When reading the thoughts of my peers in the recruiting profession, I have to admit I become a little surprised at how many have really had a chance to hire people. While aside from a couple of assistants in recruiting groups I have managed, I actually have never hired anyone. Usually that has been the... [full article »]

If we as a profession in HR/staffing accept that the pursuit of true talent is hindered by a lack of that talent, and further accept that, despite the current reprieve due to the recession and offshore employment trend, this is an issue that will have profound consequences in the years to come in successful staffing... [full article »]

Author’s note: One of the things I enjoy most about writing for ER Exchange is not just seeing my name in cyber-print (although it is ego reinforcing), but the feedback I receive from readers. That includes not only those who respond favorably, but those who disagree or feel that I missed key or critical points.... [full article »]

Ten years ago, I had the opportunity to listen to a member of the Department of Labor address an HR/staffing conference. This wasn’t a huge conference, so we did not rate the actual Secretary of Labor. Rather we got the Assistant Under-Secretary for More-Or-Less Aligned Issues Occurring on Alternate Tuesdays (or something like that). Even... [full article »]

You may accept the premise from my last article that the selfish of this world do not make the best hires. However, that still leaves you with the mission of proving that point to your hiring managers and HR/staffing team. The list of negative attributes regarding selfish employees from last week should help. But there... [full article »]

In that difficult period in your youth, where you’re old enough to move about but not yet old enough to be trusted to stay at home alone, you probably found yourself spending a lot of time in the car shopping with, at least in the 1950s and 1960s, your mother. If your parent was also... [full article »]

It is said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Thus stated, the road to litigation is often paved with the remnants of “good ideas” gone astray. I learned a long time ago the importance of, when confronted with a seemingly good idea involving any function of human resources or staffing, test... [full article »]

When I was growing up we had an honest-to-goodness apple orchard about two miles from my house. On occasion, my fellow delinquents and I would jump the fence and help ourselves to some free fruit. Talk about hooligans. The quickest way to do it was to scoop a few apples up off the ground and... [full article »]

Sometimes we make a big deal out of little things. Sometimes we make too little out of big things. Sometimes we make nothing a plus. [full article »]

I accepted one full-time position and one consulting position in my career where I was not as successful as I am accustomed to. Er, that is to say, I did not succeed in achieving my unusual… uh… level of excellence. The client, um, found satisfaction less than at the level they were anticipating. Hmmm… The... [full article »]

So, today is the day. The new hire you placed at your client or within your organization has been with the organization for over two weeks, and the time has come to make “the call” to follow up and see how things are going. You’re always a little nervous before making this call ó not... [full article »]

The message of the tale of Pandora and her fateful curiosity is to be sure you really want to know what you seek to learn ó before you act. Or more to the point, be sure to know in advance what you plan to do with the knowledge before you commit to getting it. Because... [full article »]

Well here it is, March 18, and I have managed to survive yet another onslaught of Celtic madness better known as St. Patrick’s Day. Of course, the vast majority of that madness is neither Irish nor Celtic, but rather the “shenanigans” of legions of non-Irish who are not descended from, nor the slightest bit aware... [full article »]

My last article ended with a question. To refresh your memory, this was the work exercise: Using the principles of SMEAC (described in a previous article of mine on ERE entitled Now For Something Completely Different: ‘SMEAC’), predict the issues you will face based on the four principles of change as outlined below: You are the... [full article »]

The first step in becoming a successful change agent in your world is to take your superman or superwoman costume, your Social Worker Cloak of Moral Correctness, your Crusaders Mantel, your Saint-like Halo ó and put them away. They are no good to you or the issues you claim to support, other than the warm... [full article »]

When I was at one of those crossroad moments of my life my Uncle bought me two tickets to see “Man of La Mancha” live on stage in Boston. Even as a 16-year-old raging-hormonal heathen, the message of fighting the good fight for justice and fairness was not lost on me. I like to think... [full article »]

Some emails or attachments contain viruses. The damage they can potentially do to your organization is staggering, and therefore we have no reason to debate the need for firewalls and anti-virus protection. The consequences of inaction outweigh the cost of taking action and accepting some restrictions regarding access. Why shouldn’t the same concern exist for... [full article »]

Layoffs involving senior experienced staff and the proliferation of free but untested online information both continue to grow in the HR/staffing community. Does this pose a potential quality control problem? Try this scenario out for size: At yesterday’s staff planning meeting, the HR/staffing representative was tasked with the mission of developing a reliable list of... [full article »]

A new year has arrived, and with it the hopes for a better year than the one preceding it. It has long been a custom to make resolutions to better survive what is coming based on the lessons learned from what has passed. The usually practice is to write them for ourselves. The list I... [full article »]

The following online internal memo was smuggled out by a source at great personal risk: [full article »]