology projects requires relentless customer focus.  Tech consultants certainly operate under parameters and constraints, but the best ones know how to navigate these and maintain focus on the best possible customer outcomes.  During an engagement, a good consultant learns the customer's motivations, concerns, and weaknesses and incorporates this knowledge into the overall solution delivery. A mindset that continually places customer success first will benefit any internal or traditional 'support' organization.

Breadth of experience

Most technology consultants will have worked on a wide range of projects, across different industries, regions, and market sizes.  The number and variety of these experiences typically affords a good consultant a great range of direct experiences as well as a large network of contacts from which to draw from.  It may have been competency modeling for an accounting firm, performance management at a University, or compensation planning at a professional services firm, a good consultant carries all the learning from these engagements to your HR department.

Technology skills

Certainly if you recruit a new resource from a technology company you'd expect a high level of technical knowledge.  But this knowledge is exactly the kind most HR departments lack, specific ability to assess technology and apply it to help solve HR and business issues.  This is the hardest tech skill for most HR groups to acquire, and it will become more and more important in the future.  If you think your HR shop has enough tech skills today, you are probably wrong, since technology moves so fast, and has become so critical, beefing up your strength in this area is a necessity.

What do you think? Should you source your next key spot in the HR department from one of the HR Technology vendors?  Or am I way too biased as to the importance of Tech in HR?

But I think to do that would be a disservice to both the students and to myself to some extent. 

The market for HR Technology is constantly changing. Great and new content is being published every day.  Heck, even the legend Naomi Bloom is now blogging, a new development since I last taught the class.

And my perspective is changing as well. Since the last class I have attended a half dozen events, read stacks of papers and blog posts, done ten or so HR Happy Hour Shows and met some incredibly smart and talented people.

So for the new class, I am determined to keep the content and the delivery fresh, relevant, and here is the key I think - forward thinking.  More emphasis on what is 'next' I believe is of more short and long-term value to my students than spending too much time on the past.

Finally, another goal I have for this session is to have even more community involvement in the class and more external expert interaction with the students.  In the past I have done virtual guest speakers, an HR blogger/student guest post project, and some online discussion forum moderation by outside experts.

These activities were all interesting, reasonably successful, and to some extent fun.  But I want to do more, push the 'community' aspect even further and try to ensure that once the students have completed the course they have established a real connection to the broader community of HR and Technology stars that have done so much to further my own knowledge.

If you are an HR pro, HR Technology expert, vendor, or blogger and want to get involved in the HR Technology class, leave me a comment, or send me an e-mail - steveboese@gmail.com.

If you have some suggestions or recommendations as to what technologies, strategies, and skills I should emphasize I'd love to hear those suggestions as well.

And as always, thanks for your support.

Check out the great collection of summaries, reflections, and calls to action from the event, Trish did a great job assembling all the posts.

My post with my observations as well as the guest post that ran here by Wendy Tandon from Salary.com are there, as well as great pieces from Mark Stelzner, Lance Haun, and Trish herself.

All told,  a fantastic event, and a very cool special Carnival to try and bring it all together.

One final note, I have a little piece up over at the Fistful of Talent today, a story of what can happen when a leader takes 'transparency' a little too far.

Enjoy!

In the past many large organizations such as IBM, Intel, and Northrop Grumman have established and grown a presence in the 'main' Second Life environment for corporate virtual meetings, training, and collaborative projects.  What Second Life Enterprise allows these organizations, and perhaps others that were reluctant to embrace the virtual world,  the ability to install and maintain a private virtual world for the enterprise, but one with all the features and capabilities of the public Second Life environment.

With Second Life Enterprise, the organization installs the solution in its own data center and gets some essential enterprise capabilities; backup and recovery, LDAP integration, and bulk account creation. So instead of users having to use 'fake' names like 'JoJo Stardancer' you can use their real names sourced from the corporate directory.

The enterprise environment also allows the transfer of objects and buildings the organization may have created in the 'main' Second Life into the private enterprise world. 

Second Life has long had some very compelling use cases for large distributed organizations.  Holding virtual meetings supplemented with rich multi-media content, conducting formal training sessions, global project team work sessions, and new employee onboarding are just a few of the many potential opportunities to leverage virtual worlds in the enterprise.

Early in 2010, the Second Life Enterprise solution will be supported by the Second Life Work Marketplace, an application and pre-built solution market that will allow content creators and providers to licence solutions for meetings, training sessions, seminars etc. to the Second Life Enterprise customer community.

This offering though, is clearly targeted at the large enterprise with strong IT resources and more than likely a widely distributed workforce.  Pricing for the solution starts at $55,000 USD.  But for a large organization, that typically brings together large numbers of people from around the world for meetings or annual planning sessions, the price for obtaining, preparing, and utilizing a virtual world for some of these events may well be a cost savings.

Looked at more broadly, this announcement seems to continue a trend of the 'enterprization' of popular public, or consumer social applications. Solutions that started out as pure 'social' tools, (Twitter, Facebook, Second Life) seem to grow and eventually find use cases for the enterprise. For me, if the initial barriers to Second Life use (heavy client, high learning curve) can be overcome by Second Life Enterprise, this may be the most impactful use of a 'social' tool inside large enterprises yet.

Where are the next wave of HR leaders coming from, what do they need to know, and how will they drive change and superior business performance.  Heady stuff.

Most of the guests on the show advocated for change; change in approach, change in education and training, and perhaps some re-assessment of the traditional role of HR.

And just like the HR professional is faced with change, so are the technologies that are used to support Human Resources,  Talent Management, and workforce collaboration. Some of these changes are already in motion in full force, some are just beginning, and some are speculative, but at least to me, reasonably likely.

What's Begun

The move from enterprise systems being installed on company premises to being installed, maintained, and upgraded by the software vendor via the Software as a Service model (SaaS), is already firmly underway.

The trend started with ATS, progressed to Talent Management, has started in ERP, and was always in place for collaboration platforms. And many mid-sized to large organizations that are stuck with aging, expensive, and difficult to manage premises installed ERP systems will begin in earnest to evaluate SaaS-based alternatives that by design are more flexible, cheaper, and typically much more user friendly.

For the HR pro, this means less reliance on the IT organization than ever before.  When HR applications are deployed via SaaS, only a fast internet connection is needed. Also, since SaaS licences are usually priced on a per-user monthly subscription, they are not Capital Expenditures, but rather funded out of Operating Expenses, and therefore typically much easier to fund from internal HR budgets.

What's Beginning

Increasingly Human Resources enterprise systems will connect with and in some cases integrate with external or consumer oriented networks or platforms. Whether it is a company like Sage Software entering into a strategic partnership with consumer portal tool Netvibes, SumTotalSystems integrating Learning and Development applications with Facebook, ATS vendors like JobVite connecting with LinkedIn, Twitter, and others. or SAP building ties with the Jive Software platform for to integrate business intelligence data with wikis, the trend of the enterprise connecting with the external environments has started.

For the HR pro this presents a number of challenges.  First, if your organization is one the actively block access to external social networks and platforms, soon you will really need to re-assess that position. Look, I won't repeat the same old arguments about loss of productivity, risk of company secrets being leaked, or employees posting inappropriate content on social networks.

Let's face it, employees are already losing productivity, leaking secrets, and acting inappropriately.

Either you, as an HR professional either believe this will be important for future organizational success or you don't.  If you do, you probably need to do more than whine and complain about it, and develop and present a cogent business case where loosening of restrictions and application or integration of social tools can derive positive business outcomes. More and more of the leading HR Technology solutions will embrace this trend, and you can either get out in front, or watch it roll by and maybe, if you are lucky jump on later.

What's to Come

Speculating on the future is dicey at best, but what the heck let's give it a shot.

Social emedded into process

Enterprise systems will continue to add and emphasize 'social' features, further blurring the lines between business process support, external social networks, and collaboration and expertise locator technologies.  More solutions will focus on how end users in HR and employees in the enterprise actually interact with the application and that interaction will more strongly influence functionality and design. Examples might be a performance management process with dynamic ability to connect with subject matter experts on a particular competency or a workforce planning application integrated with external demographic data and content.

Mass Personalization

Just like many consumer sites 'remember' you and present content and functions according to your demonstrated prior interactions or stated preferences, more HR Technology solutions will move to simple and flexible personalization.  Why do services like Amazon and Twitter have such tremendous uptake and growth? Part of the reason is that the experience to some extent is user-determined.  Amazon can present recommendations based on your prior activity, and the activity of other users with similar behavior patterns.  Twitter allows a user total control of the experience. In enterprise systems we will see much more extensive, simple, and adaptive personalization so that the systems fit individual desired interaction methods and preferred uses.

Mobile

HR Technology will go more and more mobile. Access to information, notifications, the ability to progress workflows for recruiting, performance, or training and development will become the norm. Need to connect with a colleague, post a quick status update to the team, seek out the company's top expert on a particular topic, access some learning content, perhaps a podcast or video?  All of these will be increasingly performed on smart phones and other mobile devices.  Interaction with enterprise systems will be more flexible, available from a multitude of sources, and optimized for each. Systems that are flexible enough to be easily adapted to a variety of mobile platforms will have a tremendous competitive advantage.

What do you think?  Where is HR Technology going? What will be the true 'Next Gen' solution?

Here's where you see some interesting and frank comments like 'Mehmet Okur will make you pay in the low block if you don't respect him' and 'Kevin Love is more of a beefy loper.'

Flickr - theorris

But maybe I need to step back. Many readers may not know the role of a scout in professional sports, so I better explain a bit.  Scout's observe and analyze players on opposing teams, identifying their strengths and weaknesses, pointing out their tendencies, and assessing their potential for further development, or sometimes predicting their downward trajectory.

Let's see, observing performance, documenting behaviors, predicting future success or potential failure.

Sounds a bit like employee performance management and coaching.

So instead of a typically boring performance management template, what if you tried to help assess and coach employees using the scouting report format?  Here are a few key elements of a typical basketball scouting report you could consider (hat tip to HoopsVibe.com).

1. Have a plan

The scout needs a process and template to follow, to be sure players are assessed on the same standard, making comparisons easier. So do you need a plan or framework for consistent and fair assessments, you can use software to help with this, but it is not always necessary.

2. Pros and cons 

Every scouting report has sections titled 'strengths' and 'weaknesses'.  Even LeBron has weaknesses.  And even the last player on the bench has strengths.  The same with employees.  The best ones usually have something they can improve on, and the worst must have some redeeming qualities.  I mean you hired them, right? Make sure you focus on both.

3. Having the ball is important

What players do when they have the ball is critical in basketball.  When a player has the ball, he has control over the game, and the tremendous influence on the team success. But some players only want the ball early in the game and avoid it late in the 4th quarter, when the game is usually decided.

At work, what employees do when they have the spotlight and responsibility is a great measuring stick. Some employees want to step it up when the pressure is on, make the big client presentation or take on the toughest technical problems.

4. Find the sweet spot 

Almost all players have a spot on the court they prefer to shoot from, or a 'go-to move' they rely on. Scouts use this information to prepare defensive strategies. Coaches often work with players to help them develop additional moves, that can enhance their overall game and make them more versatile, and tougher to defend.

Many employees have a sweet-spot as well, a particular kind of assignment or project they gravitate towards, or a tendency to work best in team settings with certain other individuals. If you as a manager understand the employee's sweet spot, you can better position them for continued success, and also have a better feel for what stretch assignment might help the employee develop some additional 'low post moves'.

5. Shooting skills

Arguably the most important single skill in basketball is shooting ability. Players that can shoot well, can overcome many other deficiencies, and survive in the league for a long time. In your organization there is likely one type of skill that is critically important to overall success, or a core principle or value you live by and assessing every employee against that crucial skill or value may be warranted. You may have some employees that do that one critical thing so well that it may make sense to alter job descriptions to allow them and you to exploit this skill. 

6. Team focus

Does the player make his teammates better? Does he put team goals and objectives first? Is he checking his stat line at halftime?  At the office if the work keys on team performance, what do his co-workers say about him? Are there other employees that always want to work with him? If the work is more individually based, does he at least seek opportunities to informally share information and knowledge with others?

7. Defense

Defensive skills are of course important, but also the willingness to play good defense usually suggests the type of player that will do the unsung things, the little things that might not result in making the Sportscenter highlights, but are really critical to team success.

Atg work not all assignments are glamorous, or get the employee visible recognition with the higher-ups. How does he react when asked to do some grunt work? Will he pitch in and sustain a good attitude?  Or does he mope and whine and bring down the energy of everyone else around?

8. Hustle and Heart

Does the player give his all? Does he dive on the floor for loose balls? Players that exhibit these traits consistently for one of two reasons, they either are not as skilled or athletically gifted as their opponents, or they care more about winning the game than their own stats or bodies.

At work, this most closely translates to engagement, giving that extra effort above and beyond 'normal' job requirements to deliver superior results.  Not everyone is willing to give like this, at least not regularly. But the ones that are can really drive results.  From a management perspective, a manager that can seem to instill this kind of engagement may need to be questioned, just like the coach of a team who's players don't show much hustle on the court.

9. The tape

In basketball, height, weight, speed, jumping ability are all important, but they are not the game itself.  You have to measure them, but not rely on them completely.  In the workplace, you may need to track things like formal education and certifications, but they are not the game either. There are lots of MBAs not worth a darn out there. Obviously in the NBA there are some minimum physical requirements, but beyond those actual performance on the court is the final barometer.  At work, you posted that new job and said 'MBA required' but is it really required?  Or is that just a cop-out to try and mask some deficiencies in your interviewing and assessment process?

10. Attitude toward authority

Does the player spend the entire game barking at the refs, and rolling his eyes in the time-out huddle?  Or is he respectful and willing to receive coaching? Some players are shocked, shocked that they have ever committed a foul.

In the workplace this translates directly, does the employee take direction, can they be coached when they are in need of correction, or performance improvement, or do they push back at all times, even where they clearly are in the wrong?

So what do you think, is the scouting report, and it's focus on observed recent performance and with its brutal honestly in predicting future potential something you could use in your organization?

Wouldn't you love to spice up some performance reviews with comments like, 'Jane has strong technical skills; if the IT staff does not respect that, she will make them pay in the data center', or 'Brian has not been completing his maintenance jobs on time, he is skilled with the tools, but he is more of a beefy loper'.

I'll bet more employees would actually read those comments.

Ben did a great job compiling 25 pieces of HR awesomeness for your enjoyment.

Read, comment, and most importantly share.  Send the link to just one person you know that does not read HR blogs and try to get them involved.

Some of the choice nuggets from this Carnival:

Lisa Rosendahl on Leaders as people. A revealing, honest, and great read.

Gautam Ghosh on knowledge work and collaboration. An excellent take from an intelligent writer.

And finally a shout-out to Allen Robinson, jumping in to the fray with reminiscing about his love of HR and technology.  Allen also created the excellent new Carnival of HR logo you see above.

A great compilation, and many thanks to Ben for putting it together and for including my little piece on personal technology preferences in the workplace.

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As mentioned in the intro to HRevolution I began my career in HR, and am now happily working to define technology products for HR and the Enterprise.  I’ve not been plugged in to the HR online community for long and am truly amazed at the welcome I’ve received from this group.  My second thoughts as I boarded the plane for Louisville wondering why on earth I would fly to a strange city on a weekend to meet with people I didn’t know were immediately squelched as I found intriguing conversation at every turn.  My experience in Louisville was colored by my unique past, my current role, as well as by some books I happened to be reading during the travel and downtime.  The first books “City of Ember” and “People of Sparks” (yes, they’re children’s books I read and then discuss with my son) and a third “Influence – The Psychology of Persuasion” as recommended by many of you on Twitter.  

The children’s stories are about finding a way out of a dark and dying place, then the conflict that ensues once they find their way – “Influence,” about human behavior and compliance.  All great commentary about why we interact with other people they way we do.  I reflected on how technology has evolved from an isolating experience in the 80’s into the collaborative experience it is today, and how the power of these connections has transformational characteristics.  We may indeed be finding our way out of a darker more isolated place – but we still have much to discover, and I anticipate some conflict as we find our way.  HR and technology are both evolving rapidly, but evolution shouldn’t imply smooth or easy – there will be bumps in the road, especially at this pace.

What else did I discover this weekend?

1)    Social media – the mere name bequeathed to these tools frightens and alienates many.  Technologists must address this. 

2)    The actual percentage of HR pros that are “plugged in” is quite small – we must determine how to best reach out to those who don’t know what they are missing in a non-threatening way.

3)    I’m secretly relieved they are not all plugged in because there must be some upper limit to the number of people one can follow effectively.   See #4

4)    The sheer volume of information available in this medium can be overwhelming and requires we use effective shortcuts to figure out what to use/discard/save for later.  Opportunity for technologists.

5)    The shortcuts we are conditioned to use every day to direct our behavior in a socially acceptable way are magnified by the larger network of interactions we can sustain in a virtual environment.  Opportunity for tremendous influence by those who would effectively use it. 

What do I predict?

HR seems to have not ruminated at great length about how to quantify or capture the value associated with their employees’ external networks outside of recruitment efforts.  The vendor and analyst community will offer suggestions but we need HR to validate them.  What will HR do to create internal networks as they recognize the enormous value in this kind of communication?  My bet is that most will be willing to wait for HRM vendors to deliver a plug and play solution for this since many are still struggling against perceptions from CEOs or others with organizational influence that view social technology as “disturbing” and as something that would result in a lack of control (despite the obvious reasons this is backwards thinking). Those HR pros on the leading edge will create their own using whatever (mostly free) technology they can quickly deploy with likely mixed results.  It will be interesting to analyze what works, what doesn’t and why.

What advice do I have?

As a former HR practitioner, I watch the analyst/vendor dynamic with interest (admittedly self interest) and curiosity, yet sprinkled with just a smidgeon of caution.  I’m not a cynic at heart, but am I the only one who occasionally wonders if an element of these relationships might serve something other than the intrepid consumer? Call me crazy. [mad tapping of keys as analysts block me on twitter] At HRevolution it was asked if HR pulls the vendors or if HR is being pushed by them.  When the market-gurus of my own org demand certain functionality for our products I consistently counter with, “Well, it’s cool, but does HR really want it? Will they use it??”  I have vowed to be the advocate for HR when it comes to my own influence on product roadmap – I simply can’t get the HR out of me.  But in response to the question of push vs. pull, itreally is “both.”  We need each other.  HR should be and in many cases is pushing vendors to deliver quality, easy to use products that address legitimate use cases (think business case).  HR vendors should be clever enough to see the trends in these varied use cases, and then deliver a product that can solve business problems HR might not have been able to recognize or analyze were it not for the technology.  Demand simplicity from your vendors – not more re-branding of old ideas to make the same software appear to do something it never did before without any corresponding change in code.  Talk to your vendors – the good ones are eager to listen.  More importantly, if you aren’t talking to us, we end up listening to no one but the analysts, and as much as we DO love them, well, let’s just say balance is a good thing.

One final thought:

I am encouraged, energized, and excited to be working in this rapidly changing space.  The organizers and attendees of HRevolution have assured me that our efforts are NOT in vain.  I am much obliged to all of you and will strive to give back, both personally and professionally, at every available opportunity.  To all the torchbearers of leading edge HR, and you know who you are, you are truly an inspiration!

Wendy Tandon – Director of Product Management, Salary.com

It was, I think, a remarkable event.

Fifty or so HR professions, consultant, bloggers, and friends came together to share ideas, insights, questions, and perhaps, a new solution or two.

I think what was great about the event, is that the sharing and discussions ranged from the extremely practical, (basic and advanced blogging strategies), to more subtle and complex (Social Media in HR and Web 2.0 in HR Technology), to the profound and theoretical (The Future of HR).

So many angles, approaches, and ideas all in one day.

So many great people and relationships formed and strengthened. 

A sign of how successful the event was, that almost immediately after it was 'officially' over, folks began wondering when the 'next' HRevolution would be.  When would we re-assemble to progress the conversation, refine the ideas, and try to get closer to turning talk into action. These are all important, and it is altogether fitting and proper that we discuss them.

But before all that, before the feedback is compiled,  before the planning of the next event commences, I think for those of us that were there it is important to just let the event be for a while.

Let the thoughts, ideas, and friendships linger for a bit. Take the time to let it soak in. Make sure you remember what made the event unique and special.

After you are sure you have done that, then get to work on making things better.

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My personal thanks to Trish McFarlane, Ben Eubanks, Crystal Peterson, the event sponsors, session leaders, and mostly all the fantastic folks that came to the event, and made Louisville the coolest place in the world for 2 days.