Articles
The articles below form a library of useful information for business professionals. Many of these articles were written by our staff.
Stop Thief! The High Cost of Workplace Dishonesty.
If you’re struggling with employees with a poor work ethic, who take bogus sick days, who are untrustworthy, or who lie, cheat or steal, call us. We have the solutions that you’ve been searching for.
Over 1000 New Tests Recently Added
We are pleased to announce that we have added over 1000 new test titles to our catalogue! The IBM Kenexa tests have been widely used and highly regarded measures of job fit, personality, job skills and more. The range of options available to employers is immense and...
Hiring For Diversity and Equity vs Merit and Competence
“Increasing the percentage of females or racial minorities in corporate workforces are goals often pursued by firms devoted” to Diversity, equity, and inclusion (known as DEI) and it has gained great prominence in recent years. More and more companies are trying to apply DEI to their hiring practices. Opponents claim that this tends “to advance the mingling of racial or sexual identity with critical hiring decisions, leading to a decline in overall profitability and efficiency as efforts to hire the most qualified candidates are deprioritized.”
A Common Sense Approach To Recruitment Challenges
Almost 75% of employers are, or will be, experiencing hiring challenges in 2023. This isn’t news. Forbes[i], Benefits Canada[ii], LinkedIn[iii], The Guardian[iv] and others offer articles full of disturbing survey statistics and trends and itemize the problems that...
What Do You Do About Time Theft?
Time Theft is when an employee is engaged in something other than the work they’re being paid to do during work hours. It’s becoming a big problem for employers, particularly with the increase in remote workers. Recently, an employee in British Columbia was ordered to return $2500 to her employer due to time theft.
The Cost of The Toxic Workplace
A toxic workplace is no fun for anyone. It contributes to higher turnover, increased expense, inefficiency, low morale and often, a damaged reputation. To do nothing only exacerbates the problem and telegraphs to employees that management either doesn’t care or simply isn’t minding the store.
Honesty Tests Work! So Why Don’t More Companies Use Them?
Dishonest people don’t just wake up one day and suddenly decide to become thieves. Most of them were already bent and had questionable ethics before they were hired.
Bad Customer Service Costs You More Than You Think
The intent of the old adage ‘the customer is always right’ is that one should always keep the customer’s needs in mind and do everything one can to make them happy.
The Great Resignation and Your Company or Career
Some individuals would like to change jobs, or train for better ones, but can’t afford the time or expense of additional training or education while simultaneously supporting their families. They feel trapped, frustrated and maybe a little resentful too. Is it any wonder that people are jumping ship for a few dollars more, even if it doesn’t advance their actual careers?
Aging Populations Are Going To Create New Problems For Employers
Employer concerns about the overall lack of applicants, the lack of suitable and qualified applicants and complaints about high turnover have increased steadily over the past 5 years. It’s a conversation that I now have with clients on a weekly basis, and it’s occurring continent-wide, and across all industries.
How Assessments Can Help You Navigate Workplace Trends Successfully
Three months ago, Emeritus, a global online education company, published its list of growing workplace trends to watch for in 2022. All businesses are contending with changes brought about by the pandemic and everything is in flux all around us. Many of the coming changes are unavoidable but they can be made more manageable.
‘Must-Fill’ Positions Provide Opportunities For Bad Hires
It’s a challenging time for many businesses and it’s particularly problematic for those who are hiring because applicants can now afford to be pickier about which offers they accept.
Please Hire Me – So That I Can Rob You Blind
North American businesses lose millions of dollars a year due to various kinds of theft. Unfortunately, it’s often their own employees who are doing most of the stealing, and most employers don’t even know it.
Soft Skills Are Critical So Ensure That Your Applicants Have Them!
Soft skills used to be considered nice-to-haves but now, they’re critical must-haves. They’re the ‘grease’ that facilitates interpersonal interactions and are what people with hard skills use to succeed. Soft skills are things like critical thinking, flexibility, adaptability, team working, problem solving, time management, communication, attention to detail, dependability, emotional intelligence and etc. They are equally as, if not more important than, hard skills.
Ethics & Character Are Critical Competencies That Employers Can’t Afford To Overlook
If ever there was a time to be talking about character and ethics then it’s now in the wake of the January 6th attack on the US Capitol. That event, and the entirety of Trump’s presidency, have illustrated why integrity and character are more than just nice-to-have’s. Trustworthiness is critical to every level of human interaction whether be it in marriage, in business dealings or when you loan the family car to your teenager.
Who Is Replacing Your Aging Workforce?
Ten thousand Baby Boomers turn 65 every day—a trend that began in 2011 and will continue until 2030. [i] This year almost 25% of workers in Canada will be 55 years or older and the same statistic will hold true for the USA by 2024. [ii] In 2030 – only 11 years from...
Workplace Stress Is Pervasive, Deadly, And Getting Worse
80% of workers feel stress on the job and nearly half say they need help in learning how to manage stress. The other 20% is lucky because apparently everyone else is suffering; both at the individual and the corporate level.
Does Personality Change Over Time Or Remain Constant From Birth?
Personality does change over time (a long time) and it’s a significant although small change over one’s lifetime. What the researchers found was that as we mature, so do our personalities. Specifically, people tend to ‘peak’ in middle age but at a level not high enough to infer a complete lack of change in personality traits. This means that personality has a stable component across the life span, both at the trait level and at the profile level, and that personality is also malleable, and people mature as they age.
(Un)Employment In The Time of Covid – or What Do I Do Now??
There are over 1 million Canadians out of work due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It's an unsettling time and no one knows what's coming next or when things will return to normal. "Normal" may be a long time coming for some of us and unfortunately, for some people, they...
Self-Assess Your Emotional Resilience In The Face of Adversity With The FREE Pandemic Resilience Test
This is an uncertain time and it has put great deal of stress on everyone, particularly those who are without an income, and those who have friends or family who’ve contracted Covid-19. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and to become weighed down with worry about the future.
Some people cope well with adversity and others are less hardy. Even those who cope well sometimes need additional support or to be reminded that they do have some control over their lives and that there are things they can do to reduce their anxiety. For some, the Pandemic Resilience Test can help them clarify their need for outside or professional mental health support.
Job seekers can’t relate with employer hiring woes – Companies having a tough time finding talent must invest more in workers, say applicants
Jan 28, 2020 by James Jackson Waterloo Region Record WATERLOO REGION — When Patrick Desaulniers hears employers in Waterloo Region and Wellington County are having a tough time finding the right employees, he gets a little annoyed. The 37-year-old Guelph resident...
The Myth of The Poor Millennial Work Ethic: The Reality and What You Can Do About It.
There are 75 million Millennials in the USA (the generation born between 1980 and 2000). The youngest ones are just turning 20 this year and the oldest are now 40. They also make up 32% of the global population and represent 250 million people. If you have employees, then Millennials already are, or soon will be, a part of your workforce.
Why ‘Know-It-All’s’ Are Missing Out
There are hundreds of skills, aptitude and personality assessments on the market for good reason – because they work! If you’re not using any when hiring or promoting people then you should probably be wondering if you’re missing out on something good (because you probably are).
Steve Is A Jerk! (And Everyone Knows It But Him.)
Assessments are for more than just pre-screening applicants or testing for MS Word proficiency.
Turnover, Conflict and Bullies! Oh My!
(The trends may change but the basics remain the same.)
Is Your Customer Service Actually Your Customers’ Biggest Problem?
Deliver crappy customer service at your own peril!
The Worst Excuse In Business
“I’m sorry but I’ve been really busy” is the most commonly heard excuse in business these days.
Why Is Everyone So #$@&%*! Rude These Days?
How rudeness is costing us more than we think.
Toxic Employee Series (#1)
Part 1: What kinds of bad apples are in your bunch?
Toxic Employee Series (#2)
Part 2: What kinds of bad apples are in your bunch?
Setting The Limits of Responsibility
Understanding why job descriptions are important to organizational effectiveness and smooth functioning.
Where Are All The Good Salespeople?
Use screening tests to identify sales talent.
Dude! Don’t Dis’ The Customers!!
The importance of providing great customer service
You’re Dishonest (And So Is Everyone Else)
Dishonesty in the workplace can be minimized through better hiring practices.
Toxic Workers The Expensive Hidden Menace Who Are Costing You More Than You Think!
Bad hires can cost you $50,000 per toxic worker hired.
Poor ‘fit’ causes far too many terminations/resignations – How do we fix this?
Do your applicants really fit into your organization or not? Do you know?
Thieves Are Everywhere! (And You’ve Probably Already Hired One)
Pre-screening for honesty can save you a lot of grief.
Congratulations, You’re Fired!
The consequences of public foolishness in the internet age.
Why Attitude Matters As Much (Or More) Than Skills!
If you aren’t testing your applicants, you’re running the risk of hiring problems instead.
Screening Assessments And Employee Confidentiality – A Word To Employers
Confidential information should always be handled carefully. Every effort should always be made to keep private, personal information confidential. People expect that the details of their medical history, personal finances, employment history, salaries and etc. are...