The Engagement Dilemma

What if your next great hire isn't the one with the perfect résumé... but the one who feels like they belong?

In The Engagement Dilemma: How to Create a Culture of Belonging, Dr. Rosalind Cohen flips the script on traditional hiring practices and delivers a refreshingly honest look at what really drives performance, retention, and team culture. Spoiler: it's not stock options, ping pong tables, or corporate slogans.

Drawing from 25+ years in HR and her own doctoral research on inclusive leadership, Cohen shows how most companies are asking the wrong questions and hiring the wrong people for the right jobs. Through candid stories, research-backed insights, and laugh-out-loud observations from the front lines, she unpacks how to:

• Attract candidates who actually want to grow with your team
• Ditch the "culture fit" trap and hire for contribution, not conformity
• Rethink outdated job descriptions and interview processes
• Train managers to foster trust, belonging, and real engagement
• Build a workplace where people feel seen, heard, and valued

Whether you're an HR pro, team leader, or executive tired of revolving-door hires, Hiring for Engagement is your practical, punchy guide to building teams that thrive, not just survive.

If you're ready to stop hiring for convenience and start hiring for connection, this is the book you've been waiting for.

Dr. Rosalind F. Cohen, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, is a New York native who's spent over 25 years figuring out why workplaces can be so wonderfully terrible-and more importantly, how to fix them. After moving around the country more times than she cares to count (seriously, the boxes never fully got unpacked), she became something of an expert on belonging and connection. Turns out, all that searching for "home" was excellent preparation for helping organizations create places where people actually want to work.

Currently serving as Chief People Officer at Laird Norton Wetherby, she leads with curiosity and empathy to build cultures where team members feel valued for their unique contributions