In addition to my regular posts here, I also blog as a contributor for Compensation Cafe and TLNT. I’m honored to be a part of the contributing team for these sites and encourage any of my readers to follow these sites for in-depth analysis of the latest news and industry trends in compensation and talent management.

My recent posts on those sites covered everything from innovation to wedding presents to artificial hearts – plus a complimentary training session next week!

TLNT: Strategic Employee Recognition: How to Make it a Powerful Business Lever (June 20)

I explain the difference between traditional recognition and rewards programmes and strategic recognition, which has the ability to serve as a serious business lever that can advance a company’s strategic objectives in a measurable, reportable way. Such programmes are measurable and reportable in that the amount of recognition given for demonstration of defined company values can be tracked by employee, team, division or organisation as a whole. This allows management to intervene in low-performing areas and learn best practices from high-performing teams and individuals. This tracking makes it possible to proactively manage company culture to facilitate innovation. Read the post for more explicit tips on how to manage your company culture through strategic recognition.

Compensation Cafe: How Appropriate Employee Rewards Are Like Good Wedding Presents (June 30)

I discuss the difference between compensation and employee recognition (and the rewards often associated with recognition).  I share three key reasons why cash compensates, it does not motivate. The same is true in employee recognition and rewards. Leave cash where it belongs – in your compensation plan. Take full advantage of your investment in employee recognition with tangible, meaningful and highly personal rewards.

TLNT: With Employee Recognition, Maybe it’s Time to Change the Metric (July 6)

I tell the story of a new artificial heart technology that doesn’t wear out and doesn’t break down. Though it has the potential to make heart transplants a thing of history, these artificial hearts are slow to catch on in the medical community. Why? Because the technology is based on a single moving part – a rotor – that “whirs” instead of “beats” as a real heart or even old-school heart pump device does. Because there is no metric to measure (no heartbeat) and because the heartbeat has always (literally) been the metric to measure health status, the medical community is reluctant to adopt the new technology.

How is this related to HR? HR is often wedded to metrics or programme measures that are of no interest to top executives. For example, with recognition and reward programmes, common metrics are amount of recognition given, number of years of service milestones achieved, or similar. It’s time for HR to change the metric! it’s time HR stopped trying to “take the pulse” of the organisation and instead listen to it “whir.”

Carnival of HR on Mumblr Blog: The Talent Race (July 6)

I was honored to be included in my first Carnival of HR post, this time hosted by Abhishek Mittal on the topic of talent management. Abhishek featured by post on Tips to Keep Headhunters Away from your Top Employees.

Complimentary Virtual Conference Session NEXT WEDNESDAY, July 13, 11:00 am (Eastern Time).

I will be leading a session in the Wednesday, July 13, 2011, HR.com virtual rewards and recognition conference. My session, “The Art and Science of Recognition Training & Communications: The Push and Pull Effects”, will explain how employee recognition serves to pull employees into a company culture and its values and then share (or push) recognition to other people and areas of your organisation. I will give real-life examples of push-pull communications across the business world to illustrate how you can use the principles that have made particular songs, book, or movies household names and turn your recognition programme into an unequivocal success. Leveraging these principles with the right training and communications, you will create a viral engine of appreciation and positivity that extends far beyond the office walls. Whether you have an existing recognition programme or are seeking a new one, this session will provide you with tangible strategies to make recognition the living embodiment of your culture.

To register for this complimentary session, visit this page and click the “Register Now” button for the second session: “The Art and Science of Recognition Training & Communications: The Push and Pull Effects,” Wednesday, July 13, 2011, at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern time).