Hiring and retaining quality employees has long been a challenge in the industry, as recruiting resources can be low and finding the time for the process can be tricky.

Increasing minimum wage and a competitive job market has made things even harder, with many companies responding by changing how they hire. But doing so carefully is important, since lax hiring practices can lead to a costly employment practices claim.

If your business is considering making changes to your hiring practices, make sure the changes you make don’t expose you to excess risk. Here are four tips to improve hiring practices and reduce turnover, without increasing the risk of a claim to your business.

1. Expedite the Process

With almost everyone hiring and minimum wage increasing, job candidates have a lot of options. That makes speed an important factor and businesses that can expedite their process will have more luck filling positions.

A typical hiring process has numerous friction points that can cause job candidates to look elsewhere or take another offer before you can make yours. To speed things up, look at your current process to see what can be expedited.

• Ask candidates to complete an application, rather than collecting resumes a hiring manager will have to pore over later.
• If you use an application process, create a short customized application that asks only the most necessary info and can be completed in a few minutes.
• Create a process to call a candidate immediately to set up an interview when you receive their application.
• If you require a drug test for employment, consider options that offer faster results, such as mouth swab tests, which are ready in about 10 minutes.
• If you require a skills test, consider testing candidates with tasks that can be completed in a matter of minutes, as opposed to those lasting hours.

Minimizing your risk: As you look to speed up your process, remember to keep protections in place. Maintain background checks and other procedures while making the process for them faster.
 

2. Host Hiring Events

Traditionally, it could take days or weeks for applicants to hear back about an application. But today, these red tape delays in the hiring process can frustrate applicants and lessen your chance of finding good hires. If your business is growing, consider hosting one or more on-site hiring events.

On-site hiring events have the potential to expedite and improve the hiring process and lead to more high-quality hires. Events can include an application submission, interview, background check and drug screening all in one day, making it possible to offer a qualified candidate a position that same day.

Minimizing your risk: During on-site hiring events, make sure to take the proper precautions:

• Require an application to control what information is volunteered by candidates.
• Know what questions you can and can’t ask applicants during a job interview.
• Treat everyone the same, standardize the process for applications, interviews and background checks.
• If candidates volunteer personal information, don’t use it to make your hiring decision.

3. Provide Incentives

Hiring practices are undergoing a lot of changes, but some traditional recruiting and retention tools still work, such as incentives for new hires and current employees.

Incentive ideas can range from sign-on bonuses, performance awards, paid vacations and employee benefit packages to free snacks, social outings, referral bonuses, professional development and other workplace perks. Consider a mix of one-time, recurring and continuous incentives of different levels and costs that appeal to your workforce and appropriate for your business.

Minimizing your risk: When developing an incentive program, put the terms in your employee handbook. Be fair to new and existing workers and offer incentives to all employees who meet the requirements you set.
 

4. Focus on Retention

Businesses with higher turnover can face more workplace challenges, from difficulty refilling positions to lower workplace morale and more claims. With the stakes this high, it is key to focus on retention.

Higher employee retention has many benefits, including better workplace culture, higher customer satisfaction and a lower risk of claims. Incentives for retention can be similar to those used to woo job applicants. Consider cash bonuses as well as non-cash perks that improve workplace culture.

Minimizing your risk: When offering these employee bonuses and perks, make sure to be fair and equitable. Put in writing what incentives will be available and ensure that all employees have an opportunity to benefit from the incentives you make available.

How to Protect Your Business from Claims

As you work to improve your hiring practices and reduce your turnover, take care to minimize your chance of a claim. Employment practices liability (EPL) claims can result when an employer and employee have a dispute over hiring practices, working conditions or the termination of employment.

While franchise organizations have little control over broader employment trends in the industry, it is possible to take steps to help reduce your own employee turnover. Improve your hiring practices and reduce turnover to provide a better workplace culture, higher customer satisfaction and a lower risk of EPL claims.

Along with helpful tips for managing risk at your business, Lockton Affinity offers customized insurance policies to help protect your business and employees, including Employment Practices Liability insurance.

Complete a 5-minute price indication request to see what this coverage will look like for your franchise.