We are thrilled to be hosting this month’s Carnival of HR- the April Fool’s Edition. We asked you to send in your stories of office shenanigans and tomfoolery, and you delivered!

Thanks to all for the excellent posts. If you have not sent in a post and would like to be part of the carnival, feel free to drop your post in the comment section or email mmiranda@aquire.com read more »

I remember it was a particularly active third quarter at a previous company I worked for (this would never happen at Aquire!). No, I don’t mean high turnover or an increase in recruiting, but a record-breaking number of baby showers. 8, to be exact. That’s right, baby showers for (and here’s the best part) 8 MALE employees with expectant wives! Shortly after returning from pastel-colored cake and little baby-sized presents for our 8th father, I’m standing by our vast expanse of cubicles day-dreaming about dessert when my boss, red-faced, shouts across the room right before entering his office. In his booming voice I hear “We’re no longer hiring women in this company since we cannot afford to take any more time off of work. If you were all women we’d have to include maternity leave too!!” I stand there in disbelief, hoping somehow I was the only person who heard him. But sadly, I wasn’t. Stares of confusion, surprise, and astonishment peer back at him from every cubicle. If only it was April 1st…

Aquire will be hosting the April Fool’s edition of Carnival of HR. We all know that HR experiences all the good, the bad, and the hilarious of the workplace. Share your stories of office shenanigans – the intern vs. employee prank wars, office talent show gone wrong, or an accidental email/tweet/text. The list can go on. Be creative and celebrate April Fool’s Day with us!

P.S. Please, send links to Mike Miranda at mmiranda@aquire.com by Monday April 11th. Include #CarnivalofHR in the subject line. The carnival will go live on April 13th.

P.P.S. – Bonus points for pictures

As part of the Carnival of HR we are tasked by Dwane Lay of “Lean HR Blog” to share what our “Safe At Home” at home means.

The phrase immediately made me think about what is so beautiful about my safety at home. It is the safety to be who I am. I can express what I care about. I can burst out laughing. I am appreciated for the things that I contribute to our home. I am also not chastised for the domestic skills I don’t have (there are many of those, especially creative cooking that would never be found in my domestic StrengthFinders exercise).

How does that relate to human resources? read more »

As we raise our son, we strive to develop his critical thinking and leadership skills.  As I relaxed with him this week, I considered what is helping him mature the most.  I believe it is constantly giving him the authority and responsibility to make the choices he is capable of making.  Sometimes, he doesn’t make the right choice, but he learns from those choices.  Because we control the environment of his choices, he still has a safety net of not failing too big.

Do we do this enough with our employees that we are developing?  Do we give them the chance to make choices in just enough of a controlled environment that they can miss the mark by a small enough margin that it doesn’t damage their reputation too badly, or damage the department’s ability to execute?  Do we give them the chance to wind up with a gross mixture of ice cream and toppings, which will help them stop and think about their choices a bit more the next time? Or will they consult more expert ice cream eaters to increase their chance for success the next time? read more »

There are plenty of reasons to go to the HR Technology Conference. The chance to network with HR professionals across the nation, the opportunity to hear and interact with leaders in our field, the ability to prospect products and services side-by-side, and the sessions focused on social media (They have a session on blogging!), to name a few. Not to mention, our friend, Marc Effron, will be following up his keynote at our conference by keynoting at HR Tech. These are all great and are already worth the trip to the Windy City. But honestly, they’re just an appetizer to read more »