The Dangers Of e-Recruiting

The efficiency, ease and convenience of online recruiting and interviewing have made for instant hiring success among companies in all industries employing this effective, low-cost, easy-to-use, flexible staffing method.

And it's easy to see why online recruiting has quickly won converts and steadfast adherents. Besides its flexibility and lower cost than traditional hiring tactics, such as advertising, employers can:

• Seek employees 24 hours a day, every day;
• Reduce, to some extent, travel costs, with prospective employees applying for work from the privacy of their homes;
• Maximize scales of economy by lowering recruitment costs and plumbing the capabilities of their corporate Web sites;
• Quickly remove filled positions;
• Quickly post new positions;
• Receive resumes and applications from potential applicants faster than ever;
• Offer complete job descriptions and allow quicker, more efficient and inexpensive communication between recruiters and applicants; and
• Provide more services, such as non-English language employment postings, application forms and company information directly to potential applicants, faster and at lower cost than they have prior to the proliferation of Internet access, and the lowering of Internet service subscription prices.

e-Recruiting is also providing e-commerce ventures with more revenue streams via hosting, e-mail and total recruiting services ' including training and staff development.

Statistics show that purveyors of the job market are riding the wave of Web recruitment possibilities on their way to success. According to a 2003 study, 94% of the world's largest organizations have “corporate Careers Web sites.” See Rules and Regulations, 69 Fed. Reg. 43, 10152, 10155 (March 4, 2004), GPO Access available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/04-4090.htm.

But, as with all technologically delivered gains, online recruiting can have some drawbacks, and knowledge of these and preparation for dealing with them in the event they pop up will help to ensure e-commerce enterprises a fruitful ' and low-liability ' undertaking.

For instance, automatic resume screening, which is one boon online recruiting has offered to many employers, may pose a problem, and companies must understand how to use online services without violating antidiscrimination laws and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regulations, or Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFFCCP) requirements.

What Is Online Recruiting?

“Fifty-seven percent of companies are choosing to recruit online as opposed to forty-nine percent in 2000.” Id. Simply said in the space of a personnel-file entry, online recruiting can be used in a variety of ways, and has been embraced by virtually all human resources departments. But even as online recruiting allows employers to easily attract, and identify, high-quality job candidates and hire employees, it also exposes hiring companies to potential legal and regulatory risks.

Issues Facing Companies Using Online Recruiting

Most employers are overwhelmed by the volume of responses they receive via online recruiting, and many deal with the volume by using an applicant tracking system (ATS) ' software that helps larger corporations track their hiring process. ATS generally includes:

• Scanning and documenting the source of resumes;
• Tracking hiring cost; and
• Reporting information needed for EEOC or OFFCCP compliance.

The resume-screening function allows employers to look at resumes of only the most apparently qualified applicants by searching for and finding certain words or phrases in the resumes. But beware: Poorly designed software can lead to problems and expose a company to significant legal risk.

Consider that depending on how it sorts, screening software may exclude from consideration groups of people who are among various protected categories of job applicants. A case involving the Big Mouse illustrates this point. In March 1997, a suit against Walt Disney alleged that the company's screening software was discriminatory because it was programmed to search for certain key words that whites are more likely to use than blacks. The case was settled, and the key words not disclosed. Such issues are particularly prone to surfacing from inexpertly, or inaccurately, programmed resume-screening software.

Federal and Regulatory Compliance Programs ' Who Is an Applicant?

The ease with which technology is used, and the high number of people who can use it easily, has left many employers wondering how to deal with being bombarded with resumes from job seekers who might not be qualified for any position the company has posted on its Web site, or the sites of various third-party online recruiting services. In light of so many resume submissions, it's essential for HR personnel and others involved in online recruiting to know how to determine which resumes must be kept and which individuals qualify as an “applicant.”

Sorting the details is critical for employers with government contracts, for instance. Federal contractors and subcontractors with 50 or more employees and who receive at least $50,000 from federal contracts must have affirmative-action plans in place. The OFFCCP requires these employers to track applicant flow data: They're required to keep an eye on who's applying for jobs and what protected categories these applicants are in, and then how many of those people are hired for those jobs.

Even if you're not a federal contractor, you still must retain information about who's applying because you will need this information if the EEOC challenges your hiring practices and you are sued for discrimination. Poor record-keeping is the biggest problem in defending an EEOC charge.

Who your applicants are and where they fall in the different protected categories is important information. An applicant is defined by most federal agencies as someone who's expressed an interest in a job. You must have a very detailed system that says: “If you're going to apply for a job, then you must go through this application procedure, and you have to submit something in writing that says you're interested in a specific position.”

A U.S. government commission comprising representatives from the EEOC, the Department of Labor, the Department of Justice, and the Office of Personnel Management has released guidelines on employee-selection procedures as they relate to the Internet. See http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/04-4090.htm. This document is designed to clarify how the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures apply to Internet-related hiring. Specifically, the document provides an official definition of exactly what constitutes an applicant within the context of an Internet-based hiring process. One of the main reasons why this determination is important is the need to provide employers with guidance about when they are liable for documenting the race, gender and ethnicity of Internet applicants.

According to the EEOC's Uniform Guidelines, the definition of an applicant depends on the prospective employer's recruitment and selection procedures. Generally, an applicant is someone who has indicated an interest in consideration for hiring, or in promotion or other employment opportunities. For a person to be considered an applicant, and an employer to be subject to EEOC record-keeping requirements, the following must have occurred:

• The employer has acted to fill a particular position;
• The individual has followed the employer's standard procedures for submitting applications; and
• The individual has indicated an interest in the particular position.

Passive job searching online is not the same as applying for a job. For example, just because a person posts resumes on job boards or in job banks, or submits a resume to a company's general resume database, does not make that person an applicant. A person becomes an applicant, however, if, instead of passively job searching, she sees a job that interests her and clicks the Apply Now button, and completes the required application steps.

Laws & Regulations Governing Data Collection

Information collection in itself presents an issue to ponder, and offers some situations that companies must guard against. e-Recruitment can present special challenges as human-resource personnel find themselves struggling to comply with privacy laws in several different states. Some states limit more than others the amount of information employers can collect, so it is important to be familiar with the data-privacy laws of the states from which applicants are recruited. Keep in mind, too, that there's more risk of HR personnel getting into trouble by making comments or posing questions online, where communication tends to be informal, that they wouldn't in a face-to-face interview with an applicant. These mistakes can come back to hurt the company when the applicant doesn't get the job: An applicant, for instance, could later assert that he was denied the job based on age, race or gender ' knowledge he could allege was collected or inferred in some way during e-mail exchanges. Employers must, for this, and other instances in which online informality might lead to legitimate or spurious charges from applicants who aren't hired, stick to the application procedure they draft.

Online recruiting is an aspect of Internet evolution that has been a tremendous boon to the business world ' e- and non-e sectors alike. Companies can reach a wider audience of job seekers and, in some instances, have been able to lower recruiting costs. But like all things new, online recruiting has some drawbacks. Increased exposure and greater opportunity for success also mean increased potential liability. Before implementing an e-Recruiting system, be sure to perform adequate due diligence to avoid dangers inherent in using this powerful tool.

The efficiency, ease and convenience of online recruiting and interviewing have made for instant hiring success among companies in all industries employing this effective, low-cost, easy-to-use, flexible staffing method.

And it's easy to see why online recruiting has quickly won converts and steadfast adherents. Besides its flexibility and lower cost than traditional hiring tactics, such as advertising, employers can:

• Seek employees 24 hours a day, every day;
• Reduce, to some extent, travel costs, with prospective employees applying for work from the privacy of their homes;
• Maximize scales of economy by lowering recruitment costs and plumbing the capabilities of their corporate Web sites;
• Quickly remove filled positions;
• Quickly post new positions;
• Receive resumes and applications from potential applicants faster than ever;
• Offer complete job descriptions and allow quicker, more efficient and inexpensive communication between recruiters and applicants; and
• Provide more services, such as non-English language employment postings, application forms and company information directly to potential applicants, faster and at lower cost than they have prior to the proliferation of Internet access, and the lowering of Internet service subscription prices.

e-Recruiting is also providing e-commerce ventures with more revenue streams via hosting, e-mail and total recruiting services ' including training and staff development.

Statistics show that purveyors of the job market are riding the wave of Web recruitment possibilities on their way to success. According to a 2003 study, 94% of the world's largest organizations have “corporate Careers Web sites.” See Rules and Regulations, 69 Fed. Reg. 43, 10152, 10155 (March 4, 2004), GPO Access available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/04-4090.htm.

But, as with all technologically delivered gains, online recruiting can have some drawbacks, and knowledge of these and preparation for dealing with them in the event they pop up will help to ensure e-commerce enterprises a fruitful ' and low-liability ' undertaking.

For instance, automatic resume screening, which is one boon online recruiting has offered to many employers, may pose a problem, and companies must understand how to use online services without violating antidiscrimination laws and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regulations, or Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFFCCP) requirements.

What Is Online Recruiting?

“Fifty-seven percent of companies are choosing to recruit online as opposed to forty-nine percent in 2000.” Id. Simply said in the space of a personnel-file entry, online recruiting can be used in a variety of ways, and has been embraced by virtually all human resources departments. But even as online recruiting allows employers to easily attract, and identify, high-quality job candidates and hire employees, it also exposes hiring companies to potential legal and regulatory risks.

Issues Facing Companies Using Online Recruiting

Most employers are overwhelmed by the volume of responses they receive via online recruiting, and many deal with the volume by using an applicant tracking system (ATS) ' software that helps larger corporations track their hiring process. ATS generally includes:

• Scanning and documenting the source of resumes;
• Tracking hiring cost; and
• Reporting information needed for EEOC or OFFCCP compliance.

The resume-screening function allows employers to look at resumes of only the most apparently qualified applicants by searching for and finding certain words or phrases in the resumes. But beware: Poorly designed software can lead to problems and expose a company to significant legal risk.

Consider that depending on how it sorts, screening software may exclude from consideration groups of people who are among various protected categories of job applicants. A case involving the Big Mouse illustrates this point. In March 1997, a suit against Walt Disney alleged that the company's screening software was discriminatory because it was programmed to search for certain key words that whites are more likely to use than blacks. The case was settled, and the key words not disclosed. Such issues are particularly prone to surfacing from inexpertly, or inaccurately, programmed resume-screening software.

Federal and Regulatory Compliance Programs ' Who Is an Applicant?

The ease with which technology is used, and the high number of people who can use it easily, has left many employers wondering how to deal with being bombarded with resumes from job seekers who might not be qualified for any position the company has posted on its Web site, or the sites of various third-party online recruiting services. In light of so many resume submissions, it's essential for HR personnel and others involved in online recruiting to know how to determine which resumes must be kept and which individuals qualify as an “applicant.”

Sorting the details is critical for employers with government contracts, for instance. Federal contractors and subcontractors with 50 or more employees and who receive at least $50,000 from federal contracts must have affirmative-action plans in place. The OFFCCP requires these employers to track applicant flow data: They're required to keep an eye on who's applying for jobs and what protected categories these applicants are in, and then how many of those people are hired for those jobs.

Even if you're not a federal contractor, you still must retain information about who's applying because you will need this information if the EEOC challenges your hiring practices and you are sued for discrimination. Poor record-keeping is the biggest problem in defending an EEOC charge.

Who your applicants are and where they fall in the different protected categories is important information. An applicant is defined by most federal agencies as someone who's expressed an interest in a job. You must have a very detailed system that says: “If you're going to apply for a job, then you must go through this application procedure, and you have to submit something in writing that says you're interested in a specific position.”

A U.S. government commission comprising representatives from the EEOC, the Department of Labor, the Department of Justice, and the Office of Personnel Management has released guidelines on employee-selection procedures as they relate to the Internet. See http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/04-4090.htm. This document is designed to clarify how the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures apply to Internet-related hiring. Specifically, the document provides an official definition of exactly what constitutes an applicant within the context of an Internet-based hiring process. One of the main reasons why this determination is important is the need to provide employers with guidance about when they are liable for documenting the race, gender and ethnicity of Internet applicants.

According to the EEOC's Uniform Guidelines, the definition of an applicant depends on the prospective employer's recruitment and selection procedures. Generally, an applicant is someone who has indicated an interest in consideration for hiring, or in promotion or other employment opportunities. For a person to be considered an applicant, and an employer to be subject to EEOC record-keeping requirements, the following must have occurred:

• The employer has acted to fill a particular position;
• The individual has followed the employer's standard procedures for submitting applications; and
• The individual has indicated an interest in the particular position.

Passive job searching online is not the same as applying for a job. For example, just because a person posts resumes on job boards or in job banks, or submits a resume to a company's general resume database, does not make that person an applicant. A person becomes an applicant, however, if, instead of passively job searching, she sees a job that interests her and clicks the Apply Now button, and completes the required application steps.

Laws & Regulations Governing Data Collection

Information collection in itself presents an issue to ponder, and offers some situations that companies must guard against. e-Recruitment can present special challenges as human-resource personnel find themselves struggling to comply with privacy laws in several different states. Some states limit more than others the amount of information employers can collect, so it is important to be familiar with the data-privacy laws of the states from which applicants are recruited. Keep in mind, too, that there's more risk of HR personnel getting into trouble by making comments or posing questions online, where communication tends to be informal, that they wouldn't in a face-to-face interview with an applicant. These mistakes can come back to hurt the company when the applicant doesn't get the job: An applicant, for instance, could later assert that he was denied the job based on age, race or gender ' knowledge he could allege was collected or inferred in some way during e-mail exchanges. Employers must, for this, and other instances in which online informality might lead to legitimate or spurious charges from applicants who aren't hired, stick to the application procedure they draft.

Online recruiting is an aspect of Internet evolution that has been a tremendous boon to the business world ' e- and non-e sectors alike. Companies can reach a wider audience of job seekers and, in some instances, have been able to lower recruiting costs. But like all things new, online recruiting has some drawbacks. Increased exposure and greater opportunity for success also mean increased potential liability. Before implementing an e-Recruiting system, be sure to perform adequate due diligence to avoid dangers inherent in using this powerful tool.