It is essentially just the online materials printed in a textbook format.

They even left in language to click a link that isn’t there, for one example. See image.

This is absurd given the cost of the material. Anyone else disappointed?

I generally enjoy reading paper textbooks for study materials over web only study. But this is lame!

In the past, I’ve always asked them to connect on Zoom/phone call and informed them via a live conversation as opposed to an email. However, I’ve gotten feedback that some candidates feel this sends mixed signals and felt that a Zoom/phone call meant they were going to get the job, only to be extra disappointed when that wasn’t the case.

On the other hand, I don’t want to seem impersonal with only an email, especially since these are my coworkers.

Do you always give internal candidates the bad news via a phone call, or do you think an email will suffice?

I’m considering a hybrid format, where I inform them via Email, but also give them a call to make it more personal.

Thanks all!

For more context, I am located in a HCOL city on the west coast of the United States. 

I started looking for a new role in spring of this year, when I still had a job. Things - namely the executives - were starting to smell funny, and I wanted to be prepared. A few months after I started casually looking, my fears came to fruition and I was “laid off.” Quotation marks because the "restructuring" happened one week after I had a conversation with the CEO about some tough things. In that conversation, they said “well, I just need people on my team who think like me.” Ok, can’t fix that. 

So the search began in earnest. Full disclosure, I aimed low. Because I had only been in an HRD role for one year, I honestly didn’t think I could land something lateral in this market.  I’ve often thought about specializing in ER, so I applied to quite a few of those roles. I also gravitated towards Manager roles that I believed would or could grow into Director quickly (i.e., small or growing organizations). Stats below: 

Total time from layoff to offer: 10 weeks
65 Applications
14 initial interviews
3 first-round rejections
1 final round rejection
1 final round “we offered the job internally” rejection
2 offers

The rest of the interviews, I either withdrew or the process hadn’t concluded when I accepted my current role. 

The role I took: 

My old boss got me in the door for this one. It was hard to accept that, because I’m proud and already had an offer of employment on my own, but it was too good to pass up. It was a temp role that turned into permanent, so there was a risk it wouldn’t pan out, and taking a chance on that was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. It ended up being worth it. 

HRD. Comparable company size, two direct reports, +$20k annual salary (possible bonuses over that as well), substantially better benefits. It’s a name that looks great on my resume. It’s far more challenging than my last role, so it will give me valuable experience off paper. 

Takeaways: 

• I’m pleased with my callback rate, but I also believe it’s because I was willing to take less. Maybe I should have challenged that assumption more. From my 65 applications, I was invited to interview for 2 Director roles. The rest were manager, HRBP etc.
• The most important thing for people to understand about job searching right now is that IT TAKES FUCKING FOREVER. The average amount of time it took for the interview process to conclude, one way or another, was about five weeks. There were definitely bookends: recruiter contact to offer letter produced in seven business days; two months from application to hiring decision. But no matter how you slice it, things are taking a long damn time. 
• It seems to have fallen out of vogue to inform candidates of the hiring process and timeline. Of all the interview processes I participated in, only a handful were clear at each step of the way what the next thing would be, and when I would be informed if I was selected. I coped with it fine because I was working temp for much of my search time, but if I had just been on unemployment, it would have been excruciating. This is the single most impactful thing employers could change and it would greatly benefit them too. People have to take what’s offered and if you snooze, you lose. 

To sum up, the job search wasn’t as depressing or hopeless as I was expecting, but there’s a lot that’s broken about the current market.

Happy to entertain questions.

Howdy!

Need to do some digging into finding some 401k providers for my company and was wondering if anyone had any good leads. We are mid sized company with a handful of branches in 2 states. Roughly 200 employees. We want to keep our current payroll provider. Thanks!

What do you guys recommend for getting the study material for the CHRL test?

I’m ok purchasing it for any site.

Looking for recommendations on paid and free resources or training programs focusing on the basics of investment. TFSA, RRSP, FHSA need to be covered, but anything additional is a bonus.

Trying to put together a L&D module for Alberta based staff.

Please share if you've had any experience with a good resource.

I work at a small construction company where a significant number of employees are veterans or still in the military part-time. Many of them are required to train for 10 days/year as part of their service, but can choose to sign up for additional trainings. We currently updated our USSERA leave to cover the 10 required days of leave per leave, but anything after 10 days is unpaid unless they use PTO.

I am also trying to get the company to update their parental leave policy (currently, it is nothing outside of a so-so STD policy). However, I am unsure how this will affect our new USSERA policy. For example, if we give 12 weeks paid parental leave, will we also be required to give 12 weeks of paid USSERA leave?

Thanks for your help!

Hi everyone,

I work in HR and It seems that some employees at our company may be quietly working after hours without clocking in or notifying their manager. While we have a policy that states OT must be pre approved (yes we are compliant and pay even if it was unapproved) We want to prevent remote hourly employees from working outside of scheduled hours or performing work without management’s knowledge. One option we’re considering is disabling access to the company network after business hours. However, some managers are concerned that if an urgent business need arises, their employees wouldn’t be able to log in and respond quickly. What do you all do to prevent off the clock work for remote workers aside from writing them up? This only works if we actually have knowledge that they are working after-hours.

Currently in an HR job but I've been looking around and see this incredibly often. I suppose it's just a reflection of the broader retreat away from remote work, and I do appreciate being upfront more than deception or leading people on of course, but I just find it so odd.

Not every HR job is suited for remote or hybrid work of course, some roles necessitate on-site presence, but it seems like overwhelmingly there is 0 flexibility for even hybrid even when the duties (made clear through interviews, not just the job postings) are truly location agnostic.

Unnecessary personal note, but it does make job searching with a very obvious physical disability that makes leaving the house with any regularity a no go pretty awkward, as it makes even starting the reasonable accommodation process feel pointless.

How do you all feel about putting slack on your personal devise? I just started at a new company working in HR and during the interview process the manager made mention of teammates having slack on their phones but it wasn’t required and up to me if I was comfortable doing so. I am not as I do not want work related apps on my personal device for many reasons one being mental health and having some separation between work and home life. I also have health issues so it’s important to me to maintain these boundaries.

Today in my 1:1 my manager talked about how the whole team checks in on slack while away on PTO because our team is small and coverage needs to happen. This was never mentioned during the interview and I’m not ok with this. Between having slack on the phone and answering messages at 9pm to going out on PTO but still having to check in is something I would not have agreed upon and wouldn’t have moved forward with them if this is their policy.

I’m new and don’t want to come across as not being a team player, but these are major red flags for me. There are some other issues that have happened with duties of the job not being well explained but I’ll just focus this post on the slack issue. TY!!

Im a new HRC and desperately need advice on looking professional/put together at conferences and everyday

I’m heading to a conference in August - not my first, but it’s my first where my bosses will be with me. I want to scream polished, professional, and as an asset at these things. I really want to elevate their perception of me

1. What do you typically bring to conferences for notetaking? I’m looking at bound portfolios but have a hatred for legal pads. Also looking to use this everyday to help me stay organized. Is a binder too “I just graduated college”?

2. The dress code was described as “smart business casual”. What are some staple pieces that you always bring to events like this and what shoes are appropriate?

I about a month in to my new HR job at a small (32 employees) construction company. I’m the first and only HR employee, so I’m pointing out a lot of issues that were previously not addressed.

They hired a new employee (told me the same day they started, whole other beast), and they want her classified as 1099 to avoid paying benefits and taxes. However, they want her to work 16 hours at a hourly rate at first and then transfer to full time hours after a couple weeks. I told them you cannot have this pay and work structure and classify someone as 1099. The IRS would see that as misclassification and it would be a big risk. They told me it’s no big deal as they have done the same thing for several 1099 employees in the past and it’s not been a problem.

Is this as big of an issue as I’ve been treating it? Are they right to act like I’m just dramatic? They hired me to be HR and then hate when I point out illegal or risky business practices.

I'm the HR director of a smallish company (under 80). We have office staff and a warehouse team in the back, and genuinely have a great culture - friendly, amiable, etc. But there is a warehouse team member who comments on what I wear every single day I'm in the office. It's never "out of line," but the language has gotten more ... intense. It started a few months ago like, "You look nice." Which is fine. But now he makes a point to come to my office and say how "fantastic," "incredible" etc I look. He said one time, "Is this ok that I say this?" And I was trying to be polite because, I don't know, I'm a woman? And I said, "It's a nice compliment." But that was several months ago. Last week he said something similar like, "Is it out of line" and I said, "Yes, it probably is." But he just came in today to point up and down and say how much he loves my outfit.

It's just uncomfortable. I'm a senior leader here and I don't even want to go in the back. And he's saying it in front of other people so I feel like I'm on display. But he's the nephew of our co-owner so there's some layered complexity.

I'm sure I just need to be firm, but honestly, it's harder to do than it is to SAY to do. I'm not even sure what I'm looking for here except to type it out.

We are very excited to leave ADP WFN after a terrible implementation experience three years ago. We're between Rippling & UKG Ready. Small, older team, no IT support, no capacity to wrangle customization.

Our biggest needs are the ability for employees to track time across multiple grant cost codes, reporting, seamless benefit file feeds, digital workflows and approvals, and smooth on boarding / off boarding. Integrated leave management would be a bonus. Sage Intacct is our GL.

I am drawn to Rippling's employee centric model. UKG Ready feels like a lateral move from ADP.

Any experiences with either Rippling or UKG ready? Guidance?

Current HR professional (6+ years in the field) curious to see what others thoughts are on these one way interviews where you record yourself and are judged by AI before you even speak to a human.

I applied to an HR role and recently got an email asking me to do a video interview via HireVue. I’ve heard of these interviews all over the other job-related forums (most feedback negative) but haven’t seen much posted in the HR forums themselves.

Personally I don’t agree with them, having recruited in past roles and my current role, I think you get a lot more talking to an individual directly - we’re called Human Resources for a reason. I’m debating responding back asking if I can talk to a human and if that’s not an option, withdrawing my application.

Curious to what others thoughts are either on the candidate side or the employer/recruiter side!

I had an employee go on intermittent FMLA for a family member. This was the 4th time they have been on FMLA.
The first for intermittent. Paperwork was signed by the employee and Absence management approved. Employee knew they were not eligible for disability because this was for a family member. I was supposed to be using two pay codes I only used FMLA. Didn’t know until the leave was over. Employee missed about 3/4 days a pay period. We get paid bi/weekly. During this time they collected their full pay. Never reported it. Absence management never caught it and payroll didn’t either. Payroll said don’t beat yourself up. But they will end up having to pay all the money back. I know it’s my fault, some of payrolls and Absence management but I feel they are more at fault. Also, maybe I am being unfair because this employee is always in trouble for not following rules. They have been with the company over 20 years. Great at their job but not at filling simple company rules. Thoughts? I’m wondering if I’ll get in trouble too.

I work at a large healthcare corporation that is comprised of approximately 70 nursing homes. At my location, employee personnel, medical, and FMLA files are all kept in an unlocked file cabinet in an unlocked,communal office. I act as the local HR generalist, among other things. Most admin positions in the corporation are gen Z promoted -from-within / learn-on-the job vs educated, work their way up.

I have taken this security issue to the (young) Executive Director 4 times. He has given me pacifying responses and referred me to maintenance, while secretly instructing the maintenance supervisor to ignore my requests. I escalated to the (young) corporate HR director for our location, but she simply refuted my request by stating that the last she knew, the cabinet was being locked ( it doesn't have a working lock).

Is there any regulatory body this can be reported to? I've contacted the state department of workforce, along with my state representative. I keep getting shuffled to other departments, finally being told that there may actually be no oversight to this issue. My state representative suggested that it would be necessary to obtain an attorney.

Does anyone have any idea how to handle this?

I'm curious if any of you share the specific reason(s) why you are doing the pre adverse action process with the applicant. Of course I send the background check results and the FCRA rights summary. I've never shared the specific reasons why we're thinking of not hiring a person. My thinking being, it's not legally required by the FTC, at least that I know of. Also, that any information shared could be used against us. So I simply give them the report, and allow them 5 - 7 days to dispute it.

For example, I have a report that came back that clearly is mismatched from their application and resume. I.e. dates of employment are way off, length of time at positions is much shorter in reality. They listed High School Diploma from XYZ High School, but the report only shows a GED. So we wouldn't want to move forward because their tenure is always short and is misrepresentative of the person we thought we were hiring based on their resume. Basically they lied on their resume multiple times.

Would you tell them "what came back on your background check doesn't support your resume and application". Or just send them everything and see if they dispute it, then document internally.

Hi all,

This is probably really simple, but we are a small manufacturing plant so this a new one for me. I have gotten different answers on this.

We are bringing on our first remote employee (Georgia) and I need to confirm how to complete the remote I9 process.

From what I read online it appears that I need to have a video chat with the employee and have him present the documents to me that way (in addition to send them to me as well).

I talked with our Paycor rep told me that if they complete their I9 and upload the documents through the onboarding link we send, that would be compliant. Our system is connected to Everify, but I’m having a hard time believing our rep.

I’m currently an HR Advisor looking for a new role primarily due to being underpaid relative to my market and experience.

Lately, I've noticed a frustrating pattern: I receive automated rejections within a few days of applying, even when I meet ~90% of the job requirements, have the exact industry experience, and hold relevant credentials.

When I look up the individuals eventually hired for these roles on LinkedIn, they often have significantly fewer years of experience, no background in the specific industry, and fewer credentials.

As an HR professional myself, I know how the hiring process should work, but I’m struggling to understand what’s driving these outcomes behind the scenes. Is this a salary expectation disconnect, an ATS filtering issue, or something else? I’d love to hear perspectives from other talent acquisition professionals.

Managing people is honestly easier than managing payroll some weeks. I always end up going back through everything one more time because I keep thinking I missed something. Even after everything is entered I still do one last check before submitting it because I never feel confident

I used to think payroll would become one of those tasks that just ran in the background once everything was set up but it still takes more attention than I expected. At this point I think a good payroll system should make the process feel easier not give you another thing to worry about

Hi all,
I’m looking to build a stronger library of resources to recommend to our managers (both new and experienced).
What podcasts, books, newsletters, articles, courses, or other learning resources have you found to be the most impactful?

It can be anything related to being a manager, but it could be any of the following areas as well:
Coaching and developing employees
Giving effective feedback
Difficult conversations
Performance management
Delegation
Building high performing teams
Leading through change
Emotional intelligence
Accountability
General people leadership

I’m interested in both the classics and any hidden gems you’ve come across. Thanks in advance!!!

I am usually the one giving advice, but I am in need of some advice for myself.

I am about to have an annual review with one of my staff and I am having a hard time on how to approach this in fear of sounding like a broken record year over year.

This one staff member I have on my team has been with the company for over a decade, in different roles. Our department is very small and I have gotten to know them very well over the years.

Each year we have a meeting to discuss goals and compensation. This person never really has any any answers to what kind of goals or what path they'd like to do. However, I know they are board with their job and they get stagnant really easily. When that happens, they tend to gravitate towards all the negative/ drama/ gossipers of the office. That seems to make all of that worse. I also know that the position they are can can be lonely and they need some interaction. Recently they have asked for a increase of their salary and more flexibility.

I will be having a meeting with them soon, and I fear asking what goals they have because they never take that into their own ownership. I have coached, I have thought them new skills, I have added projects to try to switch things up, but now Im at a standstill of helping them try to find their goals. I don't want to lose this person because they do help, but I am starting to get to a point where I can't just increase them because they are stagnant, starting to become part of the drama/gossip circle. They always tell me they are there to help, but I often bring up things that I need help on and they ask me why don't I ask so and so to take it on. Which gives me the feeling that they don't want to take it on. So, then I stop asking.

Edit: They do what I ask them too, and on time. They just don't do any extra or try to take on additional things unless I ask them directly to. For example, if I am saying I have a few things to juggle this week, they say have you asked so and so to take one of those vs asking to take one to help me out.

Hi! I’m an HR Manager at a medium sized community healthcare provider [200+]. Most of our employee base is made up of front line clinical workers. We do regular pulse surveys and staff have consistently reported financial stressors as a concern (cost of gas and groceries). We are limited in what we can offer in perm wage increases (have given 3-4% a year recently), so I have been researching lifestyle spending accounts and financial wellness tools. I think there is probably a benefit we can offer to support food costs/ budgeting. I’m curious to hear what other HR folks are doing in this space.

What employee challenges are you currently dealing with? Do you offer LSA’s or any financial wellness initiatives? How did you go about choosing the right benefit and pitching it to senior leadership? Or are there any outside of the box things you’ve done to support affordability/ cost of living?

I know wellness spending accounts and lifestyle spending accounts are a hard pitch to leadership. Would need to be able to demonstrate measurable improvements. But I do think there is value in allowing employees to personalize their benefits.

I am taking the PHR exam on Friday and have been studying for months, also an HRBP for context of work. I’ve been using the practice tests and exams through HRCI and have been scoring 75-85%. The two practice exams I scored average 65%. Any advice on the final days of studying? Should I be focusing on the 2 practice exams or overall all lessons/ practice tests? Did anyone also feel that the test was hardier/easier than the practice tests?

Edit: this was removed by automod. I am an HR professional (HR business partner).