I received an email earlier this week that immediately caught my eye. The tag line said, “Why it’s time for HR to quit being so wimpy.” I am always interested in new, innovate, and strategic ways to approach HR, so I had to check it out.
The link took me to a blog, by the business and HR thought leader, Dr. John Sullivan called “Bold and Outrageous HR Practices That May Indicate Your Approach is Too Conservative,” in which he presents the idea that conservative HR departments are a thing of the past and organizations are in a “battle” to attract and retain outstanding talent.
Dr. Sullivan profiles several “bleeding-edge” HR departments and offers a top 10 list of HR and talent management practices that are “new, controversial, and full of risk.” The list features:
• The wealth of benefits that Google offers to the families of deceased employees; • Hotel contracts that require all employees to reapply for their job after four or five years; • Amazon's educational reimbursement program; • The no attendance policies at Netflix and Foursquare; • Edelman's social hour events for social media contacts; and more.
Many of you will be surprised and shocked by these alternative approaches. Others may be intrigued. Either way, the article is worth a read for any talent manager. This list and others like it also provide great insight into some of the innovative business and HR practices being piloted by organizations across the world that could be replicated, in part or in full, by district HR departments.
What do you think of these “bleeding-edge” HR practices? What lessons, if any, could be applied in district HR departments? Share your thoughts!
For more information on human capital, performance management, or continuous improvement in education, you can follow Emily Douglas (@EmilyDouglasHC) on Twitter.
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