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Cormac McGrane

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Owner/Manager, THG Ireland

100 points

I've been in the Human Development arena since 1983. Seems like a long time? Not to me. I love my work and I learn something new every day. People never cease to amaze me with their ability to confound ...

I've been in the Human Development arena since 1983. Seems like a long time? Not to me. I love my work and I learn something new every day. People never cease to amaze me with their ability to confound and surprise for good and for bad. Fortunately, people are mostly good. But they can come across as bad, if they are hired into the wrong position. I help my clients avoid such mistakes, or resolve the issues that arise from such mistakes. Among other behaviourally related issues like development, leadership and change.

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WEB: The McQuaig System

Cormac McGrane published a brief

May 18, 2010

Employee Hiring Strategies - Essential Business Insurance for Small Businesses

Human Resources

Cormac McGrane published a brief

May 17, 2010

Reference Checking in the Selection Process

Human Resources

Interview Skills

Cormac McGrane and 24 other people answered this question

May 10, 2010

What are the worst mistakes hiring managers make?

Hi Nik,
I'd be interested in seeing a link to that New Scientist article or a date of publication. My own view is that Behavioural Interviewing does not replace "Gut Feel" but serves a critical role in "Educating" it. I have seen the difference between ... more

Human Resources

Cormac McGrane and 5 other people answered this question

May 10, 2010

In a recession, how do you increase job satisfaction and retain top talent?

Thanks Tony,
You just reminded me of the experience of one of my client companies, some time back. They had a talent retention problem. Their top sales people were leaving for sales management positions at their competitors.
Essentially this is more a problem for their ... more

Human Resources

Employee Engagement

Cormac McGrane and 2 other people answered this question

May 6, 2010

Do we need a payroll administration office?

I have often wondered why Payroll is seen as a HR activity. Surely this aspect of handling money is best dealt with by the Finance Department. After all, they are the ones with the minds and skills for processing payments and doing sums :o)
Does ... more

Human Resources

Administrative Controls

Cormac McGrane and 7 other people answered this question

May 4, 2010

How do I create a good team?

OK, nice little battle brewing here. I'd love to get involved and try to stir it up a bit more, but that is not going to help David, so I'll try to just answer his question rather than debate the pro's and con's of different ... more

Human Resources

Team Collaboration

Cormac McGrane recommends this comment by Bob Light

April 12, 2010

Performance Management/Self Appraisals

A great question Tiffany. Typically the domain of larger companies, performance evals are a great concept, but extremely difficult to manage for the reasons already noted. I worked at a company once where they tried to do this, and the managers rated everyone very high ... more

Human Resources

Cormac McGrane recommends this comment by Susan Penny Brown

April 12, 2010

Raw Talent or Experience

If you've got a corporate culture where mistakes are allowed and compensated for with a lot of raw energy, then hiring talent is a great approach. It also works when managers have a lot of time to mentor raw talent.
But if your company is more ... more

Human Resources

Cormac McGrane and 3 other people answered this question

April 9, 2010

Passion or experience - what makes a better employee?

Great point Dan, passion can be dangerous if the individual is a poor learner. They may be quick to make mistakes and slow to learn. Also the experienced person may be stuck in their ways and be unprepared to learn the approaches of their new ... more

General Management

Cormac McGrane and 8 other people answered this question

April 9, 2010

How does running a startup differ from running an established company?

Excellent discussion this, with many valid points for all who face the dilemma of moving from start-up to established business. I would like to highlight what I see as one of the critical issues faced by the Entrepreneur.
That is, knowing when your business has ... more

General Management

Michael Dortch selected a best answer for

April 6, 2010

Will companies ever have as many employees as they did before the downturn?

"One of the great surprises of the economic downturn that began 27 months ago is this: Businesses are producing only 3 percent less goods and services than they were at the end of 2007, yet Americans are working nearly 10 percent fewer hours because of ... more

Human Resources

Cormac McGrane and 4 other people answered this question

April 6, 2010

What personal qualities do you look for when hiring an IT Director (CTO)?

Hi Timothy,
If we assume that this individual passes on tech knowledge, then I'd be inclined to focus on their communication skills (translating tech speak into words of one syllable or less for their colleagues in other functions), I would also look at their assertiveness. ... more

Human Resources

Information Technology

Aki Barton selected a best answer for

Sept. 25, 2009

What are some good tips to ensure that we don't make the mis-hire mistake again?

My partner and I have run a successful window cleaning business for the last two years. We are finally making money and increasing our repeat customers. We want to move the company forward by adding a new truck to the team, but we haven't had ... more

Human Resources

Cormac McGrane and 4 other people answered this question

Sept. 25, 2009

What are the pros and cons to having employees do self-evaluations before I write up their review?

Interesting discussion thread. Reading through it it looks like the same old management chestnut. If you are a competent manager this approach is a useful tool for getting some structured comment from your staff member. But on the other hand, if you have been doing ... more

Human Resources

Performance Evaluation

Talent Management

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