PD Strategies Blog

Hiring quickly can be a costly mistake. Finding the right people takes time but the right people will result in much more success. If you have read Jim Collin’s book “Good to Great” you know about how companies become great companies. Collins surveyed companies and found that their greatness was not due to a special sauce or a great product but rather because of the people in the organization. It all starts with high quality, high performing employees. Collins refers to this as getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats. Many companies find that selecting and hiring of the right employee is a daunting task. Some people just hire anyone who applies or, at best, may ask a few quick questions before making an offer. Before accepting an application or advertising you should have a clear description...

We make multiple decisions every day. Some are seemingly small decisions while others seem to be of huge importance. No matter the level of importance, all decisions lead to an outcome or a series of actions. We make the best decisions when rely on our strengths rather than try to shore up our weaknesses. Unfortunately, most of us have little sense of our talents and strengths, much less the ability to build our lives around them. Instead, guided by our parents and others from the time we were growing up, we end up living lives that have been influenced by them. This results in working on our weaknesses while neglecting our strengths and our dreams. Have you ever given any thought to the fact that 88% of the decisions you make on a daily basis rely on your natural talents and tendencies and that these are part of your subconscious. Your...

Contrary to what you may think education and skills do not create success. There is a saying that knowledge is power. That is also wrong. It is the application of knowledge that is power. In school teachers would say, “Johnny could be a great student if he would only apply himself.” With that being said why are we fixated on grades, degrees, and experience on resume when hiring people? In Good to Great Jim Collins explains that building a great organization is as simple as “Getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats.” It may be simple but it’s not easy. You will need to change the way you hire people. Unfortunately, all too often managers tend to make hiring decisions by looking at background in the industry, jobs held before, and job history. Significant time is spent...

Companies make a major mistake in hiring and training because they don’t understand critical factors of employee performance. Many companies spend time and effort on identifying the correct skill sets when hiring. Then, after a candidate is finally hired the company will invest in training the new employee in the skills, processes, and procedures for doing the job. In addition, the new employee will look to increase his or her skills and understanding of the business. The employee attends training on the latest systems or learns the latest sales techniques. The employee gets training on the features and benefits of the products and services. Most of the time is spent on learning the nuts and bolts. Many businesses see this as the most important path to success. Fast forward. The employee leaves the company. The hiring manager searches for candidates that have the same skill sets as the person who left...

Recently Gallup released a new survey on employee engagement. When I read the commentary I could see that employee engagement is not static information but depends on company, employees, and time. We can’t use a cookie cutter approach. We can’t make universal supposition of what engages people. Instead, we need to understand the diversity of our workforce which includes gender, culture and the different generations. Engagement factors have changed. Many companies with retention problems tend to focus on the compensation issues. Compensation is definitely important. However, it loses its importance as an employee moves up the career ladder. It certainly is important for a business to understand the competitive wage levels for the positions in their business. However, business is making a mistake by paying extra money to buy loyalty. Let’s consider Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. In that context we would consider money to be a basic hygiene factor, especially with...

Employers and hiring managers make a big mistake when they use experience as the primary criteria for hiring a candidate.  This is different than saying that knowledge of the job and the requisite skills and knowledge are not important. They certainly are. Of course, you want the right person for the right job. However, looking primarily for experience will produce disappointing results. I work largely with privately held and family held businesses. But in that arena I have worked with many industries ranging from real estate, construction, retail, service and hospitality, nonprofit, and manufacturing. I have made the same observation in all of these industries. Those running the business believe that their industry is different from others, so unique that the primary requirement is experience. Because of that mindset I have seen many bad candidates hired and many qualified candidates screened out. The hiring manager is using the assumption that as...