Where Else in Your Business Do You Accept a 60% Failure Rate?

I recently surveyed CEOs and Business Leaders of large companies and small, profit and not-for-profit, and I asked just them just one question: 'What is the single biggest factor that you believe will inhibit your sustained profitable growth into the future?' A, perhaps, surprising 37% responded that it was people - the recruitment, motivation and retention of people that was the biggest factor.

So let's address the first one - recruitment.

I see many, many businesses through a year from the very smallest through to the largest corporate and I am simply amazed how many people still use 'traditional' methods to recruit - maybe a couple of interviews, nothing more ? together with a great reliance on the content of the CV and on references.

You may know that the generally accepted wisdom is that by using these methods you are likely to get it right just 2 times in 5 ie. a 60% failure rate!

Is there anywhere else in our businesses where we would accept that degree of failure?

So we need to be more sophisticated in our recruiting methodology. For example:

When we recruit a sales person how often do we establish directly whether they can sell?

When we recruit an accountant how often do we establish whether they can read, interpret and, most importantly, report on a set of accounts?

There are comprehensive methodologies that will dramatically improve your recruiting success rate and I have been using them for many years. They, of course, take longer and they may cost more, but it is nothing compared with the cost of getting it wrong ? I saw some figures recently that that cost was around five times annual salary!

There's too much to put in an article so I've therefore put them onto a double CD 'Recruiting to Win' - which is available on line at [http://www.rogerharrop.com/orderfrm.php]

Can there be anything more important to the sustained profitable growth of your business than recruiting right?

Roger Harrop is a former quoted company CEO, International Speaker, Business Advisor, Consultant and the author of 'Staying in the Helicopter? - the key to profitable growth'. He is Speaker of the Year with The Acadamy for Chief Executives and a member of faculty of The Institute for Management Studies.

Visit http://www.rogerharrop.com and get your free e-book 'Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Profitable Growth, But Didn't Know Whom to Ask'



Hire The Person, Not The Resume

"? [get] the right people on the bus, the right... Read More

Rapid Culture Change is Possible

Purpose: Show how immersion leadership training makes strategic initiative success... Read More

I Am Not A Number - Why Too Many Change Projects Fail

Many of you will recognise this quote from the 1960s... Read More

The Three-category Approach to Performance Management: Effort, Ability, or Environment

Performance Management is the act of managing personal or organizational... Read More

One Thing You Cant Hide

One of the most important of all motivators at work... Read More

Organizing The Information

Putting a piece of paper in a file folder is... Read More

5 Interviewing Mistakes That Can Lead To Hiring The Wrong Person

Mistake #1: Going with the flowInexperienced interviewers sometimes fall into... Read More

4 Tips on How to Avoid Communication Lines Breakdown

For example, in a small, two-person company, there is often... Read More

The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - The 5th C: Control Issues

A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that... Read More

Communicate To The Four Main Personality Types

You probably know this already, but there are generally held... Read More

Reflections in the Glass Ceiling

The recent news about one of America's most powerful woman... Read More

Rules for Running a Meeting

As an experienced manager, I can announce without a doubt... Read More

Re-Discovery Procedures for Building Effective Management Systems: Phase V

Now we turn the corner to our final phase: Re-Discovery.Last... Read More

Demise of the Lone Ranger Manager: A Lesson in Management Communication Style

When executives see themselves as solely responsible for the overall... Read More

How Your Feelings and Those of Your Employees Can Make The Difference

How we feel is really more important than what we... Read More

A Comprehensive Sarbanes Oxley Act Summary

Individual and corporate security stand in the center of the... Read More

Communicating When A Crisis Strikes

How would you handle communication if your business or practice... Read More

When Politics Prevent Innovation - Or? Still Fighting Battles and Losing Wars

The objective is to beat the competition and make money.... Read More

Important Communication Tips For Managers

The following tips will help you communicate more effectively with... Read More

How To Use Outsourcing To Beat Your Competition

Outsourcing is when you hire outside professionals or services to... Read More

Dont Sweat the Small Stuff with Your Credit Policy

Do you know how many customers you have that are... Read More

Overcoming Perfectionism

Perfectionism can get in the way of building or marketing... Read More

Organizational Techniques - Tickler and Chron File

One of the biggest problems we encounter in our consulting... Read More

How To Jump Start Your Profits and Keep Your Profits Rolling

There are so many ways to jump start your prifits... Read More

Innovation Management ? the power of decision makers

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

If you'd like to keep up-to-date,
please complete the form below and we'll put you on the mailing list
to receive our twice-yearly newsletter for supporters

* Your email address:
* choes your language: