Blog Archives - Page 30 of 31 - InfinitiHR | Human Resource Consulting & HR Services

PEO for HR Support and Peace of Mind

July 31, 2014/in Blog/by Mindy Flanigan

Doctor Z. Poor Doctor Z. Three months later he still has mass anxiety about another wage and hour investigation. Last time the end result was more than $30,000 in back wages, back taxes and fines.

How? It only takes one unhappy current or ex-employee to start an investigation, and the results are usually unfavorable. Doctor Z really believed he was doing the right thing. After all, if you do the right thing, your business should run well, right? Not if you consider what state and federal laws require of even the smallest businesses. In Doctor Z’s case, it was a medical practice with around 20 employees.

Where did Doctor Z go wrong? In the words of Thomas Edison, “Vision without execution is hallucination.” Where is the hallucination in the small business world? Lack of understanding when it comes to employment laws. Federal laws, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act, and state specific wage and hours laws (meals, breaks, deductions, final paycheck, etc.) will trip those who lack understanding right into a complaint and possible fines.

Doctor Z had no one in a trained administrative role to tell him that some employees were actually non-exempt and due overtime. Doctor Z had no working knowledge of what constitutes hours worked and when deductions from pay are permitted. He also didn’t know that you can’t hold a final paycheck for failure to return property. Result? The last employee he had good cause to terminate wanted to get even. But she was within her right to do so.

Doctor Z had been paying her an average “market rate” salary, but working her 50 to 60 hours per week, without overtime. Her position did not qualify her to be exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. She was not a supervisor, not an executive, nor did she have any type of high level authority with the company. When her performance deteriorated, Doctor Z felt there was good reason to terminate her and move on. The employee was upset. But, there was something else Doctor Z did not know…

Even though Doctor Z was not requiring any employee to keep time sheets (he was just running all as salary, regular each pay period), this employee was tracking her time. With what? The Department of Labor’s handy timekeeping application on her smartphone. She had the proof to show she was due back wages. Doctor Z didn’t have any records of his own to defend himself. Doctor Z also had no defense for taking an unauthorized deduction from her pay when she was blamed for damaging a printer. He also had no defense for holding her last paycheck until she returned company keys.

Too many red flags for the wage and hour department to overlook. They interviewed former co-workers and found there were others, beyond the person who complained, that were non-exempt and also due back wages for overtime worked. Remember that $30,000? That represents two to three years in back pay, plus applicable payroll taxes and fines.

What steps can a business owner reasonably take to make sure this does not happen? Surely, they don’t need a full time, and expensive, HR manager. The bottom line is that there is no easy crash course for a business owner to learn all of this. So what’s the best option for future peace of mind? Consider outsourcing to a professional employer organization (PEO).

What is that? A one-stop full employee administration service. Every time you run payroll, you are charged a fee that covers human resource management basics. The good PEOs provide clients with an HR service representative or team that is on call for questions, communicates employment law compliance information and offers employee management best practice suggestions. The great PEOs even add to that. They provide employment law posters, assist their clients with employee handbook customization and have a multitude of employee management documents and templates that can be customized specific to client needs.

Today, Doctor Z finally has peace of mind. He decided to hire a non-exempt administrative assistant who is very open to building a great service relationship with the HR team of the PEO he chose to work with. They are providing his business with a full spectrum of services including payroll processing, tax administration, workers’ compensation insurance and human resources consulting designed to minimize employment management risk and cut employee termination costs.

Click the link to view our recent blog: Got Employees? 10 Mistakes Not To Make or check back for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.

Original Source: http://inspiringhr.com/peo-for-peace-of-mind.html

Got Employees? 10 Mistakes Not To Make

April 23, 2014/in Blog/by Mindy Flanigan

As you review your profit and loss statement (P&L), are you wondering why revenue is down… or why are costs up? A single employee termination could be to blame.

Employees who are fired or voluntarily resign cost a company at least one times the annual salary. Don’t believe it? Here is what adds up: lost productivity, overtime, temporary help, advertising, time to find candidates, time to interview, new hire training expenses and a rising unemployment tax rate, to name a few. You may want to measure how lower morale has damaged productivity.

What can be done to avoid this? Hire right! Here are 10 mistakes to avoid with employees.

No Job Description. Do not hire without one. How do you know what to ask of the applicant if the job isn’t defined? Ask those who have done the job and supervised the job. Is the role is exempt or nonexempt? Identify the knowledge, skill, abilities, qualifications and physical requirements.
Poor Resume Review. Time is money. Why bring an under-qualified applicant in for an interview? Use the resume to look for red flags. Look for grammar errors and misspells. Are there gaps in employment? Do they have relevant experience? Do a phone screen first.
Asking Potentially Discriminatory Questions. The basic rule is that ALL interview questions should be relevant to the candidate’s ability to perform the essential duties of the job. Before you ask the question, ask yourself: “Is this relevant?”. Married, have children? Not relevant! All you need to know is if they are they able to work the required hours.
Ineffective Interviewing. Dig deeper into potential red flags. Ask behavior based interview questions: open ended and job specific. Prepare ahead of time and follow a consistent structure. Follow the 70-30 rule. Candidate should be talking 70% of the time. Let them talk so you can hear the red flags.
Dismissing Red Flags. They will not go away. Past behavior is the best predictor of future performance. Have you identified how the candidate approaches major decisions or how they would resolve a customer complaint? What do they exhibit enthusiasm over? What do they avoid talking about?
No Pre-Selection Processes. Check references! Can’t get the information you need from a former employer? As the applicant to sign a release of liability that you can send over. Conduct background checks and drug screens. Schedule a second or third interview to be sure of your decision.
Overpaying for Talent. A small business operates on a very limited budget. Before you offer a big salary, make sure it is a necessary expense. Find out what the market rate for the position is. Do competitor research. What does your company offer that others can’t? Becoming an employer of choice may help you keep salary costs down.
Passing Over the Inexperienced. Otherwise known as the green candidate. If you can give them great training up front, it could be a worthwhile hire. Greener candidates tend to carry less baggage and are more motivated; have a better attitude; are usually more affordable and are easily mentored. Have you heard the phrase: “Hire for attitude, train for skill”?
Offers of Employment Gone Bad. Before you pick up the phone, is everyone on the same page? Is there an understanding of pay and benefits by both parties? Making an offer, verbal or written, is not the time for surprises. If everything hasn’t been covered yet, why not call with additional questions and an “initial” offer. Be prepared to negotiate and stay enthusiastic. The last thing you want to do is de-motivate a new hire. A de-motivated new hire will never produce what you expect or need.
No New Hire Orientation Processes. If your model is to let them sink or swim, the new employee will likely sink. That will lead to a turnover cost. Which is what you wanted to avoid in the first place. You only have one chance to make a first impression. Before the new employee starts, figure out what day one, week one, month one and the first 90 days should look like.

Click the link to view our recent blog: News Article Analysis: McDonald’s Franchisee Pays Back Wages or check back next week for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.

Original Source: http://inspiringhr.com/10-mistakes-to-avoid-when-hiring.html

News Article Analysis: McDonald’s Franchisee Pays Back Wages

April 19, 2014/in Blog/by Sarah Frye

The Baltimore Business Journal recently printed an article about how a local Maryland franchisee of McDonald’s must pay more than $250,000 to 138 employees in civil money penalties for child labor violations. This article is an example of how franchisees, even from the largest franchise brand in the world, could benefit from working with a PEO to correctly manage human resources issues. If this franchisee was working with an organization like Infiniti HR, this situation would have been avoided all together; saving the company money and media strife.

Click the link to view our recent blog: Announcing Infiniti HR’s HiringThing Partnership or check back next week for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.

Annapolis-based McDonald’s Franchisee Agrees to Pay Back Wages
Baltimore Business Journal
Ryan McDonald Digital Producer
Apr 8, 2014, 12:44pm EDT

An Annapolis-based McDonald’s franchisee has agreed to pay more than $250,000 in back wages and damages to employees as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor.

Gold Hat Inc. and Gold Hat II Inc. violated the minimum wage, overtime and child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act at nine of the franchisees’ restaurant locations throughout Maryland, the U.S. Department of Labor determined.

In total, the franchisees will pay $252,224 to 138 employees. The employer has also agreed to pay $4,300 in civil money penalties for child labor violations.

Gold Hat Inc. operates four McDonald’s restaurants, and Gold Hat II Inc. operates another five. The Labor Department claims that when employees worked at more than one location for the employer during the same workweek, the hours they worked at the different locations were not totaled to determine if overtime was due.

Additionally, the federal agency says that 14- and 15-year old employees worked outside of the hours permitted by federal child labor regulations.

Original Source

Announcing Infiniti HR’s HiringThing Partnership

March 25, 2014/in Blog/by Sarah Frye

We are excited to announce our recent partnership with HiringThing, recruiting software that helps small and medium businesses post jobs, manage applicants and find great employees.

We pride ourselves on providing our clients with the highest quality of service. We believe that HiringThing will be a powerful tool for companies like yours as you look to hire great employees.

We’ve used HiringThing ourselves to fill positions and we find their software easy to use. And it’s definitely saved us time and money in the hiring process.

The first 14 days are FREE! Click here to get started.

With HiringThing you can integrate directly with HRPyramid and much more:

● Easily post jobs to online job boards and buy premium job placements
● Pass resumes to other managers and keep notes
● Manage employee referral programs
● Run awesome applicant analytics reports, so you can see where your job applicants are coming from
● Order background checks for potential hires

HiringThing’s support team is eager to answer any questions you may have. And they can also provide live demos and on-demand videos.

As our clients’ needs grow, we want to be there to support you, offering services that will make running your business easier – and save you time and money. We are excited to work with HiringThing and we know that this partnership will provide our clients with a new opportunity to streamline your HR function.

Click the link to view our recent blog: Five HR Basics for Any Small Business or check back next week for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.

5 HR Basics for Any Small Business

March 4, 2014/in Blog/by Mindy Flanigan

We often hear about the Department of Labor trying to combat “catch me if you can”. All those small business owners that, according to them, just love to ignore or avoid employment laws. While there may be some out there, the vast majority just don’t know these laws exist. And if they do know they exist, we can thank our government regulators for making these laws way too complicated for the average business owner to even understand.

If federal or state labor law agencies want to minimize the amount of business owners who are violating employment laws, it is time to simplify! Many business owners really do want to do the right thing and need to be educated in a manner that is sensible. Education starts with basics. A basic understanding of labor law compliance will help a business create sensible and compliant employee management systems and processes.

So, where do the basics start? Here at the top five HR basics for any small business:

Employment law posters. Put them up! They must be displayed in a common employee area such as a break room. Make sure they are current. Yes you can print them from various web pages. But why would you do that when there are a ton of vendors out there that will put all your federal and state required postings on one single laminated sheet from $30 or less plus shipping?
Fair Labor Standards Act. This is a federal law that most small businesses get wrong. It regulates minimum wage, OVERTIME and child labor. Here is the thing about overtime. Unless a position is clearly exempt, according to defined Fair Labor Standards Act exemption categories, it is non-exempt and all hours physically worked over 40 MUST be paid at one and 1/2 times the employee’s hourly rate. Just because a job has supervisor or manager in the title, or just because you choose to pay someone a salary DOES not make them exempt from overtime.
Wage and Hour laws. There are federal and there are state. If state law is more generous than federal law, the business should follow the state law that is applicable to where the employee works, not necessarily where the business is located. If a business operates in Virginia, but also has Maryland based employees, then the business must comply with both sets of state laws.Wage and hour laws include regulations on when you are permitted to take deductions from an employee’s pay, meal and break periods and when final wages must be paid. When you are trying to determine your state’s wage and hour laws a simple Google search will usually land you right to the FAQ page of your state Department of Labor web page.
Immigration Law Compliance. In other words, form I9. A new one was just released. It expires in 2016 – refer to top right corner. Start using it ASAP and do not use old forms past May 1, 2014. This form verifies the employees you have hired are legally authorized to work in the United States, not that they are a citizen. This form should be filled out in full, identifications should be witnessed and noted in section two, and section two must be signed. If immigration chooses to audit your files and finds missing or incomplete I9s, there is a high likelihood you will be fined. An I9 is required for every employee hired (put on payroll). A new employee legally has up to three business days to produce the documentation required for this form. After three days, if no identification is presented, suspend them from work until they do. Continuing to allow them to work past the three days is a willful violation of the law.
Anti-Harassment and Non-Discrimination. Get a policy in place immediately. It would normally be found in your employee handbook and should clearly state zero tolerance for harassment in the workplace and clearly outlines for your employees how to report potential violations of the policy. Going without an anti-harassment policy in your business carries significant risk as the company will likely be without an effective means to defend itself if accused of not responding appropriately to a claim.

There is no need to fear or run from HR. Look for simplicity and start with the basics.

Click the link to view our recent blog: We Have an Employee Handbook, Now What? or check back next week for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.

Original Source: http://inspiringhr.com/5-hr-basics-for-any-small-business.html

We Have an Employee Handbook, Now What?

January 28, 2014/in Blog/by Mindy Flanigan

Congratulations on even having an employee handbook! Many small businesses try to go without, which ends up being a mistake. A current and labor law compliant employee handbook is an ASSET. It welcomes new employees, answers commonly asked questions and establishes standards for consistency and accountability; it proves what the employee should have known when you must correct their actions or are forced to terminate. It also minimizes risk in key areas such as harassment claims and wage and hour law compliance.

Make sure your handbook is current! There were at least three labor law and best practice changes in 2012 alone that created a need for existing handbook updates; ADA amendments; FLSA Safe Harbor and NLRB social media/blogging guidelines.

But it is not good enough just to have one. Any kind of employee management document or tool is only as good as how it is used. Once you have an employee handbook ready to go, follow these steps to maximize effectiveness:

Plan for distribution. Will you take the handbook to a printer and have a bound copy created for each employee? That works great in a small office but can get expensive the more employees you have. How about printing a single copy for each employee to reference in their primary office location and saving a copy of the PDF version of the handbook? Better yet, is there a shared drive or an intranet it can be saved to? This way you only have to print the Acknowledgement page, typically the last page of the handbook, for each employee to sign.
Execute a company wide roll out. This can include a single event or mini group meeting, perhaps by department or team. Make the roll out sessions as positive as possible. Sell employees on why the company needs the handbook and why it is of benefit to them. Establish a script or checklist to follow ahead of time. Identify 5-7 key policies or areas of concern to review with the group; cover zero tolerance in your anti-harassment policy and how to report a potential violation.
Collect signed handbook acknowledgements. This document alone is what makes the handbook a true company asset. If you want to be in a position to effectively defend the counseling, disciplinary action or termination of an employee, you need look no further than their signed handbook acknowledgment. It proves what they “should have known” they were being held accountable for. During roll out, instruct employees to sign the acknowledgement and return it to their supervisor or other authorized representative of the company within 2-3 business days. Keep track and make sure all are returned and placed safely in each applicable employee file.
Incorporate employee handbook review into your new hire process. Even companies with a loose new hire training process sets aside time for employees to complete payroll paperwork; form I9 and tax forms. Use that time to review the employee handbook briefly with them. You can even follow the script of key points you used for the roll out meetings.
When updating an employee handbook, notify employees properly. This usually entails re-issuing the entire handbook (painful) to every single employee and collecting new acknowledgements. Or, you can post and distribute a company wide memo that advises of the key changes, where to locate the latest employee handbook and requires a signature per employees. Remember, anything signed by an employee that can be used to prove what they should have known needs to make its way into the employee file.

You have invested time and money into creating an employee handbook. It is the backbone of all the employee systems and processes you have in place or will create. Don’t delay your return on investment. Now is the time to put it to effective use.

Click the link to view our recent blog: Five Tips for Successful PEO HR Services or check back next week for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.

Source: http://inspiringhr.com/we-have-a-handbook-now-what.html

5 Tips for Successful PEO HR Services

December 20, 2013/in Blog/by Mindy Flanigan

Congratulations! You have chosen to work with a professional employer organization (PEO) to make your payroll, benefits, workers’ compensation and human resource management life easier – all at a one stop shop and price.

There are many advantages to using a PEO. Many of them were likely presented and discussed during the sales and enrollment process. Now that you are anticipating the service relationship beginning (or perhaps it has already started, you might be having a hard time making sense of what HR service you should be accessing and when. Here are five tips to get you started.

1. Determine Who Internally Can Implement Delivered HR

a. A PEO HR specialist is there to help you solve and implement HR. They need a partner at the client location to get that done. Typically this partner or point of contact(s) would be the person most likely to request HR support, call the HR specialist with questions and would be the person the HR specialist would provide consult to if there are products or services that would be of benefit to your company. For example, a PEO HR specialist can create an Employee Files Guide, but it is typically up to your internal contact to receive it and use it. A PEO HR specialist is also there to guide decision making when it comes to employee corrective action measures. But they still need that internal contact and/or the employee’s supervisors to execute based on the guidance provided.

2. Ask for an Overview of Options; Typically Referred to as the “Basics”

a. It is reasonable to expect that the PEO you are working with has a dedicated HR specialist or an HR service team member to explain in as much detail as you need, how the platform will support your business’s human resource management needs. If you have the time and are inclined to participate in a collaborative discussion, ask your HR service representative to conduct a labor law compliance and HR best practices audit. In doing so, you can gain a better understanding of where the “holes” may be and how the HR services being offered can fix that.

3. Get Your Employment Law Posters Ordered

a. Some PEO’s will do this automatically once the service agreement is signed. Some will ask the HR specialist assigned to your account to evaluate if you need them, for which states and how many. This is a labor law compliance basic requirement and unless you recently ordered federal and state labor law posters that are current, you have a right to expect that your PEO will provide you with a new set and will keep their eye on when you need a new set due to labor law changes.

4. Get Your Employee Handbook Done

a. A good PEO will have a template, based on federal law, ready to use. You have to request that you want a handbook and the HR specialist should take it from there. Usually that means answering a few basic customization questions and the HR specialist researching applicable state labor laws. The PEO will create as many handbook drafts that you need for review and the convert the document to final when all content has been ironed out and is ready for employee distribution. You can also ask for guidance on the best path for handbook rollout, collection of signed acknowledgements and how your supervisors can use the handbook to their benefits. You get a copy, the HR specialist (HR service team) retains a copy and the HR specialist will keep you posted if a labor law change at the federal or state level requires a handbook update.

5. Request Standard Employee Management Forms

a. As your “partner”, the PEO HR service specialist/team is there to help you build up your HR/employee management foundation. You can’t do that without implementing some standard forms and processes into your workplace. Those include an employment application, deduction authorization forms, employee counseling forms and performance reviews. You should expect these to be in MS Word format so they can be customized to suit your specific needs, but PLEASE make sure you lean on your assigned PEO HR specialist for guidance on how to customize; particularly when there may be concern that content being added is creating liability or violating a labor law.

There is so much more than can be offered by a PEO to support the creation and evolution of your internal HR/employee management functions. What you have access to largely depends on the price you pay and the sophistication and structure of the PEO’s service team. Whether you are paying a discounted rate to a smaller PEO or a larger price with a PEO that has a huge HR service offering remember this: if you think you need it, it never hurts to ask!

Click the link to view our recent blog: Before Promoting to Supervisor There are Five Key Trainings or check back next week for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.

5 Key Trainings Before Promoting to Supervisor

November 17, 2013/in Blog/by Mindy Flanigan

As a small business owner it is great to identify high achieving employees that are being groomed to become a manager or supervisor. This means your business is growing and you are in a position to lighten or re-distribute your load by trusting a supervisor to make a certain level of operational and leadership decisions on their own.

But please don’t overlook liability. Keep in mind that “I didn’t know” is never a good defense and that a poor supervisor can create significant risk for the business you have worked so hard to build.

The person being promoted might be highly skilled at the technical aspects of work. But do they know how to lead? Will they do so in line with your expectations? Do they understand basic labor law compliance so you can reasonably trust them not to create unnecessary liability?

Here are five key areas of employee management ‘education’ we encourage you to put in place for new supervisor training. It is a good idea to cover this BEFORE they assume supervisor or manager duties.

Employee Handbook. Have them understand not just that the company has one, but why and how to use it. Key Point! The largest liability that can loom for an organization is failing to properly respond to a discrimination or harassment complaint. First time supervisors need to understand what discrimination and harassment is, how to lead in a manner that curbs it, what your employee handbook states in terms of how to report a claim and, if brought to them direct, how the organization expects the supervisor or manager to respond and initiate an investigation. Last but not least, first time supervisors should be reminded of the very real cost of a retaliation claim. Coming forward with a complaint of harassment of discrimination is a PROTECTED act. Don’t let a new supervisor double your liability by taking some form of retaliatory action against an employee who had the courage to come forward.
Job Descriptions. Great for hiring, but also critical to supervisor success. How? A job description keeps the employee the supervisor is leading accountable. Make sure first time supervisors know why you have job descriptions AND how to use them. Job Descriptions can and should be used through the full employee lifecycle. They dictate how to craft an advertisement of a job opening, help you structure effective phone screen and behavior based interview questions, create documented accountability when signed upon hire and should be used as a basis for how employee performance is evaluated and measured.
Contractor (1099) Versus Employee. If you organization uses contractors as a part of your workforce, make sure your supervisors understand the difference between “managing” the two. Since the IRS defines a very clear line between 1099 and employee, you need not let a first time supervisor unknowingly open your business up to the liability of back payroll taxes and fines. If a new supervisor is being trusted to oversee the work deliverables of contractors, they need to understand that they are vendors, not employees. As such, the supervisor needs to abide the by service agreement terms in place. They should not be dictating hours worked, should not be reimbursing expenses, should not be offering employee like benefits and should not be formally evaluating work as if they contractor was an employee.
Wage and Hour Laws. There are two to pay close attention to. (1) The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) – it regulates overtime, among other things. Train a first time supervisor on the very clear difference between exempt and non-exempt. Paying a salary is NOT how you qualify to be exempt. Neither is putting supervisor or manager in the job title. Non-exempt employees who physically work more than 40 hours per work week (not per pay cycle) must be paid those additional hours at one and 1/2 times their hourly rate. No exceptions. Non-exempt employees are not legally permitted to “bank” overtime for future time off. Nor are they permitted to voluntarily waive overtime wages. (2) NO unauthorized deductions from pay. Outside of taxes and benefit plan elections, deductions from pay must be voluntary, specific, written and signed by the employee to be legal. Don’t unnecessarily invite the Department of Labor in to audit your payroll records. It is not fun and tends to not end well for the employer.
Define a Good Manager or Supervisor. Here is how we break it down: a good manager is able to be a “reasonable person”, limits liability by handling issues fairly and consistently, understands when to seek higher level or HR assistance, has the courage to immediately counsel poor performers (and document such counseling), hires employees who fit the job requirements, provides documented coaching and feedback, leads by example (and not by fear), is approachable and accepting of diversity, discusses concerns privately, offers praise publicly, is not afraid to cut their losses and learn from mistakes. Last but not least, if trusting a new supervisor to interview and hire, train them on an effective and compliant process. They need to know discriminatory versus non-discriminatory practices and how to look and listen for reference flags before an employee is hired.

The name of the game with new supervisors is risk aversion. Otherwise, how will you gain a comfortable level with trust and delegating? All it takes is some training on employee management basics, in a simplistic form that can be easily understood. You can groom their leadership effectiveness as they go along, but don’t overlook the risk of the untrained.

Click the link to view our recent blog: Don’t Be Held Hostage to Poor Performers or check back next week for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.

Source: http://inspiringhr.com/before-promoting-to-supervisor-5-key-trainings.html

How to Handle Underperforming Employees

October 29, 2013/in Blog/by Mindy Flanigan

Common business owner question: How do I terminate this employee without fear of a legal challenge? In general, there are two ways to tackle this. First, create a hiring process that identifies poor performing employee BEFORE they are hired. Second, minimize liability by complying with labor laws, and hiring managers that are effective.

Costs and Damages of Poor Performers

The best practice is to not hire them in the first place. Remember that turnover of an employee tends to cost 1-2 times of the position’s annual salary. This includes the cost of time to interview a replacement, overtime or temporary help costs, lost sales and/or lost productivity.

When a poor performing employee continues to stay actively employed, they can do immense damage to the bottom line. Quantify how much you are paying them, versus what their output is? Are you getting a return on the dollars you are investing in their salary? A poor performing employee can also hinder their supervisor’s work quality and quantify, and diminish team productivity by hurting morale. These are reasons enough not to turn a blind eye.

Successful “Hostage Taking”

Fear tends to be the driving factor. But fear of what? Do you feel the employee in question can successfully claim: Discrimination, Retaliation, Defamation of Character, Illegal Acts, Labor Law violations, Breach of Contract? If your answer is yes to any of these, minimize your fear by taking the necessary steps to eliminate the employee’s chance of succeeding. This is where HR can be your friend. An HR audit, with consultation on labor law compliance and best practices will put your company on the correct path towards eliminating fear of legal challenges.

The clearest way to not be held hostage, is to not hire a poor performer in the first place. How effective is your recruitment and selection process? Resume review must include a scan for grammar errors, misspells, gaps in employment and lengths of stay. An effective phone screen should be your first attempt at having the candidate put forth the effort to prove motivation and qualifications. What is their motivation to make a chance? What was the reason for leaving past positions? LISTEN for red flags. If you hear red flags during the phone screen, are they worth spending precious time with during an in person interview? If granting an interview, what is the best method of making sure a candidate is motivated and fits the job? Behavior Based Interviewing. Open ended, position specific questions. Apply the 70/30 rule – the candidate should be talking 70% of the time or you won’t get the information and red flags you need to make a quality hiring decision.

The First 90 Days

Many business owners are under the impression that if an employee is within their first 90 days, you can cut them lose for no reason. Unless under contract, on the surface, in the land of “at will”, that looks to be true. But the truth is, once an employee is on payroll for 60 days or six years, many of the same liabilities apply. What you can do in the first 90 days, is provide the employee a reasonable chance to succeed and document, document, document. The company employee handbook is a real asset, particularly during those first few months of employment, as it establishes standards of performance, conduct and outlines grounds for corrective action. A trusted advisor and mentor should be assigned – one that has the ability to give the manager or supervisor constant feedback on progress and concerns. The best way to stay on top of a new employee’s performance and productivity is short daily meetings during week one and weekly meetings thereafter, so there is always open discussions going on about progress and concerns.

Managing a Poor Performer

Are the managers and supervisors you have in place increasing or decreasing potential liability? A good manager, to name a few: Fits the definition of a reasonable person; Limits liability by handling issues fairly and consistently; Understands when to seek HR assistance, but does not want HR to do the job for them; Has the courage to counsel employees; Leads by example. If you have that type of manager in place, you are off to a great start. To be effective at minimizing risks associated with terminating a poor performer, managers need to: Plan on how to stop the “bleeding”; Understand discrimination and other employment law liability; Follow “Due Process” and provide immediate feedback; Document, Document, Document all concerns – with the employee’s signature; Create an Performance Improvement/Action Plan; FOLLOW through on dates. If a deadline for improvement is set, and the manager lets it slip by without a re-evaluation, they’ve lost credibility and the termination window.

This isn’t working – Now What?

Before you terminate, ask these questions: Was “due process” followed?; Has HR reviewed and/or consulted on the documentation?; Would a “reasonable person” categorize this employee as a poor performer?; Is there a legitimate reason for poor performance?; Is termination consistent with previous action?; Do they have pre-termination rights? Review the offer letter, your handbook and state law to be sure.

If you are still ready to move forward, here are some best practice tips: Determine if legal advice is necessary; Notify IT and other security departments ahead of time; Have a silent witness present; This should not be a surprise, if prior discussions were held and good documentation exists – be prepared to prove consistency; Keep the conversation direct and short – don’t be pulled into what could become a hostile debate; Never leave them unattended while they collect belongings; Collect company property; Abide by state final wage payment laws. Last but not least – cut your unemployment claim exposure by terminating on the business day closest to the most recent infraction.

Remember that anyone can sue you at anytime, for any reason. Let go of fear (it may be unnecessarily costing you) and realize that minimizing liability is within your control and good documentation is your defense.

Original Source: http://inspiringhr.com/poor-performers-dont-be-held-hostage.html

New Hire Onboarding That Motivates

October 3, 2013/in Blog/by Mindy Flanigan

Contractor Dan; he’s beyond frustrated. More than half of the employees he has hired in the last year have been let go – most of them in the first 90 days. Yikes! If a terminated employee costs the company at least one times the position’s annual salary, that’s a big loss to the P&L.

So, what’s gone wrong here? Contractor Dan decided to ask us before he was ready to hire his third office manager in three years. As we discussed his hiring process, we only noticed a few missteps. For the most part, Contractor Dan had an effective hiring process in place. He looked and listened for red flags, asked good behavior-based interview questions and even followed through with reference checks.

During this discovery period, Contractor Dan frequently told us that everyone he fired “didn’t get it”. They turned out to not be nearly as motivated post-hire as they were pre-hire. We wondered, what “didn’t they get”? Then the ah-ha moment.

Engagement! Yes, that is an HR buzz word these days. What does it mean to the average small business owner? Involvement. If you want passionate employees, who work with a purpose, get them involved. How? Does your new hire onboarding process:

Fully educate your employees on the company, its mission, its values and how it makes money? If your employees don’t know how the company earns revenue, will they understand how they contribute?
Outline for your employees where they fit in? Yes, even small businesses should have an organizational chart. It isn’t meant to demonstrate a chain of command; it is a visual tool for new employees to see all the pieces of the puzzle.
Illustrate how essential duties of a job tie to business success. If you are hiring an office manager, do they understand why they are to limit access to postage or petty cash? Don’t assume they understand how much cost containment can positively affect the business.
Communicate what you expect? Not output! What you expect in terms of the soft skills and behaviors. How to interact with peers and customers, for example? That you expect everyone to work with a sense or urgency?

Contractor Dan revealed that he was using somewhat of a sink or swim model for new hire onboarding. New employees were given an employee handbook and a non-disclosure to sign. After that, they needed to work! Before you do that, put yourself in their shoes. How would you feel about taking incoming calls before you understood who the customers were and how the company makes money. Remember, new employees aren’t mind readers. Provide examples and lead by example.

Contractor Dan is giving a SIMPLE new hire onboarding process a test run. It consists of a ‘welcome new employee powerpoint’, an orientation and training schedule to follow, organizational chart review, job description review, employee handbook script and a 90 day performance review template. ALL of these documents are designed to get new employees to ask questions and participate in their development, so they can stay involved, engaged and motivated.

When new employees swim, rather than sink, you’ve got your ROI.

Click the link to view our recent blog: HR Due Diligence When Buying a Franchise or check back next week for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.

Source: http://inspiringhr.com/new-hire-onboarding-that-motivates.html