Break from the Grind May 19, 2015

Employers Increasingly Use Social Networks to Screen Candidates

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Fifty-two percent of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates, up from 43% last year and 39% in 2013, according to CareerBuilder.

Six in ten (60%) are “looking for information that supports their qualifications for the job.” For some occupations, this could include a professional portfolio, CareerBuilder says. Fifty-six percent of recruiters want to see if the candidate has a professional online persona, 37% want to see what other people are posting about the candidate, and 21% admit they’re looking for reasons not to hire the candidate.

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Additionally, 51% of hiring managers surveyed use search engines to research candidates. More than one-third of employers (35%) say they are less likely to interview job candidates if they are unable to find information about that person online.

Hiring managers in information technology (76%) and financial services (64%) are the most likely to use social networks to screen candidates; retail (46%) had the lowest share.

UP NEXT: What employers found that they didn’t like.

Thirty-five percent of employers who screen via social networks have requested to “be a friend” or follow candidates that have private accounts. Of that group, 80% say they’ve been granted permission.

Forty-eight percent of hiring managers who screen candidates via social networks said they’ve found information that caused them not to hire a candidate—down slightly from 51% last year. The following are the top pieces of content that turned off employers:

  • Provocative or inappropriate photographs – 46%;
  • Information about candidate drinking or using drugs – 40%;
  • Candidate bad-mouthed previous company or fellow employee – 34%;
  • Poor communication skills – 30%; and
  • Discriminatory comments related to race, religion, gender, etc. – 29%.

                              

About one-third (32%), however, found information that caused them to hire a candidate, including:

  • Candidate’s background information supported job qualifications –42%;
  • Candidate’s personality came across as good fit with company culture – 38%;
  • Candidate’s site conveyed a professional image – 38%;
  • Candidate had great communication skills – 37%; and
  • Candidate was creative – 36%.
The survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder among 2,175 hiring and human resource managers.
Compliance May 19, 2015

Washington State OKs Retirement Marketplace

A new retirement plan marketplace is being set up in the state of Washington.
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The Small Business Retirement Marketplace is being launched under a bipartisan bill signed Monday by Washington Governor Jay Inslee. The measure will give companies with fewer than 100 employees an easily accessible option for employees to save in a tax-advantaged account.

The state estimates 1.5 million Washington workers lack access to a workplace-based retirement savings account. Illinois recently passed a similar program to support workplace retirement savings that industry observers described as the first program of its kind to be implemented in the states.

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A new marketplace director will work with the private sector to establish a program to connect eligible employers with qualifying plans. Employers are free to choose from an array of voluntary private retirement plan options, including life insurance plans designed for retirement purposes. The program will offer at least two kinds of savings plan: a plan modeled on the SIMPLE IRA that takes employer contributions, and a plan similar to an individual retirement account funded through payroll deductions, which doesn’t take employer contributions.

The bill’s sponsors, Sen. Mark Mullet (D-Washington) and Rep. Larry Springer (D-Washington), are themselves small-business owners who know firsthand about the retirement savings challenge. The two see the marketplace as a much easier solution to what is now a complex effort. 

The number of Washingtonians who lack adequate retirement savings is unsustainable, said Rep. Springer, and is leading to an enormous strain on the state’s resources if they wind up on public assistance. The marketplace is a viable alternative, and one that’s easy for small-business owners to use.

NEXT: Retirement marketplace gets a wide nod of support.

Starting Early

“Employers do not have to do anything but deduct and forward the money, the same way they handle taxes,” Springer said. “We know people are very unlikely to save for retirement if they are not offered a plan through work. The Small Business Retirement Savings Marketplace will allow more workers access to a safe, easy, and affordable way to retire in dignity.”

Sen. Mullet noted that it’s not just retirees in the near term who must be prepared for retirement. “We also need to make sure 20- and 30-year-olds are saving,” he said. “We have to break a cycle of people reaching retirement age who are not able to keep working but are too poor to retire.”

Small businesses often lack the information and resources available to find the right retirement savings plan for their employees, said Marin Gibson, managing director of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). She lauded the program for its expected access to low-cost, low-fee options that are fully portable and provide the same investor protections available to private investors.

Washington’s legislation is part of an AARP national initiative called Work and Save, supported by a number of organizations, including AARP Washington, the Economic Opportunity Institute, Russell Investments, Small Business Majority and SIFMA.

Additional Details

The Small Business Retirement Marketplace will be designed and managed by the Department of Commerce, including developing criteria for private-sector financial services firms to participate. The Department of Commerce will identify and promote existing federal and state tax credits for employers participating in this plan.

The state of Washington will carry out various supportive measures, including:

  • Identifying financial services firms willing to offer specific retirement plans and investments,
  • Establishing a marketplace website for employers to learn about the firms and their products,
  • Publishing performance data on investments; and
  • Enforcing agreements of the marketplace.

The marketplace plans to offer features including:

  • No cost for a business to participate;
  • Employees pay fees no greater than 1% of their account balance;
  • Employers may contribute either a flat 2% of salary or match employee contributions up to 3% of a worker’s salary;
  • Employers can choose a plan with employee contributions only;
  • Employees decide how much to contribute and choose their own investments; and
  • Plans on the marketplace will have very minimal paperwork for employers.

The text of the Small Business Retirement Marketplace (SB 5826) is here. 

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