Canadian HR Reporter's publisher prepares to bid adieu
In the world of business-to-business publishing, what could be more engaging and mainstream than reporting on human resource management?
The heart of any organization, of course, is its employees, and how the organization respects and manages its relationship with them will largely determine the success of the enterprise.
Practically everyone has been an employee — or even a boss — and has a gaggle of stories about “HR,” whether about fulfilling work experiences or survival in The Workplace from Hell. HR as a conversation starter has greater potential than the weather.
So I’ve always loved my job at Canadian HR Reporter, first as managing editor and then editor and publisher for the past decade or so. (I discovered a “Wanted: Managing Editor” ad in the Globe and Mail in 1994, typed out a one-page letter and a one-page critique of CHRR, got an interview, got the job and have been infatuated with the publication ever since.)
We’ve never been at a loss for topics. In fact, even though we publish our print version biweekly, more often than any of our competition, and we have an expansive array of content on www.hrreporter.com, we don’t come close to covering everything to which we aspire.
But our readers have told us we do a pretty good job nevertheless. We’ve chronicled the rise of the web as a recruiting tool, watched the frenetic competition between developers of HR information management systems, covered the rise of outsourcing HR functions, asked scores of CEOs and HR leaders their views on HR management issues, and endeavoured to interpret to our readers the ongoing saga of HR’s quest to become a strategic business partner.
And although our core audience is employers, we are also drawn to and deeply identify with employees: the troops.
After all, I’m both a boss and an employee myself. As a boss, I try to recruit wisely, develop staff supportively and manage productively. As an employee, I conscientiously do my part to help the company succeed, at the same time thinking sometimes that it could be more flexible or venturesome.
And I must say that nothing Canadian HR Reporter has covered, nor any of the generous comments we have received from readers about our work, has given me the pleasure I take watching our staff grow both individually and collectively. I’ve always felt that if I supported their aspirations, the company would be the beneficiary. I’ve seen nothing to change my mind.
With this issue of Canadian HR Reporter, John Hobel becomes acting publisher, and I move into another role as I prepare to retire at the end of 2006. John is an accomplished editor and an effective and sensitive manager. The CHRR team will be in excellent hands, and so will you, our revered readers.
The heart of any organization, of course, is its employees, and how the organization respects and manages its relationship with them will largely determine the success of the enterprise.
Practically everyone has been an employee — or even a boss — and has a gaggle of stories about “HR,” whether about fulfilling work experiences or survival in The Workplace from Hell. HR as a conversation starter has greater potential than the weather.
So I’ve always loved my job at Canadian HR Reporter, first as managing editor and then editor and publisher for the past decade or so. (I discovered a “Wanted: Managing Editor” ad in the Globe and Mail in 1994, typed out a one-page letter and a one-page critique of CHRR, got an interview, got the job and have been infatuated with the publication ever since.)
We’ve never been at a loss for topics. In fact, even though we publish our print version biweekly, more often than any of our competition, and we have an expansive array of content on www.hrreporter.com, we don’t come close to covering everything to which we aspire.
But our readers have told us we do a pretty good job nevertheless. We’ve chronicled the rise of the web as a recruiting tool, watched the frenetic competition between developers of HR information management systems, covered the rise of outsourcing HR functions, asked scores of CEOs and HR leaders their views on HR management issues, and endeavoured to interpret to our readers the ongoing saga of HR’s quest to become a strategic business partner.
And although our core audience is employers, we are also drawn to and deeply identify with employees: the troops.
After all, I’m both a boss and an employee myself. As a boss, I try to recruit wisely, develop staff supportively and manage productively. As an employee, I conscientiously do my part to help the company succeed, at the same time thinking sometimes that it could be more flexible or venturesome.
And I must say that nothing Canadian HR Reporter has covered, nor any of the generous comments we have received from readers about our work, has given me the pleasure I take watching our staff grow both individually and collectively. I’ve always felt that if I supported their aspirations, the company would be the beneficiary. I’ve seen nothing to change my mind.
With this issue of Canadian HR Reporter, John Hobel becomes acting publisher, and I move into another role as I prepare to retire at the end of 2006. John is an accomplished editor and an effective and sensitive manager. The CHRR team will be in excellent hands, and so will you, our revered readers.
