Criterion Blog | HR Resources & Insights

Understanding the Pre-Adverse Action Process: A Beginner's Guide

New to the pre-adverse action process? Learn more about what pre-adverse action entails, and how FCRA guidelines can help you navigate this HR challenge.

What Is a Conditional Offer of Employment?

Wondering what a conditional offer of employment is? Find out everything you need to know about how conditional offers can improve your hiring process.

Conor Quinn

What Is Preboarding? (And How It Can Help Employees Ramp Up Faster)

Preboarding is about engaging with employees before their first day. Discover why preboarding is an essential part of onboarding and how to implement it.

Richa Singla

How to Calculate Pro Rata Leave for the Modern Workforce

Learn how to calculate pro rata leave for full-time and part-time employees, with examples for employers to use in different scenarios.

Steve Tompkins

What Is Your Ideal Payroll Cycle?

Learn the different payroll cycle options businesses can use to serve employees with different pay periods and pay dates, plus the pros and cons of each.

Amos Frajnd

Flexible Time Off & Alternate Forms of Paid Time Off to Know About

FTO vs. PTO: What’s the difference? Learn how flexible time off and alternate forms of PTO can improve work conditions for employees and employers alike.

Gary Anderson

What is Differential Pay & Why Does It Matter for HR Departments?

Learn the meaning of differential pay, why it matters for employers, and how companies can implement this strategy to compensate employees for special work.

Conor Quinn

2023 Sexual Harassment Training Requirements by State

Learn the training employers must provide employees in this complete guide to sexual harassment training requirements by state for 2023 — provided by Criterion.

Richa Singla

How to Calculate Compa-Ratio and Why It Matters

Every company wants to retain their best employees, not lose them to a competing company. But the easiest way to lose those employees is by not paying them enough compared to other companies in your industry. But how do you know if you’re offering competitive pay?

Jeremy Beam

How to Use Self-Appraisal Comments to Improve Employee Performance Evaluations

Learn how managers and employees can improve performance reviews by using self-appraisal comments. Get started with these 40 performance review phrases.

Steve Tompkins

The Top 6 Best Tools for Workforce Planning and Human Resources

Workforce management requires robust, flexible software. Learn about the 6 best tools for workforce planning tools to help HR professionals manage employees.

Colby Haverkamp

How to Use Overtime Effectively

Using overtime effectively can help employers better allocate their labor resources and stay in compliance, and technology can help manage the process.

Conor Quinn

Best Practices for Remote Onboarding

Companies are increasingly hiring workers who don’t have an office or job site. Learn the best practices for remote onboarding these employees.

Linda Francis

Designing Hybrid Learning and Development Tracks for Your Workforce

Learning and development programs are fundamentally changed by the shift to hybrid work. It’s time to redesign learning and development in a hybrid workplace.

Colby Haverkamp

Multi-State Employee Handbooks: What Should They Include?

Multi-state employer handbooks can be challenging to create. Learn how your handbook can maintain compliance and provide a consistent employee experience.

Steve Kuhn

Payroll Issues for Multi-State Employers

As you expand across state lines, be aware of these payroll issues for multi-state employers. Learn the best practices for improving compliance.

Danny Centeno

Global Payroll Compliance Essentials

Learn the greatest threats to global payroll compliance, what noncompliance could mean for your business and how to mitigate future errors.

Steve Kuhn

Hybrid Work and Education Delivery in Higher Ed

Successful hybrid work in education requires a new approach to talent strategy, training and development, institutional mission and technology.

Criterion Webinars

Higher Ed: How to Retain Diversity After Hiring

For higher ed, how to retain diversity is as crucial as the hire itself. Here’s how to manage faculty and staff in higher ed to improve diversity and retention.

Colby Haverkamp

5 Trends in Higher Education Employment

Institutes of higher education have experienced significant changes during the pandemic. Here are five current trends in higher education employment.

Linda Francis

Increasing Employee Engagement in Higher Education

Your faculty and staff’s engagement can affect student outcomes. Here are some best practices for improving employee engagement in higher education.

Steve Tompkins

Measuring Performance in Nonprofit Organizations

Measuring performance in nonprofit organizations can be tricky. Here’s how to evaluate your nonprofit’s impact without mentioning dollars raised.

Criterion Webinars

Modernizing the Nonprofit Hiring Process

The hiring process for nonprofit organizations can be archaic compared with its business counterparts. Here’s how to modernize your nonprofit hiring process.

Ryan Parker

Essentials of Nonprofit Talent Management

Talent management in nonprofit organizations has distinct differences from for-profit businesses. Learn the essentials of nonprofit talent management.

Steve Tompkins

6 Ways HR Teams Can Handle Emergencies Using the Right HRIS

An effective HRIS is valuable always, but never more than during an emergency. Let’s dig into the six ways a good HRIS helps HR teams handle emergencies more effectively.

Sunil Reddy

5 Ways Human Capital Management Software Nurtures Employee Engagement

Today’s human capital management (HCM) software delivers a host of competitive advantages you’re probably familiar with-faster and less labor-intensive talent management processes, streamlined workflows, improved communication, fewer data errors, and enhanced legal compliance.

Steve Kuhn

Developing HR Policies for Nonprofit Organizations

Developing HR policies for nonprofit organizations can be challenging. Here is what you need to know about creating effective ones.

Colby Haverkamp

How Integrating HCM and ERP Systems Benefits Your Business

Successful HCM and ERP integration goes beyond simply maintaining employee data to strategic management of a productive, distributed workforce.

Sunil Reddy

Leadership in Construction: Building Skills for the New Economy

Construction industry leaders need new skills to handle current economic changes. Learn about leadership in construction and how to build your skillset.

Criterion Webinars

5 Challenges of Human Resource Management in the Construction Industry

Adapting to disruption is key to your success. Here are the biggest challenges of human resource management in the construction industry to keep on your radar.

Conor Quinn

Leadership Styles in the Construction Industry

The construction sector faces staggering challenges. Here are the leadership styles in the construction industry that will unleash your firm’s potential.

Lisa LaNoue

6 Common HR Issues in Construction

Construction HR teams must align their talent strategy with the business strategy to pave the way for better worker satisfaction and workforce experiences.

Steven Kuhn

HCM Without Compromise: The Right Digital Platform Meets Enterprise and Midmarket Needs

Running a midmarket or enterprise organization has never been simple: you’re standing between those organizations with the people power, time and resources to operate at scale, and the smaller businesses who can keep it lean and hands-on. We looked at three essential pain points facing larger and mid-sized organizations.

Sunil Reddy

User Simplicity with Enterprise Power: Why Midmarket HCM Software Needs Both

One of the biggest pain points for midmarket organizations is having to compromise between small-company resources and big company needs. In terms of HCM, that means choosing either easy to use software or sophisticated software, but not both. Usability is key for managers and employees, and power and complexity are vital for higher-level operational needs.

Steve Tompkins

The HR Evolution: Technology and Learning Agility

For our Future of Work webcast on June 16 2021, Criterion talked to Amanda Bailey, former VP of HR at Brown University about how to leverage technology to create an agile, dynamic learning environment for employees. Bailey, a veteran HR leader, says the recent HR evolution enabled remote employee learning just in time — but it’s the learning culture you build that makes all the difference.

Future of Work

The Value of Self-Service Features in a Modern HR Platform — for Employees, Managers, and Your Work Culture

Self-service for employees (ESS) and managers (MSS) is no longer a nice to have, it’s a need to have in today’s mid-sized workplace. Steve Kuhn looks at the impact self-service has on employee and manager experience, and how it boosts an organization’s work culture as well — giving you a competitive edge when it comes to employer brand.

Steve Kuhn

Communicate, Collaborate, and Execute — 3 Keys to Employee Learning

For our Future of Work webcast on June 16 2021, Criterion's Erica Sand talked to CHRO Bridgette Wilder of Albany State University about the three keys to employee learning — and why a great HCM is an HR leader’s best ally.

Future of Work

How to Maximize Employee Engagement with Tony DeStefano

For our Future of Work webcast on March 23 2021, Criterion's Erica Sand talked to Tony DeStefano, Vice President of Human Resources at Flintco about how the construction industry is evolving from training to learning — and why he sees remote working as an opportunity to grow.

Future of Work

Engagement, Learning and Innovation with Kelly Cotton

For our Future of Work webcast on April 6 2021, Criterion's Erica Sand talked to Kelly Cotton, Vice President of Human Resources at the Miller Group, about employee engagement, learning, and the motivating power of innovation.

Future of Work

Upskilling: A Key Driver of Employee Engagement

Upskilling employees has key advantages when it comes to driving employee engagement. Sunil Reddy looks at the best practices for bringing this powerful employee development tool to the mid-market workforce.

Sunil Reddy

How to Maximize Employee Engagement with Jeff Hoffman

For our Future of Work webcast on June 3 2021, Criterion's Erica Sand talked to Jeff Hoffman, Global entrepreneur from Priceline.com and uBid.com about maximizing employee engagement with great learning opportunities and bringing your remote workforce together with plenty of human moments.

Future of Work

What is Workforce Analytics?

Discover how workforce analytics technology, data reporting, and statistical insight influence management decisions and can improve company performance.

Eric Green

The Best HCM Workflows for Achieving Compliance

Learn about key features for a winning HCM software. The best HR workflows that help companies remain in compliance for payroll, benefits, safety, recruitment, and more.

Gary Anderson

How to Do Labor Cost Allocation

How to allocate direct labor cost for multiple employees working on a new project , with consideration for union rules and billable hours (examples included).

Steve Kuhn

3 Core Competencies to Better Lead and Engage Your People

Criterion CEO Sunil Reddy lists the three essential core competencies midmarket leaders need to effectively engage their workforce.

Sunil Reddy

How to Create An Effective Employee Incentive Program

Learn how to design an effective incentive program for employees, and how to increase performance through clear goals, low-cost rewards, and tracking relevant data.

Eric Green

What is the Human Resources Career Path? The Complete Guide

Navigating the HR career path can be tricky. Learn what positions are available, and how to land them in this complete guide to your human resources career.

Gary Anderson

How to Create a Performance Improvement Plan

Creating a performance improvement plan (PIP) with clear goals, timelines, and ethical considerations for employers and employees.

Steve Kuhn

How to Become a Certified Payroll Professional

Learn what it takes to become a Certified Payroll Professional, completing your CPP exam, and what you can expect in your career as a payroll professional.

Steve Kuhn

How to Run Payroll: The Ultimate Guide to Doing Payroll

A comprehensive guide to all essential aspects of running payroll, employee withholding, tax forms, state and federal taxes, and employer liabilities.

Conor Quinn

Short-Term vs. Long-Term Disability - What’s the Difference?

Short-term and long-term disability insurance are two types of benefits offered to employees in case of events that render them unable to work. Learn the differences here.

Steve Kuhn