All of this leads us to ponder the risky art of making predictions in any area of human endeavour! Notwithstanding the risks and uncertainties that face us, Cuma's Corner boldly offers some predictions for "The HR Year of 2013."

How often have you heard the phrase, "Oh sure, she/he got promoted because they're the manager's favourite."

Interestingly enough, recent research suggests that favouritism is much more widespread than initially believed. But what exactly is favouritism from a recruitment perspective?

Survey after survey is showing that employee retention is a growing human resource concern for today’s businesses and not-for-profit organizations. In fact, some surveys are showing that over 50% of employees are dissatisfied with their jobs and have placed themselves back into the job market. While one might think this is good news for recruiters and employers engaged in a candidate search, it also suggests that attention needs to be paid to those work elements that will not only attract new employees but will help to keep them.

There is an old saying that the higher the level of success a candidate achieves in their career, the more difficult it is for organizations to thoroughly assess their skills. Why is that? The answer is this: by the time a manager rises to a senior executive position, they are typically very good communicators. Good communicators are skilled at telling a stories, selling themselves and, on occasion, embellishing their skills. It’s just what they do.