Comments on: Australasian Talent Conference – Day 2 Report

By: Mayflower07

Mayflower07 — Mon, 11 May 2009 04:56:19 +0000

Thanks for the links – interesting reading. They provide a more balanced picture I think? And yes, the breaks are too short.

By: Phillip

Phillip — Mon, 11 May 2009 03:18:32 +0000

Hi Kathi,

Interesting question you raised – what issues would HR generalists tackle in workplaces where employees are highly engaged. Companies like Zappos, who have a highly engaged workforce, obsess on getting their ‘culture’ right, and from the look of it, it’s an ongoing task.

One thing is for sure, no one can rest on their laurels, not even Google. See this http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/18/why-google-employees-quit . Here’s another pointer on what issues Google might have to deal with http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Google-Reviews-E9079.htm

It’s interesting that Sue mentioned their increasing focus on developing ‘talent pipelines’. Perhaps, to counter increasing attrition rates?

Cheers

Phillip

(p.s: Kathi, it’s a shame our path didn’t crossed at the ATC. I thought there should be more time alloted for networking. The breaks are just too short to meet and have meaningful discussion with more than one person)

By: Mayflower07

Mayflower07 — Mon, 11 May 2009 02:38:04 +0000

I share your comments about day 2 at the ATC being a fruitful one. I too enjoyed Dr Williamson’s insights into ‘social capital’ and how it has the potential to be so valuable to organisations when exiting staff from the business. Incredibly the focus has always been on the loss of human capital & the effects it has and yet just looking at it from a different viewpoint can potentially yield so much! You have to admire a company like Deloitte who are so willing to put themselves out there. James was a very engaging presenter and offered some fantastic information on what progressive companies are doing. I wasn’t as enamoured by the Google presentation and thought they are very fortunate to have such a well-known brand that is attractive enough for applicants to ‘endure’ their recruitment process. Not sure many companies could get away with this. At times I thought Google sounded a bit like a cult! However, they remain an incredibly innovative company, often leading the way in areas of employee engagement and retention. My only question is, given how engaged the employees are what kind of issues do the HR generalists have to deal with, I wonder? And of course Kevin Wheeler – ever the visonary!