2/27/2006
Job posting requirements
We have a manager resigning from our company, and we have a supervisor that has the qualifications to take over the role. My question is, are there legal requirements to post the position for a certain length of time before we can promote this supervisor to the manager position?
No law requires private sector employers to post jobs. However, the absence of legal requirements doesn't make this a best practice for your organization.
A consistent, well-publicized job posting process benefits both organizations and employees. It fosters an environment of opportunity and encourages employee-driven career management. When employees inquire about or apply for new positions, organizations can take stock of the interest and abilities of its workforce and be more strategic in cultivating talent.
In this situation, it's not an issue of legalities as much as impressions. You should ask yourself:
- How consistent have you been in posting jobs? If filling the position without posting is an anomaly, it could raise eyebrows. Any time savings could be undermined by morale or trust issues.
- How clearly have you communicated your job posting policy? If employees do not know that your organization has the right to promote without posting, you may face rumors of favoritism or the perception of discrimination.
- Is it possible that there are other qualified candidates who may not be on your radar screen right now?
It may be best to post the job, then communicate your policy, to enable your organization to move swiftly and maintain employee morale and commitment.
-- MARY ANN MASARECH
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When a prospective employee is untruthful
Would it be wrong for a prospective employee to hide the fact that they were fired since the truth might harm their chances of getting the new job? If they said they were laid off and later were found to be fired, would that be grounds for dismissal from the new job?
There are countless examples of very public high achievers who at one time or another were fired from a job, so I disagree with the premise that a candidate who admits to being fired would not get the job. Firings, for example, can be precipitated by lack of fit with an organization's culture or unclear expectations (on either side) about the job's requirements. Even in the case of poor performance or undesirable behavior, there are often a host of issues at play.
I asked Douglas Schwarz, a labor and employment law partner in the New York office of Bingham McCutchen LLP, about grounds for firing an employee who had lied during the job interview. He responded: "People frequently shade the reasons for termination, often with the agreement of the former employer and often because the reasons are truly not clear. But if an employer hired an employee, then later discovered that the employee lied in an interview or on an application, whether about the reason for leaving a prior employer or about anything else, that lie would usually be a lawful ground on which to fire the employee."
Bottom line: Lectures on lying aside, job candidates need to be truthful and explain their previous departures without being defensive. Online job search resources and career coaches can help in thinking through how to do that.
-- MARY ANN MASARECH
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Do's and don'ts of interviewing
Do you have a list of the legal vs. illegal questions that can be asked during an interview, something like the "Do's and Don'ts" of interviewing for hiring managers and HR?
There are multiple resources available to guide managers in avoiding potentially disastrous interviewing. The rule of thumb is always to ask a "bona fide occupational question" (BFOQ), aka a job-related question. While BFOQ is somewhat of an outdated term, it remains a relevant concept that is critical to the selection process. The key is to start with an updated job description and then build job-specific questions based upon the skills and competencies needed in the job.
It is important to steer clear of any questions that relate to age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or race. On the surface that can seem fairly easy, but it's always a good idea to make sure the questions you ask don't lead you to gather information that you don't want or that is irrelevant in your decision-making. If a candidate offers information that is not pertinent to the interview, remind the candidate that your discussion is about the requirements of the job and his/her own skills and abilities. This should redirect the conversation back to an appropriate focus.
Finally, when appropriate, ask behavior-based questions. With the premise that past behavior predicts future behavior, this technique of interviewing forces hiring managers to ask questions related to how candidates handled job specific situations in the past, thus leaving less room for getting off track.
sFor further information, here are two good articles:
-- TRACY BURNS-MARTIN
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Online assessments for applicant screening
When recruiting for certain positions we sometimes administer assessments to screen out applicants. I have heard there are assessments of this nature available online. Can you please tell me where I would find these and how they work? Can they be incorporated into the e-recruiting process, say through our corporate website or a third party job board?
Large companies such as Kimberly Clark and P&G are doing this well. Of course, they also have the deep pockets to support the significant investment in online assessments. However, given the cost of hiring the wrong person, the argument for investing in better hiring tools is becoming an easier case to win.
According to their website, Kimberly Clark uses a tool called SHL. This comprehensive approach to recruitment assessment allows Kimberly Clark to gather upfront information about potential candidates via a series of questions designed to determine the fit of the person to the organization. Similarly, P&G takes a "Total Assessment" approach to recruitment, asking candidates to complete an online application and take an online test. It then tailors the process to the specific region or country the job is located in. There is extensive information about their recruitment philosophy on their website as well.
Another tool I've seen, but have no first-hand knowledge of, is Fitability. Monster also has assessment services that can be tagged onto your current job postings for an additional cost.
-- TRACY BURNS-MARTIN
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Signing bonuses in healthcare
How much in sign-on bonuses are healthcare organizations and recruiters offering for new hires in physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech language pathology? Is experience required, and if so, how much? What success has this brought to new hires?
Healthcare organizations are feeling the crunch more than ever when it comes to attracting and retaining talented staff. As with any such "hot jobs", organizations are forced to take creative measures to remain competitive. Offering a sign-on bonus is one tactic employed by many private healthcare organizations.
Until recently, signing bonuses had been reserved for senior leadership and other hard to fill positions, such as IT or nursing. Now, as your question points out, organizations fighting for talent in occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech therapy are beginning to attract talent by offering sign-on bonuses as well. Signing bonuses for these specific types of jobs typically range from $500 - $5,000. Experience needed for employment in these professions typically includes a minimum of a bachelor's degree, appropriate licensure, and some clinical experience, all of which is contingent upon the specific organization, size, and purpose.
The obvious upside of sign-on bonuses is that they gain the attention of talent. If a candidate has an offer at two organizations and one is offering a sign-on bonus while another is not, it may sway the candidate's decision.
There is a downside to this practice however. First, internal employees who were hired before the sign-on bonus went into effect may feel slighted. Secondly, as with most monetary arrangements, it doesn't have a long-term impact. Employees quickly forget they received the bonus. Depending on other compensation plans available, employees who receive sign-on bonuses may find themselves demotivated by the idea that they will make less in their second year than their first. Finally, sign-on bonus plans may attract the wrong person. Employees who jump ship to put a few dollars in their pocket may not be motivated by the right things. The best advice is to have a comprehensive sourcing strategy with multiple tactics to support attracting and retaining quality employees for the long term and avoid the short-term gimmicks.
My favorite tactic for hiring talented people is to create an employee referral program. Teaching your talented employees to recommend their talented friends has a much longer and deeper impact on both retention and culture than a sign-on bonus can offer.
-- TRACY BURNS-MARTIN
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Recording and reporting exit interviews
What are some of the best software packages you would recommend for creating an exit interview database? We are looking for flexible reporting and formatting capability as well as confidentiality, and we would also like to be able to use it in our offices worldwide. We are also trying to come up with a simplified report for our managers to view trends, but the exit interviews are so manual it becomes extremely time-consuming to enter the data. We are looking for a way to streamline this entire process and would love some suggestions.
I would suggest that you investigate two different websites for help on your exit interview question:
- Nobscot Corporation. This firm claims to provide online exit interview capability for corporations.
- The Work Institute. This firm provides outsourcing capabilities for corporations ie, they will actually handle the exit interview process and provide detailed reporting information.
However, I suggest another possibility. Why not develop your own in-house automated exit interview process? I did this a number of years ago at Digital Equipment Corporation and it was very, very successful. When you turn to a third party, it is difficult to get the data you want for your specific company. You will get generic information, formatted nicely but usually not robust enough to meet your objectives. I will share with you the Digital approach and you may want to consider it for your company.
We developed an online questionnaire, tailored to elicit the information on why people left the company. We developed the questionnaire in concert with a team of software specialists, and with a team of our learning and development experts to ensure appropriate questions and to ensure validity to the responses. The exit interview questionnaire was then automatically mailed to all voluntary separations. The questionnaire was mailed three months after the person left. In that manner, the person was settled in their new situation, and we found they were more apt to provide open and honest feedback. We also told folks that they could return the completed form anonymously but we asked them to complete a demographic section for reporting purposes.
By developing our own internal system, we were also able to develop reporting mechanisms that included more than just the reason(s) people left. What is as important as a reason for leaving is "who left", were they top performers, were we losing poor performers, what departments were having the highest turnover, were we losing employees in jobs that were difficult to fill, were we losing people with long service. We were able to garner all this information in an automated format from exit interview generation, to mailing, to reporting results, with no HR manual involvement.
One interesting side note. After months and months of analyzing the data, there were three major learnings:
- The great majority of people leave for one reason: they are not pleased with their direct supervisor;
- The next highest category but not significant, was that some people leave for personal reasons, primarily family related; and
- The data never changed significantly - i.e., most people leave because they don't think their direct supervisor treats them fairly.
-- LOUIS RUBINO
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Retaining applications and resumes
I have heard that all resumes and applications sent in for employment must be retained for a period of one year. Is this true? Does it make a difference whether the candidate was interviewed or not? If it is true, what law does this come under, state or federal? Also, how long should an employer keep I-9 forms for terminated employees?
Deciding how long you must keep resumes and applications is predicated on the definition of an applicant. If someone under the new Department of Labor guidelines (effective February 6, 2006) meets the federal government's definition of an applicant, then the resume or application must be kept for one year. For practical purposes, an applicant is an individual that expresses an interest in employment; is considered for a particular position; and meets the basic qualifications for the position. Please note all job seekers meeting the definition of an applicant, must be afforded the opportunity to self identify their race/ethnicity and gender, even if you do not plan to interview them. All other resumes can be discarded immediately. For more information, see the Department of Labor FAQ page on the Internet Applicant rule.
Relative to how long an employer should keep I-9 forms for terminated employees, the answer is three years.
-- LOUIS RUBINO
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