Jennifer Soper

Upwork is a top hiring and management platform for freelancers around the world. With millions of workers and agencies in hundreds of fields, from research to IT, it’s a great place to find talent for short- and long-term projects. Upwork earned the top spot on our best websites to hire freelancers evaluation and earned a rating of…

An employee handbook is a reference document that helps employees learn about key company policies like general employment information, dress codes, and work schedules. It also covers employee rules and expected behaviors. For business owners, maintaining an up-to-date employee handbook ensures that employees always have access to accurate company-wide information regardless of their manager or…

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training is an educational course or program within a company that allows employees to learn about and experience the backgrounds and cultures of their colleagues. This type of initiative promotes awareness, inclusion, and understanding of the diverse backgrounds of all individuals. Diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace are defined…

Final paycheck laws dictate how much time an employer has to issue a final paycheck after an employee has voluntarily resigned or been terminated. Federal law does not generally require employers to issue final paychecks immediately, so if your state does not have a specific law in place, you can pay terminated employees by the…

Paylocity is a highly rated human resources (HR) and payroll software. Designed to automate employee management processes, its integrated suite of cloud-based solutions can help simplify basic to advanced HR tasks—from hiring and pay processing to performance management and training tracking. Because of its pricing and payroll solutions, it’s better suited for medium and larger…

HireRight provides tailored Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)-compliant employment screening services, including criminal background screening, employment experience checks, identity verification, I-9 and E-Verify, drug testing, and health screening. With a broad range of screening services available to clients in over 200 countries, it’s a flexible option for HR managers in many industries. It scored 3.81…

Employee theft is stealing an employer’s property or misuse of company assets for personal use. It includes the more traditional ideas of theft, such as stealing merchandise or money, as well as stealing confidential data and “time” (i.e., not working as many hours as recorded or performing personal tasks on company time). Our guide takes…

As a freelance worker, tracking how you spend your work hours helps you bill clients accurately—which is where time tracking software comes in. In addition to timers that you can start and stop easily, the better tools include invoicing, online payments, reports, and integrations. However, the best time tracking software for freelancers also lets you…

Rippling is an all-in-one HR platform that streamlines and automates employee management processes. Its robust features allow you to hire, manage, pay, and train employees. In addition to HR tools, Rippling offers IT solutions for setting up and monitoring computer devices and app access. It’s ideal for small to midsize companies—especially those with plans to…

An employee referral program involves asking your employees to refer candidates who may not have otherwise applied to your open roles and rewarding them for their referral efforts. With an employee referral, you gain access to higher-quality applicants—and may reduce hiring costs and time to hire—as most employees will only refer individuals they believe could…

BambooHR is a popular and highly customizable human resources (HR) software ideal for small to midsize businesses because it is an all-in-one, easy-to-use HR software. It has features to track applicants, manage employee information, monitor paid time off (PTO) requests, measure staff engagement, and conduct performance analysis. In our review of BambooHR, we evaluated it…

The best pre-employment assessments test candidates on the skills necessary to do the job and help streamline recruiting by ensuring you interview only the most qualified candidates. Some assessment tools can test hard job skills like programming, while others handle soft skills like dealing with customers. There are also those that offer personality testing to…