by Prompt Personnel | Dec 2, 2020 | Human Resources
- Equal Pay for Equal Work; what are your thoughts on this?
According to me, the pay should be based purely on the work the individual is performing, it has nothing to do with gender. I really fail to understand that why and who created this discrimination! Unfortunately, history shows that women have made great strides in the fight for equality and respect in all areas of life, and I am happy that we won this battle. Studies have also proven that women are multi-taskers, sincere, more talented, versatile, and sky is the limit, if given an opportunity.
- How is Prompt Becoming Inclusive? Share an instance!
I would say that Prompt completely believes and follows Gender Diversity. Most of the key rolesare being led by women workforce here. The organisation believes in delegating authority & responsibility, based on the capability & potential of the individual. We are always a part of all major decisions of business and our ideas/thoughts, opinions are being heard and valued. The best thing here is feeling of oneness, we are being valued and respected as an individual. There is a work-life balance. We are Proud of being a Prompt team member.
In 2017, when the amendment was made in The Maternity Act, 1961, about extending the Maternity Leave to 26 weeks, studies showed that many companies were hesitant to hire females. However, at Prompt this did not affect our hiring practices, in fact 50% of our staff is female and most of them are handling KEY ROLES, so this is just a small instance I would like to share.
by Prompt Personnel | Nov 30, 2020 | Human Resources
Today businesses of all sizes right from start-ups, small-size firms to even MNC’s must focus on labour law compliance. The labour laws in any given country are updated by the concerned authorities and keep changing from time to time, and all business owners should be ready to adapt and abide by it. The responsibility of Labour law compliance management rests with the HR teams only, and this increases the pressure on the entire HR team.
They need to keep themselves updated with all the changes, amendments and notifications related to employment laws and labour laws which can be a cumbersome and time-consuming process. One needs an expert who can handle such complexities. A labour law advisor can help in overcoming all the challenges related to labour law compliance.
Here are some of the challenges faced by the HR teams:
Work timings:
Usually, work timings are set to a limit on a weekly basis. The entire working hours for one week should not exceed 48 hours. These 48 hours should also include the overtime and night shifts. There will be special provisions for night shift workers. As employees are even working from home, it is a challenge for the HR team to keep an accurate track of the working hours of each employee.
Expert Availability:
If your business operations are spread out in multiple states, then the regulations of local governments, state and central are different. The company needs experts in all the applicable compliances in order to manage them all. It may not be possible for the company to handle so many compliances at times as they lack expertise to handle so many compliances.
Overtime calculations:
Wages are usually calculated based on the working hours and working days in a particular month. A register with all the details should be maintained as evidence, by the employers. But when it comes to overtime, the pay slabs are going to be different. These records of overtime calculations and payments should be maintained in a systematic way as required by the labour department.
Payroll compliance
As part of labour law compliance, it is important for the organization to maintain a digital record of payrolls. Any kind of changes in the minimum wage act in the state level should be tracked from time to time, to make sure that you are paying the right salary to your employees.
Apart from these, there are many other challenges that the HR team faces like the gender pay gap, GDPR and many other things. So, it may not be possible for the internal HR team to handle all these challenges by themselves. An expert labour law advisoris required to get everything in place. They take care of ESI, LWF, EPF and PT as well. Apart from these, they also take care of Regulatory compliance and vendor compliance audits as well. To make sure you have a clear and up-to-date employee record, and maintain labour law compliance, you will need the best team of experts in this field.
by Prompt Personnel | Nov 29, 2020 | Human Resources
When hiring a new talent to grow your business, уоu are lіkеlу to соmе асrоѕѕ ѕеvеrаl terms such as permanent employees, fixed-term employees, contractual employees, consultants, and gig workers. There are a few employment agencies and headhunters that provide only permanent hiring services while some offer only contractual staffing or temporary staffing services. There are also full-fledged companies that offer a complete spectrum of such services and can guide you to find the right mix after understanding your needs.
The rеаl question іѕ, “Which type of manpower іѕ bеѕt suited fоr mу organization?” In this article we compare Direct hiring versus Contract staffing, defining both, and comparing thеіr unique advantages under dіffеrеnt situations.
What is Direct Hiring?
Thе direct appointment іѕ аlѕо referred аѕ direct placement. In thе direct recruitment process, аn employment agency wоrkѕ tо source, qualify and hire permanent staff оn behalf of its client. Thеѕе аrе usually full-time positions with benefits, but sometimes-direct hiring can аlѕо fill part-time or Temporary staffing positions.
Whіlе thе employment agency handles thе direct recruiting tasks, thе nеw hire goes straight tо thе client’s payroll and bесоmеѕ an employee of thаt company оnсе аn offer іѕ mаdе аnd accepted. A direct search route usually means thаt thе company has committed tо a long-term relationship wіth thеіr employment partner. Undеr thіѕ partnership, thе recruiters саn dо a thorough job search and interview the bеѕt candidates fоr thе position.
What is Contract staffing or Contract-to-hire?
A contract-to-recruiting process іѕ vеrу similar to a direct recruiting process due to the way the recruitment іѕ carried out. However, thеrе іѕ lеѕѕ оf аn upfront commitment on behalf оf thе client іn hiring thе chosen candidate. Also, in a contract staffing scenario, the selected candidate begins employment as a part of the employment temp agency payroll instead of the client.
While direct hiring means the employee immediately joins the client on the permanent payroll, the contract-to-hire process offers mоrе flexibility to the employer. He can hire thе temp staff rіght аftеr thе contract period оr may also decide nоt tо proceed based on the performance.
Contract duration varies widely from short-term to even an indefinite term. In аlmоѕt аll situations, thе client іѕ allowed tо to convert thе contract staff іn tо а permanent employee.
Nоw, let us break down thе difference bеtwееn thе twо by understanding their pros.
Benefits of Contract Staffing
- In Direct hiring, you cannot hire employees just for a short period or for a small project. So, contract staffing is the best option when you have a short-term requirement for a project.
- There is a lot of work for the HR team to hire one employee. Screening, background checks, interviews, and a lot more. But it is not worth spending so much time on a short-term contract. Contract staffing saves a lot of time for the HR team.
- .Helps to save costs. Contract staffing helps to hire the workforce as per the demand cycle, seasonality, etc. all of it flexibly. This will benefit the organization in optimum utilization of resources and deployment of the workforce as per their need, which in turn results in cost-cutting.
- Finding the right talent for your organization can be a tedious task. Contract staffing provides an opportunity to assess the performance of the employees in a temporary role or short-term role.
Advantages Of Direct Staffing
Hiring directly with the help of a recruitment firm offers a range of advantages for both the candidate and the agency:
- Thе hired candidate іѕ раrt оf thе organization (employee) оn hіѕ payroll frоm dау оnе, whісh allows him/her tо avoid thе costs associated wіth contract-to-hire candidates.
- Direct hiring attracts a larger pool оf candidates, i.e., thе hiring manager оr recruiter іѕ mоrе lіkеlу tо ѕее mаnу highly qualified candidates.
- Thе candidates hаvе a stronger sense оf loyalty, mаkіng thеm mоrе lіkеlу tо bе stable аnd engaged.
- Thе candidate wіll receive benefits ѕuсh аѕ sick leave, vacations, health benefits, etc. frоm dау оnе, unlike Contract to hire.
- Unlike Contract to hire, thеrе іѕ a sense оf job security (as lоng аѕ thе candidate dоеѕ thе job diligently аnd efficiently).
Conclusion
Choosing between Contract staffing and direct staffing depends on the requirement. If you are looking for permanent staff or long-term projects, then it is good to go for direct staffing. But if you have a short-term objective, if you have very little time to hire someone or someone with a very rare skillset, then contract staffing is the right choice. Staffing firms have access to a large talent pool and it gets easy to hire someone immediately.
by Prompt Personnel | Nov 27, 2020 | Human Resources
- Equal Pay for Equal Work; what are your thoughts on this?
I strongly believe that remuneration always depends on the qualification/ experience we take ahead with us. Hence equal pay for equal work must be followed irrespective of gender at all levels of the organisation.
- How is Prompt Becoming Inclusive? Share an instance!
At Prompt, everyone is respected at all levels of the organisation. Every individual is valued and recognized for the efforts they put for the organisation. The organisation truly believes in growing and developing talent internally before they look for talent elsewhere and I experienced the same during my journey at Prompt. If you see my own professional journey at Prompt Personnel, I had joined as an executive, and here I stand today as an Operations Manager with all due respect from Management and colleagues. My opinions are always heard, and I have a voice to stand out. Besides, it is all about the hard work that pays back and how you can bring about innovation in your own area of work.
- Do you feel valued, respected, accepted, and encouraged to fully participate in the organization? Share and instance.
As I mentioned earlier, I am always valued as an individual, always heard out, and always supported in all the decisions I make.Even in terms of hiring related decisions my views are taken into consideration. For Software development, I have been empowered and given full opportunity to develop and take Prompt to the next level in terms of digitization and technology.
by | Nov 19, 2020 | Human Resources
1. Equal Pay for Equal Work; what are your thoughts on this?
I believe that “Equal pay for equal work” is very important in today’s day and age. There should not be any disparity between men and women.
Although, a few years ago there was a significant disparity in the remuneration, but times have changed to a great extent. Today, MNCs are giving equal pay, equal responsibilities, and equal opportunities to everyone, irrespective of gender. It has still not reached that mark but we are much better than what we were earlier. Women were not considered for senior positions as it was perceived that they would not be able to handle the workload with household responsibilities and marriage.
The concept of the glass ceiling has existed for many years now. Today, people understand that women can achieve much more when given the opportunity. With their multitasking abilities, they are able to take up dual responsibilities.
Besides, women have a strong instinct to read between the lines. They can take cues for aspects that are not spelt out or put down on paper. They are more organised and more ambitious than before. Women of today are taking more accountability and responsibility. They are more career-oriented, and wish to become independent, having entered male dominated fields such as engineering, IT, manufacturing, etc. too; they are everywhere.
2. How is Prompt Becoming Inclusive? Share an instance.
Yes, Prompt is an Inclusive organization. There is employee morale, culture, and employee engagement initiatives that lead and drive towards inclusiveness. At Prompt, we have majorly women in managerial and decision-making roles. Hence, you can say that we are a gender diverse organization!
At Prompt, we are given responsibility and authority to make decisions with a free hand. Authority is given to negotiate with the client without any interference or involvement. We are empowered to take business calls which could benefit the organization without much interference.
The best part is that the organization engages its key managers in major decisions such as revenue improvement and growth, introduction of new software or processes etc. views of the team are considered, and an informed decision is further made.
A noticeable instance would be how the organization coped with Covid situation. When the pandemic struck it was only through collective decision-making and team effort towards putting a business continuity plan in place that worked to our advantage. It was all executed and strategized as a team!
3. Do you feel valued, respected, accepted, and encouraged to fully participate in the organization? Share and instance.
Yes, absolutely. As I said, critical decisions of the organization on increasing revenue, introducing anything new, involve us too, giving an opportunity to give our opinions and contributing to the decisions.
by Prompt Personnel | Oct 27, 2020 | Human Resources
The COVID-19 pandemic has created worldwide unrest and has affected hundreds of thousands of lives globally. It is affecting businesses and organizations to a very great extent. Organizations are uncertain about their next move, their next plan. Also, recruiting front line workers in sectors such as healthcare, retail, transport, etc was never so challenging as it is in Corona times.
Due to remote working at most organisations, there are various challenges in hiring. At this time, employers are very careful and cautious and are focusing on the applicant’s skills and abilities before recruiting them. One of the key challenges during this time is Background verification. Due to limited resources, organisations are finding it difficult to conduct background checks and verification while hiring new candidates.
Hiring a professional background verification company can help you to check the background of the candidates and foster quality employment.
Why is background check important?
One of the greatest advantages of pre-employment background verifications is to promote quality hiring and eliminate the chances of negligent recruitment. Organizations are responsible for the output of their workforce and hence hiring anyone who is not at par at this time can hamper the work quality of the organization. Background screening helps to know the previous employment history and record of accomplishment of a candidate. It provides great insights into their work behaviour and approach.
Background Checks such as identity verification, educational/professional qualifications, employment verification, address verification, and professional references helps to validate the information provided by the candidate.
Several background verification companies in Mumbai conduct thorough employee background checks on such parameters.
Employee Background Verification Challenges During COVID-19
The pandemic has affected organisations on background verification activities too. Today background verification companies in India are facing challenges in offering their professional services to their clients. They are too working from home and using digital methods to conduct a background verification process and provide complete screening information to the organizations. Due to lockdown constraints, these background verification companies are not able to perform physical background checks and screening. But they are trying to maintain the level of precision and accuracy as per the pre-Covid times.
Some challenges faced by the majority of employee background verification companies include:
- Courthouse Closures: The Covid-19 restrictions have made it difficult to get access to courthouse closures and records.
- Education verification: Since a majority of educational institutions and universities are non-operational getting access to this information is a little difficult. However, some professional employee background verification companies in Mumbai are able to get the desired information using their sources.
- Employment Verification: With organisations switching to work from home mode, there is a delay in getting information concerning previous employment, experience, performance at the previous roles, etc. from the old employer.
- Civil and Criminal Records: With public service organisations and several other government departments tied up with COVID-19 duties and with new responsibilities hence, it is challenging to get precise and timely information of a potential candidate.
Covid-19 pandemic has changed the complete scenario but has also increased the awareness and importance of employee background verification. Professional verification companies are functioning smoothly with some delays in the verification process. Screening services are grappling to provide quick, professional, and efficient employee background checks to their patrons. After all, employee background verification is an important step and must not be missed at any time especially, during a pandemic like COVID-19.
