HR Shield

We often hear advertisements promoting night classes or schooling options for business professionals needing or wanting to learn more. It is not uncommon for small companies to hire a “jack of all trades” in its early beginnings or maybe YOU are that “jack of all trades.”  When budgets are controlled and there are not enough reserves to hire a specialist within each area of HR and office administration, small business owners and their employees are often required to “wear many hats.”

You may currently have someone at your office that has literally been a lifesaver—handling everything from answering phones and sorting the mail to interviewing new employees and managing HR…maybe even managing payroll and shopping benefits!  But, what happens as your company grows and the number of employees increases? The administration increases, as do the compliances issues and HR responsibilities associated with each new employee.

Chances are that you certainly do not want to replace one of the key players in your organization for a more experienced, licensed professional, but perhaps you can’t necessarily afford (or allocate time) to send them back to school or hire full-time support for them.

Many growing companies turn to HR Shield to support their existing HR professional or office manager.  As an employer who values your employee, but recognizes the need for additional resources, HR Shield is the perfect answer.

How do we help growing companies?

• We do not replace your HR employee; we simply serve as a valued resource for them to rely on.
• HR Shield is cost-effective, as low as $49 per month.
• We provide immediate access to a licensed HR professional.
• No hassle unemployment claim processing with HR Shield.
• Member discounts on labor attorney services.
• We provide HR forms and templates to maintain a compliant HR department.
• Employee benefit plan support.
• Updated information on state and local labor market conditions and issues.
• Discounted background and drug screening for your employees.
• Free discount RX Card providing up to 80% savings on prescriptions.
• Live video chats for training, seminars, performance reviews and exit interviews.
• And, most importantly, employers rest assured knowing Human Resources Administration is taken care of. They can finally go back to concentrating on what they do best: growing their business!!

For more information on how HR Shield assists growing companies, contact us today.

Welcome back to Part 2 of our series on Developing an Employee Wellness Program!  After discussing how to incorporate Physical Wellness into your program, we’re now addressing the impact of Mental Health & Wellness on employee happiness and productivity.

It has been estimated that up to 90% of chronic and acute illness is triggered and/or worsened by stress.    The article Understanding Stress provides great insight into identifying what triggers a stress response, the positive and negative impacts of stress and how it can be managed to avoid further physical and mental health issues. 

So how can you help your employees manage stress and other mental health issues?

1.  Eliminate Negative Stigmas around mental health challenges.  Oftentimes employees let mental health issues go untreated because they are concerned that admission of having issues could be viewed as incompetent.  It is up to you to foster a culture where your employees feel comfortable seeking the treatment they need.

2.  Provide Resources to help your employees manage stress and address mental health issues. Through many Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), which we will elaborate on in the near future, employees gain the opportunity to seek mental health counseling at no charge for a specified number of sessions.  Often financial constraints can hinder employees from seeking the help they need.  Have a resource library that employees can tap into for stress busting techniques and educational resources to learn how to react to stress.  Whether counseling is provided in a formal EAP, or information is simply provided to employees through a resource library, employees with personal problems will appreciate getting help for themselves, and maybe even members of their household.

3.  Foster Work/Life Balance.  In today’s world we are constantly communicating and being stimulated by information, be it work email or Facebook notifications we often lose the ability to decompress.  Encourage your employees to use their vacation time (and actually TAKE the time off), to stop working through lunch, and to spend time socializing and decompressing. Here at the HR Shield office, we encourage employees to post extracurricular community or volunteer opportunities of interest on an event board. This allows all employees to take a break from their routine 9-5, and socialize and give back to the community as a group outside of the office.

When you have a clear mind you are happier, more productive and more creative – all qualities that corporations desire for their employees.  Hosting a monthly or quarterly event that includes some form of stress relief or is focused on mental health is also a great way to engage employees and remove the aforementioned “taboo”!

Join us next week for the final part of our series: Social Wellness. If you have any questions in the meantime, contact our team at HR Shield!

(Original Post)

Last week we introduced Employee Wellness Programs (EWPs), and as promised we will be diving into the three components (Physical, Mental, Social) and providing insight into how to develop a well-rounded program for your employees.  The first element we are addressing is Physical Wellness – encompassing physical fitness and nutrition.

The 3 Most Important elements of a Physical Wellness Program

• Nutrition – If you have in-house dining options, make an effort to change the offerings to be healthy and fresh foods, rather than processed fare.  Offer resources to educate your employees about their food choices – a quarterly seminar with a nutritionist or suggesting websites like My Fitness Pal orLose It to track food choices are great ways to empower your employees to make the right choices
• Physical Fitness – If you have the capacity, provide a physical fitness facility on-site.  If you do not, seek partnerships with local gyms or offer to reimburse your employees for their memberships.  Be sure to vary with what you offer – for example, offering Olympic weight lifting to cater to the men, or Zumba for the women.  With more options to choose from, more employees will want to get involved!
• Accountability & Motivation – The biggest challenge when making a lifestyle change is maintaining consistency.  Continuously motivate your employees to participate – incentives can help, but ultimately you want this to be an intrinsic decision to get fit so it sticks.  Encourage your employees to partner up or create “fitness teams” who keep each other motivated and accountable to one another. 

The physical health of your employees is directly correlated to insurance costs – the healthier your employees, the lower the costs.  By fostering an environment where physical activity and healthy lifestyle choices are encouraged and the resources to make these choices are provided you empower your employees to become healthier. 

Wellness Proposals is a fantastic resource to share with your employees – providing educational content around Nutrition, Health and Physical Fitness.   Stay tuned for part 2 of the series – addressing Mental Health & Wellness! If you have any questions about Physical Wellness Programs and initiating one within your working environment, contact us today to help you get started!

(Original post) 

Workplace conflict and the time employees may take off (or worse, permanently leave) for such situations literally cost employers billions of dollars each year.  In the perfect world, everyone loves their boss and everybody gets along… but, as a human resources professional or business owner, you probably know all too well that isn’t always the case.

In addition to conflict, the following may arise: employee turnover, hiring, firing, legal issues, compliance issues, record keeping, collective bargaining rights for unions, and most importantly, the need for a mediator! When you signed up for your HR position, or started your company, you probably couldn’t imagine people relying on you as the middle person, and looking to you to resolve something as small as a disagreement over an employee performance review.  But, where do you start? And are you even legally allowed to get involved?

If an employee raises legal issues when involved in conflict, HR should probably get involved. But, if a disagreement does not raise legal issues, HR may not actually have the right to intervene or investigate.  In such situations, the need for an experienced HR advisor and mediator becomes very clear.

HR Shield’s support team has extensive experience in:

• Mediation
• Conflict Resolution
• Negotiating
• Preventative Strategies and Programs
• Employee/Employer Policies
• Lawsuits
• Individual and Employer Rights
• Employee Reviews
• And more!

Conflict costs you and your workforce time and money, and hurts your organization’s productivity. If something should unfortunately arise, contact us for a helping hand! HR Shield also offers Member discounts on labor attorney services. (877) 636-9525.

Original post at HR-Shield.com