Head Tale

This post on TechCrunch is showing up on most of the major link aggregators I visit (MetaFilter, Reddit, etc.) so I thought I'd post it here.  Although libraries aren't Google by any stretch of the imagination, we do live in similar worlds so there's probably something to be learned from the discussion about how to keep employees happy in general. 

For example, here's one comment from the MetaFilter thread that could apply to both a technology company and any library hoping to redefine itself for the 21st century:

“It's entirely reasonable to expect that an innovative company will
adopt innovative (or at least rational and efficient) HR practices. In
terms of innovation, the trend over the past 5 years or so is so-called
“talent management”, where companies understand that there is,
fundamentally, an ongoing skills shortage, and that human capital is
really what drives innovation and profitability. Although work is work,
work can also be fun, creative and meaningful (while performance and
output is measurable).



Many of the tech companies (like Google) that survived the tech bust
earlier in the decade are the ones that used innovative talent
management practices, both because it is intrinsically good to do so,
and because such practices increase overall productivity.”