In the course of my litigation cases, I’ve had a good-natured argument at times with a few counsel who represent employees about the mindset of employers. The argument I’ve heard from them is that employers are too cavalier in firing employees and just go about hiring someone else (someone younger, they argue).
But what I’ve heard from my clients over the years is something different.
Typically, the decision to fire an employee is tough, made only after a series of internal conversations. Employees with performance issues weigh on the supervisor’s minds — the struggle between trying to help the employee improve while still making sure that the needs of the business get done.
Mostly they get it right. But firing a poor performer doesn’t typically solve the issues for employers. Rather, they then need to find the RIGHT person to fill that position.
Hiring the right person is hard. Just the process of searching for that person can sometimes feel like the proverbial needle in the haystack. Online resumes come in by the dozen and business pressures make it difficult for employers to just find the time to parse through the resumes and interview candidates.
The headaches with hiring have only gotten worse over the last decade as well.
New laws have been put in place that place restrictions on what employers can and cannot ask and when they can ask those questions. And further restrictions on things like non-compete agreements in certain professions make hiring the right person all the more important.
For example, “Ban the Box” is now the law in Connecticut. Have you amended your employment applications to address this issue? Restrictions on the use of credit reports were put in a few years ago. Have you revised your process accordingly? And how can you search social media without running afoul of laws that ban “shoulder surfing”? Do you give employees an “offer letter” that outlines the terms of their employment as Connecticut law requires?
I’ve talked about some of these things in prior posts, but I’m going to expound upon it further at our firm’s upcoming Labor & Employment Law seminar later this month. You can register for the program here; space is very limited at this point.
Are there other topics related to hiring that you’d like to hear addressed at the seminar or on the blog? Be sure to post a comment so we can incorporate that in our free presentation.