Making HR Better- One Pro at a Time is Ben Eubank’s mission. Ben, who started his career in Human Resources in 2008, has a passion for his field that gets him up at 5 AM on the weekends to blog and develop other content to help HR professionals become better at what they do. He does this in addition to holding down a full-time HR role himself and raising three young children with his wife (and he runs quite a bit too!).
The results of Ben’s efforts have led to national speaking opportunities, recognition for his efforts in global publications and an audience of over 15,000 monthly readers. “I firmly believe that without this deep passion to help my audience succeed,” Ben says, “I would have given up long ago!”
As an HR professional, Ben is a believer in assessing candidate’s passion for the field. “Passion is one of the most telling things in an interview,” he says. “If it is lacking, I discard the candidate immediately. I can teach you HR law, how to recruit, or what to do if an employee is misbehaving. I can’t teach you how to be excited about your job. People who are passionate are typically doing things outside work to keep them plugged into the community, from volunteering to side jobs and other activities.”
Ben exemplifies this. He is engaged in the HR professional community and is a connector with people in person and through his blog. I’ve never once asked Ben to do something or to explore an idea with me when he hasn’t been more than willing and excited to do so. His passion for the field is contagious and therefore his advice and guidance is desirable and readily used.
Ben sees how passion drives productivity (and profits) in business. “Aligning personal passions with organizational mission is a critical need in the business world today, and it’s a key differentiator for those that due it well.”
As an leader in HR strategic thinking, Ben does this by using corporate culture built on shared values to help drive behaviors in people. “I create behavioral targets I expect to see with regard to culture/values. For example, instead of saying ‘We have integrity,’ I’ll tell them (a candidate) an example of a time when someone exhibited integrity, even when it was painful. That helps to make values real to our employees and not just a sheet of paper with words on it.”
Why does been give back tirelessly? Because he is so appreciative of those who have given back to him. “When I was studying to pass the HR certification exam back in 2008, I was completely in over my head. I reached out to a few random strangers for advice. The help they offered was invaluable, and I passed the exam a few short months later. I promised myself that no matter how busy I got or what I ended up doing, I would always and forever help those that were preparing for the exams. That led me to create several courses for the PHR and SPHR that have both been very helpful and popular in the HR community.
Whether you are an HR professional or not, we all should be in the business of helping develop people and the organizations in which we work. Ben’s blog and his resources can help us all do just that. Check him out at:
-Website link http://upstarthr.com
-Twitter http://twitter.com/beneubanks
-LinkedIn http://linkedin.com/in/beneubanks
-Others YouTube http://youtube.com/upstarthr
