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Mel Kleiman Looking for applicants? Using job boards? Using Craigslist?

Just take a look at the numbers vs. the cost. Craigslist (www.craigslist.com) sure isn't pretty and not right for a lot of jobs, but it does get the traffic and ads placed on CraigsList get picked up by the consolidators so they will appear on two of the other big job boards too: Indeed and SimpleHire.

Also check out my new book 100+1 Top Tips, Tools, & Techniques to A

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Added by Mel Kleiman on March 12, 2010 at 8:00am — No Comments

Mel Kleiman What to do when you can't afford to give raises...

Question: “I’ve had three employees ask for raises in the last 10 days,” the boss tells me. “We’re just not in the financial position to increase anybody’s wage. But these are good people and I’m afraid I’ll lose them to better-paying jobs as the economy improves. What would you do if you were

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Added by Mel Kleiman on March 11, 2010 at 8:00am — No Comments

Mel Kleiman 4 reasons to get out from behind your desk next time you interview someone...

If you are like most interviewers, you sit behind your desk when you conduct interviews. Here are a four good reasons to try something different:

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Added by Mel Kleiman on March 10, 2010 at 8:30am — No Comments

Mel Kleiman The one question you need to answer about your next new hire...

Will this applicant be a STAR employee if you hire them? How do you know?

A STAR is someone who will be Stable, Talented, Ambitious, and Respected.
They are also Super, Terrific, Awesome, and Resourceful

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Added by Mel Kleiman on March 9, 2010 at 8:30am — No Comments

Mel Kleiman Are you helping your managers recognize your best employees?

Gallup Polls reports that over 60% of American workers say they received NO recognition at work in the last 12 months and yet, if you think about it, all of us thrive on recognition. So here are two suggestions to help your managers use recognition as a motivation and retention tool:

1. Give each manager a set amount of money they have to spend on recognizing their best employees. It does not have to be a lot $50 - $100. Notice I said they have to s

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Added by Mel Kleiman on March 8, 2010 at 8:30am — No Comments

Mel Kleiman How to get the truth out of job applicants.


The more you know the less you risk so here are 20 questions/phrases that will help you find out more about an applicant. These questions/phrases will force the candidate to expand on their simple answers and tell you more of what you need to know.

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Added by Mel Kleiman on March 5, 2010 at 10:00am — No Comments

Mel Kleiman 5 steps to creating a great place to work

1. Teach your history, no matter if your company is six months old or 60 years old. You have a story to tell your new employees.

2. Share your vision, not only for the company, but also your personal vision.

3. Create values that good people can be proud of and live by them.

4. Paint a picture of the future and let them tell you where they would like to be in your picture and help them get th

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Added by Mel Kleiman on March 4, 2010 at 7:00am — No Comments

Mel Kleiman Las Vegas, Day 2: Last night I was given a $2,000 a day suite.

Las Vegas has a problem and it is making things worse for itself.

When you cut the customer experience, you create a problem for yourself and your employees.

Yesterday, I checked into one of the nicest hotels on the Strip and they gave me a great room overlooking the pool. The only problem was that as I was sitting at the desk working, the room began to smell of cooking grease. I could tell you the whole story, but they

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Added by Mel Kleiman on March 3, 2010 at 7:30am — No Comments

Mel Kleiman Are you as efficient as a Las Vegas casino?

I have been speaking in Las Vegas for years and am there right now to do a presentation later this week and to visit with some clients. I am not much of a gambler and don't spend a lot of time in the casinos, but this time my neighbor asked if I would play $100.00 for her in a dollar slot machine. She even specified the type of machine. I was to put in the $100.00 and play $2 a time for 50 times.

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Added by Mel Kleiman on March 2, 2010 at 7:00am — No Comments

Mel Kleiman Quantity vs. Quality

A guest blog by Karen McCullough

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Added by Mel Kleiman on March 1, 2010 at 6:30am — 2 Comments

Mel Kleiman Must read book.

I usually don't do book reviews. (I leave that up to Wally Bock.Check out his site.) Especially about books that are over 20 years old. But if you have not read this book it is a must.

If you are a fast reader, it will take five minutes or less. If you are a slow reader, it will take 10 minutes or less. If you have the book in front of you, most of the time

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Added by Mel Kleiman on February 26, 2010 at 7:00am — No Comments

Mel Kleiman Employee from Hell Story

Yesterday I talked about negilent retention and got this story about hiring the employee from HELL. Here it is just as I received it.

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Added by Mel Kleiman on February 25, 2010 at 7:00am — No Comments

Mel Kleiman Negligent retention one of many employment lawsuits on the rise...

Here is a link to part of a post I wrote on Retail Wire the other day. It is worth taking the time to log in and see the comments readers posted.

According to Jury Verdicts Research 2007, the fastest growing lawsuits in this country affecting retailers are related to employment law and one of the newest, growing type of

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Added by Mel Kleiman on February 24, 2010 at 7:00am — No Comments

Mel Kleiman Take me through a typical day for you...

I sat in on an interview last week where the interviewer asked the applicant to describe what a typical day in their life is like.

Seems like a great question, but I have found that there is no such thing as a typical day.

When a potential employee is asked this question, all you get are generalities and nothing really substantial to base a hiring decision on. But, if you make the question more specific : "Take me throug

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Added by Mel Kleiman on February 23, 2010 at 7:00am — No Comments

Mel Kleiman Quick idea to help you interview more effectively

Last month, an article of mine was posted on Retail Wire (a discussion board focused excluvsively on everything having to do with retail). In it, I talked about the biggest mistakes made in interviewing and the readers were allow to vote and comment on them.

The two items ranked as the biggest mistakes were:

1. Not having a clear picture of what you really need to hire.

2. Lack of ski

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Added by Mel Kleiman on February 22, 2010 at 7:00am — No Comments

Mel Kleiman What is wrong with this picture?

Here is a quote from the VP of Operations of a fast growing fast food franchise talking about opening a new location. I am not going to use the name of the chain or the person to protect the guilty.

"It's important to go in with a good idea of what you need and hire specifically for that need. There is some flexiblity though once the employees are on the job because you only had that 15 minute interview to try to figure out who they are."

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Added by Mel Kleiman on February 19, 2010 at 7:00am — No Comments

Mel Kleiman Do you and your employees have a checklist?

In the last two weeks, I have read two great articles on the use of checklists. The first article pointed out that if you have complex task that you need to get done and it has to be done correctly every time, build a checklist. Airplane pilots have their checklist and so do heart surgeons. The second article was not so profound, but said "We give employees a checklislt to go over on things like how to clean a bathroom. Why don't we give them a checklist on how to talk to and d

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Added by Mel Kleiman on February 18, 2010 at 7:00am — No Comments

Mel Kleiman Fifty percent of employers are unhappy...

A recent survey by The Customer Service Association of America reports that over 50 percent of employers are unhappy with new employees' low levels of motivation and their lack of concern for customer service rather than with their skills and abilities.

I wonder whose fault this is? Are these employers asking interview questions to determine whether an applicant has a customer service attitude? Didn't anyone ever tell them to hire for attitude and t

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Added by Mel Kleiman on February 17, 2010 at 7:00am — No Comments

Mel Kleiman A new problem on the horizon: Negligent retention

From a legal standpoint, most employers take pains to avoid hiring the wrong person (negligent hiring). Now, with turnover down because employees are staying in jobs (even ones the don't like) just for the job security, the bigger problem could be negligent retention. This happens when you keep employees on board who you know you shouldn't keep --- people who don't like their jobs and who would normally leave if times were better, but who just stick around..

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Added by Mel Kleiman on February 16, 2010 at 7:00am — No Comments

Mel Kleiman How do you deal with applicants who do not follow directions when they apply for a job?

One of my clients wrote me a note last week about the fact that she ran an ad telling applicants how to apply and what information they needed to submit with their resume...

HOW TO APPLY: No phone calls and no unscheduled, in-person office visits, please. We are doing our best to keep up with business!

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Added by Mel Kleiman on February 15, 2010 at 7:00am — No Comments

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