Archives for October 2006

Alice Snell

Managing Talent: Changing Your Thinking

by Alice Snell | October 31, 2006 | No comments

We read an excellent column by Kevin Wheeler called Managing Talent. Kevin articulates three key points that happen to align nicely with our vision of talent management here at Taleo. 1. Become a talent manager, not a recruiter. Yes, this is becoming important for success. But it requires easy access to relevant information. To be [...]

Alice Snell

Economics of Self-Service and Employment

by Alice Snell | October 27, 2006 | No comments

Heres an interesting problem to have. Self-service costs companies less in labor expenses and can be the cornerstone of a profitable business strategy. But in Sweden, due to the relatively high costs of hiring people, self-service has become an economic requirement. Newsweek International reports on the phenomenon: It’s so expensive to hire people in Sweden [...]

Alice Snell

Attitude Research: Recruiting and Keeping Mid-Career Employees Engaged

by Alice Snell | October 24, 2006 | No comments

Sirota Survey Intelligence specializes in what they call attitude research. Here is an example of their interesting research. Based on an opportunity sample of approximately 100 HR professionals representing Fortune 500 companies and other organizations, they found: How do these conclusions track with your current challenges and outlook?

Alice Snell

HR Best Practices Drive Results in Small Firms Too

by Alice Snell | October 20, 2006 | No comments

The findings in Human Resource Management Practices and Firm Performance in Small Businesses“a Cornell University/Gevity Institute Research Report”again validate the studies and survey results we are seeing over and over, like in the Watson Wyatt Human Capital Index work. HR best practices make a bottom-line difference. And that difference can be quantified for organizations of [...]

Alice Snell

College Grads Dont Need Resumes

by Alice Snell | October 18, 2006 | No comments

A press release email came through titled, College Grad Resumes Need Help. It outlined the results of a survey conducted nationally using an online poll placed on the CollegeGrad.com homepage during September 2006. The results are based on approximately 850 respondents. The main finding: 72% of College Students and Recent Grads Don’t Have a Resume [...]

Alice Snell

Your Hiring Process Reflects Your Brand

by Alice Snell | October 16, 2006 | No comments

The Wall Street Journals career columnist admonishes readers ” many of whom are hiring managers ” to remember that applicants believe a rude selection process mirrors working conditions. Employers should treat job prospects as customers and invited guests. According to the Computerworld article, Google Catches Flak for Its Hiring Procedures: Lengthy process turns off some [...]

Alice Snell

Lacking Skilled Workers? Industries Look to Grow Their Own

by Alice Snell | October 13, 2006 | No comments

Healthcare isnt the only industry complaining about the lack of skilled candidates. For all the talk of the US losing manufacturing jobs, there are apparently still plenty of factory jobs to be filled. In fact, there are more open positions than skilled workers to go around. Heres a proactive approach to solving the problem by [...]

Alice Snell

Dont Get SickThere May Not Be a Nurse!

by Alice Snell | October 12, 2006 | No comments

By all accounts, the heavy demand for healthcare professionals is still on the rise”especially for nurses”with no immediate prospects for improvement. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects registered nursing jobs will grow 26% in hospitals and 45% in ambulatory care, accounting for 74% of the 623,000 projected increase in employment of registered nurses from 2002 [...]

Alice Snell

Studies Report Talent Shortages Felt in Canada: Two Strategies Emerge

by Alice Snell | October 6, 2006 | No comments

Two independent studies have reported similar findings. Skill and talent shortages are a problem in Canada and a majority of respondents acknowledge the situation. The studies also offer two creative strategies for success in a tight labour market: (1) attract and retain, (2) retrain and retain. The Hewitt Associates survey called Canadian Employers Struggle to [...]

Alice Snell

The Workforce is the Largest Business Investment

by Alice Snell | October 4, 2006 | No comments

How much attention should be paid to one-half of a companys total budget allocation? Consider this finding from a PricewaterhouseCoopers Trendsetter Barometer survey: CEOs of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies are spending almost 50 percent of their companys total budget on their workforce, yet less than a third have formal programs in place to retain [...]