Articles

Catch up on our latest nuggets of
hiring advice from the desk
of Nancy Slessenger

Hiring and Recruitment Mistakes 2

Misleading Ads In a hiring challenge course with Matt Gillogly CEO-Mentor-Investor of Practice Profit System podcast we identified some key mistakes people make when hiring. Here’s the next one: We had a client who had a new role they wanted to fill, and they thought it would be about 70% client interactions and 30% admin.…
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Hiring and Recruitment Mistakes 3

“Fluff” in the ads Because there are some huge job boards out there now, they can gather lots of really useful information about things that candidates like and don’t like about advertisements. One of the things that they don’t like is this kind of thing: “_____________ company is renowned internationally for having amazing perks and…
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Common Hiring and Recruitment Mistakes and What To Do Instead

I’m running a hiring challenge course with Matt Gillogly of Practice Profit System at the moment for the people in his Steel Mill Group. One of the top issues, even for people in a top-flight coaching group is hiring. We decided to start the course with a summary of some of the worst hiring mistakes…
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Why do 70% of new hires leave in the first year?

An astonishing 70% of new hires leave in the first year. I came across this figure years ago and checked it again today; sadly, it's still the same.  40% of new employees leave in their first 90 days!  However, only 12% of Vinehouse new hires leave during their first year.  What accounts for this difference? …
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What’s changed in hiring since the pandemic?

A lot has changed in hiring since the pandemic. Let's break down some of the key changes that have impacted the hiring process.  “The Great Resignation.” Record numbers of people have taken themselves out of the workforce after the pandemic. This is because they liked being at home more than working, even with all the…
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Why you aren’t getting the right candidates for your job

Every now and then, we get a client who wants us to find someone for a role that is particularly hard to fill.  In the current climate – a candidate’s market – there are more of these. As employers, we’ve been used to filling most jobs and getting plenty of applicants. I think we’ve gotten…
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Should you hire people you don't like?

Right at the end of last year, I was called by a client from over 20 years ago. By coincidence, he was also married to one of the best people I have ever worked with, Ros. He reminded me that it had been ten years since she had passed away. Ros was our bookkeeper for…
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Should you hire overqualified candidates?

This question is a tricky one.  Years ago, I was a Production Manager in an electronic factory and needed an assistant. As I sifted through the applications, I spotted one I recognised. It was from the father of an old school friend. He was massively over-qualified. His last salary was well over twice what we…
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A Strange December for Hiring and Recruitment

Usually, the flow of candidates slows down considerably in December, as you will know if you’ve ever tried to hire anyone around this time of year. Not this year. We have seen such large numbers of candidates for some of the roles we are working on at the moment that we had to pause the…
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Why hiring is more difficult at the moment and 3 things you can do

If you’ve tried hiring anyone recently, you may have noticed that it’s more difficult than usual.   There are all kinds of reasons for this. First, there are fewer people looking for jobs (quite a lot of people decided they really didn’t want to carry on working after being in lockdown). Second, there are more jobs…
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Hire Once Hire Right

With Nancy Slessenger and Marketer Perry Marshall In this webinar hiring expert Nancy Slessenger discusses how to avoid the biggest hiring mistakes: - - Not being clear on what you really need - Writing an ad that shuts down your campaign - Using resumes- Not using application forms - Asking really bad questions This webinar…
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Five key steps to a successful hiring and recruitment campaign

A vital recruitment tool that you need to be using is a task-based assessment that is not only a barrier to poor candidates, but is a great way of highlighting a really good candidate. But it’s not that simple. Before you even get to that stage there are a number of steps that you must…
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Should you ask all candidates the same questions?

My very first job as a school governor (equivalent to a school board member) was to recruit a new deputy head. It was quite clear who the best candidate was and I can say, without doubt, that we recruited the wrong candidate. I arrived at the meeting and was given a piece of paper with…
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Employee Review and Appraisal Comments

18 Examples of What Not to Write Have you ever had a comment like one of these made about you on your employee review? “An invaluable member of the team.”“Exceeds expectations.”“Happy and cheerful while interacting with colleagues and managers.”“A great listener.”“Thinks about the happiness of colleagues.”“A real team player.”“Seeks opportunities to improve learning.”“Passionate about working…
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How To Find Out What People’s Values Really Are

Values tell you how people are likely to behave When I am working with clients on objectives, it often helps to clarify the difference between Values, Behaviours and Objectives: Objectives are what you need to achieveBehaviours are how you do itValues are why you do it that way Know what their values are When we are recruiting or dealing with new…
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The Deadly Self-Appraisal Form and How to Fill It In

How to make the most of your appraisal or performance review Your System Check how the appraisal system or performance review works in your organisation. Often these things will have been updated with new forms and new ways of doing things since you last used them. Pay particular attention to What the paperwork involves –…
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What is the difference between objectives and KPIs?

A Grapevine reader sent in a question asking what the difference is between objectives, goals (or aims) and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) is. This is a common question, so here is an answer for you, in case have been wondering. OBJECTIVES Objectives are what you need to achieve. KPIS KPIs are like your car speedometer…
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Why you should never use resumes or CVs to sort your candidates

Nine reasons why you should never use resumes or CVs to sort your candidates This is the method most people use to identify the candidates they are going to invite in for a final interview. If you've ever found it difficult, you may be surprised to learn that it’s not only you – it’s because…
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