2009 Predictions From Other Bloggers

Note: This is part three of a three part series on my predictions for 2009 (see part one and part two). I will be covering predictions for blogging, HR and those made by others as the new year approaches.

For the third and final segment of this series on 2009 predictions, I wanted to turn it over to my colleagues blogging elsewhere and see what they are saying. If I forgot to ask you, I somehow missed your contribution or you just feel like participating, throw your comments below or write your own post and send the link over and we’ll get it in the post.

Now for the predictions for 2009:

HR Minion of (surprisingly) HR Minion says: I predict that more HR people will be driven to blogs due to the economy. Whether they go there for advice, community, a place to rant, or because they discover the increasing importance of social media and networking to HR, they will come. We have built it, so they will come.

Sharlyn Lauby of HR Bartender says: Customer service is the new marketing. People might see economic stimulus money next year but there are no guarantees where they will spend it. Consumers want good service and they will seek out and embrace companies that provide it. Businesses need to take a hard look at what they offer in terms of customer service and use training as a way to stay competitive.

Dan Schawbel of Personal Branding Blog says: In 2009, personal branding will be a commonly used vocabulary word. When thousands of resumes are tossed in a recruiters face, they may all end up in the trash. How do you end up in a pile that they read? How do you differentiate yourself? The answer, as I’ve stated in this blog many times, is personal branding. Turning to proven tools and methodologies is a great way to get yourself on the right career track and turn your passion into money, even in a poor economy.

Benjamin Yoskovitz of Standout Jobs says: Strategic Recruiting becomes a priority. Transactional, shotgun recruiting has been diminishing in value for some time. A recent report indicates that Monster’s revenue will drop 37% in the coming year as companies abandon or lower their job posting contracts. Companies need to look at recruiting strategically and what that means for budgets, time to hire, etc.

Joel Cheesman of Cheezhead says: Yahoo sells-off HotJobs

Kari Quaas of CoolWorks says: My hope and prediction is that more employers jump on Facebook and realize the value of connecting with their staff where they are.

Jason Seiden of JasonSeiden.com says: In tough times, “noise” levels grow, so the people around you become important not only for support, but also as filters. For HR, this means that fostering relationships will become a critical role: with candidates, with managers, with outside resources, and with senior leaders. When things are hard and I’m under stress, I don’t want an answer from a website, I want the name of the person who can solve my problem, and I want that name to come from someone I respect and trust. I want to know I’m part of the neighborhood.

Lisa Rosendahl of HR Thoughts says: I predict an HR Blogging Explosion, coaching finding it’s way in to more and more performance management plans, and HR professionals reaching out to HR students via blogs etc to provide valuable industry insights and learnings.

Alexandra Levit of Water Cooler Wisdom says: My prediction is that more organizations will implement formal and informal flex time programs, and, as it becomes pricier and pricier to recruit and retain full time employees, that the use of part-time consultants will explode in fields like media, finance, and technology.

J. William Tincup of JPIE says: Personally, I’d like to see a greater emphasis on human capital blogging communities and/or multi-contributor blogs rather than more stand alone human capital blogs. I think we should work hard to build more of a sense of community in 2009.

Lousie Fletcher of Blue Sky Resumes says: 2009 will see the first high-profile lawsuit charging discrimination as a result of something posted on the Internet

Chris Ferdinandi of Manager’s Sandbox says: I predict an increased focus on the use (and hopefully engagement in) social media as a talent management tool. I’d love to see employers really embrace the technology more thoroughly in developing employer brands, communicating with employees, and spawning innovation.

Chris Young of the Maximize Possibility Blog says: 2009 will be the year of “adding value” in the workplace. Employers will be adding employees only if they can bring measurable value to the workplace. Employees who are not adding real, measurable value will be at serious risk of joining the already long unemployment lines.

Dan McCarthy of Great Leadership says: There won’t be any American auto companies or financial institutions on the 2008 “Top Companies for Leaders” list.

Laurie Ruettimann of PunkRockHR says: I predict job descriptions will become 140-characters and go out, Twitter-style, directly from companies to job seekers. Buh-bye, Monster and CareerBuilder.

Some really great stuff here. Anything major left off here?