Thanks to Desired Hair, and Michael Specht for sponsoring HR Club Sydney

In the whirlwind that was last week, I didn’t get a chance to thank my sponsors for the first HR Club Sydney Event and I wanted to give them the recognition they deserved and get the details right.

First and foremost, I would like to thank Alex and Laura of Desired Hair (the hair extension specialists) for generously sponsoring the three lucky door prizes for the night.

Desired Hair provides high quality 100% human hair extensions at wholesale prices direct to the public. They also sell accessories (such as the hair straightener we gave the lovely Peta on the night) and you can even book a Hair Extension Party. Please visit www.desiredhair.com.au for all the details.

Secondly I would like to thank Michael Specht for his donation of the “Australian Corporate Careers Website Report” and the “21st Century Guide to Recruiting” as an exclusive free offer to HR Club Sydney members.

Michael is currently running his own consulting business, Inspecht, specialising in HR technology and the application of Web 2.0 tools and techniques for companies of all sizes, called “Enterprise 2.0“. Michael has a unique views on how social media can be used by organisations to enhance the employer brand and attract the best people to work for your organisation.

He is a regular speaker on HR technology for the Australian Human Resource Institute and has been involved in their HRIS Special Interest Group. In addition to writing this blog he actively participates in the conversation around Web 2.0, social software and the impact on organisations and management practices.

If you are interested in hearing Michael speak, you can catch him at the ATC (Australasian Talent Conference) Conference on Social Media in Melbourne, December 3rd this year.

Here is a blurb about the conference:

In 2009, you are invited to join some of Australia’s most forward-thinking leaders and experts in the social media and recruitment at the ATC’s new sister event to be held in Melbourne.
The day will include first-hand insights from internationally recognised speakers, as well as hearing from real company case studies and participating in interactive workshops designed to encourage participation. The series of interactive sessions are designed to leverage the combined wisdom of the Australian recruitment industry, allowing you to learn from the experiences of industry peers.
The speakers will address issues such as, how to measure the ROI of social media; how to integrate social media into your recruitment strategy, digital branding, talent pooling and the impact of social media on graduate recruitment.
But this is no ordinary conference. What’s different about this event is that it is a hybrid between a traditional conference and an ‘Unconference’, meaning part of the agenda will be developed by the attendees. The Unconference sessions will allow you, the attendees, to influence the event program, ensuring the issues you want to hear about are discussed and the event can provide solutions for a range of workplace challenges.

Find out more about ATC on Social Media or email me hrclubsyd@gmail.com for your free copy of the “Australian Corporate Careers Website Report” and the “21st Century Guide to Recruiting” by Michael Specht.

Thanks to everyone who attended last night!

Last night was the first HR Club Sydney Event and we received a great turnout of HR Professionals based in the Sydney area. Thanks again to our three presenters; Sue Jennings, David Hales and Ben Palmer. I thought the presentation was an interesting insight into how we can ensure our recruitment and retention strategies achieve the goal of having the right people, in the right jobs at the right time.

If you would like to follow up on this, please visit http://www.genosinternational.com/

So overall, how did the event go? Feedback was generally pretty positive and the attendees seemed excited about the concept of catching up with other HR professionals in Sydney. However I would like to share some learnings with you so the next event can be even better.

Here is my commitment to you for future:
Better organised space for networking with others prior to a presentation
Take-away handout of presentation
Organise meet ups that aren’t focussed around a presentation but purely to meet other people
Set-up space for break-out activities

Finally thanks to everyone for coming along, and also to Joel for assisting me on the night with the preparation. If you have any suggestions, feel free to comment here or via linkedin.

Nothing will get in the way of a good time!

Jeepers creepers- I think a few things have been thrown at me to derail tonight. Last week I had a mild case of shingles and today my laptop has died (yes I felt sick when I saw the blue screen of death), but nevertheless the show must go on and a good time will be had by all.

Here are the final details:

Improving Customer Service & Performance with ‘Motivational Fit’

Date: Monday, August 24, 2009 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM (TONIGHT)

Location:
Forrester’s Hotel
Cnr Riley and Foveaux Street
Surry Hills, New South Wales 2010

Bring your business cards along as we have a few small lucky door prizes. Plus Forrester’s Hotel has $7 steak, chips and salad available tonight so if you want to grab a meal here, it does look good.

See you there tonight!

Jess

Top ten effective habits of a highly successful networker

With our very first HR Club Sydney networking event coming up (get tickets here), I thought it was only fitting that I blog about networking because let’s face it- sometimes it isn’t something we do that well in HR. We think we probably should be good at it, but we aren’t always willing to invest the time in having an actual conversation with people about their experiences because we are ‘too busy’. If I can liken it to the way that I think about my own work, I know that being strategic is where I’m going to get the most bang for my buck from my clients (although the transactional can you help me with my pay seems to be the most pressing issue at the time for the client).

And I think about networking in the same way. I value it as a strategic tool which assists my personal development- and that’s why I invest time in social networking, blogging and attending events.

I’m lucky enough to have a guest post today from Anne Marie Cross who is a Career Coach & Personal Branding Strategist, Consultant, Speaker, and Author of ’10 key steps to Ace that Interview!’ She is also the founder/principal of Advanced Employment Concepts – Career Management and Personal Branding Strategists offering powerful programs for people striving for career success and fulfillment, as well as savvy companies committed to building and retaining their most important asset – their staff.

Alongside Keith Keller, Anne Marie co-hosts Career Communique Radio which is a community page committed to providing inspiring career-related topics to support individuals in accelerating their level of success in the job market and the workplace. Check out the website for podcasts of the radio show, articles, forums and event details.

With a tightening job market numerous job seekers have increased their networking endeavours with the hope of tapping into the hidden job market, where 70-80% of unadvertised opportunities are located.

While networking should be an integral part of your search (and overall career management) efforts there are some secrets which can make a significant difference between not really generating much success and the potential for networking burnout in comparison to building influential and productive relationships that open the doors to potential job opportunities.

To avoid networking burnout, ensure you’re adopting the top ten effective habits of highly successful networkers.

A highly successful networker:

1. Is clear on their job/industry target and can clearly articulate this when seeking support or communicating with members of their network.

2. Has a clear understanding of their personal brand, their unique selling proposition and can professionally communicate their brand both in person and in online networking opportunities.

3. Has up-to-date personal marketing material, (which can include professional resume, bio, leadership addendum, web portfolio, personal blog, and profiles on multiple social networking platforms) that highlights achievements and value offered to a potential employer.

4. Is able to speak confidently (not arrogantly) about their strengths and successes so that potential hirers are able to grasp the WIIFM (what’s in it for me – the company) should they be lucky enough to have you on their team.

5. Has a powerful and memorable ‘marketing pitch’ that can be utilised as an introduction to networking events and that question ‘So what is it that you do?’

6. Has a written strategic networking plan that encompasses regular attendance of both online and offline networking activities that allows them to continually expand and leverage a diverse personal network.

7. Utilises a network management system to effectively track their networking endeavours and important information about each member of their network.

8. Adopts an approach of regularly sharing relevant information with people in their network with a mindset of no expectations in return. They continually nurture their network as part of their long-term career management plan and not just when seeking new job opportunities, so that when they need to seek help from their network, people are far more open to supporting them.

9. Knows how to frame and deliver the right questions to whom they are speaking to enable ongoing expansion of their network or an opportunity to speak to a key decision maker.

10. Surrounds themselves with positive and supportive people who continue to strengthen and enhance the enthusiasm they portray during their job search activities. This is in complete contrast to being surrounded with nay-sayers who can seriously undermine your enthusiasm and ultimately your job search outcomes.

If you’ve ticked all ten areas, then congratulations – you’re a highly successful networker and are communicating your brand professionally and prominently in readiness for when that ideal job opportunity presents itself.

If, on the other hand you haven’t ticked all ten areas, then my suggestion would be to select, work on and integrate one new area each week into your networking plan so that you too can become a ‘star’ networker.

© Annemarie Cross 2009

So how did your networking skills rate against these ten points?

Tickets now available to the first HR Club Sydney Event

I am very pleased to have secured a venue for our very first HR Club Sydney event.

The event will commence at around 6pm on Monday 24th August at the Forrester’s Hotel, which is located on the Corner of Riley and Foveaux Streets in Surry Hills. We’ll be in the Cassata Bar on level Two. Please come along with your business cards and conversation hat; for what is sure to be an exciting night.

Places are limited, so please register early to avoid disappointment.

Grab your ticket here

Breaking News: First Speakers for HR Club Sydney Event confirmed

I’m extremely excited today to announce that I have confirmed three amazing speakers for our very first HR Club Sydney networking event which will be held on 24th August in Sydney.

David Hales (previously Manager People Relations Group flight Training) and Sue Jennings (previously Manager People Relations, Customer & Marketing) from Qantas; will join forces with Benjamin Palmer (CEO of Genos) to speak about “Improving Customer Service and Performance with Motivational Development at Qantas”.

Session Outline:

Human resources, organisational development and learning and development professionals typically focus on enhancing an employee’s skills and capabilities however few focus on enhancing employees’ motivation to perform their roles.

At Qantas, the focus has been on what is termed “developing motivational fit,” a series of people initiatives designed to enhance employees’ motivational role fit.

In this session, we’ll share with you how buy-in from the business was obtained, the tools and techniques used, and the value to both the business and the employee of developing motivational fit in terms of workplace safety, customer service, employee performance, and relationships.

We have looked at ways to enhance employees’ motivational fit in four key areas. These are;

1. role fit – how motivating employees find their day-to-day tasks;

2. manager fit–how motivating employees find the leadership style of their manager;

3. team fit–how motivating employees find the characteristics of their team; and

4. organisation fit–how motivating employees find the company culture.

You’ll have the opportunity to analyse your own level of motivational fit and apply some of the experiential activities with others to analyse the value of developing motivational fit in your organisation. There will also be time for questions and answers towards the end.

This event is all about sharing HR info and learning from others (no plugs for products or services) and it is a great way to network with other HR professionals.

Event venue and speaker bios to come very soon. Places will be very limited so be sure to register early.