HR Strategy

It is a well-known fact that fewer firms are hiring these days. And while most organizations have trimmed back their recruiting function to its barest bones, throughout corporate America there are recruiters still in their jobs, at their desks ó bored to death. While many are using this time to …

One of the hottest books in business right now is the book Execution, by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan. It’s a must read for CEOs and HR people alike. If you haven’t had time to read the book, I recommend you do. The book highlights the three major processes critical to an …

With the anniversary of the events of September 11 approaching, many managers are wondering, what is the appropriate way to respond? Should you memorialize the event, mourn, pay respects, or ignore it? There are many perspectives and issues to consider before you make a decision. Since I did a lot …

According to Jerry Seinfeld, 95% of the population is “undatable.” Even after months and years of “assessment,” nearly 50% of the marriages in California end in divorce. But at most firms, 100% of new hires are assumed to be good hires! Recruiting is at best a hit-or-miss operation. Even the …

Around the country, firms are slowly but surely starting to realize that growth after a slowed economy does happen. Here and there a frantic realization is coming to light: “We need people, but like most firms we laid off our recruiting staff.” Some firms have tried to resolve short-term needs …

Are top performers expensive? If you ask any expert in compensation to tell you what the typical pay differential (i.e., salary and bonus) is between an average performer and a top performer in the same job, you might be surprised to find out that the differential isn’t much. The analysis …

Many employees want to change the world?? or at least know that their job makes a difference. Wanting to know that their job has an impact?? whether it is on the product, the customer, the environment, or society?? is becoming an increasingly more important issue. Unfortunately, in large corporations many …

I get to work with quite a few senior HR people during the time they are proposing new HR or recruiting programs. Almost without exception, they seem totally surprised when their new “pet project” is massacred by a team of MBA financial analysts armed with a battery of what I …

One of the most common questions I get from directors of employment is, what is the appropriate requisition (or “req”) load for a recruiter? It’s a tough question to answer, but no tougher than determining how many employees a manager can supervise, how many customers a waiter or waitress can …

For some VPs of HR and recruiters, Christmas comes in January, not December. It’s happy days for these lucky few in January, because that’s when Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Companies To Work For” list is published. In my opinion, getting listed near the top of Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” …