Fingerprints and Physicals

A applicant has been selected for a position with your organization. An offer was made, the offer was accepted (yeah!) and you can't wait for them to start. What does it take at this point to "pass GO" and get to the first day?  

From the new employee's side there is a notice to be given,  projects to be completed, addresses to be changed, emotions to manage and all of the many other things that come with a major life change. From the new organization's side (us), there are fingerprints to be taken, a drug test to be passed, physicals to be administered, background checks to be initiated, and credentials to be verified - all before day one. I understand completely and know why the things we do have to be done. Hey, I am in HR.

I am seeing the pre-employment necessities on the rise and the burden of responsibility shifting heavily to the employee to make the time to get them done. The impact of not doing so - no start date. The motivation to do so - a new job with a great organization. Is that enough? Should be, but my fear is that it will not always be and we will lose good people, no matter how efficient and user-friendly I can make the process.

What I Do

I was asked, albeit by my 6 year old, what I do at work. Well, as I thought about how to answer, I considered my day yesterday. Wednesday was a typical day and a typical day goes something like this:

Attend recruitment meeting to discuss the status of all vacancies: prepare a report to state licensing board re: unprofessional conduct; meet with union president (oops, didn’t know that was opened for local negotiation); continue with workers compensation case reviews (63 down, 17 more to go); review evidence file for proposed discipline action (not strong); review performance improvement plan (need more documentation); meet with director to discuss cash awards (go forth!); review slides for performance review training for supervisors (good to go); reconcile travel costs (we will get $5,000 back for intern training); get the distinctions between pharmacy resident, interns and associated health trainees and ensure we use our funding properly (got it now); approve purchase card orders; talk with our Purchase Card Coordinator about our less than customer-friendly, only newspaper in town re: our weekend recruitment ads (I am sending in the big dogs now!); located Minneapolis area hospital salary survey  (no wonder no one responded to my now seemingly redundant individual requests for information); look for position description to address new department responsibilities (and steal shamelessly!); support HR staff Vet Pro training with supervisors (went well); review promotion action questioned by the VISN Board and discuss with Liaison (matter of interpretation); review background check results with Chief of Police (what is 2 degree assault motivated by bias?) . . . to these highlights add ponder future direction of department and medical center growth issues, walk-ins, telephone calls, 125 + Outlook messages and, well, there you have it.

So, back to my daughter. What do I do little girl? I help people find jobs, get promotions and answer any questions they have about work but nothing is as much fun as spending time with you. To be 6 again.

Now, where are did my finger paints go?!