I’ve been in the dentist’s chair two times in the last two weeks. There’s one scheduled for next week, too. Ugh. This exercise is tough on the teeth, but even more wearing on the wallet. Of course I could never really tell the latter to my colleagues who work within the walls of a formal workplace, where life in the bullpen and dental benefits are business as usual.

No ma’am, I wouldn’t dare utter a word of these woes of mine. Doing so would risk a barrage of comments like, “Well you get to work in your pj’s,” and, “At least you can make an appointment for any time you want.” True. Can’t argue with that. “But at least you get benefits,” I’d retort, using in my inside voice.

What does that mean, anyway — benefits? As Cyndy Trivella said in last night’s #TChat, “doggie daycare reimbursement and free dry-cleaning no longer cut it,” especially when career perk couture includes in-office massages and a workplace Nintendo Wii. Organizations are no longer in a war for talent. No, that would be too obvious; they’re instead operating in stealth mode, ninja recruiting with weapons of mass relaxation.

Innovation and entrepreneurship paired with good old-fashioned hard work have created a new era of “fringe” benefits. When I say fringe, I mean like the sci-fi TV show, where each episode unfolds another twist in the mystery of unexplained phenomena. In the real world, sci-fi is replaced by “start-up” and is a matter of fact.

As an entrepreneur I get that I won’t be able to access the Area 51 of benefits. This is my reality — but I also get some pretty sweet perks… like having a voice. Despite all the fancy tricks organizations are throwing around these days, it seems like they aren’t necessarily getting Recognition 101: Listening right. At least that’s what the #TChat community told us last night.

So the not-having-a-dental-plan thing isn’t sounding all that terrible now. I almost feel guilty saying I also get to travel to fantastic places on occasion (my recent Bermuda tan is a dead giveaway). And then there’s my upcoming trip to Chicago in early August for the 2012 Illinois State Society for Human Resource Management Conference.

OK, technically we’ll be outside of the city, but it’s to collaborate with TalentCulture co-founders Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman to host a live #TChat, so it’s still awesome. We’ll be part of the perk that the conference is (for many). And literally, we’ll be giving people a voice — a mic, speaker, the whole shebang — on a topic that’s about giving talent a voice (again, literally).

After all, that’s what its about — creating the space to ask what #TChat-ter and thought leader Vala Afshar says are the most important questions: “What do you think?” and “How can I help?” Then, its up to us, all of us, to “listen loudly.”

Community is the collective voice of #TChat and you exercised your voice last night, as you do every week. Thank you! To see what we mean, check out the slide show below. If you missed the preview, you can read it here. Stay tuned for additional information on our exciting collaboration with #ILSHRM12 and more, and if you’re attending, be sure to give us a shout-out in the stream and in person!

Image Credit: Stock.xchng

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#TChat INSIGHTS: Give me a Break

#TChat INSIGHTS: Give me a Break

Storified by TalentCulture · Wed, Jul 18 2012 17:35:41