Traditionally, organizations have hired employees based on what they can do and have done in the past (competency-based recruiting), rather than what they are naturally good at and love doing, or Strengths-Based Recruitment (SBR).  Companies, such as Starbucks and Gap, have adopted SBR and have reported increases in productivity and customer satisfaction and decreases in sick days.

Through case studies and interviews with executive board level leaders, Strengths-Based Recruitment and Development takes a more strategic look at developing SBR and provides valuable insight into how SBR has been successfully implemented in organizations to improve performance and the bottom line.  It goes beyond simply recruiting the right people, to keeping employees working at their best through development and performance management, and creating a culture that brings out their strengths.  Chapters explain the differences between SBR and competency-based recruiting, the benefits of using SBR, how SBR works in practice, how to implement an SBR strategy while avoiding pitfalls, the financial and human impact of an effective strengths-based strategy, and finally, discuss strengths-based performance management and development.

Introduction
PART ONE A practical guide to implementing strengths-based recruitment and development

01 An introduction to strengths-based recruitment
What is strengths-based recruitment (SBR)
What are the origins of SBR?
How is SBR different?
A brief history of recruitment
What are the alternatives to SBR?
The competency-based approach to selection
How is each stage of the recruitment process affected by SBR?
The different SBR methodologies
Useful questions
Tips for the practitioner
References

02 Why do organizations implement strengths-based recruitment?
The benefits, in a nutshell
The evidence
Checklist
Useful questions
Tips for the practitioner
References
Notes on organizations referenced in this chapter

03 How does strengths-based recruitment work in practice?
Definitions and approaches
Selecting out or selecting in?
Selecting without compromise
Strengths-based interviewing
The two main SBR approaches and how they work
Useful questions
Tips for the practitioner
Strengths-based interviews-FAQs
References

04 Successfully implementing strengths-based recruitment
The factors for successfully implementing SBR
Pitfalls to avoid
Lessons learned from organizations that have implemented SBR
Advice from senior leaders to other senior executives who are thinking of implementing SBR
Tips for the practitioner
References
Notes on organizations referenced in this chapter

 

05 Strengths-based development and performance management
The problem mindset
The strengths-based approach to developing and managing people
The problem with traditional performance management and development approaches
What is strengths-based performance management?
What is involved in a strengths-based performance management process?
What is strengths-based development?
How does strengths-based development and performance management work in practice?
What’s the case for strengths-based development and performance management?
Frequently asked questions
Tips for the practitioner
References
Strengths assessment tools referenced in this chapter

06 Putting strengths at the heart of your talent management strategy
What is talent management?
What do we mean by talent?
What’s important about talent management?
How a strengths approach to talent management can transform organizational culture
Implementing a strengths-based talent management strategy
Where to start?
Elements of a talent management strategy and what makes them strengths-based
The strengths-based organization
Advice for senior leaders
Tips for the practitioner

References
Notes on organizations referenced in this chapter

07 Well-being and happiness
Definitions: subjective well-being, life satisfaction and happiness
Why is it important to understand happiness and well-being?
The characteristics of happy people
The role of passion and meaning
How important is our work to our well-being?
Lessons for leaders and practitioners
References

 

08 The future of strengths
The changing context
Start with a question
What if?
The strengths revolution is within your reach…
References

PART TWO Real-life insights and stories

 

09 Interviews with senior leaders
Professor Hilary Chapman, CBE, Chief Nurse, Sheffield Taching Hospitals
Lynda Greenshields, HR Director, Acromas Group, 2011–14
Professor Katherine Fenton, OBE, Chief Nurse, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 2010–15
Helen Lamont, Nursing and Patient Services Director, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Sandra Porter, HR Director, Starbucks UK and Ireland, 2007–11
Samantha Rockey, Head of Leadership Development, SABMiller
Eva Sage-Gavin, Executive Vice President of Human Resources and Corporate Affairs, Gap Inc, 2003–14
Professor Janice Sigsworth, Director of Nursing, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
References

10 Interviews with managers and recruiters
Karen Coles, Nurse Staffing Review Project Lead, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Nick Corbo, Director of Customer Experience and Agent Development, Saga
Charlotte Henderson, former Team Leader, financial services business
Debbie Hutchinson, Assistant Director of Nursing, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Keith Jones, Recruitment and Management Information Manager, financial services company
Elisabeth Pullar, Senior Nurse, Professional Practice Team, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
Reference

11 Interviews with people who transitioned from the wrong job to the right job
Mike Blake: from Technical Specialist to Sales Manager to Executive Briefing Consultant (IBM UK Ltd)
Joel Davies: from Woodwork Tool Apprentice to Hairdresser/Hairdressing Salon Owner
Martin North: from Salesman to Marketing Manager (US-based e-commerce football speciality retailer)
David Reebok: from Trader to Business Owner/CEO
Strateas Scotis: from Physiotherapist to Assistant Coffee Shop Manager (Costa)
Lynne Stainer: from Accident Claims Negotiator/Manager to Florist (own business)
Reference

"Great careers and great performance result from playing to strengths and ensuring you have 'round pegs in round holes'. Sally Bibb explains what strength based talent management is all about, offers guidance on how to do it, and provides plenty of ammunition for leaders needing to persuade sceptical colleagues of the case for change."

"This book is a must read for anyone involved in talent management.... Making sure that we identify the personality of the candidate and of the role and ensuring a good fit, is a strength-based approach, but rarely done. This book highlights the how and why...excellent read."

"A very powerful and impactful book with practical application for any organization compelled to create sustainable performance in the 21st century, beginning with the recruitment process! In a very crowded marketplace of academic approaches to the challenges of talent acquisition, this book captures precisely what is now demanded for successful recruitment and onboarding.  A must-read for any HR practitioner who wants a seat at the strategic table!

"Packed with real examples, this book shows how strengths-based recruitment can help organizations to achieve ongoing success.  It is a must for everybody who cares about helping their organization to shape a successful future."

"Sally Bibb has been a keen observer of the development of management talent throughout her career.  She knows what works!

 

Her superb knowledge is encapsulated in Strengths-Based Recruitment and Development.  This book is a toolkit for managers and corporate coaches to motivate and get the best out of current and future employees.  If you want to build a great team and make sure that your company is a winner, this is the book you need!"

"If you want to make a profound change to the performance and wellbeing of your staff and organisation, then this book is for you."

"Whether you're looking to improve the efficiency and profitability of your business or if you're an ambitious graduate looking for a job that's the right fit, Sally Bibb's book makes compelling reading."

"As a marketing professional, it's fascinating to apply the concept of taking your best customers and analyzing them to find others who look like them to your working team.  Sally Bibb advocates the use of this concept to use the knowledge of what strengths make a team member excel and apply this to the recruitment process. 

 

The real-life insights and stories set this book apart from other business books.  This section provides interviews that allow you to start from a more knowledgeable starting point and take advantage of learning from other companies who successfully implemented SBR."

"Sally Bibb...demonstrates successful strengths-based talent selection, development and management for the 21st century. Her advice is holistic, systematic, and both rational and practical. It's hard to imagine leaders not following her approach and integrating it into their agendas."

"Successful people are good at what they do. So why not build the talent in your organisation by putting your people in positions they enjoy doing? Strengths-Based Recruitment and Development shows you how to do just this.... A must-read for business leaders, HR professionals and academics alike."

"Imagine the competitive advantage that your organization would enjoy if you could maximize the potential of all your staff.  In this book Sally Bibb makes the business case for applying strengths-based practice in the workplace.  This book is the first of its kind to provide evidence-based guidance, insightful case studies and practical tools, tips and strategies to make strengths-based recruitment and development work for your organization.  Are you ready to join the strengths-based revolution?"

"For an HR professional, this is a must-read.  The strengths approach challenges the way many of us have thought about and done talent development and management for years.  In this book, Sally Bibb puts that challenge to us in a compelling, practical and evidence-based way."

"With solid intellectual foundations in positive psychology, Sally Bibb's Strengths-Based Recruitment and Development is a timely and welcome challenge to the current and outdated orthodoxies that bedevil how people in organizations are managed.  Sally's highly compelling book offers us a convincing case for how the strengths-based approach can make a positive difference and bring about meaningful change in organizations; moreover, with the aplomb of a highly skilled practitioner of the strengths-based approach herself, she shows us how we can all become more effective and fulfilled in our professional and personal lives."

Sally Bibb is a consultant, speaker, writer, and founder and managing director of Engaging Minds, a strengths-based recruiting consulting company.  She has held senior roles in The Economist Group and international development roles in telecommunications/media sectors.  She is the author of  Generation Y For Rookies (Marshall Cavendish Corporation), The Right Thing (Wiley), Trust Matters (Palgrave MacMillan), and The Stone Age Company (Cyan Communications).

"Recruiting the right staff can seem like a 'dark art' at times but this excellent book will inspire you to undertake strengths-based recruitment in your organization.  This book is an essential guide for all senior nursing and HR leaders who want to recruit the best using a tested and endorsed methodology.  I can highly recommend it."

"Sally Bibb has articulated the themes in strengths-based recruitment with such simplicity, clarity and conciseness in this book.  This is definitely a must-read for the organizations looking to implement an understandable and effective strategy for their talent management and resourcing."

"Strengths-based recruitment is rightly here to stay and any serious recruiter can no longer ignore the benefits. Sally Bibb is the preeminent expert and has given us an interesting, practical and inspiring guide to everything we need to know."

"HR is besotted with the pursuit of the latest big idea, irrespective of the needs of the recipient organization and the veracity of the bought-in solution.  Strengths-based recruitment is at the other end of the spectrum.  It is based on analysis of needs and proven technologies, which unusually for 'HR products' can generate substantial and tangible benefits.  Sally Bibb's book describes this brilliantly."

"This is the most refreshing book I have read about recruiting and retaining talent.... If I could get every hiring manager in our matrixed organisation to read and apply just three or four things from this book our business would see remarkable outputs."

"I'm always looking for more effective ways of enhancing performance and improving productivity. This book provides compelling evidence as to why using a strengths based approach to recruitment and development helps to achieve this."