Do I Have a Hostile Working Environment?

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Is the air in your office so tense it could be cut with a knife? Do you have that one employee that for whatever reason can’t seem to keep their slightly off color jokes to themselves? Does football season bring a sense of anxiety because you have the two guys who love “friendly” competition?

While these things may seem trivial they can breed hostile work environments. A hostile work environment is defined as severe and pervasive conduct that permeates the work environment and interferes with an employee’s ability to perform his or her job. Hostile work environments are actionable in the Equal Employment Opportunity process when it relates to discrimination.

So how do you identify a hostile environment?

Hostile environments can come in many shapes and forms – both caused by employees and management alike. Any of the following behaviors from a superior, peer or report can foster a hostile environment:

  • Prohibiting personal objects (i.e. family photos, team memorabilia)
  • Unrealistic job expectations
  • Unrealistic rules (i.e. you may only use the restroom twice a day for no more than 10 minutes)
  • Name calling
  • Demeaning language
  • Giving the silent treatment
  • Sexual harassment
  • Berating (this could be about anything – from sports to clothing choices)
  • Name calling

It is important as a leader to stay in touch with what is happening in the workplace – at all levels of the business. Managing the work environment can be a tough job – especially if you missed the warning signs and you have fostered a hostile environment. ESP can help you find the right team to support your HR functions and mitigate these types of challenges before they become lawsuits.

Contact us today to find out how we can lend a hand!

What Great Managers Do Differently

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We have all had that one boss – the one who is exhausting to work for, who can never be pleased and who generally makes you hate your job even if it is something that you are passionate about. It happens to the best of us and the only thing we can all do is learn. In life, it is just as important to learn what not to do as it is to learn what to do.

We wanted to share with you a list of 5 things that great managers do differently. At Employer Solutions Plus, we are experts at hiring great people, so we know what differentiates a fantastic manager!

  1. Believe. Great managers believe in their employees. Believing in your employees means being confident in their abilities and trusting them. You know that when they make decisions they will be making the ones that are in the best interest of the company. By believing in your employees, they will believe in you as a leader.
  2. Empower. They empower their employees. Giving them the authority to act independently and grow as a leader will ensure that you succeed. It will also remove obstacles for your clients – by giving the authority to your team, you will ensure more fluidity in operations.
  3. Advance. They promote from within. You groom your employees for success and advancement. Do not see them as a threat – they go up, you go up – everyone wins. Being a manager with stagnant employee growth is a direct reflection on you!
  4. Develop. They give their employees development opportunities. Personal and professional development will help your employees grow and achieve. Identify programs that would be beneficial for them to participate in and make it happen. They will be better employees if you do!
  5. Engage. They stay engaged. Just because you have a well-oiled machine for a department doesn’t mean that you should disengage. Be involved and stay involved. Whether it is periodic check-ins or happy hours or working lunches, be present and engaged. This helps with communication and team camaraderie.

Looking to build a team of great managers? We can help you! Contact us today to find out how.

What is a Performance Appraisal?

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A performance appraisal is a formal review of an employee’s performance. These are usually done either annually, semi-annually or quarterly depending on the nature of the business and the management preference. Typically these appraisals are the driving factor for merit increases, wage determination and bonuses.

These appraisals are meant to be objective performance reviews that are based solely on how an employee executes their job – not on their personality or characteristics. It can sometimes be referred to as an annual review, evaluation, professional development benchmark or an employee evaluation. Having these reviews with your employees is a critical business practice.

As an employer, a formal review where you document performance is important for many reasons – one of which is to protect yourself should you need to terminate an employee. Employee reviews should contain honest and candid feedback that has clear, specific examples of any successes or failures.

Collecting the data for these reviews can be daunting – particularly if you have a large population of employees. You first have to determine what the key areas of the form would be, how frequently you want to update the information, who is responsible (usually their direct manager), who is involved in the evaluation process and what impact the evaluations have on employees.

It is important to have an objective scoring process for these reviews. We recommend a numerical scale that also has an area for verbatim comments and feedback. You should also ensure that the employee provides their comments, formally, around the feedback and signs off on the review, the next steps and any other items that were discussed.

We recommend that you utilize a formal system for reviews. Employer Solutions Plus has access to the best and most cost effective performance management systems and would love to set up a free consultation with you to find a process and system that works well for your business.

If you’re currently working with a Professional Employer Organization, they may have a complimentary template you can utilize!

Contact us today to set an appointment!

How to Write an Employee Conduct Code

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In our last post, we covered the employee dress code and how to write it. The conduct code is similar in many ways as it is driven by your company culture but must adhere to employment laws.

There is no standard language for an employee code of conduct – each code is unique to the business and seeks to define expected behaviors in addressing the risks, challenges and customs that exist on a day to day basis for the employees. The basic elements of an employee conduct code are:

– Mission, vision, values and how they drive the ethics of the business. Why does your business hold the values it does? What does this allow you to achieve?

– Decision framework. This should be a model for employees to make ethical decisions, particularly in times of hard choices. The decision framework will guide employees in making the right choice on their own and also coach them on when to involve a third party – be it their supervisor or HR.

– Communications systems. How do you communicate? Do you have a whistleblower line? What is the process for notifying someone of issues?

In addition to the basic sections above in order to be in compliance with employment regulation there are 50+ topics that must be included. These things include: harassment, gifts/gratuities, fraud, FMLA, EEO and Affirmative Action, copyrights, expense reimbursements and time recording, diversity, among many more.

Once you have the policy written, have determined that you hit all of the right topics, covered your legal bases and included the mission of the company you then need to implement. The implementation and communication of the plan has legal parameters regarding sharing, posting and distribution. The code needs to also be regularly updated and sent out on an annual basis.

While this may seem overwhelming – it doesn’t have to be. Employer Solutions Plus can help you by pairing you with an expert in the field of HR and employee conduct. Our experts can design a plan that works for your business. Contact us today for a free consultation!

Employee Dress Code Trends

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Any employer knows that dress codes are a necessity. A company’s dress code is not just about mandating what your employees can/cannot wear – it speaks to the culture of the firm. Recently, many companies have been migrating to a more lax dress code – erring on the “casual” side of business casual. Other companies however are maintaining a traditional business attire environment. So what’s contributing to these trends? We have given you a breakdown of the key drivers to these changes.

Drivers of the Casual Dress Code

– Cultural Shift

  • Our culture as a whole has seemingly become more casual than 20-30 years ago. If you step into any start up in NYC it is highly unlikely you will see anyone wearing a suit. Some of this country’s largest companies like Google and Apple have and encourage casual dress codes.

– It’s Trendy

  • If Google is doing it – why wouldn’t we? Many businesses adopt practices from successful companies, including their dress code policies. The idea that a multi-billion dollar entity like Google or Facebook allows their employees to wear jeans makes people say “well if they do it and succeed, why can’t we?”

– Telecommuting

  • With the popularity of telecommuting, many workplaces realize that it doesn’t matter if you have on sweatpants or a suit – the work WILL get done. Knowing that productivity is just as high, if not higher, in a work from home environment, companies are becoming more open to the idea of keeping it casual inside and outside the office.

Keeping It Formal

– Tradition

  • Companies who are comprised of primarily older, baby boomers are more likely to uphold a more formal dress code. The concept of wearing jeans on anything other than a Friday seems unprofessional and unnecessary.

– Culture

  • If the nature of your business requires you to regularly interface with customers whether in person or virtually you will often see a more formal dress code being enforced.

Do Job Titles Deliver Worker Satisfaction?

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Employee satisfaction is a complex dynamic that has seen a steady decline over the last 15 years. While this is not true for all employers – or even most, as a general population employees are less satisfied at work than they were a decade ago.

This is likely related to many factors – including but not limited to cultural shits, the recent recession, an increase in telecommunications and constantly being tied in to work and of course, being expected to do more for the same salary. Of course – all businesses are interested in how they can improve worker satisfaction. Happy employees always outperform unhappy employees.

Unfortunately – we are often trying to increase employee satisfaction without detracting from our bottom line as business owners. With that being said, we have asked questions like “Do job titles deliver worker satisfaction?” and while the answer wasn’t exactly what we hoped, it was promising. Our research shows that while job titles contribute to employee satisfaction, they are not solely responsible for generating happy employees.

As we previously mentioned – employee satisfaction or “ESat” is a complex dynamic that includes the following:

  • Compensation
    • Job title: Directly effects – especially in large companies where there are pay thresholds based on titles.
  • Workload
    • Job title: If you call someone an analyst but they’re also managing people, they will likely feel as though their workload is not commensurate with their job title.
  • Work Perks
    • Job title: Things like tickets, flexibility, working from home, etc. Perhaps your company has a policy that only directors can work remotely – yet your analyst regularly is stuck working in the office until 8pm simply because of a title.
  • Career Pathing
    • Job title: Building your resume – a more impressive title leads to a better career path.
  • Workplace Environment/Culture
    • Job title: Respect – titles relate to the respect that individuals can command from their peers and colleagues.

We essentially identified that an individual’s job title has a trickle effect – we have shown how job titles impact the areas listed above. Particularly important is that job titles directly relate to the respect and authority – perceived or actual – that an employee has and this DOES weigh heavily on their satisfaction. Having a job title that is correctly aligned with their responsibilities and authority is extremely important and critical to an employee’s satisfaction.

Not sure how to align your job titles with responsibilities? Do you need more information or guidance on how to manage the complex structure of Esat? Contact us today for a free consultation!

How to Verify Education and Employment

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It has become a common employment practice to conduct background checks on potential employees. Some background checks are more extensive than others but at the most basic level, verifying education and employment are critical to ensuring you are getting what you are about to be paying for.

We wanted to share with you the process for completing these checks:

Education Verification:

Verifying an individual’s educational background may seem simple and straightforward – right? The truth is it consists of far more than just being able to pick up the phone and call their alma mater. The first step is to ensure that you obtain written consent to pursue this information from the employee. Once you have that, you will likely need to provide this to the educational institution who will likely only verify if they attended, not that they graduated, their GPA or provide a transcript. The schools are generally prohibitive from allowing individuals access to additional records or files and often charge fees for obtaining what information they are willing to provide. This can take as little as 3-5 days or weeks, depending on what you require and the policies.

Employment Verification:

Could you pick up the phone and call the references? Certainly. However if you are calling on behalf of the company as a third party vendor you are likely to get more honest and accurate information than if you call saying “I’m <Joe/Jane>’s new boss, I’d like to verify their history and references. Having a third party presents a level of trust and anonymity that is not present when you just pick up the phone yourself. It can take a significant level of effort to get people on the phone these days, taking away from valuable (and profitable) time you could be spending elsewhere.

Both processes are fairly tedious, require effort, follow up and also financial investments. And then what happens if the facts don’t check out? You have wasted all of those efforts. A simple way to circumnavigate this tedious process is to outsource it to a third party.

Employer Solutions Plus is an experienced HR solutions provider and we can help you choose the perfect partner for outsourcing employment, education and additional background verification in an efficient, effective and affordable manner. Consider us your HR “easy” button!

Contact us today for a consultation!

How to Deal With Employee Substance Abuse

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It may seem unlikely that a gainfully employed individual is struggling with a substance abuse issue. According to a 2011 study from the US Department of Health and Human Services, of the 18.9 million adults classified as having problems with substance dependence or abuse, 52% of them were employed full time. This makes this a very real problem for employers. Often those who have substance abuse issues are exceptional at hiding these struggles.

Having employees who struggle with substance abuse can be costly to your business. Typically it results in:

  • Safety risks for other employees
  • Increased healthcare costs for illness and injuries
  • Increased rates of absenteeism
  • Reductions in productivity and performance

Any of these outcomes have the ability to affect not only your bottom line but your company’s culture and reputation. Identifying an employee’s substance abuse problem can be challenging however there are some common identifiers including:

  • Recurrent financial or legal problems
  • Frequent bouts of absenteeism without notice
  • Failure to fulfill personal, social and business related obligations
  • Personality imbalances – frequent “highs and lows”

Handling substance abuse problems with employees is a touchy, delicate subject as often people are embarrassed, ashamed and in denial about these struggles. Dealing with this requires a patient, strategic approach. Employer Solutions Plus is well versed in all elements of employee management and can point you in the right direction for help with employee substance abuse and compliance. If you already work with a PEO, consult your team for advice; PEOs are experts in employee management and will ensure that the situation is approached correctly.

Contact us today to find out how we can help you help your employees.

The Added Benefits of Working With a PEO: Performance Appraisals

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If you’re exploring a co-employment relationship you’re probably already aware of the main benefits a PEO offers:

  • The ability to attract and retain top employees
  • Compliance expertise and reduced risk
  • Better benefits packages for your employees
  • Streamlined processes for payroll, benefits and managing personnel data
  • More time to focus on growth

But were you aware of performance appraisals? A performance appraisal (also called a performance review or evaluation) is a method used by employers to measure an employee’s job performance. Appraisals are often used as part of the career development process to determine if a certain candidate is ready for a promotion, salary increase, or other type of workplace advancement. It’s also the official way of recording the areas in which a certain employee may not be performing well, so that if they are fired in the future all compliance bases are covered and the termination is not a complete surprise.

Many businesses understand the importance of conducting performance appraisals, but don’t know where to begin and don’t have a defined process or schedule for employee reviews. A defined process and schedule is important because it limits the variations among the workforce and ensures everyone is given equal opportunity.

Many PEOs offer access to great technology that permits employers to customize their company’s review process and improve employee performance by setting and tracking measurable goals. They may also have templates or recommendations for conducting a performance appraisal so that you can be clear and consistent with your employees each and every time … and that’s an added benefit of the PEO relationship that many business owners simply do not know!

Turnover is expensive and a PEO can help you do a better job at hiring, and most importantly retaining great employees. When you’re analyzing PEO proposals it’s important to look for the “added benefits” offered by each. Many have a variety of products and services for both you and your employees that will instantly improve the workplace.

To learn more about PEOs and other forms of outsourced HR solutions, contact us directly at Employer Solutions Plus!

Resignations Are On The Rise

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All we’ve heard about for the past few years is how lackluster the U.S. job market is, which is why this fact might surprise you: The number of Americans voluntarily leaving their jobs is on the rise!

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the MONTHLY average number of workers to leave their jobs in 2013 was more than 2.2 million – more than 25 million for the entire year! In 2009, the monthly average was 1.9 million. Resignations on the rise indicate a few things that employers need to be aware of:

  • Employers have strengthened their recruitment techniques and are luring employees away from their current employers.
  • Many employed individuals no longer feel “stuck” where they are, and can quit with the confidence of finding another position elsewhere.

In order to retain your top-performing employees, you have to be an employer of choice. Employers of choice follow an all-encompassing recipe of future opportunity, commitment to a strong corporate culture, competitive salaries, employee recognition, cohesive teams, community involvement, work/home balance, job security, and great benefits.

Additionally, you have to promote a working environment where honest communication is encouraged. Having performance reviews and employee/manager meetings scheduled throughout the entire year can provide your top-performing employees with a platform for conveying their concerns. If you know of problems before they arise, you can work toward fixing them. If the employees’ frustrations remain a secret, there is no possible resolution and your employees will eventually leave.

If you currently work with a PEO, ask them about what practices they have in place to help you better retain employees, and don’t be afraid to share your workplace concerns. Historically, small businesses have always had a hard time competing with the rich benefit programs and growth opportunities found at Fortune 500 companies – but with the help of a PEO you can easily (and creatively) become an employer of choice.

Want to learn more about PEOs and retaining top performing employees? Contact our team at Employer Solutions Plus.