As a former leader that I worked with always said using the military term, you want “Fewer soldiers, better fed”.  A headcount freeze is an opportunity to increase hiring not freeze it.  The problem is that too many organizations mix up the intent versus the impact.  It is important to be very clear on the goal.  If the goal is to freeze employee expenses (salaries and benefits) at their current level, then a headcount freeze can achieve the same result as a hiring freeze, but in a much more effective manner. 

Cost cutting has become a standard operating procedure for many organizations, but there are hidden costs in cutting costs.  Culture suffers the most and the cost to a culture might be ireparable.

Valuing talent is the key to achieving sustainable results. With the right team in place an organization’s opportunities can be boundless. A focus on talent must start with the CEO, as she or he needs to show their commitment to hiring, retaining and developing their people even in the face of market headwinds.

Stop trying to block the exit door. Instead, focus on getting your employees engaged in opening new doors within your organization.

One of the biggest issues facing many our Groove Management’s clients is employee retention.  Turnover is up across the board.  Voluntary attrition rates continue to climb because the job market has heated up.  Employees are recognizing that there are a lot more opportunities in the marketplace than have existed during the past eight years.  With the aid of LinkedIn and other socialrecruiting tools, recruiters are doing a better job of identifying passive job seekers.  The end result is that companies are struggling to hold onto their top talent.

The toughest interview question I ever faced was frustrating at the time, but turned into one of my greatest career learnings.  

Whether you are looking for a new job, driving sales for your organization, building your business or looking for love try leveraging your connections for introductions to their connections.

An engaged workforce can dramatically improve an organization's performance and conversely disengaged employees can be the poison that ruins an organization.  Many organizations, especially large ones run an annual or bi-annual employee engagement survey to measure the level of engagement in their organization.  If designed properly and administered well these tools can provide a good gauge of employee engagement.  

Does your organization have a well developed talent acquisition strategy?  Have you considered your existing customers as a potential target audience for your open roles?  Are you sick of your current job?  

Phone screens while helpful are not the most efficient way of determining if there is a match.  If the phone screen goes well it usually leads to a face-to-face interview.  My question is why not start with the face-to-face interview?  The simple answer is time and cost.  If a candidate is another city there is the travel expense and it can be difficult to schedule the face-to-face.  I agree that initial screenings
are important, but the approach could be improved.

Workplace culture is like a living organism constantly evolving. The introduction of a new employee or the departure of an employee can change the dynamic of an office culture. Too often the leadership of companies overlooks the importance of culture to organizational performance. Work styles and personal preferences have been studied for ages. 

A new approach to talent management.  Forwardfill.