A Wee Bit of Compliance

Just a few reminders and things you should be thinking about and doing right now.

1. Your OSHA Form 300A, i.e. the summary form, should be posted on a wall in a visible place where employees would look for employment forms or other compliance items from now, actually February 1, through April 30. More details here on HR.BLR.com. Forms can be obtained here from OSHA.
2. A revision to the documents that will be acceptable for Employment Eligibility (Form I-9) have been delayed by the USCIS for 60 days until April 30, 2009. Public comments can be submitted through March 4, 2009. More information can be found on the U.S. Citizens and Immigration Services website. Until then, you should still be verifying your employees eligibility to work with the most current I-9 form. Also, keep this link handy for when they roll out the new form.

Get Your Revised I-9 Here

USCIS has done it again. A recently revised - June 5, 2007 - and officially issued - November 7, 2007 - Form I-9 is available for use immediately. Read the whole press release from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services here.

The biggest news with this release is that 5 items that were previously accepted as employment eligibility documents on List A of the Form I-9 have been removed.

What should this announcement mean to you?

• Stop using previously issued I-9 forms immediately.
• All individuals hired on or after November 7, 2007, should have their employment eligibility completed on this newly revised form, Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N.
• Cease using documents that are no longer acceptable.
• Continue to complete the I-9 for all new hires as you have done since 1987.

Click here to download the revised I-9 Form.

How Many Clicks Does It Take?

Have you ever paid any attention to how many clicks it takes for your prospective employees to not only find your Careers section, but also how many it takes to apply?

This question makes me think of the Tootsie Roll commercial from the 70s where Mr. Owl is asked how many licks it takes to get to the center of the Tootsie Roll. In his case, the answer was three.

How about your website? Is three the magic number? Is it more? Is it less? My hope is that it is less.

The web users today are savvier than ever and I would bet if they have made it to your website, they are looking for something in particular and you should help them find it.

Remember these "Do Nots:"

• Do not waste their time with a nonsensical layout or confusing terminology. Try not to use your internal lingo for job titles and departments. Think always from the perspective of someone on the outside looking in for the first time.
• Do not hide your jobs! All companies need employees. Make it easy to work for you by showing the employment goods at the get go.

Here is an example of a company that I think is doing it right and I will admit that I am biased because I once worked for them. However, note that on the Princess Tours jobs home page, the prospective employee can find not only 'How to Apply' but at least 3 direct ways to do so. And because I know the site pretty well, I also know that each page on their site contains a link or multiple links to applying online. They make it easy for their job seekers. Be like Princess.

Make it easy for your candidates and your job as a recruiter will become easier. And at the end of the day, your new employees will thank you for saving their precious time.

All of us at Cool Works spend a lot of time on the web and any of us would be happy to go over tricks of making your hiring and recruiting easier. Our goals are to connect the job seeker with the employer and see this done in an environmentally friendly way. If you have ever thought about going on-line with your recruiting, and by this I mean, beyond simple job postings, take a look at our Applicant Tracking System (ATS) called Staffing Center. It may just make your day. I know that it made mine when I was actively recruiting.

TGIF and Happy Weekend All!