(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

Loading ...

Problem and Solution Part 3

Problem and Solution Part 3

This month we have been focusing on some interesting topics in our social media outreach and newsletter marketing. We wanted to take a closer look at those policies which imply many social implications and work place complications.

Have you thought about your company’s fraternization and nepotism policies lately? I don’t want to offer any advice on what I think you should do, but if you think you don’t need to think about it, have policies in place, or that this type of stuff would never happen in your company, THINK AGAIN!

These topics fall within the category of our “human nature” and they are ok. One might want to hire someone in our family if we think they would be great for the job (we do know them very well after all) or they have fallen into hard times and you have an opportunity for them. Some items you might want to consider include:

Screen all of your applicants byt the same criteria
Be consistent by applying the same job performance standards and expectations to every employee
Follow- impartially- company discipline policies
Be open about the policy

It is also perfectly natural that we may be attracted to a coworker. In this case, even if it is just a new friendship, productivity is still important in any work environment. This is where you need company policies to support your arguments. Some items you may want to consider include:

Be aware of the high probability that it will happen
Make sure you and your employees are aware of your fraternization policies (either you allow it or you don’t)
If you do not allow it make sure employees know of the consequences
Make sure your employees know the expectation of their job description so if their productivity levels fall due to a new relationship they are not surprised by you bringing it up.

In all of these situations if you have policies to fall back on you can basically fall back on them to support you and your company in tricky situations. For more consultation or help with these policies please visit our site at www.cbri.com or contact us at (602)200-8500

Posted July 14th, 2009 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources | | 0 Comments

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

Loading ...

Problem and Solution Part 2

Revisiting E verify laws and the challenges it presents.

E-verify laws have been around for a while now but it doesn’t hurt to have a refresher course. On the positive side, since the system have been in place for a while now we can start to discuss the trends and possible challenges that business owners and administrators are facing, while still reinforcing the benefits of using it.

First let’s review the basics:

E-verify is an internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security in partnership with the Social Security Administration that allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees.
E-Verify is free and voluntary and is the best means available for determining employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their Social Security Numbers.
You must follow the innocent before guilty theory and never discriminate or pre- judge if someone is eligible to work or not.
E verify must be done within 3 days of the employees start date. (check laws in your area)

To be clear, the E verify process isn’t all bad and it was actually implemented to help employers and their processes for hiring. It is a uniform way to help reduce discrimination, and really find out whether their new hires can work or not. This reduces your liability as a company too.

In light of the social media movement, I outreached to some networks on Linked in and Twitter to see what some of the challenges were. I got some interesting responses I feel are worth sharing. One linked in participant writes that the main problem is that you can’t use it as a pre screening method, therefore you have to train and go through all of the new hire practices normally even if you might have to let them go in a few days based off of the outcome. Another contact offers advice saying that you must know what you are getting into, and to remember that e verify does not replace the normal I9 document review process.

The overall solution to concerns and stresses about e verify is to make sure you stay informed.

Know your own states laws. The requirements for federal and state are different. In addition, laws might be changing soon especially with a new administration so stay up to date.
If you handle E verify on your own, talk to your own networks of business owners about any questions, comments or concerns

** Disclaimer: Every state law is different so please check the laws for yourself.Please offer any of your thoughts and experiences by commenting on our blog.

Posted June 25th, 2009 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources, Immigration | | 0 Comments

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

Loading ...

Problem and Solution Part 1

A problem in your business could be relying too much on the HR knowledge of your long term employees. In many companies there always seems to be that one person who has been there the longest, knows the most, and always lets you know about it. In addition, the problem is that this knowledge does not last forever. Once this person leaves the company you have to start all over in which frustration sets in and time is lost.

The solution is implementing systems that will with stand the test of time and your always evolving business.

Companies are always changing and evolving with new people and ideas so having consistent systems in place are essential to running your business. In order to run an effective business you have processes put in place to run invoices, customer service concerns etc., so why not have systems to support HR, payroll, work comp, and benefits. With pairing technological systems, outsourcing your efforts to companies that do this for a living, and knowledge of people, one can solve this problem. Once you have implement systems of some sort you can expect the following:

Creates a company culture with consistency in operations, policies and procedures as well as overall employee morale.
Consistent knowledge base throughout the whole company, even when new employees start.
Systems will provide you the avenue to ensure that you have the right people in the right seats on the right bus. If there is a need for a change you will have the necessary information such as documentation, signed policies and procedures, and corrective action to make the change with your employees.

These so called systems can be intimidating at first. Some examples of these “systems” might be tracking systems, leveraging your technology in a uniform and consistent way, outsourcing your efforts to a company that can do it all etc. There are a variety of systems that are available to support your HR needs that include the following:

Time and Attendance - Tracking your employees time and attendance will provide you the information to correct attendance issues, unnecessary overtime, and job costing for specific projects.
Payroll - Utilizing a system that is designed to reduce the number of hours you or a valuable team members spends processing payroll can allow you time to focus on the profit producing needs of your business.
HR Management - In having an employee handbook, policies and procedures along with an HR team (like CBR) to track these items will allow you the time to focus on correcting behavior as well as making changes in your company.

More time as a business owner to actually run the business. Less time training multiple times. Stay tuned for more typical HR problems and our solutions to them!

Posted June 4th, 2009 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources | | 1 Comments

(2 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)

Loading ...

Layoffs, furloughs, pay cuts can result in lawsuits

Friday, May 15, 2009
Layoffs, furloughs, pay cuts can result in lawsuits
Phoenix Business Journal - by Mike Sunnucks

The recession has many people feeling like they’re living the life of characters in the anticorporate movie “Office Space,” with consultants and managers looking to cut costs everywhere possible and workers fretting over furloughs, pay cuts and layoffs.

For employers, these cost-cutting measures involve plenty of potential legal pitfalls, including companies getting sued for targeting a specific group or type of worker with layoffs, and businesses being forced to shift all of their workers to an hourly pay basis because salaried workers were checking their business e-mail or voice mail while on mandated furloughs.

A number of Valley employers — including Arizona State University and The Arizona Republic — have put workers on forced unpaid leave to save money. The biggest legal problem related to furloughs is that employers might get in trouble with the U.S. Department of Labor if salaried workers do any kind of work during that forced off-time, said Christy Hubbard, an employment attorney with Phoenix-based law firm Lewis and Roca LLP.

Hubbard said salaried workers who do a glimmer of work during their unpaid furloughs — including checking e-mail or voice mail — can spark complaints to the DOL or lawsuits. Those actions can lead to businesses losing their ability to employ salaried workers and force them to pay hourly wages, even to professional staff. Such a circumstance could be a big hit to businesses, as it would require them to pay overtime and track hourly work.

“You have to be doing it right, or you are violating the law,” Hubbard said.

Many businesses — including those in the troubled construction and financial sectors — have cut workers’ pay across the board by 5 percent or 10 percent. Others are encouraging employees to take surplus vacation time to reduce payout costs. Still others are laying people off.

When it comes to layoffs or pay cuts, employers need to make sure those actions don’t target classes of workers protected by federal discrimination laws, such as older workers, women or minorities.

Dona Nutini, an employment attorney with the Phoenix law office of Polsinelli Shughart PC, said employers’ biggest mistakes when it comes to layoffs, pay cuts and furloughs is that they fail to communicate with employees. Frustrations are exacerbated by dictums from headquarters rather than direct communication from local managers.

“The biggest problem is that (companies) don’t communicate with their employees,” Nutini said. “They don’t keep them in the loop.”

She said things like Friday layoffs and short notices lead to staff frustrations that can lead to discrimination claims, other lawsuits or unionization efforts.

Nutini, former staff counsel with the National Labor Relations Board, said businesses need to be able to prove their cuts are not discriminatory.

Mike Tope, CEO of Creative Business Resources, a Phoenix-based consulting and human resources firm, said that’s the biggest legal challenge for employers facing staff cutbacks.

“Layoffs usually cause the most legal problems if the terminated employees feel they were discriminated against,” Tope said.

Both Tope and Nutini said employers need to document and quantify their actions to protect against costly lawsuits.

John Egbert, an attorney and head of the labor practice at the Phoenix law office of Jennings Strouss & Salmon PLC, said employers need to be especially aware of disclosure rules and worker protections under the Older Worker Benefit Protection Act, the federal law related to employees who are 40 or older.

Posted May 15th, 2009 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources, Wages | | 0 Comments

(1 votes, average: 3 out of 5)

Loading ...

How to Nail an Interview

Although this is more on the comical side, it is definitely helpful to any one trying to succeed in an interview. It is worth checking out!

http://www.howtonailaninterview.com/?a1fa8770

Posted April 17th, 2009 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources | | 0 Comments

(1 votes, average: 3 out of 5)

Loading ...

Help My RESUME!

In keeping with our mission of supporting you with nothing less than absolute leading edge human resources solutions, it’s our privilege to introduce to you our newest strategic partner. Help My Resume is a non-profit company like no other we’ve come accross, especially in light of the hard economic climate we find ourselves in.

The Extraordinary Benefits of a Help My Resume

Potential and Substantial reductions in your unemployment insurance tax rates.

As a participating corporate sponsor of Help My Resume, you can officially endorse and offer our program through your Human Resources department. By doing so, any current and former employee who has been subjected to a layoff from your company will have unlimited access to our entire suite of FREE services designed to assist them in getting back into the workforce as quickly as possible.

Help My Resume is dedicated to helping the millions of unemployed across America by offering no-charge assistance programs designed to improve a recipient’s marketable skills and self-confidence. Our programs include:

•Professional rewriting services

•A Grant Program to address an immediate financial emergency

•Ready Start Program that supplies job candidates with a new set of clothes

•Scholarship Program that awards persons with an educational scholarship fee of $2,500 or $5,000.

•Get Healthy Program to help those who desire to improve their level of physical fitness and emotional well being.

For more information about Helpmyresume.org please visit their website.

Posted April 8th, 2009 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources, Recruiting | | 0 Comments

(5 votes, average: 4.6 out of 5)

Loading ...

Enter the HR Horror Story Contest for a chance to win The Office Seasons 1-4 Box Set

Have a story from work that would give your HR manager a headache? Submit your HR horror story and you could win The Office Ultimate Package Seasons 1-4 DVD set. We are looking for stories rich in nightmarish qualities, un-PC-ness, humor, creativity and originality.

To get you thinking, here are two HR horror stories from our staff:

Example 1:

Employee had been terminated by his/her foreman supervisor but the foreman did not tell corporate. He was submitting hours and cashing in the termed employees paycheck. When the terminated employee went and filed for unemployment benefits his former company said he was still employed, when he was actually not. The company lost $3,000 because of a dishonest employee not paying attention to detail on the field.

Example 2:

An employee used the company car to attend a non-company sponsored get-together, and picked up her co-worker to attend. They got in a car accident and it was the employee’s fault. Employee got in trouble for using the company car and having an unauthorized person in the car. The two employees had slight injuries, the driver sued.

How to Enter

Enter by posting your story as a "comment" to this Blog. You must give us your name and email (which won’t be published) with your story to be considered as a potential winner.

Contest Guidelines

You will be disqualified if:

Your entry contains profanities
Your entry is over 300 words
Your entry is under one sentence
You do not include your first name or email

Stay tuned to our Facebook page, Twitter page, and blog for updates to the contest and the announcement of winners!

Deadline is Friday March 27th, 2009

* all stories are subject to be removed from site if they are inappropriate in any way.

Posted February 10th, 2009 by thrivemarketing - Posted in Human Resources | | 18 Comments

(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)

Loading ...

Keep Your Job Safe

Mass layoffs are coming across corporate America, and while most employees will remain employed throughout the upcoming recession, millions of employees may find themselves out of a job. While in some cases entire divisions or business units will be eliminated, leaving employees no way to avoid termination, there are many other cases layoffs will be more selective, for example, a 10% companywide reduction in force.

It’s important for employees to understand that such layoffs are not random. In layoffs of this nature, the people who are let go are picked very carefully. In fact, most bosses already have a plan in their heads about whom they will let go if they are asked to cut their team.

How do you keep your job? Here are a few places to start:

Be a star. Bosses will go to almost any length to keep the members of their team they consider to be stars. Why? Very simply, great results are extremely important in a down economy and the best way to continue to ensure great results is to have the absolute best players on the team.

How you can become a star is perhaps a topic for further discussion, but it involves a lot of hard work, constantly exceeding expectations, and contributing to the organization as a whole, not just to your narrowly defined job responsibilities.

Don’t be a thorn. Even the best players can become a liability for their boss if they take too much time and effort to manage. Generally speaking, you want your name to come up in positive contexts, never in bad ones. This means that you don’t whine, you don’t pick unnecessary fights, you don’t break company policy, you don’t constantly demonstrate how you are superior to everyone else.

Be nice. If people like to work with you, they will keep you around even if you are not the best performer on the team. That’s human nature. Wear a smile on your face, have a positive attitude, be optimistic. Make people feel good about themselves. This does not mean that you need to be a hypocrite or a brown-noser. All this mean is that you should try to be a decent human being that people like to be around. Hey, that’s good advice for life in general.

Don’t be an easy target. Here’s the trick: When it’s hunting season, it’s generally not a good idea to wear a target on your back. In the context of upcoming layoffs, the following would be considered volunteering for target practice: asking for raises, asking for special treatment, causing trouble or hurting morale. If you can’t distinguish yourself by being a top performer or a particularly cooperative and fun team player, at least don’t distinguish yourself by being the guy your boss constantly needs to defend and put out fires for.

Solicit feedback and drive change. Talk to your boss and to your colleagues and solicit honest feedback regarding your performance. Ask them to tell you — point-blank — two or three things that you can do better. When they give you the feedback you requested, don’t get defensive. Thank them for being helpful and go change.

Posted January 9th, 2009 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources | | 1 Comments

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

Loading ...

Costly HR Mistakes

Thanks to Bizsandiego.com here are some really helpful tips when it comes to your HR!

Hiring the wrong person

30% of all business failures are linked to bad hiring. A speedy hiring and firing process can lead to a lot of bad situations. Remember your employees are the heartbeat of your company.

Ignoring government regulations

Small businesses with an average of 20 employees or less, pay more per employee keeping in order to keep up with government regulations, than businesses with 500+. It is important to keep up with these ever changing regulations rather than pay thousands in fines.

Not having an employee handbook

Without company policies, problems are more likely to arise. All employees should be aware of the company policies to avoid disasters and possible litigation issues.

Overlooking the importance of training

When a company invests in employee training, continuing education, and advancing their employees skills, a company’s bottom line is bound to increase. Overlooking this could actually be a detriment to a company and their potential for success.

Failing to reward employees

In order to retain employees and cut down on costs and increase your bottom line, it is important to reward your employees with more than just a verbal compliment. This will boost the overall morale and in return increase productivity.

PEO’s can prevent mistakes

Today more and more companies are turning to PEO’s to avoid these mistakes. Since professional employer organizations specialize in stuff like this they can help you with hassles that you don’t want to deal with. Save money and time!

Posted December 17th, 2008 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources | | 0 Comments

(No Ratings Yet)

Loading ...

The Top Ten Blogs of 2008

After reading Time magazines “The List Issue” I got an idea to highlight CBR’s top ten blog posts of this year. Now you can enjoy them all over again!

1. A puff a day keeps the boss angry

2. Water cooler ethics

3. Some like it hot

4. Please stay away if you are sick

5. Launch a wellness program for your employees

6. 10 unusual excuses for being late to work

7. The rules of criticizing others

8. 5 ways to get more out of your PEO

9. I cant let let him go but I don’t have a choice or do I?

10. 5 ways to get more out of your employee reviews for next year.

Posted December 16th, 2008 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources | | 0 Comments

« Previous Page — Next Page »