On the Minds of HR Practitioners
Over the last year, the Human Resource Institute has learned a lot about what’s on the minds of member companies via a continuing series of e-mail polls called Practitioner Consensus Surveys. Usually at the request of specific member firms, HRI sends out these short surveys in order to quickly gather and compile information on workforce management practices. This not only helps HR professionals stay abreast of what their colleagues are doing, it helps us at HRI keep our collective ear to the ground. Below are some of the subjects and findings of the surveys we’ve conducted since last summer:
Attitude/personality assessments – About 58% of respondents to this survey said they make at least some hiring decisions based on a candidate’s personality or attitude. The most common way of gauging personality/attitude is through structured interviews, though customized or off-the-shelf tests are also used by many companies.
Background checks – These days, over three-quarters (76.5%) of respondents rely on an external vendor to conduct background checks. Not surprisingly, a large majority of respondents check on criminal history, past employment and education. But only 59% check references, and less than a third check certifications. The survey also looked at which vendors companies use, the satisfaction levels with vendors, costs and turnaround times.
Entry-level development – About 41% of respondents have a formal management training program for preparing entry-level workers for key line management positions. The most common form of preparation is via classroom learning, followed by on-the-job training, online training and simulation. Among the other programs mentioned by respondents were mentoring programs, onboarding, and targeted assignments.
H-1B visa usage – About three-quarters of responding companies use H-1B visas. The positions for which respondents are most likely to use these visas seem to be IT and engineering jobs.
Management training – About a quarter of respondents have a management training program that is designed to help hire new recruits from college campuses. The length of most programs ranges from 10 months to two years, and they seem to successfully reduce turnover rates of new recruits.
MBA development – Only about 14% of respondents report offering a development program in their finance organizations for employees with an MBA.
Pre-employment testing – A little over half of respondents said they administer pre-employment tests, though these tests are often limited to certain positions in the organization. Among those that test, the most common assessment is of cognitive ability (34%), followed by personality (22%) and situational judgment (19%). The most common method of administering such tests is giving them online and unproctored.
Record retention – The majority of responding companies (74%) retain employee records for the entire career of employees. In 63% of companies, these are stored as paper copies, and 83% of respondents say these are stored in a central location. About a third of companies are storing such documents electronically.
Retiree communication – Relatively few responding companies seem to put a large emphasis on communicating with retirees. Six percent “push” e-mail messages to retirees, 14% have a retiree Web site, and 19% produce a company-sponsored retiree publication.
Service anniversary/retirement – It appears that not many companies offer ceremonial events for anniversaries anymore. Even for employees reaching the 40- to 50-year milestones or retirement, only 4.1% of respondents say they provide a reception and 3.7% a dinner.
Severance pay – About a third of responding companies have a policy or plan that provides severance or salary continuation to employees whose employment has been terminated for poor performance. The large majority of companies that have such a policy follow a progressive discipline procedure before offering the severance option.
Technical career paths – A third of respondents say they have organizational career paths that are similar or equivalent to a managerial path.
Transportation programs – Only about a quarter of surveyed companies provide some type of transportation assistance to employees, and even fewer provide a transportation subsidy.
As mundane as many of these survey subjects seem, they inevitably spark other questions. For example, if a labor shortage emerges in the U.S. and Europe in coming years, will companies be forced to do a better job of staying in contact with retirees, who could turn out to be a useful source of contract labor? If gas prices continue to rise, will more companies need to look at transportation assistance programs? At a time when the U.S. is producing fewer engineers, could more people be drawn into the field if more companies adopt and advertise technical career paths? By considering such questions, HR professionals might be able to stay ahead of the curve, moving from today’s “best practice” to tomorrow’s “next practice.”
For more information on these surveys, please contact HRI’s Director of Membership Services, Greg Pernula, at pernula@hrinstitute.info.
Attitude/personality assessments – About 58% of respondents to this survey said they make at least some hiring decisions based on a candidate’s personality or attitude. The most common way of gauging personality/attitude is through structured interviews, though customized or off-the-shelf tests are also used by many companies.
Background checks – These days, over three-quarters (76.5%) of respondents rely on an external vendor to conduct background checks. Not surprisingly, a large majority of respondents check on criminal history, past employment and education. But only 59% check references, and less than a third check certifications. The survey also looked at which vendors companies use, the satisfaction levels with vendors, costs and turnaround times.
Entry-level development – About 41% of respondents have a formal management training program for preparing entry-level workers for key line management positions. The most common form of preparation is via classroom learning, followed by on-the-job training, online training and simulation. Among the other programs mentioned by respondents were mentoring programs, onboarding, and targeted assignments.
H-1B visa usage – About three-quarters of responding companies use H-1B visas. The positions for which respondents are most likely to use these visas seem to be IT and engineering jobs.
Management training – About a quarter of respondents have a management training program that is designed to help hire new recruits from college campuses. The length of most programs ranges from 10 months to two years, and they seem to successfully reduce turnover rates of new recruits.
MBA development – Only about 14% of respondents report offering a development program in their finance organizations for employees with an MBA.
Pre-employment testing – A little over half of respondents said they administer pre-employment tests, though these tests are often limited to certain positions in the organization. Among those that test, the most common assessment is of cognitive ability (34%), followed by personality (22%) and situational judgment (19%). The most common method of administering such tests is giving them online and unproctored.
Record retention – The majority of responding companies (74%) retain employee records for the entire career of employees. In 63% of companies, these are stored as paper copies, and 83% of respondents say these are stored in a central location. About a third of companies are storing such documents electronically.
Retiree communication – Relatively few responding companies seem to put a large emphasis on communicating with retirees. Six percent “push” e-mail messages to retirees, 14% have a retiree Web site, and 19% produce a company-sponsored retiree publication.
Service anniversary/retirement – It appears that not many companies offer ceremonial events for anniversaries anymore. Even for employees reaching the 40- to 50-year milestones or retirement, only 4.1% of respondents say they provide a reception and 3.7% a dinner.
Severance pay – About a third of responding companies have a policy or plan that provides severance or salary continuation to employees whose employment has been terminated for poor performance. The large majority of companies that have such a policy follow a progressive discipline procedure before offering the severance option.
Technical career paths – A third of respondents say they have organizational career paths that are similar or equivalent to a managerial path.
Transportation programs – Only about a quarter of surveyed companies provide some type of transportation assistance to employees, and even fewer provide a transportation subsidy.
As mundane as many of these survey subjects seem, they inevitably spark other questions. For example, if a labor shortage emerges in the U.S. and Europe in coming years, will companies be forced to do a better job of staying in contact with retirees, who could turn out to be a useful source of contract labor? If gas prices continue to rise, will more companies need to look at transportation assistance programs? At a time when the U.S. is producing fewer engineers, could more people be drawn into the field if more companies adopt and advertise technical career paths? By considering such questions, HR professionals might be able to stay ahead of the curve, moving from today’s “best practice” to tomorrow’s “next practice.”
For more information on these surveys, please contact HRI’s Director of Membership Services, Greg Pernula, at pernula@hrinstitute.info.