Top Human Resources Pros Turned Bloggers

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Top Human Resources Pros Turned Bloggers

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Table of Contents

The 2013 SHRM conference’s hashtag became popular on Twitter for the first time. For those who are unaware, this means that #SHRM13 held a place in cyberspace that was comparable to, say, Beyoncé, reality TV, and political discussion. The record-breaking attendance of SHRM13 cannot be the only factor in its notoriety on Twitter (18,000 is the informal count). It must be partially related to the massive social media hype that is currently surrounding human resources in general.

Social media and HR go together like peaches and cream. But it wasn’t “love at first sight.” Years of sweat, blood, and effort have gone into the partnership.

I’ve only been a professional HR blogger for a little over a year, but I’ve been an avid reader of HR blogs ever since they first appeared. I was older than 50 at that point, as my oldest child pointed out. A client recently requested a list of bloggers that I usually follow as an employment lawyer. That’s it. These are the bloggers who have elevated HR to one of the most respectable social media blog subjects at the moment. One blog post at a time, they are building their human resources legacy.

Making the Jump to Light Speed – HR Pros Turned HR Bloggers.

Susan Avello, Virtual HR Café, Susan’s the blogger who tells you exactly what she’s thinking on all HR topics, and she does so in no uncertain terms.  (A recent post discussed the “asshat” know-it-alls on social media.)  She carries the bitter truth to power and her posts have that “live” feeling that is edited out of so many professional articles.  Reading Susan always induces a belly laugh and the slightly anxious feeling of, “would I have had the courage to say that?”

Meghan M. Biro, Forbes, Founder of Talent Culture Consulting Group and World of Work.  Meghan writes substantively with a genuine, comfortable voice.  She’s no “fakey-fakey” blogger (someone who skips trust building and goes straight to the vocabulary of false intimacy.)  Recognizing that honest communication works both ways, Meghan founded #TChat on Twitter.  She works hard to redesign old-school networking as a virtual roundtable where folks open up with wit and brevity, and tell their peers what they really think.

Tom Bolt, Make HR Happen  Who would have thought that a former engineer would excel at putting the “human” back in human resources?   Tom’s posts analyze the various HR systems and processes in human terms.  For instance, in one post he explains how an employee’s perceived performance failure could, in reality, be a failure of the company’s evaluation system, or in another, he describes the pitfalls of reliance on technological vs. human connections.

China Gorman, China Gorman  Surely I’m not the only new blogger who finds China Gorman just a wee bit intimidating.  She’s the quintessential HR pro turned blogger, draws a crowd wherever she speaks, and can explain data.  China’s “Data Point Tuesday” is an excellent place to start learning why big data has become the battle cry of the revolution in HR.

Michael Haberman, Omega HR Solutions, Inc. Mike is one of the great guys in HR.  When you read his blog, you just know he’s the guy you want sitting in the office next to you at work.  He writes directly to the HR professionals in his audience and gives solid advice in the form of action steps and checklists.

Tim Gold, HR Morning  Tim’s HR Morning was the first HR blog I discovered.   As a newspaper man, Tim’s articles are practical and compliance-oriented, and always short and to the point.

Jay Kuhn, No Excuses HR  If the HR universe was a high school, Jay Kuhn would be Head Cheerleader.  While many bloggers make a living off of the “I hate HR” theme, Jay encourages HR to turn away from the dark side and embrace your inner manager.  His blog is all about mentoring and developing HR talent, information that my HR clients tell me “is in damn short supply” on the Internet.  He identifies the one true certainty for HR – that everything is a “front burner” issue – but refuses to let HR settle for the limiting role of the company short-order cook.

Sharlyn Lauby, HR Bartender  Don’t let the clever blog name fool you into thinking that you are going to get anything other than rock-solid HR advice and counsel from Sharlyn.  The posts I like best are the ones where she answers questions from readers in Ask HR Bartender.  Accessible, smart and funny – just like your favorite bartender, and in a perfect twist of fate (or lemon peel), she’s a foodie, too.  I like that about her.

Suzanne Lucas, Evil HR Lady A cross between Dear Abby, Dear Sugar and the devil in us all, Suzanne takes up the difficult HR questions.  Without a bias toward either side (employer or employee) she delivers a plan of attack in response to every question.   As a mother of a recent college grad (who is currently doing an internship), I loved her advice to “Forget the Interns – Hire an Apprentice” which focuses on the art of training and growing your ideal employee from scratch.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, Blogging4Jobs.com  Not only is Jessica an HR expert and consultant in her own right, she has managed to bring together a community of HR and HR-related professionals to regularly contribute to her site.  She has just started a brand new site called Workology.com.  Personally, I don’t think she sleeps.  In any event, her site is chock-full of posts ranging in subject from retail HR issues to internships, to career development in HR.  While you are there, check out a daily blogger named Rayanne Thorn.  Rayanne’s experience as a communications expert comes shining through her posts.  In particular, her ideas on the reciprocal engagement required for a successful relationship between HR and employees is very thought provoking and, well, engaging.

Lisa Monfre Rosendahl, Lisa Rosendahl. Story. Flow. Tribe  Lisa was a founder of another of my favorite blog sites, Women of HR.  She now writes about leadership development in employment at her personal site.  Lisa was the first blogger to really clue me in on the “story” movement in HR, leadership and social media. When you turn to Women of HR, be sure to check out another favorite blogger, Robin Schooling.  Robin was one of the original contributors to WOHR and runs her own website/blog, HR Schoolhouse.

William Tincup, Bryan Wempen and Nisha Raghavan, Drive Thru HR  DTHR falls into two of my all-time favorite categories:  (1) Things I wish I’d invented; and (2) Entertaining, educational stuff I can listen to in my car.  Driving from meeting to meeting got a lot more bearable when I discovered these guys.  Guests are funny, articulate and smart, expert in their fields and it all comes in a neat little package that’s free for a login.

Stay tunned next week as we deliver Top Employment Law Bloggers and Niche Bloggers. 

Who did we miss?

I hope that I introduced you to a few bloggers you haven’t read yet.  I know I’ve missed somebody’s favorite.  If I’ve missed yours, add to the list in the comment section.

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12 Comments

  1. Thank you for listing me, Mary. I’m always surprised and honored when someone highlights my work. I love the lighter side of life and hope that comes through.

    1. Well, I thought of doing a sub-listing of “smart-mouthed” women but it seems that no one but me liked that idea! You’d have made that list, too.

  2. Mary, thank you for the recognition and for compiling this list. I found a few I haven’t been following. How’d that happen?! Lisa

  3. Dominique — I love your blog title. Makes me think if Roz Russell and Cary Grant. I look forward to reading your posts. Good luck in finishing up your degree.

  4. Hi Mary,

    Definitely a great line up…I was surprised that you left out TheCynicalGirl.com (i’m a bit of a LFR groupie). But I also found a new blog (at least to me) by Melissa Fairman: hrremix.com. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorites.

    Ernie

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