In previous articles, I highlighted what’s wrong with interviews, some alternatives to supplement interviews, and pre-planning steps to improve the customer experience. In this part, I’ll provide some suggestions on changing the timing and the content of interviews, both of which can increase the number of top performers who will …

Last week I started this series by asking why organizations continue to use interviews as the primary means of assessment, given that they stink as a predictive indicator of performance and nearly every person involved hates them. The response to Part 1 was largely supportive, while a few comments supported …

Reference checking of candidates is conducted by nearly every firm in the Untied States. Some firms conduct them internally, while others outsource the process. Unfortunately, both approaches are often executed with little concern for accuracy or effectiveness. In fact, it is not uncommon for reference checks to be completed by …

Is your firm experiencing an increasing turnover rate because recruiters from other firms are raiding you? Last week’s column introduced three elements of a world-class blocking strategy, including analyzing your talent competitors’ immediate needs; engaging third-party recruiters to determine who is most coveted; and working up an agreement with trusted …

Business is all about head-to-head competition. Firms regularly compete for a limited supply of customers by designing products to outstage the competition, pricing products to undercut the competition, distributing products as close as possible to the customer, and branding them to drive loyalty over time. In each competitive arena, leading …

Recruiting Managers, Do You Really Have a Recruiting Strategy? Part 1. What is a recruiting strategy? When I meet with directors or managers of corporate recruiting, I routinely ask them a simple question: “What is the name of your recruiting strategy?” Almost without fail, I get one of two basic …

Basic recruiting strategies This group of strategies isn't particularly exciting or new. But these strategies do offer viable options for less-aggressive talent functions. Butts/bums in chairs: This strategy emphasizes hiring the cheapest and then releasing them when their pay-level makes them too expensive to keep or they themselves get frustrated …

These two common errors are: Developing and implementing HR metrics in a vacuum Developing more metrics than it is feasible to maintain and utilize The most common error that I find is that of HR managers trying to create and implement metrics in a vacuum. Instead, I recommend a collaborative …

Of course, these individuals frequently call themselves "business partners" or strategic individuals. But the fact is that you could tell immediately that they are not like CEOs just by their talk alone. Even though few corporate recruiters have had the opportunity to meet and spend time with their CEO, only …

Risk Taking CEOs love to bet on almost anything for fun, to show that they are good at taking calculated risks. Some CEOs will literally say that they are "betting the future of their corporations" on some of their major decisions. CEOs get major kudos and bonuses when they produce …