A survey by Express Employment Professionals and The Harris Poll (of 1,000+ U.S. hiring decision-makers) found that:
- 86% of hiring managers believe the right personality can outweigh a candidate’s skills gap
- Personality is typically assessed through informal interactions, situational/behavioral interview questions, and reference checks
- The most valued traits, agreed on by both hiring managers and job seekers, are: reliability, honesty, adaptability, flexibility, and self-motivation
- Work ethic and willingness to learn were flagged as especially important
Another report found 78% of employers had hired someone with strong technical skills who didn’t work out due to poor soft skills fit. This is consistent with our HR experience, as many times we have found employees with strong skills cannot work within a team or a client’s culture, and can seriously impact company productivity and performance.
As technology and AI reshape jobs, soft skills and personality fit are increasingly seen as equal to or more important than technical skill sets in hiring decisions. To help our clients identify these traits, we added a new, extremely insightful assessment this year. I have used these forms of psychometric assessments for literally decades and have never seen one this comprehensive. To review that, please contact your HR Generalist or our Talent Acquisition Manager.
California School Leave Requirements: What Employers Need to Know
As employees are getting their kids back to school, we thought it was a good time to review California’s various laws for job-protected time off for a range of school-related needs — from enrolling a child in kindergarten to appearing at a suspension hearing. These obligations come from more than one statute, and employer size, documentation requirements, and pay treatment differ across them. Here’s what your organization needs to track.
School Activities Leave — Labor Code § 230.8
This is the broadest of the school-related leave protections, but it only applies to employers with 25 or more employees working at the same location.
Eligible employees are parents, guardians, stepparents, foster parents, or grandparents with custody of a child in kindergarten through grade 12, or in a licensed childcare program. Covered employees may take:
- Up to 40 hours per calendar year, and
- No more than 8 hours in any calendar month, to find, enroll, or re-enroll a child in school or childcare; to participate in school or childcare activities; or to address a school or childcare emergency.
Key employer considerations:
- Leave may be unpaid, but the employee can elect to use accrued vacation or PTO.
- For planned activities, the employee must give reasonable advance notice.
- For a school or childcare emergency, no advance notice is required.
- If both parents of the same child work for the same employer, the employer may require the first parent to request leave to take the leave first.
School Suspension Meetings — Labor Code § 230.7
Unlike § 230.8, this protection applies regardless of employer size. An employee who is a parent or guardian of a child who has been suspended from school is entitled to time off, at the school’s request, to appear at the school for a meeting regarding the suspension.
Kin Care — Labor Code § 233
Kin care is not school-specific, but it frequently comes into play for school-related absences. If an employer provides paid sick leave, an employee may use up to half of their annual accrual to care for a child, including for school-related health exclusions (for example, a school requiring a sick child be picked up).
Interaction with Other Leave Laws
School-related absences can overlap with other leave obligations, and employers should evaluate each request against all applicable laws, not just § 230.8:
- CFRA may apply if the absence relates to a child’s serious health condition.
- Local paid sick leave ordinances in some California cities and counties define covered purposes or “designated persons” more broadly than state law.
Employers with locations in multiple jurisdictions should confirm which local rules apply at each site.
