Editor's Note: Last summer we posted an announcement from Gerry Ledford (one of our profession's leading scholars) introducing a new academic study focused on leading edge performance management practices and an invitation for any qualified organizations to participate. For the past year, I have been leading research on cutting-edge performance management practices at the Center for Effective Organizations (CEO), University of Southern California. MORE

With apologies to Mr. Twain for paraphrasing, reports on the death of performance review ratings are not only grossly exaggerated, but missing the mark entirely. The issue isn’t just about pay-for-performance. Develop effective performance management processes. MORE

According to a recent meta-analysis conducted by Gallup , business or work units that score in the top quartile of their organization for employee engagement nearly double the odds of success, in comparison with those in the bottom quartile. MORE

As the event''s name suggests, the sessions were just as unique as the faces in the crowd. Gerry Crispin , co-creator of CareerXroads , and Steve Levy kicked off the day with a recruiting discussion around a comparison on every HR pro’s mind: the candidate as customer. MORE

Over time, ratings created across many performance reviews throughout the organization can provide real insight into a number of things. Having this capability allows organizations to zero in on performance issues and opportunities. MORE

Not to mention, the potential of a system to include Artificial Intelligence and predictive analytics in sourcing , recruiting and managing people more efficiently. HR departments, for instance, use applicant tracking systems to manage job ads, sort resumes, shortlist applicants, coordinate with their team/candidates and so on. HR teams are accomplishing this by integrating their performance management data back into the hiring process in order to hire more great employees. MORE

Likewise, consumers will also continue to benefit from the ability to better understand and quantify their true needs and to make appropriate comparisons of available products and services, in order to make optimal buying decisions. . Human Capital Management – The Decision Analytics Goldmine. MORE

A few other notes: This is organic (not total) traffic — We’re using ahref’s measurement of organic traffic because we find it to be the best apples-to-apples comparison of traffic to HR blog pages. Performance Management. 100 Useful Performance Review Phrases. MORE