Class Ended!

So, our HRST class at UC Berkeley class finally ended. It was a great experience to learn all the web 2.0 technologies and how we in Human Resources can leverage that in our own little departments.
We always talk about HR catering to people needs, caring for people, and human capital being the most valuable of all...
But just to say that HR is changing in few intriguing words doesn't change HR.
We have to take action and not just say it.
The easiest and so far the best way to make Human Resources a "brand" is to embrace Web 2.0 technology.
Web 2.0 technology allows us to be the part of the Strategic table -- something that HR has never been :(.
And although it may sound that this has to deal with IT guys or learn Computer technologies, but that is not the case.
Web 2.0 is as easy as playing a video game.
Everything is there -- you just need the attitude to be there.
Coming back to the HRST class... So we had 10 meeting each for 3 hours.
In fact, the class virtually started much before that.
Jun Cruzat, our HRST instructor (HR Systems manager at PIXAR) reached us before the class started through our class wiki https://sites.google.com/site/hrsystemsandtechnology/team-members/Home.
In fact that reminds...we came up with our own wikis.
He posted his own video and welcomed us to the class. That has never happened before..We learned about Technology, especially Web 2.0, the role of social networking sites in HR -- Twitter, Flickr, Podcast, Webinar.
The whole Project Management concept, demos from best of the breed Web Technologies like Workday, Avature, Peoplesoft, Success Factors etc.
And of course, not to forget "Blogs".
That's one of the reasons I am writing about my experience.
Apart from all of this, we also read a lot about people who are involved in HR and also have the knowledge of Human Resource Systems and Technology, like Jason Averbook...

Through his site "Knowledge Infusion", and their podcasts.


I will edit this and continue writing later Dont get bogged down by grammatical errors :)

Project Presentations on Decemeber 10th...

A learning experience for me listening and understanding the problems faced during aspects of HR. I thought everyone did a very good job, and everyone had a very detailed idea of their problems and the proposed solutions. Clearly technology provides intersting alternatives/solutions for some of the problems we face today at work (and even at home :))

RS.

Six Steps to company-wide adoption...

An interesting piece talking about how technology provides for integrated solutions today, and how they need to be tested and adopted by the whole company rather than a few select individuals/groups. In particular, it talks about integrated social software suites like SocialText 3.0 (what were 1.0 and 2.0?) and how it can be adopted across the company using a 6-point formula of sorts... 

I find the points relevant but lacking depth. No one would disagree that such softwares need to targetted in an intelligent fashion within the organization, but doesn't talk about how to motivate people to adopt them and change the way they work, interact, contribute... But overall, I think it does make you think, and I'm sure people in charge have them hands full...

RS.

Podcast #12 with David Ludlow...

This podcast was pretty much i(n)tune with some of the other podcasts I've heard on this website. The focus was again on how the HR systems have broadened their impact from being used by a few HR personnel's to pretty much the whole organization (managers (for hiring, etc.), employees (for reviews, etc.). I guess this is one of the most fundamental (if not the most!) change in how HR is viewed and used by organizations today.

There was another discussion on how social networking (Facebook/Linkden) will have a major role to play in the next semi-decade... I was kind of interested in the profile authentication discussion, but not sure if there will be this one unified profile, with different fields being viewable by different people. When it comes to professional information, why would I want to do that? And again, who owns this data? Facebook? No way... Will there be one trusted source with which we can share information? How trustworthy is that? Well...

The discussion then goes to the SAP talent management softwares. SAP is lacking this module right now. It has historically covered performance management and recruiting. However, it seems they are in the process of including TMS, and also embracing the new Web 2.0 technology. Let's hope they do it...

RS.

Midterm...

Interestinne  questions and related to what we've learnt over the past month.

Podcast #15 by Naomi Lee Bloom...

A very interesting interview with one of the renowned consultants and leaders of the HRM field. A couple of highlights --

1. Customized technology software for each company: It is important for each organization to realise what it needs from the specific technology, and how it can embrace it to improve its functioning. Although the vendors are more than happy to impose their generic solutions, the organizations should be more methodical and logical in tuning these softwares totheir own needs -- "demo against real scenarios"...

2. The importance of depth and breadth in HR and related technology. This hits the nail on the head as far as teaching and grooming people for HR of today and the future is concerned.

3. Importance of gathering and conferences -- I hope organizations view HR as a constantly evolving field, and set aside budget for such travels and meetings. No one wants a stagnant HR department at the cost of a few saved dollars.

I really find these podcasts very informative, and have added them to my weekly schedule to listen to them...

----

My organization on the CMM

Since I'm currently not employed, I guess I can skip this one :)

But the organization I've worked and volunteered for in the past belongs somewhere between the first and second levels.

The Machine is Us/ing us -- the youtube video...

A nice video on how web 2.0 faciliates separating data from formatting, and how we can simply transfer/read data from one format into another by keeping the two (content and form) separate. I guess the important point here is that is helps in adding more semantic value to the data, and that's what most of the mashups today exploit.

This also relates to the problem I'd mentioned in one of my earlier blogs -- about photo organization, and tagging photos and such. The amount of data has been growing at a very fast pace, and the onus of organizing it is kind of left to the user. I guess moving forward, it will become more automated/AI ish -- the Web 3.0 :) Ofcourse, data ownership/privacy becomes an important problem too.

Changing tracks, it's amazing how videos are also becoming commonplace now, and in fact can serve as a very powerful medium for HR to convey the company plans, directions, and ideologies. I've never posted a youtube video, but will probably do so before this class ends :)

2003 Trends Article...

A thought-provoking article from 2003, that lists some 25 trends ranging from the importance of Internet/email, to how HR would no longer be able to add value at a strategic level. I guess most of the trends mentioned in the article have actually evolved the way its been mentioned, and probably will go in a similar direction. For example, the fact that companies would be working 24/7, defined benefit plans by companies, outsourcing of jobs, and health/child care and such are things that have definitely progressed as mentioned, and will probably do so even in the next 5 years or so.

However, there are things that probably haven't evolved to the same extent as mentioned in the article. For example, AI is still not doing all the knowledge discovery from the tons of data we have. Although, it is definitely headed in that direction, and probably a few years from now we'll fully realize its potential and amazing discoveries.

As far as trend of companies hiring HR people from business side (as compared to human resources side) is concerned, I don't agree that's the case.  It is definitely important for HR to contribute at the strategic level, and as such the Human Resource Management needs to expand its horizons to include this function as well. Currently, HR is perceived as a stand-alone field, while in reality it needs to borrow from and contribute to other related fields to evolve as a well-rounded and sought after part of any organization.

In addition, HR needs to embrace the current technology to be competent and useful for the company and its employees. I would advise companies to make HRST training mandatory :)

Social Technographics Data Blog...

Not surpisingly, the article brings to light the fact that social technology participation has grown, and is growing rapidly even today. They back it with some concrete data, and the one that caught my attention was the fact that nearly 70% of people (who are aware of the internet) either read, watch or consume social content. Wow! Its always good to back up statements with concrete data, and that's exactly what this article does.
In addition, people of all age groups are actively involved, and this presents some interesting and unexplored opportunities for organizations and people alike to connect with the rest of the world, and embrace the ideas and technology, be it discussing a random event, or even the way HR works.
I am especially intrigued by the opportunities provided by social networking sites like Second Life, where companies can easily advertise their products and other company facts, and improve their business as well as encourage like-minded people to work with them. The sooner the companies start exploring this option, the faster they would see the results, and hopefully further improve the Web.
BTW, thanks to this course I belong to the category of an active blogger :)

HR's struggle with Web 2.0...

An interesting and a very relevant article on how the companies today are not embracing the latest technological advances to improve and streamline the hiring process. Using the latest facebooks, and youtubes for publicising the company work, and attracting talented people is definitely something that the HR departments should try and evaluate the potential of.
Given the fact that almost each one of us visits one or the other of the social networking sites, it seems like a bigger and better stage to talk about the company, its potential openings, and recognise/evaluate people through it. Although some companies have started indulging in creatively using Web 2.0, it does seem to be an exception than the norm. I hope more and more HR departments either educate themselves, or are educated to exploit this wave, and make hiring talented individuals an easier process.

Bill Cutik Podcast #13

An interesting podcast on the use of technology in enhancing HR. There exist technology/tools that HR can take advantage of (like the mention of social networking sites like Facebook), and how tools can benefit not only the HR, but the employees and organization at large. 

Also, a nice discussion on the most relevant software for a company, and the increasing role of the company heads to bring the technology and talent to the company. 

Web 2.0

A really interesting article for someone like me -- not very tech-savy... A nice explanation of how web has advanced from its infancy (1.0) to something we're experiencing today (2.0).  A couple of points stood out for me:

1. Web as a platform -- that provides services to the people. Companies like google have already figured out a nice revenue model, and others like Facebook (?) in the process of it.
2. Data, Data and more data... Organizing and understanding it is probably the most critical problem that stares at thousands of engineers and researchers round the globe...  Much like HR, where the data is probably orders of magnitude less :)
   
3. No explicit software -- nothing resides on your disk. Everything (or rather most of it) resides remotely, and we users simply login and access it. I can't help but wonder how important bandwidth and security would become. As it is, I cannot remember my passwords for the different sites. 

This brought back my photo searching problem, and googling a bit brought me face-to-face with the Web 3.0 concept -- and how intelligent applications were a part of it, much like my semantic photo search problem. I'm glad that the problem is going to be tackled during the next decade, and looking forward to some interesting applications that result from it.

Why We Hate HR

A very interesting article on what HR can achieve in theory, and what it is doing in practice. Going by the data and instances provided in this article, it does seem that HR is becoming more of a vestigial part of the organization, instead of being its 'heart and brain'...

Outsourcing some of the key HR related activities is surely compounding the problem, but I don't think that should make HR ineffective. Although the article dwells on the negatives, it also presents what HR can achieve, but probably  lacks in practice. HR is responsible for hiring, retaining and nurturing the best people that can serve the interest of the organization -- and I feel this is something that cannot and will never be outsourced. What HR requires is probably a revamp, and more accountability.

Problem at work...

For what its worth, I'm not employed at the moment, and desperately looking for a job. Hence, I won't be discussing about a problem at work, or anything related to HR. For the moment, my biggest problem is actually organizing my thousands of photographs that I've clicked over the past few years.

More specifically, every once in a while, I'm trying to look for certain photographs -- say having me and my dad with Eiffel tower in the background. I understand I can tag photographs today, but I feel they still lack the semantic search capability, and do a more syntactic search -- pretty much like google, that searches web pages with the keywords in them. What I need is a bunch of photos, ranked appropriately, depending how clear the Eiffel tower is, and whether there are others along with me and my dad.

I'm not a CS major, so I have no idea how hard this problem is -- but given the fact that none of the major service providers (or software) exist today that solve the problem nicely, I'm assuming its not an easy one to solve.

Furthermore, it would be great if my videos could be searched -- but I'll leave that for some other time :)

FACEBOOK AS A TOOL

Name ? Facebook

Comparable Technology ? MySpace, LinkedIn, Friendster, Fanbox, Tagged

What is it? Social Network? Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. Millions of people use Facebook everyday to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet.

What problem is it designed to solve ? Networking and Advertising

PROS

Easier Communication
Contacting People
Reconnecting
Keeping in Touch
Profile building
Self Expression
Pictures
Games
Join Groups
Mass Communication (Election example)
Event PlanningGlobal Communication


CONS

Triple Identities
False information
Fraud
Lack of Privacy
SPAM
Procrastination tool/ "time waster"
Physical problem
Group Think, Conformity

My first HRST class!

Well. what to say.......... It is a great experience and a great learning curve of my life! I feel we are very lucky to witness all these technological changes that are happening around us. And not only we are witnessing these changes but also are able to use it :) Coming back to my first HRST class. I totally love it! I hope it helps us grow in terms of learning. I expect a lot from this class. I hope we learn to use new software's that are used in HR systems.