Lancaster, PA -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/22/2013 -- As the U.S. economy slowly recovers from the "Great Recession," employers are finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with demand and growth. The reason? Despite prolonged high unemployment, they can't find enough skilled and qualified employees to fill open jobs.

That is why the Pennsylvania Chamber Educational Foundation will welcome Success Performance Solutions President Ira S Wolfe to keynote its Workforce Development Summit: Trends, Solutions, and Action Steps for Pennsylvania Companies on Friday, October 25, 2013. The event will be held at the Radisson Hotel Harrisburg.

Wolfe feels the results of a recent PA Chamber survey is only a sneak peek into what he calls a worsening "perfect labor storm."

The biggest mistake employers and policymakers are making is comparing today's workplace to the past. "Unless they were around in the mid-19th century during the Industrial Revolution," says Wolfe, the author of The Perfect Labor 2.0 and Geeks, Geezers, and Googlization, they have never experienced such a dramatic shift in the definition of work and the workplace. Thanks to technology, globalization, and significant shifts in demographics, solutions that were best practices just a few years ago just don't work anymore."

To explore the current workplace environment in PA and how companies are responding to these once-in-a-lifetime challenges, the Success Performance Solutions head will join leaders from two PA companies – a manufacturing and a health-care company – who will share their programs, success, and challenges in attracting and retaining a skilled and qualified workforce.

Wolfe is available before and after the Summit for interviews, by phone or in person. He can be contacted and scheduled by calling Success Performance Solutions at 800-803-4303 or 717-291-4640. He can also be reached by email at iwolfe@super-solutions.com

About Success Performance Solutions
Success Performance Solutions is a consulting firm specializing in employee testing and leadership competency assessment. It also offers software for online employee performance reviews and applicant tracking systems.

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Lancaster, PA -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/03/2013 -- When companies think about hiring new front-line managers, only one in four uses management assessment tests, according to Ira Wolfe, President of Success Performance Solutions.

That surprises Wolfe because recent research seems to confirm repeatedly that the current practices many employers use to select managers is not working. Citing recent survey data provided from DDI, Wolfe says that 'eighty-two percent of organizations do not feel they have a high-quality pool of leaders to meet their future business needs.' Likewise, a McKinsey survey showed that 'nearly 70 percent of senior executives are only 'somewhat satisfied' or 'not at all satisfied' with the performance of their companies' frontline managers."

One reason for the low success rates is that managers often rely more on manager recommendations and few use validated tools such as a competency assessment test for managers. "I'm not discounting that manager recommendations aren't important," says Wolfe, "but they should not be the primary criteria."

Wolfe suggests that one challenge companies have in selecting front-line managers is that many of the candidates are inexperienced. Without utilizing some type of management assessment tests, new managers are hired or promoted based on previous experience or accomplishments, neither of which may be predictive of successfully managing larger projects or a team of people.

"That is we recommend a competency assessment test for managers to our clients," says Wolfe.

"In predicting future success, it's a manager's "soft" skills that count - motivating others, planning, time management, conflict management, communication, and delegation ability."

A competency assessment test for managers sheds light on the following four questions every company should be asking before they hire a new front-line manager:

-How does this manager approach his job?
-How will the manager manage the job?
-How will this manager relate to others?
-Is this manager able to select, develop, and manage a high-performing team?

"It's simple," reports Wolfe. "How often have you heard about the troublesome manager who is great with the details and data but horrible with people? Those situations rarely end up productive or long-term." "Soft" skills may not sound glamorous but they are a key differentiator between a successful manager and a mediocre or failing one. And validated manager assessment tests are highly predictive tools to gain insight into front-line management potential and competence.

For more information, please visit http://www.successperformancesolutions.com/.

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Lancaster, PA -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/26/2013 -- When confronted with a troubling disconnect between impressive resumes but poor on-the-job performance, employers found a solution with Success Performance Solutions – employment testing.

Technology and high-tech manufacturers are not alone. Employee tests have been used by companies for decades to help screen candidates before hiring and employees prior to promotion. But according to workforce trends expert Ira S Wolfe, the demand for what Peter Drucker called "knowledge technologists" and the associated increasing risk and cost for hiring the wrong person has cemented partnerships between employers and employee assessment companies like Success Performance Solutions.

One reason for the uptick in testing is the high cost of employee turnover.

"Management goes ballistic when inventory is lost or materials are wasted," says Wolfe who is president of Success Performance Solutions (SPS). "But when it comes to employees, bad hires and poor performance are tolerated and even excused as if the voluntary or involuntary loss was unavoidable and a necessary and fixed cost of doing business."

Through the utilization of employee tests to assess technical skills such as typing and data entry and high skill job requirements like analytical skills, SPS has become increasingly effective at helping clients quickly and accurately determine which applicants or employees are most qualified for a particular job.

According to Wolfe, understanding the client's expectations of the candidate determines what employment test is recommended. "A lot of our competitors only have a hammer, "says Wolfe. "The problem then is every solution is treated like the problem is a nail…and that couldn't be further from the truth." SPS packages several tests into what he calls "the whole person approach." When assessing skilled jobs, sales and leadership positions, it is critical that a client knows how the individual will make complex and difficult decisions, how they approach and complete work, and how they develop and manage relationships.

About Success Performance Solution
In business since 1996, Success Performance Solution has established itself as one of the leading employment test consulting firms. And its continued growth and long-term retention of its clients is the result of what one client calls "spot-on" results.

For more information, please visit http://www.successperformancesolutions.com/.

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Lancaster, PA -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/25/2013 -- Google "management test" and in a split second over 1.2 billion results appear. People might think with the abundance of management tests available that they would be an integral part of every company's selection process. But despite a proven track record, less than half of all organizations have a formal assessment plan in place.

"Companies tend to be a bit myopic when filling frontline manager positions," says Ira S Wolfe, President of Success Performance Solutions.

Senior management and HR seem to agree. In a recent DDI white paper, Finding the First Rung study, only 31 percent of HR professionals and leaders felt their leadership selection system is effective. Even fewer (33 percent of leaders and 22 percent of HR) expressed confidence in their leadership succession.

This lack of confidence reveals a troublesome story - 60 percent of first-time managers fail, according to Corporate Executive Board surveys.

Wolfe agrees that at least 33 percent of managers get their first leadership position because they were "the best technical expert." Their promotion is significantly influenced by what they know and what they did. But this runs contrary to best practices today. Nearly every study points to a number of "people skills" as being critical for productivity and management tests are a very predictable way to assess innate and potential capabilities.

Surprisingly, few companies test first-time managers for competencies (potential and transferrable skills). A few more do test prospective managers on their personal qualities and motivations, using behavioral-based assessments such as DISC or Myers-Briggs. But overall, this heavy reliance on technical expertise drives promotion of individuals who are not yet equipped with the skills they really need.

This failure to adequately test managers impacts their ability to build high performing teams due to poor relationship management, delegation, conflict resolution, and coaching skills. "Productivity is hampered if not jeopardized and profitability suffers," Wolfe warns employers.

When leadership performance is compared to all frontline leaders, technical experts have significantly higher percentages of development needs in seven out of nine essential leadership competencies. Once promoted, these newly minted leaders require significant training and development in critical "people skills" area. According to Wolfe, "Many managers overlook that a good management test exposes potential blind spots and the same assessment report can be used for management development as well as selection.

One of Wolfe's clients, an electrical cooperative providing service in Arizona and California, has been using SPS management and leadership tests since 2004. Of the 44 employees that have participated in their Succession Management Program, 18 have been promoted to management or other key positions so far. According to the client's HR director, "Managers actually come looking for the assessment test results …they understand how useful these tools really are."

Success Performance Solutions plans on revealing new studies on how a typing test can be an integral part in a company's success.

To hear more please visit http://www.successperformancesolutions.com.

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Lancaster, PA -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/18/2013 -- Small businesses make up 99.7 percent of U.S. employer firms and account for 67 percent of the net new jobs created since mid-2009. To show its appreciation and to help small business owners celebrate National Small Business Week, Success Performance Solutions is offering its popular PeopleClues pre-employment testing system to new clients at a special introductory price. In addition, all current users will receive a 10 percent discount on orders of 50 or more tests.

"We love small business," says Ira S Wolfe, president of Success Performance Solutions. "We're a small business too and appreciate all the sacrifices small business owners and employees make every day. They are the unsung heroes of our economy."

While hiring and developing employees plays a critical role in the success of any business, "most small business owners are not very good at it," Wolfe asserts. "Most small business owners get into business because they have a trade or skill or passion for something. They are very good at what they do but to grow and expand, they have to hire employees. That's where the wheels start to fall off."

Success Performance Solutions is recognized as one of the leaders in pre-employment and leadership assessment. Wolfe admits that with technology advancements and the Internet, employee assessments risks becoming somewhat of a commodity. To differentiate itself from its many competitors, Wolfe prides his staff and consultants with offering exceptional personalized customer service whether a client purchases one employee test or thousands.

Success Performance Solutions also launched a Facebook sweepstakes for clients who like their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/preemploymenttests. The winner will receive a free starter PeopleClues system valued at $660.

To learn more about getting started with PeopleClues, clients can visit the Success Performance Solutions website, http://www.successperformancesolutions.com, or call 800-803-4303 to set up a no-obligation demo.

About Success Performance Solutions
Success Performance Solutions is an industry leader in pre-employment and leadership assessments for small and mid-sized businesses and organizations.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm