Finding Rock Star Candidates

Finding Rock Star CandidatesHR Expert Linda Duffy, Deepak Chopra and Dr. Ken Blanchard give Tips on Today’s Recruiting Strategies

IRVINE, CALIF.—In today’s slowly improving economy finding qualified candidates can prove to be more costly if as most companies use dated recruiting tactics and compete for employees with similar backgrounds.

CEO and Founder of Ethos Human Capital Solutions, Linda Duffy, along with co-authors Dr. Deepak Chopra and Dr. Ken Blanchard, tackles how to recruit rock stars by charting the journey for post-recession companies to move forward in their book “Roadmap to Success: America’s Top Intellectual Minds Map Out Successful Business Strategies.”

Human Resources veteran Duffy shares that small and large companies have a hard time applying sound strategies to source high caliber employees. “I’ve found that many businesses don’t take the time to get clarity of who they want up front,” explains Duffy. “What the hiring manager really wants is to ensure that the employee can use proper verbal and written communication skills in order to draft e-mails and to speak with customers on the phone in a manner that reflects professionally on the organization. So, it’s not about what the person has, but what the person will do with his or her skills and experience that makes a difference.”

For many companies, hiring new employees was not the norm for some time. Now, when in need of skilled workers, their dated practices and policies may prevent them from getting the best candidate for the company.  In addition, cultural shifts and risk-taking attitudes may be inconsistent or different.

“If you ask most hiring managers what they’re looking for in their newly hired employee, they tend to list job qualifications such as having a college degree, having a certain number of years’ experience in that exact industry, and then a list of attributes like good communication skills and being a team player,” says Duffy. “If hiring managers can stop working in generalities and identify a specific list of attributes. The whole hiring process becomes more on target.”

Seeing her clients struggle to identify top talent, Duffy developed Success Profiles℠, a tool to help clients attract and retain the ‘rock star’ employee. The Success Profile contains different sections including a company overview, a summary of the position, how it fits into the organizational structure, and, most importantly, the smart goals and deliverables that will support the business plan. It helps companies think through many aspect of business strategy and how that translates into hiring. Of course, it also addresses some of the nuances of what will make someone successful in the particular position in terms of the cultural fit within that organization.

Duffy stresses that Success Profiles serve as the framework for job postings, ads, interview questions and even onboarding once the employee starts. “It’s a performance management tool and a roadmap for success,” describes Duffy. “Candidates love it because they have clarity about what is expected of them. In fact, many candidates will self-select out of the recruiting process in early stages if the Success Profile doesn’t describe what they like to do or what they believe will be a good personal fit. Managers love it because it provides a tool they can use to evaluate how the employees are performing.”

To order a copy of the book or learn more about how Success Profiles can help your company’s recruitment efforts, visit our Web site at www.EthosHCS.com.

About Ethos Human Capital Solutions

Ethos Human Capital Solutions helps businesses attract and secure premier talent, bring resolution to complex people problems, develop leaders to top performance, and advance the careers of business professionals. It provides solutions that create greater certainty in decision-making that equips as business owners strive to reach new levels of productivity and profitability. For more information, visit the Ethos Human Capital Solutions at www.ethosHCS.com.

About Linda Duffy, Founder and President of Ethos Human Capital Solutions

Linda Duffy’s 20-year, executive-level experience with major corporations helps take the complexity out of people and process challenges that businesses consistently face. Linda and her team have a solid track record in removing “seen and unseen” obstacles that limit profitable growth, bringing greater clarity to complex business issues, and helping founders and business owners achieve certainty in decision-making.