An important part of an effective hiring process is to conduct reference checks on your top candidate, but should you pay attention to a letter of reference provided by the candidate? When the Globe and Mail asked Clear HR Consulting about the value of letters of reference, here’s what Cissy Pau had to say:
“I will always call the reference so I can ask questions and delve more between the lines,” says Cissy Pau, principal consultant at Vancouver-based Clear HR Consulting. “I can almost ‘interview’ the reference that way,” she says, adding that she doesn’t give much weight to letters of reference on their own.
More and more, social media is being used to replace the letter of reference. Prospective employers being sent a candidate’s LinkedIn recommendations is one example of that.
If you are going to provide a letter of reference, than remember that the reference will likely still be called:
“You’d be surprised how often I have called references and the person that I’ve called doesn’t recall the employee,” [Ms. Pau] says, referring not just to references provided in letters but also those for which the candidate has submitted a phone number. “I find that just appalling. If you’re going to give someone as a reference, you should be preparing that person for a phone call in advance.”
Providing and checking references is still an important piece of the hiring process. However, a letter of reference on its own, without any follow up with the reference, is of limited value to determining the suitability of the candidate for your position.
The impact of the BC teachers’ strike is hitting employers across Vancouver and BC, as employees struggle to find adequate child care, leading some employees to ask if they can bring their kids to work during the BC teachers’ strike. The Province newspaper and CKNW AM 980 radio asked Vancouver-based Clear HR Consulting for human resources expertise and advice on this topic.
Bringing kids to work depends primarily on the culture of the company. It may make sense for a flexibly-oriented office environment, but be completely inappropriate for a construction site due to safety issues. Business owners and managers will also be very concerned with productivity issues for their staff, as well as the impact on their customers. Again, corporate culture will dictate what is appropriate or not.
How should companies handle this situation? Our discussions with our clients show there are a few options that companies are taking when it’s not possible to bring kids to work. Employees can get approval from their manager to use vacation time to take time off to care for their kids. Some other companies have a personal leave policy where staff can take time off to care for relatives. Some others promote remote work arrangements and having staff work from home. Other clients are firmly against remote work arrangements because they are concerned about lost productivity – they think the staff won’t be able to work with young kids underfoot.
The corporate culture as it relates to flexible work arrangements, workplace productivity, safety, and impact on customers will determine the appropriate response for bringing kids to work during the BC teachers’ strike.
With the recent passing of Steve Jobs, the world lost a technology pioneer. Love him or hate him, not only did the Apple co-founder create an iconic consumer brand with a cult-like following, he also created an employer brand for Apple which is surpassed by few companies.
In the recently released authorized biography, Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson, the Apple co-founder is quoted as saying, “We at Apple had forgotten who we were. One way to remember who you are is to remember who your heroes are.” Thus began one of the most memorable marketing campaigns of all time.
Originally intended to remind customers of the distinctiveness of the Apple brand, the “Think Different” campaign went beyond that. The “Think Different” commercial, one of our favourite videos of all-time, clearly communicates Apple’s employer brand as well.
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify them or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” Read the rest of this entry »
Business in Vancouver’s publication, Right Course Magazine, contacted Cissy Pau, principal consultant of Vancouver-based Clear HR Consulting, for human resources expertise for their article on turning performance reviews into effective employee development tools.
Some of the expert tips that Cissy Pau discussed included:
Provide feedback on a regular and informal basis, and don’t limit it to an annual performance review;
Have a normal, relaxed conversation – it’s supposed to be a performance discussion, not an investigation;
Look forward, not just backward – set goals and targets for the upcoming review period (whether it be week, month, quarter or year);
Share your long-term vision with your staff, and explain to them the role they play in directly influencing the overall success of the organization.
For more human resources expertise on how to effectively turn performance reviews into employee development tools for your business, please contact Clear HR Consulting for more information.
The Globe and Mail contacted Vancouver-based Clear HR Consulting for human resources expertise for an article on how to handle an employee whose work is good, but whose behaviour is a problem.
Cissy Pau, Clear HR Consulting’s principal consultant, offered some tips and suggestions on how to handle an employee with problem behaviour:
Ensure the employee’s manager is setting the proper example. Is the manager contributing to the problem by something they are doing or not doing?
Provide timely feedback. If the employee is late, tell them today, not two weeks later. Give them specific examples, and convey the consequences of what impact the behaviour has on co-workers, the project, and/or the client.
Use incentives to encourage the desired performance. Not everyone is motivated by the same things; different people could be motivated with money, time off, or even a trip.
Consider termination if the behaviour is impacting the company’s bottom line or morale. Once you’ve set the expectations, given the employee feedback, provided them with a reward or discipline, and the behaviour still isn’t changing, then the employee may not be a good fit.
For more information on how to handle an employee with problem behaviour that is impacting your small business, please contact Vancouver-based Clear HR Consulting for human resources expertise and advice on how to manage staff effectively.
Fiona Collie from Investment Executive interviewed Cissy Pau of Vancouver-based Clear HR Consulting Inc. for her human resources expertise for a series of articles on hiring staff.
In the first article, Cissy Pau shared 5 questions a small business owner should ask prior to hiring a new team member:
Do I have the cash flow?
Is there a sustainable workload?
What is the return on investment?
Do I have the time?
Do I have systems in place?
In the second article, Cissy Pau outlined the 7 step hiring process to follow, after determining that you’re ready to hire a new team member:
Some human resources expert advice that Cissy Pau shared on why and how employers should document their dealings with their employees included:
Documentation acts as an accountability for building the case for firing an employee, because without documentation, nothing can be proven;
When conducting a performance review, it is important to have a document to share with the employee, as it gives the employer something concrete to refer back to when they want to follow up on the employee’s progress in meeting their job expectations;
Review personnel files to ensure other employee’s information aren’t included in someone else’s file to maintain confidentiality and privacy.
For more information on how to properly document the case for firing an employee for your small business, please contact Clear HR Consulting for a complimentary initial consultation.
