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 keeping up with changes in the recruiting environment, succession planning, peer reward systems, and what to do with an aging workforce.
“Do you remember how to hire good people? That sounds like a ridiculous question, but for many organizations it has been quite some time since job openings were posted on a career site or job board. But as the potential for economic recovery becomes more likely, we must keep in mind that today’s hiring environment differs dramatically from yesterday’s.”
Wally’s Comment: Scott Erker is the Senior Vice President of Selection Solutions for DDI. He notes that we human beings are adaptive, learning creatures. Many of those who’ve been out of work for a while have learned to present themselves as just the person you need to hire, even when they’re not. Dr. Erker calls them “pretenders” and he tells you how to keep them from luring you into a bad hire.
“A vast majority of companies worldwide are having difficulty attracting the critical-skill and talented employees needed to help them rebound and prosper in the wake of the economic crisis. However, the severity of their difficulty in attracting these workers varies greatly from country to country as economic recovery is proving to be uneven in different regions, according to a new survey conducted by global professional services company Towers Watson”
Wally’s Comment: Towers Watson finds that companies around the world are having trouble finding critical-skill workers. That’s no surprise. They also discuss the impact of layoffs and cost-cutting on the workers they’ve kept on board through the recession. Hint: it’s not good.
From TLNT: The Hidden Secret of Great Succession Planning
“What is a good succession plan?
I find it interesting is that most companies do one of two extremes when it comes to succession planning: 1.Nothing at all; or, 2.A very cumbersome process with lots of documents and checkpoints for multiple candidates which never amounts to anything. Let’s find something in the middle.”
Wally’s Comment: Patty Azzarello nails this one. It’s good, actionable advice about an important issue. She’s also one of the few writers on this who understand that a position is about relationships as well as work and the kinds of decisions that must be made.
From HR Executive Online: The Power of Peer-to-Peer
“Peer-to-peer recognition programs are among an employer’s most powerful, low-cost tools for reducing turnover, improving productivity and boosting employee morale. Unlike gifts through traditional recognition-and-rewards programs, peer acknowledgements are often unexpected, selfless and inspirational. Employees are usually so touched that they end up forming strong bonds with co-workers and become more motivated to do a better job.”
Wally’s Comment: Peer recognition is powerful stuff. Sometimes, though, that power can create unwanted outcomes. This post does a good job of showing the good, as well as some things to watch for. Remember though, any article, book, speech, or training program that promises to replace something that costs you cash with something free that’s even better should be considered BS until proven otherwise. What works somewhere else probably will not work for you in exactly the same way.
From SMU: Tackling ‘grey hairs’: How companies can turn an ageing workforce to their advantage
“With rising life expectancy and an ageing population, corporations are not only seeing more older workers wanting to stay employed but also older workers who report to younger supervisors. While older workers are generally valued as a rich resource for corporations to tap on based on their experience and expertise, their presence, especially when they have to report to younger managers, presents a certain tension.”
Wally’s Comment: There’s a lot of good stuff here, but it will make more sense if you tamp down the hype a bit. Older workers reporting to younger bosses is nothing new. Neither is the phenomenon of younger bosses discounting the value of their elders’ experience. What may be new is that those older workers will be staying in the workforce longer than they did a decade ago.
