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The hiring process is one of the most critical aspects of building a successful organization. The key to ensuring that the workforce is diverse, skilled, and capable of contributing to the company’s growth lies in recruiting the right people.

However, one of the challenges that HR departments often face is the hiring of relatives or nepotism within the workplace. Nepotism, the practice of favoring relatives or close friends in employment decisions, can lead to various issues, including conflicts of interest, resentment among employees, and a compromised work environment.

Here, we aim to provide HR professionals with valuable insights and strategies for handling the hiring of relatives in a fair and transparent manner.

Why Hiring Relatives Can Be a Problem

First off, not all situations involving hiring relatives are undesirable. In close-knit family businesses, hiring relatives is unavoidable. For example, bringing sons and daughters on board is a part of corporate succession planning. In such cases, the head of the family business may see grooming the next generation as continuity of culture and business practice for the company.

On the other hand, nepotism becomes a problem in larger corporations or in government organizations. Conflicts of interest and accusations of favouritism can crop up, even if the relative hired is indeed the most qualified person for the job. Among the rest of the workforce, the appearance of fairness and neutrality must be kept.

Addressing Hiring of Relatives

Develop a Clear Nepotism Policy

To effectively address nepotism, companies should establish a comprehensive nepotism policy. This policy should outline the organization’s stance on hiring relatives, the procedures for reporting potential nepotism, and the consequences for violating the policy. By having a clear policy in place, HR professionals can ensure that all employees are aware of the company’s expectations and consequences related to nepotism.

Consistent Application of Policies

Consistency is key when it comes to enforcing nepotism policies. HR professionals must ensure that hiring decisions are made based on merit, qualifications, and skills rather than personal relationships. It is essential to apply the same standards to all employees, regardless of their familial connections within the organization. This consistency helps maintain fairness and equity in the workplace.

Transparent Hiring Processes

Transparency in the hiring process is crucial to building trust among employees. HR professionals should ensure that all job openings are posted internally and externally, allowing a wide pool of candidates to apply. Additionally, interview panels should be diverse and include individuals who are not related to the candidate. This approach helps mitigate suspicions of bias and ensures that the best candidate is selected for the job.

Avoiding Direct Supervision

One effective way to manage nepotism is to avoid placing relatives in positions where they would directly supervise or manage each other, either through a solid-line or dotted-line reporting basis. This practice reduces the potential for conflicts of interest and favoritism. Instead, consider placing relatives in separate departments or teams to minimize the risk of nepotism-related issues.

Employee Education and Training

HR professionals should conduct regular training sessions for employees and managers on the company’s nepotism policy and the importance of fair hiring practices. By educating the workforce, you can raise awareness and promote a culture of fairness and professionalism.

Reporting Mechanisms

Establish a confidential reporting mechanism for employees to voice concerns about potential nepotism. Employees should feel comfortable reporting any perceived violations of the nepotism policy without fear of retaliation. HR professionals should investigate all reports thoroughly and take appropriate action when necessary.

Ethical Leadership

Leaders within the organization should set an example of ethical behavior. They should avoid engaging in nepotism themselves and be held to the same standards as other employees. Leadership commitment to ethical hiring practices is essential for fostering a culture of fairness and integrity.

Hire Smart with BrioHR

Hiring relatives can be a minefield, but it doesn’t have to be with BrioHR. With BrioHR’s onboarding module, you can ensure that everyone, regardless of relationship, can go through a standardized onboarding process. This is essential for fairness and transparency, while also helping new joiners get up to speed as fast as possible.

The post Navigating Nepotism: Handling the Hiring of Relatives appeared first on BrioHR.

As HR professionals, a key objective is to ensure that new joiners have a positive and enriching experience within the workplace. One crucial aspect of this experience is building strong relationships with colleagues. Encouraging new joiners to make friends in the office can significantly contribute to their job satisfaction, productivity, and overall well-being.

Here, we’ll explore some effective strategies for HR professionals to facilitate these connections and create a more inclusive and welcoming work environment.

Create Welcoming Onboarding Processes

The journey towards building friendships often begins during the onboarding process. HR professionals should design an onboarding program that not only focuses on job-related training but also includes activities and events that foster interpersonal connections. Consider incorporating icebreaker activities, group lunches, or team-building exercises to help new employees get to know their colleagues in a relaxed and comfortable setting.

Promote a Culture of Inclusivity

Inclusivity is the cornerstone of a workplace where friendships can thrive. HR should actively promote a culture that values diversity and encourages employees to appreciate and learn from one another’s backgrounds and perspectives. This inclusivity can be reinforced through diversity training, awareness campaigns, and open discussions about the importance of workplace friendships.

Implement Buddy Systems

Pairing new employees with experienced colleagues as “buddies” is an excellent way to facilitate friendships. These buddies can act as mentors, guides, and friends, helping newcomers navigate the workplace, introducing them to others, and offering support. Establishing a buddy system can be a formal part of the onboarding process or an ongoing initiative to ensure that every new hire has someone to turn to.

Organize Social Events

Regular social events outside of work hours provide an ideal setting for employees to connect on a personal level. HR can organize activities like teambuilding outings, sports activities, or volunteer opportunities to encourage socializing among colleagues. These events create an informal atmosphere where employees can relax and form lasting bonds.

Foster Cross-Departmental Collaboration

Encourage collaboration and interaction between different departments or teams. HR can initiate cross-functional projects, committees, or workshops that require employees from various areas to work together. Such initiatives not only enhance professional skills but also facilitate social interactions and friendships among colleagues who might not otherwise cross paths.

Provide Comfortable Spaces for Interaction

Designing the physical workplace with comfortable common areas can encourage spontaneous interactions. Break rooms, lounges, or collaborative workspaces equipped with comfortable seating, games, and amenities can create an inviting environment for employees to chat and bond during breaks.

Recognize and Reward Team Building

Recognizing and rewarding employees who actively contribute to team building and fostering workplace friendships can be a powerful incentive. Acknowledgement through awards, certificates, or other forms of recognition can motivate employees to engage in activities that promote camaraderie.

Encourage Open Communication

HR professionals should promote open communication channels where employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, concerns, and ideas. This creates a sense of belonging and trust, making it easier for individuals to initiate and maintain friendships within the organization.

Lead by Example

HR leaders and management should lead by example. Their behaviour and interactions with colleagues set the tone for the entire organization. Encourage senior management to engage in team-building activities, mentorship programs, and social events to demonstrate the importance of workplace friendships.

Set the Onboarding Tone with BrioHR

Encouraging new joiners to make friends in the office is not just about improving workplace morale; it’s also about enhancing productivity, retention rates, and overall job satisfaction. BrioHR’s onboarding module helps that process along by introducing a systematic, digitalized onboarding flow that can be customized to each new joiner. While BrioHR can’t help you make friends, it can make the transition to a new company much smoother and easier.

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Think back to the first day you had a job. Were you welcomed at the office? Introduced to everyone on the team? Did your manager sit down with you and discuss your job scope?

Then that’s great – you had a good onboarding experience.

On the other hand, if you were ignored on your first day and had to track down your manager (who may or may not be on leave), you likely went through a bad onboarding process.

Like meeting a person for the first time, it’s crucial for the business to make a great first impression on talent. This is where the onboarding process comes in. A good onboarding can make or break the overall employee experience – and whether the employee stays or leaves within the next 12 months.

With an ongoing war for talent raging amongst top employers, businesses that recognize the importance of onboarding will be the ones who can retain and grow their talent. Here are six reasons why onboarding is so important.

1. New Hires Can Adjust Faster

It’s not enough to just point out the bathrooms to a new hire, or where the best lunch spots are. You need to get them adjusted to their new environment.

When a new hire joins from another company, they may be used to working in a certain way. Getting them aligned and adjusted quickly means that you can implement the good ideas they bring, while simultaneously getting rid of bad habits. This way, new hires can also get used to the company’s goals and philosophy.

A systematic onboarding program makes this process much easier on managers, who can check in on regular intervals with their new hire. They can also inform their new hires on what the company can do for them, e.g. upskilling opportunities, exciting projects to work on, or even the monthly group sports activities.

2. Onboarding Sets Clear Goals

The minute employees join your team, you need to set clear goals for them to achieve. The onboarding process sets them up for success by setting out their roles and responsibilities, as well as the tasks they should be doing on Day One.

Thus, your new hires should be able to know:

• Their job expectations
• The goals they should be aiming for
• The timeline they should be working towards
• The procedures they need to comply with
• An understanding of the company’s culture and processes

3. Get To Meet the People That Matter

In the modern workplace, an employee’s job won’t be just ‘siloed’ in his or her department. Instead, colleagues will often need to work across departments to achieve the company’s goals.

With a good onboarding process, managers can introduce new hires to relevant team members, key department heads, and also the CEO. This way, the new hire can establish good working relationships, while everyone can know the new hire’s role and the importance to the company.

Furthermore, by introducing new hires to the CEO and team leaders, you may help them feel like they belong in the organization and reinforce the notion that their role is significant.

4. Employee Engagement Increases

Employees are more likely to become engaged once they are aware of the company’s perspective and what it has to offer.

Engaged employees are the ones who go above and above each and every day because they genuinely care about their workplace and want it to achieve its objectives.

Making new hires feel welcome and cared for enhances their likelihood of feeling committed, which boosts employee retention. Engaged employees are also more productive, make lesser mistakes, and generally are an asset to the company.

Hence, the onboarding process is crucial because it shows new hires that the firm cares about them, which in turn fosters engagement and a strong sense of loyalty among staff members.

5. Opportunities for Mentorship

New hires aren’t the only ones that benefit from an onboarding program – your existing employees do as well. More senior employees will get a chance to be a mentor to new employees, which represents a great chance to further boost their leadership skills.

Aside from a leadership opportunity, mentorship also serves as a unique learning opportunity for the mentor as well. By guiding and instructing the mentee, mentors also gain knowledge. New hires can teach mentors about things never encountered before if they have diverse backgrounds. The mentee may also have knowledge of the most recent industry trends, especially younger hires.

6. Employee Retention Increases

When you make a great first impression on a new employee and guide them along their career journey, chances are they will stay with the business for the long term. Research by Brandon Hall Group has shown that organizations with a strong onboarding process improve new hire retention by 82% and productivity by over 70%.

Furthermore, new hires are 93% more likely to recommend an employer to a friend when they get a proper onboarding experience. Employee referrals are a valuable source of recruitment, as they are faster and cheaper to hire.

Get the Best Onboarding Experience with BrioHR

Designing an onboarding process differs from company to company. But with BrioHR, you can make the right first impression, improving employee engagement, productivity, and retention. With automated reminders and notifications, you can make the onboarding process as systematic as possible.

Furthermore, you don’t onboard a marketing intern the exact way you onboard a senior director of finance. Hence, you can easily customise your onboarding process and create multiple onboarding tracks as needed.

With 9 powerful modules, BrioHR’s software covers the entire employee journey from recruitment to onboarding, payroll and claims, to performance and analytics, and more.

This enables business owners and HR teams to truly focus on what matters most – people.

Visit briohr.com and get a free demo now.

The post 6 Reasons Why Onboarding Is So Important appeared first on BrioHR.

Generation Z will shape your business and the wider workforce in the decades to come. Born between 1997 to 2010, Gen Z will make up 30 percent of the global workforce by 2030.

However, many businesses’ recruitment practices are firmly rooted in the preferences of older generations. The new cohort of Gen Z employees have a different ethos to those that came before them. This is due, in part, to the rapidly changing world in which they grew up in.

Therefore, to successfully recruit and retain Gen Z employees, you need to bridge the generation gap and know what they are like. In short, Gen Z is:

• Digital first: Gen Z has never known a world without the internet. The smartphone was invented when most of them were toddlers. Previous generations adapted, sometimes unwillingly, to innovations like social media, on-demand entertainment, and an ‘always-on’ lifestyle. On the other hand, Gen Z takes these for granted, with little to no memory of the pre-smartphone age.
• Socially conscious: Gen Z came of age amidst climate change, political polarization, and increasing social and economic inequality. It’s no surprise that this has shaped a progressive worldview, in which Gen Z feels like they have to make a difference through their choices. They want to be associated with brands and organizations that share their values.
• Financially pragmatic: The parents of Gen Z-ers were hit by the Great Recession, economizing on everything from daily necessities to housing costs. Many families never really recovered from the financial shock of 2007-2008, driving their Gen Z children to adopt a pragmatic, thrifty attitude towards money.
• Astute customers: When it comes to making decisions, Gen Z have a wealth of information at their fingertips. As tech savvy customers with access to social media, Gen Z can and do make more informed decisions than their older peers, in every aspect of life from purchasing to job seeking.

Here are eight things you need to be doing right now to hire Gen Z talent.

1. Be Authentic

Disillusioned by the ‘perfect’, curated images on social media, Gen Z craves the messy reality of authenticity, warts and all. This should be reflected in your employer brand.

If your company has any shortcomings, don’t try to sweep it under the rug – Gen Z will know about it from social media. Instead, own your mistakes and clearly communicate your plan to fix these mistakes. At the same time, encourage your people to be open and honest about their experiences at the company.

The same goes with your job listings. Don’t set unrealistic expectations for candidates, for example requiring an entry-level job to have three years of experience. While it’s important to weed out inexperienced jobseekers, you could also potentially miss out on younger, suitably qualified candidates.

2. Work Towards Something Bigger

Closely related to authenticity is the purpose of the company. Prospective Gen Z talents look for companies that align closely with their values – to do good, to make a difference, to make the world a better place. In short, they want to find meaning in their work.

Hence, your organization’s mission and values need to be spelled out clearly to attract Gen Z talent. HR also needs to talk about how these values are translated into the job scope and its day-to-day functions. Show your talent how their role – no matter how insignificant – can make a difference.

3. Emphasize Learning and Career Growth

Gen Z employees have a different set of career priorities compared to their older counterparts. In particular, they want opportunities to develop and grow. This does not just mean climbing the corporate ladder – instead they are looking for ways to learn new skills and new responsibilities.

Furthermore, Gen Z is infamous for job-hopping, but they’re not job-hopping out of spite. Career stagnation sets in much earlier for this cohort, especially when they see the options available to them on social media. Employers can take advantage of this restlessness by showing them internal pathways to development, encouraging them to job-hop internally instead. This gives them the chance to find what they like and chart a long-term career path – hopefully with your company.

4. Connect Face-to-Face

Despite their digital-first mindset, Gen Z jobseekers desire face-to-face contact with potential employers. They can feel overwhelmed by the massive amount of information online, and they need to talk to a real person to validate their choices.

Hence, physical events like job fairs and open days are still key to recruiting Gen Z talent. They get the chance to talk to a real representative of the company, while the business is able to ‘sell’ its employer brand to the younger generation of talent.

5. Encourage Referrals

Similarly, when searching for a job, Gen Z candidates value referrals from a company’s current employees more than any other option. Of course, online job boards and company careers pages are important sources of information, but nothing beats a personal testimonial from someone they know.

6. Be Fast

Gen Z is used to getting everything instantly. This translates to job offers as well. Not only do 17 percent of Gen Z jobseekers expect an offer less than a week after the interview, they also expect to receive more than one job offer.

When communicating with recruiters, they also expect replies to be instant, with information available at their fingertips. Companies will need to step up and streamline their hiring processes in order to compete for young talent.

7. Be Flexible

The pandemic let the flexible working genie out of the bottle, and there’s no way to put it back in. Flexibility in terms of where and when to work has emerged as one of the most alluring perks for employees during the Great Resignation. And it’s even more crucial especially for the newest generation of talent.

Hybrid working will be the norm for Gen Z, and its all to do with work-life balance. For example, if your company emphasizes employee well-being, truly mean it by investing in employee benefits and giving flexible perks like remote working.

8. Communicate Openly

More than anything else, fairness and openness feature greatly in Gen Z values. Your company’s hiring process should also reflect that.

Subjecting candidates to paper applications, making them jump through multiple hoops, and ignoring their questions are surefire ways to turn off Gen Z talents. As they enter the workforce amidst the Great Resignation, Gen Z candidates have myriad job offers to choose from if the recruitment process is slow, cumbersome, or both.

What companies can do instead is to clearly communicate to Gen Z talents the interview process, e.g. how many interview rounds, any tests needed etc. During the hiring process, companies should also let interviewees know if they have passed the first interview round, second interview round, and so on in a timely manner. Even if they are rejected, letting them know with a simple rejection letter is much better than ghosting them.

Recruit Generation Z with BrioHR

With BrioHR’s digital solution, your company can keep up with Gen Z’s speed of thought. BrioHR’s recruitment module allows HR to collect and share feedback from candidate screening and interviews, boost collaboration between departments, and make faster and more robust hiring decisions.

This speed and openness will give your business the edge in hiring the next generation of talent.

With 9 powerful modules, BrioHR’s software covers the entire employee journey from recruitment to onboarding, payroll and claims, to performance and analytics, and more.

This enables business owners and HR teams to truly focus on what matters most – people.

Visit briohr.com and get a free demo now.

The post 8 Things You Should Be Doing to Recruit Generation Z appeared first on BrioHR.

Working in an office is just like school. Sure, the objective is to work/study, but making friends matters a lot as well.

In fact, making friends at work is important to productivity and happiness. According to this survey, 57% of respondents said that having a good friend at work makes their job more enjoyable, while 24% say having friends at work makes them as or more productive.

Friendships are also an important element in building a positive company culture that promotes productivity and creativity. It is much easier to reach out and ask a friend for help rather than someone who is just another colleague. You can also bounce ideas off each other and make the workday more pleasant.

But in this age of hybrid working, it can be intimidating to build professional friendships, especially if you’re new to the organization. Here are five simple ways to make friends at a hybrid workplace, even if you’re an introvert.

Introduce Yourself

Normally, HR will take the initiative to introduce you to your department, and you can introduce yourself from there. But, if it is your first day in the office, chances are you will be noticed as a new face by people from other departments.

For this, going up and introducing yourself is always the best way to make friends. This will develop the foundation for future relationships, especially if you will be involved in cross-departmental work. Also, you may find unexpected common interests or friends in common around the office.

If you’re working online, even a simple introduction in a group chat will let other colleagues know that a new joiner has arrived. The next time you interact with them, it will be less awkward and you can start building a relationship.

See Your Hybrid Friends in Person

If you’ve been onboarded remotely, it’s likely that you’ve never met your colleagues in person. Of course, it is possible to build relationships online, but nothing beats face-to-face interaction.

You can ease this transition by arranging to meet in the office on a specific day and to get lunch together. You could also ask them questions about their weekend, interests, or any other details they might be willing to share. This demonstrates that you care by paying attention. The more you interact with others at work, the more naturally conversation flows – even when working from home.

Break the Silence

Being known as the ‘quiet one’ in the office won’t do you any favours. You need to be seen, heard, and known to progress in the organization – none of which is possible without making friends.

The key here is to break the silence and start a conversation. Most people don’t mind talking, especially colleagues. After all, both of you are part of the same organization. Humans are social creatures who crave social interaction, so don’t let the silence hang heavy in the air.

Even in video calls, you don’t have to stay quiet. Speak up during Q&A sessions, or even when logging in and greeting everyone. This way, you’ll get noticed.

Take Advantage of Company Events

Companies hold events all the time, such as town halls, happy hours, or sporting activities. The point of these activities is for everyone to get to know each other and deepen relationships. This is by far your best chance to get yourself known, if you haven’t already.

Organizations love such team-building activities because they pretty much force colleagues to interact with each other, improving teamwork and building company culture. If you’ve mostly been working from home, take this opportunity to participate in-person and make friends.

Ask for Advice

Asking for advice may look like a sign of weakness, but it’s not. On the contrary, it makes you look like a team player. With the nature of work evolving to become more specialized, asking for advice out of our areas of expertise presents a chance to build relationships as well as a learning opportunity.

People are normally more than happy to share their thoughts over a casual chat in the office. Of course, that is if they aren’t busy. Check with them first by saying, “I’m working on a project and would love your perspective on it. Do you have a few minutes?”

Onboard Smoothly and Make Friends with BrioHR

Whether you’re onboarded remotely or in-person, BrioHR’s seamless onboarding module helps you manage your first days, weeks, and months in the office, enabling you to make the right first impression.

You can get instant visibility on the onboarding process and give your feedback right on the user-friendly dashboard. This way, you spend less time on processes and more time making friends.

With 9 powerful modules, BrioHR’s software covers the entire employee journey from recruitment to onboarding, payroll and claims, to performance and analytics, and more.

This enables business owners and HR teams to truly focus on what matters most – people.

Visit briohr.com and get a free demo now.

The post 5 Ways to Make Friends in a Hybrid Office appeared first on BrioHR.