How a Search Committee Could Benefit Your Organization

Understanding when to use a search committee enables it to become a valuable part of your recruiting efforts.

Steve has been very busy in his efforts to hire somebody for a high profile position within his organization. After spending endless hours sifting through resumes, conducting initial phone interviews, doing on-site interviews, and making the final hiring decision, Steve has finally hired a qualified candidate named Jeff. There was no argument that Jeff was qualified for the position, but Steve was only one opinion and only one view point. Within a few weeks of hiring Jeff, it was apparent to everyone around that Steve had missed something. Although qualified, Jeff was not a cultural fit for the organization. In fact, Jeff was pushing all the wrong buttons and going in all the wrong directions. Jeff was not a fit for the organization and Steve had to let him go. It was now time for Steve to begin the time consuming and costly hiring process all over again.

Could the above situation have been avoided? Maybe not entirely, but the likelihood of it happening could have been greatly reduced if Steve had utilized a search committee in his recruiting efforts.

What is a search committee?

A search committee is a group of individuals gathered together for the purpose of assisting an administrator or hiring manager in recruiting and screening candidates for a vacant position.

Why would I use a search committee?

By forming a search committee, the hiring manager is able to harness the large amount of work that comes with reviewing resumes, conducting initial interviews, and doing on-site interviews. In addition, a search committee provides consistency in reviewing each candidate and the entire hiring process benefits from having multiple perspectives.

When should I use a search committee?

It is best to utilize a search committee when hiring for senior level administrative positions and positions that will have a high public relations impact on your organization.

Who should be a part of a search committee?

Search committee's should be formed with the idea of having a diversity of ideas, opinions, and perceptions. Members of a search committee should include:

1. People who have valued knowledge about the vacant position
2. People who are respected
3. Representatives from areas that the new hire will impact
4. Representative from both genders
5. People of different races and cultural backgrounds

How many members should be on the search committee?

The size of the search committee should reflect the importance of the vacant position. With that being said, a search committee should not exceed 11 members nor have no fewer than three members. Keep in mind that the larger the search committee is, the more time it takes to complete the hiring process.

What are the duties of the search committee?

Search committee's should be active in:

• Determining a timeline for the hiring process
• Identifying where to advertise for the vacant position
• Conduct initial interviews
• Participate in on-site interviews
• Help determine which candidates will advance to each stage of the hiring process
• Help determine the final candidate selected to fill the vacant position

When utilizing a search committee to become part of the hiring process for a vacant position, you are opening a door to new ideas and perspectives. These different and sometimes new thoughts should be encouraged and discussed. It is the objective of the search committee to find and hire the candidate who no only can do the job, but would be the best fit for the organization and the culture within.

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5 Factors To Keep In Mind For Background Checks

Compliance Tips for Employee Background Checks

When it comes to background checks and credit checks, healthcare employers, like those in other regulated industries, have to comply with a myriad of regulations. Not only do healthcare employers have to follow the same background check laws that apply to any employer, but additional regulators such as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) also come into play, and even certain sections of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have specific implications for healthcare background screening.

As you review your background screening process and policies, here are five key factors to keep in mind.

●        Be Mindful of ‘Ban the Box’

In case you’re not familiar already, “Ban the Box” is an initiative that provides applicants a fair chance by removing the conviction history question on job applications and delaying the background check inquiry until later in the hiring process. Although not all areas are affected by these policies, over 100 cities and states have adopted them and last November, President Obama issued an executive order “banning the box” for federal employees. “Ban the Box” has very much become a nationwide movement and employers should be extremely mindful of any state, federal, or local policies affecting them.

●        Don’t Use “Blanket” Exclusion Policies

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Enforcement Guidance on employers’ use of arrest and conviction records in hiring; employers must not establish blanket hiring policies disqualifying individuals with criminal histories. While employers can still conduct background checks, they should focus on the relevance of the criminal history to the position sought. The Guidance establishes performing individualized assessments as a best practice for compliance.

●        Follow FCRA Requirements for Using Consumer Reports

Any employer running criminal background checks must review and comply with the “Notice to Users of Consumer Reports,” a document revised by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) which establishes employers’ duties and responsibilities under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The document outlines that employers can only order background checks when there’s a permissible purpose, that they must make a proper disclosure, obtain consent, make specific certifications to a Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) – which includes third-party background check firms – and follow adverse action responsibilities.

●        Don’t Combine Disclosure/Authorization Forms With Anything Else

The disclosure requirement of the FCRA is a key area that has been under significant scrutiny in the last few years. Employers must make a proper disclosure to the applicant and obtain consent. The disclosure has to be on a separate stand-alone document unencumbered by extraneous information. This means employers should steer away from adding extra verbiage to it or combining it with the employment application.

●        Run Comprehensive Exclusion Checks on all Healthcare Personnel

According to OIG’s Special Advisory Bulletin issued in May 2013, healthcare employers cannot make payments to excluded personnel. The Advisory Bulletin established monthly screening of the OIG List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE) as a best practice. Checking the LEIE, however, is not enough. Section 6501 of the ACA requires states to terminate any individual or entity if they are terminated under Medicare or any other Medicaid State Plan. For healthcare employers, this means that screening all providers and staff against all publicly available state Medicaid exclusion lists is the recommended best practice for ACA compliance.

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Truth about Employee Referrals

Employee referral programs can be effective, but they must allow for personal accountability.

Tina has been working in her current position for about three years. About six months ago, Tina’s friend Amy was hired into the organization. This hire was based largely on Tina’s referral. Amy was happy to have a job and Tina enjoyed the $100 bonus she received due to the organizational employee referral program. However, things have changed. Amy’s performance is not very impressive and the organization is talking about terminating her employment by the end of the week. In conjunction with Amy’s poor performance, the organization has begun looking at Tina in a different light. Tina’s supervisors have started being more critical of her performance and she is feeling the pressure. Nothing in Tina’s performance has changed for the negative since Amy’s hire, but the perception of Tina has been affected.

Employee referral is an internal recruitment method employed by organizations to identify potential candidates from their existing employees’ social networks. An employee referral program encourages a company's existing employees to select and recruit the suitable candidates from their social networks. Typically, when a new hire is brought into the organization and an employee referral was the source of that hire, then the referring employee would receive some sort of “reward” (monetary, gift card, event tickets, etc.) for that referral. This type of program usually works well as social connections already exist as does a certain level of trust.

• Documentation – An employee referral program needs to be detailed and in writing.

• Expectations – It is important that each employee understand the type of person and the character of a person the organization is looking for.

• Personal Accountability – When somebody is referred and hired into an organization, that organization must hold the newly hired employee and the original employee accountable for their own performance. If the newly hired employee does not perform well, then that cannot be a representation of the original employee. This accountability should begin with the first interview. The referral got the person into the door, but from then on, it is up to the individual to get the job and, if hired, perform well.

There is however, another side of employee referrals that has become an issue in recent years. When a company hires somebody who another employee has referred, far too often, the fate of both employees become intertwined. If the new employee does well, then the organization will look favorable upon the original employee. However, if the newly hired employee’s performance falters, then the organization begins to think differently and more critically about the original employee. This is big reason why people, in general, hesitate referring anybody to their organization. If somebody works in an organization knows of a job opening within that organization, they are most likely going to stay quiet about it. Staying quiet is a lot safer for them and their job status. Rather than risk “rocking-the-boat” the employee will look away as unemployed and talented people around them look for a job.

If you want to have a successful employee referral program, then these are the attributes that must be a part of it:

If your organization has an effective employee referral program, then it will be a valuable tool for you to use when filling open positions. Happy and energetic employees will refer people they know and this could bring in new employees who have wonderful talents and will contribute greatly to the success of your organization.

For more information or questions on this topic, please feel free to email me at jhuff@hcsiinc.com

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Blending Talent Into Your Organization

Effectively blending or integrating new talent into your organization will help give you a competitive advantage.

Sue has completed the hiring process (Hire the Right Employee - http://bit.ly/1G30e1I) and felt that she has hired a person who will do the job well. She has followed all of the steps to ensure a successful onboarding process (Importance of New Hire Orientation - http://bit.ly/1PdccbP) and is happy with the results. At this point the employee is doing okay, but something is not right. The new employee appears to be a fit, but things are not working as smoothly as she had hoped they would, but she cannot figure out why.

This situation that Sue is having, is one that many organizations find themselves in quite often. Yes, a good candidate was hired and the on-boarding process went well. However, this new employee has not yet been integrated into the organization. There is a difference between onboarding and integrating. Both the on-boarding and integrating processes should be done when a new hire is brought into the organization, somebody is promoted into a management position, or an employee takes a job into a different department then where they were previously.

Where on-boarding is intended to help new employees gain the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviors to become effective members of your organization. This process is typically more mechanical and routine than a true process of personal and social integration with a development approach. Talent integration involves a more formal, developmentally focused transition plan to help the employee integrate into the organization. This process usually covers the first six months in the employees’ new role and is intended to reduce the time for those new to their roles to become productive contributors and shorten the learning curve in order to quickly secure them to the organization.

The four core elements of an effective talent integration include, but are not limited to:

• A purposeful discussion between the new staff and their immediate supervisor within the first few days of hire to define clear expectations regarding job performance and key expected results, and to discuss how best to establish a working relationship.
• Coaching for new managers, best done with an external/neutral executive/performance coach, to support the transition, especially if new skills are needed.
• Identify the new employees’ competencies, strengths, and talents so that they may be integrated and best utilized for the success of the organization.
• Regular feedback meetings, monthly at a minimum, focusing on what is going well, where the person is challenged, what their ideas are, what they could use for help, etc. These discussions are dialogues and interactive in nature, verses a monologue from the supervisor.

These methods will help develop strong relationships, support, and loyalty, talent integration helps retain employees, in addition to helping attract talent to your organization. Hiring the right employee and having a successful on-boarding process are very important, but so is knowing how to integrate that new talent into your organization.

For more information on this and other topics related to HR, HIPAA, OSHA, and Medicare, please emailsupport@hcsiinc.com or visit our website at http://www.hcsiinc.com

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Importance of New Hire Orientation

New hire orientation programs have a significant effect on the success of the new employee

It was Melissa’s first day at her new job. She was so excited for this new adventure, but also nervous! After being directed to her new workstation, she was handed an employee manual and was told to read it while the other employees went about their daily work. During lunch, Melissa was left to eat alone. After lunch, Melissa went back to reading the employee manual. For the remainder of the week, Melissa was told to do this and then that with little to no training to support her efforts. She made mistakes which made her more nervous than she was before. By the end of the week, the hiring manager was wondering if she had made a mistake and Melissa was thinking the same thing. Melissa quit the job at the end of the day on Friday.

With all of the resources invested in hiring a new employee, this is an example of how those resources were wasted. This was not Melissa’s fault, but rather the fault of the office for not having an effective new hire orientation program in place.

New hire employee orientation should provide new employees with the basic information such as policies and procedures, position specific training, individual mentoring, and organization integration.

• Policies and Procedures – Helping the new employee understand these basic rules will help them understand the organization, while knowing what is expected of them (behavior, attendance, organizational processes, etc.).
• Position Specific Training – In order to do their job effectively, a new employee must receive training that is designed for their specific position. During this training, expectations should be communicated as to what type of performance is expected from the person in this position.
• Individual Mentoring – Each new employee should be assigned a mentor for their first 30 days. This mentor is a current employee who is familiar with the position that the new employee is now in and is the person who the new employee turns to with any questions about the position or the organization. It is also the responsibility of the mentor to ensure that the new employee does not eat lunch alone during their first few days on the job.
• Organization Integration – Helping the new employee smoothly integrate into the organization and its culture is a vital part to having the new employee feel welcome and become productive quickly. This integration begins when the employee walks through the front doors for the first time. They should be warmly welcomed and introduced to everybody in the office where they will be working. It is also important to have their workstation setup for them specifically. This setup should include all technical items (email, workstation, network, etc.).

Having an effective new hire orientation program will help a new employee by reducing their jitters, their entry shock, and employee stress of the new employee. Putting them at ease early will help them become a functional and contributing member of the office quickly and smoothly.

For more information on this and other topics related to HR, HIPAA, OSHA, and Medicare, please email support@hcsiinc.com or visit our website at http://www.hcsiinc.com