Asking job applicants about criminal convictions

Several weeks ago, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued guidance to employers regarding criminal background checks. The commission suggested that employers should remove questions about criminal convictions from employment applications because these questions adversely impact African American and Hispanic job applicants.

Instead, employers are encouraged to evaluate what information they ask in relation to the specific position being filled and when they should ask it. In most situations, information regarding criminal convictions should be incorporated into later phases of the selection process and tailored to the exact job in question.

For example, if the applicant is being considered for a cashier position, questions probing for information about convictions for theft, fraud, or related crimes would be appropriate during a job interview. Likewise, candidates being considered for a position in a school or similar work environment should be asked about convictions for sex-related offenses.

Because the guidance does not have the force of law, employers may choose not to follow the commission’s direction and instead continue to request conviction information on the employment application. While this may be an appropriate short term strategy, careful consideration should be given to reviewing policies regarding criminal convictions and how these policies apply to specific job families in your organization.

Understanding the brain and how it helps you be a better manager

Neuroscience is the physiological study of the brain. Thanks to new technology including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography, researchers are able to study the neural connections as they happen in the living brain. This research is shedding new light on human behavior and has tremendous implications in how to most effectively manage people.
Some of the most important implications include:

• People need sufficient sleep to integrate learning into long-term memory.
• Social pain such as rejection or being belittled affects the brain in the same way as physical pain.
• Social fairness and respect give the brain a chemical boost while unfairness and disrespect do the opposite.
• Stress causes people to think unclearly.
• Uncertainty arouses fear circuits and decreases the ability to make decisions.
• People require ownership over decisions to accept change.
• Engaging people in more active learning techniques improves retention.
• People’s ability to think clearly is hindered when they are exposed to uncertainty or their expectations are not met.

By understanding the results of neuroscientific research, managers can better create and implement strategies that will maximize employee productivity and engagement.

Think carefully before you add to staff!

As the economy gradually improves and your organization starts to consider adding to your headcount, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is adding full time positions to the organization congruent with our strategic plan? It’s critical that staffing requirements are based on your organization’s strategy. If you haven’t updated your strategic plan and established a clear direction for your organization, you should not even begin to consider additional headcount.
• Have we considered the cost of a new hire? Base salary is only a portion of the overall cost of an employee. You must also consider costs related to recruiting, benefits, employment taxes, and other overhead expenses.
• Have we considered using temps? Not only do temporary agencies relieve you of much of the administrative burden connected with the hiring process, but they allow you staffing flexibility and the opportunity to “try before you buy.”
• Have we clearly identified the skill sets and character attributes that we require to meet our internal job requirements and ensure the employee fits in the organization’s culture? The better you clarify the type of person who will be successful in a given position, the greater the chance that the person will succeed in the job.
• Are the managers, supervisors, and employees who will be involved in the recruiting process adequately trained? This means these individuals not only understand the full range of skills and personality traits that the organization requires, but they are intimately familiar with best practices and legal requirements related to recruiting and hiring.

While an improved business outlook may be great for your organization, don’t create future problems by making staffing decisions precipitously. Wise managers understand that adding to regular headcount should always be a course of last resort.


BAI salary surveys help you keep pace with the market
Most organizations desire a pay structure that is competitive within the marketplace. This, however, is easier said than done. Because market pricing is not an exact science and because market pressures create an endless ebb and flow, it is difficult for most companies to identify and manage salaries relative to their actual market position.
To help organizations maintain a competitive compensation structure that makes sense and controls costs, BAI provides the following assistance:

• Conduct targeted salary surveys tailored to a client’s particular target market.
• Design and conduct surveys to identify competitive benefit and perquisite packages.
• Wage and salary data from BAI’s proprietary salary database.

To speak with a BAI compensation consultant about this and other services and workshops, call us today at 801.444.9919.

Fair compensation key to employee retention

Despite the fact that unemployment continues to hover above 8%, an increased demand for skilled workers and key contributors is creating higher turnover for many employers. To avoid losing their best and brightest, organizations should be doing all they can to retain their talent and limit the likelihood that these valuable assets are wooed to work for the competition.

For many companies, this may be an uphill battle. According to a recent Watson Wyatt survey, commitment levels of top performers have fallen by nearly 25%, while over a third of top performers feel their relationship with their company has worsened.

As the economy improves, valuable workers who have felt neglected and unappreciated will readily discover that the fastest way to obtain a significant pay increase and brighter employment prospects may be to change employers. The loss of key performers during this period of renewed economic expansion can be devastating.

While it should be noted that increasing pay does not typically enhance employee satisfaction, failure to pay what the employee feels is fair is a prime dis-satisfier. It is, therefore, critical for employers to ensure that they are paying competitively, particularly for skilled workers and key contributors.

Another compensation challenge facing employers is the continuing downward pressure on wages of unskilled and semi-skilled workers. As a result, many employees in these positions may be currently over-paid relative to the market.

As employers look for ways to manage payroll costs, careful evaluation of compensation levels for all job groups should be undertaken. Traditional annual merit increases might be reconsidered in light of the market’s downward pressure.

The bottom line is that it is now time to sit down with your organization's compensation consultant to develop an appropriate strategy and plan that best fits your retention objectives. Failure to do so could well result in a situation where you retain employees you can afford to lose and lose employees that your organization is counting on.

To speak with a compensation consultant or to learn about other ways BAI can help your company grow, call us today at 801.444.9919.