Guest Blog
Guest Blog
Why India Now? - Hari Venkatacharya
Having just returned from a two week business trip to India, I was struck by a number of contrasts to Canada- apart from the mass of humanity, and the concomitant challenges. The overwhelming impression I left with was one of immense optimism and a willingness to look outward, two important traits that Canadian businesses need to acquire…
David Wexler
The Business of HR
Web 2.0 Provides The Means For Re-Inventing Much Of HR….And Potentially Your Company Culture!
An increasing number of organizations are utilizing components of Web 1.0-4.0 these days, with mixed results. For some, the investment has not paid off in terms of the pay-back; for others, adoption of the web, both inside and outside the Company’s firewall has led to dramatic and positive improvements in terms of employee engagement and productivity, as well as a strengthening of the company’s culture and employment value proposition (EVA).
Below are some thoughts in terms of where Web 2.0+ can help your organization, as well as some cautionary notes on what to be prepared for.
Sean ODonovan
The Pragmatic Marketer
Post Click Marketing Insights - Landing Page Best Practices That Will Boost Conversions - Part 1
Nothing beats smart, ongoing testing programs to consistently drive up your B2B landing page conversion rates in the long term. However there are a number of landing page best practices that you should pay attention to from the get-go to make sure you aren’t unnecessarily impacting your conversions as soon as your landing page goes live.
Pierre Robitaille
2.0 Leaders
Recruiting in Cyberspace (1)
KPMG, the global auditing firm, is now on YouTube. Take a peek at KPMG Go, their college recruiting channel developed expressly for the new generation, the wikinationals.
Robert Hebert
The Talent Jungle
The Unemployed Need Not Apply
There is always someone offering fanciful or overly simplistic solutions to complex problems. And the press is all too willing to put them forth as fact or trend.
A recent Wall Street Journal article suggested that companies looking to hire executives are turning their backs on unemployed candidates in favor of passive candidates who are already employed. The reason appears to be that employed candidates are perceived to be better bets to succeed than the unemployed candidates. Why? Because, the article suggests, if the unemployed candidates were any good they would be still employed. Got that? Also, by focusing on recruiting passive candidates with specific and related experience, companies avoid the drudgery of screening and evaluating scores of possibly unrelated and unspecific candidates. Less time wasted, better candidates. End of story.
Ian Ferguson
CEO Rants and Raves
CEO Perspective: So you think you’re ready to start your own business
But will it succeed? As we all know there are too many variables in business to find a ‘sure thing’. No risk, no reward. If it was too easy then it would have been done already. However I am of the opinion that up front analysis is often lacking in trying to understand if a business stands a better or worse chance of success. While I have to admit that I am occasionally amazed at successes against all odds, it is frustrating to see businesses fail for the same old predicable reasons.
- “The product we built addressed the wrong part of the market”
- “Our service was ahead of its time”
- “Our added value was not valued by the buyer”
- “The channel never understood how to sell out product”
David Wexler
The Business of HR
Wage Freezes/Wage Variation/2010 Wage News
Leadership teams and Chief Human Resources Officers are scrambling to remain profitable during this remarkably lengthy economic slowdown. Amongst the many factors that they’ve had to manage, how to compensate with an eye on both the current situation and the hoped for near-term recovery are top of mind. Here’s what a recent (and unscientific) survey of 15 or so senior HR Executives from industries such as Pharma, Tech, Media, Financial Services, and Industrial reveals.
Mark MacLeod
The CFOs Corner
The State of the Canadian VC industry
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that VCs are heading for the door. “Not since the dot-com bust has the industry experienced as much turnover as it is now”. Partners from some of the biggest funds have retired or otherwise moved on. The same is true at all levels of these funds.
Healy Jones, a friend and former Associate at Atlas Ventures gave his very personal account of why he recently left the VC industry here. Its definitely worth reading. What should we make of all this turnover? Is this just part of the normal cycle of expansion or contraction that all industries go through? Or is there a bigger story here?...
David Wexler
The Business of HR
Building Your Stanley Cup Winning Organization Via Free Agency Or The Draft
It seems timely to ask the question of how employers can best build a winning organization, since the past couple of week’s have witnessed the National Hockey League’s annual draft for 18+ year olds and the window opening for free agent signing of veteran players with expired contracts having taken place. Many organizations struggle with whether to build their winning organization from within (by hiring and developing new talent) or by signing proven veteran talent from the marketplace. The reality is that like the National Hockey League, organizations can and should employ both means, when the situation calls for this.
Below are some thoughts on when to hire proven talent, and when to build from within, and some pros and cons for each approach…