Upcoming Talks in February

Just thought I'd give you a quick update on what I'm up to in February. I have provided descriptions and links to conference agendas. Feel free to ping me w/an email/comment/tweet if you want to know more.

1. Getting Your Organization Ready for Social Media
February 16-17, Ottawa
Social Media in Government, Federated Press

Social media is one of the latest trends in communications inside
government, but getting into the game before knowing the rules can be
costly, or even embarrassing. This session will help you understand the
importance of learning how to run behind the firewall, before walking
outside it.

In this session, you will learn:

• Why traditional hierarchies are obstacles to engagement and innovation
• How these new communication tools aretearing down silos faster then ever
• How to engage yourself, your employees and your colleagues and create an environment conducive to user-driven innovation, increased productivity and better retention

2. Schemed Virtuously
February 17-18, Ottawa
Youth Mandate for Greater Involvment (YMAGIN) National Conference (internal link)

Starting a career in the public service is often a difficult transition. There are many rules and cultural norms that at first glance don't seem to make sense or inhibit innovation. The confusion that some new public servants feel can be overwhelming, the messages they receive contradictory. Success or failure in the public service is often left to a mystical combination people, organizational architecture, routines and culture. Sometimes that combination works out on its own, sometimes you have to make it work. In Nicholas' case, he had to make it work. In his two part presentation Nicholas will tell his personal story of public service renewal and then share some of the tactics he learned along the way.

YMAGIN is Human Resources and Skills Development Canada's (HRSDC) young professionals network. This talk will be a bit of a homecoming for me as I got my start in HRSDC and with YMAGIN.


3. Effective Uses of Social Media for HR
February 22-23, Ottawa
Public Sector Human Resources 2010: Building Capability for Future Challenges, Conference Board of Canada

Collaboration is a core element of any successful organization, and many public service HR managers are exploring the collaborative benefits of social media tools. As with any new technology, however, this early adopter enthusiasm can rapidly turn into disillusion as anticipated results fail to materialize.

Nicholas Charney will discuss how these technologies are transforming workplaces, how to manage this transformation, and why managing it will lead to greater innovation, increased productivity and better retention. Gain a new appreciation for the possibilities as you learn practical strategies for realizing the full benefits of Web 2.0 tools in your organization.

Social Mixer

Also you if your active online and a public servant, you may want to attend the next W2P mixer. It should be great, we will have some of our friends from Edmonton who happen to be in town.

Round-Up: September 23

Blogs

Mike Kujawski reports back from Podcamp 2008 in Montreal. Here is the snippet relevant to Public Servants:

My main take away from my own presentation (based on the discussion) was that the government needs to get out of silos and start working together as one entity. There is a ton of existing internal support for better citizen engagement and there are high-level public service renewal initiatives currently underway that social media engagement can easily piggy back on. I have decided to organize something in Ottawa to address this. Stay tuned…

Looking forward to it Mike.

Also, Peter Smith makes a good case for repositioning GoC websites launch pads for content rather then as destinations.

News

Public pressure once again means lower then expected/promised pay increases for Civil Servants in British Columbia.

Events

The Conference Board of Canada is holding a conference in Ottawa in November. The opening address would be of interest but obviously the cost is prohibitive. Here is a snippet from the conference brochure:

Renewal and Change
in the Federal Public Service

Jim Lahey, Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Public Service
Renewal, Privy Council Office

Driven by the service and transparency expectations of citizens, changing demographics and the need to reinvigorate the public sector brand, change is now top of the agenda for leaders in all levels of government and the broader public sector. Kevin Lynch, Clerk of the Privy Council, believes there is a choice between renewal and government “becoming less relevant, less useful and less respected as the years go by.”

Jim Lahey will set the scene with his insights into Canadian Public Service renewal, and how change management is needed at the individual, team, department, and organizational levels.

Round Up July 26 - August 5th

Here we go ... time to hit the ground running post vacation.

First of all we got a response from Philip Lillies, a union activist and president of a union local out in Moncton, to our second column on the role of unions. We would like to thank Philip for his contribution and encourage you all to check it out.

Barring some unfortunate incident, weekly columns will resume this Friday, with an editorial on the use of technology in the workplace.

In the News

Senator Hugh Segal, a member if the standing committee on agriculture and forestry wrote a special to the Sun on the Senate report, Beyond Freefall: Halting Rural Poverty. Among the report's recommendations is moving federal government jobs to rural areas. The National Post subsequently published this letter from a reader.

David Zussman published this piece on public service delivery and innovation.

While the E.X. files shared a story called Seeking Guidance.

The July 28th edition of the Hill Times has two articles in it that are of interest. The first is by Jack Cole, entitled Want to know the best place to work in Canada’s federal public service? Here is an excerpt:

"Do you know someone looking for a career in Canada’s federal public service? Do you want to know which agency is the best one to work for? Or are you a public servant already working in Canada’s public service? Are you looking for a change, perhaps to a better place within the federal public service? Do you just want to know the best place to work there, where the employees are the most engaged? These are good questions and with a little research, you might find answers, at least partial answers. You can readily find the best companies to work for in Canada through a few different sources as the private sector gives up its “who is best” secrets rather easily. But the public sector seems to want to keep this information hidden away, even though it’s publicly available with a little digging. That digging is what I did a few years ago along with a few other colleagues, when I worked in the federal public service."

While Cythnia Munster's column contains some great quotations from James Lahey (PCO) on renewal:

"[G]iven that it takes ten years or so, even in the most ambitious cases, for people to become executives, and longer than that to become deputy ministers, we can reasonable expect that virtually all of the people who will be executives and deputy ministers of the federal government in 2015 and beyond are already here, which says to me that the most important thing to do with renewal is how do we deal with the people who are already here? How do we challenge them, how do we develop them, what kind of workplaces, what kind of work do we have? Do they feel inspired and challenged and eager to come to work in the morning? Or do they feel frustrated, suppressed, unable to act on their best ideas?”

Remember - you can probably find a copy of the Hill Times in any senior office.

In the Blogs

The New Zealand Minister of Labour, Hon Trevor Mallard, gave this speech on improving workplace productivity (thanks Etienne for the link).

Colin McKay asked the question, Is a Bad Blog Better than No Blog?

Jim Mintz posted a guide to Common Sense Communications.

Peter Smith wrote on the calamity of old versus new technologies in a post on RSS Feeds vs. Email Updates.

Conference Board of Canada

The CBoC dropped two reports that may be on interest:

1. Bridging the Gaps: How to Transfer Knowledge in Today's Multigenerational Workplace
2. Workforce Renewal: New Opportunities to Transform Health and Safety Culture

You will need to register in order to access these documents but registration is free for employees of most government departments.

Canada School of Public Service

Armchair Discussion – National Capital Region
Ottawa - Wednesday, August 6, 2008
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (ET)

National Managers Community Focus Group

Bilingual Presentation

The National Managers Community (NMC) would like to hear from you!

As a follow up to the electronic polling (e-polling) survey conducted at the National Managers’ Community Professional Development Forum held from April 20-23, 2008 in Vancouver, the NMC are conducting focus group sessions with Managers throughout the country to get their thoughts on the results captured from this survey. This will be an opportunity for Managers to provide feedback and suggestions for action.

You are invited to attend one of three focus group sessions taking place in the National Capital Region (August 6, 13 and 20, 2008).

We hope you will take the opportunity to participate and have your voices heard.

You are invited to attend this Armchair Discussion on-site at 65 Guigues Street (Ottawa).

To register, please visit the School’s Web site:

http://www.csps-efpc.gc.ca/events/armchair/program_e.html

Discussion informelle – Région de la Capitale nationale
Ottawa – Mercredi 6 août 2008
13 h 00 à 16 h 00 (HE)

Séance de discussion de la Communauté national des gestionnaires

Présentation bilingue

La Communauté nationale des gestionnaires (CNG) veut connaître votre opinion!

Un sondage électronique a été effectué lors du Forum de développement professionnel de la communauté nationale des gestionnaires, qui a lieu du 20 au 23 avril 2008, à Vancouver. Pour y donner suite, la CNG organise des séances de discussion avec des gestionnaires de tout le pays en vue d’obtenir leurs opinions sur les résultats du sondage. Les gestionnaires auront alors l’occasion de fournir de la rétroaction ainsi que de faire des suggestions quant aux mesures à prendre.

Nous vous invitons donc à assister à l’une des trois séances de discussion qui auront lieu dans la région de la capitale nationale (6, 13 et 20 août 2008).

Vous êtes invités à assister à cette Discussion informelle en personne au 65, rue Guigues (Ottawa).

Pour vous inscrire, veuillez consulter le site Web de l’École :

http://www.csps-efpc.gc.ca/events/armchair/program_f.html

Reloaded: Daily Round-Up

We are experimenting with the format of how we deliver information. We are going to try posting links (possibly with comments) rather then posting complete articles hosted elsewhere.

Let us know what you think.


Media Search

Not much in the media today:

1. Beefed-up rules put lobbying aspirations on hold
2. Some will be working hard, some will be hardly working

Blogs

Etienne Laliberté published this piece on his blog last week.

CSPS

There is an upcoming armchair discussion (web re-broadcast) on July 3rd entitled Digital Disorder: The Internet and the Public Sector.


Conference Board of Canada

I got an email this morning from the Conference Board with a link to its Report Card on Canada


Ps - Have a good Canada Day tomorrow.