Workplace 101: A Profiles Global Business Blog

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that employee theft costs American companies $20 billion to $40 billion each year. This number increases rapidly when you consider the costs of replacing employees who steal. Thirty percent of job applications contain false information. We can think of no better reason to use pre-employment screenings. The most popular way to determine if an employee is trustworthy and reliable is typically a background check. Background checks allow employers to view a candidate’s vehicle records, legal records, credit reports, employment records and citizenship status, among other records.

April 25^th 2012 saw a shocking announcement that will affect the careers of millions of workers.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a new Enforcement Guidance on criminal background checks. Despite heavy concerns from the Chamber of Commerce and background check industry professionals, the new guidance was passed in a 4-1 vote by Commissioners.

“Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr., New York Best Times bestselling author.

Good character: that is what sales managers need to keep in mind when hiring top performing sales reps. It’s important to hire sales people who have the right competencies and characteristics, and who will perform on the job even when you’re not looking over their shoulder.

In a recent blog article published by Harvard Business Review, Kenneth Freeman presents the case for focusing on long-term shareholder value through an engaged workforce. He boldly states that the way to approach this goal is to first create employee satisfaction before customer satisfaction.

Who Is the Employee Behind the Mask?

I’m sure you’ve overheard a coworker on the phone using a pleasant, sugary sweet tone but then mutter a few expletives the moment the call ended. What if you were the person on the other end of the phone? What are your employees’ real attitudes towards you, your company, and their work?

A rose by any other name does not smell as sweet, because a name like Rosewood Hotels and Resorts demands a flawless reputation. Rosewood Hotels and Resorts is a premier manager of ultra-luxury properties worldwide. Their reputation precedes them, and maintaining that stellar reputation is a priority for the company. Learn how they reduced hiring costs and improved quality of hire.

The current pool of available talent is larger, and more diverse than ever. This fact alone should tempt managers to rethink their hiring process. The quantity of people and the skills they have to offer can be overwhelming for companies trying to find the best fit for available jobs. The volume and quality of submitted resumes may breed anxiety for those trying to pick the best applicant.

Would you lose sleep if you lost a mission-critical employee or if your CEO announced a major expansion strategy in a new field of play? How quickly could you react and adapt to these situations and do your part to help your organization win in an intensely competitive environment? Most organizations can't simply go out into the world and pick up quality talent on a whim; skills are in short supply, and the competition is becoming increasingly resourceful in attracting the people with those skills. Proactively building your talent pipeline is good business and will help you shine in times of change.

A new study by the Aberdeen Group has identified the four most common strategies to achieve hiring excellence. These are:

Manpower recently released their annual Talent Shortage Survey, in which they identified the 10 toughest jobs to fill in US. With 25 million Americans out of work or underemployed it might be hard to believe that any employer is struggling to fill positions. But surprisingly, Manpower reports that 52 percent of the employers in the survey are having trouble filling jobs. In the 2010 survey, only 14 percent of companies reported problems filling jobs. Now the percentage has nearly quadrupled.