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HR Data Doodles: Season 3D - Into the HR Metaverse
Workplace-set comedy tends to emphasize foibles and dysfunction, petty gripes and legitimate grievances. Turetsky’s upbeat HR Data Doodles series, now in its third volume, goes against that grain, showcasing a diverse and engaging cast of human resources professionals who work together to face challenges, adapt to change, and flourish both as a company and as individuals. That approach still feels novel, three books in, even as the cast and the software company at which they work demonstrate how to handle growth and change with aplomb. This volume finds the team at OUPM, post acquisition, handling recruitment, retirement, and other urgent human resources concerns as the company begins an ambitious new project developing next-gen VR … and an HR Artificial Intelligence who eventually will be named Charlie.
As in the second volume of the series, Turetsky’s approach is to favor storytelling over punchlines, though the jokes that are here (including some about gamer focus groups) land with a new consistency. When Teddy, the office’s eccentric comic foil, asks Charlie, the new AI, to tell a joke about dinosaurs, Charlie snaps back “I could, but the jokes are extinct.” The depiction of Teddy as an affable fellow whom colleagues celebrate as “a hoot” exemplifies the spirit of Turetsky’s project: rather than make fun of each other, as in other office narratives, his HR crew has fun with each other, while planning ahead, meeting the needs of all stakeholders, and giving OUPM the tools for success. A new recruiter, brought on to hire the VR team, makes sure to pin down the company’s precise needs before starting her search, noting “We cannot just hire people thinking that we need to do some work for an artificial deadline.”
Diverse, driven, and always listening to each other, the HR Data Doodles series demonstrate all that readers may wish companies could be. Turetsky’s vibrant character design, appealing faces, smart workplace dialogue, and insights into what a fully empowered, ready-to-adapt HR team can accomplish all will please readers looking for positive examples of office teams taking on the future.
Takeaway: Inspiring comics of HR pros facing and shaping the future.
Production grades:
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Workplace-set comedy tends to emphasize foibles and dysfunction, petty gripes and legitimate grievances. Turetsky’s upbeat HR Data Doodles series, now in its third volume, goes against that grain, showcasing a diverse and engaging cast of human resources professionals who work together to face challenges, adapt to change, and flourish both as a company and as individuals. That approach still feels novel, three books in, even as the cast and the software company at which they work demonstrate how to handle growth and change with aplomb. This volume finds the team at OUPM, post acquisition, handling recruitment, retirement, and other urgent human resources concerns as the company begins an ambitious new project developing next-gen VR … and an HR Artificial Intelligence who eventually will be named Charlie.
As in the second volume of the series, Turetsky’s approach is to favor storytelling over punchlines, though the jokes that are here (including some about gamer focus groups) land with a new consistency. When Teddy, the office’s eccentric comic foil, asks Charlie, the new AI, to tell a joke about dinosaurs, Charlie snaps back “I could, but the jokes are extinct.” The depiction of Teddy as an affable fellow whom colleagues celebrate as “a hoot” exemplifies the spirit of Turetsky’s project: rather than make fun of each other, as in other office narratives, his HR crew has fun with each other, while planning ahead, meeting the needs of all stakeholders, and giving OUPM the tools for success. A new recruiter, brought on to hire the VR team, makes sure to pin down the company’s precise needs before starting her search, noting “We cannot just hire people thinking that we need to do some work for an artificial deadline.”
Diverse, driven, and always listening to each other, the HR Data Doodles series demonstrate all that readers may wish companies could be. Turetsky’s vibrant character design, appealing faces, smart workplace dialogue, and insights into what a fully empowered, ready-to-adapt HR team can accomplish all will please readers looking for positive examples of office teams taking on the future.
Takeaway: Inspiring comics of HR pros facing and shaping the future.
Production grades:
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
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HR Data Doodles: Season 2 - Back to Work
“It seems there may be some need for some new skills? She talked about reskilling current associates that are idle until the new platform is stable."
The employees at Played Much are working hard on an exciting new product that is getting some buzz. However, they are having issues with server load and feel stuck. At the same time, a respected competitor approaches them about a possible acquisition. The HR department works with various other groups to try to get employee demographics updated while also realizing the need for a pay study and more transparency. The company realizes that it needs a new skill set and considers letting some employees go to make room to acquire new talent with the necessary knowledge. The idea is floated and then accepted that reskilling current employees not only maintains good working relationships but can also save money. During a discussion about the company’s needs and the possible acquisition, a new hire points out that the competing company has a platform already built that would solve their issues. Soon, the idea is floated up the chain and the possible acquisition turns into a merger deal.
Turetsky’s book is a graphic novel told in over thirty-five four-panel “episodes” that progress the story. Initially, it brings the classic Dilbert series to mind due to the office environment and its tackling of HR issues. However, the book is much more a cursory glance at real topics concerning the business world, like pay equity and employee engagement. In its brief story, it attempts to show the audience not only the range of diverse and important matters that fill the days of an HR employee but also ways in which positive outcomes can be achieved by being mindful of key components that make successful companies and HR departments. In some ways, it is a modernized version of the old training videos many employees used to be required to view in their chosen field. There are many books written about how to run an engaging and equitable work environment, and a large portion of those are thick volumes which can be somewhat obtuse. This book stands in sharp contrast to those.
Turetsky’s narrative is easy to follow and comprehend. The illustrations and production value of the whole are professional, setting it apart from many books found today. This book should be well-received by human resources professionals and other business executives familiar with the importance of their work. The narrative might have been more compelling if there had been a naysayer employee who was always shooting down whatever idea was proffered, but that might lie outside the intended scope of this work.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see this book passed around in an office and have it be the catalyst to start conversations about important topics. In addition, it could find a place in libraries and the offices of guidance counselors as it gives a concise and easy to comprehend look into the human resources profession. Within its target audience, this book should be well-received and could easily be read during a little office downtime to give the employees a smile as they recognize themselves, their coworkers, and their daily issues within its pages.
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HR Data Doodles: Season 2 - Back to Work
The charming second volume of Turetsky’s HR Data Doodles series finds the four-panel comic—much like its cast—expanding its ambitions, as Turetsky moves from a (mostly) gag-oriented format into dedicated serialized storytelling centered on the Played Much Game Company in a time of crunch and transition. Drawing on discussions and insights from Turetsky's HR Data Labs Podcast, the comics depart from most workplace comedy in their upbeat consideration the role that smart human resources teams can play in generating inspired solutions company-wide challenges, in this case issues like a potential acquisition, possible layoffs of sales staff when a key product gets delayed, and what it really means to strive for pay equity.
The first volume of HR Data Doodles—a name referring both to the comics format and to the now-expanded cast of diverse and appealingly designed characters—offered insights, too, though the emphasis was often on punchlines, usually coming from the pajamas-wearing young HR analyst Teddy. This time, Turetsky often dares to end strips without a joke, instead capturing, in four chatty panels of static composition, the upshots of meetings, both in-person and digital, as the teams at Played Much strategize, listen to each other, and implement their plans. (Occasionally, speech balloons are laid out in an unintuitive order, but much less often than in the previous entry.) The change in emphasis makes a point: teams working well together are no joke, and neither are demonstrations of agreement, understanding, and the embrace of clear takeaways.
That’s not to say there aren’t laughs, here. But quickly the story of Played Much’s possible acquisition by OrangeU, another game company, plus Played Much’s struggles to finalize a “transformative” platform and gather crucial demographic data, proves compelling. Innovative solutions to problems, like “re-skilling” employees for current needs rather than “re-staffing,” work out for the team, and the new advice from an old consultant regarding OrangeU and the platform issues is heartening.
Takeaway: Upbeat comics about the essential role HR plays in business.
Comparable Titles: Eliyahu M. Goldratt’s The Goal, Josh Bersin’s Irresistible.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A-
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
The charming second volume of Turetsky’s HR Data Doodles series finds the four-panel comic—much like its cast—expanding its ambitions, as Turetsky moves from a (mostly) gag-oriented format into dedicated serialized storytelling centered on the Played Much Game Company in a time of crunch and transition. Drawing on discussions and insights from Turetsky's HR Data Labs Podcast, the comics depart from most workplace comedy in their upbeat consideration the role that smart human resources teams can play in generating inspired solutions company-wide challenges, in this case issues like a potential acquisition, possible layoffs of sales staff when a key product gets delayed, and what it really means to strive for pay equity.
The first volume of HR Data Doodles—a name referring both to the comics format and to the now-expanded cast of diverse and appealingly designed characters—offered insights, too, though the emphasis was often on punchlines, usually coming from the pajamas-wearing young HR analyst Teddy. This time, Turetsky often dares to end strips without a joke, instead capturing, in four chatty panels of static composition, the upshots of meetings, both in-person and digital, as the teams at Played Much strategize, listen to each other, and implement their plans. (Occasionally, speech balloons are laid out in an unintuitive order, but much less often than in the previous entry.) The change in emphasis makes a point: teams working well together are no joke, and neither are demonstrations of agreement, understanding, and the embrace of clear takeaways.
That’s not to say there aren’t laughs, here. But quickly the story of Played Much’s possible acquisition by OrangeU, another game company, plus Played Much’s struggles to finalize a “transformative” platform and gather crucial demographic data, proves compelling. Innovative solutions to problems, like “re-skilling” employees for current needs rather than “re-staffing,” work out for the team, and the new advice from an old consultant regarding OrangeU and the platform issues is heartening.
Takeaway: Upbeat comics about the essential role HR plays in business.
Comparable Titles: Eliyahu M. Goldratt’s The Goal, Josh Bersin’s Irresistible.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A-
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
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Welcome to the world of HR Data Doodles
These up-to-the-moment workplace comics from Turetsky offer a diverse, charmingly rendered cast engaged in relatable office-world comedy, complete with one goof of a character, Teddy, “a regular fountain of bad ideas” who elicits last-panel eyerolls from his colleagues. But despite Teddy’s insistence that a good compromise between in-person and remote work would be to let him show up at the office in his pajamas, Turetsky is after more than laughs. These “HR Data Doodles” both celebrate and gently provoke serious thinking about the role of data, analytics, and clear planning in businesses, especially when it comes to HR, hiring, and implanting new management systems.
The team at the Played Much Gaming Company continually finds itself cheering about the abundant research it’s conducted or exciting new technologies it might implement—and again and again, Turetsky depicts the most clear-headed leaders stepping back to make sure someone actually utilizes that research or dares to ask “Maybe we think about business questions to solve then figure out what kind of Big Data will be useful for us.” Throughout, the characters, usually in meetings, go from proposing big new ideas (build a proprietary tool for data analysis!) to realizing that crucial questions haven’t been asked and vital work hasn’t been done. Amusingly, one team, eager to hire new developers for a new game, decides that rather than do the hard work of writing up job requirements and salary information, maybe they could develop an app to do so instead.
Many of Turetsky’s strips, mostly presented in four panel grids with appropriately jargon-heavy office dialogue, emphasize the need for clear visions, for taking the effort to get on the same page, and for talking about data and analytics after identifying what problems to target. That message shines through despite some tricky-to-follow placement of word balloons—the order in which to read the dialogue is often unintuitive. As office satire, these “doodles” are warm and incisive.
Takeaway: Warm comics celebration of HR and data analytics teams.
Comparable Titles: Doug Savage’s Savage Chickens, Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas’s Humor, Seriously.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: B
Illustrations: B+
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A-
These up-to-the-moment workplace comics from Turetsky offer a diverse, charmingly rendered cast engaged in relatable office-world comedy, complete with one goof of a character, Teddy, “a regular fountain of bad ideas” who elicits last-panel eyerolls from his colleagues. But despite Teddy’s insistence that a good compromise between in-person and remote work would be to let him show up at the office in his pajamas, Turetsky is after more than laughs. These “HR Data Doodles” both celebrate and gently provoke serious thinking about the role of data, analytics, and clear planning in businesses, especially when it comes to HR, hiring, and implanting new management systems.
The team at the Played Much Gaming Company continually finds itself cheering about the abundant research it’s conducted or exciting new technologies it might implement—and again and again, Turetsky depicts the most clear-headed leaders stepping back to make sure someone actually utilizes that research or dares to ask “Maybe we think about business questions to solve then figure out what kind of Big Data will be useful for us.” Throughout, the characters, usually in meetings, go from proposing big new ideas (build a proprietary tool for data analysis!) to realizing that crucial questions haven’t been asked and vital work hasn’t been done. Amusingly, one team, eager to hire new developers for a new game, decides that rather than do the hard work of writing up job requirements and salary information, maybe they could develop an app to do so instead.
Many of Turetsky’s strips, mostly presented in four panel grids with appropriately jargon-heavy office dialogue, emphasize the need for clear visions, for taking the effort to get on the same page, and for talking about data and analytics after identifying what problems to target. That message shines through despite some tricky-to-follow placement of word balloons—the order in which to read the dialogue is often unintuitive. As office satire, these “doodles” are warm and incisive.
Takeaway: Warm comics celebration of HR and data analytics teams.
Comparable Titles: Doug Savage’s Savage Chickens, Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas’s Humor, Seriously.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: B
Illustrations: B+
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A-
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Welcome to the world of HR Data Doodles
07/31/2023
I absolutely LOVE this book - it's funny, thoughtful, entertaining, and extremely well written. As all things, David Turetsky - WELL DONE!
07/31/2023
I absolutely LOVE this book - it's funny, thoughtful, entertaining, and extremely well written. As all things, David Turetsky - WELL DONE!
Red Headed Book Lover Read More
Played Much Gaming Company is going through a transformation. They have outgrown their homegrown Human Resource technology. Along their path towards a new system, they have to find their way. They hired consultants, went to conferences, and found that they were focusing on the wrong business problem. Along the way, the HR team learns how they can deliver value and make insights available to the leaders that need their help.
Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles … where do I begin book lovers? Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is undoubtedly a book that should not be missed by anybody because the story that unfolds throughout it is genius, unique, and incredibly entertaining. When I read the premise of Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles, I knew instantly that it was a book I had to read as well as a book I would love. I love to find unique books of this nature that are laced with insight and so I was excited to read Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles!
Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is a brilliantly unique book that is unlike anything I have read before and a book that not only entertains but informs! Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is written by the talented and experienced David Turetsky who has compiled his years of knowledge in HR into this fantastic book that compels you to read from start to finish.
In Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles, the reader will be introduced to the Played Much Gaming Company who is looking to shake things up but can’t seem to implement their ideas. The reader will follow the group of characters as their company begins to transform as they move on from their old Human Resource technology to a new system. The reader will follow the characters as they explore data, analytics, HR and so much more with many laughs along the way. However, despite this book being of a comedy nature, it is incredibly informative also and Turetsky shows you how you can implement your ideas and research into new technologies and find out what is stopping you from making the changes you wish to. All of this and more is laced throughout the incredible Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles and shouldn’t be missed!
The story of Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is an intriguing one and one that left me enlightened and laughing at many points. What unfolds throughout Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is intriguing and incredibly entertaining and it made for wonderful reading! The themes combined and laced throughout Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles perfectly complement the atmosphere of the book and story; the reader will experience many incredible moments and have an enjoyable reading experience!
David Turetsky is an author who has written a fantastic story and come up with a brilliant idea for his book. Turetsky is an exceptional writer because he grabs his reader’s attention from the start very quickly and keeps them engrossed until the end. There are no long build-ups that drag in Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles; instead, the reader will be thrown into the thick of the premise quickly, and the result of this is incredibly captivating.
Overall Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is a superb book with a unique and well-developed plot, captivating narration, and excellent characterization that will excite its readers so of course, I have to award this impressive piece of literature five stars!
Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles … where do I begin book lovers? Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is undoubtedly a book that should not be missed by anybody because the story that unfolds throughout it is genius, unique, and incredibly entertaining. When I read the premise of Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles, I knew instantly that it was a book I had to read as well as a book I would love. I love to find unique books of this nature that are laced with insight and so I was excited to read Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles!
Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is a brilliantly unique book that is unlike anything I have read before and a book that not only entertains but informs! Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is written by the talented and experienced David Turetsky who has compiled his years of knowledge in HR into this fantastic book that compels you to read from start to finish.
In Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles, the reader will be introduced to the Played Much Gaming Company who is looking to shake things up but can’t seem to implement their ideas. The reader will follow the group of characters as their company begins to transform as they move on from their old Human Resource technology to a new system. The reader will follow the characters as they explore data, analytics, HR and so much more with many laughs along the way. However, despite this book being of a comedy nature, it is incredibly informative also and Turetsky shows you how you can implement your ideas and research into new technologies and find out what is stopping you from making the changes you wish to. All of this and more is laced throughout the incredible Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles and shouldn’t be missed!
The story of Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is an intriguing one and one that left me enlightened and laughing at many points. What unfolds throughout Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is intriguing and incredibly entertaining and it made for wonderful reading! The themes combined and laced throughout Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles perfectly complement the atmosphere of the book and story; the reader will experience many incredible moments and have an enjoyable reading experience!
David Turetsky is an author who has written a fantastic story and come up with a brilliant idea for his book. Turetsky is an exceptional writer because he grabs his reader’s attention from the start very quickly and keeps them engrossed until the end. There are no long build-ups that drag in Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles; instead, the reader will be thrown into the thick of the premise quickly, and the result of this is incredibly captivating.
Overall Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is a superb book with a unique and well-developed plot, captivating narration, and excellent characterization that will excite its readers so of course, I have to award this impressive piece of literature five stars!
Red Headed Book Lover Read More
Played Much Gaming Company is going through a transformation. They have outgrown their homegrown Human Resource technology. Along their path towards a new system, they have to find their way. They hired consultants, went to conferences, and found that they were focusing on the wrong business problem. Along the way, the HR team learns how they can deliver value and make insights available to the leaders that need their help.
Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles … where do I begin book lovers? Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is undoubtedly a book that should not be missed by anybody because the story that unfolds throughout it is genius, unique, and incredibly entertaining. When I read the premise of Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles, I knew instantly that it was a book I had to read as well as a book I would love. I love to find unique books of this nature that are laced with insight and so I was excited to read Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles!
Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is a brilliantly unique book that is unlike anything I have read before and a book that not only entertains but informs! Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is written by the talented and experienced David Turetsky who has compiled his years of knowledge in HR into this fantastic book that compels you to read from start to finish.
In Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles, the reader will be introduced to the Played Much Gaming Company who is looking to shake things up but can’t seem to implement their ideas. The reader will follow the group of characters as their company begins to transform as they move on from their old Human Resource technology to a new system. The reader will follow the characters as they explore data, analytics, HR and so much more with many laughs along the way. However, despite this book being of a comedy nature, it is incredibly informative also and Turetsky shows you how you can implement your ideas and research into new technologies and find out what is stopping you from making the changes you wish to. All of this and more is laced throughout the incredible Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles and shouldn’t be missed!
The story of Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is an intriguing one and one that left me enlightened and laughing at many points. What unfolds throughout Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is intriguing and incredibly entertaining and it made for wonderful reading! The themes combined and laced throughout Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles perfectly complement the atmosphere of the book and story; the reader will experience many incredible moments and have an enjoyable reading experience!
David Turetsky is an author who has written a fantastic story and come up with a brilliant idea for his book. Turetsky is an exceptional writer because he grabs his reader’s attention from the start very quickly and keeps them engrossed until the end. There are no long build-ups that drag in Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles; instead, the reader will be thrown into the thick of the premise quickly, and the result of this is incredibly captivating.
Overall Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is a superb book with a unique and well-developed plot, captivating narration, and excellent characterization that will excite its readers so of course, I have to award this impressive piece of literature five stars!
Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles … where do I begin book lovers? Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is undoubtedly a book that should not be missed by anybody because the story that unfolds throughout it is genius, unique, and incredibly entertaining. When I read the premise of Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles, I knew instantly that it was a book I had to read as well as a book I would love. I love to find unique books of this nature that are laced with insight and so I was excited to read Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles!
Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is a brilliantly unique book that is unlike anything I have read before and a book that not only entertains but informs! Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is written by the talented and experienced David Turetsky who has compiled his years of knowledge in HR into this fantastic book that compels you to read from start to finish.
In Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles, the reader will be introduced to the Played Much Gaming Company who is looking to shake things up but can’t seem to implement their ideas. The reader will follow the group of characters as their company begins to transform as they move on from their old Human Resource technology to a new system. The reader will follow the characters as they explore data, analytics, HR and so much more with many laughs along the way. However, despite this book being of a comedy nature, it is incredibly informative also and Turetsky shows you how you can implement your ideas and research into new technologies and find out what is stopping you from making the changes you wish to. All of this and more is laced throughout the incredible Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles and shouldn’t be missed!
The story of Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is an intriguing one and one that left me enlightened and laughing at many points. What unfolds throughout Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is intriguing and incredibly entertaining and it made for wonderful reading! The themes combined and laced throughout Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles perfectly complement the atmosphere of the book and story; the reader will experience many incredible moments and have an enjoyable reading experience!
David Turetsky is an author who has written a fantastic story and come up with a brilliant idea for his book. Turetsky is an exceptional writer because he grabs his reader’s attention from the start very quickly and keeps them engrossed until the end. There are no long build-ups that drag in Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles; instead, the reader will be thrown into the thick of the premise quickly, and the result of this is incredibly captivating.
Overall Welcome to the World of HR Data Doodles is a superb book with a unique and well-developed plot, captivating narration, and excellent characterization that will excite its readers so of course, I have to award this impressive piece of literature five stars!