Can you give a brother a +K?

Tonight on the HR Happy Hour Show (8PM ET/ 5PM PT, rest of the country you are on your own), we'll be talking about Klout, and other measures of online or digital influence in the context of sourcing, recruiting, and career management. Can tools like Klout accurately measure a concept to ambiguous as 'influence?'  Does the Klout score and others of its like, have any role at all in the recruiting process?  How about some +K action?

You can listen live at 8PM ET tonight on the show page here, or on the call in line at 646-378-1086.

Before you jump to the high and mighty ground and declare that Klout, and other lists of digital influence, whether created using proprietary algorithms or hand-curated by actual people, have no place in professional recruiting processes, you might want to ask yourself if you've ever researched a candidate on LinkedIn, and made some kind of subtle evaluation of said candidate simply on the number of connections they have.

Recently, none other than my friend Kris Dunn, on the HR Capitalist blog offered this observation, in the context of candidate evaluation for a sales position:

My client in that search forwarded me a profile of a Salesforce candidate from LinkedIn.  "Have you talked to this guy?".  I looked at the candidate, which remember, was for a hunting sales pro.  43 contacts in LinkedIn.

43 Contacts.  For a hunting sales pro.  I could hear "I need some leads if I'm going to close business" in the background.  Your cost of customer acquisition just tripled by hiring that guy."

For better or worse, the (lack of) LinkedIn contacts factored into an instant perception being formed about the guy. He could be carrying around a tattered, 25 year old Fil-o-fax (Gen Y'ers, Google it), stuffed with all the names and contact information of the key decision makers and influencers in his industry, but chances are the paltry 43 connections on LinkedIn were not going to let anyone find out.

And here's one more, from the marketing space taken from a post by Mark Schaefer on the Business Grow site:

Let me relate a few of my experiences this week …

• A very talented friend told me he was rejected for a job at a major ad agency because his Klout score was too low.
• A B2B marketing agency Managing Director told me he chose between two qualified candidates based on their Klout score.
• A friend in D.C is creating a Klout 50 Club exclusive to people with high Klout scores. Why? He wants to find good hires for social media marketing.
• A woman told me her boyfriend was accepted to a prestigious conference based on his Klout score alone.

These experiences occurred in the span of 72 hours

Sure, I know what you are thinking - those jobs are all in digital marketing and PR, and therefore using Klout as a screening tool might make some sense, but out here in the real world, where 99.3% of people don't even know what Klout is, it really does not matter. Possibly.

But on the show tonight, while talking about Klout, the discussion is really a bit more expansive than that, and I hope we can avoid getting caught up in the nuances of algorithms, and talk about online and digital influence at a more fundamental level. I think it will make for an interesting show.

Our guests will be Megan Berry from Klout, and Jennifer McClure, aka CincyRecruiter, and the feisty Dawn Hrdlica-Burke, aka DawnHrRocks will be along for the ride as well. 

I hope you can join us tonight at 8PM, and if you listen and enjoy the show can you share the love with a little +K action on Klout my way? My score has been tanking lately.

Need a Creative Solution? Check out the HR Happy Hour Tonight

It is just about the middle of summer here in the USA, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played earlier in the week, most of the country has been experiencing classic July sunshine and heat, and the latest installment of the Transformers movie franchise, a classic summer action movie, is dominating the box office. Due to staff vacations, distractions caused by the good weather, and from having the kids home from school, summer can also be a time where the pace of business slows down a bit, and individuals and organizations sometimes have a rare chance to reflect, recharge, and strategize about business and even personal problems that will have to be attacked in earnest in the Fall, (if not sooner).

Summer also gives us some license to explore and experiment. Traditionally TV networks have tested out new programs in the slower, (and less lucrative), Summer season in hopes of sorting out what might work in the Fall and Winter when audiences and ad rates both increase. Simply put, summer is about the only time all year many of us get to take a little breather, take some stock in what we are doing, (or not doing), and think about what we might want to do differently, or what challenges we'd love to address.

So tonight on the HR Happy Hour Show, we decided to do a bit of 'Summer programming' as well. Instead of another run at recruiting, or HR Technology, or management, or social media in the workplace, we are taking a bit of a diversion with a show called 'Creative Approaches', with our guest Matthew Stillman, author of the fantastic Stillman Says blog.

Matt offers what he terms, 'Creative Approaches to What You've Been Thinking About', by listening to the problems and concerns of everyday people, and via a process of discussion and exploration, offers what are usually challenging and intriguing options and opportunities to help his 'patients?', try and approach their issues.  The killer idea of Stillman Says, is the venue in which Matt conducts these sessions - a simple table and two chairs in the middle of New York City's Union Square. He then documents some of these conversations on the Stillman Says blog.

It really is a remarkable and compelling project, read a few of the stories on the Stillman Says blog and see if you don't agree with me.

So tonight on the HR Happy Hour Show - 8PM EDT / 5PM PDT, Matt will join us for the hour to offer 'Creative Approaches to What You Have Been Thinking About' - this is your chance to call in, tell us about a situation or problem - work, career, school, personal - doesn't matter, and let Matt work a little bit of his creative magic to brainstorm some creative options for you.

Problems with the boss? Not sure if you should pursue a new career? Have a great idea and just don't know how to execute? Call in tonight and let us know.

Here are the details to tune in tonight:

HR Happy Hour Show - 'Creative Approaches' - Thursday July 14, 2011 - 8PM EDT

Call in to ask a question - 646-378-1086

Follow the conversation on Twitter - hashtag #HRHappyHour

Listen live on the show page here, on the call in line 646-378-1086, or using the widget player here:

Listen to internet radio with Steve Boese on Blog Talk Radio

This should be a fun and entertaining show, and I hope you can take a break from margaritas on the deck long enough to join us. Actually, you should bring the margaritas, it is the HR Happy Hour after all!

Overexposure - no, not a Weinergate post

We are reminded once again from our pal Anthony Weiner about the dangers of overexposure.  One person's 'refreshing level of interaction and community building' is another person's, 'Creepy stalking of a potential lunatic.' 

But things are piling up over here at HR Happy Hour HQ, and I wanted to post links to a few events coming up here, (if nothing else, so I could refer to it, and know what I am supposed to be doing).

Today, Thursday June 9th at 1:00PM ET, I will be presenting a free webcast for the Human Capital Institute, underwritten by recruiting technology solutions provider SelectMinds.  You can still register for the webcast here, and I will upload the slides to Slideshare (and embed them here), once the presentation is complete.

Update - as promised, the slides from the HCI Webcast are up on Slideshare here, and also embedded below:

Social Referrals and Technology

View more presentations from steveboese

Tonight, Thursday June 9th at 8:00PM ET, the HR Happy Hour Show (sponsored by Aquire), is back live, with a show called 'You Still Can't Fire Everyone'. My guest will be Fortune Magazine Editor and author Hank Gilman who will talk about his recent book, You Can't Fire Everyone: And Other Lessons from an Accidental Manager. You can listen live tonight on the show page here, or by calling in to the listener line at 646-378-1086.Cool graphic!

Next week, Thursday June 16th at 12 Noon ET, I will join Kris Dunn and Mark Stelzner for a free webcast/conversation called 'Authority on Talent', for the folks at Plateau Systems. KD, Mark and I will talk about HR’s role as the Authority on Talent in the organization, focusing on the following questions: 

• What do HR leaders need to establish this authority?
• What’s different now from previous “seat at the table” moments for HR?
• What role does technology play?

It promises to be a lively and interesting conversation, and I hope you can check it out and join the fun.

Finally, today I am up on Fistful of Talent, having a good-natured debate with KD, on whether or not companies should automatically pay severance packages to so-called 'bad hires'.

And then looking ahead to the rest of June, we have upcoming HR Happy Hour shows on social recruiting, the influence of gaming and social competition on employee wellness programs, and a trip up to see our friends at Rypple as we take the show out on the road. And the second installment of the new 'HR Happy Hour - Europe' series will get organized this month as well.

Busy times and unlike our pal Congressmen Weiner, I promise to keep all communications on the straight and narrow.

HR Happy Hour Europe - Launches Today

In what future historians of the grand age of social enlightenment in Human Resources will look back upon and mark as a truly watershed moment, today the HR Happy Hour Show sets a course for worldwide domination with the debut Episode of HR Happy Hour - Europe!

Specifics: the show is live at 3PM ET (8PM in the UK), and you can listen online here. Follow the conversation on Twitter using the #HRHappyHour tag.

The show is a joint project between HR Happy Hour, (essentially me), and the great folks from Jobsite, the leading careers and online recruitment site in the UK. Jobsite is dedicated to helping people connect with that perfect next opportunity, and over the years has really stretched the typical ways of thinking about what a 'traditional' job board is all about.,

It is in that spirit that Jobsite is staging what they term 'Fresh Thinking' events, where Jobsite is bringing together innovative and cutting-edge ideas and people to engage, share, and progress the dialogue around important topics of the day.  The first event, with special guests Amanda Hite and Scott Stratten, focuses on the concepts of social media in recruitment, marketing the organization, and the critical need for engagement of the organization's leaders and staff to make it all work.

In conjuction with the Fresh Thinkers event, Amanda and Scott, (joined by Jobsite's Felix Wetzel), will join me on the inaugural HR Happy Hour - Europe show today at 3PM ET which is 8PM in the UK.

You can listen to the show live on the show page here, on the listener call in line 646-378-1086, or via the widget player below:

Listen to internet radio with Steve Boese on Blog Talk Radio

Note - UK and other outside the US listeners can use the Skype feature to call in to the show as well. 

It should be a fun and lively show as the HR Happy Hour makes it's first step towards what will truly be looked upon as a global media empire!

HR Happy Hour - Happy 100th Episode!

Tonight on the HR Happy Hour Show we will mark and celebrate our 100th Episode.

You can listen to the show live starting at 8:00PM ET on the show page here, by calling in to the listener/guest line on 646-378-1086, or using the widget player below:

Listen to internet radio with Steve Boese on Blog Talk Radio

And don't forget to follow the backchannel on Twitter using the hashtag #HRHappyHour.

In case you are new to the show, or have not had a chance to listen previously, the HR Happy Hour is a weekly Blog Talk Radio show/podcast that brings together a community of interested, engaged, and passionate Human Resources and Recruiting professionals to take on topics in talent management, recruiting, technology, leadership, social media and more.

Past guests have ranged from industry legends and luminaries, academics, authors, and rank and file HR pros that just care enough about their profession and their own professional development to engage with the community on Thursday nights.

You can check out the archives from Episodes 1-99 at the HR Happy Hour show page, as well as in the podcast section in the iTunes store, (don't worry, the HR Happy Hour is a free download). We even have a show blog, a Facebook page, Twitter account, and LinkedIn group. So we have you covered.

I hope you can join us tonight to celebrate the show's 100th Episode. We will be joined by friends old and new, and I promise a surprise or two as well.

Many, many thanks to everyone that has supported the show these last two years!