Value | | October 06th, 2009
Last week I attended the HR Technology Conference in Chicago. For me it was a bit of nostalgia. Nine years ago I was the HR Information Systems Manager at GSK, so going to the conference was like a step back in time. It was great to see some people I hadn’t seen in a long time, and fun to see some of the new technology. But in reality, it seemed like not much had changed since I left the field. Even though the terminology has been updated, the underlying principles have not changed much. Most of what I saw on the expo floor was vendors with systems that “added value” by automating needlessly complicated HR processes. I guess if the processes were radically simplified, it would kill the market for these systems. (And yes I know that external forces, regulations and requirements “drive” much of the complexity.) But the industry is due for some radical re-thinking.
I went to the conference looking for movement toward (what to me seems to be an obvious opportunity) the integrating of social computing into HR Systems. I did see some progress in this direction, but those cases seemed to be the exception rather than the rule. At booth after booth, I asked the same question, “Are you looking at social computing as an opportunity for competitive advantage?” The results of my totally unscientific survey indicated a lack of innovation among most HR System vendors. Reflecting back, Clayton Christensen’s The Innovator’s Dilemma comes to mind. (If you are not familiar with this book, it is absolutely worth reading.) I think many of the HR Systems vendors are suffering from this condition.
I will be the first to admit that social computing in not the magic bullet to move HR Systems to the next level, but a little dose of it couldn’t hurt. I think the focus really belongs to dealing with business objectives. I do believe that for the most part the HR System vendors are better at this rhetoric than the Collaboration System industry, who spend most of their time selling features. But when you really look under the hood at most HR Systems the talk of supporting the business looks superficial, as most of what is being done is simple process mechanics. There is little in these systems that promote development of new knowledge and supporting better decision making.
Tags: conference, HR Systems, HRIS
About D3D | | September 22nd, 2009
Effective immediately, Decision 3D is suspending operations. Technically, Decision3D, LLC will continue to exist as a legal entity, but I will not be actively developing new business.
What this means is that I am now in the market for a “regular” job.
My target positions are:
- Consultant with a larger firm.
- Collaboration expert with software tool vendor (E 2.0, HR Systems, etc.) doing
- product development
- sales support
- professional services
- Collaboration practitioner within a company looking to improve their internal processes.
I am looking for opportunities that do not require relocation, so that means I am looking for companies with offices in the Raleigh/Durham area; or companies that will allow me to work virtually from my home office. I am willing to travel up to 50%. I am looking for opportunities that are either full-time (W-2) or long-term contract (1099, at least 6 month term).
My resume is here:
http://bit.ly/leewhite
Please pass this information along to anyone that you think might be interested in talking with me.
If you are not quite sure what I do, maybe this presentation will help.
Tags: consulting, job search
About D3D | | September 16th, 2009
I am happy to announce that on October 23rd I will be presenting at the Social Media Business Forum in Durham, NC. I will be co-presenting with Ryan Boyles, from IBM. Our topic is “Inside The Firewall: Lessons For Internal Communicators”. If you are going to be in the area, I think you will find this to be a great event. Hope to see you there.
Behavior | | September 15th, 2009
I am beginning a project to investigate the connection between organizational culture and the effectiveness of implementing collaboration tools and social technology in an enterprise setting. I am actively in search of collaboration tool vendors that want to get a better understanding of how their customers’ behavior, attitudes and culture impact social technology deployment. I am also looking for organizations that are running into a behavioral roadblock in their efforts to deploy collaboration tools.
I hope to use the results of this effort to help advance the cause of enterprise collaboration.
Tags: organizational culture, project, research, Social Technology Tools
Value | | September 10th, 2009
Though I am sure many will argue this quote, I really like it, for it’s provocative nature if nothing else:
But through these social technologies HR has a tremendous opportunity to become more valuable than your PR department, your marketing team, and even your sales team by making a fundamental shift from control and comply to connect and engage.
This is from a post by Mike Thompson on his blog The Organizational Champion. Mike is focusing in on the same issues I am with Decision 3D, mainly that your internal culture, behaviors and processes will be reflected in how you are perceived externally. Moving in the direction of trusting employees will make better employees and strengthen your external image. Giving employees the freedom to interact with their peers without the rules and regulations typically imposed by HR governance is a clear expression of that trust.
