Doesn’t pay-for-performance just seem like a great idea? It is simple, basic behavioral psychology, right? A dog does what you want, you give them a bone. A person does what you want, you give them $100. Or some recognition, like Employee of the Month. But, believe it or not, there have been dozens of scientific studies and several case studies that show that pay for performance doesn’t work. And it makes sense, when you really think about it. Because what the real-life examples and the science reveals is that when someone does a task for a reward, it no longer …Read more »
Tag Archives: Hiring
The Secret To Hiring Great People Is…
What’s the most critical aspect of consistently hiring great people? It happens before the offer. Before the interview. Before the job posting. Even before the job description. The most critical aspect to hiring well is building a profile of the exact type of person you are looking for before ever beginning the hiring process. If you and your team do that before every hire, you’ll hire great people time and time again. What’s the key to building that profile? The process is two-fold: understanding your company and understanding the need facing your company. Understanding Your Company The first step to …Read more »
The Economic Benefits of Treating Job Applicants Like Humans
Today, if we are being honest, many companies aren’t treating most job applicants like humans. And it isn’t the fault of the companies. With the Internet connecting everyone, HR teams are receiving more resumes than ever before per job, and yet they remain understaffed. Quite simply, they are overwhelmed. With little other choice, HR teams either use resume scanners or a recruiter will spend a few seconds reviewing a resume, with the top few people getting interviews and the rest wondering what happened. The problem is this is both an ineffective way to screen candidates and it is hurting brands. …Read more »
Great Hiring Quotes From The World’s Greatest CEOs
When I was 9 years old and hoping to become the next great Mets pitcher, my father’s advice was pretty simple: watch Rich Wlodarczyk. Rich, who was 11, was the best pitcher on my little league team. So I watched him, did what he did and, largely through osmosis, became a pretty good pitcher myself (cough cough three-time MVP, but who’s counting). Anyway, I think my father taught me a pretty good lesson: learn from the best. And I think that applies to hiring as well. So, without further ado, he’s some great quotes from some of the world’s greatest …Read more »
Five of the Worst Hires of the 21st Century
We’ve written a lot about great hires who turned fledgling organizations around with their talent and will. Our point was to show the impact a single hire can make, as one visionary can transform a company on the verge of bankruptcy into a massive success. However, there is also the other side of the coin: the impact one bad hire can have on an organization. One person, given enough power, can take a successful organization and both ruin and embarrass it. The following five people are good examples of that. While there might be worse hires, all five of these …Read more »
Death To The Resume Scanner!
Companies have a problem today, particularly well-known ones: because the Internet keeps everyone connected and a lot of people want to work at these prestigious organizations, their HR teams are being overloaded with job applications. So, many large corporations today rely on resume scanners (most of which come as part of Applicant Tracking Systems, or ATSs), which scan resumes for certain keywords and then ranks candidates based off the results. Which works really well unless…. The person has their resume in PDF form. Or they put their work dates in the wrong place. Or they call their experience anything other …Read more »
Survey Reveals Surprising Top Challenge Facing America’s CEOs
Inc. Magazine recently conducted its annual survey of America’s top 500 private-company CEOs, asking them everything from their biggest mistake in their first year (not enough capital) to what entrepreneur they admire most (Elon Musk). But the most interesting question was, “What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?” The runaway choice cited by half of all surveyed CEOs was attracting and retaining skilled employees. That echoes the results of another critical question, “What is the biggest contributor to your company’s ability to innovate?” The most popular answer by far was recruiting top talent, which garnered 41 percent of all …Read more »
5 Steps To Building The Perfect Job Interview
Hiring well is crucial to any organization’s success, and an important part of that is the interview. After all, the resume can give you some basics, but the interview is your primary chance to uncover real insight about your applicant pool. But how does that happen? Can you really tell the strength of a candidate from a 20-minute interview? The answer is yes, if the interview is built correctly. The keys to a great interview are: Having A Clear Understanding of the Job The goal of any interview is finding out if the candidate has the skills and personality traits …Read more »
The Only Competitive Edge That Matters In Business
Google was not the first search engine. Amazon was not the first eCommerce site. Walmart was not the first big-box department store. And yet all three are at the top of their respective industries. Why? Execution. And that all comes down to hiring the right people. The point is it isn’t about being first. It isn’t even necessarily about having the best idea. It is about doing it better than everyone else. And the only way to do that is to get the right people. Think about it. If a sports team was struggling, the solution wouldn’t be to get …Read more »
Why The Dallas Cowboys Are Both Great And Awful At Hiring
Can somebody be both the best in the business and worst in the business at the exact same job? Yes. Just look at Jerry Jones. The Dallas Cowboys owner is, by some criteria, the most successful owner in the NFL. Then again, using another set of criteria, he is also arguably the worst owner in the NFL. Strangest part of it all? The reason he could been seen as both the best owner in the NFL and the worst owner in the NFL is for the same reason: the way he hires. Why Jones Is The Worst Owner In The …Read more »