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The Versatile Employee

January 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

As a manager or boss, you know the importance of hiring an employee who can do more than just the job he or she is being hired for.  For example, if you are hiring a receptionist, there are certain qualifications.  If he or she also has some computer skills, when there is a lull at the front desk, the receptionist can do some data entry, taking the burden off of that employee, helping to get some overflow work done.

With careers becoming more and more defined and broken down into specialties, you might find that the guy who comes and installs your new computer is not the same guy who can load it with what it needs to run.  If you have further trouble with it, there is the trouble shooting guy, etc.  When computers first became part of the household all of those jobs were done by one computer specialist.  Doctors, nurses and professional medical people all specialize now.  If you have a bump on your foot, your family doctor will send you to the foot doctor, who may send you to the surgeon, and so on.  While it is encouraging to know that we are getting the experts in the field, it would have been nice to just have one stop.

The same thing applies to your business.  If you have an employee who specializes in one thing, and that particular job has some downtime, the best thing for both of you would be to have the employee pitch in and help in another part of the business.   As a prospective employee, make sure you let the boss know of any special skills you may have.  You may be applying for a higher level position, but you know how to type.  This one skill could make the boss see you as the best employee for the position.  Let the boss know you have the skills he needs, and a few extra.

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Dealing with an Employee Resigning

December 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

As the owner of a business, one thing you will always have to be ready for is the resignation of an employee, and this includes both long term and short term employees as well. Be it that the employee no longer needs the job, has found another job, is moving, or any of the other many reasons there could be, resignation is something that *will* happen and there is no real way for you to avoid it as a business owner . So when it does, how will you handle it? Do you announce the employees resignation? If so, who do you announce it to? When do you make this announcement? What legal aspects are there with an employee’s resignation? These are just a few of the many things to consider.

Dealing with an Employee Resigning

First and foremost, when an employee comes to you and informs you of his or her resignation, you are going to want to ask for the employee to give you an official written letter of resignation with the final date of employment. This is generally going to be able to protect you from fraudulent unemployment claims, among other things.

Next up is whether or not you are going to allow the employee to complete their work term, or dismiss them immediately. If the employee is valued and/or trusted, then you can benefit greatly by keeping them for the term. You can have them finish up any open projects, document and detail steps and processes for any projects that can’t be wrapped up, and possibly even help to transition another employee into those projects if the original employee cannot reasonably complete them. If the employee is not valued or simply is not needed to finish out the term, then you should politely inform them that they will be paid for the remainder of the time until termination, and that their services are no longer needed.

Filed Under: Business, Employee Relationships, Human Resources Tagged With: , ,

Human Resources: On Termination of an Employee

December 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Human Resources: On Termination of an Employee

Not all employment ends amicably. One of the unpleasant aspects of owning or running a business is termination of employment. Depending on the laws of the state your business is in, you could find yourself in a position of defending against legal challenge. Many states have “at-will” employment laws which protect against much of this, but there are still some things to watch for. Claims of discrimination are on of the ways a former employee could attempt to make a claim on. Any such claim of discrimination based on a protected status will require the former employee to provide proof. Some other common claims that can be made are that the former employee was defamed by the employer making disparaging and false claims or comments regarding them to others, that they were treated in such a way as to cause emotional distress, or that their privacy was in some way invaded by failing to disclose the reason for involuntarily being terminated.

Some simple things for an employer to ask themselves before following through with a termination would be: Does the employee have legitimate reasons or explanations for the issue at hand? Does being terminated from employment fit the offense? Is terminating the employee for the given reason in line with previous terminations? Are there any pre-termination rights the employee should be aware of? Is the decision to terminate employment being made prematurely, or in haste?

Lastly, the likelihood of termination being challenged can be lessened by doing these things: Be sure that proper post-termination procedure is followed. Be honest with the employee, do not soft-pedal the issues. Be respectful of the feelings and privacy of the employee. If there are any severance benefits involved, be sure to obtain a release. Lastly, keep and maintain all of the relevant documents.

Filed Under: Employee Relationships, Human Resources Tagged With: , , ,

Investigating HR Issues: The Complaining Employee

December 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Investigating HR Issues: The Complaining Employee

If an employee brings up a human resources issue regarding another employee, the human resources department or manager in the company should reassure them that the right actions will be taken accordingly. You should tell the employee that the company is absolutely committed to complying with the law and all of its policies, and that the company will conduct a thorough investigation in order to determine whether or not inappropriate conduct has actually occurred. If improper conduct has in fact occurred, then the conduct is going to be stopped properly, and an appropriate corrective action is going to be taken.

You are going to want to make sure that the complaining employee knows that the human resources interview is designed to obtain a complete and thorough understanding of the situation that has occurred as well as to identify any and all witnesses and evidence that may have some knowledge of whatever incident has occurred. Make sure that the complaining employee knows that his or her name will only be used in the investigative process if absolutely necessary.

It is also important for you to make sure that the employee knows that there will not be any retaliation against him or her for making a complaint in good faith. If you believe that retaliation has occurred or that it may be occurring, then you need to notify management immediately. Otherwise, make sure that the matter is being kept confidential so that the investigation’s integrity is maintained from beginning to end.

Depending on what the nature of the complaint is, the employer may need to consider his or her options for separating the accused employee and the complaining employee, at least during the duration of the human resources investigation. The investigation needs to be kept quiet and confidential until both parties are talked to, and a conclusion is arrived at.

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Investigating HR Issues: The Accused Employee

December 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Investigating HR Issues: The Accused Employee

If an employee brings up a human resources issue regarding another employee, the human resources department or manager in the company should reassure them that the right actions will be taken accordingly. What you tell the accused employee is going to differ from what you tell the complaining employee. You should tell the accused employee that you are investigating a complaint relating to alleged inappropriate conduct and that he or she is involved. Informed the respondent for each allegation using sufficient enough detail that they can make a full response.

Make sure that the accused employee understands that the purpose behind the interview is to obtain a complete, accurate and thorough understanding of the situation that has occurred, as well as to identify any and all witnesses or evidence that may shed some light on the situation at hand. Make sure that you are keeping the matter entirely confidential in order to protect the integrity of the entire investigation from the beginning to the end.

Keep in mind that it is entirely against the law and against most internal policies for people to retaliate against another employee when they have filed a complaint against another employee, or when they have participated in an investigation regarding a complaint. Make sure that the accused employee is aware of the company’s policies in terms of retaliation to prevent any retaliation from occurring. Notify the management or someone higher up in human resources if you believe that retaliation may already have occurred or that it may be occurring to prevent the situation from becoming more severe.

Complaints that come to human resources are serious business, and so you should take them as seriously as humanly possible. Make sure that you keep the situation completely confidential until the point where the investigation has completed.

Filed Under: Employee Relationships, Human Resources Tagged With: , , ,

Human Resources: On Severance Pay

December 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Severance pay is a type of money that a business owner or employer may want to give to an employee when they are leaving the company’s employ. There are certain situations that may warrant the use of severance pay, such as layoffs, mutual agreements to part ways or job eliminations for various reasons.

Severance pay typically amounts to between one and two weeks of pay for each of the years that the employee worked for the company. For an executive, the severance pay may actually constitute as much as a month of pay for every year of service. On the other hand, for a senior position, the severance pay may instead be dictated based on an employment contract. In certain circumstances, severance packages may also include specific extended benefits as well as outplacement assistance.

Is an employer required to pay severance pay?

No, there is no law that requires for an employer to pay any severance pay. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA, an employer needs to pay an employee the regular wage through the completion of their employment as well as for any time that has been accrued by the employee. This is normally going to include any vacation time that has been accrued, but it will not typically include any sick days. Severance pay on the other hand is up to the goodwill of an employer, unless an employment contract requires that the employer pay. If the employee handbook requires severance pay, then that is a binding contract that the employer must pay out in the event that employment is severed.

Paying severance out in a lump sum during a single weekly paycheck is typically the best course of action based on how unemployment compensation is generally calculated in most states. This will reduce the unemployment compensation for the week of the payout, but it will allow the employee to collect more unemployment during following weeks.

Filed Under: Employee Relationships, Human Resources Tagged With: , ,

The Best Team-Building Ice Breaker Activity

December 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Best Team-Building Ice Breaker Activity

If you are trying to build a strong team, then ice breakers can be really beneficial to you. Try this team-building ice breaker that generates laughter and fun. First you are going to want to divide all of your participants into groups of between four people and five people. Do this by having them number off so that they are paired with people they do not know. Tell them that they need to find ten different things that they have in common with all of the other people in the group.

Make sure that you tell the people what things do not qualify, such as body parts. You cannot say that everyone has arms or everyone has legs, and you cannot say clothing, but if everyone is wearing a bracelet, or if everyone is wearing earrings, that kind of thing might be able to fly depending on your personal preference. Tell the group that they need to select a single person that is going to take notes, and that person will represent the group and will read the list out to the other groups in the activity.

Because of the fact that people tend to be the best source for fun and laughter, reading the entire list of ten things is generally going to incite not only a whole lot of discussion, but fun and laughter as well. This activity only takes between ten and 15 minutes and yet it can have a profoundly positive impact on allowing people to get to know each other, so if you are working with a large group and want to introduce them quickly and effectively, then this is the way to do it. A small activity can really have an excellent impact on your team when you get everybody talking about something interesting and revealing.

Filed Under: Business, Employee Relationships Tagged With: , , ,
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