Best Practice

The Changing Times for Sick Time

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In the multitude of challenges facing employers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic comes the recognition that there is no ‘normal’ anymore. Existing business practices, such as the demand for a medical note from a doctor to justify an employee’s illness, are just not sustainable. When the public health authorities require that citizens stay at home and self-isolate if they have any symptoms of illness, the formality of requesting a doctor’s note seems ridiculous. As Human Resources professionals, we need to support and implement the changes for improved compensation practices.

Letting go of the old ways does not come quickly enough for some employers. The Tim Hortons fast-food chain made the news again for their unfortunate choices in compensation practices related to sick leave. As noted in this article, employees of the franchise continued to be required to provide a medical note to justify taking an unpaid sick leave day. After taking five days of unpaid sick leave, the employee would be fired. Needless to say, there was significant negative backlash when this practice hit the news and social media outlets.

It seems that the negative reaction pushed this particular employer into changing their sick leave and compensation practices. Five days after the first news article, the Tim Hortons franchise also announced a commitment of $40 million “to support employees” who are affected by COVID-19. As noted in this article, the company will pay employees who have the virus or are quarantined “up to 14 days.” The clear message from this updated policy was one of public safety, support, and recognition of the need for change in these unprecedented times.

Unfortunately, the journey on this new road did not last very long until once again, one of the franchise stores in Alberta hit the negative news cycle with this post. Fortunately, the note from the franchise owner was removed. The commitment to Tim Hortons’s new policy, including the removal of the requirement for sick notes, was re-posted in the public domain.

Change is hard. Forced change is even harder. These examples show how important it is to leave the old road behind us. Once this crisis is over, we must make the choice to stay on the new road as it leads to a safer, more sustainable future for us all.

Discussion Questions:

  1. In your opinion, how can a fast-food franchise implement improved compensation practices related to attendance management?
  2. Do you think the practice of termination after five unpaid sick days is fair? Explain your rationale.
  3. What types of HR-related supports should be in place for any fast-food franchise owner?

Mass Hiring Made Easy?

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In our recruitment and selection studies, we focus on the importance of ensuring that all of the processes we use as HR professionals follow a consistent and well-planned approach to individual hires.

We spend a lot of time, both in theory and in practice, making sure that we use the right approach to select the right person for the right job. The question arises, how does this approach support mass hiring as a recruitment project?

Mass hiring takes place when an organization has to recruit and select numerous candidates for multiple jobs within a very short time frame. This differs from the concepts linked to individual selection processes. Typically, the scope of a mass hiring recruitment plan is based on filling as many positions as quickly as possible with the most likely candidates who fit a broad set of job-related requirements. Call it a bulk, volume, or mass recruitment project, the basic elements of sound human resources practices must still be in place in order to make solid hiring decisions as the end result.

As the time-to-fill-rate for a mass hiring process is critical, the use of technology based tools provide for the elimination of time wasting steps which bring little value to an overall bulk recruitment strategy.  This includes the use of mobile texting to make the application process simpler and faster. The Canadian Home Depot retail chain has recently implemented a ‘Text-to-Apply’ process in order to fill thousands of possible vacancies across the country.

Click on the link to read about Home Depot’s mass hiring process.

As noted in the article, while Home Depot has implemented easy steps for potential candidates to apply, they continue to maintain a standard set of requirements for all applicants.  In order to be considered, candidates must meet at least two fundamental business needs which include the delivery of ‘excellent customer experience’ in a ‘values driven team’ environment.  These business needs are articulated on the company’s website, which also gives us another example of a technology-based tool that is used for effective recruitment practices.

  Click on the link to peruse the Home Depot Careers website.

Mass hiring and open-forum recruitment processes, as implemented by organizations like Home Depot, do not necessarily mean a reduction in the quality of candidate requirements. In fact, these processes appear to require an increase in the quality and quantity of effective human resource management in order to ensure that recruitment and selection is clearly aligned with organizational strategy.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Identify three potential risks and benefits of using a ‘Text-to-Apply’ process as part of a mass hiring recruitment campaign.
  2. From a Human Resources perspective, what steps or processes would you put into place that assess a candidate’s ability to fit the business needs identified by Home Depot?
  3. What does the Home Depot – Careers website tell you about its culture and work environment?