Hampton Roads
Employment News
Volume 9 September 2008
In This Issue
Verifying Current Employment
Business Survey
Paid Unfairly?
Tools of the Trade: Verifying Current Employment
 
A recurring issue in any past employment check is sensitivity about contacting the current employer. A current employer should NOT be contacted unless the applicant specifically gives permission. Reference
 
The reason is that some employers, who upon learning a current employee is looking, will immediately take steps to terminate the employee. This is especially true for positions of greater responsibility where the applicant may have access to customer lists or trade secrets. In some industries, within minutes of learning an employee is actively looking for a new position, the current employer will have Security box up the employee's personal items, confiscate all computers and disks, turn off all access to any computer systems, deactivate the parking permit and building access code, and have the person physically escorted off the premises with a last paycheck.

If such a hasty departure is caused by a phone call by the prospective new employer, and the job offer does not come through, the applicant is left without a job and free to contemplate whether they should visit a lawyer.
 
In order to avoid this, here is a simple two-step program-
  1. On the application, make sure there is a box some place in large enough letters asking an applicant, "May we contact your current employer?"
  2. Do NOT call the current employer unless the applicant has clearly marked the "Yes" Box. If the applicant failed to check either box, then do not call until that is clarified. Anything other than a clear indication of YES can create problems.
If the employer still needs to verify the current employment, there are three options for doing so...
  1. Ask the applicant for the name of a past supervisor or co-worker who is no longer working with the applicant at the current place of employment. (Again, if there is any question about the authenticity of the supplied name, the employer can call and verify the ex-employee did in fact work at the current workplace).
  2. Ask the applicant to bring in W-2's for each year of work, or at least the full past year.
  3. Wait until after the employee is hired to call the past employer, providing the hire is subject to a written offer letter that clearly states continued employment is conditioned upon a background screening report that is satisfactory to the employer. Once the new employee comes aboard, there can be a final phone call. By making current employment part of the written offer letter, an applicant has a powerful incentive to be accurate about his or her current employment situation, since any false or misleading statement or omission will have serious consequences. It is also important to say the screening report must be "satisfactory to the employer" in order to not get into a debate with an applicant/new employee about what is, or is not, a satisfactory screening report.
 
-Lester S. Rosen
President of Employment Screening Resources
www.ESRcheck.com
(c)by Lester S. Rosen

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We are working hard to provide our readers with relevent information regarding employment in Hampton Roads.  We have received a lot of positive feedback, and we thank you.  Feel free to let us know if you have a suggestion or a story of your own!  Simply reply to this email and your comments will go directly to our Vice President!  Thank you.

 
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Your Opinion Counts!!  Hampton Roads Business Climate Survey - 2008 
 
Last Call - We all hear the news everyday, it is up and down like a rollercoaster and all we can do is hang on.  Now is your chance to share your opinion in the Hampton Roads Business Climate Survey.  This very short 5 question survey gives you the opportunity to share your opinion.  Due to a limited response, we will keep our survey open for one more month and publish the results in the October issue of Hampton Roads Employment News.  Thank you.
 
 
PayWhat to do When Employees Say They are Paid Unfairly
Less than half of employees think they are paid fairly compared with people in their own organization who hold similar jobs.

A few years ago the operations group of a small airport hired me to improve employee morale. This 150-person department managed the grounds, security, and maintenance of the airport facilities.

The majority of the employees were unionized. One common complaint was how they were paid. A maintenance employee working on a team responsible for taking care of the grounds complained, "Although I've only been working here a short time, I work harder and do a much better job than anybody else here, but I'm paid far less."

A member of the rescue squad had a similar complaint. "The people on our squad who have been working here the longest do the least amount of work," he told me. "They come to work late, leave early, and take hour-long coffee breaks, yet they make the most money because of their seniority."

When I pointed out to them that their union had negotiated this pay-for-seniority arrangement, they just shrugged their shoulders and said it was still management's fault.

Another client, a retail organization, had a related problem. One of the sales people on the floor complained to me, "I've been working here for 3 years and make virtually the same as new employees." (This is called "pay compression.")

THE PROBLEM
Employees want to believe that their good performance is recognized by management and appropriately compensated. Most don't want all employees to be paid the same. Instead they want the best performers to be paid the most. However, most if not all, believe they are among best performers in their group.

The problem is that when employees feel they are not paid fairly compared to others performing the same work in their organization, they become resentful of the organization and their coworkers. They think to themselves, "That lazy SOB in the next office makes the same as I do. Why should I work harder when I'm not going to see it in my paycheck?" These thoughts are not good for employee morale or for maintaining a motivated workforce.

Although many organizations would like to pay employees performing the same work differently, that's often very difficult. Here are some reasons why:

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