HR and E2.0 Collaboration, and a Judokan Approach to E2.0 Implementations

Allow me to explain the crazy post title… The next Enterprise 2.0 Conference (#e2conf) is scheduled for Boston in June, and I have submitted two proposals on behalf of the Social Media in Organizations (SMinOrgs) Community and Renaissance Strategic Solutions (RSS). I’d love to get feedback from folks on the proposed sessions and would really appreciate your spreading the word and voting for the proposals.

The Enterprise 2.0 Conferences use a unique approach to proposal submission and selection that leverages – you guessed it – 2.0 principles and technology. Click here to learn more about how the process works and how you can participate. You must register to comment on proposals and vote, but registration is free. You do not need to register to share the proposals via various channels.

Voting begins on January 10^th and ends on January 14th

Here are links to the two proposals, along with descriptions of each. Please feel free to add your feedback on the blog post or on the Enterprise 2.0 site. And don’t forget to vote if you’d like to see the proposals get accepted! Thanks in advance for your feedback and support.

Courtney Hunt

 

HR 2.0 (/ Social HR) - what it is and how it impacts E2.0 (/ Social Business)

This session was originally proposed by Jon Ingham. After reading his proposal and seeing synergies in our perspectives on this subject, I offered to collaborate with him on the session. After a few exchanges, we settled on the idea of facilitating a dialogue about how professionals from Human Resources and IT/Enterprise 2.0 (E2.0) (and other) functions can become better partners. Because many related fields offer critical and complementary perspectives, it's important to explicitly address ways they can work together more effectively. Here’s an overview reflecting our combined ideas:

HR does not tend to act as 2.0 advocates. Organisations therefore face the situation where what should be one of the strongest forces of support are often the main source of opposition.  To correct this situation, HR needs to understand the full range of opportunities for 2.0 technologies, both within the enterprise and within HR itself as well.

Enterprise 2.0 practitioners also need to understand HR 2.0 activities, as these may provide the most obvious ways to get HR on board with 2.0.  Organisations can then build on HR’s unique and valuable perspectives to develop further opportunities for 2.0 / social business implementation.

HR has been gaining an increasingly high focus at Enterprise 2.0 conferences.  In 2010, the discussion in Boston focused on social learning; in Santa Clara, it extended to include social recruiting.  However, there are many more opportunities for HR 2.0 (what one attendee in Boston called ‘smart HR’) than this, and which are important for both E and HR 2.0 practitioners, and others, to understand.

If you accept that Enterprise 2.0 is about people, not technology – or even if you just believe they are both equally important – there is an obvious opportunity for HR to support E 2.0 projects.  There are even examples of HR leading some E 2.0 activities.  However we also know that, in the main, HR does not tend to act as 2.0 advocates.  Organisations therefore face the situation where what should be one of the strongest forces of support are often the main source of opposition.

To correct this situation, HR needs to understand the full range of opportunities for 2.0 technologies, both within the enterprise and within HR itself as well (based upon the development of social communities and ranging from social recruiting to alumni management). Enterprise 2.0 practitioners also need to understand these opportunities within HR 2.0, as these may often provide the most obvious ways to get HR on board with 2.0.  Organisations can then build on HR’s unique and valuable perspectives to develop further opportunities for 2.0 /social business implementation.

This session will therefore describe: 

• Why Enterprise 2.0 concerns HR
• What HR, Communication, IT, Knowledge Management and other professions need to understand about HR 2.0 – key points and case studies
• Why HR 2.0 concerns IT (understanding HR’s concerns and opportunities in order to get HR onboard)
• Suggestions for HR, IT and other functions to work together effectively and how HR can be involved as co-leaders of Enterprise 2.0

The session will cover all of the basics (with key points and case examples) which can then be developed within other sessions during the rest of the conference (see full proposal for list of related sessions).

We'd love to have a mix of E2.0 and HR (and other) professionals in the session, and to promote dialog among them. Jon and I can provide an introduction and facilitate the discussion, but our preference is to talk WITH folks rather than AT them. We want to promote the sharing of concerns, ideas, and best practices.

 

The Art and Science of a Judokan Approach to E2.0 Implementations

This session will describe how the principles of judo can be applied to the E2.0 change management process. The core ideas are to recognize and accept the organization as it is, rather than as it should be, and to work with current realities rather than against them.

The presentation of concepts and examples, supplemented by dialogue with peers, will provide attendees with food for thought and fresh ideas about better approaches to achieving their E2.0 implementation goals and objectives.

Many E2.0 discussions focus on certain underlying cultural values that are critical to success, such as openness, empowerment, innovation, and engagement. Related discussions on the E2.0 change process often emphasize the need for leaders to embrace these cultural values before the change process can begin. I agree those values are important, but I wonder if it’s in our collective best interest to emphasize them so much. Even if they’re not willing to admit it, many organizational leaders find ideas like openness and empowerment threatening, and their views on notions like engagement can range from “touchy-feely” to “a nice luxury we can’t afford.” Even when they espouse and embrace these ideals, existing organizational cultures, structures, systems, and staff may not allow their enactment.

So what’s a change agent to do? Try to force change? Wait until the organization is really ready before moving forward? Perhaps, rather than thinking of approaching E2.0 initiatives and the cultural changes associated with them directly, we would be better served by an indirect approach.

Although Judo is a martial art, it embodies many principles that can be applied to the change management process – not for the purpose of winning in a competitive sense, but to achieve mutual welfare and benefit. The core idea is to achieve maximum results with minimum effort by applying principles such as

• Yielding, leverage, balance, momentum
• Open-mindedness, self-reflection,  empathy, respect
• Intense concentration, discipline, mindful flexibility

I believe that recognizing and respecting the true starting point for both individuals and organizations, and yielding to it and working with it rather than fighting it, significantly increases the likelihood of success. As E2.0 initiatives gain momentum, smaller successes breed larger ones and cultural values associated with social media will become integrated into the fabric of the organization and will be internalized by individuals. In other words, even if they’re not an input, they can become an outcome.

What I’d like to do in the session is introduce Judokan principles and identify how they might serve as the basis for a more effective approach to E2.0 change initiatives. I can provide examples and case studies to illustrate the points I raise, but ideally all attendees would share their experiences to flesh out the ideas and test tem.

 

Comments

[Courtney Shelton Hunt, PhD]

Voting is now open until Friday, January 14th. But I'm not certain about the Judokan proposal because I don't think I can vote on my own submission. If someone can check this and let me know if they're able to vote, I'd appreciate it. Thanks for your support!

[Joningham]

You've got my vote for your Judokan proposal Courtney.

[Courtney Shelton Hunt, PhD]

Thanks, Jon! I voted for our proposal as well (since I didn't submit it, I could). I will spend some more time on the site later this week and check out your other submissions too.