HR 101: Finding, Negotiating With & Retaining Potential Hires (Series: The Start-Up/Small Business Advisor)

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Practical and entertaining education for
attorneys, accountants, business owners
and executives, and investors.
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DISCLAIMER
The material in this webinar is for informational purposes only. It
should not be considered legal, financial or other professional advice.
You should consult with an attorney or other appropriate professional
to determine what may be best for your individual needs. While
Financial Poise™ takes reasonable steps to ensure the information it
publishes is accurate, Financial Poise™ makes no guaranty in this
regard.
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MEET THE FACULTY
Moderator:
Chris Cahill – Lowis & Gellen LLC
Panelists:
Nick Petit – Vamonde
Greg Grove – Much Shelist, P.C.
Linda Zappulla – Workshops and the Work
Stu Sklar – OTS Holdings
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ABOUT THIS WEBINAR:
HUMAN RESOURCES 101: FINDING,
NEGOTIATING WITH & RETAINING POTENTIAL
HIRES
How does a company identify and attract talented individuals? What about recruiting and
hiring? Training? Retention? Dealing with problem employees? These issues, of course,
are not unique to startups, but do experience them somewhat differently than more mature
companies.
This webinar focuses on talent acquisition and management in a startup environment,
including how to negotiate employment or consulting agreements, granting options, and
related agreements with potential hires. Appropriate for founders and their counsel alike,
this webinar covers common legal pitfalls and how to avoid them.
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ABOUT THIS SERIES:
THE START-UP / SMALL BUSINESS ADVISOR
Most startups are not destined to become billion dollar unicorns. Most, in fact, will fail
and most of those that survive will never be more than small businesses. Whether and
to what extent a startup will be successful depends on many factors. One set of factors
is the foundational pillars on which the company is built, and includes things such as
the company’s capital structure, financial controls, human capital, market niche, and
marketing functions.
This series explores each of these topics, giving startups and their advisors useful tools
and insight into how they can build a foundation for success.
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EPISODES IN THIS SERIES
1/22/19 Episode #1:
The Very Basics - Forming the Business
2/19/19 Episode #2:
Raising Capital: Negotiating with Potential Investors
3/19/19 Episode #3:
HR-101: Finding, Negotiating With & Retaining Potential Hires
4/16/19 Episode #4:
What Every Founder/Entrepreneur Must Know
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Dates shown are premiere dates.
All webinars will be available
On Demand approximately 4 weeks
after they premiere.

Episode #3:
HR-101: Finding, Negotiating With
& Retaining Potential Hires
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GENERAL HR TIPS FOR STARTUPS
a. Act as a leader
b. Policies and training are just the start
c. Create and communicate values
d. Institutional values

LAWS & REGULATIONS (FEDERAL)
a. Department of Labor
i. Wages & Hours
ii. Workplace Safety
iii. Workers’ Compensation
iv. Employee Benefits, etc.

TALENT ACQUISITION – RECRUITING
a. Develop a recruiting plan
b. Identify vacancy and evaluate needs
c. Develop position description
d. Advertise position

RECRUITING PLAN
a. Talent sourcing strategy
i. Internal or external candidates
ii. If external, utilize third-party recruiters?
b. Sourcing calendar (target dates)
c. Posting & sourcing strategy
d. Build talent community

TALENT ACQUISITION – HIRING
a. Review applicants (develop a short list)
b. Conduct interviews
c. Select hire
d. Begin negotiation employment

EMPLOYMENT NEGOTIATIONS – TYPE OF
EMPLOYMENT
a. Status: Full Time v. Part Time
b. Classification: Exempt v. Non-Exempt
c. Independent Contractor

EMPLOYMENT (cont’d)
a. Exempt vs. Non-Exempt
i. Employees typically fall under 1 of these 2 categories
ii. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that, in addition to paying at
least the minimum wage employers also must pay overtime to employees who work
more than 40 hours in a given workweek, unless they meet certain exceptions.
iii. Non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay under the FLSA
iv. Exempt employees are not entitled to overtime pay under the FLSA
1. Common exempt employees include: Executive, Professional, and Administrative
employees
v. Many states also have wage and hour laws that may have more requirements than FLSA

EMPLOYMENT (cont’d)
a. Full Time Employees vs. Independent Contractors
b.
Source: http://employment.findlaw.com/hiring-
process/being-an-independent-contractor-vs-
employee.html

EMPLOYMENT NEGOTIATIONS –
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
a. Noncompete
b. Non-solicitation
c. Confidentiality

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT (cont’d)
a. Noncompete Provisions
i. Terms restricting an employee’s ability to work for competitors for a specified amount of
time (sometimes within a specified geographic area) after an employee leaves a company.
ii. Often used to protect trade secrets or goodwill
iii. Enforceability
1. Often restricted or unenforceable under state law.
2. Each state has its own unique laws and rules about whether, when and to what extent a
non-compete agreement is enforceable.
3. Reasonableness of non-compete restrictions are often the key to enforceability! Duration
and scope must be reasonable.

a. Non-Solicitation Provisions
i. Terms restricting employee’s ability to solicit company’s clients or customers for
employee’s own benefit or benefit of another employer after leaving company.
ii. May also include agreement not to solicit other employees to leave when exiting employee
leaves.
iii. Often used in service or sales businesses
iv. Enforceability
1. Again – know the law in your state!
2. Where enforceable, must be drafted so that it is not too difficult for employee to earn a
living or unfairly limit a competitor’s ability to hire workers or attract new customers
3. Valid business reason should/must exist for enforcing non-solicitation provisions

a. Confidentiality Provisions
i. Agreement prohibiting employee from disclosing company’s
confidential or proprietary information.
ii. Often effective during an employee’s time with company, and
lasting for a period of time after employee leaves (1-3 years is
common).

TALENT MANAGEMENT

TALENT MANAGEMENT-EMPLOYEE
HANDBOOKS
a. The company’s vision and mission statements
b. Policies regarding time off: vacation, personal, sick, FMLA
c. Policies prohibiting harassment and discrimination (EEO)
d. Policies outlining any formal disciplinary procedure
e. Information regarding attendance expectations
f. Acknowledgment

TALENT MANAGEMENT-EMPLOYEE
HANDBOOKS (cont’d)
a. Why is the company handbook important?
i. Expectations Management
ii. Risk Management
b. Who drafts the handbook?
i. Senior Management
ii. Corporate Counsel

TALENT RETENTION
a. Onboarding process
b. Simple and clear measures and expectations
c. Review early and often
d. Partner training with specific initiatives
e. Know your people!

TALENT RETENTION- TRAINING
a. Materials
b. Tour Guide
c. Make Connections
d. Provide Resources
e. Be Available

OUTSOURCING HR
a. Benefits
i. Frees employer to concentrate on core competencies
ii. Saves money
iii. Improves compliance
iv. Improves recruitment
v. Provides access to latest tools and technology

HR & TECH
a. The term “e-HR” describes the transformation of HR service delivery using web-based
technology. Now HR professionals must not only master traditional HR skills and
knowledge, but also have the ability to apply that knowledge via technology.
b.
Source:
https://www.shrm.org/about/foundation/products/documents/hr%20tech%20epg-
%20final.pdf

ABOUT THE FACULTY

CHRIS CAHILL – ccahill@lowis-gellen.com
Mr. Cahill is Head of the Bankruptcy and Restructuring Practice Group at Lowis & Gellen LLP,
in Chicago, Illinois. He guides secured lenders, creditors, debtors, creditors’ committees,
potential purchasers and others through bankruptcy cases, out-of-court workouts, assignments
for the benefit of creditors, and receiverships. Mr. Cahill has substantial mega-case experience
representing very large debtors, and counsels and litigates on behalf of manufacturers and
secured lenders in large and middle-market cases.
Mr. Cahill also publishes frequently and speaks regularly on commercial insolvency issues. He
is an executive editor of Commercial Bankruptcy Litigation, 2d Edition (Jonathan P. Friedland,
Elizabeth Vandesteeg & Christopher M. Cahill eds., 2019) and is the host of Financial Poise
Radio, a periodic broadcast for investors and other curious persons, on
www.financialpoise.com.
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GREG GROVE – ggrove@muchlaw.com
Greg serves as the Chair of the firm’s Startups & Venture Capital practice, with a focus on
business transactions and counseling. Greg also heads the firm’s Blockchain Technologies
Team. Greg advises funds, strategic investors, boards of directors, management teams,
underwriters, and private and public companies at all stages of development, from
entrepreneurial to established. Greg draws on his training and experience as an electrical
engineer when representing clients in technology-related areas such as the software,
internet, application, blockchain, fintech, medical device, life sciences, real estate tech,
communications and semiconductor industries. Further, Greg represents companies and
investors in health care, entertainment and media, agriculture and retail and consumer
products and services.
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NICK PETIT - nick@vamonde.com
Nick is an experienced entrepreneur and proven leader that couples business strategy and
disciplined execution with enabling and emerging technologies. As CMO of VAMONDE, Nick
inspires a multi-talented team leading growth and shaping the future or travel and cultural
discovery. VAMONDE is a SaaS platform that is transforming how our most important cities and
cultural institutions leverage new technology and rethink marketing.
Nick is a growth-oriented executive delivering high-impact results across strategy, operations, and
business development for technology and business services firms. He’s a 3X entrepreneur, Big 4
leader, innovation executive, part-time butcher, traveler, painter, and Peace Corps veteran.
Nick serves on the board of directors for G-PAC – Gun Violence Prevention PAC.
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STU SKLAR – ssklar@otsholdings.com
Stu Sklar graduated from Rutgers College and University of Pennsylvania Law School. He
has been practicing law for nearly 25 years. After his initial training with two of the largest
law firms in the nation, he has been in house for the past 21 years, primarily in the staffing
and professional services industries. As a corporate generalist, he has handled a wide
variety of legal matters for his smaller to midsize clients including a significant focus on
employment matters, commercial transactions, compliance and dispute resolution. He
regularly advises on all aspects of the employment relationship including recruiting
practices, employment agreements, employee relations, terminations and post-employment
restrictive covenants. He lives and works in Cherry Hill, NJ, just outside of Philadelphia.
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LINDA ZAPPULLA – linda.zappulla@gmail.com
Linda Zappulla, Founder and Senior Consultant, Workshops and the Work. She has more than 25 years of marketing
experience, working in and leading every marketing discipline for highly regarded consumer brands as well as start-up
ventures.
As founder and senior consultant with Workshops and the Work, she provides solutions to marketing needs of business,
while teaching and mentoring their employees to enhance their marketing capabilities, and increase their engagement and
retention.
As Director of Brand Marketing at Payless ShoeSource, she provided cross-functional leadership, helping Payless deliver its
new strategy to transition from a private label purveyor to become a House of Brands. Prior to joining Payless, Linda was
Vice President of Marketing for Birch Telecom, a Kansas City based local telephone company. Prior to that she served in a
number of strategic marketing and brand management functions for consumer products companies such as Revlon, Lenox
China and Corning Glass.
Linda received her MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, and her undergraduate degree from
Barnard College. She is a Certified Mentor at SCORE, Kauffman FastTrac Alumna, volunteer with foreign exchange
students, and President-elect at Congregation Beth Torah.
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QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?
If you have any questions about this webinar that you did not get to ask during
the live premiere, or if you are watching this webinar On Demand, please do
not hesitate to email us at info@financialpoise.com with any questions or
comments you may have. Please include the name of the webinar in your email
and we will do our best to provide a timely response.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The material in this presentation is for general educational purposes only. It has been prepared primarily
for attorneys and accountants for use in the pursuit of their continuing legal education and continuing professional education.
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ABOUT FINANCIAL POISE
DailyDAC LLC, d/b/a Financial Poise™ provides
continuing education to attorneys, accountants,
business owners and executives, and investors. Its
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Visit us at www.financialpoise.com.
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HR 101: Finding, Negotiating With & Retaining Potential Hires (Series: The Start-Up/Small Business Advisor)

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