I was lucky enough to cross paths with our latest featured professional a few months ago on Twitter. Sharyln Lauby is President of her own human resources consulting firm, ITM Group, a seasoned HR professional as well as one of my favorite blogging voices. Her blog HRBartender covers a number of career-oriented challenges while lacing in some of her favorite topics—good food, good wine, and good conversation.

Her depth of knowledge into the changing employment landscape impressed me from the get-go but even more notably she is one of the few HR professionals out there, employing new-age techniques and social media tactics to relay messages, advice, and information crucial for today’s companies and jobseekers. I asked her if she would share her personal story, and some of her insights with us and below is the result of that interview.

TOB: So how did it all start for you?

Sharlyn Lauby: One of my first jobs out of college was being a self-employed artist.  I did limited-edition serigraphs, etchings, and paper sculptures.  It was a lot of fun, incredibly messy (I always smelled like paint thinner!), but I got bit by the “entrepreneurial bug.”

So it was a long-term goal of mine to return to the ranks of being “on my own.”  I accomplished this goal in 2002 by resigning my job as a corporate VP, HR to focus on becoming an entrepreneur.  That’s when I started my own human resources consulting firm, ITM Group, Inc. 

TOB: What does an average day look like for you? How do you spread your energies and delegate time between your President title, the HRBartender Blog, and your social media efforts?

Sharlyn Lauby: I’m a very organized person.  So I find that if I schedule my time well…I can accomplish a lot.  I build time into my schedule to read blogs and explore what’s out there.  As far as writing for HR Bartender, I schedule time to write.  Sometimes current events will surface and I write something outside of my schedule…but that’s rare. I also rely heavily on technology to keep on top of everything.  Laptop and iPhone are my hardware…Twitter and Tweetdeck are the software.

TOB: Could you walk us through your intentions for the HRBartender blog, and what you are hoping to accomplish for your readership?

Sharlyn Lauby: My readers have told me they like the way I mix current events with resources.  Also, I recently posted an interview with Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos that received good response…so I’d like to find more CEOs to interview and continue that feature.  Also looking at some new things, such as videos and conference blogging. No matter what, my goal is to be a resource for HR pros, managers, and the C-suite on all things related to talent management.

And lastly, readers have asked for recipes, food and wine pairing info, and food trends.  So I’ve got to build in some time for foodie expeditions!

TOB: What is on tab for ’09 professionally? Moves you are making? Goals you hope to achieve?

Sharlyn Lauby: At the end of 2008, my consulting firm, ITM Group, acquired a leadership training company. This has added a proven selection of assessments, books and training materials to our existing offering.  I’m busy integrating these items into our current services and rolling them out to our client base.

TOB: Her at TheOnlineBeat.com we focus on the online applications, tools, resources that are available to job searchers, could you elaborate on a few applications, networks, tools, etc that you couldn’t live without that have helped get you to where you are? This can be sites, products, social networks, etc.

Sharlyn Lauby: I’m a big advocate of technology (translation:  I’m a bit of a geek).  I’m very spoiled with hardware and gadgets such as dual monitors and my iPhone.  As a result, it’s a lot of fun to spend time exploring web applications.  There’s so much information that can be learned and shared. 

But I’m also practical about it.  It’s surprising how many people aren’t tapped into what I would call the basics (i.e. LinkedIn, Facebook, Google Reader, Twitter).  Then there are the networks I participate in that align to my profession--for example, HRM Today, as a HR resource or Savor the Success for women business owners.  And lastly, I like to keep a pulse on job boards and the latest and greatest in social media. 

TOB: When you do have some free time, what resources do you check out to stay up to date on the industry? What blogs do you read on a daily basis?

Sharlyn Lauby: One of my new year’s resolutions was to transition from reading the print news to the web.  I found that I knew most of what was in the newspaper before it arrived.  So my Google homepage has become my newspaper. I also subscribe to breaking news updates from MSNBC.

I have about 60 blogs in my reader right now. Good thing most of them don’t update every day. Discovered a few recently that have quickly moved to my ‘must read’ list:  Neckties & Tattoos, Renegade HR, and HR with Balls.  (I’m also a big fan of  http://www.theonlinebeat.com/blog and that’s not just some suck-up comment since you’re interviewing me.)

TOB: Thanks! We appreciate that So, with all of the new company review sites out there, based on employee opinions (often rants & raves) how has HR changed for big companies?

Sharlyn Lauby: While no company will have 100% positive press, company review sites could become a force to be reckoned with.  If employees rant the company is a terrible workplace, that could impact whether a consumer wants to buy their product/service.  HR needs to adopt a marketing mindset regarding this new form of media exposure. I’ve always viewed employees as customers and made sure I provided them the right level of service. Right now, I don’t believe company review sites are on HR’s radar so it will be interesting to follow it and see the impact.

TOB: Building on that, you wrote a pretty relevant post titled “What is the New HR” where you discussed the changes you have seen from when HR used to be called personnel to today. Why do you think it’s important for companies to keep up with new HR policies & philosophies?

Sharlyn Lauby: The workplace is changing daily.  Not just the legislation that HR Pros have to work with, but employee attitudes and values.  Many companies are incorporating social responsibility into their missions.  Human resources is at the intersection of all this and we need to hold ourselves accountable for driving some very difficult shifts in corporate paradigms. It’s time for human resources to shed the perception that we “hire, fire and plan the company picnic” once and for all.

TOB: Lastly, in your opinion can a company survive if they turn a blind eye to the changing HR landscape? What do they risk in doing so?

Sharlyn Lauby: I think consumers will emerge from this economic crisis spending their dollars at companies that offer great customer service.  So businesses need to understand that their competitive advantage is people.  The companies that will excel both short- and long- term are the ones who embrace that concept and create a people strategy which leverages the talents of their employees equitably against the needs of the business.

TOB: Thanks Sharlyn, you made some really great points! I think we are moving into a whole other realm of human resources as online tools and applications advance, and we are just as interested as you to see where it all leads! We really appreciate your time, best of luck to you in '09.

Connecting with Sharyln:

Sharlyn on Twitter
HRBartender on Twitter
Sharlyn on Facebook
Sharlyn on LinkedIn

Her HR Company Site
Her HRBartender Blog