Oh…My Aching Back!

Business owners beware!  OSHA has just mandated that employers are responsible for providing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) to employees!  According to Business and Legal Reports, "This final rule will clarify who is responsible for paying for PPE, which OSHA anticipates will lead to greater compliance and potential avoidance of thousands of workplace injuries each year."

In the world of loss control, we can agree that proper PPE reduces injuries and severity, and is a good cost control measure.  But does crying out "Oh, my aching back," entitle such employee to the latest and greatest in back support apparel? 

There is no clear cut answer to that question.  However, if an employee is crying out, "Oh, my aching back," you can count on this:  you will likely "buy" a work comp claim for that person eventually!  Will back support prevent such a claim?  If so, the cost of providing it may not be so bad after all!  If not, do you really want to keep that worker assigned to that task?

Posted November 29th, 2007 by Kym - Posted in Safety, Workers' Comp | | 0 Comments

Beware!!! You just hired a bad employee

I was recently asked to advise on a unique situation.  A local employer (ABC Company) recent fired an employee for stealing supplies and other dishonest activity.  Since then, more potential criminal activity has transpired between the ex-employee and the ABC Company and is under investigation.

On top of that, the employer has become aware that the previous employee has been recently hired to work at another larger company in the same industry.  Due to the nature of their businesses, this employees continued action has the potential to harm and/or affect others. 

Although the company never contacted ABC Company for a reference, and obviously failed to complete any background checks, ABC Company feels that the ethical thing to do would be to contact the new company and warn them. 

Obligation or not should they issue their warning? 

Posted November 29th, 2007 by Camille - Posted in Human Resources | | 2 Comments

It’s the Running of the Bulls, in a Sense

Here comes the rush for all the Arizona businesses to get in compliance with the new immigration law.  Many owners around the valley have been in a stall waiting to see if this new employer-sanctions law will hold up to the legal challenge. 

Azcental.com gives this summary of the new law, “Under Arizona's new employer-sanctions law, all employers must begin using E-Verify by Jan. 1 to check the employment eligibility of new hires or risk having their business licenses suspended or revoked if caught knowingly hiring illegal workers.”   

Let’s let the numbers speak for themselves, “as of Nov. 21, only 4,733 of the more than 150,000 employers in Arizona had signed up for the program. Currently, only about 32,000 employers are using the program nationwide.” 

Many lawyers are advising their clients to wait until the last two weeks to sign up for the E-Verify program for two different reasons.  One reason for the wait is to see if the law holds up to the court challenges or if it gets delayed.  The second is to “test the system's capacity and cast doubt on its effectiveness at a time when some lawmakers in Congress are pushing to expand E-Verify to all states.”

Posted November 27th, 2007 by admin - Posted in Human Resources, Immigration, Recruiting | | 2 Comments

Monkey See…Monkey Do

“If your people aren't performing up to their best potential, maybe it's time for you to take a look in the mirror,” is the quote to lead off an article I found at Business Week.

Most of the time all you hear about it is hiring the right employees, retaining superstar workers, or maintaining a good working environment.  Maybe there is something more to finding productivity with in your workplace.  Maybe its you!   

Take a long look in the mirror and make sure what your employees are seeing is what you want them to be doing.  Without the executives at the top setting the example, it won’t matter how great you think your employees are.  What they see is what they will do.

Posted November 20th, 2007 by admin - Posted in Human Resources, Productivity | | 0 Comments

Human Resource Professionals = Paper pushers???

Sounds bad but is it true?  While it is not my personal opinion, has the role of many HR departments today defaulted to just handling employee paperwork and putting out mediocre fires?   

I talk to many business owners and HR managers and I can’t tell you how many times I cringe hearing about what the role HR actually plays in the business.  What is even more baffling, is that many of these business leaders are often heard saying “My employees are the life of my business” and in the same breath, they deny the fact that HR plays a vital role in the strategic planning and development of the future of the business. 

Don’t believe me?  Ask yourself – How many times in the last year has a representative of HR played a major role in the big, high-powered planning meetings?  When a big contract is being considered or growth is being discussed, is HR being involved on the “should we do this” meeting - or is it a “we just decided … now we need your help to make it work” conversation? 

As human resource professionals, are we too busy with putting our fires and dealing with the “admin” part of HR that we don’t have time or energy to devote to being that strategic & forward thinking force in our companies? 

I am sure this is not the case in your HR department, but consider this – if this thought hasn’t crossed your mind lately, is it possible that the reason you haven’t thought about it is because you are “too busy with putting our fires and dealing with the “admin” part of HR”?

Posted November 14th, 2007 by Harry Glazer - Posted in Human Resources | | 0 Comments

The Karma of Health Care and Employee Benefits

Companies are trying to cut costs…the usual.   What ever happened to companies trying to supply benefits for their employees?    

It seems simple, if you are an employer and want to have an edge on all the other employers out there, offer great benefits.  This will not only give you the benefit of attracting employees, but it also gives you a distinct advantage of retaining them.   

This article, from the azcentral.com touches on the increasing costs of health care and how employees are having to pay a higher portion of the costs incurred.   A section states, “56 percent, plan to trim their health-care tabs next year by requiring that their employees make a larger premium contribution or pay higher deductibles, co-pays or out-of-pocket contributions, according to survey findings from the Mercer Health & Benefits report.“   

How can you go about reminding these employers the importance of having an employee who feels valued?  If you scratch your employees back (hint…benefits), they will scratch yours (productivity).

Posted November 14th, 2007 by admin - Posted in Benefits, Human Resources | | 4 Comments

The Ladder Safety Mistake

Some workers are just asking for it!  Sixty feet in the air…top of a ladder held up by sticks…in the bed of a truck!  Duh!  A safety manager can talk until they are blue in the face, but until someone comes up with a way to remove the “idiot factor,” we can expect stupid injuries.  Check out the guy on the ladder!

At least he’s wearing his hard hat!

Posted November 8th, 2007 by Kym - Posted in Safety | | 1 Comments

Hula Your Company to Productivity

Dress for Success is over used if you ask me.  I can see it being important for first impressions, or when you are in front of clients and customers.  Otherwise, I say, dress down and be comfortable.   

Some companies have picked up along the same lines as my thinking with casual Fridays. In an article I read, "nearly three-quarters (71%) of the employers questioned believed dress-down days resulted in improved employee work performance."  

I pose this question, what are you dressing up for?  If you are going to sit in a cubical, or at a desk and have no physical contact with the outside world, whom are you dressing to impress?  No one on the phone or email sees what you are wearing anyhow.  As long as you are fulfilling your job and being productive, bring out the Hawaiian shirts!   

Posted November 6th, 2007 by admin - Posted in Human Resources | | 2 Comments