Q:  My daughter is pursuing a career as a programmer and hopes to work for a company such as Google.  I’m proud of her talent and aspirations.  However, I have some concerns about the technical industry’s record regarding women. First, they’re under-represented and then women seem to leave the industry after only working an average of 10 years.  What advice would you give her? A:  You are correct, women are terribly under-represented in the tech field making up less than 20% of employees, and the big firms (like Google, Apple and Twitter) are trying hard to correct that through...

SHRM CEO, Hank Jackson According to the latest annual report on human capital trends by consulting firm Deloitte, there is a "gap between what business leaders want and the capabilities of HR to deliver." In the report, HR leaders rated their teams a C-minus, showing almost no improvement over the past few years. Business leaders rated HR even lower—a D-plus. Whether you accept all of the report’s findings or not, there appear to be significant opportunities to enhance our profession. The report is a less than optimal reflection of the value...

  The United States Congress created the Days of  Remembrance as our nation’s annual commemoration of the Holocaust.  This year, Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) starts on the evening of April 15 and ends on the evening of April 16. http://www.ushmm.org/remember/days-of-remembrance During the Holocaust, more than 11 million human beings were systemically murdered.  That includes 6 million Jews, 2/3 of the European Jewish community at that time. But the numbers would have been even worse were it not for the countless "righteous gentiles." The term "righteous gentiles" is used to refer to those who are not Jewish and who risked...

  Going to a conference can be intimidating especially if you are first-time attendee. Not knowing where to go and not knowing another soul at an event can be lonely so here are some tips that will not only make your conference experience more enjoyable but also hopefully less stressful! 1.       Have a Plan. To make the most of your time at a conference it is important to have a plan for example, what sessions do you want to attend and/or what exhibitors do you want to talk you. ...

  "He’s dead, Jim" is the error message you might see from Google when your computer doesn’t have enough memory to run a tab. It could also be used to describe the resume-and other ineffective and outdated hiring processes in the new era of job seeking.  Talent management in 2015 is still about finding the best candidates with the right skills, experience and personality, but it’s no longer about hiring people who are actively looking for a job. The brightest and...

A recent San Francisco Fed research report illustrated what those of us in the hiring and recruiting process have known for some time - jobs need to find talent in today’s "candidate market," and not the other way around. Researchers behind the report uncovered that 75 percent of workers with new jobs over the last three months hadn’t actively applied for a job - meaning they were either poached or referred. Again, this isn’t uncharted territory. Previous surveys have noted that 83 percent of recruiters believe candidates...

Every time I think I have seen everything, something new comes along.  I will share a few thoughts to those of you out there today who are candidates, or who may be candidates, for future opportunities.  I don’t pretend to have all of the answers, but I want to share a few tactics that will not endear you to client firms if you end up being someone they consider hiring. The search process is a dance and in most cases the client leads the dance. ...

No, it’s not just the day before Tax Day. Interestingly enough, today is another day with relevance to HR. According to the National Committee on Pay Equity, April 14th is called "Equal Pay Day" in order to raise public awareness around the importance of compensation equity in the workplace. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2013 women who were full-time workers had median weekly earnings of $706, which is about 82 percent of the median weekly earnings of male full-time workers ($860)....

  This week at Brandon Hall Group, we’re taking the first step in researching one of the most fundamental problems facing hiring organizations today. Talent shortage, skills gap, skills shortage - call it what you will, there are a lot of hiring organizations struggling to find qualified candidates for their open jobs. My question (simplified for the sake of this post) is "Why?" Our latest research survey - which you can participate in right here - undertakes some serious data gathering in order to get to the bottom of this. It’s no secret that competition for talent is...

  The theory behind performance management is simple enough: Align the personal and professional goals of your employees with the strategic goals of your organization, and you'll be in a far better position to achieve ongoing success. Performance management encompasses the setting of these goals, and the monitoring of employees and departments to ensure that objectives are being met in the most effective way possible. At the end of the day, no company can succeed without committed, dedicated employees that understand their role in the organization. A good performance management strategy can give these individuals context, and provide them with...