The competition for top talent in 2026 isn’t going to ease up.

 

You’ll still be facing off against massive corporations that lure candidates with brand prestige, big salaries, and lavish perks.

 

As a small-to-medium enterprise (SME), you know the true cost of a bad hire, and the ongoing expense of an empty role.

 

But what if the solution isn’t about matching their budgets, but about changing the rules of the game entirely?

 

The Great Talent Filter: Why SMEs are Losing Out

 

For too long, hiring has been a high-stakes, subjective gamble, especially for SMEs. You’ve been programmed to scan CVs for “pedigree” and “years of experience”, the very criteria that extensive studies show are poor predictors of actual job performance.

 

This traditional approach acts like a filter, actively screening out great people: the self-taught prodigy, the high-aptitude career-switcher, and the experienced professional whose CV doesn’t have the perfect linear path. Why?

 

Because the focus is on resumes, references and qualifications, rather than the core characteristics that truly define a top performer, such as resilience, motivation, reasoning, and learning agility. Big corporations can afford this narrow search. You cannot.

 

Your strength is your agility and your culture. You need people who are an undeniable fit for both the role’s demands and your team’s dynamic. Relying on subjective interviews and generic personality tests is not only unreliable but actively hurts your bottom line through increased turnover and lower productivity.

 

Hire for Fit, Not History

 

Imagine having a tool that cuts through the noise of a polished CV to give you a clear, objective measure of a candidate’s fit with the actual requirements of the job, not just the technical skills, but their inherent attributes, work style, and core motivations.

 

This is the power of hiring using customised insights and data that quantifies and qualifies the precise requirements of the job you have on offer,  and it’s the key to unlocking the vast, untapped talent pool you’ve been missing.

 

1. Broaden Your Pool Instantly: By focusing on fit , you look beyond traditional industry experience and qualifications. This immediately opens the door to high-potential candidates from diverse backgrounds and non-traditional career paths.

 

2. De-Risk Your Decision:The science is clear: hiring based on gut feel, resumes, and subjective interviews results in a top performer only about 25% of the time. Hiring based on objective data increases your success rate by 200%. You rely on data that predicts long-term success and cultural alignment, not just luck.

 

3. Compete on Value, Not Salary:When you hire for fit, you secure candidates naturally aligned with your mission and culture. For them, your company’s unique value, the agility, the impact, the closeness to leadership, becomes more compelling than a competitor’s extra dollars.

 

Your Strategic Edge for 2026

 

Our Great People Inside tool, levels the playing field by giving SMEs the objective, scientific hiring edge of a large corporation without the enterprise-level price tag. Its customisable, modular approach provides instant, role-specific insights into the critical success factors needed to define and secure top performers.

 

Ready to stop gambling on gut instinct and start hiring with confidence?

 

Click here to sign up for a FREE trial of Great People Inside and discover how to access your untapped talent pool in 2026.

Hybrid work was meant to be the great equaliser, a balance between flexibility and collaboration, the best of both worlds. But for many organisations, what began as an exciting experiment is fast becoming a source of friction, frustration and fading culture.

Leaders, HR managers, and operational teams (especially baby boomers) are grappling with the gap between expectation and reality.

As a manager, I’d like to invite you to pause for a moment and think about the question:

“How might I be contributing to this?”

You worked hard to implement the policies, to design the schedules, and yet, the promised land of engaged, collaborative employees feels further away than ever.

The real reason for your hybrid model failing isn’t just because of your policies. It’s also because of your false hidden beliefs shaping them.

One of the most prevalent and damaging false beliefs you might have is  this:

“People who have hybrid work arrangements ‘have enough’ time in the office when they are in to have interactions with others.”

This seemingly harmless assumption is a trap.

According to a 2025 AHRI report, disconnection between colleagues is now the top disadvantage of hybrid work, cited by 57% of employers.

With over 6.7 million Australians working from home at least part of the time, and three office days being the most common arrangement, the stakes are high.

Left unchecked, it erodes culture, stifles innovation, and ultimately derails hybrid models. Even if your belief might be true for some, it might be wildly incorrect for others – and it can spiral into other false beliefs that try to prove your initial belief correct.

Here are some other ways I have seen this false belief spiral:

Limiting Belief #1: You Start To Believe Interaction Is Automatic

What people think:
Many leaders assume that by simply bringing people into a shared physical space, meaningful connection, collaboration, and trust will happen on their own.

What actually happens:
In reality, hybrid office days are often jammed with back-to-back meetings, catch-ups, and urgent tasks. Employees come in to collaborate, but paradoxically, have less time for genuine informal connection. The water-cooler chats, chance encounters, and spontaneous brainstorms of the past don’t just “happen” anymore.

The fallout:
Teams become transactional. Relationships thin out. Colleagues only engage through scheduled meetings, and the subtle cues of teamwork, informal knowledge sharing, rapport, personal connection evaporate. Presence is mistaken for connection.

Limiting Belief #2: You Start To Believe Culture Lives Only in the Office

What people think:
Some leaders still hold on to a nostalgia for office culture. They unconsciously believe that the “real” employee experience, and the “real” culture only happens in person.

What actually happens:
This belief signals to remote workers that their contributions are less visible, their belonging less important, and their experience secondary. Proximity bias kicks in. Those in the office may be seen as more engaged or “in the know,” while remote colleagues feel excluded, undervalued, and always playing catch-up.

The fallout:
A fractured culture. Innovation slows as perspectives from hybrid and remote employees aren’t equally included. Retention suffers, as talent looks for employers that value flexible, inclusive culture. 

In Australia, 3 out of 4 prime-aged workers say lack of flexibility would push them to leave. Leaders may believe they have one culture, but they’ve actually created two.

Limiting Belief #3: You Start To Believe One Size Fits All

What people think:
A universal hybrid policy  “everyone in on Tuesday to Thursday”  ensures enough connection for everyone.

What actually happens:
This ignores the very different needs of teams and individuals. Cross-functional projects may thrive on concentrated in-person sprints, while research teams need only occasional check-ins. Employees vary widely in how they connect and collaborate. Forcing uniformity leads to wasted commutes, disengagement, and resentment.

The fallout:
Employees show up but don’t get the social or collaborative dividends they expected. The office becomes a place of frustration rather than energy. For some, “enough” feels like “too much.” For others, it’s not enough of the right kind.

Breaking Free from Limiting Beliefs

The good news? The first step is awareness. Once you see the beliefs, you can choose better ones. Here’s how to replace them:

Be Intentional About Interaction
Don’t leave connections to chance. Design in-office days with structured collaboration, team-building, and informal connection opportunities. Facilitate, don’t just mandate.

Build a Digital-First, Inclusive Culture
Culture shouldn’t rely on physical presence. Invest in digital tools, hybrid facilitation training for managers, and communication practices that include everyone, everywhere.

Customise, Don’t Standardise
Replace rigid policies with team-led flexibility. Empower groups to define when in-person time is most valuable. Focus on outcomes, not attendance. Flexibility rooted in science is key.

Psychologists like Martin Seligman, Paul Zak, and John Medina have shown that wellbeing drives performance. Tools such as the Great People Inside (GPI) Psychometric GR8 Wellbeing Assessment can help identify employee wellbeing and prevent disengagement, while the GPI GR8 Remote Manager Tool equips managers with the insights needed to lead dispersed teams effectively.

The future of work isn’t about where people sit, it’s about how they connect, collaborate, and contribute. If your hybrid model is faltering, look beyond the policies. Challenge the limiting beliefs holding your organisation back.

The solution isn’t just a new policy. It’s a new mindset.

Our ebook, “Remote Teams, Real Results, Realistic Costs”  provides some GR8 information on Remote and Hybrid Work.  To grab a free copy, DOWNLOAD NOW!

As an owner, manager or supervisor do you find yourself consistently providing answers to questions and solutions to problems for your team or being the go-to fixer for your team?

 

This is a very normal leadership instinct after all, right? After all, that’s the job… or is it?

 

What if it’s the wrong approach?

 

What if the outcome is the exact opposite of what you’re trying to achieve?

 

Countless studies show this “rescuer syndrome” is actually dysfunctional and tends to stifle growth, creates dependency, and leaves you and your team burnt out.

 

The upside is it makes you look good and sets you up as being indispensable, but perhaps you really just enjoy “rescuing”.  After all, who doesn’t enjoy the “smartest person in the room” feeling?

 

Here’s how you can break the cycle

 

Consider a recent client of mine, Patrick (not his real name), a senior manager overwhelmed by a seemingly endless stream of tactical decisions.

 

He was brilliant but felt swamped by requests and stuck in a cycle of reactivity.

 

We didn’t give him a new framework or a step-by-step plan.

 

Instead, starting with a GPI Leadership Assessment followed by a Leadership Coaching program, we helped him heighten his awareness and explore how he might be contributing to the situation.

 

Patrick’s “AHA” moment was a fundamental realisation: he was trying to solve everyone’s problems because he believed it was his duty to have all the answers.

 

The powerful shift came when he discovered that his true value was not in solving every issue, but in empowering his team to solve their own.

 

He learned to guide his team to solutions.

 

He integrated strategic coaching into his day-to-day management. His approach shifted from rescuing to helping his team to learn.

 

He now builds capability proactively.

 

It’s how you build a better business.

 

Curious if you might be stuck in the rescuer role too?

 

Make an appointment to book a chat – click it to explore how you can shift from problem-solver to growth catalyst.

Recruiting is changing fast. A new Gartner study reveals that only one quarter (26%) of job seekers trust AI will fairly evaluate them. The skills shortage is well documented; however, the pursuit of efficiency in hiring might be pushing away the very people you want to attract!

 

Computer says NO!

 

A  good friend of mine, (for privacy I am using the name “Sarah”) told me she recently applied for a senior marketing role and was extremely excited about the opportunity. It was just what she was looking for.

 

As part of the recruitment process, she was invited to complete an online assessment. To her surprise, the assessment wasn’t like a traditional psychometric test that she had done before, but an AI-powered game.

 

It felt strange and disconnected. Sarah told me she was put off by it and was thinking “So we’ve come to this! An algorithm is going to decide if I’m a good marketer?” She even questioned if a real person was going to look at her application?  This feeling of being judged by a machine, without a human connection, made her feel uneasy and question if she wanted to work for that company.

 

This story isn’t unique. Using opaque, AI-only systems, risks losing the trust of great people like Sarah.

 

Trusted Science

 

Psychometric assessments have been used for decades because they work. They are built on tried and trusted science, not on a black box algorithm. They provide a transparent, fair way to measure a person’s abilities and personality. When a company clearly explains what a psychometric tool is for and how it connects to the job, it shows respect for the candidate. This approach builds trust and makes the process feel more human.

 

Bull in a China Shop

 

I get it! AI is great for improving efficiency; however, let’s not allow the rush to use the latest tech overshadow the importance of building trust in human interactions. A balanced approach—using proven, ethical tools and communicating openly—is the key to attracting and retaining the best talent.

 

What’s your take on this? How can we ensure our hiring processes are both effective and human-centric?

 

Want a more human, effective hiring process?

 

Ditch the black-box algorithms. Discover how Great People Inside uses transparent, science-backed assessments to create a fair, trust-building, and human-centric recruitment experience.

 

Visit greatpeopleinside.com.au to learn more and transform your hiring strategy today.

 

Make an appointment to see how it works for your team

 

Send us email: australia@greatpeopleinside.com

It doesn’t matter whether you are an SME or Multinational people management skills have become more critical than ever. While working from home has become a widely accepted norm, leading teams in this evolving environment demands a refined set of capabilities from contemporary leaders. Now is an opportune moment for you to sharpen your focus on this area, as employees increasingly recognise and value strong people management.

 

These essential skills empower leaders to navigate workplace challenges, foster team cohesion, and build a thriving business. They are vital for:

• Resolving interpersonal conflicts
• Guiding employee training and development.
• Effectively managing project deadlines.
• Ensuring seamless communication and information flow between remote and in-office employees.
• Cultivating a robust and positive company culture.
• Unlocking your employees’ full potential.

 

Leaders who continually improve their people management skills excel at providing constructive feedback and mentoring employees, guiding them toward growth and success. This approach facilitates the establishment and achievement of clear goals, creating a more positive and productive work environment.

 

Set them up for Success.

 

A leader with a deep understanding of their employees can accurately assess:

• The strengths and weaknesses within their team.
• The resources required for various tasks.
• The ability to set realistic and achievable deadlines.

 

This informed approach empowers employees to strive for success, rather than setting them up for failure. In addition, leaders can build strong rapport, solicit valuable feedback from their team, and implement actionable steps for positive cultural change. This collaborative effort benefits everyone.

 

Four Critical People Management Areas

 

1. Understanding Human Behaviour and Acknowledging Diversity

 

It’s fundamental to grasp one simple concept: we are all different. A leader must recognise that family, environmental, and cultural influences shape beliefs and behaviours. Understanding diverse behavioural types enables leaders to treat employees with respect, leading to enhanced work practices, a motivated team, and valued ideas.

 

Gartner’s 2023 report confirms: diverse organisations show higher employee engagement and performance.

 

2. The Individual’s Purpose

 

Understanding each employee’s sense of purpose ensures alignment with business goals, whether in-office or remote.

 

Gallup’s 2022 study found that employees whose purpose aligns with the organisation are significantly more engaged and productive.

 

3. Transparent Communication

 

Open communication builds trust. Strong people managers actively listen and maintain two-way communication, especially in remote teams. Tools like video-based onboarding and a clear communication strategy are vital.

 

Buffer’s 2024 report shows communication is the top challenge for remote teams.

 

4. We Own This Together

 

Entrusting team members with tasks suited to their skills builds ownership and boosts morale.

 

Microsoft’s 2023 Work Trend Index found that autonomous employees report greater job satisfaction and lower burnout.

 

Ongoing People Management for Development and Retention

 

Hiring a “superstar” is just the beginning. Continuous development from onboarding through training and career progression is essential. Today’s workforce craves personal skill development, whether onsite or remote.

 

Common reasons for attrition include:

• Lack of training and development
• Poor engagement
• Limited progression opportunities

 

Quantifying Top Performance

 

Traditional assessments often rely on generic benchmarks. At GPI (Great People Inside), we build organisation-specific benchmarks tailored to the “success DNA” of your top performers.

 

“Without an organisation-specific benchmark, you’re making people decisions with blindfolds on.”

 

These customised assessments enable targeted development, succession planning, and laser-focused coaching for both new hires and existing employees.

 

Ready to elevate your people management game with customised assessments and organisation-specific benchmarks? Let’s make it happen!

 

✅ Comment “Benchmark” below to start the conversation

 

✅ Visit our website to explore more

 

✅ Make an appointment to see how it works for your team

 

✅ Send us email: [email protected]m  – we’re here to help!