"What are the best salary surveys I should use?" Is a question I recently was asked by an administrative assistant who was asked to research market data for her company.

Though international work experience has definite benefits for both employees and the businesses they support, the cost of a failed assignment cannot be ignored. Depending on the assignment package and location, some international assignments can cost a company three to four times the base salary. Failure can come in many forms:

We keep hearing that Millennials seem to be more liberal with time in that they come in and leave the office on their own schedule. That they quit every six months or have unreal expectations on promotions. They are often referred to as "Generation We", the "Boomerang Generation", and the "Peter Pan Generation". While some of that may be true, let's not forget, that every new generation entering the workforce has typically been seen by older generations as not being as dedicated to their careers. Each generation has unique life experiences that largely play into how they show up at work. Millennials grew up with technology which continues to evolve to become more and more sophisticated, which has largely attributed to characteristics like wanting instant gratification.

As we wrap up January 2015, many organizations have closed out the 2014 end of year performance appraisal process. This year, more than ever, I’m hearing from clients that their evaluation process “just isn’t working”. Their feedback is that for the last several years we go through the same process and the results aren’t worth the effort.

A few things have been going through my mind recently: Football, Leadership and Performance Management. While these three topics sound disjointed, hang on for the ride – there is a touchdown at the end of this!