Either way, retail is oh so used to the fluctuating nature of consumer spending. And, as HR professionals in the industry, you are also used to the ever-changing need for more or less staff (at least on the hourly end). The unfortunate thing about this is that regardless of if the economy is doing well or not, HR professionals have to manage and track candidate and employee data at all times in order to remain in compliance with labor regulations. What does that mean? Well…a lot of paper and a lot of organizing.

Here are three easy tips to ensure better organization (when hiring or not) in a retail HR department.

1. First and foremost, automate all of those HR documents that end up piling up on your desk or getting stuffed away in a filing cabinet. Using some sort of Software-as-a-Service to securely store reportable and searchable HR data will help you reduce costs associated with printing, storage, and administrative tasks, while improving organization.
2. Increase the number of quality applicants to open requisition. Finding the right candidate faster and filtering through the unqualified can help you close an open requisition sooner rather than later (never mind save you a lot of money). Okay so that’s the goal…how do you do it? I’d recommend first reviewing your job description. What has already been written may not be as clear as it needs to be to filter out the unqualified candidates. By better articulating the job description, you are giving potential candidates exact insight into the position and a better idea of if they would be a good fit or not. Set up another meeting with the appropriate hiring manager and work one-on-one to compile a list of exact skills needed for the job and a bulleted list of daily responsibilities.
3. In order to avoid disorganization and headaches, try separating your salaried and hourly job postings. You can even go as far as creating two applicant portals. This will enable you to create a separation of duties and tasks associated with each hiring type, allowing you to take one step towards simplifying and improving your processes. In addition to better organization, and I’ve said it before, prospective hourly candidates and salaried applicants may require different targeted messaging. So in order to find the best fit and reduce unqualified candidates, write your recruitment marketing messages appropriately.

Whether the market is up or down or HR professionals are hiring or not, creating a perfectly organized recruitment program can help reduce costs and save recruiters time. What are your thoughts?

Challenges to Tackle

The national fast-food chain used to accept paper job applications from walk-ins, but that process was proving to be too cumbersome. The overwhelming majority of applicants were walk-ins, and most stopped into a restaurant during the midday rush—between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., says Jose Tomas, executive vice president and chief human resources and communications officer, Burger King Corporation (www.bk.com). At that time, managers are “busy making WHOPPER® sandwiches and taking care of guests.”

Sometimes, managers could interview an applicant on the spot. But if they were too busy, the application would be filed and, in some cases, nobody would have a chance to review it or follow up with an applicant, Tomas says. When managers did review filed applications, they would spend a lot of time sifting through the paperwork “to find one or two good applicants.” By the time they contacted a promising applicant, the person might have already found employment elsewhere.
Once an applicant was hired, required paperwork created other problems. For example, I-9 forms had to be faxed to a vendor, but the faxes often did not transmit successfully. “We were always trying to hunt them down,” says Jeanette Lixey, company business manager, Burger King Corporation. Sometimes, candidates would have to complete another I-9, and the company would have to send it to the vendor via FedEx®, she says.

New System Brings Solutions

In July 2009, BKC piloted an applicant tracking system from Kronos Communications in restaurants in North Carolina. BKC began rolling out the system nationwide in early 2010, and in the spring all of its more than 900 corporate-owned U.S. locations went live with the system.

Now, BKC only accepts online job applications. Walk-in applicants are handed a small card (the size of a business card) that gives them step-by-step instructions for submitting an application online, says Priscilla Messir, recruiter, Burger King Corporation. Managers can write their restaurant number on the card, so the candidate can apply directly to that specific restaurant, she says. If no openings are available at the preferred location, managers at other company-owned restaurants can consider those applicants.

Concerned during the pilot program that some applicants might not have Internet access, the company set up kiosks or made handheld devices available at its restaurants. However, 96 percent of applicants at those locations still chose to go online to complete an application (in some cases, at a library or a workforce or job placement agency), and scores on an accompanying job-specific assessment were higher among those who applied online, Tomas says.

He says there is no indication that the number of applications has declined since eliminating paper applications. In fact, during the first 6 months after companywide rollout, BKC had received 265,000 applications online.

The applicant tracking system automatically screens out candidates who are not a good fit and puts qualified candidates at managers’ fingertips, he says. Plus, managers can review the applicant pool when it is convenient for them.

“It saves a lot of time. By that I mean the quality of people,” Lixey says, noting that managers no longer spend their time on “interviews that aren’t going to go anywhere.”

Tomas says turnover is lower because the applicant tracking system helps identify better qualified candidates. “The retention numbers have skyrocketed,” he says, adding that the annualized turnover rate is 83 percent—the “lowest it’s been in Burger King’s history from the time we’ve been recording turnover … Most of our competitors are well over 100 percent.”

Also, Lixey says turnover has been cut in half in some districts, including hers.

The system also has helped BKC reduce expenses for paper, storage fees, and postage. For example, Messir reports that the company is spending half of what it used to on new-hire packets because much of the information is now electronic.

In addition, I-9s and Forms 8850 (Pre-Screening Notice and Certification Request for the Work Opportunity Credit) no longer have to be manually inputted into BKC’s HRIS system, and those documents are now maintained electronically. “You can’t lose anything. It’s all electronic,” Lixey says.

What to Do

Employers who want to move away from paper applications to an online process need buy-in from management, and they must be prepared to provide training on the new technology and change management, Tomas says.

When selecting an applicant tracking system, he suggests looking for a vendor that has a “strong understanding” of your applicant pool. “If you’re hiring engineers, that’s very different from hiring retail staff.”

Let’s just look at a brief overview of the act:
What is The Federal HIRE Act?
On March 18, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act. The purpose of this act is to accelerate the hiring of unemployed workers.

What does this act mean for an organization?
Organizations may be eligible for a payroll tax exemption and additional tax credits. The HIRE Act also allows organizations to retain the employer portion of the Social Security tax, which is normally remitted.

Understanding the Social Security Tax Exemption
The 6.2% Employer Social Security Tax exemption applies to previously unemployed individuals hired after February 3, 2010. Eligible employees must have worked less than 40 hours during the 60-day period prior to employment and must have earned less than $106,800 between March 18, 2010 and January 1, 2011.

• This applies to multiple employer types, including non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and corporations. The 6.2% Employer Social Security Tax benefit is recognized before 2011; i.e.: savings are accrued with each payroll processed.
• Employers can save up to $6,622 per qualifying employee and there are no limits to the number of employees who can be covered per organization.
• The sooner the better: because tax benefits are recognized with each processed payroll, the sooner these hires are made the greater the tax incentives are.

Understanding the Income Tax Credit
If qualifying employees are with the organization for at least 52 consecutive weeks, employers are eligible for an income tax credit. This amounts to 6.2% of the wages paid to the qualifying worker (over the 52 week period) or $1,000, whichever is the lesser amount. Wages during the last 26 weeks must be at least 80 percent of wages paid for the first 26 weeks. Stipulations:

• If the new employee is replacing another employee, the organization is not eligible for the exemption and credit “unless such other employee is separated from employment voluntarily or for cause.”
• New hires must sign an affidavit asserting that he or she has “not been employed for more than 40 hours during the 60-day period ending on the date such individual begins such employment.”

Forms:

A. Form W-11
a. Each employee must fill out this affidavit, which must be kept on file and available for review from employee hire date.
B. FORM 941
a. After an employer receives the W-11 form from all qualifying employees, the employer can then file the Form 941 or “Now Hire” form in order to receive their credits.

Additionally, employers are eligible for tax benefits when returns are filed. For more detailed information, click here.

Removing the political fervor that any government act may provoke, how do you think the Federal HIRE Act will affect hiring in 2010? 2011? Will Retailers, Manufacturers, Not-for-profits, corporations and essentially all other organizations take advantage of the financial benefits that are expected to ensue? Are the incentives significant enough to spark hiring initiatives?

I personally think yes, but only if organizations have the proper tools to adequately support the necessary steps that each employer must complete, such as document management. If a company has an easy way to store this information without the fear of it being lost or misplaced in a financially feasible way, than employers will be more likely to hire.

If this process was automated, employers wouldn’t have to worry about added expenses accumulated from physically storing employee documents, data entry and the addition of yet another departmental task. Because of this, companies will begin relying more heavily on technology solutions to simplify and facilitate the process of collecting and filing the forms and claiming the incentives. And even better, many of these solutions are responding to the act, by providing an easy way to file the forms.

It will be interesting to see how the act will affect unemployment. What do you think?

Hourly employment often sports a notoriously high turnover rate, and thus, it may seem difficult to ease the hiring process. Think again! Start by evaluating how well you find quality candidates. Finding top talent is important not only for worker productivity, but for worker retention. Sourcing workers willing to dedicate themselves to the job will bring you one step closer to an optimal hiring process and a lower turnover rate. As obvious as the following may be, here are three questions to ask yourself:

1. Are you utilizing the data taken from your Workforce Planning Analysis?

Regardless of if your business has pressing seasonal hiring demands, planning is quite important. Analyze your past hiring trends either through a computer program or more advanced talent management systems, as past data may be the key to preparing for future hiring surges. Highlighting  which months see a rise in turnover and which months see a lull in candidate engagement. By doing so, you will be more prepared to proactively source top talent. You will be one step ahead of the rest and your company will be able to hire top talent before your competitor does.

2.  Where are you posting your open positions?

Post positions where your target candidates will see them. Hourly candidates usually apply to jobs that are located within a five mile radius of their home. Therefore, post appropriately. Utilize local print publications, post on local web-boards, use social media sites and of course, have plenty of applications available for walk-ins.

3.  How easy-to-complete is your application process?

Simple is better. By having a straight-forward, concise application process, candidate engagement is likely to improve. Higher candidate engagement=Larger talent pool=Easier to source top talent. Go one step further and make your application an automated paperless process. Nowadays, many hourly hiring businesses are utilizing applicant tracking systems to create an entirely web-based application process, while also installing online application kiosks in-house for walk-in applicants. This comes with two major benefits. Firstly, candidates are more likely to fill out an easy-to-complete application. Secondly, less administrative work for the HR professional: candidate information is stored on a web-based location so you no longer need physical space for employee data storage. Efficient and effective hourly hiring processes means fewer headaches for the recruiter and hiring manager.

Your company could be next in the SHRM hiring analyses; therefore, start evaluating your hiring process today. Be proactive and begin building your quality workforce!

What are some other good ways to ease hourly-hiring processes? Does anyone else have any suggestions?

By iCIMS Blogger Karen Bucks