ms. rasberry: the b side

Workhuman Live Action Plan: Building a DEI Strategy

A few months ago I headed down to Atlanta, GA, to attend my first live conference since the COVID-19 pandemic started – Workhuman Live 2022. I didn’t socialize and network as much as I normally would have (which isn’t a WHOLE lot because – introvert – but still) because I was trying to stay COVID-free. However, there were plenty of great sessions and speakers that I was glad I had a chance to…

EVENT: MICROAGGRESSIONS & MENTAL HEALTH – 8/31/22

I’m excited to take this time the day after my birthday to talk to folks about the impact of microaggressions on the mental health of Black and brown employees. Shout-out to Technical.ly for wanting to discuss this topic and for reaching out to me to do so. I hope you can join us. This workshop will cover what microaggressions are and how they impact the employee experience, including employee…

Your Remote Employees Might Be Wearing Pajamas. So What!

I heard Malcolm Gladwell speak at the WorkHuman Live conference earlier this year and was pleasantly surprised. It’s not that I expected to not enjoy his keynote but I didn’t expect to enjoy it either. To be honest, I didn’t have any real expectation. I was busy trying to stay COVID-free! That said, I did enjoy his speech that day. Fast forward to today and I see this headline come across my…

My 2018 goals included speaking on a panel, receiving paid writing opportunities, and attending some key industry events. I’d like to share my goals with you and how they were accomplished.

Speaking on a Panel. Due to my strong introvert tendencies, I wanted an opportunity to speak on a topic I care about without ALL of the attention being focused on me. eX Summit to the rescue! In August, I participated on the ‘Diversity in the Workplace’ panel at eX Summit Philadelphia representing the nonprofit perspective. It was a good time! Peep the discussion at the 2:11:15 mark.

  BONUS: ‘Diversity Means Nothing Without Inclusion’ panel on WorkHuman Radio.

Writing & Thought Sharing. You may not be able to tell from the inconsistency of my blog posts but I enjoy writing. Plus I’m pretty good at it.  🙂 This year I was approached by a leading nonprofit consulting firm to write for their newsletter.

Engagement – An Employer and Employee Benefit (Nonprofit HR Solutions)

I also like to share my thoughts on a variety of HR topics – especially when asked because it makes me feel special.

BambooHR came through with TWO ‘HR Expert Roundtable’ opportunities:

6 Methods to Improve Management Coaching

The Pros & Cons of Unlimited PTO

I was also interviewed for HR Magazine (Yes; THE HR Magazine!)

The 7 C’s of Becoming an HR Thought Leader

Attending Key Industry Events.

There were four events I wanted to attend this year and luckily I was able to attend all four. I wrote a few blog posts about them but I did A LOT of live tweeting so check the hashtags on Twitter.

Nonprofit Talent & Culture Summit (#NonprofitTalent)

SHRM Annual Conference (#SHRM18)

HR’s Role in Creating a Culture of High Trust

Designing the Inclusive Employee Experience

Everything You Need to Know About Managing People

WorkHuman Conference (#WorkHuman)

Join the Movement!

SHRM Diversity & Inclusion Conference (#SHRMDIV)

How Do You Get People to Talk?

Making Connections IRL

2018 was also a year in which I got to connect (or reconnect) in “real life” with several folks I’ve enjoyed connecting with online. I’m sure I’m missing some pics but life is too short for me to dedicate endless hours to searching for photos. You get the idea.

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In just a few hours it will be 2019. I’m looking forward to doing even MORE speaking, writing, event attending and connecting with folks in the new year. I’ll probably come up with some additional goals as well. As for my one professional goal that wasn’t accomplished this year – making more money – I haven’t given up on it. I’ll just have to work harder in 2019 to achieve it. If you have any legitimate, non-scammy ideas on how I can make this happen, feel free to reach out.

See you next year!

Join the Movement! #WorkHuman

We’ve all heard the oft-spoken directive “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” The words are usually attributed to Gandhi but my friend Google tells me this is not actually a direct, verifiable, Gandhi quote. Sounds good though, so let’s go with the sentiment.

When I think about the WorkHumanconference, I think about being the change I wish to see in the workplace. Recently a peer asked…

Employee Experience for the WIN! #eXsummit

Anyone who is, or has ever been, an employee understands the importance of employee experience. Where it rates on the importance meter may not be the same for everyone but I think we can all agree that when it comes to the place you’ll most likely spend at least 1/3 of your life, the better you feel about being there, the better you’ll feel all around.  An article in Forbes even called 2018 ‘The…

Performance Management – No Dumping Allowed

Recently I came home to find a note from my apartment management company warning people that dumping trash outside of the dumpster is prohibited. Furthermore, anyone caught doing so would be fined and continued infractions could lead to the offender being asked to vacate their unit. ALL CAPS and red text were used in abundance to indicate the intensity of the message.

On its face this makes…

#HRCarnival – In Full Bloom

They say “April showers bring May flowers.” Well, in my neck of the woods (DC,) the showers have stuck around well into May but nevertheless blossoms abound! For example, I’m blossoming as host of this month’s Carnival of HR!

  If you’re not familiar, the Carnival of HR is a compilation of HR (or HR adjacent) blog posts. Every month a blogger takes over hosting the carnival and this month it’s MY…

HR’s Role in Creating a Culture of High Trust: Q & A with Richard Fagerlin #SHRM18

I just looked up and realized SHRM18 is about a month away. Wow. Chicago, here we come! As you know, I have the honor of being a part of the SHRM18 Blogger Team and as such have conducted Q & As with three of the speakers who are having sessions. I’ve already posted Karlyn Borysenko and Joe Gerstandt. Last, but certainly not least, I have Richard Fagerlin who gave a FANTASTIC presentation at SHRM…

Designing the Inclusive Employee Experience: Q & A with Joe Gerstandt

My “I get to interview Joe Gerstandt” happy dance.

Full disclosure: I’ve been internet fan-girling over Joe Gerstandt for a while now. Why, you may ask. Well, his Twitter bio says, in part, “I speak, write, advise on issues related to Authenticity, Diversity, Inclusion…and I do it well.”  If you’ve been following me on any social media channel, you’ll know those are the top HR/workplace issues…

Give me an ‘S’! … #SHRM18 Blog Squad

As you may know by now, I have been selected to be a member of the SHRM18 Blogger Team. Members of the team will be sharing information and content about the SHRM 2018 Annual Conference on social media (blogs, Twitter, etc.) before and during the conference. We are basically cheerleaders for the conference, without the matching uniforms and acrobatic stunts. Maybe we should get pom poms though.…

Everything You Need to Know About Managing People #SHRM18

SHRM18 is right around the corner! Of course by around the corner I mean three months away. But it’s never to soon to start checking out the agenda and trying to plan at least half of the sessions you want to attend. I recommend planning but also allowing room for flexibility because stuff happens.

I have the honor of being a member of the SHRM18 Blogger Team. Yay, me!As such I have the…

Looking for a Job – The Full-Time Job from Hell

Over the past few days I’ve had multiple conversations about the job searching process. Some of them have been with myself, some have been with others. One thing me, myself, I and everyone else I’ve spoken with has agreed on is that the process sucks. It’s broken. It’s been left on the side of the road and needs to be fixed.

Non-HR folks are usually surprised when I can commiserate about how…

Be the Change… You Belong at #WorkHuman

We’ve all heard the oft-spoken directive “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” The words are usually attributed to Gandhi but my friend Google tells me this is not actually a direct, verifiable, Gandhi quote. Sounds good though, so let’s go with the sentiment.

When I think about the WorkHumanconference, I think about being the change I wish to see in the workplace. Recently a peer asked…

#BlackBlogsMatter Challenge Week 3: The Tao of Woke

Most of y’all know me as an HR pro but as I said in my intro, I contain multitudes. I’ve been a social media management consultant (and a makeup artist and an image consultant. I’m sure you see the connection to HR. 🙂 ) When the world of social media was the world in which I lived, it seemed every other person was referring to themselves as a…