[MUSIC] Applicant testing comes in many shapes and sizes. We see many methods and lots of different techniques. This does not have to be one size fits all, this can be a multitude of things. We can see in-house or possibly external resources. When we talk about external resources, we're talking about systems that are already in place, maybe a DiSC assessment, maybe a Myers-Briggs test. For both of those cases, those would be personality tests. So we would have our candidates take those to see how they scaled or how they scored, what types of personalities they would work best with. And then the flip side, what types of personalities or maybe where they would possibly have issues with other coworkers or projects or what might stress them out. When we talk about in-house testing, one of my favorite examples is a position we were hiring for within a nonprofit space. This was a communication entry level position. Within this position this person would be sending out tweets, they would be posting Facebook, Instagram about different events and things going on. So what we did was we had an initial round of phone screens with both the hiring manager and myself. After those interviews were done, we took our top. It was actually eight candidates, which is quite a bit, and we gave them all this trust. So we gave them the information, brochures, and web address of a program that we run every year. And then we asked them A, how they would communicate this on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, to give us an example of what that posting would look like. And then we asked them for a little write up our synopsis that they would send out to board members and member organizations. So this is to try to assess their understanding, their communication style. And when I tell you that it drastically altered the candidates that we selected to go through to the finals, I couldn't explain that more. The front runners prior to this test were not the front runners at the end of this test. And the individual that we ended up choosing, she is still there, she's still going strong, she's really grown a lot in her career. And it was just a tremendous, tremendous onboarding experience. So in this case that was brilliant, and yields to this next bullet where that was a certain position that we ran that through. When I talked before about Myers-Briggs or DiSC assessment personality test, those in my experience, we've run those across the board. So that hasn't been a certain position or certain higher, that was just for everyone. So we can see in one case or another case or all the way across the board or any myriad there within. We talk about resources, some of the HRIS systems and platforms that we have actually have different functions and different applicant testing built into them. So in some cases, as a recruiter, that applicant testing is actually already done as you're getting that resume. So you're getting that resume and possibly those testing skill sets at the same time. The next time we see that is during the interview process. So the example that I gave you with the in-house candidate for the communications job that would be an example of during an interview process. For myself, I've had two personal experiences with this, there was a job a million years ago where I had to take an Excel assessment test. I'm pretty sure I probably failed that [LAUGH]. You can use it in the base formats, but as far as coding and all these other crazy things that I didn't even know I know there were pivot tables. So that got very much so into the weeds and probably was not my best testing abilities. But another one I had was in the HR space. So I was given a new law that was coming out, and I was asked to write a synopsis of how I would communicate that to members. So that's an example of it during the interview process. And that's also an example of an in house that was specific to one position. So we can see again a multitude of how we could utilize this testing. And then finally, how do we place value on those tests? And who are we sharing that with? So it's probably likely HR and the hiring manager. That was the case with the in-house specific test. And then when we go across the board, like at my last company, everyone was aware of everyone's DiSC color and personality association. So it really is just dependent on the organization and how you're utilizing those tests. When we look at the type of applicant testing, we can certainly start with aptitude. So aptitude tests are going to take into account your abilities and your reactions. One of the best examples I can give you for this is air traffic controller. They really test these poor folks because that is a high stress, high volume job. And so that's where we're going to see something like an aptitude test. You wouldn't necessarily have that great results or need that kind of a testing for, let's say, an office job as an administrative assistant or similar. Personalities test, this is going to be like the DiSC assessment I was talking about in the prior slide. Certainly, I'm assuming you would all be familiar, or at least have heard of Myers-Briggs. So this is another personality test, and this is where they're just going to dig into what type of personality you are, what attributes shine through, what places you work best, and then also what personalities you work best with. When we go to the skills test, this is going to measure the type and the level of skill that you have. So some basic easy ones to kind of gather this understanding is going to be like a typing or maybe an Excel test. I know I took an Excel test a million years ago, I'm pretty sure I fell, I'm not sure [LAUGH]. But I don't even remember what the job was, I just remember going through it and feeling so stressed out. Another example of a skills test is going to be the in-house test that I talked about in our last slide as well, where we had individuals take that communications kind of our example test. Another case where I have taken a skill test is one of the HR jobs that I was applying for, what they did was they gave us a law. And then we had to basically boil it down on how we would communicate that with our members. So this was a member organization. So basically, I had to write a synopsis of what kind of communication I would be drafting to send out to those members. So that's a great example of a skills test that would be directly applicable to HR. When we get into emotional intelligence, we're talking about relationship management. So maintaining that control over your emotions regardless of what stressors you may see in the workplace. And Berke assessment is one of the examples of that emotional IQ test, if you will. Finally, physical ability. So this is going to measure physical ability. We would not have a physical ability tests for an office job or we should not at least, you possibly get sued. But where we see these, is going to be when we talk about first responders. So the firefighters, They're required to go through physical ability test. Certainly the police are required to go through physical ability tests, and in some cases they may be required to re verify those trusts at some point as well. So these are just some of the examples of the African testing. pre-employment screenings come in a variety of shapes and sizes. One size definitely doesn't fit all. We do see similarities depending upon the industry. But we may see differences within each organization. So in some cases it's just going to be a matter of what they've been doing. And in other cases, it's going to be what is required by the industry that they're in. So we're going to dig into some of those examples in the next slide. But just to give you an overall idea when we talk about background checks, if we dig in to make into education, we definitely have requirements that we must do as far as what those screenings are. So when I talk about the different examples, that's what we're going to dig into. Most companies will use a background check organization to run that. That is the safest ,they have measures in place to make sure it's above board, that it is specific to the requirements of the state and maybe even different states that you're doing screenings in. So we're going to dig into those a little bit more, another aspect of pre-employment screening or references. So are you conducting references and if so, how many? This is an interesting kind of topic, and my personal belief is that it's not really a value, because certainly you're not going to give me three references of people that are not happy with your work or your work product. However, there have been interesting cases of times where I have learned something from those references that I wouldn't have otherwise known. So I definitely see both sides, and we will see some organizations, or you will experience some organizations where they still place a lot of emphasis on this, and then we have other organizations that don't do them at all. For me and my current role, they do place a lot of emphasis on these references. They do ask for at least three, and even when we're using a recruiter to fill positions we're not allowing the recruiter to do those reference tracks, but we're doing them ourselves in house. So that's just one example of how those work overall, how do we assign values to these checks? And then why do we do them? I have had cases where the reference checks have not come back favorable. I have had cases where I couldn't get one of the references to reach back out or contact me or respond to me. And when we've asked for an additional reference, that person wasn't able to to furnish one. So that's not an uncommon practice, but in a specific case for a position with my last company and it was a senior manager level position, so it definitely wasn't an entry level. There was a lot of work experience for that individual, but he just couldn't furnish us with three references that would contact us. So I had had some lingering questions from the the interview process. But my VP was full steam ahead, however, when this came to light and we had worked for several weeks to try to come up with three references when that wasn't happening, we we had to say goodbye to that candidate, so there is definitely value in there. But that's something that you have to assess with your team and with your HR and sometimes too, with your hiring manager. Within background checks, you definitely want to be careful of the laws and regulations. So those maybe statewide or it may be the yours. As an entirety. As long as you're using a good, reputable source to run your background checks, that's going to be taken care of. So just some examples would be higher, right? Maybe good. Higher. I know. ADP also runs background tracks. There's a ton out there. These are just the three that I think I've most recently used. So that's why I'm pulling from them. So when we talk about what we're checking with those background checks probably my last organization was one of the most basic. We're really just checking to make sure that that Social Security number matches, and then what we're asking for is a prior address so that they can pull court records just looking for any possible convictions, and then, additionally, what we would go for as education to verify and vent that educational level. We did not put work into it as far as checking what your, if the dates and the company was accurate. But that is a common one that is also part of the background check. So I know with my current employer, that's definitely when they check and they go back 10 years. So you really have to be knowledgeable on those dates. Sometimes we all I mean, 10 years ago when I was coming through to get hired here. I know they asked me about one of the dates because I just honestly couldn't remember. So I think if there's a life lesson I have for you is to take better notes are better care with the dates, at least for yourself. But then, obviously, the opposite side of that is giving those candidates that you're working with some leeway. Something that's not long ago. Sometimes we often forget what that time is. When I talk about how a safeguard, this is really by using, as I said, a reputable brand or organization to be running a background check and if we did not need a piece of background checked. We do not. We should not do it. So the best example that I can give you here is there would be no need to check anyone's credit. Who was going to work as let's say an agent or representative like there's no reason to check your credit. However, if we are hiring, let's say, a controller or VP of finance. We definitely would add a credit check to that that background check process. And we would also have an additional form that that individual would sign off on approving that background check. Which kind of leads us into the next point, which is forms and documents? The background check organization that you use should already provide those forms to you or for you and should update them in accordance with what changes are going on in our legal system. So in the case, they just provided to you. If you're working with a high level financial position, you're not only going to have that initial background check sign off sheet, but you would have an additional at least addendum to that, giving you the that person's approval to check their credit in that particular case again. If it's a position that doesn't need it, an admin assistant or something, or even a manager and say quality or biology, we would have no reason whatsoever to run them product. There is absolutely no reason to have that. Yeah, So when we talk about specialized background checks, one of the examples that I just gave you, for someone high level finance, we would definitely want to do a credit check and then driving record. So if you have a position where they're driving a million years ago, I worked for Quest Diagnostics. So within quest, we had driving phlebotomist. So those are the folks that draw blood and things of that nature. And then we had other folks that were driving in those positions we did have to have their driving record to make sure that they were okay to drive that there were no convictions are similar And then additionally, what we would have to do is really verify that driving record every so often. So we see this as well in education. Some of the consulting work that I've done is in education, and some of those components or programs have driving as part of that as far as taking the students from extra to why, in those cases, not only do we need to do that driving background to run that license. But then we also need to re verify every so often so that we're in compliance with our insurance. The components of our offer letter. We certainly want to describe the position. So we're looking for the title. We're looking for the location who their supervisor is often times I include the title of that supervisor. Certainly we need compensation information. How much are we paying? What that pay period looks like. So, for example, what we're going to see is a statement that would be like, you're going to be paid $25 per hour paid in accordance with our standard pay periods of once a month or every other week, whatever that might be. But we need to make some sort of statement to reflect when that pay period is and how they can expect that. Additionally, and on that same path, we need some sort of statement that explains that those salary that wage is applicable to standard taxation. So that's what that statement is about. There's just little nuances that we need to be able to make sure are part of that compensation sentence or maybe a few sentences. Following in line with that is the FLSA status. So this is of utmost importance. Fair Labor Standards Act status. So what this means is we're either looking at exempt or non exempt. Exempt employees most often what we're going to see is an annual base salary. You're going to be paid $50,000 annually. That doesn't need your paid only once a year. But that means that that's what that pay periods are based off of versus our nonexempt employees. These are going to be hourly employees who are eligible for overtime and subsequently possibly double time. Exempt employees are not eligible for overtime ever. Ever, never. So it doesn't matter if they're working 30 hours a week or if they're working 130 they're going to be paid that same rate versus our nonexempt folks if they're working 30 they're getting paid for 30 hours. If they're working 80 they're getting paid for 80 hours. So that's what they're that differences, and that is absolutely imperative to have as part of the offer letter. Additionally, that item should have also been on your job description as well. Hence my building next we get into bonus. This may or may not be applicable just as equity and stock. But if there are terms with regards to that that are part of the offer, we want to specify those. We don't need to get into the nitty gritty we can refer to, let's say, a bonus plan document or a stock equity plan document, but at least to be able to say that you are eligible for this annual bonus at 10%. And then usually some other language that it's not a guarantee, but it's part of this annual plan so on and so forth. We're going to do a similar take on the benefits. We don't need to get into the nitty gritty as far as Aetna Health Plan X or dental plan Y. What we want is a general statement that with this position, you are benefits eligible. Your effective date is the first of the month following hire date or whatever that might be. But that's what we're looking for as far as benefits. Certainly we can attach an additional document or any additional documents. Another item that we want to make sure that we have in that offer letter is an at will statement. So outside of Montana, every state recognizes these, and what this means is your employment is not guaranteed for any specific duration time, what have you? The company is able to let you go with or without cause or notice. And then the flip side of that is that as the employee, you are able to leave with or without notice as well. So that's really what that encompasses. When we look at contingencies that may be another component of the offer letter if there are contingencies associated with that. So let's say this offer is made based on your successful passing of our background check, that may be one of the contingencies. Contact information for questions. I can't tell you how many times I've seen offer letters that's fill out all these details and all these items. And then there's no one to contact if you have a question or an issue. So we want to make sure that that's in there and that that's clear. And then finally instructions for acceptance. Covid has made this somewhat interesting. In that everything that I've done since Covid has been via Doc, you sign. I have a feeling we're going to continue down that path. It is much easier in my opinion and basically what they do is they get the email. The instructions are in there, they get to consider it and then sign it if they accept it. Outside of that, if you have another path or mantic for that, that's truly fine. But you just want to make sure that the instructions for that acceptance are clear and that the candidate will understand what's required. We've already gone over the key components of the offer letter, but what we need to look at now is may be dependent on the position may be dependent on the industry, there may be other necessary items that we need to include. If we look, for example, at a school teacher a lot of times in their offer letters and in their contracts, it's required that they are in attendance for the first few days of school. Sometimes there's a week of testing or similar somewhere in the middle of the school year and then also at the end of the school. So I know when I've done consulting work in that educational field, we've had to build that into the offer letter, so that wouldn't necessarily be a component that I would need to build in for a laboratory worker. But that's definitely a component that's specific to that position. So just think about those things when you think about your industry or what or whom this offer letter is for. Then we need to talk about the other documentation required within the packet. In my past experience, we did have legal packets that we needed to send out with the offer letters. So not only are you signing off on the offer letter, but you're signing off on things like a proprietary agreement. The At-will agreement. It just depends on how your organization runs. Additionally, usually after I received the offer letter back, that's when I would send that background check authorization form. The background check authorization form often times has things like date of birth and social security, so we wouldn't want to see that prior to the offer being signed. That may be one of those documents that you send off with your offer letter. Another one is going to be probably a benefits guide or similar. So we talked about in the prior slide, going over some of the basics. As far as you will be eligible for benefits, say, the first of the month following higher or maybe the date you hire, whatever that is. But this is an opportunity for us to give them more information. So if you have an annual benefits guide or similar, we would be able to include that with the offer letter. And then who are you interfacing with? And how are you selecting the candidates start date.? There's a myriad of things that you can do in this. So maybe your start dates coincide with your pay period. Maybe your start dates are just simply every Monday. Maybe it's the first of the month Who, whatever that might be. But definitely you want to interface with your hiring manager to make sure that they are also on board with that. There's been tons of cases where they were on vacation or possibly at a seminar. So we had to adjust that start date a little bit, so that we knew that both of those parties would be in town for that. Once we get past the offer letter and have given that out to the candidate, that's when we jump into negotiations. I've been doing this a lot lately. The market has definitely changed within the last six months, maybe even shorter than that, four months. And I know it's dependent on industry, but right now, for my industry, we are definitely in the candidates market. They are getting multiple offers. They have very specific requests. And so it's really about that negotiation process so that you can get that employee that you really wanted that was your top pick on with your company. So when we talk about negotiating, we can look at a multitude of things, but definitely my first suggestion is to leave room within that negotiation. So if your top line budget is $100,000 you don't necessarily want to go in with that offer because then you have nowhere to go. So if you want, it might be safe to go in with 90,000, maybe 92, 500 just so that you have that space. If you're working with a recruiter or you know from the candidate that what they are looking at is at least 95, don't go lower than the 95 as long as you can. And then let's come in at the 95, then let's see if we need to go up where from there. If we can't leverage financial, if we don't have any more budget, then what else can we possibly give? So often times time off is one of the easier items, and it's not about adjusting how your PTO works or how it accrues. But maybe it's something where you can deposit say 40 hours into their PTO bank upon start. So they're starting off with a positive balance, and they don't have to wait forever to accrue it. In general terms, in my experience, that PTO is something that accrues each pay period. So that initial deposit would definitely be a benefit and something that wouldn't necessarily cost you money of the top or come out of your salary budget. Certainly equity and stock, so if you're in a public company and you have that ability, that's a great place to do it. Bonus, maybe increasing that bonus percentage or possibly offering a bonus. This doesn't have to necessarily be an annual bonus. Maybe it's a meeting of the minds, as far as I can't come to that $95,000 or 95,000 year salary. But maybe what I can do is bring you to 90,000, and then offer you a $5,000 sign-on bonus. So it's really about seeing how you can negotiate and seeing how you can kind of be flexible within the parameters that you have. And maybe it's about other benefits, maybe they're looking for more flexibility within their workspace. We've talked a lot throughout the various modules about that that is at the top of the game right now, because of everything that we've learned and experienced through COVID. So maybe it's a benefit of childcare. Maybe it's a benefit of, maybe it's a reduction in hours. We're seeing a lot of folks that don't necessarily want to work five days anymore. So maybe it's somebody that wants to work four days, so just really kind of be open to that and what's going to make the candidate happy? And then prior to getting back to that candidate, you want to vet those possibilities with the hiring manager. Don't just unilaterally make a decision, it's about getting everybody on the same page. So for me, at least in my past experience, what I would do is negotiate, see where the candidate wanted to be or what they were asking for. And then reach out to my boss, who is the CFO, chief financial officer and then circle back with the department VP and supervisor. I wanted all of us to be on the same page before I extended that offer or revised to that offer. We want the offer process and those negotiations to be in line with our current comps. So when I say that I'm talking about the folks that we already have working for us, maybe other offers that we've extended, but we want to make sure that they're all in mind. We don't want to go wacky, tacky for any reason whatsoever. And hopefully we have done that preparation within those planning stages. So we talked about this a couple of modules back, and that's why this is important. So let's get those ducks in a row initially so that when we go into this position, we know where we're going. We know what that salary ranges, everyone has signed off on it. Everyone is representative of that. And if it's not in line of those internal comps, then what is it that it sets it apart? So maybe you initially posting for a manager, but the candidate that you truly love is already a senior manager. Certainly we would not want to dial that individual back. They would not be happy. They would not stay with us long-term, so what can we do? So in that case, maybe we need to bump the position to that higher level and then adjust it from within. When we talk about other outside of the box here with internal comps, maybe it's education. So if you have two candidates vying for the same position and one is, let's say, a masters level and the other one is an MD, we're going to have to pay that MD more money. It's just the way it works. Often a joke that we have an MD tax, those MD positions are way higher than any other positions, and they're certainly going to be higher even than other PhDs. So it really is just going to depend on what that is. So we may see two positions within one organization where one individual is a medical doctor and then the other individual is not. We are going to see a difference or a disparity within those salaries. That is okay, because that education is that supportive element in that case. Maybe it's experience. So maybe you have two folks in as a quality control managers and maybe one is newer, has five years of experience, and maybe the other one has over 20 years of experience. In that case, we are going to see a difference with the pay with that person that has the 20 years of experience. Again, that's just the way it goes, you pay for what you get in those respects. And oftentimes those individuals have seen an experience so much that they can offer other attributes and assets to your company that maybe the person with less experience wouldn't necessarily have. And then maybe it's additional certifications. So maybe you're coming in. I know that when I'm hiring for clinical, this just happened and it happened not too long ago within regulatory as well. Were with the individuals that were coming through for those jobs also had other offsets. In both cases, they were also registered nurses working in an oncology space. So as a bio-attack that is producing an oncology drug or working on oncology drug trials. It is absolutely tremendous to find someone that not only can do the work saying clinical or regulatory or whatever that department is. But then have that additional licensure of a nurse and has worked in practical nursing experience and able to actually apply that to the job. So in that case, we may see and we did see an increase in salary because those added certifications were part of that individual's qualifications. [SOUND]
