Listening implies an active process of paying attention to what someone else is saying. According to Fast Company magazine, most companies don’t do nearly as much of that as they should, primarily because it’s more complicated to do.

Companies often believe they are listening because they are engaging in extensive online monitoring of digital communications and social media, and are aware of the conversations happening about their brand. However, listening requires more. Listening necessitates an active process of paying attention to what is being said, and developing an understanding of the people you’re communicating with.

As Sam Ford, coauthor of the new book Spreadable Media, writes:

Companies that hear and don’t listen often:

• know that a shift in perception has happened but have no strong idea as to why
• realize that there’s been a rise of interest in the company but little about what larger trends are driving that new interest
• can track what happened with a crisis after the fact but have little chance of seeing a crisis coming
• miss out on new business opportunities because they are tracking only what people are saying about the company and not understanding patterns in the lives of their customers beyond mentions of their brand

For more, click here to read the full article.

What does this mean for HR professionals?

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Jeanne will be continuing this discussion on the saving patterns of Gen Y when she speaks at the coming TD Ameritrade Institutional 2012 conference, “Shaping The Future Together.” Jeanne is speaking about “Learn What Gen X and Gen Y Want in the Workplace.”

We will be checking our Twitter feed so send us your questions on this topic to #TDAI2012 and we’ll will write a future post on the dialogue and questions about Gen X and Gen Y.

So what does this mean for you in HR and talent management?
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That’s our take … what’s yours? We want to hear from you – especially if you are a member of Gen X or a Millennial. Send us your comments, and we will continue the dialogue.

Gamification, defined as the application of gaming concepts to non-game experiences in order to drive desired behavior from audiences, is rapidly becoming a feature of an increasing number of workplaces.

In fact, according to new research by Gartner, it seems gamification has seen much higher rates of corporate adoption than previously thought. Along with the statistic in the title, M2 Research has said that revenue from gamification software, consulting and marketing will grow to $938 million  from $100 million by 2014.

It’s a big jump and the article goes into detail on how companies are adopting game dynamics in their business, and to what ends. Real results are being achieved. LiveOps – which runs virtual call centers – used gamification for their call center agents. Since that happened, agents have reduced call times by 15%, and sales have increased by 8%-12%.

It’s important to remember who gamers are: 59% of social gamers are women and 23% are between ages of 45-65. Is your company using gamification for training, HR processes and/or new ideation? What are some drivers to using gamification for your company? Some I see are helping to build a sense of community among telework employees, and adding an element of “fun,” which appeals to all of us.

For more, read the full Wall Street Journal article, available here, or join in to the discussion by posting your thoughts in the comments section below.

• Internet Footprint Driving Away Employers?
  Social Intelligence Corp. scours one’s public online activity from the past seven years and reports it to prospective employers. Its CEO Max Drucker explains what specific data the company looks for, how often monitoring occurs, and what this means in terms of privacy concerns. Also joining the conversation is Electronic Privacy Information Center Senior Counsel John Verdi. Listen and Read

  Does YOUR organization check out potential employees’ backgrounds before hiring? What criteria do in include or exclude in that digital footprint search? Have you ever had your own digital footprint evaluated … what did you discover is out there?

• In Job Market, Are Gen Y’s Wants Out Of Reach?
  Over 40 million Americans are in their 20s, and they’re having a particularly tough time securing work. Their expectations may not match what their employers have to offer. Ryan Healy talks more about young job seekers’ challenges. He is the co-founder of a website aimed at helping young professionals network and share ideas. Listen and Read

  Do you find a gap between Millennials expectations of their work and your/the organization’s expectations of their work? What similarities and differences do you experience between your style of learning, communicating and working and that of your Millennial colleagues? Is your organization formally working on ways to attract, integrate and leverage Millennial workers?

Please share your responses below to these questions about social media and Millennial workers. If you are looking to engage these questions in your organization, Future Workplace offers keynote presentations, in-depth workshops and facilitated dialogues about these topics and more. Learn more about these topics and find out what leading organizations are doing now to address these challenges in The 2020 Workplace book by Jeanne Meister and Karie Willyerd.