Blog Archives - Page 23 of 31 - InfinitiHR | Human Resource Consulting & HR Services

Job Market Report Trend: Interview No Shows

September 29, 2018/in Blog/by Mindy Flanigan

The job market is so good, candidates are not showing up for interviews, or not showing up for their first day on the job. We have been seeing a steady increase in this behavior in the last 18 months. Nationally, it is just now getting reported (CNN report link).

Seven things you can do:

1) Understand and accept the current job market.

The job market is really different right now. It takes a different approach and attitude toward hiring. It is important to understand that candidate choices are fewer and when a good one comes along, they should be hired. In the past, we have been able to get 3 to 4 good candidates that fit the position for our clients to choose from. Now that number may be 1 to 2.

2) Speed! Without sacrificing quality.

We still want our clients hiring people for the right reasons (see number 3). But doing it quickly is imperative. We have to understand that we are not the only choice. If a candidate has applied to our job, they have applied to several others as well. Many times, they are accepting the first one that offers.

3) Remember to think beyond the resume.

When there are 100 candidates for an opening, it is easy to narrow down based on skills and experience. We should always resist this methodology, but especially when the job market is tight.

4) Really pay attention to our candidate bio’s / submissions.

Remember, you are looking for TALENT! Sometimes that may be in the form of translatable skills, or experience not found on a resume. We have clients that don’t even look at resumes anymore. They only pay attention to our recommendations and assessments.

5) Be available.

Nothing will turn a candidate off or get them to accept another job quicker than not being available to interview. If you have an opening, make sure you have the time to interview. We recommend reserving blocks of time throughout the week and getting candidates in at the first available spot.

6) Now is the time to get known as a great place to work.

Treat candidates with respect and communicate early and often. If a candidate is not a good fit, giving them feedback or at least letting them know is not only common courtesy, but leaves the door open for years down the road when they may now be a good fit.

7) Work on retention.

This is something you should always do, but even more so when the job market is tight. The best way to keep candidates from not showing up to an interview, is to not have the need to hire in the first place. Know your turnover rate, do exit interviews when you can, and invest in training and coaching.

Way we are staying on top of the trend.

1) Speed.

Getting candidates contacted and fast-tracked into the interview process has a huge effect on ‘show’ percentage. Our Talent Acquisition Specialists are trained to evaluate talent quickly and not wait to take the next step.

2) Communication-contacting candidates as they apply as opposed to a set schedule.

Most of our clients are not full-time recruiters, so if they are handling the job opening themselves, they likely must block out time to contact applicants that have applied in the previous week. We have the advantage of contacting applicants on a more consistent basis. In some cases, immediately after applying.

3) Proactive scheduling.

Before contacting a candidate for a phone screen or interview, we are first getting interview availability from our clients. This allows us to either schedule the in-person interview at the end of the phone call or notify the candidate to plan on getting an interview invite (this also depends on the client service level).

4) Reminders and confirmations.

Text messages, reminder phone calls, reminder e-mails, calendar invites; all of these are being used in some capacity to increase the odds of a candidate following through on the interview commitment. We have several systems in place to automate the reminders and in some cases manually reminding and confirming interviews.

Final thoughts: When the job market does turn around, remember these times. There is some very interesting ‘golden rule’ psychology going on right now. Candidates are not showing respect and/or the common courtesy to show up, or at least call to cancel an interview. Why? Well, if we look at some of the common complaints of candidates, and the way they feel they have been treated when the job market is reversed we can begin to see why.

a. “Finding a job is a full-time job”
b. “Applications take a long time and once submitted, there is no response.”
c. “After the interview, I get no feedback or reason I did not make it to the final round.”
d. “My e-mails and phone calls are being ignored.”

Too often, when there are more available candidates than jobs, hiring managers don’t feel the need to communicate with candidates. While this works when the job market is good for employers, it can have a long term negative effect on your employer brand and candidate attitudes in general when the job market is like it is today.

Click the link to view the recent INFINITI HR blog: Overcoming Learned Helplessness in the Workplace or check back for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.

Overcoming Learned Helplessness in the Workplace

September 27, 2018/in Blog/by Valerie Juarez

It happens in all types of organizations, for that matter, you’ve probably encountered it, but didn’t know what it was:

That sense that everyone is frustrated and venting, no one is growing, some people are regressing, problems go unresolved, people are not content, and the group think is:

“NO MATTER WHAT WE WANT TO TRY, WE WON’T BE ABLE TO FIX OR IMPROVE THINGS”.

What is this sense of helplessness and where does it come from?

In the late 1960’s, psychologist Martin Seligman coined the term after a study on dogs showed that, over time, past negative experiences can so strongly engrain a response of “unable to take control” when confronted with problem solving, that the subjects simply gave up trying to flee a bad situation. Even more surprising was that as they watched others successfully escape, they didn’t follow suit. How did this happen? Sadly, the dogs were shocked, and the consequences grew worse when they attempted to resist.

Now, put back in the context of: A particularly poor manager who grips tightly to control and lashes out with hostility when challenged; a general lack of autonomy for employees with no avenue to manage up or across; a narcissistic department lead who won’t listen to new perspectives; or a culture that is quick to belittle employees for stepping outside the box, playing in someone else’s sandbox, or challenging the status quo – we can start to see how employees might become less confident and essentially impotent in their roles after experiencing escalating negative reactions or consequences as they attempt new things.

What happens next is the complaining, the depression, poor performance, more politics, and all the negative consequences that reduced productivity brings to the bottom line. The organization becomes unhealthy and toxic and no-one is attempting to make things better.

This scenario does not have to be systemic in the organization. It could be isolated to one employee who — even as they watch others grow, thrive, and promote — is feeling they have no choices, no voice, and will not have the opportunity to succeed because of past experiences. They have resigned themselves to mediocracy, even if there isn’t someone stopping them from doing better.

Ordinarily, neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to reorganize itself and heal from physical or emotional injury, helps us to move forward after negative experiences. Now, while some individuals experience difficultly maximizing this function because of chemical imbalances or their internal wiring, realistically, this amazing function can be triggered again with the right POSITIVE experiences to help overcome learned helplessness.

So, as leaders, how do we overcome learned helplessness in the workplace?

There is a way out and leadership can drive it:

Recognize the Problem: If you’re hearing “there’s nothing we can do”, “we tried that already”, “there’s no point”, or simply “it is out of our control”, you might be seeing learned helplessness.
Own It and Call It Out: When dealing with a problem born out of negative experiences, you don’t want to compound the issue by intimidating your employees in the way you address it, but you do need to be able to articulate it and move them forward. Conversations that start with “I understand”, “I realize”, “it might seem challenging”, “we can overcome this problem”, “together we…” and “this will benefit you by…” are good ways to introduce that you are seeing them hold themselves back and how their own inaction is making their sense of “lack of control” a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Set Clear Expectations: Often, there isn’t intent by management to compound someone’s sense of inadequacy. It can be very simply, a lack of understanding between the two parties. When an employee isn’t sure of what’s okay and what’s not okay, they are less effective in self-management. When employees perform poorly, make sure your expectations were established and clear when you consider corrective action. Make sure you are talking and providing support or feedback when things are going well, not just when something has gone wrong. If they are fearful that you “want to talk”, there isn’t a positive correlation to when and how you coach, which you are, in part, responsible for.
Don’t do their jobs for them – instead, have their back. Provide resources, tools, training, and be willing to help break down barriers if they express they are stuck or seem to be flailing. A good leader does not step in and take over to accomplish a task, which will leave the employee feeling inadequate or untrusted, but rather a good leader shows their employees what challenges might be in the path and guides to overcome them. Sometimes all you need to do is tell your employees, “You can do this”. One success can help to contradict one past negative experience, and your support through their struggle, rather than a reaction to punish by taking over, will help them to rise above helplessness. (Besides, who has time to do someone else’s job?)
Help them get comfortable with risky thinking, in favor of creativity: They need to escape self-imposed restraints, so give them stretch assignments to motivate them to think differently again.
Set Clear Goals with your team: By having them help to establish goals, you are starting them down the path of moving forward. Give them an opportunity to see themselves as more than they already are.
Focus on Solutions: Fuel any opportunity to get them brainstorming on what might work. Ask questions that engage them to think about root problems and new ideas to solve them. Even if the answer seems obvious to you, hold back from blurting it out because coming to the table with answers, not questions, will only reinforce their lack of self-worth. Let them find the answer by asking the right questions – this will help them get out of their funk. Helping to re-energize their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills is a “win, win, win” for all stakeholders involved.

Paint a Bright Future: Seligman’s work took him down the path of examining optimists and pessimists. He wrote, “Optimistic people tend to interpret troubles as transient, controllable, and specific to one situation. Pessimistic people, in contrast, believe their troubles last forever, undermine everything they do, and are uncontrollable.” This tells us that if we can help to see our situation from a different perspective, we will be less likely to suffer from learned helplessness. When you hear your team being negative, remind them of the good you see in the team’s future and how they can help to get there by stepping up.

Businesses know that stress and burn-out can be devastating to the bottom line. Understanding how learned helplessness plays a part in that result is relatively unfamiliar territory. However, as you look at the problem and the potential solutions, it comes down to good leadership, sound business practices, hiring the right people for the right roles, and letting employees drive their performance and the organization to success.

David Ogilvy summed it up nicely: “Hire people who are better than you are, then leave them to get on with it. Look for people who will aim for the remarkable, who will not settle for the routine.”

Click the link to view the recent INFINITI HR blog: Tattoos in the Workplace or check back for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.

Tattoos in the Workplace

September 19, 2018/in Blog/by Inspiring HR

There was a time when companies looking to ban visible tattoos in the workplace had a relatively easy time of it. After all, employees with tattoos have no specific legal protections under Title VII. And yet, the EEOC has filed a number of lawsuits against companies that prohibit visible tattoos.

Once again, a seemingly straightforward employment law matter is growing increasingly murky.

The Tattoo Generation

Tattoos are a subject on which there are strong opinions. Some people view body art as an important medium for personal expression, but like other artistic mediums, not everyone will see the beauty in another’s tattoo.

Tattoos are far more mainstream than they used to be. According to a 2017 Harris poll, 47% of millennials and 36% of GenXers have a least one tattoo. But for people above the age of 40, that number drops to 10%. This generational divide has the potential for conflict, where one strongly held view about workplace “appropriateness” conflicts with another about “personal expression”.

Courts have enforced a company’s right to determine its brand reputation, as well as the connection between employee appearance and that brand image. However, it’s critically important for employers to consider if a policy prohibiting visible tattoos, one that may have no clear foundation in business need, can make an organization appear stuffy, inflexible, and unappealing. Even the United States military – the epitome of discipline, order, and conservatism – loosened its restrictions on visible tattoos in 2007.

Employers may have a knee-jerk, negative reaction to tattoos, but these reactions are often based on stereotypes rather than fact or actual business need. Remember that the millennial generation is 65 million strong and represents the largest pool of workers and customers this country has ever seen. And based on that Harris poll, more than 30 million of them have at least one tattoo.

With recruitment, retention, and business growth strategies in mind, it may be time for companies to revisit their visible tattoo prohibitions. But these aren’t the only reasons to take another look.

The Legal Issues with Inflexible Tattoos Policies

People who voluntarily receive body art are not a protected class covered by Title VII. This doesn’t mean, however, that employers can ban all visible tattoos without making room for legally necessary exceptions.

Title VII does protect employees based on their sincerely held religious beliefs, for example. So, if the employee you hired in the winter suddenly reveals a tattoo when their wardrobe changes to short-sleeved shirts, remember to proceed with caution.

In 2005, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers refused to accommodate an employee’s request for an exception to the company’s policy banning visible tattoos at work. The employee insisted his tattoos were integral to a sincerely held religious belief, and it was a sin against his religion to cover his tattoos. Red Robin fired the employee, and was promptly sued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, who claimed religious discrimination. The company – clearly sensing a losing case – settled out of court for $150,000 and a promise to revamp their internal policies.

An interesting side note to this case is that the employee had been on the job for six months before he was approached about the policy violation. In that time, he had received positive comments on his performance and interacted well with customers. All of which begs the question, just what message was this company trying to send? That a potentially outdated policy on visible tattoos is more important than customer satisfaction?

Do You Need a Policy?

The answer is, sometimes.

There are valid business reasons for a policy banning visible tattoos. Employees in conservative industries such as banking, for example, would expect such a policy, as would the customers of those businesses.

More importantly, a company can and should protect itself against possible legal claims by banning visible tattoos that are offensive in nature, such as those which are extremist, indecent, racist, or sexist. Additionally, tattoos that pose safety issues, such as gang tattoos, can be prohibited.

Beyond these, the necessity of a policy prohibiting visible tattoos in the workplace should be considered within the following contexts:

The type of business.
The target pool of potential employees.
The expectations of customers.

Employers should always avoid unnecessarily broad dress code or personal appearance policies that don’t acknowledge the potential need for accommodation. A policy banning visible tattoos in the workplace can be effective as long as:

The policy is applied fairly to all employees in similar positions.
The policy makes exceptions for reasonable accommodations, such as religious observance.

Facial piercings and unnatural hair color are often treated similarly to tattoos, and policies should follow the exact same guidelines to ensure business need and legal compliance, including the same exceptions for sincerely held religious beliefs.

When a Belief is Not Sincere and a Religion is Not a Religion

Religious belief is a frequently requested accommodation, but companies don’t need to accept it without question. Employees only qualify for this exception if,

Their religion is a bona fide one.
Their religious belief is determined to be sincerely held.

These aren’t always the case.

Subway Restaurants have a policy prohibiting visible body piercings, a policy that’s commonly accepted in the food service industry based on customer expectations and food safety standards. But this policy was challenged by an employee, who claimed her facial piercing could not be removed due to her religion.

After losing her job for refusing to remove the piercing, the defendant sued her former employer. She claimed the company failed to accommodate her sincerely held religious belief. However, her claim was undermined when it was proven that she’d removed her piercing to gain access to a dance club. The court threw out her lawsuit, ruling in the employer’s favor.

Simply put, an insincere belief carries no legal weight, nor does a sincere belief in a “religion” that is actually not a religion. The EEOC defines a bona fide religion as having “ultimate ideas” about “life, purpose, and death.” It states that “social, political, or economic philosophies, as well as mere personal preferences, are not religious beliefs protected by Title VII”.

Tattoos at work have an increasing presence these days, and employers must find a way to address them that balances business needs and legal accommodations.

Click the link to view the recent INFINITI HR blog: Employee Theft – Reducing Your Overall Risk or check back for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.

This article does not constitute legal advice and there are subtle variations in employment law as it pertains to this topic, depending on where your business operates. It is strongly suggested that you seek consultation or legal counsel before making decisions about policies.

Employee Theft – Reducing Your Overall Risk

September 11, 2018/in Blog/by Inspiring HR

You’ve just discovered that one of your employees has been stealing money from your company over a period of time. Once you get over the initial shock that this trusted person has been stealing from you, the logical thing is to terminate the employee and then withhold money from their final paycheck or just withhold the entire paycheck to recover those funds, right? Unfortunately, it’s not quite that easy.

Types of Employee Theft

Employee theft accounts for eight times more losses to companies than shoplifting and may occur in several different ways:

Cash – this can be as basic as pocketing money from the cash register to forging checks or stealing funds by moving money through different accounts. This may be considered embezzlement if the employee is in a position of trust or responsibility over the assets that are stolen.
Payroll – falsifying time sheets or business expenses. This can include stealing time from the company in the form of spending work hours performing non-work-related or personal tasks.
Company Property – this can range from supplies (pens, scissors, etc.) to company equipment such as computers or office furniture to merchandise that the company manufactures or sells.
Intellectual Property – employees may steal company information such as customer lists, trade secrets, or other proprietary data that can be sold to a competitor or used in some other way that would benefit the employee.

Who are the ones most likely to steal from a company? The majority are general or first-line employees, those without supervisory responsibility. About 20% were managers/executives; the rest consisted of small percentages of accountant/bookkeeper/finance professionals; receptionists and secretaries; and billing/purchasing professionals.

Tips to Minimize Employee Theft

There are several things a company can do to minimize the risk of theft in their organization

Utilize background checks before hiring – this may help identify some red flags and prevent problems down the road.

Put proper security protocols in place – these can protect both the company and the employee. Examples of these may include locked safes, limited access to certain areas or information to include restricted access to particular computer files, strategically placed cameras, or other types of surveillance equipment. For the latter, it’s important to check with your state labor agency to ensure you are following your state’s regulations on this. Generally, cameras cannot be installed in places where employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as restrooms or locker rooms. Some states may have additional rules around this.

Policies and procedures – this is especially important to have in place for those who handle cash or other financial transactions as part of their job responsibilities. This should include who is accountable during various steps of cash handling or any cash exchanges. Your employee handbook should also specify the expectations of employee conduct and prohibited behaviors in the workplace, including potential consequences of theft.

Monitor trash removal – using clear trash bags or making sure that empty boxes are flattened may keep employees from removing company property in this way.

Conduct periodic audits – these can be in the form of auditing your books or your inventory to ensure that everything is where it should be. Audits can be both internal and external.

Checks and balances – have more than one person responsible for handling all the financial matters of the company. If you have a small company and only have one person to handle the bookkeeping, try to have an external accounting firm that can periodically conduct audits for you.

What’s My Recourse?

If you suspect that employee theft is occurring in your company, there are several steps you’ll want to take.

Gather all evidence and conduct a thorough investigation by an appropriate member of management – this would be the time to work with your HR partner who can help guide or participate in the process of interviewing possible witnesses, reviewing the evidence, documenting the steps, and summarizing the findings.

Decide whether or not to involve law enforcement – this may depend on several factors, including whether the amount or value of items stolen is considered petty larceny or grand larceny. If you’re dealing with a cash theft, involving law enforcement is generally a good approach. Decide this early in the process, as law enforcement may conduct their own investigation, or have specific recommendations for your investigation.

Maintain confidentiality – keep information sharing only to those who have an absolute need to know. You’ll also want to decide whether or not to suspend the employee pending the results of the investigation. Your HR partner can work with you on that decision.

Ensure consistency – if, after the investigation is concluded, you determine that termination is the next step, make sure to follow company policy and ensure you are being consistent with any other similar situations. This will help if the employee claims that the decision to terminate was arbitrary and others who have done the same thing were not treated the same way.

Review other pertinent information prior to termination – take into consideration things like employment contracts, collective bargaining agreements, etc. It’s also a good idea to seek legal counsel to make sure you haven’t overlooked any possible issues.

Determine whether you have employee dishonesty insurance coverage (also known as a fidelity bond) – this is coverage that can protect the employer from financial loss due to employee theft, forgery, funds transfer fraud, credit card fraud, computer fraud, and other business-related losses caused by employees and other members of an organization (such as volunteers, directors, trustees). If you have this coverage in place, you’ll need to determine what information is needed in order to file a claim. Your insurance agent should be able to help you with this.

When making the decision to terminate, most business owners believe they can withhold the amount of stolen cash or the value of other stolen items from the employee’s paycheck. That’s where it gets complicated.

Federal law may allow certain deductions from an employee’s paycheck, however, many states have their own laws on this which supersede federal law. For example, in Georgia this type of deduction might be allowable, but in California it definitely would not. Other states are in the middle with many requiring a written authorization from the employee to be able to deduct the money. Seek assistance in understanding the concept of “wage theft,” that may include withholding money from an employee’s paycheck without employee authorization, and how it applies to your state.

Some business owners may decide to press charges against the employee and take the matter to court to try and recover their losses. This often ends up costing more in lost productivity and attorney’s fees than the value of what was actually stolen, so more and more employers are deciding against this option.

If you find yourself in the situation of dealing with employee theft, make sure to check your specific state’s labor laws to help determine your best course of action.

Click the link to view the recent INFINITI HR blog: Right to Work is Not Employment at Will or check back for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.

Right to Work is Not Employment at Will

August 26, 2018/in Blog/by Lisa Porro

Know the Difference.

“Right to work” and “employment-at-will.” Both are employment terms that may appear in offer letters and employee handbooks and are tossed around frequently in legal circles. What do the terms mean and are they interchangeable?

They are in fact very different.

Right to work laws are related to unions. In a right to work state, employees have the right to work for a company and benefit from any union contracts that cover the company without being required to join the union or pay union dues. Non-member employees are also bound by the union contracts and the union will bargain on their behalf. Over half of this country’s states are covered under right to work laws (see this link for more information).

Employers in states without right to work laws can require that employees pay dues even if they do not join a union if they want to be covered by any results of bargaining activity.

Whether in a right to work state or not, employees can refuse to join a union or resign once they have joined.

Employment-at-will, on the other hand, only has to do with the employment relationship itself and the terms/length of employment.

Most states in the U.S. are at-will states. At-will basically means that an “employer can terminate an employee at any time for any reason, except an illegal one, or for no reason without incurring legal liability. Likewise, an employee is free to leave a job at any time for any or no reason with no adverse legal consequences.” Terms of employment can also be adjusted for lawful, business-related reasons (see this link for more information).

So, in a nutshell employees can quit? Just like that?

Well, yes, they actually can.

Employees can sign an offer letter and then turn around and tell you the following day that they have reconsidered and accepted a job elsewhere. Employees can work a few weeks, decide a job is not for them, and suddenly call you one morning to let you know that they are quitting. Employees can leave in the middle of a project, right after a two-week training session or a day after receiving a promotion or bonus. State laws as to final pay should still be observed, even if employees do not give notice or simply stop showing up for work (i.e. “Job Abandonment”).

So what protections do employers have? If employees can leave at any time for any reason, technically, then, you can fire an employee for any reason at any time, right?

Well, yes… and no.

Terminations should always be lawful and make sense.

The action of firing an employee for the following reasons (for example) is UNLAWFUL and never advised:

exposing company fraud (“whistleblowing”)
requesting a protected leave of absence
asking for an accommodation for his or her disability
being pregnant
bringing a complaint forward of sexual harassment

On the other hand, firing an employee for (for example):

having a persistent bad attitude
frequent occurrences of insubordination
performance issues that don’t improve after a reasonable period (60-90 days)
a serious incident of workplace violence
too frequent occurrences of tardiness/absences (that are not otherwise protected by state or locally-mandated sick leave)

IS lawful with adequate documentation and is a business necessity.

Note that terminations based on performance, violations of company policy or other lawful business-related factors should never be a surprise as policies should be clearly outlined in an employee handbook.

Best practices also encourage that general performance issues be well documented and progressive in nature, with a plan for improvement discussed with the employee well before a termination happens. Events, such as gross misconduct, that warrant immediate employment action should likewise be well documented, supported by written policies, and consistently enforced.

Employers may run into trouble if an employee is suddenly fired for “performance issues” but the latest performance review on file is a stellar one with no subsequent records of poor performance or discussions with the employee.

As with voluntary terminations, employers should always make sure to verify state law for final pay details for involuntary terminations. Even if an employee is fired, some states still require payout of accrued vacation/PTO and prohibit any deductions from a final check to recoup business losses or failure to return company property.

Right to work and employment-at-will… both having to do with employment but very different concepts. Understanding of these two terms will assist in navigating employee and employer rights under these laws.

Click the link to view the recent INFINITI HR blog: PTO for Everyone or check back for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.

PTO for Everyone

August 26, 2018/in Blog/by Valerie Juarez

In a past blog post, we discussed the impact of stress on productivity and profitability for the American workforce (see Stressed Staff Can Equal Stressed Profits). Not to be lost in the conversation is how employees who are working part time jobs while balancing school, family, or secondary jobs manage to keep financial, physical, and emotional stress under control when they are “out sick”, have personal emergencies to attend to, or desperately need time off to recharge.

There is perhaps a misconception that working part time is in itself always more “work life balanced” than full time employment, but truthfully, for low income or single income earning families, not only is the financial stability less present, part time employees also typically lack the plethora of benefits that most full time employees enjoy to maintain financial and wellness balance such as; employer sponsored health and supplemental insurance coverages, employer contributions to retirement plans, disability coverage, leave benefits, paid time off in various forms, expense accounts, access to pet insurance coverage, health savings accounts, and other various employer provided “perks”. For a family that doesn’t have a partner’s full time employment situation to offset the difference, this creates an even more challenging situation when dealing with life’s unexpected challenges. Who can “afford” to take unpaid time off on top of everything else?

More states have stepped in to address this issue directly in some form. Most recently, Arizona and Washington have joined the likes of California, Oregon, and Massachusetts in enacting regulations for most employers (including small businesses) to provide paid sick leave based on the number of hours worked to attend to personal or family related illness, domestic violence issues, or child welfare, that extends beyond full time staff to part time and seasonal employees.

Circling back to the beginning of the topic, however, stress and reduced productivity doesn’t have to be strictly health related. The value of being able to take even a small amount of time off, be it one day to one week throughout the year, at a part time rate of pay, can be impactful to part time employees who need a break or a little help.

At a time when small businesses may be especially wary of additional costs, being asked to extend any paid time off (PTO) for part timers may seem to be just another financial burden, but let’s examine the possible return on investment (ROI):

Loyalty increases when you provide a unique benefit. PTO is such a rarity for part timers that it may be that simple incentive that outweighs what the competition has to offer in the way that you value your people and their needs. Also, you can anticipate it as a fixed cost in the budget. If you think providing a small amount of PTO is expensive, weigh the costs of unexpected recruiting, hiring, and training of new hires when you have turnover by employees who fear they cannot come back without discipline after a short “unapproved leave need”, or to other part time employers who are dangling other carrots that attract your staff. For some employees, knowing they can take a short amount of time off without retaliation because you trust them with paid time off for their needs, or being given time to decompress without ruining their “check-to-check” budget, may be the incentive that makes you the employer of choice.
Reliability and attendance becomes more predictable with a PTO bank. Does it drive you up the wall when you have to scramble to find back-up to a shift because your part time employee has called in? Or you have added expenses because moving schedules caused you to incur unplanned overtime? By providing a fixed benefit that the employees can manage with your advance approval, they are more likely to ask for time off in advance for planned vacation time, which benefits your staff planning and will typically only use it on short notice when they really need to for emergencies because they don’t want to impact the availability of planned time off later in the year. Having a budget for their time off use may actually change their approach to planning and attendance that includes you in the decision making by way of a “time-off approval form” process.
Happier, more productive staff may be hard to measure, but will be partially reflected in the customer experience. Employees who know that they are trusted and valued truly pass on that feeling and experience to customers. The ability for customers to trust that your staff is dedicated to customer needs and that your people will consistently and accurately execute their transactions is extremely important in the business/client relationship. Modeling trust and value to your people sets the tone for the customer experience. We know that trust increases brand loyalty for customers, so it goes that when you trust and invest in your people, and they value the organization’s needs back, you indirectly invest in your customers.

From personal experience in the part time realm with a small PTO benefit, knowing I could plan for time off without having to juggle finances was a good incentive to make my vacation time quality vacation time, for more than just a day or two off at a time, so that I could come back truly refreshed, recharged, and thankful to my employer. Not having a “return from unpaid time off” emotional hangover meant my attitude and mood stayed higher for longer.

If you run the numbers and find that you really can’t add paid time off for your part time staff, you may want to evaluate if you have enough flexibility in your scheduling and staff planning to allow them to deal with stressful situations at home or school without negatively impacting their work or loyalty. Not sure if you do? Then ask your people. Not sure how to fix it? Again, opening the dialogue and taking their input into consideration is another step to showing you value their abilities and needs.

Click the link to view the recent INFINITI HR blog: Time to Replace Outdated HR Policies or check back for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.

Time to Replace Outdated HR Policies

July 25, 2018/in Blog/by Inspiring HR

Out with the old, and in with the new!

How Respectful Workplace Policies are Replacing Antiquated Workplace Conduct Policies

Compliance with federal, state, and municipal workplace regulations is an unavoidable challenge of doing business, and the ways business owners choose to apply and communicate these mandatory policies continue to evolve.

It’s incumbent on business owners to adapt to current thinking wherever possible within their business model. Forward thinking not only protects the legal integrity of a workplace, but also can empower company culture to become your most effective retention and recruitment tool.

Reviewing Current Policies

Analyze your current polices and culture for the warning signs of outdated policies, such as:

A focus on results at any cost
Policies written in black and white, with no room for flexibility
Rules for the sake of having rules
The policies reflect a business culture that is dangerously out of step with current thinking and best practices. They are based on the belief that employees must be controlled.

The Difference is in the Details

Title VII compliance requires a workplace where employees are treated with respect and dignity, but Workplace Conduct and Respectful Treatment policies try to attain that goal with different methods.

Workplace Conduct policies focus on what employees shouldn’t do.

Don’t use threatening or demeaning language
Don’t use racial, ethnic, or gender slurs
Don’t make actual or threaten physical conduct
Don’t spread rumor or gossip
Anti-Harassment (“Don’t harass!”) and Discrimination (“Don’t discriminate!”) policies are the most common examples of Workplace Conduct policies and their focus on controlling and banning behavior.

Respectful Treatment policies, on the other hand, are designed to educate, protect, and motivate. These policies move far beyond the Anti-Harassment and Discrimination policies that preceded them, because they promote an overall company culture of fairness, teamwork, and respect.

Respectful Treatment policies require that employees:

Treat all co-workers with respect, civility, and courtesy
Engage openly and collaboratively with co-workers, recognizing and embracing individual differences
Abide by rules, regulations, and policies; address inter-personal issues through appropriate channels
Commit to a culture where colleagues cooperate to achieve best possible business outcomes

We’re Not ‘All The Same’

There was a time when treating all employees exactly the same was considered Management 101, the ultimate way to protect a company from claims of discrimination or mistreatment. This management philosophy was, essentially, the genesis of inflexible Workplace Conduct policies.

But it’s now understood that Equal Treatment is not always Fair Treatment, as demonstrated by federal and state court rulings throughout the country. Every human being in your workplace is unique, facing his or her unique set of challenges and circumstances.

Small businesses can no longer find safety in black and white thinking.

A Respect Revolution

Respectful Treatment policies do more than just comply with federal and state workplace regulations. They also create and enforce a type of company culture that’s been shown to engaged the employee population – something that’s great for business, because an engaged employee is a productive one.

When updating your internal policies:

Create job descriptions that are up-to-date and clearly tied to performance goals. Show employees how they can succeed and how that success is tied to Respectful Treatment, teamwork, and overall company goals.
Educate employees on how our differences enrich the workplace and make life interesting.
Lead by example. Treating co-workers with respect is not an effective policy unless it’s also engrained as a way of doing business.
Metrics matter, but not more than an employee’s overall contributions to the team or the company. If you reward employees who bully their way to the top or demean their co-workers, these are exactly the behaviors you will encourage…and then you’ll be left to deal with the potential legal fallout.
Pay fairly. Below-market salaries and/or pay discrepancies within teams – ones that cannot be understood by differences in contributions – will chip away at feelings of being valued and respected.
Consider adding flexibility where possible for the type of industry you work within. Does everyone have to report to work at 8 a.m.? Perhaps add some flexibility to accommodate personal obligations, medical conditions, and even basic traffic hassles as a way to modernize and humanize internal policies.

Workplace Conduct policies are becoming a product of the past. Instead, small businesses must embrace the transition to Respectful Treatment policies, to both legally protect their business and to protect the rights and well-being of their employees.

Click the link to view the recent INFINITI HR blog: The Rise of PEOs for Small Businesses or check back for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.

The Rise of PEOs for Small Businesses

July 14, 2018/in Blog/by Valerie Juarez

Small businesses with lean management structures often struggle with the cost containment, administration, and time management of business practices. Daily obstacles include managing insurance and liability policies, unemployment claims, payroll processing, tax filings, and general human resources processes such as staffing and performance management.

Take for instance the situation of Elite Cleaning Service (ECS) of Philadelphia, PA. ECS started out of Joe’s basement with his wife, three sister in-law’s and brother. Within 6 months, he grew out of the basement and started renting office space. After some additional business and staff growth, he secured a significant contract with a major bank requiring he hire 10 more people, fast.

Reality set in that he needed help. In addition to assistance with hiring, he needed job descriptions, workplace rules, leadership training, formalized payroll processing and direct deposit options, some affordable but competitive benefits, wage and hour training, and his worker’s compensation claims and policy renewals were coming to a head.

He did not have the resources to employ dedicated administrative staff to handle the logistics of personnel and business administration; he needed to free up his own time to focus on strategic matters and sales; and, ECS was growing large enough for Joe to feel the increased pressure of his businesses’ liability and risks.

Joe’s headaches are common for growing small businesses, but he found the solution in an increasingly popular relationship: He elected to partner with Professional Employer Organization.

Professional Employment Organizations (PEOs) provide a one stop solution for outsourcing resources and increased purchasing power. They may have started with simple payroll processing, but PEOs now provide a wider scope of services for some 180,000 small and mid-size companies across the U.S.

How The PEO Relationship Works

The PEO relationship is that of co-employment, with the PEO taking on the role of “employer of record”. The small business is still an employer, however, and maintains a span of control over its staff, able to make day to day decisions on new hires, promotions, compensation programs, internal procedures, job duties, disciplinary actions, terminations. etc.

The PEO Advantage

Increasingly, franchises seeking brand uniformity for business and policy administration sans their own co-employment conflicts, are discovering and partnering with PEOs. A PEO offers HR Business Consultants who can work with various franchisees in multiple states to provide an “instant HR infrastructure”, able to craft polices and culture behind the scenes that can be delivered independently by franchise owners to their staff. This avoids the inconsistencies that evolve when individual franchisees attempt to start from scratch, allocating personnel or HR responsibilities to in-house staff with varying degrees of skill and knowledge and without the benefit of interacting with other franchise locations to build a consistent image.

That same “Instant HR” concept is especially appealing to businesses that are just getting started. Before the organization has even started staffed the first employee, resources such as handbooks, time and attendance policies, pay policies, and internal employment practices can be ironed out, or are very quickly available, as new needs or questions present themselves during the business’s growth. An added feature, usually only affordable for larger businesses, is access to senior HR professionals equipped to expertly coach leadership on topics ranging from organizational development; performance management; handling difficult conversations; or guidance while facing internal complaints and associated investigations.

Mindy Flanigan, CIO and Owner of HR consulting firm Inspiring HR, assesses the monetary value for the time spent on basic HR Consulting services inclusive in her company’s PEO partnership to be $1,500 to $2,000 out of the gate to a new client needing a handbook and basic forms. The return in investment grows exponentially if the client leverages the HR Consultants for wage and hour compliance coaching, performance management, and employer relations problem solving to mitigate legal entanglements.

An important area of operational alignment: Small business owners value simplicity and its impact on time management. PEO payroll administration delivers on this concept as it allows one simple payment by the business per payroll cycle so that payroll is accurate, on-time, and covers all liability.

According to Daniel Mormino, senior vice president, at PEO INFINITI HR, “we shield each owner from employer related liability, ensuring the employer does not focus additional time or resources on non-revenue generating work”. This is accomplished by providing teams dedicated to loss-control services such as business insurance, often taking on the lion’s share of the deductible and liability for claims or charges. Additional support may include claims management of Unemployment and Safety cases, and managing work place incident reporting – all designed to minimize cost. As part of risk management, the business can also look to the PEO to provide guidance on safety policies and the creation of safety manuals.

Through the shared pool of employees across its client base, PEOs have greater negotiation power, which allow small businesses greater access to benefits at a lower cost. The complexity of benefits administration is reduced by access to one point of contact versus multiple providers when there are questions. Small businesses see the return on investment yet again, by having a competitive and affordable benefits package to attract new hires and retain current workers.

Looking Ahead

The bundled PEO resources are very appealing for any small business wanting to avoid the hassle of multiple vendors with inconsistent messages, and the efficiency can translate into improved business survival.

In September of 2016 a report by McBassi & Company and The National Association of Professional Employer Organizations examining a 2014 comparison between businesses using PEOs compared to national data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics stated, “the employee turnover rate for PEO clients was 10 to 14 percentage points lower per year than it was for comparable companies in the U.S. overall: 28 to 32 percent annual employee turnover for companies that used PEOs for at least four quarters, compared to approximately 42 percent for all companies.” In addition, they found that “businesses that used PEOs for at least four quarters are approximately 50 percent less likely to permanently go out of business from one year to the next when compared to the overall rate for similar private businesses in the United States.”

A realization this uncovers in the HR realm is that there has been a parallel maturing of the HR Profession and the PEO industry for over 20+ years. PEOs once believed that outsourcing HR largely meant asking the Payroll Specialist some wage and hour questions while HR was regarded as the “personnel” paperwork pushers. Neither sit in those spaces any longer. HR’s reputation of adding value to any size business continues to improve; thus more businesses are interested in HR support. As PEO’s compete for clients, the overall HR Consulting experience that can be delivered directly affects their sales and client retention efforts. Thriving PEOs now understand that a comprehensive and quality client service experience must include dedicated access to experienced HR Consultants who can personalize service & support per client.

Click the link to view the recent INFINITI HR blog: Responsible Alcohol Use Policies at Work or check back for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.

Responsible Alcohol Use Policies at Work

July 3, 2018/in Blog/by Julie Morgan

“CAN I GET YOU A DRINK BEFORE WE GET STARTED?”

Do you remember watching television shows from the 1960’s and 1970’s where business professionals were regularly seen taking a shot of vodka or slowly sipping on a glass of scotch as they prepared for a very important meeting? Back in the day, many employers permitted employees to drink while at work and sometimes even encouraged drinking during meetings.

Through the years, more and more federal and state employment laws started evolving and drinking on the job became a liability to business owners. Also, employers who held general liability insurance coverage and workers’ compensation were finding that accidents and/or injuries that were a result from an employee being intoxicated on the job, were not always covered under their policies. Therefore, business owners started adopting strict policies prohibiting drinking alcohol while at work to avoid any unnecessary liabilities.

Is it a good idea to develop a company policy allowing employees to casually drink while working?

In the day and age of millennials, allowing employees to drink while at work has circled back around and is becoming a popular trend among many businesses. There are many businesses serving alcohol in common areas and/or break rooms – a keg in the cafeteria, wine cooler in the break room, or even a bar in the lobby. So, what has changed? Employers still have the same liabilities with employees drinking on the job as they did back in the 1960’s. Why has this become a popular trend again? Should all employers consider adopting a casual “day drinking” policy? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of having a responsible alcohol use policy and discuss the details needed for its success.

Responsible Alcohol Use on the Job – Pros and Cons

Having a responsible alcohol use policy and allowing employees to consume while at work may be beneficial to a business. However, there are also many risks associated to drinking on the job. Business owners must thoroughly review the pros and cons of drinking on the job to determine if introducing a formal alcohol consumption policy is right for the business.

Certainly! Here’s a refreshed and refined list of the pros and cons of allowing alcohol consumption in the workplace:

Pros of Responsible Alcohol Use in the Workplace:

Stress and Anxiety Reduction: Offers a relaxation benefit for some employees, easing work-related stress and anxiety.
Boosts Creativity: Can lead to enhanced creative thinking, fostering innovative solutions.
Openness to New Ideas: Encourages a more open-minded approach to changes and new concepts.
Enhanced Teamwork: Promotes social interactions that can strengthen team bonds and collaboration.
Increased Job Satisfaction: Leads to a happier workforce, reducing employee turnover.
Extended Work Hours: Employees might be more inclined to stay later to complete projects in a more relaxed environment.
Product Knowledge: For those in the beverage industry, it increases product understanding and appreciation.
Viewed as a Perk: Seen as a valuable employee benefit, contributing to overall job satisfaction.
Promotes Carpooling: May encourage more employees to carpool to work, knowing they can socialize afterwards.

Cons of Allowing Alcohol at Work:

Potential for Aggression: Can heighten emotions, leading to anger or aggressive behaviors in some.
Compromised Decision-Making: Impairs judgement, potentially affecting work quality and safety.
Safety Risks: Raises the likelihood of workplace accidents and injuries.
Harassment Concerns: Could lead to an increase in harassment claims, including sexual harassment.
Professionalism Issues: May result in unprofessional behavior or comments.
Exclusionary Atmosphere: Risks alienating employees who abstain from alcohol, possibly affecting morale.
Risk of Substance Abuse: Might enable or worsen alcohol abuse problems, affecting employee health.
Legal Issues with Minors: Possibility of underage employees accessing alcohol.
Diminished Work Quality: Risk of reduced work performance and lower output quality.
After-Hours Liability: Increases the company’s liability for incidents involving employees post-consumption.
Risk of Excessive Consumption: Opens the door to binge drinking and its associated problems.

There will always be risk involved when permitting alcohol at work. However, do the pros outweigh the cons? When is it right to have a responsible alcohol use policy? Obviously, not all professions (factory, transportation, health care, safety officials, education, etc.) should be allowed to drink on the job for safety reasons.

Things to Consider Before Implementing a Responsible Alcohol Use policy.

As I mentioned above, business owners need to consider if a responsible alcohol use policy will work for their business – outlining and reviewing the pros and cons to permitting alcohol is the first step. The next step is to determine the following:

Does the policy align with the core values and mission statement of the business?
Does the general liability insurance and workers’ compensation cover claims as a result of an employee(s) drinking at work?
Do you have a post-accident, post-injury, or probable cause drug & alcohol testing policy that conflicts with, or complements, your responsible alcohol use policy? How will the two policies interact?
Do you need a license to service alcohol on the premises?
How will you handle intoxicated employees?
Will you provide company paid transportation for intoxicated employees?
How will you limit and track the amount of drinks an employee can consume?
When is it acceptable for employees to drink while at work? Only on Fridays, any day after 4:00 PM, or during a weekly recap meeting?
Will you provide alternatives to employees who don’t drink?
Where will alcohol be available and/or served, and where can employees drink? At their desks, in the break room, in the board room, etc.?
How will you handle complaints, inappropriate behavior, and/or violations of the policy?
Will you have an employee assistance program (EAP) available to employees who may have or may develop an alcohol addiction or problem?

As you can see from the list above, there are so many factors to consider before deciding if alcohol on the job is right for your business. While drinking on the job may sound like a great idea and could increase employee morale, there are many risks associated with the distribution of alcohol at work, which may cause a huge liability to the business.

Employee Travel – Do I Pay For That?

June 26, 2018/in Blog/by Lisa Porro

When business as usual involves reporting to the same location every day, employee travel isn’t a subject that may come up very often. When it does, whether it is a short trip a mile away or overnight travel, it raises questions.

What exactly is an employer required to pay for? What about travel time for hourly employees?

Sending your employees anywhere offsite, no matter the distance or time spent, will incur expenses. In terms of tangible items purchased, or paid services, if you do not provide a corporate credit card, these will be out-of-pocket for your employees who travel. While some of these expenses may be tax-deductible for employees if their employers do not reimburse them, there are many limitations to what they can actually deduct at tax time. Keep in mind that some states, like California, require that companies reimburse all out-of-pocket expenses incurred while doing business (with reasonable limits) offsite. If employees are traveling on behalf of your company, a best practice is to simply reimburse them for what they have spent while doing so.

Some examples of common travel expenses are:

Airline and train tickets (including change fees if company plans prompt a change to travel plans), baggage fees, and tips up to a certain percentage
Car rental fees (if your company requires your employees to purchase the rental insurance, this is also a reimbursable expense) and gas
Taxi or bus/shuttle fares
Parking fees
Hotel accommodations and wi-fi charges
Dry cleaning expenses for trips of a certain length
Meals
Mileage (if employee’s personal car is used)
It is recommended that mileage be reimbursed at the standard IRS rate (54.5 cents a mile for 2018) or, if a company desires to do so, at actual cost

An accountable travel expense policy where employees submit actual expenses for reimbursement versus a flat “travel stipend” amount is recommended to avoid your employees having additional income added to their W2s.

What if employees spend money during their off time? Are there any expenses I am not required to reimburse?

There are limits. There is no law that requires you to pay for spa treatments, concert tickets, extravagant meals or other expenditures that occur during downtime on a business trip. A comprehensive Business Travel Policy will assist your employees’ understanding about what is and is not reimbursable. Non-reimbursable expenses may include:

Upgrades to flight seating or charges for in-flight entertainment systems
Travel change fees if not due to business reasons
Parking tickets or tickets for moving violations
Meal costs over a reasonable limit
- Employers should consider geographic location cost differences when determining what a reasonable limit may be. Dinner out in large cities, for example, will likely be more expensive as a rule than it would be in other parts of the country.
Charges for alcohol
General sightseeing and shopping expenses
- If an airline loses an employee’s luggage, you may want to consider reimbursing for reasonable replacement of clothing and toiletries purchased for purposes of completing the business trip
Room upgrades, in-room movie rentals and honor bar charges
Room service if not one of the standard daily meals. (The cost of ordering a pizza via room service three hours after dinner may not be reimbursable unless required work projects dictate a later night)
Charges for treatments in hotel spas or fitness classes
- If the hotel where the employee is staying has required “resort fees” that are automatically added to the bill, these should, as a rule, be part of what is reimbursed

Business travel policies should not only outline what is, and is not, reimbursable and how to submit expenses. If the company has a preferred hotel group, airline or travel agency that should be used, this information should also be included in a travel policy, as well as any documentation/explanation required for going outside of the preferred vendors. If there are different tiers of travel expenses allowed based on title and/or job level (i.e. executives may fly first class for long trips) these details should be listed in the policy as well and applied consistently.

As another best practice: Submitted expenses should have a quick turnaround for approvals and processing and be reimbursed in a reasonable amount of time.

What about pay for travel time for hourly employees?

Non-exempt employee travel is tricky as the wage rules vary by state.

From a Department of Labor (Federal) standpoint, compensable hours for non-exempt employees while traveling as a passenger (in a plane, bus, train, car, boat) are generally only those that fall during regular work hours. If the employee, on the other hand, is required to do the driving, this would be considered compensable time.

In California, however, all travel time (whether the employee is a passenger or active driver) is compensable less an employee’s regular commute time. Please note that actual in-the-air or on-the-road travel time can be paid at state or local minimum wage unless actual work is being performed during that time (i.e. an employee answers emails and/or works on a presentation while on a flight.)

Any meetings or required activities outside of work hours are generally considered compensable – state and federally – at local overtime rates.

Important to note: Even while offsite, any state or federal meal/ rest period and overtime rules still apply and non-exempt employees should carefully track their time while traveling. If employees travel out of state, check wage and hour laws for days spent at that location. More than likely those are the laws that should be followed.

As for shorter day trips – regular commuting, errands, travel to a local conference, it comes down to employer control and state law.

If George, an hourly employee is asked to stop and pick up supplies or refreshments on the way in to work, George may be owed for all or part of that time.
If you require hourly employees to take a company-provided shuttle to work, that time spent in the shuttle may be considered work time.
If Jenny reports to her regular work location in the morning and leaves for a conference at 10 a.m., finishes the conference at 2 p.m. and returns to work, the time spent traveling to and from the conference may be compensable in all states as it occurs during work hours. Alternatively, If she leaves the conference at 5 p.m. and goes straight home, if the time it takes for Jenny to get home is longer than her usual commute you may owe travel time for the difference.
- This works similarly if employees need to travel to multiple clients or locations throughout the day.

As travel is a sometimes necessary cost of doing business and remaining competitive in the market, developing a Business Travel Policy is essential to keep control of those costs and guide employees on how best to manage their travel plans and expenditures.

A close eye on wage and hour laws will also assist in ensuring your hourly employees who travel are paid appropriately as well. The following sites provide additional guidance: IRS & Mileage Rates; California Travel Wage Requirements; and Department of Labor Fact Sheet: Travel Pay.

Click the link to view the recent INFINITI HR blog: The Decline of Classroom Training or check back for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.

Job Market Report Trend: Interview No Shows

Overcoming Learned Helplessness in the Workplace

So, as leaders, how do we overcome learned helplessness in the workplace?