ABSTRACT
This chapter talks about a story of three graduates, Don, Annette and Rob, entering the human resources field, encounter and deal with workforce management challenges and issues and developing their own professional competence through experience. The policies at Annette Howard's organization regarding family leave and other work-life balance issues had been developed by an organization that did consulting for many of the organizations that were cited as being the "best to work for" and "the most family friendly". She brought in a consultant who specialized in developing work-life balance. Most of the issues dealt with child care, but Ralph the consultant felt they ought to be able to spread the required travel around to give these employees some relief. Annette knew she should not try to rely solely on the best work-life programs to attract and retain talent, since all the best employer awards do not necessarily impress the hard chargers to solve the most intractable problems.
