Imagine the head of the function that has one of the most strategic impacts on the business (Employment) not even having (or communicating) a business strategy. Go ahead and ask them "What is the name of our employment strategy?" Ask several non-HR managers the same question and if (when) you get blank looks-read on.

It is interesting that a large majority of all U.S. firms use reference checks as a final screen for their applicants. However, few have any data to prove that applicants who get high scores from references outperform those applicants who get lower scores. Reference checks, may actually screen out bold …

One of the most common reasons for leaving a large firm is to go to a start up and get “cash out the wahzoo.” Anyone who is not a DAT (dumb as toast) knows that there are great job and wealth opportunities at start-ups and .com’s but how does a …

Most employment systems were designed in the “dark ages” when business moved at the “speed of rock.” In the past when people resigned, a requisition was created and after a relatively long lag time, another person was hired. If the new hire required initial training at the time of their …

HR people are constantly looking for new tools. Attached is a list of proactive HR planning tools that might help you to improve your companies competitive advantage. Share it with your VP HR.

I often find HR people (and recruiters in particular) with an insufficient understanding of the business that they are recruiting for. One of the ways to avoid that pitfall is to talk directly to the senior managers in order to identify their expectations. If you want to get an idea …

Recruiters must realize that (unlike in the past, when the “pool” of unemployed people contained some top performers) the current group of unemployed people is short on top talent. Currently the only remaining viable option is to source, raid, or poach top talent from other firms. Unfortunately most recruiting tools …

“Poaching” is the term recruiters use for directly recruiting (raiding) the employees of another firm. Poaching is considered unethical by some but any graduate of the “Gordon Gecko” school of business could easily fail to find any ethical issues in poaching employees. Especially, because, with only 4% of the population …

A checklist for assessing the quality of college recruiting programs and systems. Almost everyone in the employment field attempts to develop quality employment programs and systems. After studying hundreds of employment systems from Fortune 500 firms we have come up with a comprehensive checklist to use to assess the quality of …

There are many excellent legal and social arguments for recruiting diverse employees. However the most powerful and effective arguments that I have made for excellence in diversity recruiting relate to the business and the dollar impact that diversity recruiting can have on the bottom line. Does having a workforce with …