examining the legal Environment

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ASSESSMENT 2 CONTEXT

Recruiting, hiring, retaining, and promoting employees is a critical and often complex area of Human Resource Management. The entire landscape of sourcing the most qualified prospects has changed dramatically because of the Internet.

Much of the complexity comes from the need to perform these functions in a "legal" manner, and there are multiple sources from which these legal requirements stem. In the United States, they include:

· Federal laws (for example, the Civil Rights Act of 1964).

· Court rulings (for example, Griggs vs. Duke Power of 1971).

· Executive Orders (for example, EO11246).

· Administrative guidelines (for example, Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures).

· State and local ordinances.

· Agency enforcement (for example, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission).

There are many topics to consider when developing a recruiting strategy. Some of the questions associated with them include:

· Will you recruit locally, nationally, or internationally? For example, international recruiting may occur for engineering-related positions.

· Will your hiring plan involve hiring workers who may be placed in various locations or countries?

· Are there specific demographic shortages in your organization that you would want to proactively recruit for, such as gender, race, or age?

· Will you use contingency workers?

· Could you use job-sharing, and have two workers making up one full-time equivalent position?

· Could this be a telecommuting job? The answer to this question depends on the type of position involved.

· Could you offer a flexible work schedule, such as working 80 hours in nine days, or working four days per week at ten hours per day?

Developing a cost-effective compensation and benefits package is another component of developing a recruiting strategy. It is important to consider these questions and be realistic when developing the compensation and benefits package you will offer:

· What can your organization afford?

· What are current market salaries?

· Is there a labor shortage for these kinds of workers in your region?

· To what extent is there competition for these workers in your area?

· Are there additional perks you can offer to entice the candidate such as sign-on bonuses or sabbaticals?