e-recruitment strategy

Blog Action Day 2010 Water

I want to thank HR Bartender for posting about the Blog Action Day 2010 Water project. Every year on 15 October, bloggers from around the world write about a single topic - in this intance Water.  I have not seen or read this before and was immediately charged to action.  Much of this post highlights thoughts and statistics directly from the Blog Action site. Visit the site, read and think.

The statisics about water usage in the developed world compared to the requirements and challenges in less fortunate locations are staggering.  I will not pontificate  - After all we use bottled water because the lime content in our tap water makes our water unpalatable - but not dangerous or polluted.  Perhaps we need to rethink the worry about a 'fuzzy' kettle and slightly off-tasting cup of tea to a more environmentally aware approach to life.

Why is Water the topic today?

Right now, almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. That’s one in eight of us. But, water moves beyond just a human rights issue. It’s an environmental issue, an animal welfare issue, a sustainability issue. Water is a global issue, deserving a global conversation.

 

Let's look at an individual statistics that sits squarely in our recruitment hotspot today: the mobile/cell phone

Cell Phones vs. Toilets:
Today, 2.5 billion people lack access to toilets, but many more have access to a cell phone. The iPhone in your pocket requires half a liter of water to charge. That may not seem like much, but with over 80 million active iPhones in the world, that’s 40 million liters to charge those alone.
Plug your iPhone into the wall, and about half a liter of water must flow through kilometers of pipes, pumps, and the heat exchangers of a power plant.

Tools to measure water consumption

The Water Footprint of Products
The Virtual Water Project would like to show the world how much freshwater is used to produce selected products, hoping for people to rethink their consumption patterns. The vast amount of water consumed and polluted in the making of products has an enormous impact on the ecological footprint of human civilization. Carry the iPhone app  Virtual Water digital companion anywhere and grow more concious about how much water our everyday.

The H2O Conserve Water Footprint Calculator
is an interactive tool designed to help you quantify how much water you use, find out how you use it and what you can do to conserve. The Calculator estimates the total amount of water you use, or your water footprint, using information you provide about your water use and habits. The Calculator takes into account not only the water used in your home, but also the water used to produce the food you eat, the products you buy, the energy you consume, and even the water saved when you recycle. You may not drink, feel or see this virtual water, but it makes up the majority of your water footprint.

Visit the site, vote to change the world.

Petitions by Change.org|Start a Petition »

 

 

 

 

 

RCEuro.com - RCEURO Thought Leader Conversation - Nerissa Reyes

via www.rceuro.com

What Should Conferences Deliver to the Delegates?

If you haven't logged into a BlogTalkRadio show yet, you missed a real corker yesterday.  @Steve Boese put out his 69th HR Happy Hour show live from the HR Southwest conference, with a room full of outstanding HR practitioners and consultants, many of whom you may be familiar with from the @billboorman TruLondon series, Twitter and blogs.

Steve's show description:  In partnership with our friends from Voice of HR, the HR Happy Hour will talk about the HR conference scene, and our live panel will share their observations about HR conferences and discuss what works, what doesn’t and where they’d like to see HR conferences headed in the future. Recordings of many of Steve's shows can be found in the RCEuro.com Audio and video player, including last night's show.

BlogTalkRadio is live, uncensored internet based broadcasting, with participants dialing in from anywhere in the world.  For this show, Steve had a panel in a conference room plus callers (including yours truly, representing the UK and #SRCONF).  Participants included (using their Twitter handles) @SteveBoese, @TrishMcFarlane, @Stelzner, @loismelbourne, @ChinaGorman, @Seiden, @ChrisPonder, @Frannyo, @fishdogs. My apologies if I missed anyone. 

There has been a recent and lively debate here in the UK about what a conference should look like and deliver, started by Andy Headworth on his SironaSays blog.  My partner for Social Recruiting Conference 2010, Vic Okezie, and I have made some comments, as have leading lights like Jon Ingham, James Mayes, Gareth Jones, Stephen O"Donnell and Bill Boorman.

The debate on both sides of the Pond is what a conference should look like, how should content be delivered -and to whom. Vic has been running a great blog series on the background to organising our event, which you can read here. 

A common theme is that delegates want great content and in particular want real user stories.  Entertainment only speakers, jugglers and lots of give aways (swag in the USA vernacular) are not that relevant. Vendors that deliver real value and information are relevant. Industry speakers who can provide case studies are relevant and desired.  Corporates who have faced challenges (and can talk about them) are highly regarded.

WiFi, mobile reception, twitter back channels, on-site blogging and other interactive elements are becoming the expected norm, as is the use of live streaming for those that can't make it onsite.  Venues that ignore these elements of any conference, not just one that has a Social Media theme, will soon be loosing out to more adaptive locations.

Have a listen to the show in the home page player and send me your comments.  Come register for the #SRCONF event and listen to 10 real life corporate practitioners share their trials, tribulations and successes implementing direct sourcing and social media.  Take part in the Twitter conversation now and, if you can't make it, watch the live stream on 30 November.