People often lie in exit interviews about why they are leaving. Managers should, of course, know in advance who is leaving and why. A comprehensive list like this is of little value unless you use it as a guide to gather your own information as to why YOUR workers are …

In the increasingly difficult recruiting market you must learn how to "think outside the box" if you are to get the best (or even the average) in fields like IT and Hi-tech. This is how I recommend you do it. Stop putting butts in chairs and hire "better people". "The one with the best people wins!"

As I enter the HR department I notice it’s distinctly different than when I retired as a VP of HR way back in 1998. It was quieter, smaller and had much less people than I had remembered. There were only a few HR staff people in the office – there …

Identifying the best in a functional field is easier than you think. If you are targeting the very best in a field to recruit expect them NOT to be active job seekers. Also assume you are going to have to build a long term ‘relationship’ with them in order to …

I was speaking at an International Institute for Research seminar last week (they are great people) and my Retention Tool kit got a good response. Here it is in checklist form. Retention “ToolKit” 63 Retention Tools And Tips You Can Use Tomorrow Measure and reward managers (teams) for attracting, developing …

Expect to find a significant difference in the answers you get from post-exit interviews/questionnaires (as opposed to traditional exit interviews) because: Individuals are less emotional 6 months later.They have had time to reflect and compare “us”to their new situation.And they no longer have the need for a “good”reference from their …

How do leading Vice Presidents of Human Resources get “so smart”? As the head of HR at San Francisco State University, I am privileged to get to meet the best VPs from the best Silicon Valley high tech firms. Two years ago, we began a program focused on identifying “Why do …

No, everyone doesn't use Job Description (JD's). I know several hi-tech firms that don't have them and are proud of it. Now they do have "thought up on the run" one paragraph recruitment postings but, these show no measurable-- irreverent look at job descriptions--correlation to the final hiring criteria, which by "Hi-tech law" (at least in the Silicon Valley) MUST be made up during the interview process. (apologies in advance to the three-letter computer company that let me in on the "secret ") :-)

Increased feedback and multi-source feedback results in a change in management behavior and an increase in performance. Theoretically, anonymous feedback is more open and honest then one-on-one feedback. The assumption is that honest feedback changes management behavior faster than restricted feedback.