Image by Joe Penniston

A few weeks ago, Ryan over at Cruiter Talk wrote a great article about creating a Disney-like recruiting experience for candidates. Ryan writes,

I was given a stat today by Shane from Intelligence Software that recruiters only place 1% of the candidates they come in contact with. I have no reason to think that’s wrong, so how do I keep the other 99% speaking positively of the experience even when I haven’t found them a job?

Ryan then shares 10 pledges he’s made to provide a better experience for candidates. I won’t share the whole list, but here are a few of my favorites:

Keep reading…

I spend a lot of time writing about ways to drive your business by recruiting great people and inspiring them to do amazing things.

Those are just ideas. I’d like to think they’re really good ideas, but they’re still just ideas. They’re completely useless if you don’t do anything with them.

What are you doing to drive your business? Not what are you planning on doing – what are you actually doing?

Coming up with lots of great ideas is only the first step. Start putting those ideas in action today!

There’s a trend towards the hyper-specialization of human resources. Today, I make the case for the HR generalist.

I have nothing against HR specialists. In fact, I think they’re incredibly important. People who are experts are sourcing can often do a far better job finding rockstar candidates that someone who occasionally recruits. Employment law specialists know far more about the legal nuances of being an employer than the typical generalist ever will.

Specialists are a crucial part of HR, but so are generalists.

Keep reading…

Be the change that you want to see in the world.

- Mohandas Gandhi

Performance discussions can’t be a once-a-year thing. If you want a strong performance management culture, these discussions need to happen all the time. Every month. Every week. Every day.

You can approach this two ways:

1. Launch a sweeping OD initiative.
2. Be like Gandhi.

The best method is probably a combination of both. Here’s the Gandhi way:

Whenever someone you interact with does something awesome, tell them. Then, email their boss to let them know, and CC: the person you’re complimenting.

So much of HR can involve dealing with the things people do wrong. Take a minute to recognize people for being rockstars, too.

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.

- Thomas Edison

Being innovative doesn’t mean coming up with lots of great ideas. It means failing – over and over again – until you find a great idea that actually works.

That’s not to say that failure always leads to innovation. But innovation can’t happen if you’re not ok with failing – a lot.

If you want to create an innovative workforce, create a culture that celebrates failure as often as it celebrates success. Brilliant failure is the key to innovation.

I want to know what you think about Renegade HR. I hope you can answer a three-question survey. Thanks in advance!

Take the survey

How do you design a pay-for-performance goal system that inspires people to do amazing things?

I often find myself torn between two distinct approaches:

1. Goals should be things that you need to accomplish to be successful in your job.
2. Goals should be things that are above and beyond the normal duties of your job.

The first approach looks at bonus money as part of a total compensation plan. The focus is on doing things that make you great at your job.

The second approach looks at bonus money as something you earn for exceedingly great performance

Which of the two is the best approach? I don’t know, and I’d really like to hear your thoughts on it.