Have you or your company been affected by a skills gap? According to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), a skills gap is understood as the variance between the skills employees have and the skills organizations require to maintain their competitive status. Consider a situation in which an organization...
Let’s start with the obvious: whether you sell used cars or million-dollar industrial equipment, a role in sales means you are in the business of persuasion and influence. Sales professions involve effortful, skilled work, and these roles are essential for many businesses to effectively communicate with their clients. Great sales...
The importance of mental health is a topic that is increasingly being discussed in the media and in daily conversations amongst friends, family, and at work. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health issues have gained a lot of attention globally, especially anxiety and depression. A recent review of...
Jennifer K. Dimoff, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa and consults with companies across North American to help solve business problems. She designs, develops, and delivers evidence-based solutions to problems related to leadership, occupational health and safety, and mental health...
Lockdowns, uncertainty, and extensive attention to health are things we all experienced through the pandemic, and these factors are reshaping customer behaviors. According to recent article by McKinsey & Company, one of the most important priorities of customers in the post COVID-19 era is safety. Customers are now leaning towards using...
It is commonly said that the war for talent is fiercer than ever before, and that sentiment is reflected in the enormous investments companies make to attract the best candidates available. But these investments all rest on an assumption that may not be challenged enough: can we reliably, accurately, and...
For many years, people who use tests in the talent development industry have been asking “Is this a reliable test?” and “Is this a valid test?” when deciding which tests are best to use. Recently, this discussion has expanded to include the important question of “Is this a fair test?”....
In August 2021 U.S. unemployment dropped to 5.4%. Despite ongoing waves of COVID-19 and its variants, more people are expected to re-enter the workforce as governments around the world cease providing financial relief linked to the pandemic. Experts expect intense competition for talent, further exacerbating the difficulty of recruiting top-notch talent...
If you've ever been asked if you're more of a detail-oriented or a big picture person, chances are your response was something along the lines of "…it depends on the situation I'm in." There is no room for nuance with a more traditional understanding of personality. You might get told...
Is stress at work affecting your well-being? We know that the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly heightened the stress that employees experience: nearly 70% of American workers reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has been the most stressful time of their career (Ginger, 2020). Organizations are urgently seeking to understand how they...
