Sherri McDaniel, CEO at Sage Solutions Group completed her second interview in a three-part series focused on Human Resources with Tara Kachaturoff of Michigan Entrepreneur TV. This second interview will air on Tuesday, January 16 at 11:00 am and again on Thursday, January 18 at 7:30 pm on Channel 15 in Bloomfield Hills and Bloomfield Township and on Channel 18 in Birmingham, Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms, and Franklin. If you are not in this viewing area, please use this link to watch the video https://vimeo.com/247808955.
In this edition, Tara explores HR best practices related to hiring. Sherri provides real world answers to hiring issues that business owners may encounter including:
- Recruiting ideas and practices
- Hiring practices and policies
- Completing a job analysis
- Writing job descriptions
- Background checks/ drug screens
- Interviewing techniques (behavioral vs. situational)
- Job offers
Throughout 2017, business owners struggled to fill their open positions with qualified candidates and with the unemployment rate at the lowest level in over a decade, 2018 could be even tougher. Hiring has become a time intensive task requiring creativity and flexibility. Social media, recruitment websites, professional recruiters, job fairs, ads, personal referrals, and more are all used to attract qualified candidates to open positions. When the task becomes overwhelming, some business owners end up making hiring decisions that they soon regret. In addition to the tough labor market, business owners can also struggle with the actual hiring process because of the multiple legal issues involved. Not following appropriate hiring best practices can violate the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to name a few. Even the best intended interview question could leave a business owner open to potential legal issues. Each aspect of the hiring process needs to be carefully planned and documented. Here are some points to consider:
- Job postings need to be carefully crafted to reach a great candidate pool while not violating any labor laws
- Application forms need to be reviewed to ensure protected information such as social security numbers are not requested
- Interviews should be well documented and interview questions should be job based, legally compliant and consistent across all applicants
- Consider behavioral and situational questions to gain a better understanding of the candidate’s qualifications
- Properly train all employees involved in the interview process
These few points simply scratch the surface of a well-executed hiring plan. As HR Consultants, Sage Solutions Group can partner with businesses to provide hiring guides that are easy to follow or we can have an “all in” approach and help with any or all aspects of the hiring process. Additionally, Sage can provide recruitment efforts for companies that need assistance finding the best person to fill their open position. In the end, hiring can be a very rewarding task if best practices are followed resulting in the right hire for the job.