HR Shield

Part 1: Warning Signs that Your Employee is a Victim of Domestic Violence

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 10:01:03 -0500

Victims of domestic violence and abuse are everywhere, yet we often inadvertently overlook or excuse our suspicions, especially when the suspected victim denies any such case. Do you suspect that an employee of your workplace is a victim?

Join us for our two-part HR Shield series as we review the employee warning signs of domestic violence, and an appropriate action plan for employers.

Domestic abuse is not always physical; often it’s psychological, which can make identifying various warning signs much more difficult. As an HR Professional or employer, you have the responsibility of protecting your employees within their workplace. You may never know what goes on behind closed doors, but if you suspect domestic violence, your best course of action is to ACT.

If one employee is in a dangerous relationship, it could quickly escalate to a much larger problem, for not only your employee, but your entire team. In extreme situations, an employee’s abusive spouse could eventually show up at the workplace.

Employee Warning Signs:

The employee seems afraid or anxious around their partner… perhaps you have had a chance to meet their partner at a company outing, or they have stopped by the workplace on occasion.
Frequent check-ins at the office. Is your employee’s spouse constantly calling the office, or is your employee taking short breaks to “check-in” all of the time?
The employee has mentioned their spouse’s temper, or jealousy.
The employee has unexplained injuries.
Frequent sick days/ or last minute call-ins.
Suspicious wardrobe choices. For example, long sleeves or turtlenecks in the warmer months.
A sudden change in confidence.
Never wanting to participate in or attend employee outings or workplace festivities.
Exhibiting depression or anxiety.

These are just some telltale signs and symptoms of emotional abuse and domestic violence. If you witness any warning signs of abuse surrounding an employee, take them very seriously. Next week we will be reviewing an employer’s action plan.

For immediate advice, please contact an HR Shield Advisor.

Additional Resources: National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)

Action Plan for Domestic Abuse Victims in the Workplace

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 10:00:46 -0500

Last week we discussed the common warning signs of domestic abuse victims. If you suspect an employee of being abused, below is a recommended course of action.

DO:

Express concern and ask if something is wrong
Listen
Offer help through contacting your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) or a local shelter/counseling center.
Notify the police if threatening messages are received at the office, or the employee’s spouse poses a threat to your workplace

DO NOT:

Wait for the employee to come to you
Judge
Pressure the employee for an explanation or answer
Threaten the employee’s position
Give advice

If your employee does not want to share information with you, you are still obligated as their employer to minimize risks in the workplace under OSHA. In some states, employers are allowed to obtain restraining orders against employee’s spouses, to keep them away from the workplace. However, by doing this you could be doing more harm than good for the victim.

We recommend that you immediately contact an HR Advisor or your local domestic violence hotline/help center before taking action on your own. As an employer, you are not in a position to provide direct help, or offer advice on their specific situation. You should always do the best you can in getting them the help they need, and ensuring that your workplace remains safe for ALL employees, not just the victim.

New E-Verify Laws for January 2013

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 15:24:31 -0500

Calling all business owners in Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Tennessee:

New E-Verify laws will go into effect in the upcoming year, some in just 6 weeks on January 1, 2013.

Georgia: Companies employing more than 10 persons must register for E-Verify by July 1, 2012.
North Carolina: Companies employing more than 100 persons must be registered for and using the E-Verify system on January 1, 2013.
Pennsylvania: State contractors and sub-contractors must register for E-Verify beginning January 1, 2013 – but only if the project is greater than $25,000.
Tennessee: Companies employing more than 5 persons must register and begin using E-Verify by January 1st.

E-Verify is an internet-based system that compares information from Form I-9 to government records to confirm that a potential employee or current employee is authorized to work in the United States.

Form I-9 has always been mandatory, whereas E-Verify has traditionally been voluntary for most businesses. With recent I-9 law updates, businesses within the abovementioned 4 states will need to collect an employee’s Social Security number and E-Verify all candidates before employing.

As a reminder, with HR Shield, you get instant access to all the information, training, forms and expert advice you need to keep employees safe, stay compliant and protect your bottom line. We’ll help you identify exactly which regulations you need to satisfy and what you need to do to stay compliant across the board including:

Workers Comp
Discrimination
Sexual Harassment
Fair Labor Standards Act

I-9 compliance (and now E-Verify!)
Overtime Exemption (Job Classification)
Record Keeping Laws

Unemployment claims
Privacy
Family Medical Leave Act
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEO) Reporting

Sign up now online, call (877) 636-9525 or contact us for more information regarding hiring and E-Verify.

Still at Sea, Storm Drenches East Coast

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 15:22:34 -0400

Still at Sea, Storm Drenches East Coast

7 tech jobs with the lowest unemployment rates

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 16:36:15 -0400

7 tech jobs with the lowest unemployment rates

Gambling in the Workplace

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 11:47:12 -0400

We live in a very digital world today; you no longer need to visit the Casino or host a Friday Night Poker match at your home to engage in gambling. While engaging in some online fun may seem harmless, the ease of gambling on the Internet has brought forth a challenging dilemma for HR professionals and employers.

Most companies state clearly in their policies that gambling is not permitted at the worksite, and up until the past few years or so, gambling remained a relatively private matter. Online access to gambling has enabled employees to gamble on the job… literally, if their employee handbook forbids it, they gamble their jobs, not just their money.

So, what do you do if you catch an employee gambling on the job? First off, the employer should always confirm that their practice of uncovering the employee’s gambling habits were compliant and not an invasion of privacy. If you were monitoring the employee’s computer use, does your existing policy state that work computers are employer property and therefore monitored? Did the employee receive a copy of your company’s policy when they were hired?

Before approaching the employee it is recommended that you consult with a licensedHR professional to ensure you have met all compliance standards. You’ll likely need to issue and document a warning or violation to this employee, unless the situation is severe enough for employee termination.

Assuming the issue is to be handled with an employee warning or violation, your next concern is the employee as an individual. As an employer, you should ensure the well-being of all employees in order to continually support a healthy working environment. The person you have just issued a warning to may in fact have a gambling problem.

Companies need access to resources in order to issue effective responses to workplace problems, and HR Shield can help, from providing helpful resources to individuals with gambling addictions, to developing and enforcing clear company policies.

Gambling in the workplace negatively affects everyone. It results in productivity loss for both the employer and the employee and can cause disruptions in any major area of life: psychological, physical, social and vocational.

For additional resources, visit the National Council on Problem Gambling or Gamblers Anonymous. To immediately speak with an HR Advisor, contact HR Shield at (877) 636-9525.

How Companies Demoralize Their Employees Without Knowing It

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 10:00:23 -0400

How Companies Demoralize Their Employees Without Knowing It

The Seven Habits of Spectacularly Unsuccessful Executives

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 09:55:58 -0400

The Seven Habits of Spectacularly Unsuccessful Executives

10 gems from Reuters' social media 'cheat sheet'

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 09:56:57 -0400

10 gems from Reuters' social media 'cheat sheet'

10 Top Reasons Why First-Time Entrepreneurs Fail

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 09:54:58 -0400

“For entrepreneurs — especially those just starting out — businesses succeed as much as they fail. I’ve seen this time and again as a mentor and entrepreneur. But statistics also suggest that the failure rate for new startups within the first five years is as high as 50 percent.

Of course, real entrepreneurs treat business failure as a milestone on the road to success. They count on learning from their mistakes, and use the experience to move to the next idea. But why not learn from the mistakes of others, without all the pain and suffering?

Here is my list of 10 top startup failure causes — and how to avoid them:

1. No written plan. Don’t believe the myth that a business plan isn’t worth the effort. The discipline of writing down a plan is the best way to make sure you actually understand how to transform your idea into a business.

2. Slim or no revenue model. Even a non-profit has to generate revenue (or donations) to offset operating costs. If your product is free, or you lose money on every sale, it’s hard to make it up in volume. You may have the solution to world hunger, but if your customers have no money, your business won’t last long.

3. Limited business opportunities. Not every good idea can become a blockbuster business. Just because you passionately believe that your product or service is great, and everyone needs it, doesn’t mean that everyone will buy it. There is no substitute for market research, written by domain experts, to supplement your informal poll of friends and family.

4. Can’t execute. When young entrepreneurs come to me with that “million dollar idea,” I have to tell them that an idea alone is really worth nothing. It’s all about the execution. If you’re not comfortable making hard decisions and taking risks, you won’t do well in this role.

5. Too much competition. Having no competitors is a red flag — it may mean there’s no market — but finding ten or more with a simple Google search means your area of interest may be a crowded. Remember, sleeping giants can wake up. So, don’t assume that Microsoft or Procter & Gamble are too big and slow for you to worry about.

6. No intellectual property. If you expect to seek investors, or you expect to have a sustainable competitive advantage against giants in your industry, you need to register for patents, trademarks and copyrights, as well as enlist non-compete and non-disclosure agreements to protect trade secrets. Intellectual property is also often the largest element of early-stage company valuations for professional investors.

7. An inexperienced team. In reality, investors fund people, not ideas. They look for people with real experience in the business domain of the startup, and people with real experience running a startup. If this is your first time around, find a partner who has “been there and done that” to balance your passion and bring experience to the team.

8. Underestimating resource requirements. A major resource is cash funding, but other resources, such as industry contacts and access to marketing channels may be more important for certain products. Having too much cash, not managed wisely, can be just as devastating as too little cash. Don’t quit your day job until new revenue is flowing.

9. Not enough marketing. Having a slick word-of-mouth marketing strategy isn’t enough to make your product and brand visible in the relentless onslaught of new media out there today. Even viral marketing costs real money and time. Without effective and innovative marketing across the range of media, you won’t have customers — or a business.

10. Giving in too early. In my experience, the most common cause of startup failure is the entrepreneur just gets tired, gives up and shuts down the company. Despite setbacks, many successful entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison kept slugging away on their vision until they found success.

What was the best tip you’ve learned from others’ mistakes? Let us know in the comments section below.

Read more stories about: Business, Business plans, Failure, Starting a business, Startup basics

This story originally appeared on Young Entrepreneur

Great Workplaces Arise From Great Leaders

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 09:54:35 -0400

Great Workplaces Arise From Great Leaders

Stop Employees from Wasting Time at Work

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 12:52:52 -0400

Whether you’re an employee or an employer, take a look at just one hour of your day. How many times are you distracted from the task at hand? What distracts you? Is it Facebook? Pinterest? Personal emails, game scores, the phone ringing or a text message coming through? It may even be conversation amongst fellow employees.

We live in a very digital world, and it’s often too easy to get distracted by the many means of communication surrounding us. Sometimes the urge to check the status of something irrelevant to work is just unbearable.

This past year Salary.com surveyed 3200 professionals about their distractions at work and 64 percent said they visit non-work related websites every day during their working hours. As an employer, where do you draw the line? 21 percent of the professionals surveyed said they spend 2-5 hours per week on these sites.

Many of us don’t want to play “bad cop” and police every move our employee is making on the clock. Larger companies often monitor employee internet use through their IT department, and internet policies should be specifically outlined within each employee handbook, but for the smaller business without an official IT department or an internal HR team to review policies, cracking down can be difficult.

HR Shield recommends a two-step quick and easy approach:

First, schedule a meeting to address all employees without singling out any one department or employee. Review your current employee handbook and all policies surrounding internet use. (If you do not currently have an employee handbook, contact HR Shield today, our memberships include free employee handbook creation). Let this meeting serve as a “free warning” and a reminder of why it’s important to the Company to work more effectively and efficiently.

Offer Tips For Focusing (some suggestions below):

Work in time blocks. If you find yourself being pulled in a dozen directions, it is better to segment your work into small manageable pieces. Select time frames and deadlines to accomplish certain tasks.
Reward yourself for accomplishing the task at hand. It may not be against the company policy to visit Facebook or check your personal email account – but don’t do so until your work is complete.
Write out a daily task list for the day. Believe it or not, there’s a small sense of reward in crossing off each item for the day.
Go incognito. Too many distractions? Sign off messenger, close down your email, and put your phone on silent for an hour or two.
Do not check personal email or messages in the morning – saving them for the afternoon will allow you to focus on work for the morning and not get distracted by replies or ongoing threads.

Gauge the effectiveness over several weeks. If the workplace still appears to be suffering from workplace distractions, employee performance reviews and documentation of incidents may be necessary.

Questions about employee handbooks, workplace distractions, performance reviews or the monitoring of internet use? Contact an HR Shield Advisor today for more information! Call (877) 636-9525.

Calling All Business Owners! Form I-9 Expires This Week.

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 15:05:35 -0400

You may have recently noticed on the top right corner of Form I-9 that its expiration is near! All U.S. employers must complete and retain a Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and noncitizens, and is mandated by the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or USCIS.

What do you do?! Where do you find the new form?!

At this time, and until further notice, business owners are instructed to continue using the Form I-9 currently available on the forms section of http://www.uscis.gov. This form should continue to be used even after the expiration date of August 31, 2012 has passed.

USCIS will provide updated information about the new version of the Form I-9 as it becomes available, and business owners can subscribe to I-9 Central to receive Form I-9 updates. Once the form is available, it is the employer’s responsibility to file the new form with each new employee.

HR Shield will also be updating its members when this new form is made available. HR Shield makes hiring employees easier with job interview tips, employee compensation advice, and HR compliance management including I-9 employment eligibility verification.

Get on board andsign up now online, or call (877) 636-9525 for more information.

10 tips for firing a toxic employee

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 11:18:04 -0400

10 tips for firing a toxic employee

How to Appropriately Lay-Off an Employee

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 16:00:43 -0400

August 13th, 2012

Every day employers are forced to lay-off well performing dedicated employees simply because their budget can no longer support them. Laying off an employee can be a much more difficult situation than hiring or firing, because the employer is often left with no choice and does not actually want to let the employee go. How do you tell a valued employee that their position is being eliminated?

As a manager or supervisor, you need to be the one who delivers the message. It is not fair for an employee to catch wind of the situation from workplace rumors or be left in the dark surrounding a situation that involves them. Although you may be experiencing a tremendous amount of guilt or remorse, making sure that you treat the employee as compassionately as possible will help make this situation a bit easier (for both you and the employee).

Here are some additional tips to ease the situation and keep the meeting on track and focused:

Prepare: Select a meeting time and private place in advance. Know the message you are delivering, including date of lay-off and employee responsibilities leading up to that date.
If you do not feel prepared, contact your HR Advisor for consultation and preparation. A second opinion only takes a few minutes, and may save you some heartache and frustration.
When sitting down with the employee, get right to the point. An employee may or may not know they are being laid off, but there is no reason to lengthen the bad news.
Recognize all of the employee’s hard work and contributions to the company. Let them know they are a valued employee.
Explain the reason that your company needs to lay-off employee(s).
Listen carefully to the employee’s reaction/response. Be empathetic and kind – but do not act defensive or apologetic – the meeting must remain professional and to the point.
DO NOT give the employee false hope of future opportunities. Even if there is a chance of re-hiring in the future, do not address this situation unless an opportunity can immediately be acted upon or the employee can apply for another position/location.
DO NOT mention other employees being laid-off if there are others that you need to meet with or have already met with.
Give the employee their lay-off letter (tune in next week for employee lay-off templates).
Let the employee know that both you and HR are available to make this transition as painless as possible.

After the lay-off or lay-offs are completed, it is management’s responsibility to clarify with other employees what has happened and why. Restate the need for change and encourage open communication so that no remaining employees feel anxious on the job.

HR Shield is skilled at consulting and preparing management teams, HR professionals, and supervisors for the abovementioned lay-off situations. Please contact us today if you need assistance.

3 Ways To Be The Most Productive Person At The Office

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:34:21 -0400

3 Ways To Be The Most Productive Person At The Office

Hiring & Terminating

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 15:52:48 -0400

Make your employee hiring process work for you with quick access to the top 10 job interview questions, employee compensation tips and more.

Hiring employees involves a long list of important details that, if not handled properly, lead to poor performance and leave you at risk for major fines and potential lawsuits. Offering fair, competitive employee compensation to attract top talent. Asking the right job interview questions to efficiently screen your pool of candidates and find the perfect fit. Implementing effective non-disclosure agreements. Introducing new hires into your organization in a way that forms a solid foundation for a successful, and profitable, working relationship. Did you know that IRS audits find 90% of employers guilty of misclassification leading to average fines of $65,000?

Studies show formal onboarding systems lead to employees who are more satisfied with their job, perform better and stay longer. You can count on HR Shield’s comprehensive online library and expert team to make sure you have all the help you need throughout the entire employee hiring process. From orientation and training to new-hire forms and employee compensation tips, you’ll find it all right here.

Learn how to fire an employee the safe, professional way with employment termination letter templates, exit interview questions and other important tools.

Letting employees go is one of the toughest tasks you face as a business owner or HR Manager. Not only does it stir up unpleasant emotions, it can potentially open you up for all sorts of costly fines and lawsuits if not handled according to federal and state guidelines. The average wrongful termination settlement is $1,000,000! Plus, what about critical aspects such as managing COBRA questions, exit interviews and severance packages? With HR Shield, you can rest easy knowing that all the forms you need, plus personalized advice from seasoned professionals, is just a mouse click or phone call away.

HR Shield makes firing and hiring employees easier with job interview tips, employee compensation advice and more. Get on board and sign up now online, call (877) 636-9525 or contact us for more information.

Photo

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 07:45:01 -0400

Managing human resources doesn’t feel like work with PEO Advantage.

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 23:16:15 -0400

Managing human resources doesn’t feel like work with PEO Advantage.

TOP 10 Reasons to Become a Member of HR Shield

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 23:10:19 -0400

TOP 10 Reasons to Become a Member of HR Shield