Truth time: I love trolling Inc., Forbes Tech, Harvard Business Review, Mashable and TLNT for HR-related content. There are so many new concepts or business practices driving the way that People Leaders and their teams operate. Most of the time, I’ve come across articles or opinions from subject matter experts (SME’s) that are relevant to problems I’m trying to solve at inside my organization. But truth be told, I have a twisted desire to read articles about companies that are doing outlandish things that ultimately cause a sh*t storm of media backlash – does Melissa Mayer’s epic fail ring a bell for any of you? Today I’m providing you with a list of my current favorite HR/People Operations articles, stories, opinions, et cetera. Happy reading!

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Roundup

The Good: These are well thought out ideas that resulted in positive employee experiences. Mad props to those involved. Also in the ‘Good’ category – interesting, unique, innovative ways to manage talent or some edgy new way that data is shaping the way we solve complex People Problems.

Inside AT&T’s Talent Overhaul-HBR; A must read for companies undergoing organizational restructuring or are seriously thinking about revising their performance review program to meet the demands of a changing workforce.

Six Strategies You Can Use to Improve Employee Retention – Forbes

Five Ways to Reach and Recruit More Diverse Job Applicants – Forbes; #5 in theory seems innovative, but in the world of technology, most of our qualified recruits aren’t located in current refugee areas. Great idea though!

5 Reasons Why Tech Companies Are Opening Offices in Indiana – article originally hosted on Mashable

The Bad: I’ll define this section as the likely well-intentioned idea that either doesn’t have enough current/relevant data to back up the decision made or a process change that incurs unintentional consequences onto impacted employees.

Amazon and the 30-hour Workweek – The Washington Post

Amazon and the 4 day Workweek – Inc.

Here are 4 Problems That Occur with Poor Management Skills – Entrepreneur; #2 – Running bad meetings is one of my biggest pet peeves! Nothing is worse than sitting in a room with a group comprised of non-key stakeholders trying to appear engaged. Smart leaders will instill applicable concepts from Agile movement into the way they approach ways of communications.

The Ugly: Falling victim to some of these ugly blunders can really prohibit your company from moving forward. Take some time out to reflect on what your organization is doing to increase productivity, encourage strong management practices and instill company values in daily business operations.

The Trickle Down Effect of Good (and Bad) Leadership – HBR; Bad leadership begets bad behavior, bad behavior begets poor performance and bad performance begets an unengaged workforce. The adverse is true – kick ass leaders (typically) have awesome teams.

Don’t Give High Performers A Free Pass To Be Bad – TLNT; Bad behavior is contagious… #duh

Without Consequences Managers Send The Wrong Message – TLNT; this is one of my favorites as it is EXTREMELY timely and relevant.

What good, bad or ugly People Practices have peaked your interest this year?