Dr. Wendell Williams is a bottom-line consultant with a message: how to avoid nonsense HR practices, how to identify employees in the top 20%, and how to manage their performance effectively. His academic training and practical experience translates into competency systems that actually work, tests that accurately predict job performance, appraisal tools that clarify employee direction, and HR systems that follow EEOC guidelines. Wendell has both a PhD in industrial psychology and an MBA. He has been widely quoted both nationally and internationally and is a ER Daily author.

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 Evaluating Quality of Hire: Can’t Get There From Here
by Dr. Wendell Williams - Nov, 2008
Time and again I read recommendations for evaluating quality of hire. Ask the managers, ask the employees, ask an astrologer. None of these things will ever give you more than a subjective opinion about the kind of information you need to improve the quality of hire. Here’s why. Imagine...
 
 Web-Based Hiring Tests: Do They Deliver?
by Dr. Wendell Williams - Nov, 2008
The phone rings. Someone on the other end says he or she wants to build (or buy) a Web-enabled hiring test. Let’s say it will be for salespeople (generally the caller is a recruiter or HR manager, but sometimes he or she is a gopher). After discussing the idea for a few minutes, I make ...
 
 Good Test? Bad Test?
by Dr. Wendell Williams - Nov, 2008
Get used to it: unless your organization hires everyone who applies, you are testing. Some people (even attorneys who should know better) vigorously deny that their organizations test applicants (pssst?interviews are tests!). Whether an organization uses verbal questions or written ques...
 
 More Career Nonsense
by Dr. Wendell Williams - Nov, 2008
Every so often, I come across shameful hiring information included in newsletters. I always thought journalists were supposed to research their facts; however, in a recent career newsletter, there were three articles that immediately got my attention. If any readers come across articles li...
 
 Sales to Sales Manager?
by Dr. Wendell Williams - Nov, 2008
It’s a common assumption. A good sales manager should first be a good salesperson, right? Wrong. It is a big jump from being a skilled “doer” to being a skilled “coach of doers.” In many cases, the top sales person is an enigma. Salespeople are ego-driven and competitive and want to be ...
 
 Bigger Does Not Always Mean Better
by Dr. Wendell Williams - Oct, 2007
Dissecting the hiring practices of a well-known company The Wall Street Journal recently posted an audio weblog describing the hiring practices used by a well-known Internet service provider. Apparently, some people believe this provider is setting some kind of hiring example. Howev...
 
 Reducing Sales Turnover
by Dr. Wendell Williams - Oct, 2007
Solutions to two common problems Much of my career has been spent managing, training, and hiring salespeople. In almost every organization, it seems that well-meaning sales managers hinder the hiring process, salespeople actively resist training, and high turnover is the norm. Nowhe...
 
 Nuts!
by Dr. Wendell Williams - Oct, 2007
What the organizations with the best customer service reps have in common Being a selection wonk, I continually look for disconnects between company policy and employment practices. Glaring examples tend to occur when I have a problem and need assistance from an employee who was suppose...
 
 Sales Interviews or Tests: More Than Meets the Eye
by Dr. Wendell Williams - Oct, 2007
Many organizations incorrectly assess salespeople Almost every sales applicant experiences interviews and tests. Is this good or bad? It's hard to tell. Although it would take dynamite to separate most hiring managers from their favorite test, few organizations have conducted studies sh...
 
 Whether or Not You Realize it, You're Using Assessments
by Dr. Wendell Williams - Oct, 2007
A rose by any other name is still a rose Assessment! What a concept! Imagine a world where job applicants are screened for their job skills…before being hired! Wow! Assessment = Judgment = Test = Interview = Application = Resume It's so simple, it's complicated. Folks, anyone ...
 
 Copy the Marines? Halos and Horns
by Dr. Wendell Williams - Oct, 2007
Don't let a sweeping conclusion cloud your judgment A large number of readers recently rushed in to confirm that military hires were "slam-dunk" employees. Almost every story was backed with a personal anecdote and criticism was branded downright unpatriotic. I spent a few years in t...
 
 Using Bio-Data for Selection
by Dr. Wendell Williams - Oct, 2007
Looking for love in all the wrong places Some of you might have heard or read about Google and its bio-data applicant screening process. As cited in a recent New York Times article, its basic approach is supposed to be simple: Survey current employees on a variety of characteristics...
 
 Validating a Personality Test
by Dr. Wendell Williams - Oct, 2007
Measure twice, cut once Sure, it's easy to say engineering, legal, IT, or actuarial jobs require technical degrees. People in these professions need a substantial amount of education to practice their trade. But we all know from watching folks in these professions that it takes more tha...
 
 Improving Productivity…Really!
by Dr. Wendell Williams - Sep, 2007
It's all about management Decreasing turnover and increasing productivity can be a natty problem. Solutions usually come in one strength: weak. That is, incentive programs, public awards, and social get-togethers generally fail to make a long-term financial impression. I won't claim...
 
 Make the EEOC Your Friend
by Dr. Wendell Williams - Sep, 2007
The government hiring guidelines are not only a government recommendation, they are a best practice I really don't like being a resident doomsayer, but organizational hiring and promotional practices are generally so abysmal that I am compelled to make it a big issue. Take EEOC tracking...
 
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