Recruiting Talent

Staying current and compliant with labor laws can be tricky to keep up with, especially for small business owners. Local employment law experts weighed in on some of the most pertinent trends coming down the pipeline affecting Omaha employers.

“Small businesses should be mindful of a recent ruling from the National Labor Relations Board regarding the enforceability of severance agreements containing confidentiality and nondisparagement clauses as well as a recent proposal by the Federal Trade Commission that would ban non-compete agreements.”

-Eric W. Tiritilli, partner, Lamson Dugan & Murray LLP

“We’re seeing a shift away from the traditional PTO bank. Many employers are considering a change over from finite PTO to ‘honorsystem’ or unlimited PTO. While this policy change can be freeing (no more tracking hours or paying out accrued, unused PTO on termination - sounds great, right?), it can present issues when employees have racked up significant PTO hours under the old policy. We are helping employers navigate the best way to make that cutover without accidentally violating wage and hour law. On top of that, some employers have concerns about pulling the trigger on these policies, and making sure unlimited leave isn’t abused by employees who are suddenly AWOL or jetting off to Cabo for a two-week excursion. Nine times out of 10, though, it’s the wage and hour liability, not the employee absence piece, that presents the most problems.”

-Erin Schroeder, employment attorney, Koley Jessen

“One of the biggest issues for employers to be aware of is the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) recent proposal of new regulations that would bar employers from entering into or enforcing non-compete agreements with employees. The proposed rule does not generally apply to non-solicitation provisions, unless those provisions are so broad in scope that they function as a non-competition agreement. Additionally, the proposed regulation would apply to all employers in the United States, regardless of size or number of employees. It would also cover all employees, paid or not, and independent contractors. Employers should examine their current use of non-compete agreements and consider potential alternatives to safeguarding their confidential information and customer goodwill, among other legitimate business interests.”

-Gregory Schreiber, attorney, Abrahams Kaslow & Cassman LLP

Durham Staffing Solutions’ Durham stressed the unique nature of the current low unemployment rate, and limited applicant environment.

“Employers should be open, transparent, inviting and share success stories each step in the process,” she said. “The candidate engagement experience can make or break an offer acceptance. If the candidate believes their expertise would be valued and they would be appreciated as a team member, they most likely will be excited to join the team. It is all about consistent messaging with honest and open feedback throughout the recruitment, hiring and onboarding process.”

Kellogg of LFS said a delay in interviewing in today’s market could cost an organization a great candidate.

“This information can be found in qualitative feedback from the applicant, and it can also be found in time to fill statistics,” he said. “If HR is providing qualified candidates for consideration, but the department is struggling to fill the role, it could be due to not finding the right candidate. But, it could also be due to the manager not responding in a timely manner to the applicant in either scheduling an interview or providing an offer of employment.”

In today’s job environment, Kellogg noted, managers have to strike while the iron is hot, as candidates will no longer wait for employers to decide or follow up.

“It is an employee market and there are many options available for jobseekers,” he remarked.

He furthermore underscored the freedom in asking “how” and “why” things are done in particular ways.

“When looking at processes and procedures with curiosity and giving yourself and team members permission to think in new and creative ways to approach business challenges, you provide the opportunity to explore new ideas, create new partnerships, and move towards a new way of recruiting talent,” Kellogg summed up.

Additionally, do not forget to assess current talent who may be ready for new challenges within the organization.

“Consider recruiting from within or even a lateral move for an employee that is looking for something new,” Kolev said. “Before you have to replace an employee, consider stay interviews. Many organizations conduct exit interviews, but this is already too late. The position is now open and costs the organization time and money to fill.”

Stay interviews allow an organization to find out what is important to the existing employees and their pain points before they decide to leave the organization.

“Exit interviews are also helpful to find out why employees left the organization and how the organization can be an employer of choice,” she said.

E&A’s Villwok also emphasized looking at information that is supplied to support the posting – ensuring it is attractive and provides a positive candidate experience.

“For example, candidates have so much data they can review, like social media, career sites and your company website,” she said. “If candidates do not have a positive experience or little information in those materials, they may not apply.”