Retention and Engagement

With 77 million baby boomers preparing to retire in the near future, and only 44 million Gen X'ers to fill the leadership void, the organizations that effectively and purposefully collect, utilize, and disseminate the tacit knowledge — know-how, beliefs, and experiences — of their workers will be more effective at achieving their organization missions. Learn how tacit knowledge cultivation and enablement are part of the leadership of knowledge.

When Sun Microsystems measured the impact of their mentoring program they discovered some of the positive business results they expected to see (i.e., positive retention rates, salary grade increases, etc.), and a few they did not. The most dramatic finding was the difference in retention among participants over non-participants - a difference that translated into savings of $6.7 million.

Retention is a key strategic issue for any company, but perhaps none more so than those companies with call center operations. This case study measured the business impact of five different learning programs and evaluated the factors related to agent retention.

Your company's tuition reimbursement program may provide benefits beyond your expectations. Discover how Bellevue University's Human Capital Lab researched Mutual of Omaha's tuition reimbursement program, finding a positive impact on employee skill levels, loyalty, retention, and the organization's long-term strategic value.

The power of positive thinking and its affect on work-related employee outcomes is documented in this study. Learn how performance, job satisfaction, work happiness, and organizational commitment are connected to an employee's positive psychological resource capacities.

Despite a tough economy, organizations can function effectively, by tying human capital investments into the company's KPIs and strategic goals. The newly published results of an HR practitioner series provide talent management best practices, from mentoring and succession planning to retention and re-recruiting that can be implemented now.

There are three dimensions of employee engagement that are particularly critical to organizational and employee performance and success: advocacy, aspiration alignment, and enablement. Increasing communication, initiating powerful learning, and supporting these activities moves employees in the right direction to achieve these essential employee engagement components. - Engagement Strategies Magazine, August 2009

Optimal employee engagement is key. View a model for employee engagement as well as the types of learning required to support optimum engagement. Learn key practices organizations can use to help employees increase work effectiveness, design and achieve personal goals, and internalize the organizational vision. APQC series: Talent Management in a Tough Economy.

While industry reports indicate that corporate tuition assistance programs have not experienced major cuts despite the uncertain economy, John Zappa, Senior Vice President of Learning Services at the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), encourages learning leaders to take action now. Zappa provides steps to ways to optimize your current program, and position tuition reimbursement as a part of your overall talent strategy.

Bersin & Associates estimates that 2008 training expenditures were 11 percent below 2007 levels. Although funds to develop future leaders are shrinking, tuition assistance continues to be funded, but is managed under “benign neglect.” While most organizations are struggling to make tuition assistance a strategic investment, a few, such as Verizon Wireless and The Home Depot, have gone beyond best practices to true breakthrough. – Chief Learning Officer, June 2009

The relationship of performance evaluations to employee advancement within an organization is critical, but are there differences in employee performance ratings across racial and ethnic groupings? This exploratory study, published in Personnel Review, evaluates if racial demographics impact job performance.

While industry reports indicate that corporate tuition assistance programs have not experienced major cuts despite the uncertain economy, John Zappa, Senior Vice President of Learning Services at the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), encourages learning leaders to take action now. Zappa provides steps to ways to optimize your current program, and position tuition reimbursement as a part of your overall talent strategy.

The strategic utilization of existing organizational resources is critical to achieve overall business objectives. Discover how two Fortune 500 organizations are utilizing existing budgets and external education partnerships to maximize and measure the impact on their strategic objectives. Learn new ways to focus your organizational objectives into a measurable action plan. The presentation was given at the CLO Spring Symposium in April.

Organizations that effectively and purposefully collect, utilize, and disseminate the individual tacit knowledge (or know-how, beliefs, experiences, and values one has learned over the course of a career) across their workforce are more effective at achieving their mission. This case study, reviewed in the October 2009 issue of Chief Learning Officer, highlights the Lab's work with Boys Town, and how this non-profit organization is augmenting its knowledge management information systems to develop a stronger and competent workforce.

Human Capital Lab director, Michael E. Echols, Ph.D., writes about what organizations need to know in order to compete for the workforce of the future. Specifically, he discusses how targeted and accelerated leadership development is key to bridging the generation gap between the departing Boomer workforce and Gen Xers who will assume these leadership positions.

Integrating training and development into talent management and retention is an ongoing issue for many organizations. Bellevue University works with The Home Depot and Verizon Wireless, two companies going beyond best practices in this area. Dr. Echols gave this presentation to The Conference Board in January 2009.

Co-authors of The NeXt Revolution: What Gen X Women Want at Work and How Their Boomer Bosses Can Help Them Get It, presented their eye-opening research at the Fall 2008, Human Capital Lab Colloquium. The presentation discusses how Gen Xers and Boomer employees' career expectations and values differ creating a unique workplace dynamic.

Co-authors of The NeXt Revolution: What Gen X Women Want at Work and How Their Boomer Bosses Can Help Them Get It, presented their eye-opening research at the Fall 2008, Human Capital Lab Colloquium. The presentation discusses how Gen Xers and Boomer employees' career expectations and values differ creating a unique workplace dynamic.

Human Capital Lab researchers, Ernie Stark and Jennifer Murnane, discuss five important considerations when making a decision about purchasing a psychometric instrument to be used in personnel selection in an article published online at humanresourcesiq.com. You can read the article on the Human Resources IQ website.

Did you know that one-quarter of the U.S. workforce has been with their current employer less than one year? Or that by 2010 the projected top 10 in-demand jobs will be positions that didn't even exist in 2006?

Frank J. Anderson, Jr., Director of Human Capital Initiatives and President of Defense Acquisition University, reveals the danger of operating under old assumptions, and how he developed strategies to maximize human capital investments at his organization.

Did you know that one-quarter of the U.S. workforce has been with their current employer less than one year? Or that by 2010 the projected top 10 in-demand jobs will be positions that didn's even exist in 2006?

Frank J. Anderson, Jr., Director of Human Capital Initiatives and President of Defense Acquisition University, reveals the danger of operating under old assumptions, and how he developed strategies to maximize human capital investments at his organization.

Psychometric Profiling - does it really result in enhanced productivity? Academic verification underway.

By documenting your learning initiatives from the planning stage to implementation and beyond, you will gain the respect and understanding of senior executives.

David L. Vance, former President of Caterpillar University, suggests starting with a written business plan, which outlines clear and measurable objectives that align with your company's strategies – such as increased production levels or reduced injuries, your projected learning program outcomes, and evaluation methods to determine if you've met your goals.

The value of your company’s human capital is an asset not typically shown on the pages of an annual report. Entice potential corporate investors by featuring the results and impact of your employee learning interventions on business outcomes.

Whether to develop or recruit talent is a challenging decision. Dr. Mike Echols' presentation helps determine the best course of action.

HR managers can broaden their roles beyond traditional compensation and benefits duties by focusing on talent development. Learn how you can team with senior management and serve as a strategic advisor by aligning human capital investment with organizational goals.

Senior executives and accounting professionals are challenged by stakeholders to enhance the bottom line, by boosting worker productivity levels. This is your opportunity to enlighten this audience about how investment in human capital can align with corporate strategies.

Without measurement, it is nearly impossible to determine whether or not any dimension of a business is improving. Employee engagement is no exception. And employee engagement is crucial to effective corporate learning.