Feeling Like A Pretender? (The New Leader)

John Whitaker Corporate America, Employee Development, Leadership, Learning and Development, Managing People, Onboarding

If you get things that you desire, there may be unforeseen and unpleasant consequences. Another way to say that, “Be careful what you wish for,” but Google reminded me that’s also the name of a cheesy Nick Jonas flick (redundant, I know.) Whatevs, the spirit of the comment is the same – anyone striving for advancement in their professional life is …

Burn(out) Baby Burn

John Whitaker Change, Change Management, Corporate America, Employee Relations, Uncategorized

What’s up FOT’ers? Been a while, how are you holding it together? How’s that job treating you? Are you staving off those feelings of burnout? “What’s that?” you say? “Burnout?” Yep, burnout is officially a thing now. “Burnout” has gone legit. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), workplace burnout can now be classified as an “occupational phenomenon” which may warrant …

Herding Cats…and Recruiters

John Whitaker John Whitaker, Managing People

Remember when you had a recruiting desk to manage? You had your requisitions, you had phone screens scheduled, interviews scheduled, you knew your hiring managers, and you developed a rhythm. Cashing checks and snapping necks. And then they went and promoted you. Now as the manager of other recruiters, you confirm what you probably suspected all along–recruiters are a wacky bunch …

I Love This Place! …Wait, I Got Screwed!?!?

John Whitaker Compensation/Cash Money, John Whitaker

You found a new gig and you’re excited about it. During the interview process, you developed immediate chemistry with the hiring manager/now boss, so much so that you decided to take a bit of a risk. You would have liked to receive a bigger offer, but you’ll make this work. Okay, so maybe it was a little disappointing that it …

CHRO, Yo

John Whitaker Bad HR, John Whitaker

So…I’m throwing my hat in the ring, folks. Chief Human Resources Officer/Chief People Officer (CHRO & CPO, respectively), whatever the position is called at your company, I’m stretching my wings and hoping not to get clipped. The incumbent at my company took an unexpected early departure, and now there’s a big, fat vacuum at the top of the HR totem …

Keeping Your Best Hands on Deck in Times of Uncertainty

John Whitaker Change, John Whitaker, Uncategorized

You know there’s a funny fact about mosquitoes…only the female variety of mosquito will bite you, while only the male mosquito makes an audible “buzz” when it flies. So the saying goes, it’s when you hear nothing that you should worry most. At DentalOne, we’re currently going through one of those transitory phases where change & uncertainty abound. Needless to …

How Much is Too Much When It Comes to Relationships with Your Direct Reports?

John Whitaker Culture, Employee Engagement, Engagement and Satisfaction, John Whitaker, Performance, Performance Reviews, Recognition, Recruiting, Retention

You know that side-job you have as the informal HR Advisor for any/all of your friends? It can be enlightening at times, even uplifting, when you hear some of the ridiculous sh*t people are forced to put up with in their workplace. For the situation to reach the “Mind if I run something by you?” stage, it usually entails the …

The Honeymoon Is Over, AKA “The Employee Experience”

John Whitaker candidate experience, John Whitaker

“Candidate experience.” Google that term and you get just over 11 million hits. I’m guessing a fair percentage of those can be traced back to the contributors on this site, myself included, as sharing the gospel of the candidate experience is a pretty cool thing to do, don’tcha know? Here’s my concern about the avalanche of material you find about …

New Law Coming to a State Near You

John Whitaker Compensation/Cash Money, John Whitaker

“So, [candidate-person], how much do you currently make?”  How is it that something so obviously inappropriate to ask in any social or professional setting is one of the boilerplate questions asked of every job candidate? “What do you currently make?” Excuse me, but what in the hell does that have to do with the price of grits in Charleston?* I …

3 Ingredients Needed for New Manager Success

John Whitaker John Whitaker, Recruiting

Howdy folks, welcome to Texas, home of the folksy colloquialism. In today’s edition, we learn how to make chicken salad! No, no, not the delectable combination of poultry and love scooped on your plate at Corner Bakery. I’m talking about doing the impossible – making chicken salad out of chicken-feathers (this is the SFW version.) This comes to mind whenever college …