About Creative Organizational Design
Creative Organizational Design was established in 1979 to provide customized training services. As a part of these services, we offered psychological and other kinds of skill and aptitude assessment tools as well. Soon our clients began asking us to provide other types of employee testing tools. Our expertise enabled us to help our clients select the most appropriate tools for their requirements.
Our business model changed and, almost 50 years later, we have become Canada’s largest independent supplier of pre-screening assessment tools and solutions. We now offer over 5000 titles designed for pre-screening job applicants, assessing the readiness of current employees for promotion, and for developing leaders and teams. We are your one-stop shop for assessments that will support your current HR functions and organizational success.
Over the years, our Principals have written many HR-related articles on employee testing, which have been published in many professional journals. These are posted on our website for our customers to enjoy and may be re-printed with permission.
We provide services for all sorts of clients ranging from small businesses to national and international chains and organizations. We’re eager to help you find the solutions that you need to help you to select and retain the very best employees. Please contact us by phone or email for friendly, knowledgable assistance.
The Creative Organizational Design Team
David Towler
President
COD’s President, David Towler, holds undergraduate degrees from Trent University and the University of Alberta, and a Master’s degree from Norwich College of the University of Vermont.
David has taught at the intermediate school level, provided corporate classroom instruction and taught Labour Market Language Training courses for adult immigrants under contract for the Federal Government.
His background includes roles as Human Resource Manager for a large western jewellery store chain and Manager of Customer Service for Canada’s largest aerosol manufacturer.
He has been published in and interviewed by a number of national dailies and publishes frequently in HR.com, LinkedIn, and this website too.
David’s experience in people management, corporate management, education, instruction and psychology provide him with a well-rounded set of skills, which have all been brought to bear in managing Creative Organizational Design. His years at the helm have provided him with a uniquely in-depth knowledge of skills and aptitude assessments, product availability and expertise in their application.
Dr. John Towler
Founder
He is a faculty member at the American College of PreHospital Medicine (USA), Breyer State University (USA), and Renison College and the University of Waterloo, where he served as Principal and Chief Executive Officer.
Dr. Towler has taught at the universities of Alberta, Waterloo, South Florida and Purdue and has been a visiting professor at the University of Lancaster, Memorial University, The University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, The University of Liverpool, and Reading University. He has taught at every level from elementary school to graduate school.
He has published more than 150 professional articles, 8 textbooks, hundreds of popular articles, and has conducted research for Labour Canada, The Humanities and Social Science Research Council of Canada, the US Office of Education, and the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
Dr. Towler’s articles have appeared in: Athletic Business, Biz-Zone, Business Advisor Magazine, Canada One, Canadian HR Reporter, Exchange Magazine, Kansas City Small Business Monthly, Kennebec Business Monthly, North American Die Casting Association, Sandybay (US), Small Business Canada Magazine, Victoria Business Magazine, www.digitalsouth.com, www.HR.com, www.workz.com.
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Our Latest Articles
70% Of Employers State That Communication Is The Most Desirable Skill For Potential Recruits
A 2024 report on “Communication in the Workplace Statistics 2024” indicates clearly that effective communication skills are critical skills for job success. One might think that that’s a bit of a no-brainer. However, this topic comes up again, and again, in workplace surveys and articles about career success, and has done for years. Just one example is Debra Hamilton’s Top 10 Email Blunders That Cost Companies Money from fifteen years ago in 2009.
The statistics show that 86% of employees and executives cite the lack of effective collaboration and communication as the main causes of workplace failures. Lack of effective communication creates big problems for everyone in many organizations. According to the Workplace Statistics 2024 report, 70% of people surveyed believe that wasted time is one of the worst consequences of poor communication, and 81% of global recruiters believe that cross-cultural competence is the most important communication skill job candidates should have, followed by multilingualism (77%), and active listening (75%).
Relying On AI For Hiring May Be Doing You A Disservice
There’s no silver bullet, one-size-fits-all solution, nor any guarantees when it comes to the hiring processes. It’s a mixed bag of ‘best practices’, trial and error, and simply ‘what works best for us’. AI can absolutely be part of that process, but the human component cannot be removed from it.
Culture vs Competence – Which One’s Better?
CNBC recently ran an article about Mark Cuban and his February Master Class “Win Big in Business”. According to Cuban, there are “two things that matter the most [when it comes to hiring people]. Are they competent enough to do the job? And do they fit in the...
Return To Work Mandates May Be A Big Mistake
Recent surveys by Express Employment Professionals, Harris Polls, Fortune, FlexJobs, the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh, Business Insider, and others, have all shown conclusively that the majority of employees who can do so prefer to...
Critical Thinking Skills Predict Success
Finding employees with good cognition and critical thinking skills are one of the top challenges being faced by employers for the past decade. As reported in the Financial Post, a 2021 report by RBC Economics found that, “There’s been a rise in postings targeting critical thinking (up 37 per cent), flexibility (up 20 per cent), teamwork (up 18 per cent), the ability to learn (up 15 per cent), continuous improvement (up 12 per cent), problem solving (up 9 per cent) and strategic thinking (up 8 per cent). According to a new survey from Harris Poll, commissioned by Express Employment Professionals, 59 per cent of Canadian businesses say they can’t find qualified employees to fill vacancies. A third of those businesses say one big reason is because prospective hires don’t have soft skills such as dependability, flexibility and a willingness to learn.
Everyone’s Busy. You’re Not Unique.
“I’m sorry for not getting back to you, I’ve been busy,” is a sentence that should be permanently excised from the lexicon of business. That’s the default response that one often receives, and it’s nothing more than an excuse – and a poor excuse at that. Few of us have enough hours available to complete our daily workloads, and many of us invest a great deal of our time in chasing others for replies to emails or calls that were placed days or weeks prior. There’s also little excuse for it in the “be kind” era, and when practically everyone has an iPhone in their pocket. Being busy doesn’t make you special or unique.
Everyone is ‘busy’. Everyone’s time is limited. We all resent having it wasted by other people who are time-sinks. They are responsible for a great deal of lost productivity and wasted time. It’s not only inconsiderate and somewhat arrogant but is also just garden-variety rude. It’s also unprofessional.