blogging4jobs
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- Addicted to Mobile: My Interview with Joel Cheesman
- Workshifting, Leadership, & the Evolving Workplace
- 53 Billion Visits to Facebook
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Posted: 14 Sep 2011 04:19 PM PDT
 “The phone is bigger than any other medium.” – Joel Cheesman Joel Cheesman is the first to tell you that he fell into the whole Cheeshead thing accidentally. Sounds like a nice mistake, huh? Joel, the Head Cheese, is an avid blogger on recruitment issues and has a considerable following. He is a huge advocate of using the internet and technology and how the recruitment industry can benefit from close involvement. “As I blogged, I got more business. Clients would call me and say, I’d like to retain your services.” Instead of making a bunch of calls, Joel was taking them. In 2005, Joel followed through on his interest in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and utilizing his entrepreneurial nature, learned enough about it to garner business through its consistent use. He started his blog, “I thought it was a cool, progressive thing to do.” Yes, it was Joel and we are sure glad you did. He liked to blog and he was good at it. As a matter of fact, two guys you may have heard of, Jason Davis and John Sumser, sat up and noticed what Joel was writing. How to monetize this worthy endeavor? He made a few calls and was able to bring in a featured sponsor or two. 2008 brought new challenges. “It got to a point where too much news was coming in too quickly. I could either stop blogging or get some help. ” Joel made the right choice and took an office, hired some great folks and now, here he is today, “ready to make a mobile play.” Taking advantage of recruiting’s flexible nature, Joel and some developers created a new app for the iPhone called mJob – Mobile Recruiting Solutions. This news is hot and exciting. He describes this path as “growing intelligently.” The idea of a computer in your pocket? How cool is that? Joel is an early adopter, owning his first palm in 2002. The smart phone is here to stay as evidenced by the iPhone and others like it. This rapidly emerging tech that has taken off like mad in just a year’s time triggered something in Joel’s mind. Understanding that the SEO game in mobile is different, Joel knew he had to get educated about it and fast. “I have always felt kind of bitter about missing the first 2.0 wave. And now, mobile – it’s taking us back to 1996.” Yep, the innovation curve has started over again. Joel continues, “I think we will see new brands, new businesses. And I thought, let’s start a business where we power the backbone. There will be a day when every job will have mobile component and I wanted to help companies build that.” Joel is a system’s thinker – he sees the forest and it is green. His words, “All the things that are going on, how can we attract candidates like never before? How we grow, how we engage? I am looking ahead five, ten, twenty years down the road.” The B2B angle is already live, a whitepaper has been released, and consumer play/private data is set to launch any day now. What difference does Joel hope to make in recruiting? Joel brings a voice that’s never been here. He hopes to connect recruiters with what’s going on through mobile and then connect recruiters to candidates in the consumer play. Twitter and facebook are really talking about mJob. “Proximity marketing plays into this, an instantaneous introduction. This introduces a lot of new ways to do this job. I.5 billion people around the world are online, but 4 billion have a phone. There are twice as many phones as televisions. The sheer volume, the sheer reach is staggering.” Yep, the phone is bigger. Originally posted in Bonus Track on RecruitingBlogs.com March 12, 2009 — so mobile recruiting has been around for awhile…. **Joel Cheesman left mJob in 2009 to take his innumerable talents to Jobing.com until April of this year and just launched Mobsicle this past July…           |
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Posted: 14 Sep 2011 04:36 AM PDT
 According to a study on Flexible Work: Perceptions and Realities, 4 out of 5 people will be in flexible work arrangement by 2016. More and more companies are looking to flexible schedule work arrangements to attract and retain employees. This evolving workplace movement is known as workshifting and is a growing trend not just among tech and start up companies but large Fortune 100 companies who are looking to appeal to the more mobile lifestyle. Workshiting can certainly be a challenge for companies as well as managers who are looking to effective manage and grow their current workforces. As managers let go of the traditional workplace assumptions and begin to collaborate with cross-functional teams, they are often pleasantly surprised. Companies like Best Buy who implemented ROWE (Results Only Work Environment) saw turnover decrease to 60% with employee productivity increase by 35%. While 60% turnover may not seem low to some, it is very common for retail company's turnover to be well above 100%. Employees are not evaluated by the amount of hours worked but strictly by their performance according to their job description. Managers work to collaborate and communicate with their teams using email, smart phones, and other technologies. Attendance at meetings is not mandatory. Employees have an understanding of what is expected and get their job done whether it means working 2 hours on Tuesday or 10 hours on Saturday. What makes ROWE very different is that the employee is not relegated to punching a clock. They are purely measured on their performance specifics. Meaning that an employee can make the decision to take half the day off on Tuesday to attend her son's second grade field trip without feeling guilty or having to justify it with her boss. She just does. The trend to offer flexible work environments is growing. Life doesn’t stop and between 8 and 5. Companies like Best Buy are one of the first to fully embrace this more flexible new workforce and even federal government agencies are also taking notice. In 2010, the Government Telework Bill was passed allowing federal government workers to work virtually from home as well as a the option of a 4 day work week. Government employees have the option to work from their home office using technologies like VPN (what acronym stands for) with their laptop computers and smart phones. With this workplace shift the government hopes to attract a younger workforce while also saving costs on office electricity as well as travel. Workshifting offers companies benefits just as much as it does employees. Flexible schedules allow for truly be accountable for their schedule as well as their work. Managers and leaders not only have happy and more productive employees but the operational savings offered could be just what the doctor ordered. This blog post is part of the Conversation Culture series focused on engagement and relationships between employees and managers driving workplace as well as organizational productivity. Photo Credit Hand2Help.       |
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Posted: 14 Sep 2011 04:29 AM PDT
 I walked through the conference in flip-flops. Hey, it was in Phoenix, the dress code was casual and it was easily 100° outside. I did get a few looks, but I felt if ever there was a time to be casual, it was when I had nothing to lose and only information to gain. We weren’t exhibiting, I wasn’t presenting, and I was there to review the conference and make connections with potential new partners and those with whom my company was already working. And it was the best of times, my colleague and I walked the expo hall and asked questions and wait for it – we listened to the answers. Those manning booths always seemed surprised when we asked how they were doing, what were they getting out of it, and if they would be back next year – all valid questions. I was there to evaluate a national HR conference and make a determination as to whether or not we should exhibit there next year. Conference attendance or exhibition should always be questioned, a significant amount of money goes into it. Will the right people be there to make it worth the spend? Will business be done? Will worthwhile connections be made? What will be our takeaway? It makes no sense to ask questions but ignore the answers. My children often think I ignore them, for the questions they ask or statements they make often go unanswered. Why? Because at the tender age of <gulp> 48 - I can no longer tolerate listening to more than two people talk at the same time. What can I say, it’s hell to get old. Listening is important. Hearing is vital. If you do not listen, you cannot hear. And if you do not hear, what will you learn? How will you know? How often do you ask, “How are you?” expecting to hear a truthful answer: “Crappy, my car insurance was just cancelled.” or “I am overdrawn.” or “My husband and I are fighting again.” or “My teenage daughter treats me like dirt and it really hurts.” How are you? is a throw-away question. And what does that darn question really mean? It means “Hi – let me act like I care about you when really, I just want to ask you this…, when will that report be done/what time can I expect to hear from you/are you finished being in my way?” We, as a society, have learned the fine art of chit-chat – “filler” talk, talk that fills the empty space while we attempt to manipulate and get our way. There is no sit down for a spell, or let’s go for a stroll – we are always in a hurry, always having to be somewhere else, always needing information. One of the very simple reasons I believe Facebook is so popular is because we get to listen again. We are choosing to listen by strolling through the news feed and either agreeing with a status update or responding to a discussion that sparks some kind of passion in us. We actually listen and the “like” button is our virtual head nod. I read a stat yesterday that stated that in May of 2011, 53 Billion visits were made to Facebook, that is more than any other website – ever. I think we want to be heard and in most cases, we really do want to listen. If we could just put down the Facebook App long enough to hear the person right in front of us. And, yes, I am talking to me.  Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology. She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs. Connect with her on LinkedIn.      |
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