Vicky Brown is the President and CEO of Idomeneo Enterprises, a strategic business process outsourcing firm that specializes in Human Resources. Vicky’s HR expertise and leadership experience encompass industries such as technology, entertainment, and advertising. In addition to her role as CEO of Idomeneo, Vicky is an accomplished coach who helps new entrepreneurs on their journey toward establishing and running a successful business. She is a recipient of the Senior Professional in Human Resources certification by the Human Resources Management Certification Institute and the Senior Certified Professional designation by the Society for Human Resources Management and holds a California Teaching Credential from the University of Southern California. Vicky is the author of Sing With Your Opera Voice, My Journey From Solopreneur to Entrepreneur.

Vicky joins us today to discuss recruiting and firing properly as a small business. She provides key tips on streamlining your hiring and firing process to ensure seamless transitions, quality hires, and amicable parting. She describes her former life as an HR professional by day and a lyric soprano by night. Vicky also highlights the importance of preparation when interviewing a job candidate, explains why recruitment is marketing, and underscores how diversity can impact an organization’s growth and success.

“Recruiting is a marketing experience, the same way you’re recruiting potential clients to work with you, you’re recruiting potential candidates to your organization: you want them to be invested in your vision.” – Vicky Brown

This week on Breaking Barriers:

• Vicky’s background and her experience as an opera singer, lyric soprano, and HR professional
  
• How an opera by Mozart inspired the name of Vicky’s company
  
• Vicky’s transition to HR and how a former colleague encouraged her to start her own HR services company
  
• The tech bubble of the early 2000s and the lessons Vicky learned from starting her own company
  
• Why preparation is key to getting the right job candidate to apply and show up for your vacancy
  
• Why recruitment is a marketing experience and the difference between job descriptions and job postings
  
• Why Vicky dislikes the “five years from now” interview question
  
• Three categories to consider when looking at a candidate’s resume
  
• Preparing to interview a job applicant and asking the right questions during an interview
  
• Vicky’s thoughts on using AI and other tools for HR and recruitment work
  
• State and federal laws and regulations on the use of AI
  
• Improving HR practices for fair, diverse, and equitable hiring
  
• Why it’s important to have a formal job application in addition to a resume
  
• Letting employees go while retaining their dignity
  
• Issuing verbal, written, and final warnings before firing an employee
  
• What “at-will” is and the value of an employment contract
  
• The offer letter and the “good faith exception”
  
• Separation agreements and how small business owners can use them to protect themselves
  
• The importance of engaging a labor council when setting up and implementing HR policies
  

Connect with Vicky Brown:

• Idomeneo Enterprises
  
• Email: hello@idomeneoinc.com
  
• Idomeneo Enterprises on LinkedIn
  
• Idomeneo Enterprises on YouTube
  
• Idomeneo Enterprises on Facebook
  
• Idomeneo Enterprises on Twitter
  
• Vicky Brown on LinkedIn
  
• Book: Sing With Your Opera Voice: My Journey from Solopreneur to Entrepreneur
  

This podcast is brought to you by Hire Ground

Hire Ground is a technology company whose mission is to bridge the wealth gap through access to procurement opportunities. Hire Ground is making the enterprise ecosystem more viable, profitable, and competitive by clearing the path for minority-led, women-led, LGBT-led, and veteran-led small businesses to contribute to the global economy as suppliers to enterprise organizations.

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