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  • 05.31.2024
  • Carlsbad CA

Latest Resource : ‘Taking the Guesswork out of Hiring and Promoting’

In memoriam, Hank Plotkin - November 29, 1935 to May 24, 2024, Founder of Plotkin Group.

In March of 1968, Hank Plotkin left a good job at TRW to start Plotkin Group.  He had 3 kids under 8 years old and a wife to support.  It was a bold and risky move, something I would not have done.  He was in the aerospace industry working on the Minuteman Missile.  For those of you who got to know Hank, you can understand why he left corporate America to be his own boss. 

When he started Plotkin Group, his goal was to help Cities operate more efficiently with strategic planning by applying what he learned in the Aerospace industry.  Four years later in 1972, Hank built The Family Twin Cinema, two theaters with 256 seats in each.  He was operating two businesses simultaneously. 

In the ... FULL ARTICLE >

  • 12.21.2023
  • Carlsbad CA

Latest Resource : Happy Holidays and New Year!

We thank you for your business in 2023!.  We look forward to helping you make more informed Hiring and Employee decisions in 2024.
  
Consider the following advice from some very successful people.

“We found instead that they first got the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats—and then they figured out where to drive it. The old adage “People are your most important asset” turns out to be wrong. People are not your most important asset. The right people are.”   – Jim Collins, author ‘

"I hire people brighter than me and I get out of their way."  -- Lee Iacocca

"Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy.  And if you don... FULL ARTICLE >

  • 11.16.2023
  • Carlsbad CA

Latest Resource : Four Common Interviewing Misjudgments

The following scenarios are based upon reading candidate assessment results, then speaking with clients.  Assessing a candidate before a first or second interview is going to help interviewers and hiring managers immensely with the information provided in the reports.  The end result will be a better interview and more informed hiring decisions. 

The candidate seemed to have lots of Energy in the Interview
Interviewers get confused when they interview a candidate who appears to have ‘lots of energy’, but their score on the assessment says otherwise.  When a candidate responds on the assessment telling us that they are task oriented, patient, and lower on energy, results like this are typically very predictive over time.  Candidates who appear ‘energetic’ in an interview but... FULL ARTICLE >

  • 06.22.2023
  • Carlsbad CA

Latest Resource : Relative is a powerful word in the Hiring Process

If you say that something is relative, you mean that it needs to be considered and judged in relation to other things. (Collins Dictionary) 

When you compare two runners that race in the 100-meter dash or mile, it is easy to compare their past performances on a relative basis.  When you hire someone, relative is a very important word to remember and use when possible.  This is one of the many challenges with hiring. 

When you use a candidates’ resume and ask follow up questions on past jobs, what measures are you using to make it relative to your company, the position, your expectations and the immediate supervisors’ desires and style?  One company may need someone to type 75 wpm, while your company only needs 50.  This is easy to measure, bu... FULL ARTICLE >

  • 05.10.2023
  • Carlsbad CA

Latest Resource : Good Luck Hiring!

We all need some luck or lots of luck when it comes to hiring a new employee.  Hiring is Challenging.  Not only are people complex to figure out, but predicting future job fit behavior with limited information is not easy.  The best designed hiring process for each job will increase your odds of hiring the best candidate.  The ability of the hiring manager(s) plays a crucial part too.
 
Not only are you trying to hire someone who gets along with co-workers, someone the manager can manage and develop, but most importantly someone that can meet or exceed your expectations doing their job properly.  I have seen many hiring managers forget this important piece of the puzzle, ‘meeting job expectations’. 
 
Over the years I have heard hiring managers give reasons they want to hire a candida... FULL ARTICLE >

  • 12.21.2022
  • Carlsbad CA

Latest Resource : Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! - from Plotkin Group

We Thank You for your business in 2022!  And we look forward to helping you make more informed people decisions in 2023 as well.
 
The following quotes either relate to the Hiring Process or to the effects of not having a well-designed selection process.  They also serve us well to consider every day.
 
“We design our lives through the power of choices.” Richard Bach
“We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Aristotle
“Time is money.”  Benjamin Franklin
“Ignorance is Bliss” Thomas Gray
“You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.” Wayne Gretzky
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” Ralph Waldo EmersonFULL ARTICLE >

  • 10.13.2022
  • Carlsbad CA

Latest Resource : Are you looking for a Hunter, Farmer or a Hybrid Salesperson

It is important to understand what type of salesperson you are looking for and need.  Hiring for sales positions is one of the most challenging and important positions that many of you hire for. 
 
“The “hunter” sales rep drives revenue by generating new leads and converting them. The “farmer,” on the other hand, generates revenue by nurturing and growing existing accounts. They cultivate what's already there. The hunter vs farmer sales framework allows sales reps to specialize in their strengths.”*  The “hybrid” salesperson is a blend of both.
 
At Plotkin Group we have discovered some interesting data with our sales assessment studies for all three of these roles.  We uncovered what personality trait scores, and combinations are important and relevant in predicting what type of pers... FULL ARTICLE >

  • 11.30.2021
  • Carlsbad, CA

Latest Resource : Should Resumes Be Replaced with Questions and Assessments?

“Hisayuki Idekoba, the CEO of Recruit Holdings Co, the Japanese owner of Glassdoor and Indeed, told Bloomberg that despite struggling to find staff, many small and medium (sized) businesses were still trying to recruit workers the way they did a decade ago — by asking them to submit resumes.  He said the labor shortage was a chance to move away from a "resume-profile culture." Resumes could be replaced with questions and assessments to see how a job seeker would handle specific tasks required by the role, he said.”

At Plotkin Group we agree with this strategy for some industries and positions.  We also believe resumes provide value for the other positions but, they should carry less weight than many hi... FULL ARTICLE >

WHO WE HELP

“We knew that our employees would be the key to our success, and we knew what we had to do philosophically, we just weren’t sure how to get there. And that’s where we were fortunate enough to find Jim’s group to help us.

Plotkin helped us develop a tremendous culture of excellence in our organization. We had 3,500 employees, and we were able to reach every employee, top to bottom, and they all had a pride in the organization that we were able to instill in them with many of the programs that we worked with Plotkin on. As a result, all our business results were outstanding – profitability, awards and recognition, and brand building.”

Pete Davison, former SVP & COO for PGA Tour’s TPC Network.

“Turnover at our organization averages 65%, and 1/3 of our hires leave within their first 90 days. In 2014, after piloting the Stanton Survey for 9 months, we operationalized it across our company. The data we gathered during this period showed significantly lower turnover of new hires — approximately 17% at both the 6 and 9 month post-hire dates, respectively, within the pilot period. Improving our turnover rates was the reason we started using the Stanton Survey, but the byproduct is a better hire. The downstream effects of a good hiring decision are irrefutable and can last for years. Better people hire better people.”

VP of HR, Consumer Loan Finance Company; South Carolina

"The value of The Plotkin Group assessments has been twofold," explains Recruiter customer Dick Kopplin. "First, the testing process gives us increased credibility with our clients, and the assurance that we are evaluating candidates not only through our own process, but by using impartial experts. In addition, the testing often indicates that we should do some additional checking on candidates who have not tested well in certain areas. We would highly recommend the services provided by The Plotkin Group."

#1 Recruiter in his Industry

"The Stanton Survey helped us reduce workers comp by 75%!”

HR Manager, Printing Company  

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