This is a guest post by Jobster CEO Jason Goldberg, as part of the recruiting blog swap.
ok, so i must admit that finding time to maintain my own blog as well as run jobster at a time when we have 3 major "things" happening in the same week is very very demanding on my time ... let alone my living on an airplane ... so you can see where i find tons of time to blog swap :)
ok, so i must admit that finding time to maintain my own blog as well as run jobster at a time when we have 3 major "things" happening in the same week is very very demanding on my time ... let alone my living on an airplane ... so you can see where i find tons of time to blog swap :)
but anyways
...
i'm excited to
report that after just 5 days we are already seeing a ton of folks providing
unique user generated content on the new
jobster.com site. i've launched many products before in my career but
i must say that this one is a lot more special than the ones prior. i
think that is because it's a living breathing organism. that is, because
the users are creating the content minute by minute in a dynamic fashion vs. the
old model of pre-packaged and programmed content. sure, user generated
content has existed for a long time now -- especially when it comes to product
reviews (e.g. book reviews on amazon.com or
hotel reviews on tripadvisor.com), but
what we're seeing here is something different. it's more myspace for the
workplace. it's more wikipedia for careers. it's new. and
it's growing on it's own. fun to watch. and fun to
evolve.
another interesting
sidenote is seeing the global nature of the content. while most "job
boards" take on a local flavor, the content being generated on this "careers
site" is taking on a global flavor which knows no borders.
on a totally
different note, i was going to blog on this the other day on my blog but have
not yet so i'll just post it here.
if implore everyone
to take a few minutes to read jack and suzy welch's column from last
week's business week: "so many ceo's get this wrong." the short
story is that the welch's argue that inside a company there is nothing more
strategic than people and because of that, the position of chief people officer
should be given the same recognition and access and visibility as the cfo.
amen.
here are some
snippets from that article, since you need to be a business week subscriber to
view it online.
JULY 17, 2006
IDEAS -- THE WELCH WAY
By Jack and Suzy Welch
So Many CEOs Get This Wrong
HR has to be about more than palace intrigue -- or company picnics
If human resources is the most powerful part of an organization, as you always say, why is its impact felt in only a negative way? -- Fadi Rahal, Louisville, Ky.
Because human resources, unfortunately, often operates as a cloak-and-dagger society or a health-and-happiness sideshow. Those are extremes, of course, but if there is anything we have learned over the past five years of traveling and talking to business groups, it is that HR rarely functions as it should. That's an outrage, made only more frustrating by the fact that most leaders aren't scrambling to fix it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In this age of high speed internet and credentials like 642-661 and N10-003, computer security has indeed become a huge dilemma. With the advent of wireless networking it has become near impossible.Viruses can come by the dozens in somethig as simple as html templates and can actually corrupt any computer software invented to date. Nothing is safe.
JULY 17, 2006
|
|
By Jack and Suzy Welch
So Many CEOs Get This Wrong
HR has to be about more than palace intrigue -- or company picnics
If human resources is the most powerful part of an organization, as you always say, why is its impact felt in only a negative way? -- Fadi Rahal, Louisville, Ky.
Because human resources, unfortunately, often operates as a cloak-and-dagger society or a health-and-happiness sideshow. Those are extremes, of course, but if there is anything we have learned over the past five years of traveling and talking to business groups, it is that HR rarely functions as it should. That's an outrage, made only more frustrating by the fact that most leaders aren't scrambling to fix it.
Look, HR should be every company's "killer app."
What could possibly be more important than who gets hired, developed,
promoted, or moved out the door? Business is a game, and as with all games,
the team that puts the best people on the field and gets them playing together
wins. It's that simple.
You would never know it, though, to look at the companies today where the CFO reigns supreme and HR is relegated to the background. It just doesn't make sense. If you owned the Boston Red Sox, for instance, would you hang around with the team accountant or the director of player personnel? Sure, the accountant can tell you the financials. But the director of player personnel knows what it takes to win: how good each player is and where to find strong recruits to fill talent gaps.
Several years ago we spoke to 5,000 HR professionals in Mexico City. At one point we asked the audience: "How many of you work at companies where the CEO gives HR a seat at the table equal to that of the CFO?" After an awkward silence, fewer than 50 people raised their hands. Awful!
Since then, we have tried to understand why HR has become so marginalized. As noted above, there are at least two extremes of bad behavior. The stealthy stuff occurs when HR managers become little kingmakers, making and breaking careers, sometimes not even at the CEO's behest. These HR departments can indeed be powerful, but often in a detrimental way, prompting the best people to leave just to get away from the palace intrigue. Almost as often, though, you get the other extreme: HR departments that plan picnics, put out the plant newsletter (complete with time-in-service anniversaries duly noted), and generally drive everyone crazy by enforcing rules and regulations that appear to have no purpose other than to bolster the bureaucracy. They derive the little power they have by being cloyingly benevolent on one hand and company scolds on the other.
So how do leaders fix this mess? It all starts with the people they appoint to run HR -- not kingmakers or cops but big-leaguers, men and women with real stature and credibility. In fact, managers need to fill HR with a special kind of hybrid: people who are part pastor (hearing all sins and complaints without recrimination) and part parent (loving and nurturing, but giving it to you straight when you're off track).
PASTOR-PARENT types can come up through the HR department, but more often than not, they have run something during their careers, such as a factory or a function. They get the business -- its inner workings, history, tensions, and the hidden hierarchies that exist in people's minds. They are known to be relentlessly candid, even when the message is hard, and they hold confidences tight. With their insight and integrity, pastor-parents earn the trust of the organization.
But pastor-parents don't just sit around making people feel warm and fuzzy. They improve the company by overseeing a rigorous appraisal-and-evaluation system that lets every person know where he or she stands, and they monitor that system with the same intensity as a Sarbanes-Oxley compliance officer.
Leaders must also make sure that human resources fulfills two other roles. It should create effective mechanisms, such as money, recognition, and training, to motivate and retain people. And it should force organizations to confront their most charged relationships, such as those with unions, individuals who are no longer delivering results, or stars who are becoming problematic by, for instance, swelling instead of growing.
Now, considering your negative experience with human resources -- and you are hardly alone -- this kind of high-impact HR activity probably sounds like a pipe dream. But given the fact that most CEOs loudly proclaim that people are their "biggest asset," it shouldn't be.
It can't be. Leaders need to put their money where their mouth is and get HR to do its real job: elevating employee management to the same level of professionalism and integrity as financial management. Since people are the whole game, what could be more important?
You would never know it, though, to look at the companies today where the CFO reigns supreme and HR is relegated to the background. It just doesn't make sense. If you owned the Boston Red Sox, for instance, would you hang around with the team accountant or the director of player personnel? Sure, the accountant can tell you the financials. But the director of player personnel knows what it takes to win: how good each player is and where to find strong recruits to fill talent gaps.
Several years ago we spoke to 5,000 HR professionals in Mexico City. At one point we asked the audience: "How many of you work at companies where the CEO gives HR a seat at the table equal to that of the CFO?" After an awkward silence, fewer than 50 people raised their hands. Awful!
Since then, we have tried to understand why HR has become so marginalized. As noted above, there are at least two extremes of bad behavior. The stealthy stuff occurs when HR managers become little kingmakers, making and breaking careers, sometimes not even at the CEO's behest. These HR departments can indeed be powerful, but often in a detrimental way, prompting the best people to leave just to get away from the palace intrigue. Almost as often, though, you get the other extreme: HR departments that plan picnics, put out the plant newsletter (complete with time-in-service anniversaries duly noted), and generally drive everyone crazy by enforcing rules and regulations that appear to have no purpose other than to bolster the bureaucracy. They derive the little power they have by being cloyingly benevolent on one hand and company scolds on the other.
So how do leaders fix this mess? It all starts with the people they appoint to run HR -- not kingmakers or cops but big-leaguers, men and women with real stature and credibility. In fact, managers need to fill HR with a special kind of hybrid: people who are part pastor (hearing all sins and complaints without recrimination) and part parent (loving and nurturing, but giving it to you straight when you're off track).
PASTOR-PARENT types can come up through the HR department, but more often than not, they have run something during their careers, such as a factory or a function. They get the business -- its inner workings, history, tensions, and the hidden hierarchies that exist in people's minds. They are known to be relentlessly candid, even when the message is hard, and they hold confidences tight. With their insight and integrity, pastor-parents earn the trust of the organization.
But pastor-parents don't just sit around making people feel warm and fuzzy. They improve the company by overseeing a rigorous appraisal-and-evaluation system that lets every person know where he or she stands, and they monitor that system with the same intensity as a Sarbanes-Oxley compliance officer.
Leaders must also make sure that human resources fulfills two other roles. It should create effective mechanisms, such as money, recognition, and training, to motivate and retain people. And it should force organizations to confront their most charged relationships, such as those with unions, individuals who are no longer delivering results, or stars who are becoming problematic by, for instance, swelling instead of growing.
Now, considering your negative experience with human resources -- and you are hardly alone -- this kind of high-impact HR activity probably sounds like a pipe dream. But given the fact that most CEOs loudly proclaim that people are their "biggest asset," it shouldn't be.
It can't be. Leaders need to put their money where their mouth is and get HR to do its real job: elevating employee management to the same level of professionalism and integrity as financial management. Since people are the whole game, what could be more important?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In this age of high speed internet and credentials like 642-661 and N10-003, computer security has indeed become a huge dilemma. With the advent of wireless networking it has become near impossible.Viruses can come by the dozens in somethig as simple as html templates and can actually corrupt any computer software invented to date. Nothing is safe.
After 70-294, most of the students go for 70-647. A small number prepares for 640-863. However professionals have always favoured 70-293 over seasoned courses like 70-536. According to them, a course like 220-602 is worth more, owing to the current trends these days.
Jason,
Hello, I am a Sourcer for Google and I am looking for a Techncial Recruiter for our Google Japan office. Would you be able to direct me to some places other than openbc, linkedin and power forum that I might find such talent? We are working with and looking for agencies as well.
Diane
Posted by: Diane Hill | Friday, November 10, 2006 at 10:01 AM