tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37244622009-10-13T19:38:29.881-10:00Random musings on HR from Nobscot's CEO Beth N. Carvin.Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.comBlogger146125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-72665590366655757142009-10-08T18:25:00.007-10:002009-10-08T18:43:35.009-10:00

This evening's #HRHappyHour was on the subject of work-life balance. When the discussion turned to generational differences, there was a palpable cringing from several of the Gen X and Gen Y participants. The post-Baby Boom generations are absolutely sick and tired of being grouped, labeled and stereotyped. They want to be accepted as individuals with various preferences unrelated to their age,

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-86962145661903132852009-09-21T06:56:00.006-10:002009-09-21T08:12:04.893-10:00

Gerhard Gschwandtner's post on the premium oyster farm whose motto is "that's enough for me" reminds me of an unfinished post I had written about lifestyle companies versus growth companies. I don't have it with me but it went something like this:Starting Nobscot Corporation I found to be a relatively easy and fun challenge. We were creating a technology (WebExit) that we knew there was a need

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-63258787025257912382009-09-18T09:58:00.002-10:002009-09-18T11:07:42.496-10:00

There's an interesting discussion going on over at my new friend Laurie Ruettimann's Punk Rock HR blog regarding the death (or not!) of HR.It's interesting that for some reason people evaluate HR based on the performance and job duties of the clerks in the profession. It's as if people think the role of HR is keeping track of vacation and holiday time or posting rules in the lunchroom. Most

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-67585765610777504122009-09-10T10:20:00.003-10:002009-09-10T10:26:55.721-10:00

According to an interesting set of articles on pain in the Scientific American Mind September/October issue, we all experience pain uniquely. For some people, the volume has been turned up on their pain channel which causes them to experience pain sensations to a greater degree than others. Other people have normal pain reactions but are blessed with creating natural opiates that hide the

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-44495974922338349472009-03-16T15:44:00.005-10:002009-03-16T16:25:14.131-10:00

Geoffrey James, a writer and former salesperson has written a scathing post calling a company "stupid," "clueless" and "like the Chinese government" for blocking employee access to YouTube, the video sharing community site.While Mr. James admits that there is "a lot of crap" on YouTube and agrees that it can become a "waste of time," he points to the free business oriented videos that are also

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-72387266549528156612009-02-01T09:39:00.004-10:002009-02-01T09:45:58.832-10:00

I am not going to tell you about the book Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely. There is too much incredibly useful information on how people make purchasing decisions that I want all to myself. (Is that predictably irrational, Dan?)

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-957465679257607122009-01-30T14:20:00.003-10:002009-01-30T14:32:40.316-10:00

I've been having great fun over the last couple years following the hottest recruiting oriented blogs and more recently connecting with recruiters in the Twitterverse. (You can follow me on Twitter: here.) It's been excited watching all the changes in methodologies since my recruiting days back in the 80s and 90s.To payback the young superstars for allowing me to live vicariously through them (

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-14323361499176790212009-01-20T07:54:00.017-10:002009-01-20T09:52:43.376-10:00

Isn't it great the way we onboard the President of the United States? After the President was "hired" on November 4, 2008 we provided a transition period for him to prepare for the new job. He was able to spend time with his predecessor and plan his strategy. On his start date, today, January 20th, 2009, we celebrated his hire, introduced him to ... err ... everyone, heard his shared vision

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-5109218752919008732009-01-15T08:37:00.007-10:002009-01-15T09:16:26.764-10:00

Another interesting, controversial and not exactly correct bit of advice from the self described brazen careerist "Penelope Trunk." While I love "Penelope's" writing style and her generally acerbic wit, I get concerned that people might actually take her seriously.In a recent post, she lambastes five career tips often given to women in the workplace. Along with ignoring the Best Companies for

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-24661300973168188372008-12-30T13:57:00.004-10:002008-12-30T14:25:01.231-10:00

Glassdoor, like the earlier Vault.com, allows employees to anonymously rank and rant on their employers publicly.Even in today's world of transparency and social media, this is one area that companies would be wise to take an immediate stance against and prohibit the use of posting on this site. The employers being targeted, particularly Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, should create a firm policy

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-24548908913678693092008-12-21T09:43:00.003-10:002008-12-21T10:42:38.971-10:00

One delightful and unexpected outcome of Nobscot's Charity Holiday gift is how it inspired one of our employees and her family to change the way they celebrate the holidays this year.I am very enthused to share this guest post from Ashley DiFlorio.My name is Ashley DiFlorio. My mother, Laura works for Nobscot Corporation. We sat around the dinner table one night and my Mom was explaining how

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-9555541636016956162008-12-19T13:57:00.011-10:002008-12-19T15:10:51.783-10:00

For many people, the end of the year brings on a nasty case of the blues. According to Monique Rissen Harrisberg of The Stress Clinic, "Most nervous break-downs, burn – outs, illness and depression occur just before Christmas."This can spill over into the workplace and create a slowed down, negative environment just when you are looking for a fresh, bright start for the new year.The good news is

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-36920957794346033562008-12-17T14:12:00.012-10:002008-12-17T16:42:26.565-10:00

I admire Best Buy for many of its innovative practices, its growth and success over its competitors and the general quality of its business.That's why I was surprised to see the enormous Human Resources risk that they just announced that has the potential to cost them greatly for many years to come.(See my blog post Top 5 Worst Human Resources Practices for Surviving the Bad Economy.)Workforce

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-22212128948181555612008-12-15T17:10:00.006-10:002008-12-15T17:55:03.486-10:00

It's been very gratifying to receive so much positive feedback from clients regarding Nobscot's Charity Holiday Gift. It appears that HR professionals are both incredibly generous and happy for a good excuse to avoid high caloric treats.After one full week and approximately 100 votes, Feeding America is holding strong in the top position. Habitat for Humanity made a big leap from eighth place

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-42114047964361176522008-12-12T11:05:00.005-10:002008-12-12T11:17:51.276-10:00

I woke up to this great email from a Mentor Scout client this morning:My votes are in:1. Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, because my niece was a beneficiary of a program like this and I believe it saved her life. (she is currently a thriving Freshman at Smith College on a full scholarship package)2. Boys and Girls Clubs; supporting this program is an investment in our future - our

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-27675984236179141662008-12-11T18:39:00.003-10:002008-12-11T18:51:33.964-10:00

We are four days into the voting and Big Brothers Big Sisters and Feeding America remain in the top three for the Nobscot Charity Holiday Gift poll. There is now a tie for third place between Boys and Girls Clubs, Global Fund for Women and YMCA. All ten of the charities, which were selected by Nobscot employees, are outstanding organizations. We'll be happy to send the donation gift money to

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-37107260029645498522008-12-09T19:25:00.005-10:002008-12-09T19:32:28.939-10:00

The voting has started for the Nobscot Charity Holiday Gift. So far Nobscot and Mentor Scout clients have chosen Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and YMCA as their top two choices. Feeding America and the Global Fund for Women are tied for third place. Which three will be the final winners?

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-53067986825103736132008-12-08T11:49:00.010-10:002008-12-08T12:37:01.032-10:00

For the holidays, we decided to do something a little different at Nobscot this year. As of today, when Nobscot clients login to their WebExit, Mentor Scout or FirstDays account, they see this:When they click on that link, it takes them to a holiday message explaining that rather than sending cookie baskets, we're going to spend our holiday gift budget on helping the communities and the world

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-43167278177101593522008-12-07T15:46:00.013-10:002008-12-07T22:26:43.210-10:00

How well do you listen these days? I mean really listen. Like the kind of listening that the old management books used to tell us to do when meeting with our employees. The door closed, good eye contact, mind focused 100% on the communicator kind of listening.I have noticed that in the past year or so we have all become a little bit listening deficient. I'm sure you have noticed it too. The

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-62384239333270934842008-12-02T23:09:00.007-10:002008-12-02T23:49:25.574-10:00

Interesting post from Enterprise 2.0 thought leader and academic Andrew McAfee on his prescription for restoring the operational and financial health of the big 3 US automakers. Mcafee imagines himself a newly appointed auto industry IT Director and discusses what he would do to heal his ailing company.His solution is to implement a corporate wide talent networking type program which he calls an

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-847193139790197662008-11-25T16:06:00.005-10:002008-11-25T16:38:53.975-10:00

The Presidential election may be over but the negative affects of a long and divisive campaign season on workplaces have only just begun. Tensions are running high. Things have been said in anger that can’t be easily forgotten. Respect between colleagues has been diminished. Like the nation itself, it’s time now for companies to begin the healing process to reconnect their red employees with

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-60462682988444272912008-11-24T10:58:00.003-10:002008-11-24T13:13:53.477-10:00

When we were kids, I used to tease my sister for saying that she didn't like to think. She used to say that it "hurt her brain." It turns out that she was right. New brain research shows that some of the brain waves produced when the prefrontal cortex is "thinking" are the same ones that are produced when you plunge your hand into a bucket of ice cold water!Then how do we think all day without

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-7055155848169366802008-11-16T17:37:00.003-10:002008-11-16T17:53:30.979-10:00

I was wondering last night, as I began to "tweet" for the first time, how a semi-luddite like myself could successfully lead a technology company like Nobscot Corporation.I don't use a cell phone. I don't like to talk to people on the phone when I'm not in work mode and when I am in work mode I like to be at my desk concentrating not at the grocery store.I have an old T-Mobile Sidekick that I

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-61893228782900541442008-11-08T09:05:00.002-10:002008-11-08T09:15:25.279-10:00

Right now we are seeing companies take drastic moves to survive the bad economy. I am probably going to shock a few people by suggesting that some best practices may turn out to be your worst nightmares.1) Early Retirement. Early retirement is often touted as the panacea for reducing payroll. You allow those nearing retirement to leave with a generous package and reduce your payroll by a

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724462.post-89809212352651383712008-10-21T19:32:00.006-10:002008-10-21T23:41:13.733-10:00

When I hire new employees I look for people who are excited about the opportunity and not just in it for the money. This has served me pretty well throughout my years as a business professional, entrepreneur, recruiter, and HR Staffing Manager.Which makes me really scratch my head in wonder about the new employment website that requires companies to pay applicants simply for the benefit of

Beth N. Carvinnoreply@blogger.com0