My new book, Success for Hire (ASTD Press) features employee recruitment and retention practices that a lot of people think they know but in reality, don’t put into practice.  One of those practices is effective in-person interviewing, which can ensure that you hire the right candidate the first time around.  The next time you speak ...

One of my friends has been complaining that her team is running wild.    Much as I love her, I know that this is happening because when my friend took over the group a few months ago, she really wanted her new reports to like her, so she put up with a lot from them.  They would tell her they weren’t going to do an assignment ...

My friend Chris Russell over at Secrets of the Job Hunt reported on a recent study by global HR consulting firm Development Dimensions International and Monster that examined the most inappropriate questions job seekers have been asked during an interview.  The study coordinators divided the most popular responses into several categories, ...

My friend Lisa Haneberg over at the Management Craft blog cites an excellent article from HR Capitalist on how to deal with pay inequities.  Kris Dunn shares the following scenario.  You're a young manager new to your role, and after 2-3 months, you finally get some payroll data on your team.  You're scrolling through the ...

The customer’s always right.  This is the mantra that customer service representatives have to repeat to themselves every day – if they want to keep their jobs.  But what happens when you come into contact with a particularly angry customer, who is determined to give you a piece of her mind?  When I was writing They Don’t Teach ...

[ImageAttachment]   Much as we may grumble about our colleagues, they’re there for a reason.  Your company or department’s workload is too much for one person.  Sometimes, you’ll even get a direct report or two (or even a whole group) to help manage the never-ending stream of tasks.  Because there are only so many hours in a ...

When you’re a busy manager, the tendency is to only provide feedback to your employee when he’s made a mistake.  You’re tied up with your assignments and expect that your employee knows what he’s doing.  You expect that he’ll complete his tasks correctly and on time – after all, that’s his job.  Months go by, and you don’t say ...