• Friendship at work: A fascinating look at Zappos’ work culture. Here’s an excerpt:

“ we’ve begun tracking employee relationships. When employees log in to their computers, we ask them to look at a picture of a random employee and then ask them how well they know that person — the options include “say hi in the halls,” “hang out outside of work,” and “we’re going to be long time friends.” We’re starting to keep track of the number and strength of cross-departmental relationships — and we’re planning a class on the topic. My hope is that we can have more employees who plan to be close friends”.  Read more...

When John Sumser speaks, it’s wise to listen (I have been listening since 2001). In this brief Q&A, John examines some of the changes heading our way. Below are three confronting thoughts to ponder: 

It’s important to underline that finding people is no longer the problem. Almost the only people left who will say finding people is difficult are the people who find people – every body else uses Google. The hardest thing is having the right relationships so when it’s time to hire someone you have a chance of hiring them.  Read more...

Australasian Talent Conference
I received the final programme for The Australasian Talent Conference today, and boy am I excited.  Here’s an opportunity to hear and perhaps meet some of the giants of the recruitment/HR industry (What does one ask/say to the likes of John Sullivan and Gerry Crispin?). The conference starts on 5^th May with a range of workshops and concludes on the 7^th. You can re-visit what’s on offer at the conference here. I plan to live blog or Tweet from the event. If you are interested, it’s not too late to register. A discount of 15% for readers of this blog is still on offer; use the code ‘DES09’ here. If you do attend, please say ‘Hi’, it would be lovely to meet you.  Read more...