Can High Impact Talent Management Boost Retention? March 8th, 2010

Donna Ronayne

We are really looking forward to an upcoming webcast we’re hosting on March 18th, in collaboration with HR.com. Stephen Roesler, CEO of Roesler Group, and Kim Ellis, Director of Human Resources at SNC-Lavalin O&M will be discussing the impact talent management has on employee retention.

Recent research shows that retention is increasing as a priority for organizations as the economy recovers. Current research also tells us that there are a few basic talent management practices a company can undertake to increase employee retention.

These include:

• Setting clear expectations
• Enabling employees to see clearly how their work matters to the organization
• Emphasizing feedback
• Framing rewards, recognition, and fairness from the employee point of view
• Providing employee development opportunities, even on a limited budget

These seem like simple items, but we know that without proper tools and processes in place, they get lost in the shuffle…

In our webinar, Steve Roesler, a leading expert in the field of leadership and engagement, will discuss the links between these high impact talent management practices and increased retention, and Kim Ellis, Director of Human Resources for SNC-Lavalin O&M will share experiences from her organization where they transformed and automated their processes to entrench talent management across the company to support increased retention.

I’m excited to hear what they have to say about this important metric. There’s still plenty of time to register and join us.

Tags: retention, talent management

Creating Choice and Control for Gen X March 2nd, 2010

Heather McCulligh

Tammy Erickson recently did a webinar over at HR.com that I had a chance to listen in on. As one of leading experts on collaboration and innovation, you’ve probably read her blog posts and/or articles for Harvard Business Review, as well as her many books on managing the generations. Her latest book What’s Next Gen X offers an analysis of the “implications of organizational and technological changes” for this generation’s future. The webinar Why Gen X Has the Leaders We Need Now draws heavily from this book and shares some interesting ideas on the leadership potential of Gen X.

During the Webinar, Erickson, did a thorough job of establishing all of the factors that have brought Gen X to where we are today, including the economy, changing world order, the Internet, entry of women into the workforce and divorce rates. The end result is a generation that is self-reliant, mistrustful of institutions, rule-morphing, tribal, information-savvy, and determined and dedicated parents Now, you may be thinking… really, how much are generational differences even an issue? According to experts like Erickson, there is definitely a difference between boomers, Gen X and Gen Y. And the experts from the HR Raging Debates forum offer many views on whether or not these differences matter. From my perspective, the reality is that HR pros need to recognize there is a difference and go from there. The differences shouldn’t be the primary focus, but a guiding force in creating and managing HR programs.

What’s interesting about Erickson’s examination of Gen X is that she approaches it from two directions. For members of Gen X, she lays out “practical steps for Gen Xers in the workplace”, as well as tips for “trading up and branching out” such as asking for non-salary things you value, meeting commitments, and reinforcing your personal brand. All of these steps offer insights into how organizations can be flexible and meet individual needs of Gen X employees.

On the flip side, Erickson, provides practical steps for “attracting and retaining Xers” including providing family friendly flexibility, minimizing moves that sever social connections and leveraging their entrepreneurial instincts. One of the most interesting steps by far is giving them choice and control over their career paths. Definitely not a breakthrough idea, but one that is well-worth repeating time and time again. We all know this is a must, however, are we actually doing it? And how does it fit within our talent management process? We need to ensure there’s room in the “process” to have a two-way dialogue that encourages this choice and control, and not a static event where employees are walked through a check list.

How are you working with employees to ensure they have a degree of choice and control over their career path?

Tags: coaching, talent management