How important is looking the part when applying for a new leadership job? This is a subject that comes up often when working with employers during recruitment projects and with individuals who are seeking new roles. We all know that clean and pressed clothes for an interview is a basic requirement, but does it go […]
Read MoreDesigned an organisation-wide bespoke assessment centre process
This leading food products group has several factories across the UK. Each plant has its own General Manager and a HR Manager, responsible for local recruitment. The group wanted to standardise its recruitment process for all management level staff, and required the design of a bespoke assessment centre approach to replace the variety of techniques employed across […]
Read MoreHas the assessment centre had its day?
If you’ve ever watched The Apprentice you’ll know the format: “candidates” complete a series of work simulations to establish the most suitable for a new job or business partnership. It might make good entertainment but, as a selection process, it has rarely been successful. The problem is that the assessment process has not changed. The […]
Read MoreAre your interview questions a strength or a weakness?
One of the most used interview questions is “What are your stengths?” This is closely followed, of course, by the inevitable, pointless, question about weaknesses. These stock questions reveal little about candidates, who are mostly well-rehearsed and trot out equally stock answers… How many times have you heard that your candidate is “a perfectionist” or […]
Read MoreFirst interviews: 6 tips for the perfect match
It’s Valentine’s Day and there’s no rest at bfpeople towers as we continue our work in finding leaders and developing talent – creating more perfect relationships in the workplace. The path to the perfect long-term hire, like the path to true love, is rarely easy going and it’s often said that the first interview is like […]
Read MoreWhy is it so hard to keep your new year resolutions
Can you keep your new year resolutions? It’s a brand new year and many of us will have resolved to make changes this year: to “get fitter”, “lose weight”, “be more confident”, “have a better work life balance” or “get a new job” are typical examples. If you have made new year resolutions, you’ve probably […]
Read MoreAre your candidates committing CV fraud?
There is a lot of CV fraud around… Tonight, the BBC Apprentice show has its infamous Interview round where candidates are grilled about their career history and business plans. Audiences delight in the fiction exposed in the candidates’ CVs and their boastful brags being shot to pieces as the candidates squirm and try to explain […]
Read MoreHow do we plug the creative skills gap?
Matt Hancock, the government minister responsible for the creative industries, spoke recently (read his full speech here) about how important the sector is to Britain’s future. He promised ongoing commitment to the industry and this is good news, of course. But his speech comes at a time when skills are diminishing and good people are […]
Read MoreGetting value from psychometrics in recruitment
I’m frequently asked about the use of psychometrics in recruitment. I hear a range of views and a good deal of scepticism about their use. Whatever sector of retail you’re in, you’re likely to need leaders who are smart, innovative, flexible and great with people. How do you assess candidates against these qualities in an […]
Read MoreSpending your recruitment budget wisely
“Do you use Powerpoint?” “Yes. I do.” “Great. Because this job really needs an advanced knowledge of Powerpoint to design and make presentations to staff and the board. Um… Er… How are you on Employment Law?” It was at this point that I splashed my coffee in the lounge of a well-known Business Centre just […]
Read MoreDeath of a (good) salesman?
Having just spent several long days at a sprawling trade exhibition, I’m left with the sense that good sales skills are harder to find than ever. It’s seems that we really are witnessing the death of a (good) salesman to paraphrase Arthur Miller. New business is tough to find. Almost every company I speak to wants to […]
Read MoreRecruiting a full sales team
A B2B supplier of high value, capital goods asked us for support in recruiting a team of sales people for a specific project. The business was launching a new range and needed to rapidly increase awareness and achieve penetration in its target market. We were asked to support the company in recruiting a full sales […]
Read MoreLocal government leadership: council bosses lead the way
The results of the latest leadership research carried out by bfpeople shows that bosses in local government have better leadership judgement than those in other industries or professions. Council chief executives achieved the highest overall leadership judgement in the analysis of more than 17,000 professionals who completed the Leadership Judgement Indicator (LJI) a psychometric test widely […]
Read MoreWhy is it so hard to recruit good candidates?
Despite the economic uncertainty, some notable business failures in the industry and the vast increase in candidate registrations on CV database websites, many organizations find it difficult to attract and recruit good candidates. This is nothing new. Companies have always had to compete for the best, but there was a time, when I started as […]
Read MoreSales training for technical specialists
How we provided sales training for technical specialists without calling it “sales training”. When a large software company decided to move the responsibility for selling maintenance and upgrade packages from the sales team to the technical project management staff, it didn’t expect the outcome. The board of directors decided it was important to keep the […]
Read MoreBad sales calls
It’s early in the morning and I’m in the office – the only one here. The office phone rings, so I answer it: Caller: “Mr Hamilton, please”Me: “Yes, that’s me.” There follows several minutes of scripted monologue from the caller about how I “can’t afford to miss” the opportunity of entertaining 10 guests at a […]
Read MoreRemote working: Food for thought or recipe for disaster?
Flexible and remote working is a topic that is often in the news and a Virgin Media Business Survey shows, not surprisingly, that “most employees would prefer working from the comfort of their own homes.” There is also a big drive from the government to extend the right to request flexible working for a wide range of […]
Read MoreA sensitive leadership restructuring
The one where we managed a sensitive leadership restructuring process A public sector organisation needed to undertake a significant leadership restructuring at the most senior level, bringing about major change and reducing the headcount of the operation. In a changing political environment and with drastically reduced funding, it was clear that “what worked before” for […]
Read MoreCreating a talent pool
Creating a talent pool of staff to save time and money A UK university had an ongoing requirement for high quality administration staff. They were needed for the various faculties and departments across the large organisation. It found it was advertising for the same types of skills in the local press every week. There was considerable duplication […]
Read MoreImproving leadership effectiveness
When the management team got more than they bargained for.. The new Managing Director of a large manufacturing group requested our help in understanding and improving leadership effectiveness among his board and senior management team. On the face of it, as the client saw it, this was a fairly straightforward leadership development engagement – with a focus […]
Read MoreResolving office conflict
When the MD nearly fired the new Sales Director A large IT consultancy and software house appointed a new Sales Director. It quickly became apparent that there was a clash of styles between the Sales Director and the existing Operations Director. Their frequent conflict, and the tension this created, began to affect staff and other […]
Read MoreAre you “untouchable” at work
Jose Mourinho has said today that none of the Chelsea football team should think they have a permanent place in his team selection, saying “At this moment I don’t have untouchables.” Mourinho has been talking about “untouchables” for at least 9 years: in December 2006 he said: ‘Claude Makelele is untouchable because of the way […]
Read MoreCompany values and mission statements – do they matter?
Do company values and mission statements mean anything anymore? As another highly successful and previously exceptionally well-regarded business – this time an auto manufacturer – is in the news for the wrong reasons, it’s a reasonable question to ask. We have witnessed heads rolling recently at many successful businesses –Deutsche Bank, Tesco, Petrobras and Toshiba are […]
Read MoreAssessment for reorganisation
When we made sure a reorganisation didn’t lose good people. When making cuts or restructuring, it’s possible that you might have to lose some good people along the way. However, it’s important to check that you are making the right decisions. Otherwise you run the risk of throwing the baby out with the bath water. A […]
Read MoreA tight recruitment brief
When a client needed specific skills in their new appointment. A high profile Business to Consumer service organisation was recruiting a Director of Communications and Customer Services into a “lion’s den” of an appointment. The company was making the headlines for all the wrong reasons, there were significant industrial relations issues and customer satisfaction was […]
Read MoreHow soon do you fire a new employee?
How long do you give new members of staff to perform? It’s a question I get asked frequently when recruiting and on-boarding new people into organizations. The easy answer is that “it depends”, but what are the factors to consider when making that crucial judgement call on individuals. Trigger happy society? In recent times there […]
Read MoreRecruitment Lessons from the Scottish Referendum
In 48 hours or so, I (and around 4 million others) will cast our vote in the Scottish Independence Referendum. A simple “Yes” or “No” stating whether we believe Scotland should be an independent country. I make binary, Yes or No decisions every day. Many are important – my decision whether to reject or shortlist someone […]
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