The world of talent management isn’t what it used to be—gone are the days of filing cabinets full of resumes and one-size-fits-all career paths. Today, AI is screening candidates, employees are Zooming in from all corners of the world, and HR dashboards are packed with more data than a stock market ticker.

Think of the employee lifecycle like a great story—one with an exciting beginning, meaningful character development, and a satisfying conclusion. From the first-day jitters to the final farewell, every stage of an employee’s journey shapes their experience and, ultimately, how they feel about your company. 

Your company’s biggest asset isn’t just your strategy or product—it’s your people. Employee engagement is the secret sauce that keeps your team motivated, productive, and excited to show up every day. But here’s the kicker: you can’t improve what you don’t measure.

Recruitment can sometimes feel like a game of chance—swiping through resumes and hoping to strike gold. But what if you could take the guesswork out of hiring and find the perfect fit for your team every time?

As organizations strive to align talent with the right roles, ensuring employee engagement and retention has become more crucial than ever. Over the past 17 years, I’ve worked in the realm of talent optimization, and one of the most effective strategies I’ve encountered is a simple yet powerful exercise called "Love, Loathe, Learn"—or as I like to call it, "Yays and Yucks."

In the ever-evolving world of small businesses, being a great leader is about more than just crunching numbers and making tough decisions. It's also about understanding and managing emotions—both yours and those of your team. Enter Emotional Intelligence (EI), the secret sauce that can transform your leadership style from good to great.

Recently, we partnered with the Small Business Development Center in Chico, California, to lead a workshop titled “Attract, Engage, and Retain Great Employees.”

If your company has compensation right -- and your managers are trained to drive engagement daily in a performance-based culture – Happy New Year!