Okay, so I haven’t been the best about posting lately. It all started when I went to Japan and Hong Kong in September. I knew I probably wouldn’t keep up with my blogging during that trip. Then I was back home for a few weeks, and before I knew it, it was time to go to Oaxaca and Houston. The Houston trip was an interesting one for me since I was going through all my old stuff at my parents’ house and trying to determine which items to keep and what to donate or throw away. I have many thoughts and feelings about this process, so perhaps I will try to share them at some point soon.
So here I am after a few months of not blogging, trying to pick back up again. This is a great lesson in consistency. I find that once I fall off the wagon of publishing on a weekly basis, it’s really hard to get back on. Much harder than keeping up the momentum of publishing once I’ve been at it regularly for a while. So if you’re thinking of taking a break from writing regularly, just be aware that it will be exponentially harder to start again.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to the recent projects round-up! As is often the case, this is not a completely comprehensive list. There are a few projects that are still underway as well as numerous pieces I’ve ghostwritten for others. But this gives you an idea of what I’ve been up to lately.
Greenhouse
I’ve been doing a lot of webinar highlight posts, including
Employee Experience Essentials with Namely, Culture Amp, and Greenhouse,
Creating a More Honest Candidate Experience: Tips from Yotpo & RecruitingDaily, and
Navigating Recruiting Tech: A Guide to Evaluating, Selecting, and Implementing the Right Tools.
The Greenhouse team always does a great job of partnering with people who are pushing the talent acquisition industry forward, and their webinars offer actionable insights on topics like candidate experience and employer branding.
Greenhouse has also been busy refining their Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) tool, and I’ve written a few pieces that showcase just how powerful a CRM can be. I love these stories, because they show that the relationship between an employer and a candidate doesn’t have to be transactional. Just because someone isn’t the right fit for a role today, that doesn’t mean that they won’t be tomorrow, and using a tool like a CRM makes it so much easier for companies to keep tabs on promising people they’ve engaged with in the past. Check out CRM: The Single Sourcing Tool Every Recruiter Needs, and Re-Engaging Past Prospects & Candidates: CRM Success Stories Part 1 and Part 2 to learn more.
Udemy for Business
Over on the Udemy for Business blog, I explored the topic of personalized learning. We’ve all become pretty accustomed to personalization as consumers—everything from Google search results to Netflix recommendations are based on our unique preferences and past behaviors. So it’s about time that our learning experience followed the same format. Learn more in Why Personalization is the Future of L&D.
Many of the companies I work with are striving to create diverse and inclusive work environments. It’s heartening to see that this is a priority for many organizations. At the same time, there’s still a lot of work to be done. I realized this when writing Key Takeaways from Udemy’s 2018 Employee Experience Report. Research conducted by Udemy found that female employees don’t get the same amount of time with their managers as male employees, and they’re more likely to feel that their manager isn’t invested in their professional goals. If we’re truly committed to giving people from diverse backgrounds better opportunities, we need to support them with mentoring and management and prove that we want them to succeed.
One of the big projects I recently completed for Udemy for Business was the Building the Business Case for Learning eBook. This involved doing a ton of research, interviewing several HR and L&D leaders, and distilling all that information into a five-step process. If you’re trying to make the business case for learning (or any other People-related program) at your company, be sure to give it a read!
Zugata
A lot of people loathe 360 Reviews. This is the main thing I learned when researching Disrupting the Traditional 360 Review for the Zugata blog. It’s not surprising—spending time writing reviews for everyone you work with is frustrating and tedious. And the anonymity of 360 reviews also prevents people from being specific and actionable in their feedback. What should companies do instead? Check out the Zugata blog to get some ideas!
Welp, that’s it for this edition of recent projects round-up! If you’re interested in working with me in the future, get in touch and let’s talk!