Are you ready for the fall hiring season? Here are 3 things to help get you there.
- 5/3/2017
- Kevin Rosenquist
I’m a big sports fan. Anyone who reads my blogs regularly
knows that. Do I have regular readers? (That’s a rhetorical question.) But as
my favorite team, the Chicago Blackhawks, was unceremoniously ousted from the
playoffs in four straight games despite being a number one seed I was forced to
utter the words I didn’t want to utter this early in the playoffs: when is
football season?
The answer to this question is four months. This also means
that fall is only four months away, which is insane! And we all know how fast
summer goes. So that leads me back to the question from my headline that got
you here in the first place: are you ready for the fall hiring season? If you're a planner like me you'll want to make sure you are well prepared. Here are
a few things to consider that can help you be a model of preparedness, at
least, as far as your hiring practices go.
1. Have you banned the box from your employment
applications?
Not all states have adopted ban the box practices but many
have and more could be on the way. If you don’t know what I am referring to
then you are either new to HR or you work out of some sort of cave type
dwelling. It also means you are not one of my aforementioned “regular readers”.
The ban the box movement is about removing the question “have you ever been
convicted of a crime” from job applications. Has your state voted it in? Does
your city or county have specific laws pertaining to how and when you can ask
an applicant about any criminal history? Talk to your counsel, check on your
favorite internet search engine, or ask an expert…like me!
2. When was the last time you thought about your
pre-employment screening package?
It sounds obvious but I am amazed by how many companies are
screening for things they don’t need. I’ve heard things like “that’s the way
we’ve always done it” or “that’s just what our provider set up for us”. Other
times there are companies that are not doing enough to satisfy requirements by
a company they are doing business with or even the government when working on
federal or state contracts. Look at your screening package, consider what you
are doing or maybe not doing, and make sure you are set up with exactly what
you want and need. Look for customized options to ensure you are getting the
most bang for your buck.
3. Paperwork!!!
When you look at your applicant authorization and disclosure
do they conjure up memories of a time when televisions still had tubes and
weighed 285 pounds? When you picture yourself were your jeans tight-rolled?
Then it might be time for an update. Talk with your background screening vendor
or your counsel and make sure what you’re giving your applicants is fully FCRA
compliant and up to date.
I know it seems early to think about fall, but if you have
everything in place before it blindsides you then your life will be easier.
Next month I’ll give my holiday shopping tips. No, I’m kidding. Or am I…