February 08, 2001 >Old-fashioned commitment was great in its time workers gave their long-term loyalty in exchange for stability and a lifetime career. Both parties yearn for a return to that stability, within reason.

But such a return cannot be one-sided. As one executive says in a New York Times article: "We had to make clear that it was a reciprocal commitment, too. We were going to invest in our employees, but they had to commit to the company."

The article goes on to explain that "Winning the employees' sense of old-fashioned commitment without locking your company into the old-fashioned employment arrangement," is the key. "Compensation experts say the last generation's weapons for fighting the war for talent -- gold-plated pension plans, health insurance that covered every dollar, seniority-based compensation schemes -- are nonstarters today."

The Times' feature contains some very interesting thoughts about how to position and brand your internal communications so as to effectively sell the company's advantages as an employer of choice. Plus it discusses some of the pitfalls of getting publicity as a "best place to work." Those include the problem of disgruntled employees who complain that the company they read about getting these awards, isn't anything like the one they work at every day.

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http://www.nytimes.com/library/financial/01working-wals.html