We do need to make sure that we are using the correct meaning of the word commitment here though. Not quite in the sense of the pig and the chicken deciding to have bacon and eggs for breakfast (the chicken is interested but the pig's pretty committed) but rather in the sense of being ready to stand by the arrangements made.

This works both ways in a company, of course. When people make arrangements they tend to be interested in their being upheld. So management needs to be just as committed to the interests of the employees as those employees are to the interests of the company. What nobody, on either side, wants to happen is that there is an asymmetry in the fervour with which such agreements and arrangements are upheld.

This is where dealing with the specialists at Talisman can be so useful: not just their own commitment to doing the right thing for both employer and potential employee, but in the information they have relevant to both sides of this equation.

Now of course there is a certain minimal commitment that has to be met by either side: turning up to work on time, dressed and sober is usually considered a minimum from one side, providing the tools with which to work and paying wages on time on the other similarly.

But certain companies don't worry too much about demanding much more than that basic ability to the job. Some employees aren't that much worried further either. However, that doesn't apply to everyone. Some companies are most interested in the ongoing education of their staff: their expectation is that by increasing the knowledge and skills they will themselves benefit, of course. But they also, in doing so are likely to expect an increase in commitment from those accepting that expensive training: this might be a written requirement or simply an unspoken assumption. Similarly some people in the workforce prefer that sort of ongoing upgrading of their skills while continuing to work for the same company.

As these things are often about the culture of a company, quite often unwritten, even unspoken, it's a very useful idea, from either side of the fence, to use your contacts with Talisman to try and find the right employer/employee for your desires.