Carnival of Human Resources

For many of us, it is the time of year for reflection and reconciliation.  I find myself with so much to be thankful for this year.  With this in mind, I have decided on a theme of thanks and gratitude for this 23rd edition of the Carnival of HR!  And looking at all the terrific posts featured in this Carnival - how could I be anything but thankful!

The purpose of performance management, according to my favorite definition, is to create an environment where successful performance is a high probability outcome.  What could be more important?  And, yet, is there any program that poses greater challenges to Human Resources?  For this reason, I am always grateful for the wisdom and insights of those both within and outside the field of HR on this topic.  HR Thoughts reminds us of the importance of preparation and honesty in this process with the post A strong performance evaluation does not just happen.  To help us keep perspective and representing the opinion of many, John Hunter of Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog quotes Deming and shares the results of a British study in his post Performance appraisals are worse than a waste of time.

At its heart, performance management is really about effective management, and I am especially thankful for those who share practical, actionable wisdom and information about people leadership in their blogs.  Wally Bock of the Three Star Leadership Blog helps clear away the fog from the (not necessarily helpful) distinctions between management and leadership in his post Does it matter if we call something management or leadership?  Wally reminds us of the critical things these people must accomplish, regardless of what we decide to call them.  And Ask A Manager tackles the daunting challenge of asserting authority as a brand new manager - dispensing helpful advice and tough love to a reader who is struggling to make her team perform in the post New managers and authority.

We all owe particular thanks to our colleagues who help keep us aware of and ask us to contemplate future trends that impact HR.  Michael Haberman, author of HR Observations, urges us to focus on the future in his post Book review: Future, Inc. - How businesses can anticipate and profit from what's next.  Michael calls upon us to take the key points from this book and apply them today to help lift the work and impact of HR to a more strategic level.

Richard at Workplace Horizons reminds us that, in the face of a shrinking pool for talent, we have a valuable resource to note and be thankful for.  In his post A different view of the future talent pool, he introduces us to the nearly 250,000 talented men and women who leave the armed forces every year to rejoin the labor market.

Kris Dunn, the HR Capitalist, fearlessly addresses the Google-envy in all of us (what?  you don't have matchbox 20 concerts on your corporate campus?).  In his post Here's another reason you don't have Google's employment brand ... Kris helps us see and be grateful for the invaluable real-life skill and experience that the rest of us, who have to "grind it out" on a daily basis, have to offer.

And the compensation blog space has become less lonely of late, thanks to John Markson, author of The Pay & Benefits Guy.  John joins the Carnival with a great submission, sharing advice on the balancing act we all face in navigating tricky compensation decisions in his post The OTOH Quotient.

Lest we forget (and its easy for us HR folk, embroiled as we are in all issues workplace), the Career Encourager reminds us that we must be thankful for employment itself in her post The Blessing of Work.

A late, but very relevant post has been submitted and added to the Carnival, courtesy of Alvara Fernandez of the Sharp Brains blog.  Alvara's post, Enhance happiness and health by cultivating gratitude features an interview with Professor Robert Emmons, who studies gratitude for a living and has just published a book called Thanks: How the Science of Gratitude can make you happier.

And a final addition:  For an increasing number of HR professionals, talent management in China has become a reality that must be addressed.  Given this fact, we are grateful for information and guidance on hiring, retaining and motivating workers in China.  Frank Mulligan, author of Talent in China shares a very informative post on the Downside of China's Miracle Economy.

Last but never least, an HR Carnival themed on gratitude would be remiss without special thanks to Evil HR Lady, who keep this particular showcase on track and on schedule!

The next edition of the Carnival of HR will be hosted by Ask a Manager on January 9!!