PD Strategies Blog

When you hire consider shared values before you consider experience. You can train and develop people to make up for experience, but you can’t train core values. A person who does not share the core values of your organization should not be hired.  Most experienced managers will attest to the fact that most of the terminations occur not because of skills but because of attitude and values. In Westchester County New York 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 these industries. Those running the business believe that their industry is different from others, so unique that the primary requirement is industry background. 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 previous experience in the industry...

In this current environment it is an employee’s market. Help wanted signs are everywhere. There are shortages of supplies and services because employers can’t get help. Or can they? The important objective is finding the right people for the right jobs. Finding the right employee begins with a process to define what deliverables or actions lead to success. How do you do that? You need to start at the beginning. What is your vision, values, and mission? You much only select people with these shared values. This is where many organizations fail. They look for specific things that they believe are important, but they fail to see the big picture. For example, an employee leaves and the knee jerk reaction is to fill the open spot. The hiring manager searches for candidates that have the same skill sets as the person who left or was fired. The manager limits the search...

The most successful organizations hire people with shared values and who match the culture of the organization. While it is very important to hire the people that have the core competencies it is just as important that each new hire shares the organizations values. It is a mistake to hire a candidate based solely on experience. Most experienced managers will attest to the fact that most of the terminations occur not because of skills but because of attitude and values. In Westchester County New York 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 industry background. Because of that mindset I have seen many bad candidates hired and many qualified candidates screened...

The Internet has become a major tool being used by company recruiters. However, companies using social media in hiring need to be fully aware of some the legal problems than can arise when using this media improperly. In the process of looking for potential employees that may meet your qualifications you may see things in the profile of an applicant which is totally unrelated to your company job requirements. You may not understand why that would be a problem. After all didn’t they post this information for everyone to see? In addition, you may have heard about a company that requests an applicant’s password to Facebook. Let me advise all business owners large and small against this practice. Sure it is important to check references and background. However, the use of social media opens new challenges in the employment area. A person’s Facebook account could have all types of information including...

Using assessment tests can help you identify the job candidates that are a best fit and would have greater probability of performing well in your company.   I am sure that you would agree that the proper screening and selection of candidates is critical to the success of your company. This success is due to the high performance of the right people in the right jobs. You gather all of the critical information in your interview.  The proper use of assessment tests can validate information that you have gathered from interviewing and reference checking. Many businesses make rushed hiring decisions. Unfortunately many poor choices are made based solely on gut feeling. Many candidates can make a very positive presentation and may throw off the judgment of an inexperienced interviewer. Hiring the wrong person can be very expensive. When you consider the cost of recruiting, interviewing, employee salary and benefits, lost productivity, and...