Dr John Sullivan Talent Management Thought Leadership

As seen on Crowdstaffing by Casey Enstrom (August 15, 2017). A hot dog restaurant in California made the news this weekend for firing one of its employees, Cole White, after learning that he had participated in the violent, tragic white nationalist gathering in Charlottesville, Virginia, which left three dead and dozens injured. A spokesperson for Top Dog, the Berkeley eatery, said ... Read More »

It should be no secret to anyone that political activity and tensions are currently high in the US. And by now, everyone in HR has heard about the Top Dog restaurant employee who resigned as a result of his participation in the Charlottesville turmoil and the Google employee who was fired because of his controversial “diversity manifesto.” Rather than just being news items, ... Read More »

“Attitude fraud” — when candidates with an undesirable attitude purposely deceive and act as if they have a great one to get hired. Even though it is a major problem, few in recruiting make any attempt to detect or avoid it. Most interviewers think that they can accurately spot deception. Unfortunately, they are wrong. Data reveals that even sophisticated and ... Read More »

As seen on SHRM (Society For Human Resource Management), August 4, 2017, by Roy Maurer. New research suggests that co-workers tend to emphasize interpersonal behaviors, like being helpful or compassionate, when providing references for job candidates, as opposed to managers, who are more likely to focus on experiences or completed tasks. Colleagues tend not to suggest people who lack these ... Read More »

Most corporate retention programs are driven by emotion rather than data. As a result, even though a data-driven “loss prevention” effort is common throughout the business, there is no one in the retention team who quantifies the percentage of turnover that could have been prevented. Because so few measure it, you will probably be surprised to learn that research now shows that “about ... Read More »

As seen on Yello, published by Tracy Kelly. Students get more than half of their information about an organization from sources that are not controlled by the company, reports talent management expert Dr. John Sullivan. That’s why monitoring and engaging on third-party review sites, like Glassdoor and Comparably, is now an essential part of an employer branding strategy. Respond to reviews, both positive and ... Read More »

If you are a recruiting leader who wants to have a significant strategic impact, approach your CEO with the idea of building a “Superteam” at your firm. You don’t have to look any further than the Golden State Warriors or the New England Patriots to understand the tremendous long-term value that results from building a “Superteam.” This strategy has recently become ... Read More »

  As seen on LinkedIn Talent Blog, July 25, 2017. When asked, recruiters say that screening candidates for soft skills are one of the top areas they want to learn more about. That’s because soft skills (think leadership, relationship building, communications, adaptability, strategic thinking, learning and interpersonal skills) take up to 25% of the skills required to do the job and ... Read More »

If the customer is always king, then an applicant who is simultaneously your customer must also be treated like a king. If you recruit at a firm that has retail customers, I guarantee that you don’t know the answer to this important question: “Do you have data showing what percentage of your rejected job applicants are also your product customers?” Imagine ... Read More »

What firm doesn’t need to be strategic? In fact, what could contribute more to the success of an organization in today’s fast-changing world of business than having a large cadre of strategic thinkers? As a result, CEOs would love to have as many of them as possible at all levels of the organization. And when polled, in a survey of executives, a ... Read More »

As seen on Yello (March 31, 2017) by Tracy Kelly. HR industry thought leader and professor of management at San Francisco State University, Dr. John Sullivan, says the cost to candidate withdrawal is real; the lost investment is a drain on team resources. Your online application is too complicated Sullivan reports that at Fortune 500 firms, 9 out of ten ... Read More »