Organizations: The Time to Start Recruiting is Right Now
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
(Editor’s Note: Today’s article is brought to you by our friends at Poster Guard® Compliance Protection, a division of HRdirect and the leading labor law poster service that gets your business up to date with all required federal, state and local labor law postings, and then keeps it that way — for an entire year. Enjoy the article!)
I’ve seen a couple of interesting articles lately about recruiting. First, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics March 2021 jobs report said that employers added almost 1 million jobs and the unemployment rate is down to 6%. The other one was a recent article from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) that hinted at a turnover “tsunami” once the pandemic ends.
While the job market isn’t back to pre-pandemic levels, these recent articles indicate that HR departments need to start thinking about building talent pools and filling candidate pipelines.
One aspect of the recruiting process that’s often overlooked is posting compliance. Similar to the labor law posters required for your employees, there are specific postings you must make available to job applicants as well. Organizations are required to post applicant-facing notices regarding equal employment opportunity, family/medical leave, the polygraph protection act, immigration, etc. There are various applicant posting requirements under federal, state and local laws.
When everyone works in an office, and everyone is interviewed in an office environment, posting these notices is easy. You can just purchase the posters. The situation changes when organizations have remote and hybrid workers. But it doesn’t have to be difficult. With an online applicant posting service, providing candidates with the required information can be easy.
5 “Additional” Advantages to Online Applicant Postings
I think it’s important to note that making sure applicants have access to posters is required by law when recruiting. If applicants come into your facility to apply, they need to be able to read the postings. And if applicants do not visit your facility, it’s still required.
That being said, I know from firsthand experience that it is helpful to have more than simply “it’s the law” as the justification for doing something. Here are five additional advantages to taking applicant postings online:
ADVANTAGE #1 – SOME OF THE HIRING PROCESS IS ALREADY ONLINE. Many organizations already use online applications. An online applicant posting service streamlines the process because applicants see the required postings when they complete their online application. This can also protect a company from potential employment-related lawsuits.
ADVANTAGE #2 – THE COMPANY’S COMMITMENT TO COMPLIANCE IS REINFORCED. The reason we are seeing warnings of a turnover tsunami is because employees feel they were treated badly during the pandemic. That organizations placed profit over people. An online applicant posting service can send the message that the organization values compliance. It’s a good first impression and reflection of the company’s brand. It can help build trust.
ADVANTAGE #3 – VIDEO INTERVIEWS ARE SUPPORTED. I’ve heard from many organizations that video interviews – especially initial screening interviews – are here to stay. Even if the organization decides to conduct all of their interviews in-person again, that might not happen for some time. Making sure that candidates see the required postings early in the process is important. An online applicant posting service accomplishes that.
ADVANTAGE #4 – FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LAWS ARE COVERED. As a result of the pandemic, many organizations have realized that remote employees are very productive. They’re allowing employees to work remotely and “casting a wider net” when looking for new hires. An online applicant posting service allows organizations to stay on top of all federal, state, county, and city postings. HR departments can focus on sourcing and hiring great employees instead of posting compliance.
Now I don’t want to take this conversation too far off topic, but I believe there is one more advantage to having an online applicant posting service when recruiting: Employees get used to having information delivered in that format.
In general, there’s a trend toward moving administrative tasks to an online format. This could be a perfect time to think about the organization’s candidate experience and employee experience – and how to connect the two.
Here’s an example of how the process might work. The organization accepts job applications online and uses an online applicant posting service. When the candidate becomes a new hire, they would complete an online Form I-9, W-4, direct deposit authorization, employee handbook acknowledgement, etc.
Take it one step further and put all of the company’s mandatory labor law postings on a secure intranet. Now all of your employees – onsite, remote, or hybrid – can see the information that applies to them at any time. I can definitely see this being the future of compliance. Organizations being open and transparent about compliance requirements and creating a single location for employees to view everything.
One question that popped into my mind as I was working on this article, and I’m sure you have the same question too was, “Is having a single point of reference for compliance postings legally acceptable?”
I asked Ashley Kaplan, Esquire, senior employment law attorney for ComplyRight about this issue. She leads the expert legal team for Poster Guard Compliance Protection. ““While it’s recommended to have a central location for all employees to view compliance postings, such as an online portal, this option doesn’t replace the full-size labor law postings required at your facilities. As long as you have onsite employees, you’ll need those posted on the walls. But the online postings fulfill the requirement for remote and hybrid workers, while also providing an additional point of access for onsite workers.”
Don’t Forget Applicant Postings in Your Recruiting Plans
As organizations start to think about economic recovery and increased hiring, it’s also the time to make sure that recruiting processes are in compliance. Companies will want HR and hiring managers to focus on finding the best talent, not searching the internet for compliance requirements. Leave that to the professionals. Poster Guard Compliance Protection is the leading labor law poster service in the nation. And their products are fully vetted by their legal team.
While recruitment was the focus of todays’ article, recruiting is only one of the compliance related matters that HR professionals need to think about. With a new administration, the potential exists for more changes in employment law. If you want to learn more about what areas might be impacted, check out this webinar on “What to Expect from the New Administration”. It includes information on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), immigration work visas, employee benefits, and much more. I think you’ll find it very interesting!
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