HR Solutions Weblog

The Art of Tough Employee Conversations

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 03:22:00 GMT

Over the next couple of weeks I want to focus on the “Employee Performance or Termination Conversations” for which every manager seems to struggle.

This week we start with the basics… Solid Employee Communcations!

Unless you are laying employees off, there is a way to put a positive spin on almost every employee conversation. This is a critical aspect of these meetings.

No matter if you are discussing performance, attendance, attitude, lateness complaints etc.,

Always bring the employee away from the work area to have the discussion privately.
Be sure your emotions are not running high! If so, come back to this later in the day or the next morning.
Speak calmly and with thought. Do not rant. Do not under any circumstances raise your voice. Remember, the minute you start yelling you have lost control of the meeting.
State the issue and give your employee the chance to speak.

…….more to follow!

The Impact of Complainers on the Job!

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:50:00 GMT

Every business, no matter how big or how small, has at least one person who seems to be constantly complaining and whining about something on the job. Overall, I think most business owners think of this as only frustrating…but wait!! There is a much larger impact.

When employees are complaining to everyone around them they are not the only ones being non-productive. Everyone they are talking to is either listening to them and making the problem bigger or are frustrated that you are not stopping this person. Once it appears that the business accepts this type of behavior; it will only spread.

If you take the time to talk to the person, or if this has been a problem for a while, talk to the group of people, and encourage them to propose a resolution to the issue and they can hopefully use the time they were ranting to create a workplace that makes them happier.

Create an environment of open discussions. Even a monthly meeting where employees are asked “what is going well” and “what could be better” can have a huge impact if you make the meeting about resolution and not just whining. Encourage a meeting style that allows others to offer changes or suggestions to improve the workplace.

Performance Reviews - Why are they so important?

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:03:00 GMT

We are coming up on that time of year when many businesses start thinking about year-end performance of their business and their employees. We hear it over and over again from our clients “but performance reviews take up so much time”. They really don’t have to and they are critical. Let’s start with your handbook…what does it say about performance reviews and when they will be completed? Your employees are counting on you to formally let them know how they are doing. It is also your opportunity, now that you are looking at business performance too, to set up new goals for the business and your employees and help them to understand how their performance, whether positive or negative impacts your business. There are many performance review options to help you be as consistent as possible while conducting a process that has the opportunity to be subjective.

Top five performance review issues to avoid:

Overemphasizing Recent Performance—This is why it is so important to keep a mini record on each employee
Not Giving an Employee Specifics – This is an opportunity to help the employee understand specifically how their behavior contributes to or hurts the business.
Being Overly Positive or Overly Negative—Be sure to find a solid balance, remember, performance reviews are meant to motivate, not discourage them.
Waiting for Appraisal Time to Give Feedback— Employees should not be surprised when they receive their performance review.
Talking without Listening— Be sure to come to a mutual decision on how/where the employee can grow. Without their buy-in, you were talking in vain.

2010 NATIONAL EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION SURVEY RESULTS ARE IN!

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:51:00 GMT

For decades, HR professional have been touting the results of National Employee Satisfaction Stations data. The same top 5 have always remained the same:

1. Job Security

2. Benefits

3. Opportunity to use skills in job

4. Companies Financial Stability

5. Compensation

The only thing that changes through the years is the order, however, you will find it interesting that Compensation, through strong economic times and weak one, has always hovered around #5.

During these past few years, we have definitely seen a shift in where Benefits fall. With so many dual-income homes down to just one working partner, benefits have become a critical component of job satisfaction due to the back-up benefits disappearing.

How Do You Control Employee Absenteeism?

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:31:00 GMT

The key to stopping absenteeism abuse is to have an attendance policy that clearly defines not only what absences are allowed, but also what is unacceptable and will be subject to discipline.

We are often asked: “Is there any type of incentive I can use?” It has been proven over and over again – cash incentives do not work! However, there are a few options that have had some success, but as a rule of thumb; rewarding good attenders with cash bonuses generally has been ineffective. Sick-time abusers value time away from work more than money, so they are not motivated to modify their behavior. Employees either have a good work ethic or they do not. That is why a solid absenteeism policy won’t necessarily cure the employee but will allow you to discipline them out the door and bring in someone new with a better work attitude.

Absenteeism not only impacts your overall productivity numbers as an organization, but also breeds dissent in the workforce. It is critical not only to have the policy but to insure it is enforced consistently. Experience shows that better attendance is synonymous with better quality, lower costs, and greater productivity.

Why You Need an Introductory Period Policy

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 02:07:00 GMT

New employees can be scary! How can you be sure they have the skills they claimed on their resume? What if they don’t fit into your organization? What if they turn out to have attendance issues? What if their performance is sub-par?

The surest way to protect yourself is to ensure you have a solid handbook that includes a policy on an Introductory Period. Even more importantly is to ensure you mark your calendar at least 1 week prior to the introductory period being over so you can assess this new employee’s ability to be successful in your organization.

Did you know....

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 23:29:00 GMT

Did you know……

you cannot make direct deposit mandatory for your employee’s paycheck?
Maryland State Law does not require you to offer breaks to your employees?
you can be held criminally responsible for not verifying your employees are legally able to work in the United States?
80% of employers are out of compliance with federal and state laws resulting in wage and hour class action suits. These actions have emerged as one of the most significant employment law trends of this decade, which now outnumber all other employment class actions combined, and this trend will continue.
$7,000 is the average cost to replace a $20,000 employee.

Pay out of Vacation/PTO upon Termination

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 02:20:00 GMT

Pay out of Vacation/PTO Upon Termination

This question comes up a lot; do I have to pay out vacation or PTO time upon resignation or termination? Well, the first question I would ask is, “what does your handbook say?" There is no law in Maryland that says you must pay out vacation upon termination or resignation…even if you grant rather than accrue!

REMEMBER, if your handbook states that you will pay out any or all of the vacation/PTO then you must follow the rules as you have delivered and as your employees have acknowledged.

How to Handle Negativity in the Workplace

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:57:00 GMT

We have all encountered the employee who exudes negativity; they don’t like their job, their co-workers, their boss, their hours and on and on. No matter how many of their issues you address they are still dissatisfied. Unfortunately, these types of employees are not “coachable”. They will be this unhappy anywhere they work. So how do you handle them?

Typically, the only way to address this type of problem is through a disciplinary process. This IS A performance issue and warrants a meeting with the employee and a structured disciplinary documentation following your employee handbook standard.

Do You Have the Right Employee in the Right Job?

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 23:36:00 GMT

As an employer have you ever thought, “Do I have the correct employees in the job?” Employees that are a natural fit are happy in their job, remain on the job longer and are most productive. Often in business, clients promote employees into jobs because “they are doing well in their current role” so there is assumption they can and should be promoted into something with more responsibility. Unfortunately, more often than not, these employees fail in the new role, and management is baffled.

Other times, as we start small businesses, we hire the people that we feel will be most loyal – friends and family. That works fine for a few years until the business starts to grow; suddenly your college buddy who majored in “communications” is running your operations department. All is fine when you are putting out 1000 orders per year and your profit margin is 2%. But now that you’ve been marketing you have taken on 20 new clients, your production is going to increase by 300%, your warehouse needs to grow by 40%, you need to hire 20 new production workers and some management personnel….can your old college buddy still handle the job? Probably not.

Web Surfing at Work - Do You Really Know What Your Employees are Doing?

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 20:28:00 GMT

The subject of web surfing doesn’t come up weekly from our clients, it comes up daily! What are you employees doing while they should be working? The numbers are staggering:

70% of all web traffic to Internet pornography sites occurs during the work hours of 9am-5pm.
64% of employees say they use the Internet for personal interest during
working hours
37% of workers say they surf the Web constantly at work.
77.7% of U.S. companies keep tabs on employees by checking their e-mail, Internet, phone calls, computer files, or by videotaping them at work.
63% of companies monitor workers' Internet connections and 47% store and review employee e-mail.
90% of employees feel the Internet can be addictive, and 41 percent admit to personal surfing at work for more than three hours per week.
60% of Security Breaches occur within the Company - behind the Firewall
30-40% of lost productivity is accounted for by cyber-slacking.
32.6% of workers surf the net with no specific objective; men are twice
as likely as women.

Can you really afford to not be monitoring your business internet and e-mail usage?

Exempt or Non-Exempt?

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 01:34:00 GMT

We are often asked, “what is the number one HR question that confuses employers” – that is an easy one. The answer, “How do I know if my employee is exempt or non-exempt per FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act)?” Unfortunately, there is no simple matrix to follow with “yes” or “no” answers. Often the case is employers trying to force employees into the Exempt status to avoid paying overtime. This is the surest way to incur an EEOC lawsuit AND lose.

Some, and I do emphasize some, of the criteria to classify an employee as Exempt:

· Must be paid at least $455 per week

· Primary duty must be to perform work requiring advanced knowledge, also defined as work that is “predominantely intellectual in character and which includes work requiring the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment

· The advanced knowledge must be in a field of science or learning, AND it must be “customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction” typically at the college level.

Again, the criteria above are just a starting point and it is always better to err on the side that benefits the employee, i.e. classifying them as non-exempt where they would be eligible for overtime. Do you want to ensure your employees are properly classified to meet FLSA exempt and non-exempt status, contact HRSolutions, LLC for an audit of your jobs?

Religious Accommodation in the Workplace

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:03:00 GMT

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION IN THE WORKPLACE – HOW MUCH AND WHEN?

How should an employer respond when a religious accommodation is requested? HR Solutions, LLC suggests you discuss the employee's specific bona-fide religious needs and accommodations options with them. We also believe it is critical to completely understand the specific religious requirements of the employee’s religion – all easy information to access via internet or a phone call. However, employees do not have to justify or prove their religious belief to the employer; but the employer is required to accommodate – subject to undue hardship – any of the employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs. When considering potential accommodations, you should evaluate any impact an accommodation would have on your company and determine whether it fully eliminates the conflict. Let’s review the law:

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of l964 (“Title VII”) prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals because of their religion in hiring, firing, and other terms and conditions of employment. Title VII also requires employers to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of an employee or prospective employee, unless to do so would create an undue hardship upon the employer. This means that:

Employers may not treat employees more or less favorably because of their religion.
Employees cannot be required to participate—or refrain from participating—in a religious activity as a condition of employment.
Employers must reasonably accommodate employees’ bona-fide held religious practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer.
Employers must take steps to prevent religious harassment of their employees.

But the burden to accommodate isn't always entirely on the employer! A good-faith attempt to meet their religious requirements must be made by the employee within their religious guidelines first. Note that employers aren't required to give the employee his preferred accommodation just to meet religious needs. Often, a special request for religious accommodation is too burdensome for a small business and a reasonable “half-way” request may be all the company is capable of giving. It is then the employee’s responsibility to be flexible as possible in a mutual good faith negotiation with the employer.

Religious accommodations for work schedules
The most common religious accommodation conflicts occur over work schedules. You may need to deviate from your standard scheduling practices slightly; however, I wouldn’t do so until you have verified that this is a true bona-fide requirement of the religion.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that you need not violate a valid labor contract, force other employees to work undesirable shifts, or hire substitute or replacement workers if that accommodation would require more than a minimal monetary cost.

Allowing Employees to "run the show"

Sun, 23 May 2010 22:16:00 GMT

This past week has been an interesting one in the number of client issues all centering around the client allowing the employees to “run the show”. Employees coming and going as they please with no regard to Business Needs, Policies and Procedures, disregard for Safety Policies, or inappropriate behavior in the workplace. As I have talked about many times before on this blog, we come back to the question; “What Does Your Employee Handbook Say”? It is critical for businesses to not only have a solid handbook in place but equally important to ensure that your business is enforcing those Human Resource policies consistently and regularly. Often we find that our clients just need our guidance on either rolling out their Employee Handbooks or teaching them how to deal with disciplinary issues; other clients have HRSolutions, LLC come in and carry out all the disciplinary problems directly with the employees. The real question for this week is:

Are you comfortable that you are recognizing and addressing employee disciplinary problems or do you need some assistance? Did you know that unaddressed disciplinary issues can impact your business revenue by 20% or more?

Terminating a Long Term Employee

Mon, 17 May 2010 21:30:00 GMT

Scenario: An employee has been with you for 2 years. In the past their work has just been so-so, but you felt it was better to have a body in the role than to start recruiting. Lately, however, the employee’s work habits have steadily gotten worse and you want to just fire them. You call us for assistance in this termination, here are the questions we will ask:

What does the employee’s most recent performance review state about quality?
What documentation do you have of subsequent conversations about performance?
Are there employees whose performance is the same or worse than this employee?

If you do not have documentation on the above bullet points it is critical that you start to gather this data. Documentation is the name of the game, and that is written documentation. Even if you talk to an employee verbally you should have documentation of that conversation. Systematically documenting poor performance, along with a solid policy on your disciplinary structure provides a solid and legal foundation for terminating a long-standing employee.