Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

A few weeks ago, I shared a reader note about employee birthdays and how difficult it can be to wish someone well. This reader was specifically looking for guidance about selecting birthday cards, but it made me wonder, how do people want to celebrate their birthday at work? Here’s what you said. 

The top two choices were an office card and lunch with colleagues. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. 

Office cards are a nice and inexpensive way to show someone you’re thinking of them. It could also be great for hybrid and remote workers. The downside is someone needs to be responsible for remembering birthdays, finding a card, and circulating it around the office. Maybe the office could buy some birthday cards in bulk and let employees use them. That makes the process easier and still allows employees to share their well wishes. 

Lunch celebrations are good for building some camaraderie and celebrating someone’s special day. The downside is that lunch cost money. And organizations have to think about their remote workforce. Some employees might be watching their budget and not want to spend the money – even though they care about the person. Another dynamic that comes into the picture is what if someone doesn’t like the place chosen for lunch. One way to handle this is to order food instead of going to a restaurant. Then employees who bring their lunch can still join in the fun. 

When we posted the original article with the poll, I heard from many people that some offices had a group vote to eliminate birthday celebrations, and everyone was thrilled. I also heard from people who said their offices gave responsibility for birthday celebrations to the recipient. If you wanted a celebration, then bring in cake or balloons or whatever. If you didn’t, then that’s fine too. It makes sense. Let the birthday person drive the celebration. 

I know the reader note that prompted this conversation is just trying to be a nice co-worker and wish someone well on their birthday. And I’m sure some people are saying, this really isn’t that hard. But there are news articles about the employee backlash on “mandatory fun”. This kind of birthday recognition isn’t about the birthday person. It’s about the celebration and using an individual’s birthday as a way to build camaraderie – whether they want it or not! I wish there was an easy answer to celebrating birthdays. But throughout this entire conversation, I found myself thinking about one thing – a person’s birthday is about them and what they want. So maybe the answer is to just ask the person how they would like to celebrate.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of Gainesville, FL

The post Employee Birthday Celebrations Should Focus On the Recipient [POLL RESULTS] appeared first on hr bartender.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Office celebrations can be great for employee recognition and morale. They can also be the subject of lawsuits, like the case in Kentucky where an employee asked the company not to celebrate his birthday and they decided to do it anyway. That’s what today’s reader note is about – birthdays. 

I feel like this would be a good topic for an article by the HR Bartender.

Picking out birthday cards for coworkers who you consider friends, but not actual “real friends” is a minefield rife with easy missteps if you don’t want a plain, boring “wishing you the best” kind of card. Especially if the coworker is a woman and you’re a single, straight man. 

This might be a tremendously unpopular opinion, but I’m not a big celebrator of birthdays. Personally, my birthday falls near a holiday, so it often gets lumped into the holiday celebration. Which is fine by me. But honestly, I don’t really want a big celebration or a card. A simple, “Have a nice birthday.” is great. I’m also totally fine if you didn’t remember my birthday until Facebook reminded you. LOL! If you don’t remember my birthday, it’s not the end of the world. 

Since my point of view might not be isn’t very helpful in this situation, I wanted to bring in some other views – yours. We haven’t done one of our one-question polls in a while, so I hope you’ll take a moment to answer this one about office birthday celebrations. And please don’t let my POV sway you, this is a completely anonymous poll. 

So, please take a moment and answer the poll. As always, I’ll share the results in a couple of weeks. Thanks!

This poll might not show up in the subscriber email so I hope you will link through and take the poll online. My apologies if there’s not an exact match to your birthday preference. I tried to cover what I thought might be the top responses.  

And if you’re saying to yourself, “How does this answer the reader’s question?” Well, it will be interesting to see if the poll results show people prefer to receive birthday cards. I also wonder if views about workplace birthday celebrations could be changing in light of hybrid and remote work. I think the reader’s question is great and the best way to offer some insight is with the views of many, not just me.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of Austin, TX

The post What Is the Best Way to Celebrate an Employee Birthday [POLL] appeared first on hr bartender.

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

We talk about recognition regularly on this blog. Recognizing people is important. One way to recognize people is to thank them. 

And that’s what I want to do today. I want to recognize and thank you for supporting HR Bartender. I understand your time is valuable. I appreciate that you subscribe to the blog, take a few moments each day to read it, and share articles on your social channels. It means a lot to us. 

It also means a lot to our sponsors. We’re able to take time to research, write, publish, and share information because of the generous support of sponsor organizations. I hope when you’re looking for an HR partner that you’ll reach out and consider these great sponsors (in alpha order):

Accurate Background, a leading provider of background checks, drug screening, and Form I-9 verifications.

ADP, a comprehensive global provider of cloud-based human capital management solutions. 

Criteria, a leading provider of pre-employment testing services. 

HRdirect, a trusted source for employee-related compliance, administration, and motivation tools.

Humu, an HR software platform that makes it easy for organizations to improve, every single week.

Paycom, a leading provider of comprehensive, cloud-based human capital management software.

SAP SuccessFactors, a market leader in enterprise application software.

SilkRoad Technology, a provider of strategic onboarding solutions.

Ultimate Kronos Group (UKG), a leader in HR solutions, committed to inspiring workforces.

I also want to thank the business professionals who are so generous with their time and knowledge. I certainly do not know everything needed to develop exceptional articles on HR Bartender. Thankfully, there are experts who are willing to help us learn and give us creative inspiration. We’ve all been faced with some new situations over the past couple of years and my guess is we’re going to be faced with more in the future. 

Thanks again for your support. Mr. Bartender and I genuinely appreciate you!

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby at the 34th Street graffiti wall in Gainesville, FL

The post Thank You From the HR Bartender Team appeared first on hr bartender.

A few weeks ago, I asked for your thoughts on using emojis in work-related communications. It was just an informal poll. And the outcome was pretty one sided. You’ll see by the chart above, that emojis are fine. But there is a caveat: Emojis are fine if you use them properly.

I’m going to define properly as three things.

1. We know our audience. Fast Company just published an article about the collaboration platform Slack offering a new emoji pack that includes bunny slippers and a Dali-esque melting clock. Personally, I love them. But I could see how someone else might find them a little too cheeky for work. Just like email, tone doesn’t always come across with an emoji, so it’s important to understand how the recipient will receive it.

2. The emoji being used is pretty well-defined. For example, we know what the “happy” emoji looks like . And we know what the “I’m cold” emoji looks like . There are some emojis with a definition that may vary. I’ve seen more than one definition for the “palms together” emoji . And there seems to be some question about how to communicate “laugh out loud” (aka LOL) via emoji.

3. We recognize that the overuse of emojis could become annoying. A single emoji to acknowledge that you’ve read something is great. Or a couple of emojis to signal happiness, as in to celebrate someone’s birthday or promotion might be awesome. But emojis are not a substitute for real communications.

So, if you’re using emojis – please feel free to keep it up. But do take a moment to ask yourself, “Am I sure that I’m sending the right message?” And if you’re not using emojis, consider dropping one in occasionally. It might help you grow engagement as you make your point.

The post Emojis At Work Are Fine If Used Properly [poll results] appeared first on hr bartender.

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

I must admit that I find articles sharing “what’s in and what’s out” fascinating. There was one a couple of months ago that announced side parts (for your hair) are a complete no-no. Not sure why, but side parts are out.

The same article mentioned that the laughing emoji was “out”. You know the one I’m referring to. It’s the one with a smiley face that’s laughing with the tears coming from the sides of the eyes . I guess instead of using that emoji, we’re supposed to use the “skull” emoji. The message being “I’m dying.” which implies that something is super funny. You can also use the smiley face with the little waterfalls coming from the eyes. But not the laughing emoji.

Anyway, I happened to casually mention this update on emoji trends during a training session and several people commented that emojis are totally unprofessional in business. I was a bit surprised. It got me thinking.

I can completely understand not going to emoji extremes but as texting becomes a larger part of our business communications, I can see emojis being more acceptable. Even welcomed. Personally, I find that emojis, when used correctly, can help to convey tone and emotion that’s often missing in written communication.   

What do you think about this? Do you have an opinion about emoji use in business? I hope you’ll take a moment to answer this one question poll on the topic.

As always, we’ll leave the poll open for a week or so and then publish the results. I can see having different views about emojis in our personal and professional lives. It will be interesting to hear your thoughts.

The post Are Emojis Acceptable In Work Communication [POLL] appeared first on hr bartender.

Thank you for being an HR Bartender reader and for sharing HR Bartender with your networks. I can’t begin to tell you how appreciative we are for your support.

Thank you to all the people who send questions and comments. I wish that I could answer them all! I’m honored that you have confidence in my ability to respond and hope I don’t disappoint. And many thanks to the lawyers, consultants, and business professionals who share their knowledge and experience to answer to your questions. Your generosity is amazing.

Last but certainly not least, I’d like to thank the companies that sponsor and advertise on HR Bartender. It’s beyond wonderful to work with you and learn about your products and services. Your partnership is valued by me and this community.

Mr. Bartender and I look forward to 2021 and hope your holidays are filled with love.

Please stay safe. Cheers!

The post Thank You and Happy 2021! appeared first on hr bartender.

Last year, during SilkRoad’s Connections Conference, keynote speaker Polly LeBarre talked about going places where you might feel a bit uncomfortable to stretch your thinking. It reminded me of some lessons from a trip that Mr. Bartender and I took to MegaCon Orlando.

A “con” is a specific type of convention for fans of pop culture. A con often includes genres such as sci-fi, gaming, anime, and manga. The term has been around since the 1940s.

I had always wanted to go to a “con”, but I wasn’t sure it was going to be something that I would really enjoy. I’ve always heard that cosplay is a big component and frankly, I’m not really into it. So instead of spending a lot of money to schlep across the country to the most widely known con (i.e. San Diego Comic Con), we decided to attend the lesser known but closer MegaCon. Which unbeknownst to us at the time is a really big convention. And I learned some business lessons along the way.

Compliance doesn’t have to be boring or mean. This convention had the nicest security guards ever. Yes, they had a job to do in checking bags and making sure no weapons were entering the building. But they did it with a smile. It’s amazing when you turn compliance into a nice thing how well people respond. Sorta like how the airlines are getting really creative with the security announcements on planes.

Ask questions to gain understanding. Speaking of the security officers, I thought it was interesting how they would ask attendees about what they were wearing. If they didn’t recognize an outfit, they would ask “What show is that from?” or “What does that headgear represent?” And attendees would take the time to explain it. You know the attendees were anxious to get into the event, but they helped others understand. Think about how far we could come in bridging differences if everyone did that.

Allowing people to opt-in gets positive results. In the business world today, we’re quick to just add people to lists. We don’t ask. Even when someone says they don’t want to be on a list, companies do it anyway. At MegaCon, people asked if they could take pictures. They didn’t just assume that they could. Asking permission gets positive results. The participants who were dressed in cosplay were happy to oblige. Organizations might find asking permission instead of opting people in gets a better result. Some great lessons there.

Study the basics. I loved attending the sessions with the artists that draw the comics/graphic novels. One of my big takeaways from those sessions was how the artists studied classic art. There is a place in today’s business world for studying theories, old models, and historical trends. Then using the information to build new models and disruptive practices.

Visuals are important. I believe all types of learning are important, but organizations might not place enough emphasis on visual learning. The visuals at MegaCon were everywhere – anime, graphic novels, manga, cosplay, etc. It made me realize how much people are attracted to visuals and specifically fun, brightly colored visuals. It might be time to figure out how to reduce our reliance on safe and conservative stock images.

Pop culture can be a great learning tool. I’ve mentioned this one before. Don’t dismiss the value that mediums like graphic novels can bring. “Define the Line” is a graphic novel that addresses workplace harassment. I just discovered “March”, a three-part graphic novel about Congressman John Lewis and the civil rights movement. If the goal is to get people to read and learn, give them the message in a medium that they enjoy. It will spark their interest to learn more (and expand to other mediums).

Mr. Bartender and I had a good time and we learned a lot. The event shattered some preconceived notions that I had about this type of event – like everyone who attends a con doesn’t participate in cosplay. But who knows, maybe I will venture outside my comfort zone and do a little cosplay in the future. After all, the goal was to stretch my thinking and learn a few lessons along the way.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of Orlando, FL

The post 6 Business Lessons Learned Attending a Fan Convention appeared first on hr bartender.