Referral programs can do wonders for a business. Referred employees have higher retention rates and increase employee engagement in their company. But generating a successful referral program takes a lot more than a few free toasters. A good referral program starts with …

Well, we've come to the point in the First in HR series where it's time to talk about what to do when you have to let someone go. It's not an easy topic to tackle, in fact it's the hardest. Coming to terms with the fact that someone isn't a fit within your organization is rarely…

If you're new to hiring, it may come as a shock that one of your biggest advocates might be in another department entirely. That's right, it's time to make friends with Marketing! 

Why (you ask with that perplexed look on your face) Maren, WHY would I need to make friends with the marketing pros at my company? 

They get attraction in a big…

Building a talent pipeline sounds like this really difficult, intense task and for that reason, many who are first in HR might think of it as an "advanced" activity. Nothing could be further from the truth. The very things that make talent pipelines successful are things that you can put in place from your very first day (and in fact, are often more effective that way!)

Think…

Yeah we said it. HR, Recruiting, Hiring. The people in charge of people are the most important part of any organization. Not only do they bring in the people that make the company who it is and what it is, they also create the culture with which future…

First in HR is a series we dreamed up here at Recruiterbox to help those who are hiring for small businesses and startups.

In today's lighting speed business world, it's not always easy to know what to do and how to do it. That's where First in HR comes in. Read the entire series here or just sign up for our inbox updates.…

Compensation is a key component of any company's overall budget. I know it is here at Recruiterbox. How you compensate your employees affects your turnover, productivity and of course, your organization's profit. In most businesses, the compensation plan is left to the HR Department to enforce (i.e. making offers) but not necessarily to influence. This frustrates those tasked with…

They're in your sights and now it's time to reel 'em in.

There is no better feeling for a recruiter than finding that perfect candidate (except maybe when they accept an offer). But sometimes that perfect person is working in some other office. How to get them to notice you?…

Social media policies weren’t something companies even needed to deal with just a few short years ago. Now they’re a hot topic for most HR pros, especially if you’re the first one hiring in your company. Setting up an HR Department requires thinking through this potentially thorny issue. And it’s not just for small companies, when attracting the right talent, all companies need to recognize the importance of…

With any job, it's important to know where you stand and then set goals for yourself, and often times this is a numbers game. As the hiring manager, your goals need to be something tangible and quantitative. It's not enough to show the metrics of your busywork (humber of job ads posted, hours logged or resumes read).

To prove your recruiting and hiring methods work, you…

These days, HR and Recruiting professionals seem to post new jobs everywhere, from niche sites, to job board aggregators to industry-specific landing pages and of course, all the social channels like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. This can put a new or startup hiring team in a quandary. Where to come up with hefty job board fees? What if we can't afford (or don't need) the sophisticated tools that LinkedIn has to offer? Finally, the most important question of all:

Is having MORE…

Recruiting is something that many folks simply happen in to. Expedia's Jeremy Langhan did, I did and countless other recruiters will tell you a similar tale. While some of us are naturally gifted and others need a bit more polish the truth is, there are basics that everyone needs to learn. Nowhere is this more true than in the world of corporate recruiting.

The secret hiring sauce is like any other finely tuned recipe, it changes subtly over time. It may have different high and low…

Human Resources is different than recruiting which is different than hiring. If you find yourself at a small company, chances are you may find yourself doing all three jobs, sometimes all in one day. Here are some basic primers on each job and how to manage them when you're wearing more than one hat in the hiring department.

Breaking down HR: in some corners of the internet you will find a nested menu of all the categories that HR has ever been responsible for. And then, if you are…

Remember when you got to go to camp or on a field trip as a kid and there was always that handy dandy checklist to help you pack? Wouldn't it be nice if that were something that you got in real life too? Just like we talked about last week, we're doing a great series called "The First in HR" and we want to give you real tools that you can use every day. 

Building an HR Department within a new or established company is going to take some work, but with a solid plan and…