Hiring and firing issues raise more questions among managers and
human resources professionals than just about any other tasks in
their portfolios. Both
... [Show More] functions are critical to the well-being of their
organizations, which cannot thrive without skilled, motivated, and
productive people. Other reasons for the many questions that arise
about hiring and firing include:
Both processes are fraught with potential legal problems.
Both often involve not only hiring and firing per se but also
a whole range of employee relations issues.
Both require specific skills and knowledge that many managers do not possess, or even recognize as important.
These skills and knowledge are particularly important in a
labor market that is predicted to remain tight through 2010. Whatever the fluctuations in the economy, the fact is that over the past
three decades, the U.S. birth rate has dropped by 24 percent. As
members of the baby boom generation retire, a much smaller number of ‘‘baby bust’’ workers will be ready to take their place. Simply
put, employers have no choice but to become more creative in hiring
and retaining talent and more adept at handling terminations and
employee relations.
There are a lot of questions that need to be answered regarding
the new-hire process. Questions about interviewing techniques,
tests, background checks, classified ad recruitment, affirmative action plans and diversity outreach, and the proliferation of the Internet as a brand-spanking–new recruitment tool with untapped
potential make the process a little difficult to navigate at times. And
of course there are always those shadows of potential liability in the
form of negligent hiring and retention claims that lurk in the back
of our corporate minds should we stray too far from accepted hiring
norms and practices.
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2 Introduction
In spite of these questions, hiring is fun. People put on their
Sunday best and convince us that they’re wonderful and that they
deserve to join our company. Interviewing is like putting together
pieces of a puzzle, and many of us agree that meeting new people—
even in the somewhat artificial interviewing environment—still has
its positive side because people are interesting. Checking references
is instructive because you get to see how well you did in your interview: Were your gut feelings and instincts about the candidate on
the money? Did your first impression stand up to a prior supervisor’s scrutiny, or were you shocked to find that you had really
missed the mark? And job offers—well, there’s nothing more exciting than inviting someone to join your team.
Many aspects of employee relations, on the other hand, are not
fun, such as firing or initiating disciplinary actions. It is crucial that
managers know how to motivate employees, structure progressive
disciplinary actions, and create written records regarding terminations for cause and layoffs. Firing is a traumatic experience for
everyone involved. However, no book on employment and termination—whether written by an HR practitioner or by an employment
lawyer—should make readers afraid to put their socks on in the
morning. In other words, there is rarely a need to be so bogged
down in ‘‘analysis paralysis’’ that we fail to reach a reasonable conclusion regarding how we should treat our workers. Nor should we
be afraid to initiate termination or disciplinary action should we feel
such action is necessary.
The purpose of this book is to give managers not only the tools
they need to address serious problems but also the tools to address
workplace issues before they develop into serious problems. The
premises we’ve used are simple:
Everyone wants to make a positive difference at work.
People want to be treated with dignity and respect.
People will respond in kind: They will assume responsibility
for their actions when they are treated as adults and held
accountable for their performance.
Remember, employees become disheartened for one of two reasons: They perceive either (1) a lack of communication with their
supervisors and peers or (2) a lack of recognition or appreciation
for their efforts. Employee relations problems come in a thousand
different faces, but almost all issues can be boiled down to one of [Show Less]
