#6things: Productive Playlist, Burning Bridges and RUFKM?

You know I am about to lead with some serious Twitter news..

We all know former employees have done stupid things. Jerry Maguire tried to get all his clients and wrote a manifesto, Donna Brazile wrote a tell-all and one HERO who was leaving Twitter deleted President Dumpster Fire’s account!

While I (almost) never recommend an employee burning a bridge like that, I must say, we applaud you, sir! I wish your employer had the cojones to do the same so the Idiot in Chief couldn’t start a war with what was supposed to be a fun way to communicate. (Gizmodo)

Get the latest on the brilliance of a @Twitter employee and more in this #6Things: Click To Tweet

Rolling the Dice on a New CEO

DHI (Dice Holdings Int.) is on the hunt for a new CEO, since they are returning to their original focus (connecting IT pros and recruiters) they are “confident” (no really, they say it two times)… well you read it:

“As DHI continues to execute on its strategy to become a single tech-focused organization, now is the right time in the Company’s evolution to implement a CEO transition plan,” said John Barter, Chairman of the Board. “The Board remains confident in the Company’s strategy and believes that there are opportunities to accelerate DHI’s progress and improve business execution. The Board is confident in its ability to identify a successor who will effectively drive improved growth and shareholder value by reinvigorating DHI’s technology talent acquisition franchise and fast-tracking the development of next-generation talent acquisition solutions.”

Third quarter highlights are in the release as well. (HRTechTalent)

We Have Playlists upon Playlists

Lifehacker posted this a while back and Facebook reminded me of how enamored of it I was even then. A productive playlist can mean different things for different people. For example, I cannot listen to music with any words in it while I am writing because I start writing those words, especially if I know the lyrics. On the other hand, Eric Foutch (@erockfoutch), can type away even if Britney Spears is blasting in his ears. This article explains that it’s not so much the song as the beats per minute, that inform which songs are going to have you performing at peak productivity. While I’m positive that Erin, the crazy person who teaches my spin and strength classes, knows this, it’s less obvious for “office” workers. Also:

A study published in the Journal of Music Therapy found that listening to your favorite type of music lowers your perception of tension, making you more likely to be happier and productive during stressful situations (like at work).

The article breaks it down like this:

• Doing creative work? 50-80 beats per minute is the sweet spot.
• Background music? It’s gotta be music you like if you want it to impact accuracy.
• For more immersive and mentally tasking jobs, classical or instrumental music has been shown to enhance mental performance more than music with lyrics.
• If it’s SUPER INTENSE? No music for you. Sorry.
• Wanna just process your old receipts? Music you’ve heard before will help (it does on factory lines where repetitive tasks can be the norm.)

The author cites a study that states: Creative domains such as music allow humans to connect in a synchronized way, helping us develop a group identity and become more likely to work together. (Lifehacker)

Did you guys know that…

A LOT of people, cough, employers, really hate Glassdoor? I’m part of a few groups that are outside the recruiting and HR sphere and among business owners there is a real frustration with the service. In a long (and heated) thread, 7 business owners plowed the service stating they “despised” and “loathed” the site and vowing never to partner with anything that wouldn’t vet the reviews. Just one person was “leveraging it for culture”. Put this next to Tim Sackett’s post re: Glassdoor and I wonder how this attitude (which is not new I know, but I naively thought was dying out) is going to affect the use of Glassdoor and similar platforms in the future. One thing is for sure, the power is most DEF in the candidates’ hands these days. (TTSP)

Today in news from RUFKM (via Paul H Miller Jr.)

Reuters reports that (some) coal miners are so trusting in Trump’s promises to bring back coal they are REJECTING retraining. Oh, I get it, man, you’re older, you don’t want to learn any new tricks. Heck, I cannot get my head around Snapchat and I tried it like 230 times. But these are federally FUNDED courses! If you don’t want to read the full article, here’s the money paragraph:

What many experts call false hopes for a coal resurgence have mired economic development efforts here in a catch-22: Coal miners are resisting retraining without ready jobs from new industries, but new companies are unlikely to move here without a trained workforce. The stalled diversification push leaves some of the nation’s poorest areas with no clear path to prosperity.

I swear to Zeus, please don’t let me raise any of my children to be this stupid. (Reuters)

HR’s been taking a LOT of hits lately (via Gerry Crispin)

Here’s some good news. Lenora Olson, the HR Director of Hilton Sonoma Wine Country hotel, jumped into action on behalf of her employees just days after the terrible fires. Olson pulled them together in a different hotel, invited the HR director there and started “reverse recruiting” to ensure her employees got back to work. QOTD?

“Part of the HR role is to be empathetic, to be their voice, to help them grow in their career or find the best place to be,” she said.

Olson went on to point out that many of these people hadn’t had to look for jobs because they were so good at the one they already had (before the hotel burned down that is) and she wanted to give them the help she knew they’d need. NO, YOU’RE CRYING! (CNN)

Bonus Links:

Need some help salvaging your rep on review sites?

Kind of a stupid name but I get it.

I been sayin it. I been sayin it for 5 damn years.

We wrote an article like this but this is awesome too!