It seems that no matter much we acknowledge the importance of employee performance reviews in supporting employee performance, satisfaction and retention, it’s still hard to get some managers to complete them on time, if at all.

Recently, I have found quite a few folks blogging about the influence and impact of social networking in the corporate world, specifically how it relates to HR. Most talk about how there is generally a heightened awareness among HR and talent management professionals regarding the benefits of social media technologies for finding and attracting talent, as well as for corporate knowledge sharing (wikis, blogs, etc.)

Even in this new 2009 business climate, where all the media coverage and blogging seems to be focused on the bottom line and dealing with the downturn, there are still a lot of folks talking about the impact of generational differences in our workplaces, mainly Gen X and Gen Y. I read a couple of posts recently that really spoke to me…

Thinking about what this coming year will bring us, I stumbled upon a great article in the Montreal Gazette, by Derek Sankey. He looks at what the biggest workplace challenges will be in the year ahead and I was amazed at how closely his issues are linked to the ideas we’ve been talking about on this blog for the past year… Consider what he says about the ongoing importance of investing in human capital:

On December 11th the Joint Commission issued a new Sentinel Event Alert news release: “Prevent Technology-Related Healthcare Errors”. In essence the Alert praises the use of technology, but cautions that too much technology may actually be jeopardizing patient safety by increasing preventable errors. I’m always on the lookout for healthcare information, particularly things related to patient safety and satisfaction. In the alert, the Joint Commission suggests computerized medication orders and automated dispensing cabinets are frequently involved in errors.