Workplace 101: A Profiles Global Business Blog

Summer is almost upon us, which means students are out of school and many are in search of internships. Back in the day, interns were perceived as the guys who went on coffee runs, made photocopies, and ran the fax machine. Well, times have changed! Internship programs have become valuable resources for top businesses across the nation. Interns may be young and work by the hour, and at times for free, but that is no reason to underestimate the skills and contributions they can bring to your organization.

Leadership IQ, a firm that provides research and executive education to top companies, conducted a study of 20,000 newly hired employees that shows 46 percent of all new hires fail within 18 months. This happens not because the new employees lack technical skills, but because they are not coachable, have the wrong temperament, are not motivated, or demonstrate other problems "that never get assessed in the interview." What about the candidate’s resume? Another study shows that 70% of college students would lie on their resume to get the job they want, according to Accu-Screen, Inc., ADP, The Society of Human Resource Managers. 

It is only natural to be curious about your competition’s employees, especially if your competitors rank higher than you in your industry. You may think these employees are their secret weapon. You may even believe that these individuals would be perfect for your organization, as they are already equipped with the appropriate industry knowledge and experience.

Social Media is emerging as a tool that more recruiters rely on in the hiring process. Networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Viadeo, and Google+ can provide recruiters with an array of information about potential candidates, as well as new avenues for reaching passive candidates and advertising the company’s current openings.

Retaining your best employees is always going to be a challenge if you’re not prepared. Just keeping your employees from feeling disinterested after 3 to 4 years? Another problem in and of itself, particularly with the millennial generation of professionals. So much so, that many stories have circulated on the matter, with journalists and researchers keeping tabs on why the millennials are leaving their jobs, as Forbes recently did.

Make sure to share with us in the comment section, your favorite news story this week or what you think is ‘Hot in HR’ right now!

Bad hires suck up time, energy, and money. How to avoid them.
Author: Drew Greenblatt

The Hall-of-Famer Ted Williams famously said baseball is “the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of 10 and be considered a good performer.”

Maybe not the only one: The same could be said for hiring.

Hiring and retaining the best people is one of the most critical jobs the owner or manager of a company has. In surveys, most rate their success at about one excellent hire out of four. The other three either weren’t a good fit or didn’t have the ability that their training or resume indicated.

Author: Bud Haney

Consider this: It can cost $4,000 to $40,000 to recruit and onboard one new employee. Therefore, companies that have implemented efficient hiring practices get the best return on this investment, especially when they focus on acquiring top performers.

But, effectively hiring high-performing candidates requires a proactive approach – these candidates have high expectations, and many been through rigorous interview processes before. You need to differentiate your company from the masses, and here are four best practices to make sure your hiring process is ready to attract and select high-performing candidates:

Author: Sherry Perkins

As a management/leadership consultant, I’m often asked that question. There are perhaps as many answers to this question as there are individuals who claim to be consultants. This can be daunting to a leader or an organization who is considering hiring consultative expertise.  They’re probably asking themselves, “what can a consultant do that I can’t do for myself? How do I go about selecting a consultant? What can I really expect in terms of results?” 

All too often, consultants are viewed as highly paid business, financial, technical, or organizational development (OD) professionals who do little more than keep themselves gainfully employed. They become known for just hanging around, finding work to do that really isn’t needed, having little impact (good or bad), and /or generally prompting the need for additional work. 

Author: Steve Deighton

Unfortunately, many job descriptions are simply dysfunctional. Too often, what they describe has little to no bearing on an individual’s actual abilities, knowledge, skills, or the fit needed for successful performance of the job. Why is this? Two reasons come immediately to mind. First, the organization is using the same description for the role which was developed many years ago and has never been updated. This is a problem, since everything has changed in the work environment except what we think we need.

The second reason is the description is based upon what the hiring manager thinks is important for doing the job. This is wrought with flaws, as the manager may never have been in this role. Further, they are filtering it through their own level of experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities. What if the hiring manager providing the information for the description doesn’t really know what is needed, or how the role will impact the overall business strategy of the organization? You are relying on the manager’s judgment, which may or may not be very good.