Summer is on it's last legs, the leaves are changing, and football starts this weekend. Here's a shout out to my alma mater the University of Washington Huskies. May they win some games this year!
There was no nextcompTV this week due to an extremely busy schedule. I'll be back next week but in a new format. I like the idea of broadcasting live, but I don't like the video quality on uStream. And really, how many people can break away in the middle of the work day to watch a video. Not too many. So I'm switching to using Quicktime. I'll pre-recording the TV show and then post it on YouTube. The quality will be much better and I can record the show at a more convenient time of the day.
We continue working on Version 3 roll-out. At this point, the roll-out is limited to a few organizations. We're working to finish a few features and getting the bugs out of the new version. Thank you so much to the organizations that are helping with this process. Version 3 is shaping up nicely. I'll keep the blog up to date with the latest news on Version 3.
I've put together one last video for the Summer. The video documents a mountain biking trip that my brother-in-law took me on and a brewery tour where he works part-time. He and I sat down for a short visit after the tour to talk about following your passion in work and play.
Bob and I discuss the "State of Total Rewards" basing some of our comments on the panel discussion at last week's Northwest Compensation and Reward Forum luncheon.
For some reason the audio is out of sync with the video. We're still figuring out some of the technical aspects of nextcompTV, so bare with us as we go through a few bumps in the road.
Next week we'll have some highlights from my interview with Catherine Dovey and some video from the Pacific coast of Washington. Bob and I are headed out there on Friday for a meeting and we plan to document our trip. So stay tuned for some amazingly beautiful video of the coast in summertime.
Here's the first episode of nextcompTV. It went off without a hitch! We're excited to undertake this new venture and we hope to bring you more interesting content, news, and stories in the future. Enjoy!
Join us every Tuesday at Noon Pacific Standard Time. Next week we'll talk about the Northwest Compensation and Rewards Forum meeting and hopefully I'll get some video from the meeting.
If you can break away for 15 minutes tomorrow, Tuesday, July 14th, please join us for the first ever nextcompTV show. Bob Johnson and I will be hosting the show every week on Tuesday.
This Tuesday we'll introduce ourselves and the show. We'll also be drawing a business card from the ones we collected at the WorldatWork Expo in May to pick the winner of a $100 Starbucks gift card.
When: Tuesday, July 14th at Noon Pacific Standard Time and every Tuesday at Noon PST
Why: Latest HR / Compensation trends, How-to's, interviews, real-time interaction via Twitter and UStream, and some fun and games along the way.
The first episode will be a bit rocky I predict, but we'll improve each week. So join us on this journey as we push the boundaries of social media, social networking, new media, and just plain good old face-to-face communications.
On Wednesday, Bob and I will be at the Northwest Compensation and Reward Forum's luncheon. Maybe we'll see you there.
This week's video blog finds me at Centennial Park in Snoqualmie, Washington, USA. It was a hot sunny day and the park was full of kids playing. There was even a soccer camp going on run by a group of British soccer players.
I had a few things on my mind this week.
I reached 100 followers on Twitter on Wednesday. Thank you to everyone that is following me! Follow me at http://twitter.com/nextcomp
I finished the "mapping" tool for moving data from Version 2 to Version 3. This has allowed NEXTCOMP.NET to begin migration/upgrading subscribers to the new version. We're doing this as quickly as possible and also to meet the schedules of our subscribers. We want to work with you to meet your needs on this upgrade.
I've signed up for the "3 Day Novel Content". Basically I'll be writing a 100 page novel over Labor Day Weekend. Crazy? Yes! Fun? You bet! If you're interested or if you've already signed up, drop me a line and we can compare notes!
Bob and I will be hosting the first ever "nextcompTV" show next Tuesday at Noon Pacific Daylight Time. In the video I mention that it will be at 10:00 AM, but we've decided to have it at Noon instead. So tune in here next Tuesday at Noon PDT at this web address: http://www.ustream.tv/nextcomp
I'll be at the Northwest Compensation and Rewards Forum lunch next Wednesday in Seattle. It's a panel discussion this quarter. It should be good and I hope to see you there, if you're going that is!
I have an interview lined up for the following week with a well known human resources/ compensation consultant. She and I will be discussing communication and the importance of getting the word out to the organization about compensation related changes and programs.
That's it for this week. More exciting updates next week and be sure to follow me on Twitter for daily updates!
This is a quick 4 minute overview of how to market price a job using NEXTCOMP.NET Version 3. It covers the highlights of finding a survey match, editing matches, and running a Custom Query.
This video is available in high quality on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaQ2CYt5-S8
This video is also available on the public NEXTCOMP.NET website in the Demos section and on the NEXTCOMP.NET application Help page.
Stay up-to-date on our latest videos by subscribing to the NEXTCOMP.NET video podcast on iTunes by searching for NEXTCOMP.NET in the iTunes store or clicking the iTunes link in the sidebar (over there on the right of the page).
I have an amazing Dad. We've been working together since 1990 when we started a firm called Johnson/Lindstrand Consulting with my Mom. The firm changed names to Johnson HR Consulting, Inc. in the mid-90's and then in 2001 Bob and I started NEXTCOMP.NET together with Chris Cardwell. The firm is now wholly owned by Bob and me and we really enjoy the opportunity to work with each other. I thought it might be a nice tribute to him to interview him for a Father's Day video podcast.
You can subscribe to the NEXTCOMP.NET video podcast in iTunes.
Click the iTunes button in the sidebar, or just search for NEXTCOMP.NET in the iTunes podcast store.
Time Management - It's all about focus and flexibility
Even during an economic downturn, organizations struggle with retaining top talent. It's especially difficult when pay increases and salary ranges are frozen. How does an organization offer incentives and rewards to top talent when cash based incentives are not an option?
A trend of offering flexible schedules, four day work weeks, reduced work days and other work-time arrangements seems to be emerging. I've read several articles related to flexibility with time and I decided to post a few of my strategies for dealing with the multiple demands of work and family commitments.
Have a routine for getting started in the morning. Routines are necessary to free your mind from having to think about the small details of just getting out the door and to work.
Create a focused work environment. This means closing non-essential applications such as Twitter and Facebook. You may have to leave e-mail open and the phone on, as I do, in order to answer important customer related questions, but shut down other non-critical applications. I enjoy Twitter and Facebook and I check them several times throughout the day, but I don't need to know when a friend posts an update at every moment.
Try to stay in the productive work zone for at least an hour. Studies show that it can take up to 20 minutes to get back into the zone of really productive work.
Write a list of tasks that must be completed during the day. I write my list the night before so I don't forget or have to think about it in the morning.
Check e-mail before leaving for work in the morning. This will give you a heads up on important or urgent issues that have to be dealt with first thing.
Take a break from work, even during busy times. Go for a walk, practice a hobby, spend time with family, anything that takes your mind off work. This can really free your mind up to be more creative when you do get back to work.
Stay positive and try to control anxiety or fear. Fear shuts down the analytic areas of your brain. Staying positive and staying on top of urgent or priority issues will help relieve stress at work.
Here's video podcast episode 4 talking about a few of these items:
Note: I'm still figuring out the format and style for my video podcasts. I want to keep them short. I plan to have more interviews with leading human resources and compensation professionals in the near future. Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts!
Another great day at the WorldatWork conference today: I had a chance to talk with several existing subscribers including Susan from Harvard University, Tammy and Ann from the Port of Seattle, Michelle and Nile from Amazon.com, reacquainted with some folks I hadn't seen in a couple of years, met many new people, learned quite a few new things about what is happening in the compensation world, had a chance to interview Doug Sayed of Applied HR Solutions, and met a fellow HR/Compensation blogger Ann Bares.
I participated in a fascinating discussion on the state of compensation design in Venezuela and how the culture of pay there differs from the United States and also Brazil. This was just one of the interesting topics that came up in conversation at the booth. I have to give extra thanks to Tammy from the Port of Seattle for the rave reviews and sharing her experiences with NextComp with a group of prospective customers today. Thank you Tammy! Also thank you to my Dad for helping out this afternoon. You're a life-saver!
Today's video blog from the conference has the interview with Doug Sayed. Doug is a co-author of the just released "Base Pay Toolkit" which is part of the Strategic Pay Series. It looks like a fantastic series that will meet the needs of many HR departments.
Also, if you're not already reading Ann Bares' "Compensation Force" blog, I highly recommend it. She writes in a very approachable and understandable style. The topics are timely and well thought-out. I also highly recommend "Compensation Cafe" which Ann and Doug as well as several others contribute to on regular basis. Links to both blogs are on the blog roll to the right of the page.
Here's the video for the WorldatWork 2009 Exhibition - Day 2...
The map fly-overs are generated using Google Earth and screen captured using Screenflow.
Ann Bares is a Managing Partner with the Altura Consulting Group LLC based in Medina, Minnesota. The firm's website is www.alturaconsultinggroup.com. I know Ann from her blog "Compensation Force" so that's how I referenced her in the video.
Also, at the very end of the video you'll see that I look up out of the frame before the fade to black. Apparently I was causing some concern for one of the people in the neighborhood. He thought I was taking photos of his house. He came out and asked what I was doing and why was I taking photos of his house. I assured him that I wasn't taking any pictures of his house and that I was shooting some video for my blog and I wanted to get the great scenery in the background. I think this caught him off guard and he seemed OK with that answer, maybe a bit perplexed though. I wrapped it up and thought that maybe he was overreacting a bit, but perhaps that's just a sign of the times we live in. Anyway, I think I'll find a different spot in the future!
Here are the photos from today. These are also shown in the video.
The "sky bridge" exposition hall. I needed special permission to take pictures here today.
Thank you to Rodney with the Washington State Convention Center security department for taking this photo of me. "Freeway park" where I ate lunch and enjoyed some quiet time in the sun today.
Some of the view of downtown Seattle from the Conference Center.
A group photo with Doug Sayed, Ann Bares, me and Bob. Thank you to Meg from Univar for the photo.
This year the WorldatWork show is in Seattle. I live 30 minutes from Seattle. The whole experience is much less busy and less stressful since I can stay at home and just drive into the city during the show hours.
Here's a video of the first day of getting the booth setup. At the end is an interview with Audrey Johnson, Visibility Manager for WorldatWork. She's great. Very energetic, enthusiastic and supportive of the sponsors and exhibitors. Thanks Audrey!
Here's what the booth looks like all setup in Seattle.
Audrey really is dedicated to her work. She even had her toes painted with the WorldatWork logo! We're hanging a banner on the front of our table at the booth this year. Here's what the banner will look like...
Tomorrow I'm taking my sons with me to the booth and Grandpa Bob is going to go along and walk the aisles with them so they can pick up some of those great expo give-aways.
We're busy preparing for the 2009 WorldatWork show. There are lots of details to keep track up, including ordering booth giveaways, making sure the booth furniture is ordered, and of course finishing up Version 3 development.
We're making great progress and I had a chance yesterday to make a short demo of the new Search Surveys page in Version 3. I wanted to share the process with you, just in case you wonder how these types of demos are made.
It starts with a general idea of the flow of the demo. I ask myself questions such as:
What do I want to show?
What do I not want to show for this demo (trying to keep it short and on point)?
What do I show first, second, and third, etc.?
I hand write some notes and then I run through the demo, without recording it, a few times. I usually end up practicing the demo between three and five times. Then I'll setup a camera and actually video record myself making the introduction to the video and the closing comments.
Here's my high tech camera stand! I forgot my tripod, so I made do with a box and some books. It worked just fine though.
It was interesting this time since we're in a new office. I had to try a few different locations and angles of the camera. I didn't want too much clutter in the background. Notice that I covered up a few boxes with some artwork, in the background on top of the closed cabinets.
It's little stuff in the video that I'm looking for at this stage.
Once I've found the right angle, I'll actually record the introduction and wrap-up. I may do this a few times to get the wording correct and the framing of the video correct.
Next I'll switch to the screen recording. I'm using a tool called ScreenFlow. It's awesome for screen capturing. It's Mac only, but since I'm running Parallels virtual machine I can screen capture my Windows desktop if needed.
The next step, once the screen capturing is complete, is to add the zoom and pan effects to the captured video. This is a fun exercise and really lets me focus in on the important aspects of the demo. It's also really easy to accomplish with ScreenFlow.
I'll watch the video a few times and I may edit out some segments that seem off point or don't add to the demo. Then I export the movie for importing into iMovie 09.
iMovie 09 is where I combine the live video introduction and wrap-up with the screen capture. I add transitions to the video and titles. This is another fun part of the process because I can be creative with the titling.
Finally I export the finished movie to iTunes in three sizes: mobile, medium and large. The mobile version runs on iPods and iPhones the medium and large versions are used for uploading to the web for embedding in web pages.
The large size video is uploaded to Viddler where it's converted to a Flash video format. I can then embed the video in my web pages for viewing in any web browser.
That's about it. It takes some time, but hopefully the end result is worth the effort. We have many more demos planned and they will all be available on the Help Page in Version 3 under the Videos section and some of them will be available on the Demos page of our public website.
I'm going to download this and give it a try for the "Import Survey" demo that I've been working on. I'll let you know how it goes after my tests today.
I hope finish that demo today or tomorrow!
UPDATE:
So here's a sample movie. It has the ScreenFlow logo on it, but that's ok for the test. I think this will prove to be a good solution as it has some new features, like the red circle that appears when I click, and the ability to zoom in on parts of the screen.
The training videos from session 1, recorded on September 25th, are now available on the Help page.
Session 1 covered setting up new pay plan, adding users, and configuring new user accounts.
There are five segments ranging in length from about 3 minutes to just over 15 minutes in length. Click on the Online Help button on the Start Page. Scroll down the Help page to see the embedded videos.
The videos from session 2 and 3 will be available soon!
My name is Matt Johnson, President of NEXTCOMP.NET. We help simplify market pricing and salary planning for some of the best loved organizations in the world, including:
