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How Far Will AI Go In Recruitment?
The original Blade Runner movie goes down as a classic in my opinion. I loved it when Harrison Ford did an interview to gauge emotional response. It was futuristic science fiction drama at it’s finest. Or was [...]
Preliminary Phone Interviewing: Level 201
For lots of organisations doing that recruitment dance, the first dance step in the interviewing process can be the preliminary phone interview. Here’s three tips you may want to consider that will help you make [...]
The Peter Principle Strikes Again ( and Again and Again)
Bob and Peter are uniquely famous names in their own right. Now let’s take Bob. I don’t have an Uncle Bob, but some do. But it doesn’t matter if you have an Uncle Bob or [...]
Do You Manage HR Like Your Car?
I sold a used car the other day. It was surplus to our needs, and it was just sitting there, so it was time for it to go. Also, unlike other cars in our family, [...]
Don’t Underestimate the Value of Values
I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to be able to work in HR for small, medium and large corporations. Each company I worked for was great it in its own way with [...]
Go Beyond Skills Based Interviewing
CV’s are like Caesar salads. They are all basically the same, but they can have slightly different ingredients, slightly different flavours One of the key ingredients many job seekers overlook putting in their CV, and [...]
R.I.P. EVP. (You have got to be joking….?)
Some weeks ago I stumbled on an article. It spoke about how the Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is dead. Whoa…The EVP dead??!! Who says so? Maybe the article was supposed to be addressed to global [...]
The First Job of any Leader
I am interested in what makes up “high performing teams”, and helping companies get the best out of their staff. So when I got a chance to go to an event where an AFL Football [...]
Why the Job Application Cover Letter is not Dead
As an HR Advisor to SME’s and corporates I frequently partner with business owners and leaders to recruit and select all levels of staff. While recently recruiting for a six figure Business Development Manager I [...]
Sally the Human Resources Manager had a Dream
Sally, the HR Manager arrived at work at her usual time. She noticed that the car park that was closest to the main entrance that was given to the Employee of the Month following her [...]
Poor Performance Recidivism: Fact or Fiction?
I couldn’t help but agree with a CEO I was talking to last month about how difficult it is to maintain consistent adequate performance after an employee had begun to be formally performance managed. A [...]
Four Ways to Minimise Staff Turnover Pain in SME’s
The majority of team sports have the benefit of being able to substitute someone in if a player gets injured or is tired. The coach can even strategize and put players in different positions in [...]
The Dangers of the Mini-Me Syndrome
It wasn’t that long ago when I caught up with a Director of a growing SME that was looking to employ someone in a newly created role who said, “I want a person just like [...]
Applicants should Think Twice before they Call About a Job Ad
I am a fan of two basic activities when it comes to advertising for jobs. Number 1. No matter how many applicants apply for a job, I am a fan of letting every applicant know [...]
Hire Slow, Fire Quickly
IT systems used to frustrate me to no end. The main reason is that there is usually some error in between me and the keyboard. I am definitely no IT guy, that’s for sure. But [...]
What is the Ideal Number of Applicants to Have on a Shortlist?
I liked Frank. Frank was one of the Hiring Leaders I worked with in a large multinational company I used to work for. He was affable, had good emotional intelligence, and was a man who [...]
Employer of Choice 201, Induction
I am fortunate, and grateful, to be a Principal HR Consultant. I work with some great South Australian businesses, and some great people who work in those businesses. I have also been fortunate and grateful [...]
Good Turnover vs Not So Good Turnover
Through the years I have heard senior leaders make passing comments about staff that have left their company. They say things like, “You know, now that he has left, I really don’t miss him”, or [...]
Give Some Applicants An Extra Point Or Two
I have had the pleasure of career counselling a number of professionals. Along the way we define what their viable career choices are and how they are going to get there, because “If you don’t [...]
Is it really that easy to find good staff?
Sometimes I feel like such a nerd. Why? Well, because when I see the updated Department of Employment Labour Market Research pop up in my in-box I get a little bit excited. Yes, I know [...]
Riding That Wave. The Future Workforce Has Begun
As an HR professional, based out of Adelaide, South Australia since the 90’s, I feel like I witnessed, or have been a part of three business waves. The first wave saw bigger companies that were [...]
John the MD’s Dream
Claire, the receptionist was impeccably dressed, had the front office looking spickety- span, and greeted John, the MD, with a warm smile and a pleasant “Good Morning” greeting. “I hope you don’t mind that I [...]
What Quadrants Do Your Staff Live In?
Business Leaders and owners have many challenges. If it’s not IT, it is finances, if it’s not finances, it’s something else, and of course there is always, always the people side of the business equation. [...]
Having a Difficult Conversation (part 1)
I’m no handyman that’s for sure. But after botching up a number of jobs around the house I have come to understand you really need the right tools to do certain jobs right. Sometimes you [...]
Having a Difficult Conversation (part 2)
Do you think having a difficult conversation with an employee is a stress related activity? For a number of leaders the answer is definitely “Yes”. As a matter of fact, too many difficult employee conversations [...]
Power of Positive Feedback
When I was at graduate school studying Organisational Psychology I remember reading about some old obscure psychological research. U.S Psychologists were involved with trying to help improve how to guide early missiles. Now this is [...]
Do you hear Elvis when you do salary reviews?
You may be a total fan of the triple j “Hottest 100”. Maybe you like the new Ed Sheeran, Dire Straits, or maybe you only hanker for Hank Williams. But listen. You can’t go past [...]
Scheming for Your Next New Hire
At some workshops I recently conducted for a somewhat sizeable company, I asked the workshop participants who had got their jobs at the company after being referred from a colleague or former colleague. Up to [...]
Did Your Preferred Candidate Turn You Down? This Could Be Why?
Things were going so well so far (other than the fact you just lost one of your best staff members and you were looking for a high quality candidate to fill the much needed gap [...]
The Greatest Reason for Staff Turnover (and What to Do)
I often think of the word entropy. It’s a word I learned in science class years ago, and it’s kind of a fancy sounding word. It pretty much means that there will be a natural [...]
Let’s Bring Back a New Version of the Tea Lady
I think I really started to become aware of it about four years ago. I was working in HR for a major multinational organisation then. I had my laptop with me, had finished dinner, and [...]
Biased Reviews Getting The Better Of You?
You may have done performance reviews at the end of last year. They may have gone OK. Perhaps they went OK because there was relief by you and your staff member that they were over. [...]
Quicker Results With New Teams
Change is constant. Whether it is changes in technology, processes, company structures, teams or staff, it is unavoidable. In the business landscape of change there are lots of mangers that are given opportunities to lead [...]
Uh-oh. I May Have Discriminated While Recruiting
A number of years ago I was on an interview panel with a Managing Director and one of the board members who was on the Recruitment Committee. We were in the process of hiring a [...]
Are We Looking at the Probation Period the Wrong Way?
If you are a Probationary driver and your probation ends after you meet the criteria, you may be delighted. If you are arrested, and are on probation seeing a Probation Officer, after your probationary period [...]
What Does the Donald Trump Election have to do with Your Business?
A horrific event occurred in New York City in 1964. Kitty Genovese, a New Yorker was tragically stabbed to death. It later became clear that approximately 38 people either saw it or heard it happening. [...]
Reference Checking: Level 201
There are plenty of examples of both low and high profile employees being investigated and removed from companies after it has been discovered that they do not have the experience or credentials they claimed they [...]
Should presidential candidates be psych assessed in the future?
I just got off the plane after being in America last week where I found the petrol to be a lot cheaper, the increased selection of boutique beers to be a bit overwhelming, and the [...]
Exit Interviews. Worth the Time?
The other day I was talking to a business owner about some of his HR challenges and practices when we got onto the topic of Exit Interviews. “Do you do them I asked?” He was [...]
Employer of Choice 101
Some years ago I did an independent research project on “Candidate Rejection and Corporate Communication”. I was interested at the time in learning more about the perceptions of job seekers in regard to how they [...]
A Practical Viewpoint on Job Descriptions
I went to a primary school soccer match, and saw the future athletes of Australia. On this particular day it was overcast and a little rainy, but all the eight year olds had a much [...]
What Does a $156 million Sports Team have in Common with Your Business?
It is just wonderful, and inspirational to watch the Olympic athletes who have spent years of dedicated training and commitment go into their respective events and do their absolute best. The attitudes of the humble [...]
The Value of One on Ones for Your Staff
Have you ever gotten into a situation as a leader when the end of the year performance review comes around and you really weren’t looking forward to it? And one of the main reasons you [...]
Three Great Interview Questions to Help with Your Recruitment Process
Unlike Recruitment Agencies, who by and large sell a candidate, antero HR partners with Hiring Leaders and shares the journey of the entire Recruitment and Selection Process. While partnering with Hiring Leaders over the years [...]
What Not To Do in that next Performance Review
While some organisations do Performance Reviews or Appraisals once a year, there are other companies that conduct appraisals twice a year with the mid-year appraisal happening right about now. This is exciting for some leaders, [...]
HR and Toilet Paper?
While I think it is important that HR Professionals have commercial acumen and an appreciation of what is behind some of the financials of the business they are partnering with, I am often flummoxed by [...]
What is the greatest HR challenge most companies face?
Is finding the best skill sets for your company the greatest HR challenge? Is providing effective training and development to ensure they are productive the greatest challenge? Maybe it’s about providing the best workplace environment, [...]
The Psychology of the Interview Panel
I was part of a panel interview recently. The other panel members were well organised. They had a range of open ended questions. I thought that was very good. After all, you do not want [...]
The Real Cost of a Bad Hire
You don’t hear about it often, but you do hear about it from time to time. What you hear is someone talking about how “so and so” or “such in such” has worked for their [...]
Why You May Want to Change Your Resume
I have looked at more than my fair share of resumes over the years, and have helped quite a few tune theirs up for the next chapter, and while adding this little piece of additional [...]
What Makes Staff Happy ?
Lets face it. The majority of us need to work. So with up to 50 percent of our waking lives involved with some form of earning a wage, what is it that makes staff happy [...]