Month: June 2007

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Background Checks Human Resources Miscellany Personal Background Checks preemployment screening Uncategorized

Tech Jobs Require Employees with Updated Skills

Orlando hiring continues in technology and finance

The most recent Robert Half hiring index surveys show hiring will continue in the Orlando area for information technology professionals as well as those in the financial industry during the third quarter of 2007.

The Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report shows that a net 15 percent of chief information officers in the Orlando area expect to hire staff in the information technology field during the third quarter. Seventeen percent will add staff and 2 percent expect to have reductions. The 15 percent is the same as the national average, but is an increase from the Orlando area’s second quarter hiring forecast of 13 percent.

For the entire article go to topix.net.

Corra knows in this ever changing world it isn’t easy keeping current on skills yet. Still, to be competitive a business cannot rely on nostalgia or old ideas, but must constantly update and recruit people who are fluent in the latest methods and technology.

This is but one reason why you should be running background checks on all your job candidates. In addition to the obligatory criminal search, Corra suggests education verification and certification verification where applicable. These screening help avoid unpleasant surprises.

So check them out before your hire.

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Background Checks Human Resources Miscellany Personal Background Checks preemployment screening Uncategorized

Overlapping Assignments Can Anger Your Employees

We received this from Dianne Gubin’s TechExecPartners.com
SLIPPERY PROJECTS
True story. A client was assigned the task of identifying an 11-foot display for the front of a new retail store. The client called architects and designers. In the meantime, the client’s manager asked four other employees in the corporate office to identify a potential display piece.
Two days later, there was a team meeting. Each attendee discovered that the others had been asked to identify a display piece. Each could have been working on his or her own workflow. All were disappointed and confused that the manager was so impatient, that he did not trust one person to fulfill the requirement.
What happens when you are assigned a specific project, lead, or account, and your manager has assigned the same project to your colleague? Or work order changes aren’t implemented? Nobody gets anything done.
To avoid internal conflict and extra work:
  • Map out each employees role on the project plan
  • Set up matrixes and time schedules for accountability
  • Use Critical Path Map (CPM) or project management software tracking tools
  • Meet regularly to update key players

Work with the end result in mind.

Corra thinks this is good advice. There is enough politics in the office environment, enough petty jealousies, major jealousies and downright backstabbing that you don’t need to add more to the pile. Remember, some employees can get angry, and some can get violent. Fortunately they are very few.

More good advice is to be sure you run background checks on your job candidates. For one thing it will help you determine if some are less balanced psychologically than you would desire. Corra suggests the criminal report and the DMV Report. Driving records can tell you a lot more about behavior than just how someone jobs.

Check them out before you hire.

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Background Checks Human Resources Miscellany Personal Background Checks preemployment screening Relationships Uncategorized

Are You Checking for Sexual Offenders?

Corra knows that nothing can be more off putting for any workplace than to have someone working there who is onthe sexual offenders registry. Now we can argue both side of this issue until the cows come home, but at the end of the day, no matter what else is said mot people are creeped out by sexual deviants. This is especially the case when the offender has violated children.

That is why it is so important to include the sexual offenders’ registry search as part of your preemployment screening program. Hiring a sexual offender may do good for a certain part of your charitable spirit, but it most likely will initiate a loss of morale in your workforce. You will find disgruntled employees who will either leave or threaten to leave. Those with children are the most likely to voice their discontent.

Corra includes the sexual offenders’ registry with its nationwide criminal background search. Upon request, it will also provide the OFAC or Global Terror report for a couple of dollars more. It is cost effective and may avoid many problems that can result in litigation or employee turnover.

So check them out before you hire.

Categories
Background Checks Human Resources Miscellany Personal Background Checks preemployment screening Uncategorized

Does Parenting and Working Drive Your Employees a Little Crazy?

Working Moms and Dads Clash on Work-Life Balance

Half of moms say they split their time equally, compared to just 32 percent of dads, according to a new survey.

From: Inc.com | By: Liz Webber

Moms may be increasingly comfortable with their positions as working women, but it seems men are still coming to grips with life as working dads, according to a new study.More dads say they struggle with work-life balance than moms, according to the survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Adecco USA, a career-services consultancy. A majority of men also said they would not take paternity leave if their company offered it.The Workplace Insights survey, which polled 223 men and 272 women who are employed full-time or part-time and have at least one child, compared workplace attitudes toward parents and asked what companies could do to be more accommodating to those with children. When asked if it is easier for dads to maintain work-life balance, 50 percent of women claim that it is, versus 29 percent of men. Dads also seem to find it harder to manage their work time and their family time. Nearly half of moms polled said they devote equal time to work and family, compared to 32 percent of dads.

The study also found that 59 percent of men would not take paternity leave if given the option. These dads are most worried about the financial burden of taking time off — 46 percent said they could not afford paternity leave even if offered partial salary.

That’s not to say dads would prefer working over family time. A similar survey by CareerBuilder.com, also conducted by Harris Interactive, found that 37 percent of dads employed full-time would leave their jobs altogether if they felt their income was not needed to support the family.

For the entire article go to Inc.com