Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software

Your Employees Are Slacking Off At Work: What Should You Do?

So, your employees is slacking off. Perhaps, they are bored with their daily tasks or your work environment is not fun. Bridget Miller’s blog for the HR Daily Advisor titled, How to Get Employees to Goof Off Less at Work reads in part,

“Reducing employee time spent “goofing off” is probably a reasonable goal. But the idea of “goofing off” is probably not the main issue—the real issue is productivity loss. That productivity loss may come from a variety of employee activities, such as spending excessive of time talking about nonwork things with coworkers, doing personal things like browsing online articles or social media, or even taking care of personal errands (like buying gifts online or spending time away from work without taking paid time off (PTO). It could also come in the form of frequent personal calls and texts. Regardless of the specific activity, the concern is that too much time is being spent not working.”

Your Employees Are Slacking Off At Work: What Should You Do?

The article has a few suggestions for employers looking to engage its workforce and increase productivity. In no particular, order here is three out of the seven suggestions:

Invest in good tools for employees. If employees are frustrated at work, or even if they’re overworked, they may be more likely to need to take (too many) breaks and feel more justified in doing so. Conversely, giving employees good tools to enhance productivity can allow them not only to be more efficient but also to have a greater sense of satisfaction because the employer invests in its employees and cares about how well things get done. Likewise, good tools can increase productivity and can offset some of the otherwise “wasted” time.

Consider implementing more flexible working arrangements whenever possible. When employees have options that allow them to handle the demands of their personal life at the most opportune time, they’re less likely to be distracted when they’re working. They’re also less likely to be sneaking in personal calls if they have the flexibility to handle such issues without causing problems. Flexible working arrangements might include things like allowing employees to work nonstandard hours (which could allow for personal matters to be handled at better time of day) or allowing employees to make up time taken away from work on other days.

Ensure employees know where their role fits compared to the big-picture organizational goals. If the employee can clearly see his or her role and how it impacts the bottom line (directly or indirectly), he or she will be more likely to spend spare time on activities that work toward achieving the big-picture goals instead of just wasting time. The employee will feel that his or her contributions make a difference.

Today’s workforce wants flexibility, freedom, and equality. And that includes, work-life-balance and telecommuting opportunities. What they don’t want is to be told that they have to respond to work e-mails at all hours of the night, on their days off or while they are on vacation. And, as for micromanaging employees, it’s both archaic and demoralizing and the quickest way to have turnover. The best and more resourceful managers can always find ways to keep their employees engaged and at that same time, ensure productivity is also high.

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HR Daily Advisor, Work-Life Balance, Workforce

Is Microchipping The Wave Of The Future Or An Invasion Of Privacy?

When biometrics was introduced as a way to avoid buddy punching, and thus, replace time and attendance swipe card technology, many thought these data collectors were part of a futurist Star Trek movie. Fast forward to some decades later and recent news that a company was about to microchip its entire workforce has privacy advocates scratching their heads in frustration.

Here is a description from the company, who has decided to deploy the technology to throughout its workforce;

“Three Square Market (32M) is offering implanted chip technology to all of their employees on August 1st, 2017. Employees will be implanted with a RFID chip allowing them to make purchases in their break room micro market, open doors, login to computers, use the copy machine, etc. This program, offered by 32M, is optional for all employees. The company is expecting over 50 staff members to be voluntarily chipped. 32M is partnering with BioHax International and Jowan Osterland, CEO, based out of Sweden.

RFID technology or Radio-Frequency Identification uses electromagnetic fields to identify electronically stored information. Often referred to as “chip” technology, this option has become very popular in the European marketplace. The chip implant uses near-field communications (NFC); the same technology used in contactless credit cards and mobile payments. A chip is implanted between the thumb and forefinger underneath the skin within seconds.”

The reaction to employees being microchipped has been swift with labour experts and lawmakers citing privacy concerns and appealing to HR professionals to proceed with caution. One lawmaker in the state of Nevada has introduced legislation to prevent companies forcing employees to get microchipped as condition of their employment.

So will the idea of microchipping employees gain widespread acceptance? Only time will tell.

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Biometrics, HR, Microchip, Star Trek, Time and Attendance

The Benefits Of The Cloud Is Undeniable So, Don’t Get Left Behind

The acceptance of the cloud has been growing steadily and that’s in large part to its many benefits, including; flexibility, low financial outlay and scalability. Some companies dip their toe in the water by simply moving core elements of their time and attendance into the cloud, while others are choosing the middle ground of a hybrid cloud environment, which keeps core time and attendance functions on-premise while also utilizing a variety of multi-tenant public cloud systems to manage certain parts of their business.

Some C-suite executives including finance and HR, at times, need convincing when it comes to the cloud, and if their past experiences with a cloud solution, have been less than stellar — asking them to give a cloud-base solution another chance might be an uphill battle.

In a published article for CFO.com titled The Cloud: A Better Expense Model Roy Golding, does a masterful job in espousing the virtues of the cloud and its inherent benefits.

“Cloud asks businesses and their finance leaders to reevaluate some long-held approaches to IT and how it is accounted for. Traditionally, any time an organization wanted to make a significant technology change, the CFO needed to ensure the long-term business model supported the investment. Making heavy capex investments up front — think expensive data-center hardware — always brought with it the risk that the hardware wouldn’t be fully utilized down the road.

The Benefits Of The Cloud Is Undeniable So, Don’t Get Left Behind

In contrast, cloud offers the flexibility to move technology resources and to not be tied into one big investment at the beginning of a new project or business. Software-as-a-service (SaaS), for example, removes the need for businesses to install and run software and applications on their own hardware within their own physical infrastructure, which also removes the associated expenses. In this operating expense model, instead of taking a large cash hit on the P&L statement right away, the company can pay for the service over time as it gradually grows the investment.

In the past, if IT teams needed additional hardware, software, or connectivity resources at certain times of the year — for seasonal reasons, perhaps — the investment to cover that requirement may have resulted in over-provisioning after the busy period ended. And a double hit resulted — the company subsequently owned depreciating technology assets that weren’t being used most of the time. This approach has never been popular with CFOs, but before the arrival of the cloud there was little alternative.”

If your organization is still on the fence about the cloud, you can always start small and grow with it. For example, with ATS TimeWork OnDemand Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) you can easily increase or decrease capacity to cost-effectively handle peak demand. And, because the configuration with ATS TimeWork OnDemand configuration is less complex, you don’t high-value implementation team members thus– helping keep deployment costs down.

The power of the cloud is undeniable so, don’t leave your organization behind. Still not convinced? Find out how ATS TimeWork OnDemand Enterprise Cloud Solutions can deliver the speed and resources necessary to quickly validate and realize solid ROI.

To learn more go to our website. You can register and join the ATS Workforce Analytics team for this week’s webinar, How Businesses Can Use Analytics To Achieve Profitability. And, to speak to an account executive, call: 866.294.2467.

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ATS TimeWork OnDemand, Cloud Computing, HR, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Time and Attendance

Can Predictive Scheduling And A Workforce That’s Based On Demand Coexist?

So what exactly is predictive scheduling? Here is a brief synopsis from a blog written by Diane Saunders, titled; Predictive Scheduling: A Primer for Retail and Hospitality Employers. “Predictive Scheduling requires that employers pay employees for cancelled on call shifts, provide notice to employees of their biweekly schedules, give new workers good faith written estimates of their expected hours and schedules, and uphold the requirement that employers offer extra hours to current part-time employees before hiring new employees or using staffing agency employees.”

So why has this become such a headache for some organizations in healthcare, retail and the food service industry? Some labour groups have bemoaned the fact that since the recession of 2008 there has been a steady increase in the number of low-wage and part jobs in those sectors. Labour advocates have also lamented that unpredictable, back-to-back shifts and last minute changes to employee schedules have made it difficult for these employees and their families to cope. In other words, when employee schedules are constantly changing and/or if they are being called in at the last minute, for a shift that makes it difficult for these workers, especially the ones who are parents, to take their kids to school, or to a doctor’s appointment.

Can Predictive Scheduling And A Workforce That’s Based On Demand Co exist?

Recently some states have begun to enact laws designed to protect workers rights, regarding scheduling. A recent article by Kate Torone, for HR Dive titled Oregon becomes first state to require predictive scheduling reads, in part;

Oregon’s governor signed a predictive scheduling bill into law on Aug. 8 that applies to employers in the retail, hospitality and food service industries that have at least 500 employees.
The law, which took effect immediately, requires that employers provide workers with a “good-faith” estimate of their work schedule when they’re hired and, after that, written schedules seven days in advance. Beginning July 1, 2020, that increases to 14 days. Employers also must pay workers a fee when their schedules change on short notice.
While some cities have adopted predictive scheduling laws, too, Oregon appears to be the first state to do so.

But what if your business is in a province or state where this does not impact you? Because it is not your region today, does not necessarily mean it won’t be enacted by government officials a year or two from now. The minimum wage hike debate for example, appeared to be going nowhere at first, until, government officials starting feeling pressure from their local constituents, and was forced to do something about it for fear of either alienating their base or accused of being on the wrong side of history. The tide began to shift in the workers favour and then slowly, at first, some states and provinces began enacting laws to hike the minimum wage. At the very least, you should be proactive and take the time to review a workforce management solution that has predictive scheduling capabilities, and is also able to calculate and manage employee hours so, you don’t have to.

With ATS Time and Attendance Workforce Scheduling Application you can:

Get historical and real-time data are leveraged to generate schedules.
Avoid schedule conflicts with up-to-date staff availability information and immediately see and correct any conflicts due to overlapping shifts and overtime.
Schedule employees based on business demand, and avoid shift overlaps and conflicts.
Incorporate collective bargaining agreements, user qualifications, seniority, skill level and shift preference.
Manage employee-related attendance excuses and send instant alerts to team members

To learn about ATS Time and Attendance Workforce Scheduling, go to our website, and to reach an account executive call: 866.294.2467. You can also download a demonstration or register to attend one our bi-monthly webinars as well.

Collective Bargaining Agreements, Food Service, Healthcare, HR Dive, Predictive Scheduling, Retail, Time and Attendance

Going To Deploy A Time And Attendance Solution? Don’t Forget HR And Payroll

So, you’ve finally decided that it’s time get rid of the outdated time and attendance system you have been using for the last 15 plus years. Whether that system is a combination of spreadsheets and paper time cards, the people that are commonly involved in managing it tends to be payroll, HR and, some in cases, the finance. More often than not, some companies see this as a IT project and so, the very people who are involved in the everyday process of adding up time cards (if your process is manual) are left out entirely or get introduced to system after IT has seen a demonstration or your company has selected its vendor of choice. Make no mistake IT is critically important to the deployment of a time and attendance solution-but to leave out the very people (stakeholders) who will be managing the system on a day to day basis is a recipe for disaster. In short, all stakeholders should be involved when deploying a solution that is designed to automate and enhanced business process.

Going To Deploy A Time And Attendance Solution? Don’t Forget HR And Payroll

Scott Span penned an article for TLNT titled 7 Steps to Successful Technology Adoption. It’s a good guide for any company who is going to deploy a cloud or onpremise time and attendance, talent management, CRM, ERP or HR application. Here is a condensed version of the article which reads, in part:

Align technology and strategy

The purpose of introducing new technology to a business is to improve performance. Start with the goals you want to achieve, and then plan backwards, finding a technology that best supports improved performance. People are more likely to adopt new technology if they can see how it helps them to achieve their goals and objectives.

Communicate for buy-in and engagement

Achieving user adoption for new technology requires communicating with stakeholders early and often. Before you can communicate with stakeholders you need to have all your stakeholder groups identified. The way each currently performs their work, processes, should be documented. The impacts the new technology will have on them needs to be identified and communicated. Ways in which your organization will mitigate any negative impacts for stakeholders also needs to be communicated.

Perform a current systems analysis

Technology upgrades or introducing new technologies carries a huge compatibility risk – what if the new systems turn out not to be compatible with those you already have or integration requires more build time than was anticipated.

Develop training approach early

One of the biggest risks to user adoption is lack of sufficient and customized training. Many vendors offer training options as part of your technology purchase, however, most of this training is standardized off the shelf and not specific to your business processes or culture. Training should not just be screenshots and PowerPoint. People need to see and play in the system, prior to go-live, in the context of their specific work processes.

Integrate technology deployment with change management

Many organizations are so focused on deployment and conversion, schedules and criteria, that they fail to deploy and integrate a change management process for helping stakeholders adapt and adopt to technology. This is often one of the biggest reasons for rocky deployments, low adoption, and project failure. Technology only achieves desired goals if the people adopt it, if they don’t, technology is just wasted money.

Create an effective governance structure

Many technology deployments fail to establish an effective governance structure to lead and manage the deployment. Often project management and technology resources are assigned to govern the implementation, but the voice of impacted stakeholders and even customers, is not represented. Effective governance can’t exist in a silo or a vacuum.

Monitor and course correct

Introducing new technology is likely to cause a major disruption to workflow. Monitor your deployment and consider whether the implementation schedule may need to be revised into smaller more manageable stages. Provide stakeholders opportunities to offer feedback. New technology impacts everyone, so listening to stakeholder opinions and concerns and adjusting your deployment as needed, is important for achieving adoption.”

Deploying a time and attendance should not be a difficult undertaking. Once you have checked all the boxes of the above mentioned steps, the next important step is to assign a project manager. While that person does not (although this would be nice) need deep implementation expertise, they need to have the authority and capability to bring all parties together at any given time to ensure the success of your deployment.

Finding a time and attendance solution that meets your business goals and can be deployed on time and on budget can be overwhelming and frustrating exercise. But it doesn’t have to be. And, that’s why ATS created a helpful guide, based on the real-life experience of our customers who, like you, converted from manual and out-dated business practices and spreadsheets to a best-class time and attendance solution.

How do we do it? First, we cut through the hype select the solution that meets your business goals fits your needs of your operation. It all begins with scoping interviews, where we get an in-depth view of what you need from the ATS Time and Attendance Solution. Once this is complete, we can start to plan for implementation, testing, training, and support. From there, we initiate the ATS Time and Attendance as an integrated solution

To download an ATS Time and Attendance Implementation Guide, go to our website. You can also review a demonstration of ATS TimeWork OnDemand or attend a bi-weekly webinar, while browsing through our site. And, to reach one of our solution consultants by phone, call 866.294.2467.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Human Resources Information System (HRIS), Payroll, Technology, Time and Attendance, Workflows

How To Prepare Your Company For The Minimum Wage Hike

Whether you run a small, midsize or large organization, chances are, you will be impacted by the proposed minimum wage hike in Ontario and several other jurisdictions across Canada. And, similarly, US businesses are grappling with the same challenges.

How To Prepare Your Company For The Minimum Wage Hike

As an organization, you have several options at your disposal, and as such, get to decide how to handle a wage hike. For the purpose of this blog, we will discuss two options:

Decrease your workforce: As a company, you might decide that in order to remain viable the simplest solution is to decrease your number of employees. Another possibility is to simply hire employees on a part-time basis, in the hopes that this will help you decrease payroll costs.
Raise prices: When payroll and other operational expenses go up, businesses can choose to pass them onto their customers. And, depending on the market and product offered, this can sometimes be a tough pill for customers to swallow, and some of them may end up speaking with their dollars by going elsewhere.

What if instead of loosing sleep (and with good reason) over the wage hike, your company automates manual business processes, thus, enabling employees to work smarter and more efficiently, while keeping your profits intact?

ATS Workforce Management HCM Solution can streamline payroll costs and improve workforce productivity. Some of these solutions include:

ATS Workforce Scheduling for retail, hospitality and healthcare is a robust and powerful solution designed specifically for organizations with hourly paid employees across multiple jurisdictions. ATS Workforce Scheduling uses data from your core business to create real-time analytic reporting and on demand-based schedules avoiding any over or under-staffing.

With ATS Scheduling you can:

Accurately report key performance indicators (KPIs) such as labour costs, employee attendance and absences, and workforce compliance.
Align employee schedules to financial budgets, payroll and labour to-sales ratios and the allocation of hours for a single entity or across the organization.
Improve employee productivity through optimized resourcing, employee and supervisor self-service. Managers can create schedules and send it to employees through interactive dashboards and workflows.

ATS Time and Attendance simplifies the tedious tasks involved with monitoring employee time and attendance, labour tracking, and data collection. That means, if you are using paper timesheets, outdated tracking and spreadsheets, you will likely not save much money unless your time tracking is fully automated. ATS Time and Attendance System — works in tandem with our best-in-class time clock/data collection devices — to help your organization control labour costs, minimize compliance risk, and improve workforce productivity.

Manage overtime costs ATS Time and Attendance helps you account for hours accurately, and minimize overtime to protect your bottom-line. You will have immediate access to employee attendance and get reports, in real-time on overtime trends, tools to manage overtime requests and approvals, and time card review. In other words, this means less administrative burden and fewer errors.

Bottom-line:

The wage hike is coming and will be felt by organizations and employees alike. If you are looking to improve your employee efficiency, streamline payroll costs, and make better business decisions, ATS Time and Attendance could be the right tool for your organization.

To download a demonstration or learn more, go to our website. And to attend bi-weekly webinar or speak to time and attendance consultant, call 866.294.2467.

Analytics, Employee Scheduling, Healthcare, Human Capital Management (HCM), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Overtime, Retail, Time and Attendance, Workforce Management Solution

Is The Formal Business Attire Out Of Fashion?

August 10th, 2017 | Posted by ATS in ATS TimeWork OnDemand | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Workforce Management Software | Workforce Scheduling Software - (Comments Off)

In many respects formal business attire has become almost passé. The world of tech, in and particular, Silicon Valley CEOS regularly wears hoodies, jeans and sneakers to shareholders meetings. There are of course some exceptions, like politicians, foreign diplomats, some corporate boardrooms and select industries. According to the recent study by OfficeTeam 50% of the senior managers interviewed “said employees wear less formal clothing than they did five years ago. In addition, nearly one-third (31 percent) of office workers stated they would prefer to be at a company with a business casual dress code; 27 percent favor a casual dress code or no dress code at all”.

The trend to less formal business attire has shown no signs of abating and all indications are that this will continue for the foreseeable future. And according to several studies, technology companies are at the forefront of casual office attire.

Here is partial list of some of today’s leading companies that have made casual attire for its employees part of their DNA. This list is derived from a blog titled ‘10 Big Businesses With Incredibly Casual Offices’ and names the following companies:

Google

Google was one of the first companies to adopt the laid-back corporate culture that emphasized creativity and achievements on an individual basis that add to the team’s overall success. One of the company’s 10 principle philosophies is “you can be serious without a suit.” This philosophy speaks volumes for the casual culture of Google. Not only is the dress code casual, but the overall look and feel of the company’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., is also laid back and fun. Google employees can enjoy ping pong, snacks in the break rooms, video games, and “huddle” rooms for everyone to take a break. Some additional office amenities include massage chairs, foosball and ping pong tables, an onsite gym, haircuts, and complimentary car washes.

2. Zappos

Zappos has put a lot of emphasis on its company culture and takes pride in being a casual yet successful business. Even though it was acquired by Amazon in 2009, Zappos has managed to hold on to the same values and company missions that it was founded on. Zappos’ casual work environment takes after the Internet marketing and e-commerce industries, which emphasize comfort over formality to help employees produce their very best work.

3.FaceBook

Facebook also adopted a Google-like office culture that consists of casually-dressed, but hardworking youngsters. Facebook has offices in more than 15 countries, some of which have bean bag lounges, kegs, on-site chefs, and plenty of places to kick up your feet and relax. At the Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., employees have several unique amenities that fit the laid-back online culture. Workers can break a sweat on the outdoor skate park, play some tunes on the office turn tables, and take care of their laundry or leather repairs without leaving work.

Electronic Arts

EA is one of the biggest companies in the video game industry, with an estimated 8,000 employees worldwide. Although most of the EA studios and subsidiaries have embraced a informal office culture, the EA campus in Vancouver is one of the most casual and decked-out facilities within the company. The campus has a state-of-the-art building featuring a theater, restaurants, coffee bars, a complete fitness room, and a full-size soccer field. EA Canada is also the company’s largest and oldest studio, so, naturally, it houses the world’s largest video game test operation and many employees take advantage of this cool feature.

5.Twitter

Twitter is an online social networking service that knows how to have fun. The Twitter offices are located in San Francisco, San Antonio, Boston and New York City, and are chock-full of awesome amenities to keep their employees relaxed and satisfied. Twitter employees get to enjoy everything from free gym memberships, complimentary yoga/Pilates and rock climbing classes, as well as on-site laundry and dry cleaning services.

Today, more than ever companies from healthcare, to retail and in some corporate environments, businesses have replaced the formal attire for men and women, and are instead, encouraging their employees to dress casually for work. Hard dress codes, it appears, have all but disappeared.

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Amazon, Boston, Facebook, Google, Healthcare, New York City, Retail, San Antonio, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Twitter, Zappos

Here Are Some Of The Reasons Why ATS Employee Self-Service Can Boost Productivity

Proposed hikes to the minimum wage in several jurisdictions, tight margins and increased global competition across all business sectors are just a few reasons why, many of today’s companies are trying to find ways to streamline payroll costs. And, many of these companies — have also discovered that by adopting employee self-service applications they can reduce human resources paperwork— thus, allowing them to focus on more strategic objectives.

Here Are Some Of The Reasons Why ATS Employee Self-Service Can Boost Productivity

ATS TimeWork OnDemand Employee Self-Service automates administrative human resource management processes. The application, when combined with ATS Benefit Accruals, provides your HR team with easy access to the information they need — all in a single employee record — to reduce errors and consistently enforce policies. Improve HR productivity, engage employees, control costs, and reduce compliance risk with automation that reduces tedious tasks and lets employees focus on what they do best.

ATS TimeWork OnDemand Employee Self-Service will help your company:

Boost Productivity
ATS Employee Self-service, integrated into the ATS TimeWork OnDemand solution, and provides seamless mobile access to both benefits and pay information. It’s a wonderful way to connect employees to managers — and connect managers to employees. Employees can update profiles and benefits, review shifts and overtime data, and request time-off. This means your HR and payroll team recovers valuable time to focus on larger goals.

Automate with Consistency and Adhere to Workforce Compliance
ATS TimeWork OnDemand robust data engine can be configured to comply with various legislative requirements, including the Canadian Family Medical Leave and Affordable Care Act. Automation of rules, policies, and regulations are applied consistently across the board, simplifying complex processes and helping you manage compliance with Employment Standards Act (ESA), FMLA and other employment acts across North America.

Streamline Data for HR and Payroll Practitioners
Recruiting, hiring and managing talent is a complex, but with ATS TimeWork OnDemand Employee Self-Service it should not be. If, however, your company is tracking employee time-off requests and hours worked on paper — you are likely giving yourself an unnecessary headache. ATS Employee Self-Service reduces errors consistently enforce policies, and helps you build the type of workforce you envision.

To learn about ATS Employee Self-Service, Benefit Accruals or Time and Attendance, go to our website. You can also download a demonstration, and to reach us by phone call, 866.294.2467.

ATS TimeWork OnDemand, Employee Self Service, Employment Standards Act, FMLA, HR, Payroll, Recruitment, Time and Attendance

When Hiring Employees Avoid These Blunders

August 1st, 2017 | Posted by ATS in Artificial Intelligence | HR | Recruitment - (Comments Off)

Hiring employees takes a certain type of skill that not many people possess. Some individuals can spot talent immediately, while others rely on recruitment software to help them choose the right candidate. But does this mean that the hiring process can be subjective? In many ways, yes it is. When you consider the many variables that must be taken into account when selecting candidates (personal biases being one of the biggest) it’s unlikely that the person doing the hiring will not be affected by his/her personal views, and experience during the interview process.

In her article for ERE MEDIA Top 10 Hiring and Recruiting Blunders by Employers Robin Shea, cautions, that “employers’ recruiting and hiring processes are fraught with legal risks” especially, if you are not aware of the potential landmines that you could step on, while going through the process.

We rearranged the order of those blunders and made a list 5:

Failure to hire the best person for the job: It’s easier to say “thanks, but no thanks” to a bad candidate than to say “you’re fired” to a bad employee. Failures to hire are also generally easier to defend than decisions to fire. So try to put all that nepotism, favoritism, prejudice, and concern about “connections” aside, and choose the individual who seems to have the best education, experience, and ability to perform the job. You can even consider whether the candidate “plays well with others” if you want.

Recruiting or hiring employees using “coherent people profiles” assembled by aggregators like Spokeo: Spokeo was fined $800,000 in 2012 by the Federal Trade Commission because it gathered all kinds of data about individuals — including race, ethnic background, religion, economic status, and age ranges — and sold the information to employers who used it in making recruiting and hiring decisions.

When Hiring Employees Avoid These Blunders

Use of pre-employment tests that don’t comply with the law: Of course, in the overwhelming majority of jobs, it is flat-out illegal to require a physical or psychological examination before a conditional offer of employment has been made. Other testing — for example, “personality” tests designed to measure honesty and work ethic, “intelligence” tests, or “skills” tests — may be all right, but be careful even with these.

Committing an EEO faux pas in the job interview: Have you ever done this or seen it being done? Asking female candidates (but not male) about their childbearing plans and day care arrangements. Asking minority candidates (but not “majority”) whether they have reliable transportation. Bragging about your “young, high-energy” workforce, which is generally recognized as “code” for age discrimination. Asking candidates about their physical health or fitness, or where they go to church. (Not even where they “worship”!) Telling sexual, racial, ethnic, or religious jokes in the interview.

Failure to involve Human Resources in the recruiting and hiring process: “Oh, but HR is such an obstacle!” Yes, and you should be grateful. Think of HR as your Jiminy Cricket: HR is trying to save you from potentially devastating class action lawsuits and expensive settlements of adverse impact/failure-to-hire claims.

It is hard to believe that some companies today, go through these blunders. It is equally naïve to believe they don’t. And as the process of hiring becomes more efficient, data-driven, and automated by AI and technology, companies need to be more vigilant in ensuring that they are keeping up with the workforce compliance in the jurisdiction in which they operate.

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Artificial Intelligence (AI), HR, Pre-Employment Testing

Your Employees Are Slacking Off At Work: What Should You Do?

Is Microchipping The Wave Of The Future Or An Invasion Of Privacy?

Can Predictive Scheduling And A Workforce That’s Based On Demand Coexist?

Going To Deploy A Time And Attendance Solution? Don’t Forget HR And Payroll

How To Prepare Your Company For The Minimum Wage Hike

Is The Formal Business Attire Out Of Fashion?

2. Zappos

Here Are Some Of The Reasons Why ATS Employee Self-Service Can Boost Productivity

When Hiring Employees Avoid These Blunders

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