Author and HBR contributor Peter Cappelli asserts that accounting and financial reporting are wreaking havoc on damaging HR decisions by corporate leaders. In this conversation, Peter reveals that 90% of all company vacancies were filled internally prior to 1980. Today, that number is just over 20%. He adds that there were very few layoffs more than 40 years ago. Today, layoffs make headlines weekly. We’ll learn how accounting is driving these trends in the wrong direction.
Episode Highlights
- One of the shortcomings of layoffs.fyi
- The trend toward more white-collar layoffs after 1981
- Layoff announcements vs. actual results
- The research about companies quick to pull the trigger on layoffs
- The productivity lag on hiring from the outside vs within the org.
- Employees are our best asset … empty talk?
- Peter’s best definition of human capital
- The issues with leased employees and contractors
- Financial reporting for defined benefit vs defined contribution plans
- Unlimited PTO with ulterior motives
- The call for financial transparency with internal education and development
- The unintended consequences of only filling vacancies 25% of the time with current staff
Important Links
Biographical
HBR Articles
- How Financial Accounting Screws Up HR
- Stop Overengineering People Management
- 4 Things to Consider Before You Start Using AI in Personnel Decisions
- Where Measuring Engagement Goes Wrong
- There’s No Such Thing as Big Data in HR
- All other HBR articles
Recent Books
- Our Least Important Asset (July 2023)
- The Future of the Office (August 2021)
- Why Good People Can’t Get Jobs ( May 2012 )
- All other books
Episode Pairings
Ram Charan on Talent
Talent banks, leadership scorecards, and crucial one-to-one meetings in talent management.
Lencioni’s, The Motive
One consultant of Lencioni’s Table Group asserts that The Motive is the author’s best.
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