I'm here at the Health and Wellbeing at Work conference and exhibition in Birmingham, with some tips fresh from the Employment Law seminars. It's a busy affair with lots of people on the exhibition floor and the conference sessions upstairs are also packed.

Charlie Duff: Editor's Blog

Judith M. Bardwick, clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Diego, recently posted to the Huffington Post the transcript of her interview with literary critic Robert Morris on employee recognition. Judith hits on four best practices of strategic recognition: be timely, be specific, be meaningful and be personal.

Derek Irvine blog

This week I’m focusing on methods and best practices for doing recognition right.

Have you ever playfully done the unexpected at work in an effort to appreciate, encourage or inspire team members? How about to just make them laugh or look at the commonplace in an entirely new way? See how Coca-Cola did just that with their “Happiness Machine.” (Be sure to click through and watch the video.)

I originally saw this video on Tanveer Naseer’s blog and, while I thought the video was fun and interesting, I was much more impressed with Tanveer’s insights:

Derek Irvine blog

After several events with tweet-ups, including our own HRzone tweet-ups, an official CIPD tweet-up and other event-inspired Twitter get-togethers, Jon Ingham and Gareth Jones have organised the first standalone UK tweet-up - ConnectingHR. It's happening on 29 March 2010 in London.

Much as we know not everyone is on Twitter, those of us who are find it a great tool and and brilliant way to stay in touch with other interesting, influential and inspirational HR practitioners.

If you'd been thinking about getting involved with Twitter, now is definitely the time, and if you come to the event as a Twitter newcomer you'll meet plenty of people to help you get the most out of it.

What is a tweet-up?

Charlie Duff: Editor's Blog