Month: April 2021

  • How to develop a Pay Structure?

    A clear pay structure is one of the first important things that any company should have on its to-do list, which requires a lot of scouting and analysing. Proper market research on the different kinds of job roles, the kind of responsibilities that it entails, required skills of the employees helps in creating a pay structure template. A good remuneration plays a central role in employee satisfaction, which can be enhanced by providing them benefits of various kinds, which is a very tough goal. Post-retirement benefits in the form of EPF are included in every company’s payment structure which is mandated. ESI works to provide health insurance benefits for the employees, but it suffers from its own limitations. Let us have an elaborate look at these topics.

    Pay Structure.

    What are some of the steps that the company must go through to develop a pay structure?

    • Establishing value for each job position: Through market research of competitive firms, what other firms are paying for similar job roles, establish a value for each job role in your company by benchmarking other similar jobs and analysing their data.
    • Measuring the market position of the company: Comparing the company’s salary level with the average of the market’s pay level to understand some of the basic questions in terms of affordability, attracting and retaining of employees.
    • Have a clear budget for the salary payout: A defined budget is a very critical step that every company must have from the very beginning. Internal budget constraints and external market factors will pose as opposing forces in reaching a satisfactory pay structure.
    • Define compensable leverage for the employees: This is the increase in salary rate when the employees are promoted compared to the market rates of promotion in similar positions.
    • Start allocating and final adjustments: A series of hit and trial methods to reach the appropriate salary ranges for different job profiles based on the market data collected and analysed to reach a final pay structure.
    • Management approval and Communicate: After getting the management’s final approval for the salary ranges of different profiles, the pay structure is then communicated to all the staff.

    What are the different kinds of pay structures?

    • Individual pay rates/ranges: The most common form of pay structure, where the employees are told about their fixed salaries beforehand, and thus the company also has an exact estimate of their payout, their hiring potential. This is a rigid structure where the employees can have the only progression of their salaries if they are promoted. Contrary to this, the individual pay range provides a band of salary range that different employees in different job profiles can expect.
    •  Broadbanding: Dividing the employees according to their pay grades. There are different pay grades for different managerial job roles and executive job roles. This system includes maximum and minimum pay, with incremental stages between them, where the employees start at the minimum and then, based on her/his performance, get the increment.
    • Pay Spine: A simplified pay structure, where the spine is made up of pay points from the lowest entry-level salary to the executive level salary, and each pay point is defined with the fixed predefined salary and incremental levels in a particular position.
    • Job Families: A versatile pay structure, where the transition is based on the employee’s knowledge, skill, loyalty, experience. Here, similar roles are grouped, and each role is separated based on knowledge and seniority.

    Do you know the most important components of a salary structure in India are?

    • CTC or the Cost to Company: It includes all the components such as HR, bonus, basic salary, PF, etc.
    • Basic salary: It constitutes 35-50% of the total wage, based on the designation of the employee and the fixed amount that is paid before any deduction or increase.
    • Gross salary: The salary just before any deduction like taxes.
    • Net salary: The final takeaway salary after deducting the TDS, also called the in-hand salary.
    • Allowances: Different remuneration that is paid to the employees over a year, where these allowances can be taxed partially, completely, or not taxed at all. Some of these are Dearness allowance, House Rent Allowance, Medical Allowance, Leave Travel Allowance, and many more.
    • Gratuity: A lump sum amount paid by the company to the employee that is retiring.
    • Employee provident fund: An employee-benefit scheme where both the employer and the employee puts a certain fixed amount of money, from where a fixed amount of deductions can be made after retirement mostly.
    • Professional tax: The tax levied on employee’s salary by the state government, which is a maximum of Rs. 2500.
    • Perquisites: Generally non-monetary, these are certain benefits that the employees enjoy over and above their salary based on their position within the company.

    What is an Employee provident fund, and how is PF calculated?

    This focuses on post-retirement schemes and benefits. EPF is compulsory for Indian organisations under the “The Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1952”. A minimum of 10%-12% of the basic salary of the employee is deducted and deposited in the employee provident fund. In case the employee is a woman, she needs to pay only 8% of her salary to the provident fund for the first 3 years thereafter, which becomes 10%-12%, whereas the employer still needs to contribute 12%.

    The employee can voluntarily contribute more than 12%, but the employer is under no obligation to match it. Here, the employer’s contribution is limited to a maximum of Rs. 1800, i.e., 12% of 15000, so even if the employee’s salary is more than 15000, the maximum that the employer can contribute is Rs. 1800.

    The statutory compliances associated with PF contribution are that the contribution made by the employer is divided into two parts. Employee provident fund (EPF), which is 3.67% of the 12% contribution, and Employee Pension Scheme (EPS), which is 8.33% of the 12% contribution.

    For example, if the employee’s salary is Rs. 10000

    [wptb id=10005]

     

    What is Employee State Insurance(ESI)?

    A contributory fund, where both the employee and the employer contribute to form a healthcare insurance fund for the employee. Employees’ State Insurance Corporation manages them as per the rules mentioned in the Indian ESI Act of 1948. This scheme provides both cash benefits and healthcare benefits to the employees. Anywhere 10 or more people are employed eligible for ESI.

    Eligibility: All the employees who have a monthly income of less than Rs. 21000 are eligible for ESIC contribution. Employees having a daily average earning of up to Rs. 176 are also exempted. ESI is calculated on gross salary.

    The employee contributes 0.75% of his/her gross salary, whereas the employer contributes 3.25% of the gross salary, and the employer submits the total contribution within 15 days of the last day of the month.  

    For example, let the gross pay of the employee be Rs. 10000.

    [wptb id=9998]

    Now, the contribution periods are divided into two groups of 6 months each.

    • 1st April to 30th September, for which the cash benefit period is 1st January to 30th June of the following year.
    • 1st October to 31st March, for which the cash benefit period is 1st July to 31st December.

    Now, if the salary of any employee increases beyond the maximum limit of Rs. 21000 in between the ongoing contribution period, then the contribution for the remaining months are calculated on the new amount, till the end of the contribution period, and after that if the salary still surpasses the maximum limit, the employee is not eligible for ESI.

    Pay Structure Template

    The most basic salary structure of any company encompasses:

     [wptb id=10003]

    So, pay structures are of utmost importance to any organisation and serve to attract, nurture and retain good employees in the long run. It shows that the company values the employee’s hard work and rewards the employees handsomely.  

  • 10 Reasons HR Is Important to an Organization

    HR is an indispensable part of any organization. It is the most important wing that keeps every aspect of a firm connected and thus ensures that the business is running smoothly and efficiently. From every employee’s go-to person during the time of distress, to be the person who resolves any mishaps happening in the office, HR is the answer to all the problems. Employees are the backbone of any organization, but who keeps the employees happy and satisfied with their work? Yes, you guessed it correctly! It’s the HR! So, a happy HR equals a happy workforce equals a happy organization equals growth and success for the firm. So, HR’s contribution to any firm’s success is immense.

    HR’s importance in any firm ranges from strategic planning to the bottom-line workers. Thus, HRs provide an all-around contribution to the organization. So, let us zoom in on certain areas, where HRs contribute to aid in an organization’s success.

    1. HRs plays the key role in hiring and thereby securing a good workforce for the company:

    HR works closely with the hiring managers and they play an important role in the company’s hiring process. They conduct the entire process and make sure that the company hires the best candidates suited to its needs and requirements. Scrutinizing the candidate to make sure he/she will be an asset to the company is just one of the many beneficial aspects of HR.

    2. HR also aids recruitment and Onboarding of candidates:

    From declaring the job applications open to scrutinizing the CVs, to releasing the shortlists, to interviews and finally hiring someone, an HR does it all! Even after the recruitment process winds up, HR is responsible for the smooth onboarding of new hires, making sure that they are accustomed to the company’s policies and practices.

    3. HR makes sure that the new joiners receive the best development and training session:

    All the new hires undergo training and development sessions to introduce them and make them proficient in the kind of work that they are supposed to perform. HRs supervise the entire training process so that employees are proficiently trained for leadership and management roles to be taken up in the future and can lead the firm in the right direction.

    4. HRs help in keeping the employee satisfaction levels high in an organization:

    Everyone knows that a happy workforce is a sign of a healthy firm and a healthy firm is more prone to be successful in the future. So, it is HR’s job to make sure that the employees are satisfied in the organization and thus maintaining a good employer-employee relationship. They conduct surveys, focus group discussions, and interactions to make sure that the workforce is happy. All the discussions related to the employee’s compensation are also handled by HR.

    5. HRs control the budget of an organization:

    The HR team of any organization helps the firm to strictly work in its allocated budget by reducing excessive and unwanted spending. They devise ways by which cost cuts can be implemented so that the company can save money which will be helpful for the company in the long run. Negotiating salaries, benefits, and packages also comes under HR’s purview and they make sure that they efficiently use their negotiating skills.

    6. HRs also aid in the strategic management of the firm:

    HRs help in improving the bottom line of an organization by inducing its knowledge regarding how the workforce helps in the success of an organization. Many HRs specialize in strategic management too and thus take part in the company’s corporate discussions regarding which projects to take on and how to act further based on current trends going on in the market.

    7. HRs makes the firm a tech-driven one:

    Every aspect of a firm is being replaced by technology. So, technology is the new bread and butter for every firm. HRs identify and therefore implement the various technological needs of the employees by making the firm more tech-savvy and thus contributing to its success. Some of the digital tools adapted by HRs are online learning platforms, online payroll software, surveys for the development process, and many more.

    8. HRs play a major role in a company’s growth:

    HRs play the role of strategic advisor in case of any mergers, acquisitions, expansions, and even downsizing. It also helps in succession planning so that companies can work smoothly even if some unexpected situations arise. Conducting talent reviews and thus identifying potential in-house candidates can help planning for leadership roles in advance.

    9. HRs are the go-to person for resolving a conflict:

    Workplace conflicts are a common affair, but this should not have an impact on a company’s performance. So, even before it becomes a huge issue, HR sweeps in and saves the day. Thus, resolving conflicts helps to motivate employees and imparts a positive zeal on the workforce to work harder and thus provide better returns to the firm.

    10. HRs moderate company’s as well as the employee’s performance:

    Performance management is one of the key roles of the HR team. After acquiring the right talent, it is HR’s responsibility to check on the employee and deliberately provide active feedback related to his/her performance so that they can improve it continuously. This ensures that employees are not stuck in jobs that they don’t want and thus their skills and abilities are not wasted. Thus, exploiting an employee’s abilities to their full potential so that the company can reap benefits from it is the way HRs contribute to the firm’s success.

    There are reasons why HRs are called the employee’s best friend. A company is what its employees portray it to be and managing the employees efficiently is HR’s job. A good HR team is every company’s top priority as they help in making the most out of the employees by using the right resources. Thus, a successful company depends on a strong HR team and must value all the insights provided by them which will help them in growing and succeeding.

  • Onsite Childcare: How Does It Work?

    On-site daycare facilities are a growing trend in many workplaces. It is a benefit that is provided by the employer for employees who are balancing both professional and personal lives. This facility serves as a boon for new parents, who can look after their child, even while working. This facility has an age-bar to this. This facility can be provided by the employer at a nominal fee or even free. This is an initiative carried out by organizations to retain their top talent, who are also working parents, and serves as an aim to integrate both their personal and professional lives.

    What is an on-site daycare facility?

    In this ever-evolving world, where people are working tirelessly to provide themselves with a comfortable life, working parents often find it difficult to handle their newborn while working. So, onsite daycare facilities serve as a solution to this problem. Onsite childcare facilities provide affordable, top-quality childcare facilities for children of working parents within the workplace itself! Having onsite facilities not only reduces absenteeism amongst employees, increases their morale, but also increases their productivity. It serves as a measure that says to the employees that the organization values them and thinks about how to aid them.

    Why should companies provide onsite daycare facilities for employees?

    Having an onsite daycare facility within an organization makes it more appealing, increases its brand value, serves as additional perks for the employees, and also helps the firm in achieving its long-term goals. So, some of the reasons as to why should companies provide an onsite daycare facility for employees are mentioned below:

    • It is something that a current lot of job seekers demand

    Young millennials and gen Z are on a job hunt in today’s time. Though they may not be parents yet, they seem to have done a good amount of future planning and an organization that provides childcare facilities is on top of their lists. So, it helps the employer in attracting good talent.

    • It is a great way to show that the employees are a valuable asset to the firm

    Having an onsite facility sends a clear message to the employees that both their professional and personal lives are valued by the company and they are doing as much as they can to help them in acing both. This in turn motivates the employees to perform better and repay the trust that the company has shown in them.

    • It boosts employee’s morale, dedication and thus increases their productivity

    By reducing the separation anxiety that new parents have, automatically increases their concentration on the job at hand by helping them stay more focused without any stress of whether their young one is properly looked after or not.

    • It offers flexibility to the employees

    Having onsite daycare facilities also provides flexibility to the employees in their way of working, where they can check on their younger ones as and when required and work accordingly. This also instills trust, autonomy, and kindness among the employees.

    • It promotes equality of gender in the workplace

    Onsite daycare is not only for women employees but also for male ones. More and more fathers are enjoying becoming hands-on parents and helping their partners during the early stage by taking care of their new ones. Also, with increasing women in the workforce, taking care of their needs, also in senior roles, helps to retain them.

    What are some of the advantages of providing a daycare facility?

    Onsite childcare facilities have tons of advantages both for the employer and the employee. Some of the advantages for the employer are as follows:

    • Enhances employee loyalty: Providing an onsite daycare facility is a great way to show the employees that the company values them and thus the employee becomes loyal to the firm. It also makes an attractive benefits package to attract more employees.
    • Serves as a performance asset: Studies have revealed that having onsite facilities increases employee concentration and in turn increases returns to the firm. So, it acts as a performance booster for employees.
    • Improves the brand name of the firm: Providing a daycare facility at the workplace is a thoughtful initiative and helps the firm to increase its brand value by taking such steps by creating a happy and caring work environment.
    • A socially reliable firm: Taking such a step, projects the company’s image as a socially responsible firm, which gives great importance to the work-life balance of its employees.
    • Increased recruitment and retention: Providing daycare facilities increases retention rates of employees by making them feel valued and since it is becoming the topmost needs of job seekers, it also enhances the talent pool from which employees can be hired.
    • Tax credits: By providing onsite daycare facilities, firms can also claim tax credits.    

    Advantages of onsite daycare facilities for the employees are:

    • Working parents generally do not have time to look after the child all day, so it provides an easy solution at the workplace.
    • Being in the workplace, parents do not face separation anxiety and can have a better balance.
    • Parents can go and visit their young ones anytime they desire.
    • Onsite facilities are comparatively less costly and are included in the employee’s benefits package.
    • Getting a place in the firm’s onsite daycare is easier as compared to some outside daycare.
    • Onsite daycare schedules are generally synced with the business schedules and thus they have fewer hassles.

    What are some of the cons of having an onsite daycare facility?

    An onsite daycare facility has many advantages, no doubt, but it comes with some cons as well. So, the disadvantages of having a daycare facility in the workplace are:

    • Cost of building a daycare system: Building a childcare facility requires a huge amount of investment in licensing, additional space requirements, hiring of staff, daycare certifications, and toys and equipment to take care of the babies.
    • Distraction to the parents: Having their child with them on the premises, the parents might continue to worry about them all the time and may lose focus and not be able to give their 100% to the projects they were working on.
    • Discrimination between employees: People using the facility for their single child might feel discriminated against people who are using the facility for their 2 or 3 children as the benefits may not be evenly distributed.

    Childcare facilities at the workplace are for the betterment of the employees. Having an onsite childcare facility is becoming more and more important even from a strategic point of view. Even the employees feel valued and they want to forge long-term relationships with the firms. It provides emotional stability to the working parents and thus they tend to perform better at their jobs. The cons are there too, but the pros have a major lasting impact and will provide the workplace with a better environment to work in.

  • 7 Steps to Successful Succession Planning

    Succession planning is something that every firm must plan as it is a very crucial decision upon which the future of the firm depends. Correctly executed succession planning can help the firm to achieve its business goals whereas an incorrect one can serve as the firm’s most dreaded nightmare. So, careful implementation of succession planning is one of the key pillars on which the firm’s future resides and thus should be treated as number one on the priority list. However small any organization is, it will not work if it is not equipped with the right skilled people at the right positions and they do not upskill themselves with the changing times.

    What is succession planning?

    Whenever there is a vacancy at a key job position in the firm, maybe because the employee left for better job opportunities, retired, transferred, promoted, or passed away, then that key position needs to be filled on an urgent basis. This is where succession planning is required. It is a strategy of passing on the positions of leadership to the new person who will be stepping into the shoes of his/her predecessor. This leadership position pertains to any job role in the firm, not limited to only the top-most positions. It also entails the strategy of passing down the ownership of the company to an individual or a group of individuals. It is kind of a contingent plan that every firm must have in place, to keep up with uncertainties and help keep their business afloat.

    An empty position in any firm cannot stay like that for a long time as it is a loss-making proposition for the firm itself. So, the new person that would take up the position, can either be someone from the firm itself, making his/her way up the ladder, or the company can hire some fresh talent to bring into a new perspective for the job role. After identifying the key leaders, the firm must groom the talent according to the job profile so that it can perform according to requirements.

    What are some of the benefits of succession planning?

    Succession planning is an act of carefully strategizing for the future, requires lots of work and thus it is an important task at hand. Benefits of this process are:

    • It helps in keeping the employees motivated by keeping the avenues open for them for career progression.
    • The generation of baby boomers is at a stage of retirement and soon a huge number of vacancies are going to crop up, so new leaders are required who can succeed them.
    • This helps the firm’s management to keep a close track of its employees’ work so that the correct person can be called up for the leadership position as and when required, thus helping in identifying the correct leaders.
    • Internal succession planning also aids in the reduction of hiring costs.
    • Helps the company in making a long-term strategy.
    • It also helps the firm to track the correct time and need for corporate knowledge transfer amongst peers.
    • Helps to make the employees more agile and adaptive to continuously changing requirements and thus upskill themselves continuously.
    • It also helps in maintaining the brand identity by grooming an internal talent for the leadership role rather than hiring new talent from outside.
    • Helps in providing correct guidance to the employees from the beginning by assigning them, mentors.
    • Helps the leaders and the employees to share the firm’s values and mission.
    • External succession planning helps to bring fresh ideas, new networks, additional skills, and knowledge.
    • A well-thought succession plan also helps build the investor’s confidence in the company.

    How to do succession planning?

    Succession planning is a well-thought process and it has been divided into 7 crucial steps. These are:

    STEP 1 : Identification of key job positions and skills

    As a firm, taking a deep look into the business model and identifying the job positions that are essential for the company’s performance and the skills that are required for each of the job positions, is the most crucial step and thus forms the base on which the entire succession planning depends.

    STEP 2 : Identification of company’s need both long-term and short-term

    After identifying the key positions, the next that the firm must look at is which of the identified job positions are vacant or soon-to-empty in near future, so that selection and grooming of employees according to the job role can be done.

    STEP 3 : Start screening for potential candidates in case of an internal hire

    Scanning the workforce for a suitable candidate to be the successor, by carefully evaluating the employees, should be done as promoting an employee would involve less work and cost as the employee will already be comfortable with the company’s workings, values, and missions and thus will be able to fit the position much easily after training.

    STEP 4 : Start the recruitment process

    If an internal hire is not a feasible option for the job position, then fresh talent needs to be hired from outside and has to undergo the entire recruitment process and training. 

    STEP 5 : Appoint the new candidate as the “Successor”

    After going through the tedious process of screening, interviewing, case studies, and many more, the firm finally decides upon a candidate that has been chosen as the successor for a particular job role. Ensuring that the candidate is a good fit for the company both cultural and technical is a very crucial task.

    STEP 6 : Handing over the job

    The process of handing over the job is the most important step in succession planning. It serves as the manifestation of all the hopes, skills, and knowledge of the chosen one into the practical field. This is the stage where the successor steps into the new shoes and has on-the-job learning from the peers, team leads, and predecessor. The handover period must not be too long or short so that neither the successor is half-baked nor he/she is not being able to get out of the shadow of the predecessor.

    STEP 7 : Documenting the entire transaction

    Documenting the entire procedure is important for future succession planning to go on smoothly without any hiccups. The documentation must include the skills, knowledge, demands from the candidate for the particular position, the entire hiring process, the training provided, and the issues that cropped up in between the entire process.

    Succession planning is required by every company to keep their business running. It is the job of HR to keep the succession planning documents handy and always be on the lookout so that the firm does not shift behind in this continuous race of hiring and retaining new talent. Both the internal and external hire for succession planning has their pros and cons. So, what do you think, which source of succession planning is better?

  • How to conduct a background check for employees?

    Finding the right fit for your organization is a difficult yet satisfying process. Employees that will add value to the firm, enhance the returns, make the workplace productive, and improve the team dynamics are always welcome. But if the new joinee lacks these important skills, it is a very risky investment for the firm. The only way to ensure this is to have a thorough background check of the employees before joining so that few other aspects of the employee’s personality can be explored and the candidate can be groomed accordingly. The correct way to do the background check is through legally compliant third-party providers, where it can be done at two points over the employee’s stint in the organization.

    Beginning of the article

    Background checks not only provide information on whether the person will be a valuable asset to the company but also provides information regarding the person’s past employment details, criminal records, credit history, any information that can have a direct impact on the person’s employability with the said firm. 

    Background checks are of 2 types. The first is called the “pre-employment background check”, where the background check is done on new employees, before they join the firm, to make sure that all the details furnished by the employee are correct. The second kind of background check is done during the employee’s tenure at the office. This generally happens if some kind of concerning facts regarding the employee has come into the foreground, or if it is listed in the company’s official policies.

    Do employee background checks have any benefits?

    Companies hire third-party service providers for doing these checks, they spend a lot on this procedure, so definitely background checks have their perks. Some of these evident benefits are:

    • The optimal fit between the job position and the employee: Having a correct idea about the person’s personality gives the employer the confidence that they are hiring the correct person for the job. For example, a person with a good credit rating and financial scoring can be a better fit for the finance role as compared to a person having none of these.
    • Say NO to bad hires: A bad hire costs a lot to the company, so background checks help the company in reducing that.
    • Reduction in legal costs and liabilities: Companies can reduce their insurance costs and any kind of lawsuits by hiring reliable people, not having any past criminal records.
    • Reduction in employee attrition: The company carefully does background research and then only hires people who are a good fit for the firm where their interests align, thus reducing employee attrition.
    • Workplace safety: Checking the criminal history of the potential joinee, correct decisions can be taken whether to hire that person or not, thus reducing workplace violence or theft.

    What are some of the things that are included in employee background checks?

    The employer, if introducing a third-party service, for the hiring process, the employee must be informed beforehand, and written consent of the person in question must be taken, before starting the entire process. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), sets the rules for conducting the background research and the entire findings must be documented as a report. The process of background check is comprehensive and some of the must include in a background check are:

    • Education details: To verify whether the education details for school, college, master’s degree are true or not, this forms one of the most primary boxes that need to be ticked during a background check.
    • Criminal records: One of the most important things to maintain the safety of the workplace, required for jobs about security. All local, national, international records are checked.
    • Past employment verification: For validating the employee’s past job experiences, his/her workplace behaviour, past achievements, skill-set harboured by the candidate.
    •  Credit checks: Reviewing a person’s credit history, gives an overall view regarding loans, payment history, unpaid bills, bankruptcies, and many more. This becomes extremely important for candidates who want to secure jobs in some financial segments.
    • Driving records: This gives information regarding the mobility of candidates, suspensions, and driving history.
    • Drug screening: Careful research on the drug history of the candidate (use of illicit drugs) will help maintain a much safer and productive environment.
    •  Sex offender list: An important area to look upon to maintain a safer work environment.
    •  Medical records: Having a clear understanding of the employee’s medical limitations is an essential part of offering the job to the candidate.

    How to do background checks?

    Some rules must be in place before the organization goes for a background check of its employees or recent hires. So, some of the mandatory steps in going forward with this procedure are:

    •  Have a consistent company policy regarding the entire procedure: Having a well-documented policy regarding the procedure reduces confusion and the entire process goes on smoothly and also all the legal requirements about the entire procedure become clear.
    • Getting legal advice and checking with the company’s insurance: Not all information is to be unearthed while doing a background check, so this can land the firm in some legal soups. So, to avoid this, the firm must always contact a lawyer that can guide the firm in the right direction and help avoid such sticky situations.
    • Notify the applicants/employees before going on with the procedure: The employee must give written consent for some kind of background research that the company does and thus this also gives the candidates a fair warning and can also help in eliminating certain candidates who know that they will get disqualified once the background check process is in place.
    • Use third-party background check services that are FCRA compliant: The FCRA provides clear, written rules of what can and cannot be included in a background check, and thus hiring third-party services that are FCRA compliant is a safer bet.
    • Conduct the background check and do not form some kind of prejudice regarding the applicant beforehand.
    • Be extremely cautious with the entire process and review the findings: Do not take the process to be a boring mundane routine task and do the process diligently. Even after getting the results, try to get to the bottom of it and not just make up biases in the mind.
    • Give the applicant the chance to clear up the misunderstandings: Not all the information obtained in the background research is correct, give the applicant the chance to clear if any such misunderstanding occurs, and thus it can help the company to save up on a great employee.
    • Save the records: It is pertinent that the company stores the background reports of all the employees for 1 year so that it can serve as tangible proof in case any applicant asks for their report.

    It is correctly put that the workforce is the backbone of a good organization. Doing comprehensive background research is a must for every company to raise good and retain good talent, improve the work culture and thus get the maximum return. With informed hiring decisions, any company can reach the pinnacles of success and achieve its business goals.  

  • Protected: Recruitment Process

    This content is password-protected. To view it, please enter the password below.

  • What are the key aspects of a successful talent acquisition leader?

    The job market is extremely competitive. Organizations are always striving for acquiring the best talent from the pool of candidates to be the best fit for their job. Getting the right fit for a job can be a complex and time-consuming task. What is needed for its success is a competent authority who knows the technical know-how not only of the hiring process but also of the various engagement and retention-centric activities related to the employees.

    This brings us to the significance of HR leaders. HR leaders, in today’s times, are not only responsible for hiring the employees and retaining them but they also have an overall organizational significance. HR leaders can be anyone in the department belonging to any level of the work hierarchy. They can be entry-level recruiters, tactical level motivation managers, strategic level employee relation specialists, so on and so forth. 

    Through statistics and observational study, it is found that effective HR leaders have proven to be one of the most important assets to ensure high productivity in the organization in this time of stringent competition. At a point where finding and retaining the perfect skill-set for the organization while also maintaining cost-effectiveness is one of the biggest significances of an HR leader.

    As the necessary mention of suitable skill-set surfaces over and over again, the concept of hiring automatically becomes important. Whenever we mention hiring, the first word that strikes our mind is recruitment. And most obviously so. While it is needless to mention that a competent and skilled recruiter is detrimental to finding the right person for the right job, it should always be noted that a talent acquisition leader is also of specific utility to any organization.

    A talent acquisition leader happens to be one of the most important HR leaders that an organization in today’s scenario requires. Hence it becomes important to have a comprehensive understanding of who a talent acquisition leader is, what are his key skills, and what is of utmost value to the organization.

    A recruiter and a talent acquisition leader co-exist and work in interdependency to fulfill the HR needs of a company. Recruitment can both focus on the long-term as well as short-term goals of an organization. Talent acquisition on the other hand specifically focuses on the long-term needs and goals of an organization. Besides, the process of talent acquisition aims to target very particular skill sets that add value to the mentioned organization.

    Let us have a quick look at who a talent acquisition leader is.

    WHO IS A TALENT ACQUISITION LEADER?

    A talent acquisition leader is someone who heads a continuous and ongoing hiring process in an organization. This hiring process goes on irrespective of the existing vacancies in the organization. A talent acquisition leader makes sure that the broader organizational perspective is taken into account. This means that the talent acquisition manager specifically works to meet the long-term goals or the long-term needs of the company. This includes looking for specific skill-sets that cater to organizational needs.

    It is a fierce marketplace where the hiring scene is increasingly aggressive. In a situation like that, the work of a talent acquisition leader is not only important to an organization. It is also very competitive and intense. The talent acquisition leader always has to be on the grind for spotting and acquiring the best talents that suit the particular needs of the organization. In a position where companies struggle with talent management, the role of a talent acquisition leader is unsubstitutable. 

    NEED OF A TALENT ACQUISITION LEADER

    A talent acquisition leader has multifaceted advantages to a company. It spots the best talent, helps attain long-term organizational goals, and also helps a great deal in economizing on time. The needs and job descriptions of a talent acquisition leader are vast and diverse. 

    1. The TA leader is responsible for planning, developing, and maintaining a productive and attainable talent acquisition strategy for the company.
    2. He/she should devise a strategy so economic that it saves time and is also cost-efficient.
    3. He/She should investigate the current needs of the employees.
    4. The TA leader should also identify the long-term needs of the company and which skill-sets align with them.
    5. He/she should devise not only a productive but also a sustainable plan.
    6. He/she should be in charge of setting up branding activities by involving the current employees.
    7. A talent acquisition leader should plan employee referral programs.
    8. He/She should be in complete charge of sourcing the candidates from all sources available.
    9. Devise end-to-end solutions for a successful selection process.
    10. Create a model to track and review employee grievances in addition to addressing them.

    KEY SKILLS OF A TALENT ACQUISITION LEADER

    A successful talent acquisition leader should have several skills that make him good at his job. Since the TA leader works closely with the human resources of the organization, he/she should primarily be a people person. This is to say that the person has to be believable, gullible, and a good listener. If the employees do not see the TA leader as one of their own, the rate of success of talent acquisition becomes relatively low.

    A talent acquisition leader has to hone his/her skills and these skills are not mandatorily inherent. Most of them are polished by experience and knowledge. However, possessing these skills is extremely important to be a successful talent acquisition manager.

    Communication skills

    Talent acquisition is a people-centric job and hence the ability to communicate effectively through verbal, written or non-verbal communication is of utmost importance. A TA leader is a bridge between the employees and the organization. Hence he/she should have the ability to effectively communicate, and negotiate with the employees. Communication skills include inter-organizational communication, communication through social media as well as body language, and non-verbal cues.

    Active-listening

    Active listening is an advanced skill that talent acquisition leaders must possess. This is highly significant for face-to-face conversations or situations where decision-making is involved. In a fast-paced world like this, employees and candidates have a fragmented presence. Active listening will allow the TA leader to join the dots and figure out information that does not meet the eye.

    Broader Perspective

    A talent acquisition leader should always be long-sighted. Being a manager who attempts to fulfill long-term goals, the TA leader should always take the whole picture into account before planning strategies. He/she should be far-sighted enough to look beyond the immediate vacancies and needs and create an effective talent pipeline.

    Interpersonal Skills

    Building a good candidate experience is of utmost importance to present-day employers. Good candidate experience does not only improve the employer branding but also largely helps in employee retention which is again, one of the biggest goals of talent acquisition. Hence, the TA leader’s interpersonal skills come in handy. This means that he/she should be able to create a good and positive rapport with the employees. Good interpersonal skills also pertain to effective communication and gullibility.

    Empathy

    No wonder AI is swiftly taking over the traditional workplace. No matter how technically advanced and accurate that is, it still lacks the human element. That on the lacking side worsens candidate experience. An empathetic talent acquisition leader ensures that the candidates feel that their real challenges and issues are being heard and taken into account.

    Analytical Skills

    In a world that has become primarily data-driven, having analytical skills is extremely important to a talent acquisition leader. Having said that, it is noteworthy to mention that analytical skills are not just the ability to read data. It is also the ability to process and analyze this data to implement it effectively.

    WRAPPING UP

    Standing in 2020, when companies need the best talents to keep their productivity at pace, a talent acquisition leader is one of the most important positions in an organization. Honed with social skills, emotional intelligence, and analytical knowledge, a talent acquisition leader can be detrimental to a company’s success.

    By Gestalt, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Talent Acquisition Leaders look at that whole to continue their work.

    To get more such information and insights about HR, click here.