Companies to Boost Payrolls

A new Chapman University study also foresees continuing strength in the county’s economy. Its survey of 700 local companies found that more than a quarter of county businesses plan to boost their payrolls by more than 20% over the next five years, while one-third plan to increase their staffs by 11% to 20%.

Nine in 10 of the businesses surveyed said that the success of their organizations depended most on hiring the “right” employees. “Although this is great news, we know that it will not be easy in a low unemployment economy to find and keep qualified employees,” says Tom Buckles, a Chapman economics professor. “The employment pool is changing and many businesses haven’t yet recognized what those changes will mean.”

Many employers underestimate the costs of employee turnover, and should make a greater effort to retain existing workers, Buckles says. “If employers aren’t careful they’re going to be spending a lot more money hiring and training new people,” he says.

Another warning about hiring the “right” workers: Strategic HR Services, a human resources services firm in Newport Beach, says that many small- and medium-size businesses fail to investigate the backgrounds of job applicants. Background checks are common at large corporations, so job applicants with checkered pasts tend to migrate to smaller companies with lax procedures, it says. That leaves them vulnerable to big losses, and possibly even workplace violence, it contends.

A typical screening can include checks of any criminal history, Social Security number verification, employment and education history, and credit and motor vehicle records, the firm says.

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Patrice Apodaca covers economic issues for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-5979 and at patrice.apodaca@latimes.com.