Evergreen Talent: A Guide to Hiring and Cultivating a Sustainable Workforce

by Roberta Chinsky Matuson, Roberta Matuson

Overview

“A smart, sensible approach—filled with practical ideas and tips, to win the war for talent. Without a plan for developing and growing your talent, you will spend countless resources and money on recruiting and hiring—only to see them walk out the door soon after." —Sandy Rezendes, Head of Strategic Onboarding, Citizens Bank
 
Finding the right talent is hard. Finding the right talent that will prosper and stay is even harder. Business growth is being stifled and fields of office cubicles remain empty due to the fierce competition for talent today with job openings having recently surged to a record high: 6.55 million.

Evergreen Talent will show you how to attract, find, and keep employees for the long-term. What many organization leaders fail to understand is that you can’t simply transplant a competitor’s talent strategy and achieve the same results―just as you can’t take plants suited to a warm climate and expect them to thrive in chillier locales. The conditions are too different. But a company that takes the time to examine its own environment, select talent accordingly, and nurture its people will stand tall, regardless of economic conditions.

In Evergreen Talent Roberta Matuson, aka the Talent Maximizer, challenges leaders to think differently about their approach to growing a sustainable workforce―one that will regenerate regularly, with minimal effort on their part. The book is filled with pragmatic advice, case studies, and best practices from companies that have done this successfully. Also included are tools to help readers assess their workplace environment and populate their organization with talent that will continue to grow, year after year.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781632651617
Publisher:	Red Wheel/Weiser
Publication date:	02/01/2020
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Roberta Chinsky Matuson is the CEO Of Matuson Consulting, a top management-consulting firm established 20 years ago, which has helped organizations of all kinds—including GM, Microsoft, and Best Buy—achieve dramatic growth and market leadership through maximizing talent. Matuson was named one of 2018 LinkedIn Top Voices for Management & Workplace. She is quoted regularly in media such as the Wall Street Journal, Working Woman, MSNBC.com, NPR, Fox Business News, and CNN. She blogs for Fast Company, Forbes and Glassdoor, and speaks regularly to large professional and lay audiences and has eight courses with Lynda/LinkedIn. Visit matusonconsulting.com for more information.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I Preparing Your Organization for Perpetual Growth

Chapter 1 Debunking the Myth: Talent Will Grow Where It's Planted 7

Chapter 2 Surveying the Terrain: The Five Essential Elements Needed for Evergreen Talent 17

Chapter 3 Tilling the Organization: Preparing Your Environment for a New Approach to Talent Cultivation 37

Part II Seeding Your Organization

Chapter 4 A Matter of Climate: Identifying the Right Saplings for Your Environment 51

Chapter 5 Abundant Hiring: Sustainable Hiring Practices for Optimal Growth 65

Chapter 6 Corporate Regeneration: Reinvigorating Dormant Workers 81

Part III Cultivating Your Workforce

Chapter 7 The Need to Weed: Making Room for New Growth to Flourish 95

Chapter 8 Growing Talent from Seedling to Redwood 107

Chapter 9 Replenishing Talent: Ensuring Your New Crop of Talent Takes Root 127

Chapter 10 The Canopy of Mature Workers: Why Evergreen Employees Are Vital to Your Company's Survival 145

Part IV Creating and Sustaining Growth

Chapter 11 Nurturing Employees to Greatness 155

Chapter 12 Corporate Pruning: Getting Rid of Dead Wood to Make Room for New Growth 169

Conclusion Some Parting Words 177

Appendix 179

Notes 181

Index 183

Editorial Reviews

11/11/2019

Tired advice for attracting, nurturing, and retaining employees comes from HR professional Matuson (Suddenly in Charge), wrapped in an unnecessary tree metaphor. Matuson sets out to debunk myths about talent management, propped up with stories from her own career, in order to show leaders what they’re doing wrong. The many self-assessment quizzes are helpful, but the superficial approach results in what reads like a series of online listicles. The bulk of the text comprises skimpy ideas and obvious observations (“candidate who continually reschedule or miss interviews are demonstrating that they are disorganized and unreliable” “employees... are interested in opportunities for growth”) married to arboreal imagery. Readers will learn about how to, among other things, “ensure a new crop of talent takes root,” retain the “canopy of mature workers,” and dispense of “dead wood to make room for new growth.” The seed/tree metaphor was hoary and overused before Matuson got ahold of it, and it appears on almost every page. There’s little new in this disappointing guide. Agent: Linda Konner, Linda Konner Literary. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

A comprehensive, actionable guide to the single most important ingredient of any organization’s success—attracting and retaining great talent on a sustainable basis.” - Jerry Golub, Vice Chairman and former CEO, Price Chopper Supermarkets/Market 32
 

Jerry Golub

If your aim is to retain and engage employees, look no further than Roberta’s fruitful blueprint for building a workforce that grows and gives back in return.” —Aron Ain, Chairman and CEO, Kronos Incorporated, and author of WorkInspired

Aron Ain

Evergreen Talent is the first book on talent that synthesizes people, processes, sustainability, and social conscious. Read this book before you hire or promote anyone ever again. You owe it to your business and yourself.” - Alan Weiss, PhD, author of Fearless Leadership and over 60 other books in 15 languages
 

Alan Weiss

Roberta once again gives us a smart, sensible approach – filled with practical ideas and tips, to win the war for talent. Without a plan for developing and growing your talent, you will spend countless resources and money on recruiting and hiring – only to see them walk out the door soon after. Thank you Roberta for a clear plan for growing our talent!" - Sandy Rezendes, Head of Strategic Onboarding, Citizens Bank
 

Sandy Rezendes

She really tries to get below the surface of an issue and knows what questions to ask to do so. I believe we will not only hire more efficiently but also more effectively as a result of our work with Roberta Matuson.” - Amy Waryas, director of human resources, the Boston Beer Company
 

Amy Waryas

In Evergreen Talent, Matuson provides a bounty of ideas to grow work teams.

Talent Development Magazine