When you don’t have the benefit of a full-time human resources department, hiring even one extra employee can topple your already overflowing plate. At the same time, without the proper federal, state and company-specific paperwork, you may be setting up your business for fines, lawsuits and mass confusion.
The next time you add someone to your team, use this new hire paperwork checklist to spend more time on mission-critical work and less time on paper.
Federal forms: [click to continue…]
In the post “Workplace Violence: Forget the Myths and Get the Facts” I highlighted that every employer, no matter the size of the company, needs to prepare and think proactively as it relates to violence in the workplace.
Today’s follow up post is a quick laundry list of 7 steps to consider when dealing with workplace violence:
1. Create and share your harassment and violence policies, including appropriate disciplinary measures
2. Train all employees on ways to prevent, detect and report violent acts. [click to continue…]
Firing an employee is never easy, but it is especially difficult when you rarely need to perform the task. Working in a small business, you cannot afford the same legal slip-ups as large corporations. Instead of guessing what information to include in an official employee termination letter, use these tips to let your former worker know exactly where he or she stands.
1. Stick to the facts. Do not embellish the truth, either for the worker’s benefit or for your own. Avoid language that is discriminatory, biased or derogatory.
2. Focus on specific criteria for continued employment. If your termination case goes to court, you want to be able to show measurable, objective standards for all individuals in the same job classification. For instance, you can document the occasions the employee had been absent or tardy versus the acceptable limit, the number and severity of customer complaints and the amount of unfinished work. [click to continue…]
Diversity is about more than quotas. It strengthens the heart of an organization–producing fresh perspectives, opening new markets and solidifying connections with the surrounding community. In one study, corporations that promoted diverse individuals into leadership roles improved their return on equity by nearly 50 percent.
Diversity in the workplace typically centers on traits like race, gender, age, disability or sexual orientation, but other dimensions are equally important. Companies produce better results when they recruit, retain and develop employees with different communication styles, work styles, geographic origins, socioeconomic roles and organizational experience. Here are some of the best practices from small businesses and multinational corporations: [click to continue…]
