Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list came out last week, and if your firm isn’t on it, your recruiting and branding strategy can only be judged as a failure. Why, you ask? It is simply because there is no other action or program that has as dramatic an impact …

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 …

During economic downturns CEOs and CFOs come to HR looking for ways to cut labor costs. As sales go down, labor costs must also go down proportionately. Unfortunately, HR’s responses to requests for labor cost reductions frequently come well after they can have a real impact. But HR must learn …

There are three parts of all successful workforce plans. It turns out that the three parts are not all equal, however. The first part, which is the workforce forecast, is the most important. It projects company growth and the corresponding change in our talent needs as a result of that …

Workforce planning is currently one of the hottest topics on the planet. Unfortunately, most recruiters see workforce planning as something that occurs beyond their scope. But in fact, it could be their ticket to job security during these tough economic times. Here are a few of the many reasons why …

Ever wonder what happens to the people you recruit after they begin their jobs? Strange as it may seem, most recruiters never actually follow up on the progress of their recruits on the job. I call it “dropping them over the wall and running away.” Why Follow Up? Failing to …

If you have been involved with recruiting for more than six months, then you have probably experienced a wide variety of “dumb” things those connected to the process do with regard to screening candidates. From hiring managers who insist upon basing their judgment of candidates’ abilities on the quality of …

We all acknowledge the fact that for the past few years we have been fighting a war for talent. While the war may have subsided as the economy retrenched, don’t let the calm before the storm catch you off guard. A major problem is about to descend upon U.S. corporations: …

I received a number of follow-up ideas from readers as a result of my article in January on how to improve offer acceptance. Here are some of the best: Eric Lane, Intuit From Eric Lane, Silicon Valley recruiting guru and director of executive staffing at Intuit: Find out about “family” needs. Find a …

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 …