Beyond this commitment, what follows are the major steps: 1. Make the business case for external succession planning. The first step is to present arguments to your senior leadership about the need for including external talent and development opportunities in your succession plan. Generally that means documenting current development problems/shortages, …

Why it's essential to avoid layoffs Laying off thousands of workers is not only embarrassing, it's also expensive. Because the company has invested thousands of dollars in recruiting and training these employees, it makes no sense to release them in large numbers. The negative publicity related to the lay off …

Anyone can call themselves a recruiter. There are no university degrees in recruiting, no laws that require you to pass a test or be certified like those required to become an accountant or lawyer. All it takes is a job title and a business card. To compound the problem, most …

Shifts in the economy are a fact of life. But managers and HR professionals are often forced into recommending layoffs during economic downturns because for months they have procrastinated and put off taking the appropriate preventative measures. As a layoff strategist, I recommend a forward-looking approach aimed at minimizing the …

If you want to dominate your competitors in the talent “war,” you need to act a lot differently than they do. If you expect to win more than a majority of your head-to-head “battles” for talent, you must take a deliberate approach to recruiting. The following 20 rules outline just …

If you wanted to hire a great “Santa Claus” (or any other customer service person), would you wait until November 15th and then run an ad? Or would you instead use a more advanced approach? Would you… Expect that if you hired the top Santa, they would generate as much …

Retail recruiting is different than most recruiting because the potential “prospects” have a varied background and can number in the hundreds of thousands. But on the other hand, because prospects are generally very visible (if they are currently working), they are easier to assess and communicate with. Here are some …

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.