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Following widespread reports of sexual harassment and gender discrimination over the past year, we all have become more aware of these serious workplace issues. These examples serve to remind us of our duty to comply with existing law and ensure that our workplaces are fair and safe for employees at every level.

Most allegations don’t relate to behavior as obvious or salacious as the ones we hear in news reports, so don’t think your company is immune from these threats.

Revisit and revise your policies on sexual harassment

How is your company confronting the prospect of sexual harassment? Are your corporate policies sufficient to address the changing environment?

If your company hasn’t reviewed and updated your sexual harassment policy lately, now is the time. Read it, mark it up with questions and comments, and ask an attorney to review it. Be sure it defines prohibited workplace behaviors and unequivocally forbids sexual harassment. That’s a start.

But, a policy banning sexual harassment in the workplace needs to do more than just that. It should explain how employees can make a complaint, with several options for doing so. Understandably, employees who make allegations against a supervisor don’t want to approach that person with a complaint.

Your policy should ... Read More

As low as the unemployment rate is in our area (incredibly, 2.9 percent in Lancaster County), it’s even lower for some technology categories. So, if you’re looking for tech workers—as TriStarr recruiters do for clients—I can sympathize. The need is great, and the competition to find candidates is tough.

With more jobs available than skilled professionals over all industries, workers are leaving for greener pastures. A recent report from the U.S. Department of Labor shows that 2.4 percent of Americans are leaving their jobs this year, the highest level since 2001. That’s one in 42 workers.

Tech workers are on the move for the right positions, but they can be selective due to the high demand for their skills. And while some of the highest-paying jobs for recent graduates are in the tech industry, you might have to entice experienced tech workers with more than a nice paycheck to get them to work for you.

How can you be smarter about recruiting tech professionals? Here are seven job recruitment strategies the pros use:

• Watch subscription-only specialized job boards and websites to reach the best tech professionals in their fields.
• Attend conferences, trade shows, and meetings where tech pros gather to get to know and network ... Read More

If you’re running a successful business, chances are good that 1) most of your employees are of a high quality and 2) you treat them well because you would like to keep them as long as you can.

But how often do you review your efforts to recognize and reward employees? Retaining employees takes concerted effort, and rewarding their roles in your company’s success is the best way to retain them. Your retention strategies are as important as your recruitment strategies, and some rewards are more effective in building employee loyalty and longevity.

According to the Harvard Business Review, nearly 70 percent of U.S. workers are either actively or passively on the lookout for new jobs. So, I’m not surprised that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that workers today remain with the same employer for just over 4 years.

Give employees good reasons to remain with your company

Losing good employees can have substantial costs – their lost productivity, time spent on finding and training their successors, and stress for remaining employees who pick up the slack.

Good employees who feel valued tend to remain with the same company for more than a few years. So, the employer must give workers good reasons ... Read More

When recruiting hard-to-get candidates, a personalized strategy is more likely to result in success than a one-size-fits-all approach.

Candidates who feel you take a personal interest in them will have a more favorable view of your company and be more likely to accept your position. And even if they don’t choose you this time—or you don’t choose them—you are expanding your talent pool for future available positions.

Use the approaches used by job recruiters, particularly for top-tier candidates

1. Search social media to get information that candidates share there (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and learn more about their interests and skills. Job recruiters do this to familiarize themselves with candidates and personalize outreach to them.
2. Customize email communications with each top candidate to get a higher response rate. If you’re not using the services of a professional recruiter (aka headhunter), you might want to get an applicant tracking system to help you do that. Keep in touch via email with each candidate, individually, throughout the search and interview process.
3. Get to know prospects as individuals, not just as professionals with desirable skills, in your communications with them. Ask what is most important to them in deciding to change positions and try to meet their needs. If ... Read More

Sorting through resumes can be a time-consuming, pain-staking responsibility for managers and HR professionals. Depending on the number received, they can spend hours poring over resumes for just one position, eventually deciding on “yes,” “no,” or “maybe.” Many times, there are a few gems to be found. Professional recruiters estimate that 75-80 percent of resumes submitted actually show that the applicants are not qualified for the position.

Some job applicants, such as the ones with these statements on their resumes, make it easy for job recruiters to decide on an emphatic “no”:

• “Desired Position: Profreader”
• “Left last four jobs only because the managers were completely unreasonable.”
• “Any interruption in employment is due to being unemployed.”

Of course, a serious candidate won’t have a resume with such blunders. So, how can managers identify the best candidates as efficiently as possible?

Establish a review process and know what to look for in resumes

By the time an open position is advertised, the department manager and HR representative should agree on what minimum qualifications are needed and what preferred qualifications are desired.

Next, weed out the resumes that don’t meet the minimum qualifications. Of those remaining, pull the ones that meet all or some of the preferred qualifications. Compare them (possibly ... Read More