Happy Friday, everyone! You know what time it is. It’s time for the…
Friday Fab 5!
We’ve had some great blogs and discussions going on this week here on GovLoop so let’s take a look back and highlight a few of them! The information in these posts are great to reread and even use as reference in the future if need be. Did you know you can hit the “awesome” button at the end of any post and it will automatically be saved on your profile? Try it out. It’s a great way to bookmark your favorite posts right here on GovLoop!
Today’s Blog of the Week was a close call as there were quite a few blog posts with great discussions happening on them and quite a few comments. However, there was one in particular that won the official title of “blog of the week” and that was Dannielle Blumenthal‘s post, “10 Suggestions for More Efficient Government.“Something we could all get behind, right? There probably aren’t too many citizens out there who would argue for a less efficient government, but when it really comes down to it, where do you even start? What are the most important aspects of organizational efficiency, and how do you make it happen? Well Dannielle gives her take on 10 that have been on her mind, and then quite a few GovLoopers give their thoughts as well. So check out Dannielle’s below, and then be sure to check out what the community has to add as well!
1. Run it like a business – with a focus on financial return on investment.
2. Facilitate a healthy emotional environment through the expanded use of internal communication.3. Use diversity as a strategic planning tool rather than just looking at it as a compliance exercise.4. Incorporate training into work all the time.5. Create programs to recruit members of the public who would not normally join government.6. Bring advanced technology to bear on all jobs, and train people to use it.7. Look at work in terms of projects rather than programs; train people in the art and science of project management.8. Dismantle hierarchical organizational structures that impede innovation and change.9. Reorganize along lines that make sense to the customer.10. Make key performance metrics easily accessible to the public and employees. -Dannielle Blumenthal
– Work Style: Work to deadlines, not necessarily to schedules
– Authority/Leadership: Value autonomy, less inclined to pursue formal leadership positions
– Communication: Casual and direct, eager to please
– Recognition/Reward: Individual and public praise (exposure), opportunity for broadening skills
– Work/Family: Value blending personal life into work
– Loyalty: To the people involved with their project
– Technology: How else do you expect me to get my work done? -Andrew Krzmarzick
The Most Active Group goes to the Rock Your Resume! Group. Sparked by Thursday’s excellent online training hosted by Kathleen Smith “Get That Gov Gig! How To Market Yourself in a Tricky Job Environment” the Rock Your Resume group saw a huge spike in membership. If there’s one thing that everyone looking for a job needs, it’s a well crafted resume. Yes, in today’s job market there is quite a bit more that a job-seeker needs to consider (social networking, proper education, online presence, etc.) there is still no replacement for a quality resume. So what are you waiting for? The Rock Your Resume group is here to help would be government employees fine-tune their resumes to land that perfect govgig.
Our Quote of the Week comes from Brodrick J. Bailey, who received an “honorable mention” in running of blog of the week, and his post “5 Things Your Boss Needs to Know About Communications: Takeaways from IPR’s Strategic Communication.” Brodrick’s post is chock full of useful takeaways from a recent conference he attended, and was generous enough to share them with the GovLoop community. The result was a great discussion and lots of additions and input from the GovLoopers. As the quote of the week, here is Brodrick’s second takeaway:
In today’s environment being a thought leader takes courage to fight antibodies (those who say “you can’t do this”) and the willingness to make few mistakes along the way. But think of it this way. The control over the message you think you have by limiting your engagements to the time, topic and medium of your choice is an illusion. You do not own your narrative, the only choice is to what extent you will contribute to it. -Brodrick J. Bailey
And finally, Rockstar of the Week goes to Marie Kaddell, Senior Information Professional Consultant of LexisNexis. Marie gets this prestigious award this week because of the sheer amount of content that she has produced this week as well as their quality. Each is a great resource and potential wealth of information for those in the public sector. So way to be a Rockstar Marie! Don’t forget to check out some of her most recent posts!
2011 Best Practices for Government Libraries Now Available
2011 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibit
SLA 2011: Mining Public Records
SLA 2011: Using Social Media in the Workplace
Very good article!