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... :00 AM by CompleteMarkets Editor , Marcus Covas This content has not been rated yet. These hiring guidelines can help protect your business against the "growth industry" of employment-related litigation. Today, every business faces not only the traditional challenges of competition and rapidly changing technology, but a relatively new category of potential adversary — workers hitting them with employment-related claims. Not-for-profit corporations, public entities, and private businesses alike are experiencing an explosion of litigation alleging: Discrimination Sexual Harassment Wrongful discharge Wage and hour disputes Negligent hiring, retention, and supervision Failure to provide benefits Violations of federal and state leave-of-absence laws Whether companies win or lose such suits, they'll divert time, money, and energy from growing sales and earnings. In one Southern California lawsuit, an openly gay grocery store night manager claimed he ... with ever-changing employment laws, Shroeder says. So how can you avoid hiring a victim? According to Burnham, thousands of successful public and private corporations of all types and sizes have benefited from these "best practices" for hiring: ALTERNATIVE HIRING PROCEDURES With today's low unemployment rate, newspaper ads generally don't attract the best applicants. Consider alternative recruiting sources, such as trade and vocational schools, community colleges, and local universities for recent graduates who are highly motivated and willing to learn. Also look into these options: Employees with excellent performance records often have friends and relatives with similar traits. Laid-off workers are often experienced, hard working, and grateful for a new opportunity. A staffing firm that screens candidates can be a valuable source for temporary or permanent workers. Cities and local communities may ...

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...rporations, public entities, and private businesses alike are experiencing an...e and vocational schools, community colleges, and local universities for rece...

...clients purchase “spots” on your private TV marketing network. Idea # 8: Wr...

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... to communicate the value of doing business with your agency by investing in a new flat screen TV for your reception area. For content, create PowerPoint presentations that show how clients and prospect can benefit from doing business with you. Add to the impact by including testimonies from your clients. Take this great idea to the next level by offering to let Commercial Lines clients purchase "spots" on your private TV marketing network. Idea # 8: Write a regular column in a local newspaper. Mark Von Moss of the Bomford, Couch & Wilson agency takes full advantage of the agency's relationship with the local newspaper by writing a regular column about various types of protection needs. If your community has a local newspaper, talk with them about the possibility of you writing a regular column. ... folks at Argus Financial Services in Chicago came up with a fantastic marketing idea: They put their logo on coolers, and then offer them to a local convenience store to give out to their clients. This is a classic win-win-win: The customers enjoy the coolers, the convenience store gains goodwill with these customers — and your agency's logo is branded all over the community. Idea # 5: Offer college scholarships to local high school students. A great way to take advantage of your agency's commitment to civic responsibility is to provide college scholarships to local high schools. Most high schools schedule award days at the end of each school year. These scholarships are often for $1 ,000 — which means that even smaller agencies can introduce their name to a significant number of families in their community. ...

... can I get away with paying? ' To attract high-quality engineers, for example, a company may have to pay as much as the 90th percentile for that position. Similarly, but at the opposite end of the spectrum, many traditionally minimum-wage employers are realizing that by paying above the norm, they attract as well as retain, quality employees. For example, In-N-Out Burgers, a very successful privately owned chain in Southern California, pays $1.50 an hour above the norm. This automatically defines its employees as being special. The company can pick and choose among an enormous candidate pool, in large part because of its willingness to pay more. It also keeps its employees far longer than its competitors. In my experience, companies that focus on how little they can pay people end up ... cost of spending time and money recruiting new employee, the cost of orientation and training - the list goes on. Do your best to get a grasp on how turnover is affecting your profits. Once you have a benchmark, you can then determine whether or not your strategies are producing the desired results. MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS Do you remember Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs from your high school or college introductory psychology classes? Maslow's theory states that depending on a person's socioeconomic status, they have different motivational drives. In ascending order these drives are: survival, acceptance, growth, and self-actualization. For example, the low-wage earner is focused on economic survival, while the high-earning executive is focused on self-actualization. While there are motivating factors that resonate throughout the different socioeconomic levels, a one-strategy-fits-all approach ...