Employers Turn to Technology For Help in Retaining Workers

Two years from now, Diana Hatcher knows she’ll be ripe for promotion to a more senior job at United Parcel Service Inc. Based on her most recent performance review, the company’s talent-management system determined that she’ll qualify to advance by then if she gains experience in a different area within her department. Her boss is now helping her make the switch.

Hoping to reduce turnover and increase worker satisfaction, companies are upgrading the way they manage, assess and share employee performance data. They’re investing in Web-based software that tracks the progress of workers from the time they apply to a company to their exit.

Ms. Hatcher, a public-relations supervisor, says she appreciates her company’s support in helping her climb the corporate ladder unlike previous employers. "I never really knew what was being done with the information in my review. It never came up again," she says. "Now it’s become something more integrated into my career development."

By Sarah E. Needleman

From The Wall Street Journal Online

Full Story: http://www.careerjournal.com/myc/climbing/20080115-needleman.html?cjcontent=mail