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 stopping top talent brain drain, driving up engagement, managing talent development at Honest Tea, mandatory mentoring duty, and the impact of social media on the hiring process.
From Fortune: How big companies can stop the brain drain
“Across all industries, the best and brightest are striking out on their own to escape corporate bureaucracy. That need not be the case. Here’s how big institutions can re-imagine themselves as centers of innovation.”
Wally’s Comment: What makes this post special is that the authors are John Hagel and John Seely Brown, who are also authors of The Power of Pull. That means you get some ideas for today, along with an informed look toward the future.
From Winning Workplaces: Simple Performance Management Practices that Drive Up Employee Engagement
“Most of us are familiar with Gallup’s employee engagement research and the twelve statements they use to measure it. When I look at the list, it strikes me that there are some basic employee performance management practices that, if done well, address most of these needs.”
Wally’s Comment: I have a problem with most of the discussions of engagements. I find most “engagement programs” to be exercises in statistical manipulation. That’s because I understand engagement to be an emergent property of the work environment. You don’t influence it directly. Instead, you use a few simple actions to create an environment where engagement can grow. Here are some ideas about what you can do.
From SmartBlog on Workforce: An interview with Honest Tea’s Debra Schwartz
“Debra Schwartz is director of human resources for Honest Tea, a beverage company based in Bethesda, Md. Miri McDonald, an expert on organizational development, recently spoke with Debra about her role in cultivating the company’s progressive culture. An edited transcript of their conversation follows.”
Wally’s Comment: The talent development challenge is more intense when your company has a distinct culture. That’s Honest Tea. You can get some background by reading their profile as one of 2010’s Winning Workplaces.
From Dorothy Dalton: Should mentoring by executives be mandatory?
“I have recently been approached to act as a mentor to a few younger people at different stages in their professional lives. Apart from the fact that I started to feel really old, the thought of being singled out to share the benefits of my somewhat lengthy experience with younger, more junior individuals was secretly quite flattering and whole idea of being perceived as a †savvy sage†was also something of an ego boost.”
Wally’s Comment: Mentoring programs have always made me uneasy. I’ve enjoyed and gained from my mentoring relationships as both a mentor and protégé. But it’s always seemed to me that those relationships had to grow naturally to be effective. Dorothy Dalton takes the program idea one step further. She asks if all executives should be required to mentor.
From HR Daily: The Impact of Social Media on the Hiring Process
“There have been many articles written about the importance of social media in marketing and advertising, but little thought has been given to the role it plays in an organization’s hiring process. The HR, sales, and marketing departments typically occupy different corners of the corporate office, but they share a common role as brand ambassadors. It is widely accepted that employees and their conduct reflect upon the company they work for. What is not often considered, however, is the impact that the hiring and interview process can have on corporate reputation and perception. The hiring and interviewing process should be regarded as an extension of marketing and failure to do so puts companies at risk of significantly damaging reputation and countering positive outgoing efforts–especially in an age of social media, brand identity is more vulnerable than ever.”
Wally’s Comment: Social media are driving changes in many areas of business and talent management. One of the first areas to feel the impact is recruiting.
