 |
||
|
S P O N S O R
S
        Find out more About IBN Got a news tip? Got a news tip? Tell us at news@ interbiznet.com Articles
Presentations
Resume
Company Job
Listings
It is better
Reality It's better to
All material in this |
To subscribe or unsubscribe from
ERNIE, please use the form on the
linked page. The disconnect, which saves miserable record keepers like us from a
life in Purgatory, serves to insulate line managers from a daily sense of
the cost of doing business. It's one of the fundamental ironies of any
managers existence; with the scut work comes control. We have a deep and
abiding respect for the valiant people who keep those records in order and
just wish there was a way to make the data more real to the line. After
all, investing in Human Capital involves spending money. We'd like line
managers to feel responsible for every penny they spend.
In the worlds where free agents are the backbone of the business, this
is less true. Many publishing firms, for example, use huge networks of
specialized providers who need to be tracked, managed and paid on a
routine basis. In the world of subcontract employees, the distinction
between scut-work and survival is not as simple as it is in the refined
world of HR.
We got turned on to Outerforce
by near accident as we button up the 2001 Electronic Recruiting
Index. The company builds specialized management environments for the
publishing industry. It's not unusual for a web publisher to have large
numbers of correspondents, editors, proofreaders and other talent working
on a piecework basis. Outerforce integrates publishing workflow,
performance appraisal and payment systems into a single tool that allows
an editor to keep his eye on the bottom line while making the deadline.
The tool allows very conscious decision making about which human asset
to use and whether or not continued investment is merited. We can easily
imagine a Free Agent Relationship Management (FARM, that's good!) System
that tickles the editor to do the things that keep a distributed team
robust and committed. In project intense environments, where many
contribute to a single output, the idea of coupling real cost control,
payment systems and workflow management (down to the editing task!) is
coming.
That's what life is like in some project based worlds.
The idea raises a whole slew of questions about the conventional wisdom
surrounding retention. Most managers will politely grumble, "The ones who
stay are never the ones we want to keep. Retention programs, with their
typically paternal emphasis on guilt and loyalty appear to lose sight of
the performance and commitment dimensions. After all, wouldn't you rather
have, in at least some cases, a passionately committed player for a short
while instead of a loyal player for a long while?
The best investment programs come a nickel at a time on a routine
basis. So it is with effective Human Capital Investment initiatives. They
are not a one shot deal, they are an ongoing process with clear,
measurable objectives. We're jealous that the kind of control afforded
publishers by Outerforce isn't available elsewhere as of yet. An
integrated performance management system that combines workflow, FARMS and
candidate acquisition is the starting point for the next generation of
system.
Introducing VAULTMATCH, Click here for a FREE
sample search! **********************************************************************
All material on this site is © 1995 - 2000 by IBN:
interbiznet.com |
FEATURES: - Daily Industry News - ERN in Email
ANNUAL REPORTS:
RESOURCES: ADVERTISING:
   Stocks We
Watch AOL
Pending IPOs
- None
Public Staffing Cos
Adecco |
