I am certainly no eternal optimist about the economy. But I did undergo a great deal of education in economics prior to receiving my Ph.D. This education taught me a great deal about the economic phenomenon called “precursors” or “leading indicators” that alert you to other impending economic events on …

Several articles of late have mentioned how analysts and thought leaders are predicting that, as the economy in the Untied States begins to recover at an increased pace, voluntary turnover among many U.S. corporations will skyrocket. Some analysts are predicting involuntary turnover rates as low as 20%, while others peg …

During a recent best practices conference covering the restaurant industry, I was given the opportunity to sit down with the leadership of some of America’s largest restaurant chains to discuss their top issues with regards to using metrics for talent management. What follows is an overview of some of the …

Whether you are a recruiting manager who is responsible for assessing your recruiters or just an individual recruiter who’s interested in how well you are doing, you need a scorecard before you can accurately assess effectiveness. Unfortunately, I have found through my work with corporations that over 90% make little …

Recruiting managers frequently ask me, “What are the smartest things that I can do to dramatically improve recruiting ó when I have no budget?” Fortunately, it’s an easy question to answer. After first focusing on employee referrals and then developing recruiting metrics, the next smartest thing any recruiting manager or …

I am frequently asked about the use of large job boards as a recruiting source for finding top performers. My answer is always quick and to the point: Don’t use them! Most advanced recruiters smile and quickly agree, while others question my sanity. But the main difference between the supporters …

When the economy turns around next year, retention will almost instantly go from being a non-issue to a major issue. But because most HR departments currently miss the boat when it comes to measuring and reporting turnover, they are likely to compound the increased turnover problem by underreporting turnover and …

Metrics are becoming more and more essential for successful recruiting managers. Unfortunately, most metrics that are regularly used in recruiting cover administrative rather than strategic areas. These are my top recommended strategic ó as opposed to administrative ó recruiting metrics: Performance of hire: On-the-job performance ratings (or performance appraisals) after 6 …

Let’s face it, the economy has been in a downturn for a good while now, and few of us have been giving much thought to employee retention. But that’s a huge mistake, because a literal flood of turnover is about to take place. Smart managers and HR professionals need to …

If you expect to have a strategic impact in recruiting, you must begin to think and act like a talent manager. Talent management is a broad, business-like approach that expands the traditional role of recruiting into areas that increase the overall productivity of your firm’s workforce. One of the areas …