You have an open position at your company and your friend (or relative) approaches you about the job. Should you hire them? As a manager you need to decide if the pros and cons of having your personal and professional life mix is something worth risking.

Have you ever taken the time to evaluate your leave policy? Do you feel as though you it is costing too much money to pay out employees separating from employment? Well, as an alternative have you considered an unlimited vacation policy? Before you make any swift and quick decisions, let’s weigh out the pros and cons of this option for you and your organization.

Helios often works with clients when their recruiting process is broken or non-existent. When we conduct recruiting assessments, one of the most common areas we see overlooked is the candidate experience. With many organizations today trying to do more with less, the candidate experience is often neglected. However, the impact of both positive and negative candidate experiences can have far-reaching consequences on your organization. Studies show that when candidates have a positive experience with your firm, they are more likely to share that experience and encourage others to apply as well (even if they were not selected for the position to which they applied). Likewise, when candidates have a negative experience, they are more likely to discourage others from applying to your firm or even from being a consumer of your brand. Having a poor candidate experience can negatively impact your firm’s ability to be competitive in recruiting top talent.

Recognizing Washington Employers for Growing, Developing & Engaging Employees RESTON, VA (March 6, 2015) - Helios HR, a human capital consulting and recruiting firm, proudly announces the 26 finalists for the 2015 Helios Apollo Awards. The finalists, selected from a pool of more than 200 nominations, represent organizations from the Washington, DC metropolitan area that promote employee development as part of their integral culture. (The complete list of finalists can be found at the end of this release).

At Helios, we frequently help our clients survey employees to understand everything from engagement to skill development to benefits needs. Particularly in the era of an evolving healthcare environment, employers need to get the most for the budget dollars allotted to benefits, and the best way to do that is to understand what employees want. As a Human Capital consultant, I advise surveying employees at your own company to discover what matters most to them. If it's crunch time during your benefits renewal, and you don't have the time to survey your team, these two recent studies by Unum and Aflac can provide you with the insight you need to understand how benefits can make a difference at your company.

As many HR Professionals know, an employee on a leave of absence may be covered by a myriad of laws and regulations. It often feels like a relief when an employee declares that they are ready to return to work. But what if the employee has restrictions on their activity? At Helios, we hear from companies all the time who are unsure whether or not they have to accommodate restrictions. They’re unsure if they can ask for more information and how to filter the information they receive. Understanding your legal obligations is important; and it’s just as important to have an integrated process in place to minimize employee relations and compliance issues.