Business Resources

Tough Times Ahead But Don’t Cut the Employee Benefits

Companies are still suffering as a result of economic decline, struggling to bounce back from falling profit margins and many are looking inwardly at ways to streamline their businesses, cutting costs to protect their business through a difficult time.

Cuts and savings need to be made somewhere, but in a worrying trend, a number of companies are looking at cutting their benefits packages to save costs.

Whatever your opinion of employee benefits, it’s clear that employees want them, need them and have no desire to see them go anywhere. Whilst they are, of course, an option for any business, they perform a number of different functions that make them incredibly beneficial. [click to continue…]

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How To Choose HR Services: Tips For Small Businesses

How much time are you spending in the “HR office” instead of your own office? If your business does not have an HR professional on staff or an HR services provider waiting on call, you could be shortchanging your company and spreading your talents too thin.

HR specialists can help with a number of tasks, the critical HR areas include hiring, employee relations, benefits, compensation, and employee policies. Whether you are an HR professional, or a manager responsible for employee management issues for your company, the following are core services to keep in mind:

Hiring: For each open position, managers can waste time reviewing 50 to 100 unqualified resumes. HR services can provide the initial screening, leaving only qualified applicants for you to interview and hire. For high-level or specialist positions, HR professionals can also act as headhunters, using network connections to woo desirable applicants. HR professionals should be organized, deadline-oriented, and familiar with staffing needs in your industry.

Employee Relations: Do you have access to an impartial mediator to resolve employee conflicts and minimize lawsuits? Do you know the secrets to asking legal questions on sensitive topics? Are you familiar with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, as well as their subsequent updates? HR services provide the education and experience to comply with active legislation and prepare businesses for future legal changes. When assisting with employee relations functions, HR professionals should be well-educated, able to mitigate risks, and willing to understand and address complaints.

Benefits and Compensation: Are you risking fines by failing to comply with federal laws as your business changes? Are you wasting money on benefits that do little for motivation and retention, while leaving small but impactful changes out of the employee handbook? HR services can not only create cost-effective compensation programs but also administer time-consuming functions like payroll, insurance enrollment, and FMLA time off. Successful service providers should have real-world experience, a focus on costs and benefits, and an eye for emerging issues.

Policies: Is your employee handbook growing dusty because you have more important tasks on your plate? Outdated policies can contribute to entitlement issues, cost overruns, lost revenue, and legal sanctions. A qualified HR services provider can suggest opportunities for improving policies and keep the manual up to date.

A knowledgeable HR services specialist can act as a collaborative partner, a risk manager, a functional administrator, or all of the above. By choosing the provider that meets your company’s unique needs, you can reclaim your sanity and redirect your attention to where your business needs you the most.

Dianne Shaddock is the Founder of Easy Small Business HR, Employee Hiring and Managing Tips. Through the Employee Hiring and Managing Tips podcast, blog, and weekly ‘quick tips’ e-newsletters, Dianne offers expert advice on how to make better hiring decisions, manage difficult employees, develop employee policies, motivate staff, and so much more. No stuffy, corporate HR policy lingo; but straight forward, easy to understand and implement advice for businesses just like yours. Stay ahead of the curve and go to Easy Small Business HR for more tips on how to hire and manage your staff effectively.

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Employee Handbook – The Top 9 Policies That Should Be Part Of Every Employee Handbook

Does your company have an employee handbook? If you don’t you should. An employee handbook serves three purposes. It highlights your expectations for the workplace, puts in writing any legal requirements requirements and sets employee guidelines for workplace practices and behavior in black and white.

Even a bare bones employee handbook is better than no handbook at all. Here are nine policies to help you get started on your employee handbook.

1. Basic Rules of Conduct – Make it very clear which actions will not be tolerated and could lead to immediate termination. Property damage, sleeping on the job, substance abuse, theft, or other factors along these lines could all be included.

2. Specific Problem Solving Procedures – This is the portion of the handbook that should include more specific disciplinary action that might be taken, short of actual termination. It can serve as a problem solving resource for employers and supervisors alike.

3. No Discrimination or Harassment Policies – Make sure that your company shows that it has a zero-tolerance policy on workplace discrimination or harassment of any kind.

4. Workplace Security and No Weapons – Workplace security is at the top of everyone’s list these days. Your handbook should not only outline a zero tolerance policy, but it should include specific information on security procedures.

5. Drugs and Alcohol Policies – Employees need to know your expectations around substance abuse in the workplace.

6. Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality – To protect intellectual property or any other specific pieces of company information, you’ll want a policy in the employee handbook that outlines expectations around employee confidentiality as well as what constitutes a conflict of interest.

7. Electronic Communications Policy – Highlight your restrictions if any on how and when email and the Internet can be used; both before and after business hours.

8. Family Medical Leave – The Department of Labor as basic standards that all companies with a minimum of 50 employees must adhere to when it comes to family and medical leave. Companies can create additional policies based on business needs. Read more about what you need to know regarding family medical leave to inform how you should write your policy.

9. Benefits Policies – This is where you can highlight a summary of benefits and related requirements. Things like medical insurance, time off, tuition reimbursement, can be included in this section.

Whether you create your own employee manual, or you use employee handbook software, it’s important that your business have some type of policy manual that outlines your company’s policies and procedures and that helps your business stay legally compliant.

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Employment Offer Letter – How to Write an Effective Job Offer Letter

Although some companies will choose to extend a job offer in an informal way, such as over the phone, another approach is to “put it in writing”. I recommend always extending a verbal offer, followed up with a written offer. Putting your job offer in writing helps to clearly spell out your job offer to your potential new hire as well as eliminates any possible misunderstandings about the terms of your offer.

The basic information that should be covered in an employment offer letter should include the job title or position that was offered, the full salary and a summary of benefits. You’ll also want to include as part of the employment letter, instructions for the potential employee regarding how to formally accept or decline your job offer.

Don’t forget to let your job candidate know when you’d like to hear back from them about their decision. Be sure to include in the letter information on the best way to reach you to confirm or decline your offer.

If after extending the offer, your candidate either accepts or declines the employment offer letter, you’ll need to determine whether you want their decision in writing or not.

The best approach is to keep it simple. It’s fine to accept a verbal decision from your candidate, or an email response. There are instances where you can not require a candidate to give you their decision formally in writing; especially if your business is in a state where workers are “employees at will”. It’s always a good idea to check with the Department of Labor if you are in the U.S. or an employment attorney before requiring candidates to sign any type of document.

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