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Best hiring practices to avoid PR issues and boost your brand

by | Nov 19, 2018 | Public Relations

Hiring the best possible candidates is integral to the success of any business. Essentially, you need to ensure that you are thoroughly screening applicants in order to find the best fit for your company. Therefore, you should ensure that you are utilizing practices, such as background checks and drug screenings. Also, you need to make sure that the morals and ethics of applicants align with the goals and regulations of your company.

Hiring the right people can help to boost your PR department and give you the ability to spread a positive image and message to your targeted audience. In addition to this, you need to ensure that your hiring practices follow the regulations currently in place, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, which makes it illegal to discrimination against applicants based on various factors.

The following information provides a more in-depth look at the most effective hiring processes and how hiring the best possible employees can help to prevent issues in regards to your company’s public image:

Following anti-discrimination regulations

As previously mentioned, there are many regulations currently in place regarding hiring practices. The Equal Employment Opportunity Act states that it is illegal to discriminate against applicants based on factors, such as their age, disability, gender, pregnancy, religious beliefs, race, etc. Failing to follow these guidelines can result in litigation against your company, which will negatively impact its overall reputation and public image. Therefore, you should adhere to ethical hiring practices in order to avoid negative PR issues in the future. It is also important to remember that these regulations go beyond the hiring process alone and that they also apply to day-to-day interactions within your company, promotions, and the firing process. Therefore, you need to promote an ethical work environment, overall.

Importance of employee ethics and behaviors

As previously mentioned, it is essential that you take extra precautions in order to hire candidates whose ethics align with those of your company. In order to do this, it can be beneficial to require applicants to complete a behavior survey, which will give you a better idea of how they will react in specific situations. Also, as previously mentioned, conducting thorough background checks and drug screenings can help assist you in your path towards hiring the best possible candidate. If you do not put a lot of time and effort into your hiring process, you can end up hiring employees with lax moral compasses, who can reflect poorly on the company. You may also want to check applicant’s social media profiles to see if they are posting offensive content. Personal social media accounts can negatively impact the image of the company in the long run.

How hiring practices can positively impact public relations

Your hiring processes also have the ability to positively impact PR within your company. If you are hiring individuals who strive to uphold their ethics, this will reflect positively on the company and help to build its positive reputation. You will also need to ensure that your employees are qualified and knowledgeable, which will help to prevent issues in the future. Therefore, it may be helpful to look for candidates with extensive experience and online degrees. Also, as mentioned previously, adhering to ethical hiring practices and avoiding discrimination within the hiring process can also reflect positively on your company’s reputation. Promoting tolerance will show your consumers and investors that your company strives to maintain its morals and that you respect your employees as individuals.

Overall, there are many ways that your hiring practices can impact your company’s public image and its ability to spread a positive message and vision through public relations. You will need to work diligently and oversee all hiring practices in order to ensure that the rules and regulations are being strictly followed.

Also, you need to ensure that you are hiring the right individuals who can help to build up your reputation and show the public that your company values its morals and ethics. If you are able to effectively screen employees in order to find the best match and avoid discrimination against employees based on biases, you should be able to effectively build your brand and reach your targeted audience in an effective manner.

Brett Clawson
Brett is a 43-year-old father of 2 boys with a degree in Business Management. In his free time, he enjoys learning about emerging business trends and writing about how to incorporate them into new and existing businesses.

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