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

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