Vancouver-based Clear HR Consulting was contacted by BC Business magazine for human resources expertise for an article on how to choose a location for your business.

Some expert tips that Cissy Pau, principal consultant of Clear HR Consulting, shared for finding your dream office included:

• locating your business where you can attract the kind of employees and clients that you want;
• being clear on what amenities are important to your staff for the building and surrounding area to have; and
• choosing an environment that inspires and motivates your employees to work.

CBC Radio BC contacted Clear HR Consulting to discuss a UBC study, summarized in a Vancouver Sun article, which found that Canadians with English names are more often called back for job interviews than job seekers with Asian names. Cissy Pau, Clear HR Consulting’s Principal Consultant, was interviewed for CBC Radio’s “On the Coast” program to discuss her thoughts on the study’s results.

The main topics covered:

• Questions about survey methodology
  • Were the resumes sent to the same person at the same time? If not, then sending resumes at different times will skew the results as hiring needs may have changed.
  • What were the size of employers the resumes were sent to?  The larger the employer, often the more sophisticated the hiring practices.  The smaller the employer, the more likely they are to not have a systemized hiring process and instead select by gut feel.

• Should someone change their name to sound less “foreign” to improve their chances of landing a job?
  • Cissy does not believe that anyone should change their name, unless they choose to do so proudly.

Clear HR Consulting is a Vancouver-based human resources consulting firm that provides HR services to small- and medium-sized businesses.