What’s ahead HR-wise in 2018?

Well, it’s that time of year again (less than 9 weeks until Christmas!) and business owners turn our minds to the year ahead while quietly reviewing the year that has been. How was your year? Better than you had expected? Worse? Or pretty close to what you thought it would be?

Regardless of the sort of year you’ve been having there are some HR challenges you should be thinking about for 2018 and beyond. Think of them as new year resolutions for your business:

  • Make sure you and your managers are having regular catch-ups with staff. By regular I mean at least once a month but preferably even more often than that. The catch-up doesn’t need to be terribly formal or documented. It’s absolutely vital that you don’t just rely on an annual performance appraisal process as your only means of discussing performance. Employees’ strengths and a strong focus on improvement should always be on your management team’s agenda. You and your managers should make it the number one priority for 2018 and every year after that
  • Get your managers and staff trained in workplace harassment awareness, no matter how big or small your company is. You don’t want the Fair Work Commission knocking on your door when one of your employees lodges a formal complaint. Avoid the on-line versions of this type of training. They are purely a tick-the-box response and deliver very little learning. A better way is to use a skilled facilitator to conduct short workshops (around 1-2 hours) for managers and employees. Managers will learn how to handle a complaint and your staff will know you’re serious about eliminating harassment in the workplace
  • Don’t forget to allow staff to have a support person with them if you’re having one of those meetings where you’re discussing someone’s future with your company. If you refuse to allow a support person that alone could be grounds for unfair dismissal, regardless of how well documented your termination process is.

Oh, and don’t forget to have a documented “Christmas party” policy in place for your end of year bash. Make sure everyone understands what is expected of them and what types of behaviour will not be tolerated.

 

Recruiters behaving better?

Those of us involved in the recruitment game sometimes get criticised for the way we operate. Failure to acknowledge receipt of applications, misrepresenting the role to be filled and lack of feedback throughout the selection process are all common complaints.

I proposed a very simple code of conduct for recruiters 2 years ago. Here’s my update:

  • Make sure the job ad accurately portrays the role you’re trying to fill – you may need to be assertive with your client to paint a realistic picture of the Company and the advertised position
  • Avoid jargon and euphemistic phrases in your job ad
  • Makes sure that you aren’t unintentionally discriminating against possible applicants by your choice of language
  • Always acknowledge receipt of an application within 24 hours
  • Leave at least 30 minutes between interviews
  • Take notes during interviews and use them for feedback
  • Provide timely feedback to both successful and unsuccessful candidates
  • Prepare a brief for your client listing the short-listed candidates and your reasons for presenting them to the client – show clearly how their background and education are a good fit for the role you’re trying to fill
  • Get useful feedback from your client as to why someone wasn’t successful
  • Offer to meet unsuccessful candidates to properly debrief the process and share the feedback you got from your client
  • Do at least 2 reference checks on the successful candidate but only after your client has chosen that particular person. Reference checks should never be used as a way to differentiate between candidates
  • Recommend to your client that they do a background check (and, in some cases, a police check) on the successful candidate. There are  a number of good companies out there who can do this work for you
  • Follow up regularly with your client and the successful candidate once they have started their new role
  • Make sure your client has regular reviews with your candidate, particularly during the first 6 months of employment
  • Keep in touch with unsuccessful candidates you particularly liked – you may be able to place them next time.

Do you have a horror recruitment story to tell? Please leave a comment below.