HR Insights - The Podcast. Series 7 - Misconceptions of the US Employment Market

We’re back with another episode of HR Insights: The Podcast!

Today, Stuart Elliott is joined by Nikki Brigati, SVP of Client Engagement at PGC Group. She joins the podcast to talk about the misconceptions of the employment landscape in the US.

When clients hire their first US workers, they often have misconceptions about the employment landscape, such as underestimating the complexity of federal and state regulations or assuming that employment practices are consistent across the country. In this episode, Stuart and Nikki discuss one of the biggest challenges clients face when hiring in the US market; navigating regulatory complexities while also understanding the cultural nuances of the workforce. Talking through what key factors US workers are driven by, for example: competitive compensation, benefits, work-life balance, and opportunities for growth when accepting a role. The use of notice periods is also discussed alongside the terminology used between the UK and US. They also chatted through the main aspects to consider when hiring in a new state as well as key advice for businesses to undertake to mitigate the risk of potential employment claims.

Nikki specialises in the realm of Client Relations, Expansion, and Retention. As the SVP of Client Engagement at PGC Group; she focuses on building scalable client solutions, developing relationships with stakeholders at key client accounts, helping clients mitigate risk, building bespoke client solutions, and resourcing clients on the North American employment landscape to position them for growth. She also manages a team of Business and Relationship Managers across the US and UK. 

Due to her depth and breadth of experience in account management and increasing revenue through building strategic relationships with clients, Nikki has cemented herself as the go to expert and the voice of the client in PGC. 

If you would like to find out more about the US market and for advice on making your first US hire, please contact Nikki on nicole.brigati@pgcgroup.com

Key Timestamps 

02:17 – Introduction to PGC

04:48 – Introduction to Nikki 

09:30 – The biggest misconceptions of hiring your first US employee

12:22 – The difference in employment between Democratic led and Republican led states

16:06 – Legislations around notice periods in the US

17:48 – Biggest challenges when starting out in the US

21:27 – 3 most important factors to consider when hiring US based employees 

23:08 – Paid time off and hybrid working 

28:44 – Factors to consider when hiring across states 

31:10 – Temp vs Perm hiring 

32:55 – Top tips for hiring in the US