Every week, I review blogs that cover talent development to find the very best talent development posts. This week, you’ll find pointers to pieces about recruiting in the new world of social media, the problem with key employees, learning and working effectively in today’s complex world, and what to do if you’re not one of those glamorous employers of choice.
From Workforce Management: Who Knows What Talent Lurks in the Heart of the Web?
“Part sleuth, part stalker, sourcers are researchers who use both traditional means to find job candidates and more unconventional ways, such as social media networking.”
Wally’s Comment: You know they’re out there, don’t you? Those super-talented-make-your-company-great people are all around you but you can’t seem to find them. The latest magic bullet is “sourcing,” which, it’s claimed, goes deeper than traditional searches to find just the talent you need. That’s the hype. The reality, though, is that you should know something about the channels and techniques that “sourcers” use. Here’s your chance.
From Mike Myatt: The Problem with Key Employees
“What is a key employee, and who is worthy of such a title? Much has been written on the subject of key employees, and in my opinion most of it flat misses the mark. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that what most people refer to as key employees are not really assets, but rather large contingent liabilities. If you allow your organization to be held hostage by those employees who feel like they are indispensable, you are only exacerbating the problem.”
Wally’s Comment: Mike Myatt writes one of the best leadership blogs around and he often questions basic assumptions. That’s what he does in this post. Read it and you’ll come away with some questions to ask yourself about how you deal with those “key” employees.
From Harold Jarche: Learning and working effectively
“An effective networked workplace can be viewed as a three-sided framework, with a leadership/management strategy (radical & wirearchical) that supports collaborative work enabled by social learning. All three are necessary. If there is any degree of complexity in the work, collaboration needs to be supported by a flexible management framework that encourages social learning. This is especially true for creativity and innovation. These cannot be forced, yet many of our organizational practices still reflect cultures that do not trust individuals.”
Wally’s Comment: Harold Jarche looks at the ways that work and the workplace are changing and describes how social learning and collaborative work come together.
From Steph Beer: A Talent Exodus for the Rest of Us
“Young professionals want to work at Google, Disney, the State Department and Amazon, according to a recent survey. Where does that leave the rest of companies? Probably in a catch-22, where they struggle to hold onto their most talented employees while facing a broader market shortage of technically skilled workers (and rising labor costs).”
Wally’s Comment: Steph Beer suggests five things you can do to attract and keep top talent, even if you aren’t Google or can’t give everyone a free massage. Hat tip to Mike Haberman for pointing me to this post.
Carnivals, Lists, and Such
Leadership Development Carnival hosted by HR Bartender
