From the Publisher

Nothing is more important to the productivity of an organization than its hiring program. For almost 20 years, this book has been the go-to reference on every aspect of the employment process.

Known for its practical and down-to-earth approach and jargon-free tone, Recruiting, Interviewing, Selecting & Orienting New Employees is now in its Fourth Edition, with fresh information on today's recruitment challenges, interview methods such as peer interviewing and video interviews, documentation issues, reference-checking guidelines, and new orientation programs. Readers will also find expanded coverage of electronic recruiting and other recruitment sources, applicant testing, and much more.

The book comes packed with a full complement of step-by-step guidelines, ready-to-use interview questions and scripts, forms and checklists, and other valuable hiring tools that will help get great employees on board quickly and effectively.

Booknews

Arthur offers a fully updated version of her 1986 guide to answer the questions of recruiters in the 90s. She includes a greatly expanded list of recruitment sources, questions to ask (and not ask) in an interview, selection guidelines, recent developments in employment legislation, and ready-to-use forms. Distributed by Gale. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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Table of Contents

Read a Sample Chapter

Chapter One

Recruitment Challenges and Opportunities

Increasingly, human resources (HR) specialists and managers involved in the hiring process view future job openings with a combination of excitement and apprehension. It is becoming apparent that the labor pool from which employers select new employees is changing at every level, from minimum wage and hourly paid workers right up the ranks to professionals and executives. Unless companies understand, and ultimately embrace, the expectations of tomorrow's workforce, they may find unnerving the inevitable transition from traditional work schedules performed by current employee populations, to more innovative work arrangements required to draw on the talents of diverse human resources groups.

Identifying the Changing Workforce

Tomorrow's workforce will reflect some of the economic changes that have occurred over the past two decades. The labor shortage that arose during the 1980s, due primarily to the low retraining potential of millions of displaced workers affected by closings, mergers, and takeovers, continued into the 1990s. The problem was compounded by lower birthrates as compared with the flood of baby boomers' entering the labor market in the mid-1960s. The demographic picture has started to change, however. In 1996, the U.S. population was around 263 million. By 2020, that number is expected to increase by 63 million in the following increments: in 2005, 288 million; in 2010, 300 million; in 2015, 313 million; and by 2020, about 326 million. It is anticipated that 65 percent of this increase will be the result of more births thandeaths, with the remainder due to increased immigration.

We expect, then, to have a greater number of people in the workforce. Who will these workers be?

The ethnic composition will become more diverse, as more African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asian-Americans enter the labor market. Between 1996 and 2015, the African-American population is projected to go from 12 percent to 13 percent, Hispanics from 10 percent to 15 percent, and Asian-Americans from 3.5 percent to 6 percent. Overall, the so-called minority population will rise from 25 percent in 1996, to 37 percent in 2020, to over 50 percent in 2060. Conversely, fewer whites will comprise the workforce, down from 74 percent in 1996 to 66 percent in 2015. This shift will be due, in part, to whites' constituting more than 80 percent of the retirees in the early twenty-first century. However, there will be fewer early retirements. By 2020, 89 percent of the men aged fifty-five to sixty-four will still be working, as opposed to 67 percent in 1996; for women, the number will increase from 50 percent to 77 percent. Most employees will retire between ages sixty-five and seventy, although many will combine retirement and work by accepting part-time jobs.

The educational picture is changing as well. As of 1996 (the last year for which figures are available), Asian-Americans lead, with 40 percent of those twenty-five years and older having earned a college degree, as compared with 24 percent for whites, 13 percent for African-Americans, and 9 percent for Hispanics. Overall, high school and college enrollment will grow, especially in the western states.

Regarding gender, employers can expect more women and fewer men in the job market. (A Special Kiplinger Report: The Next 20 Years The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc.; Washington, D.C.; January, 1996.)

All of this means that companies must become more innovative in their recruitment efforts. The greatest demand will be for workers in the areas of:

Foreign trade
Biotechnology Drugs and medical devices
Home health care
Health care billing and management
Physical and occupational therapy
Engineering
Entertainment
Computer maintenance
Telecommunications
Paralegal
Security
Internet services
Finance
Sales and marketing

Although high school and college enrollment is expected to grow, many graduates will not have learned or developed the skills needed to perform many of the jobs in these and other fields, even at an entry level. Hence, companies are advised to offer on- and off-site training. It is also a good idea to work in partnership with schools to prepare students better for the work environment.

Preparing now for the anticipated employment changes will enable employers to confront recruitment challenges and opportunities instead of problems.

Integrating a Contingent Workforce

A significant challenge confronting employers has to do with an increase in the number and job categories of contingent workers—those who work less than a full forty-hour week without comprehensive benefits, carrying portable skills from job to job. Part-timers, temps, freelancers, contract employees, and consultants all fall under the "contingent" umbrella. Their work is literally contingent on an employer's need for them. Most hold from one to two assignments within a six-month period. Experts project that up to a third of all individuals will be employed on a contingent basis by the year 2005. Many of these workers will be in their twenties and early thirties.

People take contingent jobs for a variety of reasons. Many teachers seek additional income during summer and other school vacations. Retirees who no longer want to work full time, women with child or elder care responsibilities, and college students too seek out contingent assignments for additional income. Others look to contingent work as a path to full-time employment. Some take temporary assignments to improve skills or gain exposure to a particular work environment. Many enjoy the flexible work schedules that can accompany contingent assignments. Still others accept contingent work as a stop-gap between full-time jobs.

There was a time when contingent work was considered strictly clerical. Now contingent assignments are available in virtually every field and profession. Attorneys, business executives, clerical and hotel workers, industrial laborers, nurses and other medical personnel, restaurant workers, and technical support staff can all work on a contingent basis.

Companies generally hire contingent workers to provide flexibility in the number of workers hired and how much this labor costs. Unfortunately, many employers fail to calculate in advance the cost-effectiveness of hiring contingents. To figure out the true productivity of contingent workers, determine the output of goods and services produced per hour by contingents, divided by the input, which is the cost of employment per hours worked. High-wage labor might be cost-effective if it is also high output; low-wage labor may not be cost-effective if the output is low also. Another factor to be calculated is training costs. After training, the output that workers produce for the company should exceed the cost of their wages and benefits. One of the challenges is finding enough qualified contingent workers to fill all the available positions and then retaining them long enough to maximize the benefits they can provide.

Many businesses now operate with a core group of regular employees whose skills are critical to the business and then contract for contingent workers as needed. To do this, evaluate your company's staffing needs and determine which employees should form the core workforce and what positions can be more flexible. Look at the nature of the work that needs to be done, the volume of the workload, the timing required to complete a project, and the cyclical nature of the business to determine whether to hire core employees or contingent workers. Examine your company's business plan over the short term and the long term. Is the goal to save money? Increase profitability? Expand operations? The kinds of workers you hire—core or contingent—will depend on your industry and the answers to these questions.

Regardless of how skilled your core employees and contingent workers may be, productivity is likely to suffer if the two groups do not work harmoniously. Avoid a two-tier labor force, in which regular staff receive all the best assignments and contingent workers are left to perform the undesirable tasks or higher-risk work.

Contingent workers emphasize eight key concerns in their relationships with employers:

They are treated impersonally.

They receive inaccurate or incomplete information about job assignments.

They are given little information about the nature of the company's product or services.

Their performance is evaluated according to different standards than those of regular employees.

They are overlooked when there are job openings.

They are excluded from company social events.

They lack a sense of job security.

They do not receive benefits.

In addition, contingent workers reportedly feel underemployed, bored, and unchallenged.

Employers can improve relations between themselves and contingent workers by being forthright about the nature and length of an assignment, encourage regular employees to treat contingent workers with respect, avoid dumping undesirable or menial tasks on them, and provide better training and orientation for these short-term workers.

Employers should also be selective in choosing contingent help agencies. This can be accomplished through a series of questions:

How do you recruit your contingent workers?

How much training do your workers receive?

Do you check on the progress of your contingent workers?

What benefits do you offer your contingency workers?

What guarantees do you offer in case one of your workers does not measure up?

Many businesses using contingent labor work jointly with contingent help agencies, permitting workers recourse against both the agency and the employer. This means that each employer bears the burden of whatever liability arises as a result of its own relationship with the contingent workers. However, the liability resulting from a co-employment relationship is not such that one employer can be held liable for the wrongful acts of the others. The courts are increasingly examining the relationship between companies and their contingent workers, often siding with the employees in areas of benefits and workers' compensation. Currently, U.S. and state labor laws, including civil rights laws, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), the National Labor Relations Act, and minimum wage and overtime laws apply to contingent workers. New legislation is expected to be introduced regulating the hiring of contingent workers.

Tapping a Low-Wage Workforce

Society's move from an industrial-based economy to a service economy is changing the fundamental nature of work. In many cases, service jobs pay less than comparable unskilled jobs in the manufacturing sector. As better-paying manufacturing jobs vanish with each round of layoffs and corporate downsizings, lower-wage jobs flourish. Many leading industries are populated by low-wage and minimum-wage employees, with a heavy concentration in food service, health care, agricultural, hotel, and retailing.

Finding dependable entry-level workers willing to accept minimum or low wages is becoming a challenge. Employers must find qualified prospective workers, sell them on the company, and entice them. Here are some ways employers can attract low-wage workers:

General equivalency diploma programs

College tuition reimbursement programs

Training for employees and family members

Stock purchase plans

Membership on strategic group planning teams

Promotional opportunities

Increased responsibilities

Career counseling

Retention bonuses

Bonus points redeemable for gifts

Flexible schedules

Incentive rewards Targeting Special Interest Groups

As the composition of the workforce changes, employers must reconsider who will make the best workers. Traditional views that certain jobs are appropriate for men or women only, unsuitable for older people, or undesirable for minorities may be discriminatory and in violation of certain equal employment opportunity laws. As well, they may be impractical and self-defeating from the standpoint of productivity and profitability.

Older Workers

The employee age mix is shifting. By the year 2020, approximately a third of all workers will be between ages forty-five and sixty-four; more than one-fifth will be age sixty-five and older—nearly double the number of workers ages eighteen to twenty-four. Baby boomers will continue productive working lives much longer than their parents and grandparents did.

A number of factors will greatly affect this aging workforce, compelling them to work into their seventies and maybe even their eighties. Many women are delaying the start of families until in their late thirties and forties, thus assuming the burden of their childrens' rising college costs later in life. Additionally, many older workers are financially responsible for the care of elderly parents, either at home, where support nursing or aide care is required, or in outside care facilities. The social security system is also changing. The protection it provided past workers in their retirement years may not be available to the current workforce. Major changes to Medicare are projected, and many employers will no longer take responsibility for the health care needs of their retiring employees.

In spite of the growing number of older workers, many employers resist hiring this increasingly visible group. The list of reasons is topped by the belief that older people have more accidents on the job, poorer attendance, and lower productivity. In addition, many managers assume that older workers are less able or willing to learn new ideas or skills. Each of these statements is easily refuted by Ken Dychtwald, the "guru of aging," and founder/chairman of Age Wave Inc., an organization that promotes the value of older workers. He tells us that older workers are responsible for far fewer on-the-job accidents than twenty to twenty-four-year-old workers; they have fewer avoidable absences than do younger workers and good attendance records overall.

Additionally, there are no data available to indicate that one age group is superior to another when it comes to productivity. In fact, with the exception of a slight decline in productivity in jobs requiring a great deal of physical exertion, many studies indicate that older workers perform at least as well as, and in many instances better than, younger workers do. As for an unwillingness or inability to change, historically older workers have experienced a great deal of social and technological change and are familiar with the necessity for change. Older workers also exhibit less stress on the job, have a lower rate of illegal drug use, and have a lower rate of admission to psychiatric facilities.

As Dychtwald says, people do not grow old at sixty-five anymore. In addition, not all older people want or need the same benefits or rewards from employment. Many "younger" workers, between the ages of fifty and sixty-two, are looking for advancement opportunities and more money. Translated, that means full-time employment and full benefits. Retirees over the age of sixty-two are often on social security; therefore, they may be seeking part-time work for a supplemental income. But this is not always the case. Other reasons older people give for returning to work include the desire to feel useful and needed, an interest in staying in touch with current developments, a need to provide structure to their days, and a need to retain a sense of productivity and worth. It would appear to be in the best interests of American businesses to sweep aside traditional generalizations about an entire population of people who may prove to be among our most valuable assets.

The process of recruiting older workers may require some deviation from customary hiring practices. It is a good idea to seek out older candidates actively, as opposed to expecting them to come to you through traditional recruitment avenues, such as job ads or employment agencies. Many retirement-age job hunters have been rejected a number of times, and some may have been victims of age-related jokes and age discrimination. Consequently, they may feel written off by potential employers.

One way of recruiting older workers is to contact the Senior Employment Service, which maintains a job clearinghouse and can put you in touch with qualified older candidates. Visiting senior citizen community centers with information about available job openings is another recruitment technique that has proved to be successful. Approaching social service agencies and organizations with large senior memberships is another avenue. Contacting Forty Plus, a national organization that helps those over age forty to find employment, is yet another way of recruiting older workers. The American Association of Retired Persons offers a free booklet, How to Recruit Older Workers, which can help employers with their recruitment efforts. Also, do not overlook the obvious resource of your company's own retirees. In addition, if you run advertisements, use language that encourages older workers to apply—for example, "This job is suitable for retired persons." Also, describe the kind of employees your company wants to hire in terms of qualities and not just qualifications. Since many older adults are not actively seeking employment, advertise in sections other than the classified ads, say, the television or sports sections. You might also want to have pictures of older workers in your ads. Consider, too, sponsoring open houses and second-career fairs specifically for older adults.

When hiring older workers, recruiters should be prepared to answer questions as to how the return to work will affect a retiree's income. Limitations on the amount that social security recipients can earn without penalty have been reduced in recent years, but regular employment could still produce too high a level of income for some. Also, be familiar with the benefits that full- and part-time workers may be entitled to, including medical and life insurance, sick leave, paid vacations, and holidays.

Once hired, ensure older employees that their work is valued by offering the same opportunities for advancement and challenging work available to their younger colleagues. Develop training programs to help older workers redirect their skills and knowledge and provide counseling to aid in the transition to their new status.

Youth

A shortage of younger workers is imminent. In 1996, workers aged eighteen to thirty-four represented approximately 35 percent of the labor force. In 2005, that percentage drops to 30 percent; ten years later, it drops again, significantly, to a mere 20 percent.

This group, referred to as generation X, with those born between 1985 and 1993 known as generation Y, presents unique recruitment challenges, especially because of job expectations that envision a balance between fulfilling careers and familial responsibilities, including child care and elder care, as well as the pursuit of personal interests. Work must be interesting and reflect leading-edge technology. Not wedded to one job or even one field, younger workers are open to alternatives and look for exciting and entertaining opportunities that will expand their skills, knowledge, and interests.

Methods for recruiting younger workers include using interactive techniques, such as CD-ROMs, and revising company brochures to focus on new technology, promotional opportunities, geographic alternatives, and family leave policies.

One technique for attracting a segment of youthful workers is to provide funding for scholarships. Increasingly, businesses are offering scholarships to employees attending college or technical school. Others provide scholarship funding to local schools in the hope that graduates will seek employment with them. Some businesses go a step further, enticing top students from select colleges to commit to employment by granting 100 percent tuition aid from the second or third year of school through graduation. In turn, students must commit to work for that organization for a minimum period of time, ranging from one summer to one year after graduation. Information regarding the management of scholarship programs is available to employers from the Council for Aid to Education (212/689-2400).

Businesses are starting to use innovative techniques to attract the dwindling number of young workers. For example, one fast food company experimented with uniforms until it found one that particularly appealed to teenage applicants. Moreover, to retain younger workers, employers are offering alternative work arrangements, such as job sharing, flextime, and telecommuting (discussed later in this chapter). Businesses are also providing financial incentives, career opportunities, and comprehensive benefits.

Women

According to the employment statistics for the year 2000, as prepared by the U.S. Department of Labor in Facts on Working Women Working Women: A Chartbook, women will represent approximately 50 percent of the workforce. Currently, however, only 3 percent are corporate executives; of the four thousand highest-paid executives in the country, a mere 0.5 percent are women. Relatively few women are found at the upper levels of management, on corporate boards, and in chief executive officer positions. Also, within every work, educational, and age category, men continue to earn more than women. These statistics should send a clear advisory to every company in the United States to examine its structure and environment for compatibility when it comes to hiring women at all levels.

Many of the women in the workforce are mothers who look for alternative work arrangements—for example, flexible work schedules, job sharing, at-home work arrangements, and on-site child care facilities or support.

Although gains have been made toward eliminating discrimination against women in nontraditional female jobs, bias still prevails. Equal employment opportunities are still not available for qualified women at all types and levels of work. This is something that needs to change if employers are to avail themselves fully of this valuable pool of human resources.

Minorities

It is projected that the term minority, here intended to encompass a broad spectrum of ethnic groups including, but not limited to, African-Americans, Hispanics (e.g., Puerto Ricans, Cuban- and Mexican-Americans, as well as people originally from more than twenty additional Central and South American nations, and Spain), Asian-Americans (e.g., Korean-, Japanese-, Chinese-, and Filipino-Americans), and Native American, will soon disappear from our employment vocabulary. How can we call "minority" a collective group of people representing 37 percent of the labor market in 2020 and over 50 percent in 2060?

Although these groups may represent a large percentage of tomorrow's workforce, few will be targeted for professional positions. Those qualified will be drawn to employers offering not only the usual growth opportunities and benefits, but also a multicultural or diverse environment, a concept that is still difficult for some employers to grasp. Traditionally, employers have tended to hire candidates most resembling themselves in terms of skills, interests, background, and even appearance. That simply will not work anymore. Chapter 2 addresses the issue of workplace diversity in depth. For now, suffice it to say that recruiters are advised to concentrate on ability, not ethnicity.

Businesses are encouraged to develop and maintain an ongoing relationship with various minority professional associations to aid in recruitment efforts. There are numerous national associations with local chapters that can be sources of job candidates—for example, the National Black MBA Association, the American Association of Hispanic CPAs, Latin Business Association, National Association of Asian-American Professionals, and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society.

One minority recruitment source that is often overlooked is a company's own employees. Training existing staff for higher-level jobs can both resolve recruitment woes and help to establish management as committed to minority development and placement.

Applicants With Disabilities

In 1997 there were reportedly about 50 million people in the United States with disabilities—roughly 26 percent of the workforce, according to Mosaics SHRM Focuses on Workplace Diversity, July-August 1997 . Legislation, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, has drawn greater attention to workers with disabilities and the contributions they can make. Still, people with disabilities have the highest unemployment rate of any other group. Why is there such resistance in hiring them?

One of the primary reasons has to do with how we perceive people with disabilities. In reality, the term disabled encompasses a broad spectrum of impairments. More than half of those with disabilities have hearing impairments, and only a small percentage of these are totally deaf, according to Arlene Vernon-Oehmke (Effective Hiring and ADA Compliance, , 1994). Other categories include visual impairments, speech impairments, heart disease, developmental disabilities such as cerebral palsy, mental illness, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive status, and limitations resulting from accidents. We also have a tendency to feel uncomfortable around people with disabilities.

Another reason commonly cited for rejecting applicants with disabilities is the cost, since laws require that employers make reasonable accommodations, which do not create undue hardship, for applicants with disabilities (Chapter 6). In determining whether a particular accommodation would result in an undue hardship, the law assesses employers on the basis of the overall size of the business, the nature of their business, and the nature and cost of the required accommodation. If a job should require the modification of certain equipment or procedures to accommodate a worker, employers are advised to contact organizations such as the Job Accommodations Network, established by the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, at 800/JAN-PCEH, or the National Support Center for Persons with Disabilities, established by IBM, at 800/IBM-2133, for advice and assistance.

As with older workers, traditional recruitment methods are not usually successful when applied to people with disabilities. In this regard, many employers find networking with civic centers and associations such as the National Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (703/648-9300) to be helpful. The workplace should be made accessible to applicants, including going beyond any legal requirements (e.g., ramps for people with physical disabilities). For example, consider installing a telephone device for the deaf (TDD) so applicants with hearing impairments can call to discuss job openings. Also, do not overlook internal candidates: Are job postings accessible to all employees? Put bulletin board postings at lower levels for access to people with physical disabilities and add a mechanism to computers so visually impaired employees can retrieve e-mail postings.

Interviewing applicants with disabilities can initially be an unsettling experience if bias and stereotypical thinking get in the way. Many companies run training programs to help interviewers and other employees develop a keener sense of understanding toward, and a greater tolerance for, people with disabilities. These workshops may recommend changing certain standard application and interview procedures, such as permitting blind applicants to submit employment applications through the mail or having someone help with the completion process, and writing out interview questions and showing them to hearing-impaired applicants.

Beyond such preparatory steps, the format of the actual employment interview should be essentially the same as with any other candidate. All questions should be job related and tied in to the skills, education, and experience required to perform the job.

Be careful about making assumptions—for example, that a person cannot perform a task because of an apparent disability or that a person with one disability has others. If you have legitimate concerns that a person's impairment might interfere with performance of the essential job functions, then ask the candidate a series of pertinent questions—for example, "Approximately 50 percent of this job requires keyboarding. Can you perform this task, with or without accommodation?"

Carefully evaluate the responses to questions such as these to determine whether a reasonable accommodation may be made without creating an undue hardship for the company. If a person cannot perform the essential functions of a job without creating an undue hardship for the company, then he or she does not qualify for the position.

Immigrants

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 9.3 percent of the population living in the United States is foreign born. That number is steadily climbing toward the peak percentage reached in 1920, when the foreign-born composed 13 percent of the population. After 1920, the numbers dropped steadily until the 1970s, when they began their climb back to their current high of 24.5 million.

The influx of immigrants into the United States is expected to continue, although the racial and ethnic makeup will differ from past years. For example, in 1970, most immigrants were from Mexico, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Great Britain. High numbers of immigrants from Mexico are expected to continue, but the other countries will be replaced by the Philippines, China, Cuba, India, and Vietnam, according to Workplace Visions (September-October 1997).

The growing number of immigrants is slated to have two key effects on U.S. employers. First, employers must be certain to hire only those who have the legal right to work in this country. That means carefully checking documents and dealing with periodic government intervention. Second, with more immigrants arriving in the United States, the issue of speaking only English at work will continue to be an important human resources issue.

Combating Workplace Illiteracy

Department of Labor statistics reveal that 2.5 million illiterate Americans enter the workforce each year. In the immediate future, 80 percent of all available jobs will require at least a high school education, but only 74 percent of Americans finish high school. In addition, only approximately 66 percent graduate with adequate skills.

The U.S. Department of Education offers additional disturbing statistics:

One in every seven American adults is a functional illiterate, unable to read, write, calculate, or solve even simple problems.

Functionally illiterate people comprise 30 percent of unskilled workers, 29 percent of semiskilled workers, and 11 percent of all managers, professionals, and technicians.

Forty-seven million adults are borderline illiterates.

Half of our nation's industrial workers read at or below the eighth-grade level.

The impact of illiteracy on business is far-reaching. In addition to accounting for a loss of billions of dollars in profits each year, there are problems of lowered productivity, declining international competitiveness, and reduced promotability. The pool of available workers that industries can hire from is affected; workers who cannot read instructions may endanger the lives of coworkers, illiterate customers cannot read advertisements, and illiterate consumers cannot read instructions. The problem has become so severe that a toll-free hot line (800/228-8813) has been set up enabling companies to find groups within their community that can help fight illiteracy.

As part of the effort to reduce the growing gap between the reading, writing, and math skills of the workforce and the current and future needs of industry, many businesses offer in-house programs and encourage outside education and training. Among those companies providing basic skills training are the following:

American Telephone & Telegraph has offered remedial courses to its employees.

General Motors and International Business Machines have financed adult education for many of their employees.

Ford Motor Co. offered basic reading courses at many of its plants.

Texas Instruments reimbursed the tuition of thousands of employees each semester.

New York Telephone provided a program designed to elevate the educational level of barely literate employees to ninth- and tenth-grade levels.

Aetna Life and Casualty and United Technologies implemented a tutorial program whereby employees tutored coworkers one on one.

B. Dalton Bookseller launched a national literacy campaign.

Standard Oil Co. employed former teachers to conduct classes in grammar and spelling for newly hired secretaries.

Nabisco Brands offered several hours of elementary school courses weekly.

Polaroid identified hundreds of employees each year for remedial programs.

Liberty Mutual Insurance Group offered remedial and advanced literacy training.

Olsten Corp. sponsored spelling bees and provided how-to guides for its employees in grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Spring Industries provided on-site facilities for classes in basic literacy and basic technical skills.

Travelers Insurance Co. established MOST (Modern Office Skills Training) and BEST (Business English for Spanish-speaking Trainees).

The UAW-Ford Eastern Michigan University Academy offered classes in reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

Rocco, Inc. launched a companywide campaign against illiteracy through its Career Enhancement Program.

Preemployment screening offers an opportunity for employers to identify job applicants with skill deficiencies that require remedial training. Unfortunately, recruiters and interviewers often assume that a business school or college graduate has mastered basic reading, writing, and match skills. This, sadly, is not so. It has been found that many college graduates cannot write a coherent business letter, and many are deficient in critical reasoning skills.

Some HR departments unintentionally help illiterate applicants conceal deficiencies by allowing them to take employment applications home to complete. Such illiteracy may be concealed further when employers shy away from preemployment tests out of fear of discrimination charges. In addition, employment and educational reference checks are increasingly difficult to conduct, and many employers do not even attempt them. Consequently, employees are placed on the payroll even though their literacy levels are unknown.

Many employers, concerned with screening potential employees for basic literacy, have found the following techniques helpful:

Require applicants to complete the employment application form by themselves, at the time of the interview.

Show applicants job descriptions, defining both the requirements for the job and primary duties and responsibilities, during the course of the interview. Allow sufficient time for the applicant to read the contents and ask questions.

Use job-related, validated tests as one of the selection criteria. Chapter 11 addresses this area in detail.

Conduct thorough employment and educational references, whenever possible. See Chapter 12 for additional information on references.

Conduct in-depth face-to-face interviews. Emphasize open-ended and behavioral, competency-related questions, so you can evaluate such factors as word use, clarity of thought, organization of information, and analytical ability relevant to a given job opening. Details regarding employment interviews appear in Chapters 7 and 8.

Providing Alternative Work Arrangements

As American businesses strive both to recruit qualified workers and accommodate changing work ethics, it is becoming increasingly evident that alternatives to the traditional workweek and work schedule must be considered if effective levels of productivity are to be maintained. Many of these alternative work arrangements, such as part-time employment, telecommuting, and contingent work (discussed earlier in this chapter), have found limited use in the past. But now these options are being considered for many different levels of employees, and with some creative twists. Of course, not all arrangements work equally well in every environment. It is significant, however, that more organizations are willing to test diverse work options and are reporting positive results.

As this trend toward varying work schedules continues, it is projected that the typical American company will soon consist of workers from the lowest-paid entry level up to the highest levels of management in several different work arrangements. In fact, it may very well be that at some point in the near future, regular, full-time employment will be the exception.

Regular Part Time

Traditionally, candidates completing job applications have been asked to check off one of two boxes for their desired work schedule: full time or part time. The latter usually referred to schedules of up to twenty hours per week and ineligibility for benefits. It also generally applied to nonexempt-level employees, usually women with child care responsibilities, and students.

As employment concepts continue to change, the term regular part time has expanded in meaning and scope. The traditional part-timer still exists in many industries, but increasingly the term refers to varying levels of employees, male and female, on a reduced work-time schedule, who are entitled to many of the privileges and benefits available to full-time workers. The trend is also spreading up through the ranks, as many more professionals (e.g., attorneys) are being granted part-time work arrangements.

The change in definition clearly indicates a redirection in thinking. Employers are coming to realize that there is a great deal of competition for qualified candidates who are striving to balance family, job responsibilities, and outside interests.

Job Sharing

Job sharing may be defined as an arrangement in which two employees divide the responsibilities of one full-time job. It is distinguishable from regular part-time employment in that it applies to positions that cannot be separated into two definitive part-time jobs. Although the concept of job sharing has been around for about thirty years, only since the mid-1980s have organizations such as Quaker Oats Co. and Levi Strauss & Co. started viewing it as a viable work arrangement. Initially it was viewed as a female-related issue; now it is seen as a solution to the needs of many employees, including parents, older workers, and students.

Numerous employer benefits are reportedly derived from job sharing, including the broader range of skills brought to the position, the retention of valuable workers who might otherwise leave, a higher level of energy, and reduced absenteeism. In addition, job sharing virtually eliminates the need for employees to take care of personal business while on the job. Also, if one partner terminates, the job is still half filled.

There are some drawbacks to job sharing: Twice as much payroll and personnel record keeping is required, an overlap in scheduling can create a logistics problem, and clients or customers may complain about not being able to deal with the same person consistently. The issue of benefits can also create problems. Some employers offer full benefits to both partners, and others elect to divide a single package.

Organizations considering job sharing should conduct a full analysis, including consideration of the job's requirements and responsibilities; an assessment of each partner's skills, abilities, shortcomings, and interests; a clear definition of how matters of salary and benefits are to be handled; and a schedule that is acceptable and workable for all concerned.

Flextime

The classic definition of flextime requires each worker to put in the same number of hours each day, with identical core hours, but varying starting and quitting times. Employers may vary the amount of flexibility granted workers in establishing their schedules according to the specific needs of the organization and the employees concerned.

Flextime, the first alternative work arrangement to gain acceptance, was implemented at a Hewlett-Packard company plant beginning in 1972. Indications are that it is gaining in popularity; more private and public sector organizations now offer flextime.

Flextime allows employees to balance work demands with those of home, school, and outside activities. It also helps relieve transit and commuting problems. In addition, given a voice in the scheduling of their workday, employees tend to feel involved in the company's decision-making process. This, in turn, may strengthen employer-employee relations. Employees are also able to schedule work more in tune with their own "biological clocks"; that is, they can choose to work during those hours when their skill and response levels are most keen.

Benefits to the employer include extended hours of coverage or service, which reduces or eliminates the need for overtime; reduced tardiness, absenteeism, and turnover; an expanded and improved recruitment pool; and improved work performance attributable to higher employee morale. As a system, it is also adaptable to many situations and can easily be implemented in most environments. It tends to function best in work environments that promote independence and self-motivation and is least effective in assembly-line work or situations in which the work must be accomplished in a short time span.

As with any other system, flextime has some drawbacks. The number one problem appears to have less to do with the employees than with supervisors, who are uncomfortable with having workers unsupervised on the job, during noncore hours. A sufficient level of discomfort may compel some supervisors to put in longer hours in order to make certain work is being accomplished during noncore hours. Other concerns include difficulty in scheduling meetings, not having key employees available when needed, and employee abuse of flextime. In addition, overhead costs are increased by keeping facilities open for longer periods of time.

Compressed Workweek

Following close on the heels of flextime in the early 1970s was the idea of the compressed workweek. This alternative arrangement allows employees to work the required forty hours in fewer than five days. The most popular schedule remains four ten-hour days.

The compressed workweek has received mixed reviews from both employees and management. Positive votes come from employees, who react favorably to the longer periods of personal time the compressed workweek allows. They also prefer commuting during nonrush hours and saving money by not working a fifth day. In addition, many workers reportedly accomplish more in a day during hours when telephone calls from customers or clients are less likely to interrupt them. Employers have reported that the compressed workweek works well as a recruitment tool. Some improvement in rates of absenteeism, tardiness, and turnover has also been reported.

On the other hand, workers and managers alike have complained about excessive fatigue brought by the length of the workday. This is troublesome to older employees, young singles with active social lives, and employees with families. Long-term effects on health are also of concern. Both factors can adversely affect productivity.

Many long-term users of the compressed workweek have nothing but praise for the system; others who have tried it have abandoned it.

Companies that are considering this alternative work arrangement should make certain that state laws do not prohibit a compressed workweek. Some states require the payment of overtime compensation for hours worked in excess of eight hours on any given day.

Telecommuting

Also known as remote access work, flexplace, at-home work, telework, or satellite office work, the concept of telecommuting has been around since the 1970s. It did not gain popularity until some ten years later, with the explosion of personal computers and facsimile machines. Today, telecommuting is one of the fastest-growing components of the labor market. In 1985, the U.S. Department of Labor reported approximately 5 million full- and part-time at-home workers; ten years later, that number tripled to 15 million.

Many companies maintain that there are advantages to having some employees work at home, at least part of the time. Reduced utility and office space leasing costs, as well as increased productivity, are two of the most common reasons for hiring telecommuters. Several employers have also reported that this work option has proved to be an effective recruitment tool. It both attracts employees and allows the employer to expand its recruiting base beyond the normal commutation area. In addition, organizations have been able to hire people who might not be able to travel to an office to work, such as those who are elderly and or have certain disabilities. Employers with telecomuting workers also report less absenteeism, since these employees often work at home even if they are not feeling well.

Many employees also appreciate the arrangement. For example, parents who want to work and care for their children can more readily manage both. In addition, at-home workers report being able to perform their duties without the typical office interruptions and enjoy the freedom of working during "off hours." Other benefits cited include not having to commute and being able to wear whatever they want while working.

But there are drawbacks as well. For employers, there is the lack of direct control over an employee's work. In addition, when computers are involved, there is concern over unsupervised access to data and theft of equipment. And some employees complain of a sense of isolation and worry whether they have the self-discipline required to meet deadlines.

Companies considering telecommuting work arrangements for some employees should consult with legal and tax experts regarding employee classifications, local zoning regulations, and insurance requirements.

Additional Alternative Work Arrangements

Contingent work, part-time employment, job sharing, flextime, compressed workweeks, and telecommuting are the six primary alternative work arrangements available today. There are additional arrangements that employers may find suitable, too.

Sabbaticals

represent a lesser known but increasingly popular work arrangement, in recognition of our long-lived workforce. Formal sabbatical programs offer employees periods of time to pursue other interests or tend to familial obligations with a job guarantee upon return. Actually, this is not a new idea; academic sabbaticals are common at colleges and universities. Although seldom used in business in the past, sabbaticals are now starting to catch on. Most arrangements are for unpaid leaves of from three to six months.

The supplemental workforce is a variation on an old theme. These are employees who are recruited and hired through conventional means and then trained in job- and industry-specific matters. Here is the twist: They are then placed in a standby pool for work as needed, with the company committing to weekly or longer work assignments. This program provides a consistency and level of skill not usually available in temporary employees.

Voluntary reduced work-time programs (v-time) allow full-time employees to become part time for a certain period, usually six to twelve months. During their tenure as part-timers, their salaries and benefits are adjusted accordingly. After the agreed-upon period of reduced work time is completed, the employees are able to return to their original full-time status. Full pay and benefits are also restored.

Employees benefit from v-time by having maximum flexibility in scheduling, on an as-needed basis. Employers find the arrangement cost-effective. V-time can be disruptive, however, and make the scheduling of work difficult. Other employees may also resent the latitude v-time employees enjoy.

Work sharing is an alternative work arrangement generally used by companies as a cost-reduction strategy and an attempt to avoid layoffs. The hours and salary of some or all of a company's employees are reduced until such time as regular pay and status can be restored. In some states, work sharing is combined with short-term compensation, whereby employees receive partial unemployment insurance payments to compensate for part of the reduced salary.

Independent contractors are self-employed workers in a variety of fields in exempt and nonexempt capacities. Companies may employ independent contractors for short- or long-term assignments without any of the commitments or obligations that accompany an employer-employee relationship. Generally there is a written contract outlining the services to be provided, the approximate or specific period of time for the services, and the amount and schedule of payment. Conditions governing severance of the agreement may be outlined in the contract as well.

Employee leasing is a unique work arrangement, used primarily by small companies with fewer than 300 employees, in an effort to avoid some of the headaches of administration. The system allows for an entire group of employees to be fired from a company, hired by a professional employer organization (PEO), and then contracted back to the original employer. The PEO handles all the administrative paperwork, provides fringe benefits to the employees, and charges the employer approximately 20 to 35 percent above gross payroll. Currently, there are more than 2,500 PEOs managing in excess of 2 million workers. The industry as a whole is growing at a rate of 30 percent a year, according to HR Magazine (September 1997).

Phased or partial retirement enables employees to retire voluntarily over a period of years by gradually reducing their full-time work schedule. This process results in improved employment and advancement possibilities for younger workers. In many instances, the retiring employees are able to mentor the incoming workers.

Phased or partial retirement originated in Europe during the early 1970s, but did not gain a foothold in the United States until 1987, when mandatory retirement was banned. It gained momentum in 1988 with requirements that employers continue pension plan contributions for workers aged sixty-five and over.

In most instances, phased retirement programs allow participants to retain their rate of pay, prorated to reflect a reduced work schedule. Benefits, too, may be adjusted to reflect a part-time schedule.

Although implementation of phased retirement is limited, more companies are beginning to turn to it. Organizations that have implemented phased retirement programs in recent years include Aetna, Levi Straus, and Polaroid.

Other Responses to Employee Needs

Besides innovative programs and techniques, what else can companies do to attract and motivate the workers of tomorrow? They can start by recognizing that, unlike generations before, this new workforce is more interested in opportunity than job security; they are more willing to take risks and less concerned with financial stability. Hence, employers need to provide challenging and varying work assignments. In addition, participative management, in which all employee levels are involved in at least some aspect of the decision-making process, is becoming of greater importance to workers. Workers have also expressed the need to be recognized and rewarded for their specific contributions. Furthermore, they are seeking greater autonomy with fewer levels of management.

Flexibility with regard to work schedules and work arrangements will be a key element in the near future. Flexible benefits plans are increasingly being sought. Also growing in significance is an interest in encouraging social relationships among coworkers off the job. Managers will therefore need to plan more social activities and sponsor company outings. The continuing interest in physical fitness will also affect employment, as more workers favor employers' providing workout rooms or health club memberships.

Preventing Workplace Violence

We have all heard about disgruntled former employees' returning to the workplace, seeking revenge for termination or lack of promotion. In most instances, employers are stunned by the events, maintaining that there were no warning signs or any way the violence could have been prevented. We read about these events, shaking our heads over the tragedy, and certain it could never occur where we work. Don't be so sure.

We tend to think of workplace violence as physical harm, but it also includes threats of injury, harassment, and damage to company property. In addition to former workers, violence may involve coworkers, bosses, customers and clients, employee family members, and total strangers. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, most acts of workplace violence are prompted by personality conflicts, followed by family and marital problems. Other factors are drug or alcohol abuse, stress, and firings or layoffs. The Northwestern National Life Insurance Institute for Occupational Safety and Health adds additional motives for acts of violence, including dissatisfaction with service, anger with disciplinary proceedings, and prejudice.

Statistics on workplace violence are alarming. The U.S. Department of Justice reports that one out of every six crimes committed in the United States occurs at work, affecting over 1 million victims annually. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), homicide and other acts of workplace violence have become the second leading cause of death in the workplace overall and the number one cause of on-the-job death for women. Guns are reportedly used in 75 percent of these cases. For every murder that takes place in the workplace, there are numerous violent assaults or threats and destruction of company property, all of which can result in physical injury, trauma, and decreased productivity—suffering and damage that cannot be measured by statistics.

In addition, many injured workers, or families of murdered workers, sue employers for not having protected the employees. Employers can be held liable for prior indications of potential violence and failure to warn the ultimate victim. Also, if an employer knows, or should have known, of certain characteristics of an individual that indicate a propensity for violent behavior and hires or retains the person anyway, the employer may be responsible for any resulting harm.

Violence in the workplace cannot be stopped entirely, but employers can take certain preventive and protective measures. Begin by carefully prescreening potential employees. In addition to exploring competency-based areas of skills and knowledge, explore job-related intangibles that will reveal information about the person's temperament and character. Ask questions that reflect specific experiences, since the best indicator of future behavior is past behavior. Possible indications of future violence include a history that reflects a low tolerance for frustration, frequent outbursts of anger, blaming others for mistakes, suspicion of others' motives, lack of empathy for others, negative interpersonal relationships, and the inability to adapt to new work situations.

You might also want to implement job-related psychological testing designed to assess a propensity for workplace violence. London House/Science Research Associates (9701 West Higgins Road, Rosemont, IL 60018, (800/221-8378), for example, offers the Personnel Selection Inventory, which is designed to evaluate violent or nonviolent tendencies. Test results alone, however, are insufficient to establish that someone poses a direct threat.

Reference checks on applicants under consideration for hire may prove helpful, assuming you ask the right questions and the former employer is forthcoming with information. As you will learn in Chapter 12, however, ascertaining substantive background information is not always feasible.

Since prescreening applicants cannot, with absolute certainty, ferret out potentially violent workers, employers must also be alert to warning signs exhibited by employees; frequent angry outbursts, intimidation of others, veiled threats, obsessions, sullen withdrawal, and persistent discussion of weapons. Note that these characteristics may be exhibited by employees who performed well in the past and never before gave any indication of violent behavior. These behaviors may be triggered by any number of aggravating factors, such as a bad performance review, being bypassed for a promotion, a conflict with a coworker or boss, drug or alcohol use, financial or family problems, and involuntary termination. Employers are urged to investigate thoroughly and immediately and document all allegations or actual acts of violence. Also, provide avenues for disgruntled or otherwise troubled employees to receive relief, such as employee assistance programs and formal grievance proceedings.

Many resources are available to assist employers in dealing with potential workplace violence, including:

Institute for Human Resources
P.O. Box 1373, Mail Route 6320
Minneapolis, MN 55440
612/945-6620

CONCERN Employee Assistance Program
2635 North First Street, Suite 23
San Jose, CA 95134
408/432-0616

Work Trauma Services
110 Sutter Street, Suite 710
San Francisco, CA 94104
415/398-3966

National Crisis Prevention Institute
3315 K, North 124th Street
Brookfield, WI 53005
800/558-8976

Institute for Crisis Management
710 West Main Street, Suite 200
Louisville, KY 40202
502/584-0402

Crisis Management International
8 Piedmont Center, Suite 420
Atlanta, GA 30305
404/841-3400

Summary

Tomorrow's workforce offers employers many challenges. We are seeing increasing numbers of older workers, women, minorities, and applicants with disabilities enter the job market to compete for available work. But not all workers are necessarily prepared. One in every seven American adults is a functional illiterate. Since the fastest-growing industries require higher levels of skills and knowledge than ever before, businesses must pay greater attention to education and training.

We are also witnessing an influx of contingent workers—people carrying portable skills from job to job, their work literally contingent on an employer's timely need. Additionally, employers are finding it increasingly difficult to attract and maintain low- and minimum-wage workers.

The traditional five-day workweek and nine-to-five work schedule must allow room for alternative arrangements. Employees at all levels will require flexible scheduling to fit in with the other aspects of their lives. Hence, arrangements such as regular part time, job sharing, flextime, compressed workweeks, and telecommuting will become increasingly more commonplace.

Finally, businesses must take preventive and protective measures to protect employees against workplace violence.

For employers accepting these changes and preparing for them accordingly, the next few decades will be filled with many productive recruitment opportunities.

Finding and Keeping Great Employees

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By Jim Harris and Joan Brannick

AMACOM Books

Copyright © 1999 Jim Harris and Joan Brannick. All rights reserved.