YOUR COMPANY'S ACTIONS MAKE IT LEGALLY COMPLIANT NOT YOUR AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PLAN!

How can we help you with your Affirmative Action Plan?

Developing an Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) is an ongoing expense for federal contractors.  For all but the largest companies, developing the in-house expertise to prepare and conduct statistical analysis, design, implement, update and defend the companies affirmative action efforts, policies and procedures cannot be justified.

• The CRI Value Solution is a package of expertise, services, and training that designs and implements programs to bring your company into EEO-AAP compliance, and then mentors and trains your staff in the administration and execution of those systems to provide a long term, cost-effective EEO-AAP solution.
• A top tier team of EEO-AAP professionals that include former Department of Labor Compliance Officers, seasoned and audit tested Sr. Staff, corporate diversity experts, federal contracts experts, and legislative analysts.  Our team delivers a comprehensive suite of services and solutions using a proven methodology that involves your Human Resources staff.  The collaborative effort transfers knowledge to build your team’s expertise while it customizes the CRI solutions to your company’s requirements and objectives.
• Knowledge and experience comparable to the largest law firms – at a fraction of the cost.  The CRI solutions, developed and executed by our joint teams, ensure your compliance with all relevant regulations.  While you may still be randomly selected for audit, with the CRI Value Solution in place, your documentation, processes, AAP and AAP implementation will withstand OFCCP scrutiny.
• We monitor EEO and Affirmative Action legislation and agency enforcement trends to contribute ongoing support with regulatory bulletins, expert analysis, and up-to-the-minute alerts and recommendations throughout the year.  And we work with your team on the annual update of your AAP – without the burden and cost of developing and maintaining broad EEO-AAP expertise in-house.

How do I select a consultant? The process can become difficult if you are not familiar with all of the foreign sounding reports, statistical analysis, legal terms, never ending federal regulations, how to implement the (AAP) and the unavoidable Federal Audit.  Many of our clients have said that the process made them feel a little confused and overwhelmed.  Many consultancies boast that they will prepare your AAP and will ensure that it is “compliant” but what does that actually mean? At Career Resources we believe that our clients should clearly understand that having an AAP does not make them “compliant”, it is the companies systems, processes and the actions of managers that are reflected in the AAP that determine whether they are compliant and will pass a Federal audit or face administrative and/or financial penalties. So logically it is here that we initially focus our attention working with you and conducting “vulnerability audits” to ensure that your system and processes are legal and compliant and as a result your AAP will naturally be compliant. Pricing can be another pit-fall in selecting a consultant.  Wtih tight corporate budgets, a Human Resources Department can find themselves with limited financial resources to truely select the best consultant and often times selecting the consultant with the “lowest quote”.   You do get what you pay for, but unfortunately the quotes you receive from Affirmative Action Consultants can be all over the board making it difficult to use cost as a gauge in determining quality.  As a rule, if the consultant is focused on selling you an Affirmative Action Plan that will be “compliant” you should stay clear. As for attorneys, we all all know that attorneys will break the bank, if they were not over priced everyone would us an attorney and we also know that a software package cannot defend you in an audit or correct human processes, so why waste your money.  Focus on what the govenrment gives priority to in a federal audit and what your consultant is offering other than  a “compliant” Affirmative ActionPlan. How do I sell the company on the need for an Affirmative Action Plan? With many company leaders viewing an AAP as an unnecessary expense of time, resources and money that could be better used to help achieve more measurable corporate goals, the task of convincing the “powers that be” to spend the money and implement an AAP can difficult but is should not be. The development of an AAP goes well beyond the legal requirement for federal contractors and sub-contractors, it forces a company to take an in-depth look at all levels of its actions with personnel.  Whether it be a new hire, promotion, termination, performance evaluation or pay increase. The maintaining of accurate and complete data  of a company’s personnel activity is not only a “best business practice” but can provide critical analytics that can be used to evaluate an employers entire personnel activity not to mention it can be used to legally defend the company. There is no other way for a company to ensure equity in pay or equal opportunity in employment without the necessary data to evaluate statistically its adherence to company employment policy, as well as, compliance with Federal Regulations. A company’s close monitoring of its employment practices is a way in which costly, discrimination complaints can be challenged. Documentation of a company’s process can prove consistency in the way applicants and employees have been treated. Without reliable data and documentation a company is helpless to defend itself in a complaint investigation. Victims of discrimination have a considerably stronger case when a contractor has no data to backup its position, clings to an unacceptable definition of an applicant, or has incomplete and unreliable data of its entire selection process. As you know, cases of discrimination are determined on the basis of a company’s pattern and practice in its employment process, and not on the burden of proving intent. The strongest arguments with words cannot overcome a compelling amount of statistical or antidotal evidence. It is essential that a company maintain its recruitment and selection activity data, use the data to monitor for problem areas, and quickly resolve any and all problems found. This practice alone is evidence of good faith on the part of an employer. An accurate recruitment and selection data base of it’s activities allows the employer to prove what productive and successful steps it is taking in ensuring equal employment opportunity for all of its applicants and employees. What are the hidden costs of not preparing an AAP or not implementing the AAP? There are both hidden and realized costs associated with the EEO and Affirmative Action efforts of a company.  Realized costs are easy to identify and are for the most part they are manageable.  They are represented in time, effort and money spent on attorneys, software and consultants.  Hidden costs are represented by financial penalties associated with not strategically placing your time, effort and money and far out-way your realized cost.