This past year has been busier than ever, and my office was in sore need of a good cleaning. Anyone else know the feeling? Among other things, I had books stacked in just about every corner. And as an avid reader, it feels like I’ve read just about every book released on identifying and hiring the best talent, maximizing the effectiveness of teams and improving leadership. (Ok, maybe not every one, but trust me when I say there have been a lot.)

Over the years, some of the best books I’ve read came as recommendations from colleagues, so I’ve adopted the policy to share the same information with others, too. I’m including a list of my favorite business and leadership books at the end of the article for those who are interested. They’re great reads for any business owner, human resources director or hiring manager. But what sometimes irks me is that the books devoted to hiring the best talent rarely include any mention of the tools that minimize the guesswork, and therefore, some of the risks of making a new hire.

Perhaps like you, I use the time at the end of year and the beginning of the new one to ruminate about the trends in hiring and talent management, and how it affects my business’s ability to reach goals. I also review which clients have really improved their processes and results, as well as those who seem to be stuck in less than desirable patterns, so that I can develop an action plan to help them hire right the first time, improve productivity and decrease turnover.

This year it’s come to my attention more than ever that clients who commit to best-practice hiring strategies highlighted in the books below and are dedicated users of the ProfileXT® have seen the benefits of a multi-prong approach to hiring and developing employees who fit not only in the role, but also in the culture.

Being intentional about developing an adaptable corporate culture, engaging employees, increasing productivity, getting better results from teams and developing leaders is a constant practice that needs to be refined in order to remain competitive. But it’s impossible to make much headway in any of these areas without having the right people in the right spots.

The books I admire most include how critical it is to identify, understand and nurture certain traits in employees, but offer no way other than the traditional interview and reference checking process to do this. Using an assessment like the ProfileXT® and its various reports (i.e., leadership, team and individual) serves to provide a more scientific approach to the talent selection process. If you can get a 3D view or x-ray of a candidate’s potential to be successful in the role, why wouldn’t you use it?

Pre-hire assessment programs like the ProfileXT® makes hiring, team building and leadership development much more of an objective versus subjective process. It identifies an individual’s traits that will be a strength to your company, as well as those that could lead to some vulnerabilities if not effectively managed. Along with an interview guide to improve the behavioral-based interviewing techniques many books teach, assessments simply make hiring easier.

Passionate about helping companies hire right, I’d enjoy an opportunity to help you identify areas in the hiring process that could be improved. Adding an assessment program is an affordable solution to increasing productivity and reducing turnover.

Without further ado, here’s my list of best reads. If you’ve read something that you found excellent, please share it with me, too.

1. “Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter” by Liz Wiseman and Greg McKeown
2. “The Ideal Team Player” by Patrick Lencioni
3. “Good to Great” by Jim Collins
4. “Topgrading” Third edition by Bradford D. Smart, Ph.D. is one of the “bibles” of hiring and selection
5. “Who” by Geoff Smart and Randy Street
6. “96 Great Interview Questions to Ask Before You Hire” by Paul Falcone teaches you to recognize the red flags during an interview
7. “Hire with Your Head” by Lou Adler
8. “Hiring Success: Art and Science of Staffing and Selection” by Steven T. Hunt

Here’s to a successful 2017! I look forward to supporting you in your quest to hire and retain the right employees for your team. Please email me at [email protected] for more information about the ProfileXT® or any of our other assessments.