Blind Hiring: Genius Idea or Epic Fail?
As an HR professional, a resume is often my first introduction to a prospective candidate. As an employer, the resume is in many ways like a promise of what you can expect the candidate to bring to the table, how he or she might change your organization, and how she or he will perform as a member of your team. But what is all this talk of doing away with resumes entirely? Have you heard of this new craze? Blind hiring is the idea of throwing out the resume as a critical tool in the selection process. Instead of accepting [...]
A Parting Gift: Severance Pay & Legal Tips
Severance packages are an attempt on the employer’s behalf to soften the blow of a layoff or termination, and also a protection against future litigation. According to @LegalHero in their recent post on this topic, the idea of a severance package may be written in to an employee’s contract or employment agreement. However, in states where at-will employment is in effect (such as California where Peoplescape is headquartered), a severance package can be offered as a nice parting gift to the employee and gives the employer a sense of security against future lawsuits. Before implementing and using severance packages in [...]
4 Tips for Posting Jobs and Attracting the Best Candidate
Composing the perfect job ad can be quite the daunting task for recruiters and HR professionals. How do you paint a picture of the company’s culture, the job requirements, and the “it” factor that will attract those top candidates? Recuiter.com says employers should follow these four tips to ensure their job posting stands out and attracts the best candidate. Review, Edit and Revise your Job Postings: Candidates spend an average of 50 seconds reading a job posting and an additional 22 seconds on postings they like and want to pursue. So how do you ensure your posting stands out? Make [...]
Is Your Open Office Plan Cutting Into Employee Productivity
Has your company followed Facebook, Google, Yahoo, eBay and American Express in creating an open office plan? Many companies, especially tech companies and startups have removed cubical walls and replaced them with communal desks to boost creativity, communication and collaboration. Additionally, an open office plan can save a company on office space expenditures, cutting the amount of space needed per employee and saving on cubical purchases, as well as convey an image of efficiency and innovation. However, could an open office actually be hurting employee productivity? Sharing spaces with a chatty Cathy, an incessant coffee slurper and having the constantly [...]
Sexism in Recruitment: Do Women Still Struggle with Equality in Hiring?
Recently, one of our favorite blogs from the UK wrote about sexism in recruiting, citing a case in which the hiring manager of a pharmaceutical company made remarks about only hiring beautiful women. In Lucia Pagliarone v. Immuno Biotech (2016), the plaintiff accused the hiring manager of keeping sexist notes on her resume following her employment offer with the company. The notes were to the effect of “high heels – good, wearing a dress – excellent”. @MpmLegal offers a list of ideas to keep your company out of hot water when it comes to sexism in recruitment. Clearly with cases [...]
Leadership Lessons from Bad Situations
“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” – JFK Last year, you may have heard about the University of Oklahoma’s (OU) former members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity making incredibly bad choices. These former members were filmed chanting a racist tune while on their way to a party. The leader of OU, President David Boren, took a strong stance against their actions and shut down the fraternity. Acting swiftly and taking a strong stance is something that we do not see enough in the world today. Too often, people are afraid to make a statement that might not be [...]
Legal Update: Employee Misclassification Claims for Lyft and UBER
Back in November, our own @ColleenCoco shared a blog post about the dangers of misclassifying employees. From independent contractors to temporary workers to exempt vs. nonexempt, employee classification can be a tricky web to weave. Employers are cautioned to evaluate the role of the employee and make sure that each is labeled correctly, because that classification plays out into different realms of employment law. Lyft, the ride-sharing company (similar to UBER), settled its lawsuit as recently as last month. At the time of publication, UBER’s lawsuit was still pending. An employee misclassification suit was filed in 2013 against Lyft, and [...]
Analyzing the Applicant: Employment Gaps, Education, and Self-Discovery
The struggle to find the perfect fit for your organization, whether it be in the warehouse shipping packages or greeting customers at the front desk or the top sales executive, can be intense and exhausting for everyone involved. The struggle is very real to recruit top talent that not only has the skills, knowledge, and experience required to succeed in the position but is also the right fit for your company culture. The perfect candidate for the leading pharmaceutical sales company nationwide will not be the same ideal applicant for a high-end boutique hospitality resort and spa. The characteristics that [...]
Two Benefits Never to Put on the Chopping Block
As we get settled into 2016, there are a few things employers need to know about benefits. First, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is alive and well. Required notices to employees are different if employer-sponsored health plans are offered. Watch out, the details are many and tricky at best, and the potential for litigation abounds if employers are not following the rules. But, there’s good news! We have an inside scoop on what your employers want to see in their benefits package, and a few ideas on how to make it happen. First, do not get rid of vision and [...]
Thought Leaders #5: Creating a Company Culture of Doing the Right Thing
“Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.” – C.S. Lewis Doing the right thing. It’s something we teach our children in school, and a lesson we hope is learned by the time young adults enter the business world. But in the world of work, where do people draw the line between right and wrong? How do we build a culture in our own organizations of doing the right thing, setting a positive example, and practicing integrity and ethical behavior? Professor Chris MacDonald teaches ethics courses at Ryerson University’s School of Management in Toronto, [...]