HR Insights

Because of the challenges of hiring and training a great team, new companies need to always be on the lookout for great new team members. Startups sometimes look at hiring as a distraction from product development.

Instead, the author recommends being on a constant hunt for talent - whether or not you need a specific role filled.

One of the most pressing concerns for staffing teams is sales turnover. Most company sales forces have a 25-30% annual turnover. At this rate, that's a new team hired and trained every four years.

Depending on the field, turnover costs can total tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars per employee.

In a critique of the traditional hiring mindset, the author urges readers not to "trust their gut" when making staffing decisions.

Citing research that 70% of hiring managers later regret instinctive hiring decisions, a data-driven alternative is illustrated.

Using incisive data and open-ended questioning, companies can identify prospects with important critical thinking skills, not just technical knowledge.

Worldwide companies are facing a nearly unprecedented talent shortage.

For businesses looking for a way to attract the best and the brightest, the traditional face-to-face interview may be an effective way to get an edge.

But in today's interviews, it's the company that's in the hot seat. Prospective workers often have little emotional investment in a company offering an interview.

Futurologists have long been speculating that humans are going to be in for a workless future, but in typical futurologist fashion, it looks like the reality will look a little different.

Rather than surrendering our jobs to computers and robots, the future workplace may have a more human purpose than ever before.

For many reasons, Human Resource departments are having to get more sophisticated with hiring, onboarding, and employee retention.

It's a workers' market, and HR needs to get creative to lock down the best talent.

A recent Gallup poll demonstrates that Americans are much more satisfied at work than they were a decade ago.

But this doesn't appear to be due to better pay or benefits.

Some analysts suggest that we may simply be lowering our expectations.

In an interesting national precedent, District of Columbia employers will be required to provide transportation benefits to employees in 2016.

Starting on January 1, these measures will go into effect for employers with 20 or more employees.

Using information gleaned from more than 2,000 HR leaders from around the world, the Harvard Business Review has shared its insights into creating a more effective Human Resources department.

When graded on effectiveness relative to other company departments, HR comes out slightly below average, between Sales on the high end and Safety on the low end.

Between 1985 and 2014, the number of retirement-age people remaining in the workforce doubled.

Today, many managers are introducing new work-flexibility policies for older workers, to facilitate a natural path into retirement.

In the meantime, their experience is valuable.