1. Offer attractive incentives

Offering attractive incentives can play a major role in retaining your top talent. There are a number of different types of incentives. Still, not all of them are equally effective. In order to ensure that your incentives have the desired effect, choosing ones that are well-suited to your business and your employees is essential. For example, offering cash bonuses is a popular form of incentive, but it is not always the most effective for those who may have competitive salaries. In some cases, employees may be more motivated by other types of rewards, such as paid vacation time or extra days off. For start-ups or companies with stock options as part of their compensation plans, offering additional equity or stocks can be a great way to retain and motivate employees, especially if these incentives align with performance measurements. By choosing the right type of incentive, you can ensure that your employees will be happy where they are no matter what The Great Resignation throws at you. 

2. Add a rotational work program into the mix

A rotational work program can offer many benefits to employees and employers alike. For employees, it can provide an opportunity to develop new skills, expand their network of contacts, and gain exposure to different aspects of the company. For employers, a rotational work program can help foster a culture of learning and innovation and lead to improved retention rates. Furthermore, it can also help prevent boredom and burnout by regularly providing employees with a change of scenery and new challenges. In today’s competitive business environment, organizations that can offer their employees opportunities for career development are often the ones that succeed in attracting and retaining top talent. Especially now in times of The Great Resignation, a rotational work program can be an important tool for any organization that is looking to stay ahead of the curve. 

3. Begin a mentorship program

A mentorship program can offer a number of benefits for both employees and employers. A mentor can guide and support employees as they navigate the workplace. A mentor can also be a valuable source of information, helping mentees to develop the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in their career. From how to manage the corporate ladder to creating meaningful work relationships with senior executives, a mentor can be a gold mine of support, information, and experience to elevate your career in multiple ways. Meanwhile, employers can benefit from mentorship programs by developing a pool of better equipped talent to meet the business’s demands. With all these benefits, mentorship programs can help to improve employee retention rates by fostering a sense of connection and belonging within the workplace. Ultimately, a mentorship program can be a win-win for both employees and employers. 

4. Create a culture of collaboration

Given the elements of remote and hybrid work, our work life is no longer confined to 4 walls of a building. Since culture is so key to the organization’s success, creating a culture of collaboration is important. One of the most important aspects of creating a collaborative environment is trust. When team members feel that they can trust each other, they are more likely to open up and share ideas. This can be fostered by encouraging open communication and being transparent about decision-making. Employees who feel like they have a voice within their organization and are valued are more likely to stick around, and potential recruits will be more likely to consider an organization that values teamwork. Therefore, building and investing in a culture of collaboration is not only good for employees, but it’s also good for business.

Don’t get us wrong– we love to compete! But to win top talent, business owners need to understand how their hiring process timeline compares to the competition. 

Use this guide to help you find the optimal interview and hiring process timeline for your business. We’ve included our best advice on how to cut the hiring process timeline and recruit quality employees faster. (We know you can compete with the big players!) Plus, we’ve thrown in expert tips to help you find your latest and greatest employee.

What Is The Timeline For Hiring?

In general, the hiring process for most professional services takes between 2 weeks and 30 days on average. Jobvite’s 2021 Recruiting Benchmark Report shows a time-to-hire of 14-30 days for 54% of employers, with 70% of employers filling openings in less than 30 days. So, if your hiring process takes longer than 4 weeks, you risk losing your top-tier candidates to competitors. 

Note that the timeline for completing the hiring process, from the initial job posting to the acceptance of an offer, varies among industries. Even with these averages, the hiring process timeline will undoubtedly look different for each business. Plus, you should be somewhat flexible with the hiring process timeline to make sure you’re getting the best candidates for the job. 

How Long Should The Interview Process Be?

The interview process timeline is the biggest roadblock in your hiring process. The job interview process can be lengthy. Many companies have an involved interview process starting with screening interviews, which often take place on the phone, followed by in-person interviews, second interviews and even third interviews. (That’s a big chunk of the hiring process timeline!)

A recent article by the Balance, breaks down the average amount of time to get an offer, but the average interview process timeline depends on industry and skill level. It takes new college grads 24 days on average to receive a job offer after an interview. An extensive Glassdoor survey shows that just the interview process of the recruitment process usually takes about 23 days.

HR Pro Tip

Because of how much time interviewing takes, it’s critical to interview effectively. As we’ll discuss later in this guide, there are steps you can take to better interview and recruit the right people for the job. Ask candidates insightful questions to see if they’re just looking at this position as a stepping stone, or if they’re in it for the long term.  How they answer will say a lot.

How To Cut The Hiring Process Timeline And Recruit Faster

Don’t give your favorite candidate the chance to wander off to a different opportunity. Here are just a few tips to let you get ahead in the competition.

Use Video Content In Your Job Ad

Job seekers get tired of scanning through the job postings with the same format. Adding video content can be a huge differentiator for your brand. (Take that, other stale job ads!) It’s also a great way to showcase your company culture and build a relationship with new applicants. 

Adding video to your job ads can help you:

• Showcase your brand and culture
• Highlight job perks and incentives
• Encourage sharing and engagement on social media
• Expand your talent search by increasing your visibility

Use video content in your job ad to show applicants around your company, highlighting key employees and their experiences. It doesn’t have to be glamorous! Having a manager talk about the role and company culture has the potential to resonate with candidates on a different level.

Strategically Place Your Job Ad

There are tons of places where you can post a job ad. From Indeed, LinkedIn, Monster (and infinity and beyond!) The list of places where you can post a job opening never ends. It takes a keen eye to understand the best place to post a job advertisement and why. 

Most recruiters turn to LinkedIn as a recruiting tool, but it’s become so crowded with recruiters that it’s actually grown harder to source passive candidates. Oversaturation on LinkedIn is the main reason that 52% of hiring managers claim that passive candidate recruiting has become less effective. Our advice? First thing’s first, determine your budget and timeline. Then, do some research and find out which channels are best suited to your target audience and budget.

How Can You Promote Your Job Posting?

If you want to attract high-quality candidates, it is not enough just to publish your job openings on your career site and job boards. Your best job candidates are passive job seekers, who are not actively looking for a new job. Some of the top places to post your job ad to recruit passive candidates are:

• Job-specific websites where your target audience frequently visits. Industry-specialized websites like forums and blogs are a ​​great place for promoting your job postings.
• Your company newsletter. Make sure to include your job posting in your company’s newsletter to spread the information about your new job opening. 
• Social media platforms. Facebook and Twitter’s targeted search capabilities can be used to find high-quality passive candidates. You’re probably familiar with social platforms like Snapchat and Instagram, but you might not have considered incorporating them into your recruiting strategy. These platforms can be used in unique ways to attract passive candidates.

The right marketing technology or recruiting software can help you utilize the right platforms for your job ad and get in front of your ideal candidates.

HR Pro Tip

Not seeing results? Try outsourcing an HR professional for your talent acquisition. Outsourcing your company’s recruiting efforts can help you expand your talent search and build a pipeline of experienced talent.

Interview Effectively

When done effectively, asking the right questions during an interview can have a huge impact on the hiring process timeline. Asking the right questions upfront can help you determine if an applicant’s skills, experience and personality meet the job’s requirements. Here are just a few things you can do to interview better:

• Ask open-ended questions. Open-ended questions encourage candidates to provide longer answers and to expand on their knowledge, strengths and job experiences. They also provide greater insight into a candidate’s personality.
• Prepare questions in advance. We’re always surprised at how many interviewers don’t prepare questions in advance. (Save winging it for open mic night!) 
• Avoid certain questions. Don’t ask about age, ethnic heritage, or church they belong to. These questions directly ask for personal information and can get you in trouble with federal law. It is important for interviewers to be familiar with federal employment laws, so they don’t discriminate against potential employees.

It’s one of the biggest hiring mistakes we see: lack of adequate planning for an interview. It can help to have a written outline or checklist of important points to be covered, even in addition to the specific questions you will be asking candidates. Download our guide below for an exclusive look at how to guide an interview and our best 10 questions every employer should be asking during an interview. 

Download Now

Outsource Your HR

You may find yourself becoming overwhelmed by the hiring process. (It happens to the best of us!) Did you know that outsourcing your HR allows you to better recruit and onboard your employees? No seriously, it does. When you outsource HR, you’ll get to work with HR professionals who know the ins and outs of the recruitment process – from strategic job advertising to qualifying candidates. At EmPower HR, we can help with:

• Writing a killer job description and ad
• Targeted recruitment advertising
• Interview best practices and guidance
• Candidate review and shortlisting
• Strategies to recruit passive candidates

Long story short, we’ll develop a rockin’ recruitment and hiring strategy to help you fill your open positions with the best talent out there. Contact us today!

As the virus continues to spread and evolve, many businesses (and their employees) are wondering when to go back to work after COVID. For those businesses who do choose to return to in-person work, there are many factors to consider as far as ensuring the workplace will be safe. If your business is still struggling to find its footing in this COVID-19 era, don’t worry! Below are some tips on how your business can protect its employees after asking them to return to in-person work.

Without making this sound too harsh, the EEOC also added that employers that do so would need to reasonably accommodate employees who are against the vaccination due to health or religious reasons. This is key as you research and put together your covid-19 employee vaccination policy template.

The real question now is, should your business make the COVID vaccine mandatory?

We know the obvious benefits of requiring employees to get vaccinated, and if you do decide to implement this policy, make sure you know what’s needed for special exemptions and considerations — and more importantly, have a plan in place. These include:

Employees With Disabilities

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states that employers must provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees with disabilities. A business may choose not to do so if it can demonstrate the accommodation would create an undue hardship.

Reasonable accommodation may include adjusting the company policies, including requirements imposed by a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. You will need to engage with the unvaccinated employee to identify the ideal workplace accommodations.

Employees With Conservative Religious Beliefs

The Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) states that employers must provide accommodations for employees with religious beliefs that may prevent them from complying with the mandatory policy. In addition, the law permits exceptions related to the employer’s undue hardship. Be prepared for a cumbersome process as defining a “sincerely held religious belief” can be notoriously difficult, and courts have reached a wide range of conclusions on what is a sufficient religious belief under Title VII.

Relevant Medical Information Under The ADA

The ADA typically frowns at disability-related questions from employers to their employees. Requiring COVID-19 vaccination according to your vaccine policy does not qualify as a medical examination. If you have mandatory vaccination programs and policies, you need to use caution with the questions asked.

The EEOC has even stated that pre-screening questions asking whether an employee has been vaccinated may be tagged as a disability-related inquiry. You must then be able to demonstrate the business necessity of these questions. Furthermore, information about an employee’s COVID-19 vaccination is confidential medical information under the ADA. Hence, you need to be careful not to violate the ADA’s confidentiality requirements when implementing workplace safety policies based on an employee’s vaccination status.

Wage Considerations For Taking Vaccines

The federal law states that employees may be entitled to compensable work time for their time spent waiting for and receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Ensure this is handled properly, as failure to meet the wage and hour requirements is often a costly mistake with consequences. Apart from being ethically ideal, providing paid leave to get vaccinated or recover from vaccine side effects may be required by state or local law. Note that practical law provides comprehensive coverage of paid sick leave, including leave relating to getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

According to the EEOC, while this might not be ideal, an employer can ban employees who refuse to get vaccinated from the workplace. Just don’t forget reasonable accommodation obligations or treat employees differently based on protected characteristics. Ensure you work closely together to address any significant concerns.

Though there are arguments for and against advising employees to quarantine after travel, even if symptoms don’t exist — asking employees to stay at home after travel has become the new normal to flattening the curve and keeping the business’ workforce safe. Businesses can take appropriate measures based on how essential or critical their operations are, from temporarily suspending operations to utilizing the hybrid model on an individual basis.

If a motivated employee reports symptoms and enters the workplace, the employee should be sent home immediately. Sick employees should quarantine after their travel before coming into the workplace, and this should not be taken lightly, no matter how critical their role is.

Once quarantine after travel is complete, employees can return to the office, and you can do a temperature screening; however, many people infected with COVID-19 have no temperature and are asymptomatic or have other symptoms but no fever. Having other processes in your health and safety framework, such as testing or mask-wearing, will be essential to ensure a safe and healthy workplace.

The rule requires businesses with at least 100 employees companywide to ensure their employees get vaccinated against the coronavirus or wear a mask and test for COVID-19 on a weekly basis.

Workplaces not covered by the ETS include those covered under the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force COVID-19 Workplace Safety: Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors (Contractor Guidance) or those in settings where any employee provides healthcare services or healthcare support services when subject to the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.502, the Healthcare ETS.
The ETS does not apply to employees of covered employers who do not report to a workplace where other individuals, such as coworkers or customers, are present, while working from home, or who work exclusively outdoors.

Determining Employee Vaccination Status

Under the ETS, employers are now required to obtain acceptable proof of vaccination status of each employee. This determination must include whether the employee is fully vaccinated, which is two weeks after the full required vaccine course is completed, or partially vaccinated. Acceptable proof requires official documentation such as a Vaccination Record Card. If an employee is unable to produce the required documentation, the employee must attest to their vaccination status in a signed dated statement. Any employee who does not provide acceptable proof of vaccination status must be treated as not fully vaccinated for purpose of the ETS. Employers must also maintain a record of each employee’s vaccination status and must retain acceptable proof of vaccination while the ETS remains in effect, which is estimated to be six months.

Employers must now support an employee’s efforts to obtain the COVID-19 vaccination by providing up to four hours of paid time, including travel time, at the employee’s regular rate of pay for this purpose. Employers must also provide reasonable recovery time and paid sick leave for employees to recover from side effects experienced following vaccination.

Requirements For Employees Who Are Not Fully Vaccinated (Required 60 Days After Publication)

Employees who are not fully vaccinated and who report at least once every seven days to a workplace, must be tested for COVID-19 at least once every seven days and must provide documentation of the most recent COVID-19 test result to the employer. The test cannot be both self-administered and self-read unless observed by the employer or authorized telehealth proctor. Employer payment for testing is not mandated in the ETS but may be required by other laws, regulations, collective bargaining agreements, or collectively negotiated agreements. Employers must ensure each employee who is not fully vaccinated wears a face covering when indoors and when driving in a vehicle with another person for work purposes.

Employee Notification Of A Positive COVID-19 Test And OSHA Reporting

Under the ETS, employers must require each employee to promptly notify them of a positive COVID-19 test result or of a licensed healthcare provider’s diagnosis of COVID-19 and immediately remove any employee who receives a positive test or diagnosis. Employees who test positive or who are diagnosed, cannot return to the workplace unless they receive a negative COVID-19 test result and meet the return to work criteria in the Center for Disease Control’s “Isolation Guidance,” or receive a recommendation to return to work from a licensed healthcare provider. The ETS does not require employers to provide paid time off to any employee for removal from the workplace.

The ETS requires that employers report to OSHA any work-related COVID-19 fatality within 8 hours of learning about the fatality and each work-related COVID-19 in-patient hospitalization within 24 hours of learning about the in-patient hospitalization.

Notifying Your Workforce

Employers are required to inform each employee of the ETS requirements and employer ETS policy. Employers must also provide the document, “Key Things to Know About COVID-19 Vaccines,” available at the CDC website, as well as notifying employees of the prohibitions against discharge, retaliation, and discrimination for reporting work-related injuries or illness and of the penalties associated with providing false statements or documentation.

Some held onto the hope of things normalizing soon, hence the option of reducing pay instead of doing something as drastic as laying people off. This cost-cutting reflex is understandable but has not been widely accepted as the best option.

Here are some questions and answers on how to help you decide whether or not to reduce pay, and how to handle a pay cut:

Does An Economic Downturn Really Force Employers To Cut Pay?

From furloughing to certain percentages of pay cuts based on how much employees earn, some of the biggest and most established companies in the world have had to do so in response to revenue losses, even if it’s temporary.

Difficult times, especially pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic, have led to the evaluation of human capital costs. Desperate situations certainly call for desperate measures to survive, and if a company is operating at a loss, it’s only reasonable to reduce spending.

However, some companies can stay afloat even when there’s a downturn because of the nature of goods and services they provide. If a company is lucky enough to specialize in products and services with inelastic demand, it’ll likely not operate at a loss and, in turn, will not need to cut pay.

Can Cutting Pay Be A Bad Sign For Recovery?

While a pay cut is a sacrifice employees have to make in a bid to control the damage, it might not necessarily be for the best in terms of economic recovery. Apart from doing very little to boost morale, many people try to play safe by saving more money due to the uncertain nature of the period. When spending is low, businesses are adversely affected.

When Can Companies ‘Get Away With’ Pay Cuts Or Layoffs?

First, the company will need to be honest and open with its employees and avoid making them second guess what the plans going forward are. Let them know the health of the organization and what your priorities are to stay afloat. They’re human and understand the situation is out of everybody’s control. Though a decision not in their favor might be hurtful, how this is handled goes a very long way.

When Hours Are Cut Due To COVID-19, Does An Employer Have To Repay The Hours Employees Would Have Worked?

We all wish that were a thing, don’t we? Sadly, this is not the reality, and the employer is only required to pay for the actual hours worked. As there wouldn’t be output from when employees don’t work, employees cannot factor time scheduled to work, which was not utilized because of a schedule change.

If Your Office Closes And Moves To A Work-From-Home Model, But An Employee Cannot Perform Their Job At Home, Are You Still Required To Pay The Employee?

Again, the employer is only required to pay for the actual hours worked, and it must be at least the minimum wage. This is subject to limited exceptions.

With a salaried exempt employee, can the employer require them to use their accrued leave (paid time off or vacation) during office closures due to COVID-19 or any other unforeseen circumstances?

Salaried (“exempt”) executive, administrative, or professional employees must receive their full salary anytime they perform any work, subject to certain minimal exceptions. An employee will not be considered to be paid “on a salary basis” if deductions from the salary are made for absences caused by an office closure during a week in which the employee performs any work. However, exempt salaried employees are not required to be paid their salary in weeks they do not work.

The employer is not required to provide paid time off or paid vacation time. And in the case of the employer providing such benefits, it may require using accrued paid time off or vacation time to cover an office closure during a week in which you perform some work. If your employer requires the usage of paid time off or paid vacation time during office closures, the use of such benefits will not affect salary payment. In the case of a partial week office closure, an employer may direct salaried employees to take vacation time or debit their paid time off to leave the bank, whether for full or partial days, provided the employees receive an amount in payment equal to their salary.

A salaried exempt employee who has no accrued leave in the leave bank account or has limited accrued leave would have the reduction resulting in a negative balance in the leave bank account. They can’t be left out of their salary for any absence(s) occasioned by the office closure in order to remain exempt.

Speaking of telework, is an employer required to cover any additional expenses that employees might incur if they work from home (internet access, system, phone, increased use of electricity, etc.)?

An employer may cover the costs for items that are classified as business expenses if the employee has paid out of pocket for the costs. However, if the employer provides the systems and resources needed to work from home, the employer may not require you to reimburse these costs.

If employees are required to complete a COVID-19 health screening during the workday, will they be compensated?

If employees are required to complete a health screening when they’re meant to be at work, they’ll need to be paid, as that would just mean they’re being forced if they don’t get paid. All the time between the start and finish of an employee’s workday must be paid unless it falls within one of the exceptions, such as meal breaks and when they’re off-duty.