Workplace 101: A Profiles Global Business Blog

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:

The career hunt is a careful balance between finding a job that appeals to you and one that also suits your abilities. If you have trained for a career in one field, it can be a tough sell to apply for a position in another. Besides matching what you like with what you can do, job matching is about making sure the whole picture fits together cohesively.

Succession planning is often misunderstood or undervalued in the workplace. A research poll from SHRM found that only 23 percent of organizations have a formal succession plan and 38 percent have some informal planning in place. These numbers are low compared to just how important succession planning is to an organization’s success. The research also found that larger organizations (with 2,500 employees or more) are much more likely to have succession plans.

In a sluggish economy, would you rather boast a good sales force or a great sales force? Managing a sales force can be trying at times, but remember just because employees are producing good results and the company is making money, don't settle! Why be good, when you can be great?

Motivating employees can be one of your biggest challenges as an employer, but learning how to inspire your workforce is the key to a successful organization. Constant pressure to increase productivity, profitability and revenue growth can often overshadow the importance of how an unengaged workforce can negatively affect corporate performance.

This article will provide you with tips for motivating employees that will help your organization unlock human potential.  Whether you're an executive, a manager or a team leader, you too know that motivating employees is a must!

Nationwide studies have shown that up to 80% of employees are not motivated by their work. Now that's a staggering number! Take a look around your office; how many people seem actively motivated and engaged in what they are doing?

Many organizations continuously face the problems associated with decreased employee motivation including complacency, declining morale, and widespread discouragement in the workplace. If allowed to continue, these problems can reduce productivity, earnings and competitiveness in your business.

Motivating employees is crucial to the success of our rapidly changing workplaces. Motivated employees help organizations survive by being more productive. Effective managers need to understand what motivates each individual employee within the context of their job. Of all the functions a manager performs, motivating employees is arguably the most complex due to the fact that what motivates employees changes constantly.

Motivating employees will help you improve employee engagement in your workforce so that you can maintain a productive, successful business.

Although the current financial situation is tight for many companies, leaders at Regus feel that assessments have helped them keep hiring decisions grounded, compared to impulse-based decision-making that high pressure can sometimes foster. This has been an issue for Regus in the past. They decided it was time to evaluate their hiring strategies to make more informed selections when making hiring investments.

Colonial Properties Trust is a leading real estate investment trust that owns a portfolio of multifamily, office and retail properties.They set a goal to significantly reduce turnover levels in their multifamily division. Colonial Properties Trust and Profiles International began working together in 2005.

Hiring should never be as complicated as crime scene investigating. So when the largest owner of Applebee's franchises reduced management turnover and saved $345,000, (with the help of the ProfileXT) the HR director was pleased to see another sudden benefit: simplicity.

Talent acquisition has become the heavy artillery in the war for talent. In the ultra-competitive world in which we live, organizations with the right people in the right jobs at the right time stand to win big. These organizations take care to understand their current state, forecast talent gaps and take the necessary steps to close those gaps.

Organizations with a philosophy of matching people to jobs can get a leg-up on their competition. Having followed 360,000 people through their careers during a period of 20 years, a major study published by Harvard Business Review demonstrated that a key ingredient in retaining people is ensuring that they are matched to their jobs in terms of their abilities, interests, and personalities.