This is my first post on this Blog - I will be covering general photography topics as well as updates of some of the work I do…
Last weekend was a busy one - I spent Saturday morning shooting a last minute photo session with Leon and Sarah on Wye Downs near Ashford (Kent). It was overcast and misty but it was an enjoyable session and we got some good shots.
As soon as we were home and I had uploaded an initial set of pictures for the couple to see, it was up to London for a family gathering - and more photos.
Kirkness Associates
It's all about the people!
How to Choose (HR) Software…
So, you finally have the go ahead to purchase a shiny new HR system (or indeed any other business application) and you suddenly realise you have no idea how to go about it - where do you start and how do select from the seemingly huge range of suppliers?
Culture and Technology
Yesterday, I had one of the most interesting experiences of my career!
Attending an ‘un-confrerence’ was something that I simply didn’t expect to do, ever, despite having run a software company at the leading edge of HR technology for 14 years!
What about a Social HRMS?
One of today’s hot topics is undoubtedly Social Networking within the enterprise and how to build employee engagement, share information and otherwise build a collaborative culture. But what about actually applying this new software paradigm to business applications such as HR Management Systems - what effect would this have?
Are CRM systems the whole story?
For many years Customer Relationship Management has been the order of the day - enabled by many excellent software solutions such as Siebel, Microsoft CRM and Salesforce. But who are the relationships actually between?
Is information hiding in your organisation?
Everyday we hear how wonderful Social Technology is don’t we? How can we use it to expose and share information about our customers, staff, prospects and partners?
If we’re honest, most of us have been wondering what the relevance was for business - particularly internally. The idea of creating an internal social network is great for encouraging a ‘cool’ working environment but how does it directly help you run your organisation?
This was certainly my view before coming across PODIO last year. This is a platform which enables you to collaborate and share information and ideas in a business context. You build your own apps (or talk to a partner like us to help you) which are structured for the way YOU want to work.
This is game changing technology and can greatly improve internal communications, manage information flow, encourage collaboration (both internally and externally) and help you get to grips with email tyranny. Shortly after first seeing PODIO, I decided to replace the main system used in our recruitment division with a Podio ‘workspace’ configured to meet our particular needs - and have now become PODIO partners.
We are able to offer apps to clients covering a range of areas from recruitment, staff management, project management and crm - along with advice and guidance to help you role it out.
Other software vendors are catching on - and adding social elements to their applications. Whilst this is to be celebrated, these features are usually just a veneer. PODIO is collaborative and social from the inside and is currently unique in offering an app building and social platform combined.
Break free of all those tracking spreadsheets and little databases and start making use of all the valuable information hiding in plain sight in your organisation.
We are holding seminars in the next few months to introduce this concept - it really could change the way you work - if you would like to attend please click here: http://bit.ly/yal4mN
What is the future for HR - the debate rages!
20-12-2012
For years, it was Personnel, then HR was all the rage and now the debate is moving on again - Human Capital Management, People Management or what?
Surely we should be considering the role ‘HR’ professionals play in an organisation rather than simply focussing on the name given to the function?
For as long as I have been involved in the HR world, there has been a spectrum of interpretations of the term HR. Still in many organisations the HR function is little more than an administrative and compliance function - an insurance policy if you like. At the other end of the scale, more enlightened organisations seek to develop their staff in line with the strategic objectives of the business, and their HR team are at the leading edge of the initiative.
But what of the impact of modern working practices and technologies - how can HR embrace these and help their organisations innovate - especially in the key arena of collaboration and employee engagement?
The younger generation coming into the workplace (usually referred to as Generation Y) are used to communicating and sharing ideas with their friends and others using tools such as Facebook and YouTube, yet when they enter the workplace we offer them email and a telephone. Innovations in this area are moving fast with tools specifically designed for use within businesses. Tools which enable people to collaborate with each other, with clients and other stakeholders in ways in which we could scarcely imagine 5 years ago.
What an opportunity for HR - helping to lead their organisation’s move into this collaborative world - and building an highly motivated and engaged workforce at the same time.
Julian Kirkness
