Tips for How to Properly Use Background Checks

Every employer has steps and methods for assessing candidates before they make the final hiring decision. The issue is that many employers fail to use assessments properly and sometimes don’t realize or recognize when they’re discriminating. Because of this concern, it’s important that employers understand why they should use background checks and how they need to be assessed in regards to screening candidates.

First employers need to understand that not all crimes are equal so you need defined criteria that allow you to effectively measure the relevance of an applicant’s criminal history which directly relates to the position.

Review your job description for the position you need to fill. Based on the nature of the position, the type of access and the responsibilities, what could pose a threat should an applicant have a criminal offense on the background check you ran?

Examples of why this would be important:

1.) You need a delivery driver so you do not want to hire someone who could pose great danger to your customers or themselves. You run a background check and find a record on the applicant for a recent conviction for driving under the influence. This would provide you with enough information to make an educated and honest decision to choose not to hire this individual.
2.) You need a bank teller position filled so you definitely need someone who can handle money responsibly that you can trust. You run a background check and find a record on the applicant for a conviction of forgery, theft or embezzlement. This would provide you with enough information to make an educated and honest decision to choose not to hire this individual even if they had the appropriate skills.

You have to decide when you need a position filled if running a background check is even necessary. If you can place just about anyone without much comprise to security, trust or safety then make sure you do not discriminate against applicants for criminal records that really do not directly relate to the position. You can find yourself in a lawsuit very quickly if you fail to have direct and reasonable evidence that supports your reasoning behind failing to hire an individual to their criminal background.

Great Questions to ask During Interviews!

Of course we all are looking for the best fit for the job, right? But how often do you think about their ability to handle your particular management style? This is often an area that managers overlook when asking the candidates questions during an interview. Here are some questions that you should consider asking in your interviews to help assess the candidate’s adaptability to different management styles:

1.) Describe the perfect manager.
2.) Based on your past employment, who would you choose as the best manager you’ve had the opportunity to work for? Why were they good?
3.) Based on your past employment, who would you choose as your least favorite manager? Why were they your least favorite? How did you adapt?
4.) How do you handle conflict with your managers? Disagreements? How do you resolve issues?

By asking questions similar to the ones listed above, you’ll find a greater understanding of how the candidate feels about different management styles. If you find that you’re for the most part the ideal manager described by the candidate then you can have confidence that you’ll work great together should you decide to hire them for the position. On the other hand, if you really like the candidate but worry about being similar to the manager that was their least favorite then you can consider ways to adapt to ensure a smooth and successful relationship if you decide to hire them on.

You shouldn’t base your hiring decision on whether or not they can or cannot handle your management style but rather use these questions to help prepare yourself for building and maintaining successful relationships with new hires.

Tips for Becoming a High Performance Supervisor!

Supervisors have to work at being strong and influential leaders. There are some basic steps that all supervisors/managers need to practice to ensure that they’re truly effective as leaders in their workplace.

1. Define and explain your role and responsibilities. When your team understands the “big picture” of what your role and responsibilities entail then your direction and delegated tasks will be better understood and welcomed by your staff.

2. Set reasonable objectives that are obtainable and that do not conflict with other goals asked of your staff. Employee motivation can be damaged quickly if your short term goals interfere with your long term goals and vise versa. Don’t be the supervisor who pushes too hard on smaller objectives that ultimately interfere with larger objectives. This will hinder your overall success.

3. Provide an opportunity for your staff to participate in the decision making process. Don’t always assume that you have the only and/or best answers to achieving goals and success for your team. Supervisors often forget that their ultimately part of a team and their role is just to lead, supervisor and maintain an effective team. Supervisors should be explaining to their team why decisions are made so that they can help rationalize the decision and provide feedback on how to improve if necessary.

4. PLAN YOUR ACTIONS instead of making it up as you go! Staff needs the big and small picture for their department to be as effective and contributing as you want and need them to be. If you find yourself just making it up as you go then you’re selling your team short. It’s harder to keep employees motivated when tasks and goals change day to day.

Your team is not only as strong as your weakest link but their also only as strong as their leader allows them to be. Leaders (supervisors & managers) often complain that their team is inefficient but they never look to themselves on how and why their team isn’t being successful. This is a huge pitfall for many leaders because they’re not only doing their team a disservice but their also hindering their own individual success.

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For the Fourth Time Trend Receives Inc. 5000 Award

Rockwall, TX – September 19, 2010 - Trend Personnel Services, Inc., a leading provider of human resource outsourcing, today announced that the company was named to the prestigious Inc. 5000 list, a compendium of the most entrepreneurial and fastest growing companies in America.  This is the company’s fourth consecutive year appearing on the list. Trend Personnel is an arm of Trend HR.

TrendHR CEO D.W. Bobst commented on the award: “We are very excited to be chosen for the Inc. 5000 list for the past four consecutive years.  Inc. Magazine is the leading authority on the fastest growing companies. During this challenging economic climate, we were able to achieve the award again based on our team’s outstanding customer service, client referrals and our overall commitment to providing the highest level of quality of services and support.   Our focus is to help business owners be more productive while spending less time on administrative/non-productive tasks, which is critical to businesses in these tough economic conditions.   I would like to express my gratitude to our Trend Personnel Services teammates and our clients who are key to our success. 

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found on Inc.com. 

About TrendHR:

TrendHR is a human resource outsourcing company focused on providing its customers customized solutions to Payroll, Staffing, Workers Compensation, Health Benefits, Risk Management and Human Resource functionality.  Trend operates as an off-site Human Resource Department relieving businesses of hundreds of burdensome details which allows business owners to focus on production and growing their business.  “Do what you do best, let Trend handle the rest!”  

Don’t neglect performance management in tough times

By Laura Raines

For the AJC

When employees are being asked to work longer and harder to keep companies afloat, and budgets are too tight for pay raises, supervisors may be tempted to postpone or suspend annual performance reviews.

That would be a mistake. Not only does it leave employees in the dark about their status, it negates the benefits that companies derive from creating a successful performance management program.

“It’s always better to recognize employees for their work, give them feedback on their performance, and to be upfront about the lack of money for salary increases or bonuses,” said Margaret Hintz, team manager for the Eastern region midmarket division of Administaff in Atlanta. Administaff is a leading professional employer organization that provides human resources services for small and midsize companies.

“Working in chaos is not good for anyone, and if you don’t tell people what is going on, they’ll fill in the blanks themselves,” she said. “When managers tell employees about what is going on in the company, whether it’s good or bad, it builds the level of trust needed to create a good workplace.”

People often equate performance management with the annual performance review that helps companies decide who gets promotions, raises, bonuses or disciplinary actions.

“Effective performance management goes well beyond reviews,” Hintz said. “It’s about the entire life cycle of an employee.”

It starts with a well-written job description with clear performance standards. “The responsibilities should be doable and based on benchmarks that have been achieved in the past,” she said.

For a call center operator, it might include how many calls the person would take in a day, and what percentage of issues should be resolved on the first call, for example. Goals should be defined at the individual level, but linked to the department and overall company goals, so that employees understand how their job fits into the company mission.

Clear job descriptions make the review process more objective, allowing supervisors to assess employees doing the same job with more equity. “Knowing the expected responsibilities also helps employees and supervisors recognize skill gaps, which can be addressed through training and development,” Hintz said.

“When employees hear that management is willing to invest in their development, it sends a clear message that they are valued and have a future with the company,” she said. “It creates a stronger company culture, which minimizes employee dissatisfaction and turnover.”

Using in-house experts as trainers, low-cost Internet classes or Web-inars, or the training resources provided in a professional employer organization package can lower training costs. She encourages her clients to look for low-cost lunch and learn lectures that would appeal to a broad spectrum of workers (such as stress management or wellness initiatives).

There are other ways to reward employees than compensation, as well. A change in title, extra time off, a more flexible schedule, access to a leadership training program or a high-level project can acknowledge value without breaking the budget.

“Companies need to understand what’s important to their employees to be able to reward them when they are successful, and that comes from a performance management program based on communication, collaboration and commitment,” said Hintz.

Bosses should give regular feedback to their employees on what they are doing well and in what areas they need work, rather than waiting for an annual review. “That allows an employee to improve before a formal evaluation,” she said.

With ongoing communication, work progress becomes a more collaborative effort. “The example must come from the top down, with leaders setting high standards for management,” she said.

“The body of human resource knowledge is so vast, that it can be difficult for a small or midsize company to get a handle on creating a performance management system,” said Hintz. Partnering with a professional employer organization can deepen their knowledge of best practices, and add to their resources. Gaining access to more affordable employee benefits at larger group rates can often offset the costs of outsourcing HR services.

“A good performance management system shows employees that you’ve thought through what they need to do; you recognize their contributions; you want to train and develop their skills; and you will reward their success,” said Hintz.

“It’s critical to the overall health of a company, because it strengthens the culture, increases retention and employee satisfaction, and improves a company’s reputation.”

Tips for Organizing Personnel Files – Reward: Limiting Risk!

Did you know it’s important to keep certain personnel records separate? Well it happens to be very important.  Quite simply, you should have at least 2 separate personnel files for each employee.

Why should we have separate files for each employee? 

There are both federal and state laws that require employers to administer and maintain multiple types of personnel records. Due to record sensitivity and subject matter, certain personnel records must be kept separate from the main personnel file. The primary file should house all records directly relating to the employees position with your company. Any non-job related records must be kept separate.

PRIMARY Personnel File (#1) –employees’ personnel related records:

• Completed Job Application (with attached resume, references, certificates etc)
• Signed acknowledgement and receipt of  handbook (policies/guidelines)
• Employee agreement/non-compete (contract)
• Direct Deposit & Payroll authorization forms
• Change forms (pay, title, payroll, address etc)
• Performance reviews
• Counsels / disciplinary actions (completed forms)
• Termination forms / layoffs / LOA
•  Equipment record (assigned items – company phone, vehicle, tools etc)

SECONDARY Personnel File (#2) – confidential, sensitive records:

This file will contain confidential and sensitive personnel information so should be restricted to authorized staff members only:

• Completed Form I-9
• Records of grievances or complaints affecting employment status
• Survey of ethnic, disabled or veteran status
• Workers' compensation claims
• Discrimination claims, charges and related documents filed with EEOC or state agencies, as well as records kept by employer to aid in investigations
• Health and Life information (medical history and status)
• ADA - Work restrictions or accommodation requests
• Harassment claims and/or investigation results
• Wage garnishment records

Keep your employee personnel files separate to protect your company and your employees. Failure to keep certain records separate could lead to large fines should your company ever be audited.