What’s your personal “blog roll?” What sites fill up your reader or do you find yourself regularly visiting throughout the week to keep you finger on the pulse of your industry?

My blog roll is quite long and of course includes HRZone. One independent blogging site I’ve found to offer consistently valuable insight on the varied aspects of compensation is Compensation Café. A round-up of industry experts from around the world, the Café prides itself on “serving up straight talk, original thinking and caffeinated discussion on everything compensation.”

I’m pleased and honored to have been recently added as a regular contributor to Compensation Café. My debut post appeared today, in which I discuss the bi-polar nature of the economic news in the last month and the impact that’s having on your employees. As I note in the post:

“Company leaders cannot predict when we will pull out of the recession sufficiently for employees to decide to jump ship. We do know, however, that half of employees are disaffected in the workplace and even those who are engaged (high-potentials) will leave for a more fulfilling or appreciative work environment as soon as they are able.”

Hop over to the Café to read the news and research backing up this conclusion or to check out the insights from the blogging team. A few of my recent favorites:

From Margaret O’Hanlon on Performance Management: Pop Quiz: Can You Use "Mid-Year Review" & "Business Investment" in the Same Sentence?

“Instead of using your performance appraisal process as the context for mid-year reviews, dig deep into the business issues your company is facing with products, services, customers, technology. Check out how your stock has trended and learn why. Work with leadership to build an accurate, insightful business case that will educate managers and employees.”

From Laura Schroeder on Engagement: Strings Attached

“At the end of the day, it’s a complex mix of factors that keep people in a job or lead them to move on so I think we need a better word than engagement. My suggestion is connection because people who feel personally and professionally connected to a company, to a manager, to a group of colleagues, or to a particular job, are more likely to give more of themselves and less likely to go elsewhere.”

From Chuck Csizmar on Global Recognition & Reward: The Risk of Global Standardisation

“You might think that the positive aspects of employee recognition programmes are a universally accepted principle, but that’s only partially correct. Important difference exist when something can be viewed from multiple perspectives. In some cultures / national identities the role of the team is such a core element of employee identification that seeking out an individual contributor for recognition is not an accepted practice. Some employees might be reluctant to step forward, or be pushed into the spotlight.”

Pour a cup of tea or coffe and settle in for some good discussion at the Compensation Café. I hope you enjoy the conversation and learn as much as I do.