Staffing Questions & Answers

HR Service Team recommends a three-prong approach to candidate selection.

1. Does the candidate have the right amount of experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities for the position being offered?
   • Too often, the focus is on the candidate’s accomplishments, not how the accomplishments were achieved. Asking the questions below can help you pinpoint the candidate’s experience and skill set.
     • How did the candidate identify work problems at their current or previous employer?
     • What factors were involved?
     • How did the candidate propose the correct course of action?
     • What actions did he/she take after they made their corrective action proposal?
2. What does the candidate expect about the position?
   • Is the position really what the candidate is looking for – or is it a stop-gap position until they find their dream job?
3. How does the candidate fit with your organization’s culture?
   • For example, if you have a fast-paced culture, but hire a candidate who needs to work in a slower-paced environment then chances are the candidate will fail. Ask yourself the question, “what type of environment is the candidate used to working in, and what type of environment would the candidate prefer?”

This approach produces a 3D view of the candidates, which provides you with a higher probability that you will pick the right candidate for your opening.

The staffing function touches on a multitude of legal complexities. Prior to 1930, there were few legal regulations that affected the Human Resource function (called Personnel back then). Below is a summary of major Staffing Legislation. To avoid legal mishaps, companies should have a formal, documented recruiting process. The recruiting process will outline the resume filtering process. The filtering process if not done properly, can create legal headaches. HR Service Team uses a six-box approach -- this approach captures the key components of the job such as:

Educational Requirements	Industry Experience	Key Competencies (soft skills)
Essential Job Duties	Team Interaction and Management Direction	Unique Position Requirements(e.g., travel, hours worked)

The recruiter (HR or hiring manager) filters resumes based on the six-box information. Resumes are flagged as follows:

1. Resume meets all the job requirements
2. Resume meets some but not all job requirements
3. Resume does not meet the job requirements

This process ensures that candidates are selected based on their skills, knowledge, and ability.

Major Staffing Legislation

Title	Provisions
Civil Rights Act of 1866	Gives all citizens the same rights as “white citizens.”
Civil Rights Act of 1871	Guarantees all citizens the right to equal protection under the law. Makes it illegal for two or more persons to conspire to deprive any person or class of persons of the right of equal protection under the law.
National Labor Relations Act of 1935	Gives employees the right to form union, bargain collectively, and engage in other activities for their mutual aid and protection. Requires employers to bargain in good faith with unions in matters of wages, hours of work, and other terms and conditions of employment. Establishes mechanisms and procedures for conducting elections to determine if employees wish to be represented by a union or which of two competing unions will be certified as bargaining agent. Defines unfair labor practices on part of employer. Establishes the National Labor Relation Board.
Social Security Act of 1935, as amended	Creates system of old age, survivors, disability, and unemployment insurance.
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended	Sets minimum wage for most workers. Establishes standard 20-hour work week. Requires time and half payment for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week. Exempts certain classifications of employees form overtime pay requirements. Sets minimum age for employment. Sets minimum hourly wage rate.
Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947	Protects rights of employees to refrain from as well as engage in union activity. Prohibits the closed shop. Allows states the right to enact legislation banning the union shop. Gives employers the right to refuse to recognize unions of supervisory personnel. Defines unfair labor practices on part of unions. Defines national emergency strikes and empowers the President to impose an 80-day “cooling off” period to postpone such strikes. Creates the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to assist employer and union in negotiating new contracts and arbitrating grievances.
Equal Pay Act of 1963, as amended	Prohibits discrimination in pay on basis of sex where jobs are performed under similar conditions and require equal skill, effort, and responsibility. Permits pay differentials between sexes where such differences are based on seniority systems, merit systems, wage incentive plans, or factors other than sex.
Title VII, Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended	Prohibits discrimination in hiring, firing, promoting, compensating, or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin. Permits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, religion, sex, or national origin where any of these factors are bona fide occupational qualifications necessary to the operation of an enterprise. Permits bona fide seniority, merit, or incentive systems that have the effect of discriminating provided such systems are not the result of an intention to discriminate.
Civil Rights Act of 1991	The act amended five statutes: (1) Civil Rights Act of 1866; (2) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; (3) Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended; (4) Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended; and (5) Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Key provisions of the Act include: Monetary Damages and Jury Trials, Adverse Impact, Protection in Foreign Countries, Racial harassment or Other Post-hiring conduct, Challenges to Consent Decrees, Mixed motive Cases, Seniority Systems, Race Norming, Expert Witness Fees, Protection of US Senate Employees and Appointed Officials, and the Glass Ceiling Commission.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended	Prohibits discrimination in hiring, job retention, job privileges, and terms and conditions of employment for individuals over the age of 40. Eliminates mandatory retirement of employees at age 70.
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended	Prohibits discrimination in employment on basis of physical or mental impairment that limits one or more major life activities. Requires affirmative action by employers to hire the handicapped.
Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974	Prohibits discrimination in employment against veterans of Vietnam era. Requires affirmative action by employers to hire and promote Vietnam veterans.
Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978	Prohibits discrimination in employment based on pregnancy, child, birth, or related medical condition.
Executive Orders 11246 and 11375	Prohibits discrimination in employment on basis of race, religion, color, national origin, or sex.
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986	Requires all new hires to complete a Form I-9 and provide documentation establishing both identity and authorization to work legally in the United States.
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990	Prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training and other terms, conditions and privileges of employment.
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) of 1994, as amended	Protects civilian job rights and benefits for veterans and members of Reserve components. USERRA also makes major improvements in protecting service member rights and benefits by clarifying the law, improving enforcement mechanisms, and adding Federal Government employees to those employees already eligible to receive Department of Labor assistance in processing claims.

Reference checks can provide you with excellent information regarding the candidate if you ask the right questions. At HR Service Team, we ask the following questions:

• In what professional capacity have you interacted with the candidate?
• If you had to list five of the candidate’s strengths, what would they be?
• If you were working on a career development plan for the candidate, what areas would you suggest she work on?
• How did the candidate perform under stress or in a difficult situation?
• Would you hire the candidate?

We do reference checks after the telephone screen and prior to the in-person interview. The data we obtain helps us ask questions about the candidate's work which also helps the candidate open up dialog with us.

Background checks are important and should be processed by an established background check company. Key to a background check is verifying the candidates work history, educational requirements and lack of criminal history. HR Service Team works with several nationally recognized background checking agencies; contact us for details.