Hiring Leadership Strategies

In the past, most organizations considered at least the first three months to be a “honeymoon” period where new leaders absorbed the business and navigated the company culture. This seems to have shifted, particularly among the Fortune 100. A senior HR executive at a major automotive manufacturer recently summarized her view on the acculturation period for new leaders: “My honeymoon period for this job was, at best, two weeks. Our expectation is that we hire leaders and expect them to come in and make an immediate impact.”

Lowe’s last week launched its Track to the Trades program, a workforce development initiative designed to provide support for employees who want to pursue job training for skilled trades. Lowe's has partnered with adult education program Guild Education on the Track to the Trades program. The initiative comes at a time when the skilled trade…

In a panel discussion yesterday afternoon at the National Retail Federation Big Show in New York City, Hubert Joly and Marvin Ellison, the CEOs of Best Buy and J.C. Penney, respectively, addressed the importance diversity and inclusion in the workplace can have not only on their own businesses, but all corporations. Joly and Ellison were…

"If you're a manager, teaching is 90 percent of your job. There's only one reason you hire someone, and that's because you can’t do everything yourself. If you're not prepared to teach, you just don't get it. And if you hire well, and if you teach well, those people wind up doing the job better…

It’s not often that you get to hear from retail legends like Jim Sinegal, co-founder and director of Costco Wholesale Corp. That’s why I was so excited to attend his talk at SAP’s Retail Executive Forum, which was held in New York City earlier this month. And he didn't disappoint. Sinegal served as the CEO…

“We [choose] candidates who understand that it’s not about you winning; it’s about us winning. We don’t try to set up competition between channels. It’s all about one number. If the business comes through one channel or another, what's most important is that the guest came to us from any channel.”

Tommy Bahama is winning over today’s distracted consumers by focusing on unique, unconventional retail experiences for them, according to Doug Wood, CEO of the Seattle-based manufacturer and retailer of casual men's and women's sportswear and activewear, who spoke at the 2017 SAP Retail Executive Forum in New York City yesterday. Case in point: Wood discussed…

Consumers often decry the early appearance of holiday shopping commercials and decorations. For retailers, however, preparing for the holiday shopping season has become a year-round effort, especially when it comes to fulfillment center staffing. With e-commerce continuing to grow in popularity, much of today’s labor demand has shifted from brick-and-mortar stores to fulfillment centers. As…

This article originally appeared in Total Retail's sister publication, Inner Circle, the Women in Retail Leadership Circle's weekly e-newsletter. Here's part one of this two-part interview. We’re excited to share part two of our interview with Cindy DiPietrantonio, president of Alex and Ani, an omnichannel retailer of…

In the role of vice president of e-commerce and marketing, I’ve managed teams of well over 100 associates. It seemed there was always an open position to hire due to promotion, a newly created role or someone moving on. We've all experienced the pain of hiring the wrong person for the job. Hiring the right…