Pre-Hiring Pointers

IN LAST MONTH’S COLUMN, we went over a painless interview process to identify the best candidate for open positions within your signshop. Once you’ve completed the interview and chosen a qualified candidate, you can go ahead and have them start working, right? Not so fast! There are a few key steps you should take during the pre-employment stage to ensure a smooth start and a successful hire.

Reference Checks

Once you have completed interviews but prior to making a final decision, ask the candidate to provide three or more professional references, their phone numbers and email addresses. At least one should be a former manager. Call references only once you’re confident that you want to move forward with the candidate.

When you get the reference on the phone, explain that the candidate has interviewed for a job with you and give a very brief summary (1-2 sentences) of what the role entails. Ask to confirm their own job title, what the candidate’s job title was, how they know the candidate and when they worked with them. Some organizations only allow their employees to confirm this basic data.

If the reference is able to say more, ask focused questions and try to keep the entire reference call under 30 minutes to be respectful of their time. Questions you may want to ask include:

• What was it like working with this individual?
• What were they best at?
• What did they struggle with?
• Did they have any attendance issues?
• Any interpersonal problems with coworkers?
• Would you hire them again, and if so, for what role?
• Is there anything else you want to tell me about this person?

Reference checks are extremely valuable, but remember, they are also subjective. A reference, whether positive or negative, is ultimately just one person’s opinion, so it should be weighed alongside other information.

Background Screening

Most companies choose to conduct some form of pre-employment checks on new hires. These checks range widely from standard name-based criminal background checks to more involved checks like fingerprinting, financial/credit checks, medical fitness tests and drug tests, depending on the nature of the work. It can be hard to tease out what’s too much and what’s not enough. At a signshop, your priority is ensuring a new hire can safely work with equipment and represent your company well.

In the United States and Canada, regulations concerning pre-employment background screening vary greatly by state, province and territory. Make sure you familiarize yourself with federal, state and local laws/regulations applying to a business of your size, including:

• Timing of background checks: In some areas, a conditional offer of employment must be made BEFORE running any criminal background checks.
• Job-relatedness: In some areas, employers are only allowed to consider criminal history that is related to the nature of the work.
• Adverse action process: If information comes back on the criminal background check, you must inform the candidate and provide them an opportunity to respond before taking adverse action (such as withdrawing an offer of employment). In the United States, the FCRA regulates this process, and in Canada, PIPEDA and provincial privacy laws apply.

If the details of the background check process feel intimidating, a reputable background check vendor can help. Ultimately, background checks are just one more data point to help you manage your company’s risk and finalize a hiring decision.

Making the Offer

It’s fine to offer the job to the candidate by phone or email — some feel the phone is more personal, but email allows the candidate time to review details without being put on the spot to respond. If you do make the offer by phone, follow up with an emailed offer letter detailing the role you are offering, the salary or hourly wage, any pending contingencies such as outstanding background or reference checks, and the date you would like them to start. You should also include a summary of any benefits you provide and the waiting period, if any, before they will begin.

Accepting a new job is a big decision, especially if it requires giving notice at their current job. So if the candidate accepts your offer, don’t go silent until their start date — stay in touch and encourage them to reach out with any questions! Checking in a few days before their start date sets the tone that your shop values clear communication and attention to detail, and it reassures your new hire that they made the right choice to join your team.