Human Resources | Business Management Resource

Human Resources: More on Employee Resignation in the Work Place

More on Employee Resignation in the Work Place

When an employee resigns, as their former or their soon to be former employer, you are going to need to know how to announce the employee’s resignation to the rest of the company and the rest of your staff. This is both beneficial to your company as a courtesy to keep everyone informed, and to make it clear that things will be changing and there may be some title changes and/or promotions, etc. in the works accordingly. What you say in the e-mail or any other form of official correspondence is more than likely going to differ depending on the circumstances of the employees resignation.

If the resigning employee is being let go immediately due to untrustworthiness or some other less than happy reason, immediately send out a company e-mail simply stating that X employee has left the company to seek other opportunities as of that days date. You could also add a polite wish for success in the search for those opportunities if you felt so inclined. For an employee who is well liked and trusted and will be working up to the date of resignation, a more cheery e-mail might be more appropriate in this type of situation.

You would still want to state specifically that the employee is leaving the company to seek new opportunities, but you would also note the final day of employment at the same time. You could then go on and wish the employee well on the search for new opportunity, and if you so desired, state plans to hold a small get together on the employees last day to see them off and wish them well in person. These things can help foster morale amongst your employees to know they are valued and won’t simply be dismissed. Having an employee leave is very rarely an enjoyable situation, but you can lighten the stress level associated with a resignation by making it smooth and easy for everyone who is involved.

Filed Under: Business, Human Resources Tagged With: Company, Employment, Human resources, Resignation

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: Employment, Human resources, Law, Termination of employment

Human Resources: What is Human Resources?

A very common question among business owners and workers relates to what human resources is, and what the purpose of such a position or such a department could possibly be. Human resources is described as the people that operate and staff an organization rather than the people that handle the material or financial resources of the organization. In other words, Human Resources is the department that handles the people aspects of the organization, including the hiring, the firing, the benefits, the vacations, promotions, salaries, resignations and all other aspects of the company and its functions that relate to the employees, workers, contractors and other human individuals.

In some businesses, human resources is essentially a single person that handles all of these basic tasks on a day to day basis. In other larger companies, human resources can be an entire department of people, and there may be a person for each of the different roles. Some companies rely heavily on human resources software, which juggles a lot of the human resources tasks automatically, like payroll, paid time off and other benefits so that the human resources people do not have as much on their plates.

As a business owner, it is essentially up to you to decide how you will handle your human resources tasks. You might hire a single person to handle the bulk of your human resources needs, or you may hire several people and give each one a set list of tasks that they are responsible for. Some businesses rely on human resources software suites while others do much of their human resources work by hand. Ultimately, you need to find the system or setup that is best going to meet your needs in order to truly thrive as a company and to meet the basic needs of your employees on a day to day basis.

Filed Under: Business, Human Resources Tagged With: Business, Employment, Human resources

Human Resources: Salary and Compensation Trends

It is not uncommon for trends to change, as well as attitudes and practices, when it comes to compensation and salary in the work force. As shifts occur in the attitudes and the practices regarding compensation and salary, more and more people begin to research salaries, salary surveys and basically everything pertaining to salary. The reason is because more employers are trying to understand how to stick with the trends when it comes to hiring employees, because competitive salaries garner better workforces.

Organizations no longer give equal increases to all of the members of their organizations. These salary increases can range from 1 percent to 5 percent, and can give the wrong message to an employee that is not performing up to par. Forward-thinking companies and organizations are now beginning to rethink their compensation and salary principles in completely new ways.

To attract, keep and maintain better performing employees, it is recommended that organizations offer a pay rate that is variable between seven and eight percent in addition to the base salary. Systems that reward better performers will not be able to reward every staff member in the same way. Not only does this send the wrong message to everyone, but you must also consider your pool of money, which will never be unlimited.

It is important that you use the way that you compensate your employees as one of the most important of all communication tools within your organization. This is going to send a very powerful message to your organization regarding what your company’s expectations are, and how your goal achievement rewards are offered.

It is important to occasionally rethink your salary and compensation protocols. Are they following the trends? Are they allowing you to retain the best possible work force for your organization? If you are having great difficulty retaining a high quality workforce, then examining your compensation protocols may be well worthwhile.

Filed Under: Human Resources Tagged With: Employment, Human resources, Organization, Salary

Human Resources: Current Compensation Thinking

Organizations need to be able to develop a philosophy for compensation and a direction in writing that everyone in the management agrees to. A company that is entrepreneurial and market-driven should have a compensation philosophy that includes a method allowing the business to group similar jobs for broad banding principles. This is because there are only limited opportunities for promotion. This should include a measurement system that is responsible in the ways that it awards variable pay. It is recommended that you put less emphasis on the increase of base pay and place more emphasis on the distribution of gains through bonuses rewarding the actual attainment of goals.

Goal attainments need to awarded not only for individual goal achievement, but also organizational goal achievement. It is believed that this will foster a feeling of teamwork and will eliminate the “lone ranger” type of mentality in workers. The real achievement of goals should b attached to deliverables or outcomes that can be measured and should offer a shared image of what true success looks like. This has nothing to do with simply checking things off of a to do list. As the cost associated with benefits has seen increases, the place for benefits within a total package for compensation has also increased in importance. Shifting costs for some of the benefits to the employees themselves should only be a worst case scenario, and should not be your primary plan when it comes to compensating your employees for their hard work.

Another option that is available to your company is rewards for quality of work life. This is a compensation strategy that you may want to look at, as more and more companies are trending toward it and similar compensation strategies for learning how to garner better, higher quality workers.

Filed Under: Business, Human Resources Tagged With: Business, Employment, Human resources, Organization

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.

Filed Under: Employee Relationships, Human Resources Tagged With: Business, Complaint, Employment, Human resources

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: Business, Employment, Human resources, PRWEB

Investigating HR Issues: Questioning the Complainant

For each and every single allegation that a complaining employee raises, you are going to want to ask a specific set of questions. This set of questions is going to help you determined what happened, who was involved, who was at fault and what you need to rectify the situation. Here are the questions that you should ask the complaining employee:

Ask what occurred. Ask when it occurred, including the date and time, and ask where it occurred. Find out how it happened in as much detail as possible. Find out who said what or what was done, and in what order. Find out about any physical contact, and ask to have it demonstrated. Find out how the complaining employee responded.

Find out if the incident has been reported before. If it has, to find out who it was reported to and when, then find out what response has already been carried out if any. Find out if the complaining employee has already discussed the situation with anyone else, and if so, who. Find out if there have been any other incidents involving the same person, and if so, who, what happened, where and when.

You are also going to want to ask the complaining employee if he or she knows why the incident occurred, what his or her relationship is with the respondent and why he or she is coming forward at this point? Are there any additional pieces of evidence that support the claims of the employee, such as notes or documents? Has the respondent given you anything in writing or any other items? Who was nearby, and were there any witnesses or people within earshot that can attest to the incident occurring?

All of these things can be important in determining what happened, who was involved and who can corroborate the story so that you can investigate the incident properly and completely.

Filed Under: Hiring, Human Resources Tagged With: Business, Employment, Human resources, Plaintiff

Investigating HR Issues: Questioning the Accused

First ask what occurred. Ask when the incident happened, where it happened and how it happened. If the accused employee is denying the accusations, then ask why the accuser would have a reason to make up such an allegation. Ask the accused where they were when the incident occurred; ask for an “alibi witness” if one exists.

If the incident is not being contested, then find out how it happened in as much detail as possible. Find out who said what or what was done, and in what order. Find out about any physical contact, and ask to have it demonstrated. Find out who did what or said what, and in what order these things were done in. Find out if any other incidents occurred involving the complaining employee, and if so, get details on this particular situation. Ask the accused employee if they know why the incident occurred. Find out if there is any evidence supporting this employee’s version of what occurred, such as notes, documentation, witnesses or other evidence. Find out if there is anyone else that may be able to provide you with relevant information about the incident. Find out if the employee has talked to anyone else about the incident prior to the meeting as well.

All of these things can be important in determining what happened, who was involved and who can corroborate the story so that you can investigate the incident properly and completely.

Filed Under: Business, Human Resources Tagged With: California, Employment, Human resources, PRWEB

Human Resources: Hiring the Best Employees

If you want to attract the best possible hires to your organization, then there are a number of things that you can do in order to make it happen. The job interview is not a time for you to chat with an applicant, but rather it is time for you to really dig and investigate an applicant prior to hiring them. Preparing for an interview is actually a two step process. First you are going to want to use the job description so that you can identify what skills, traits and abilities you actually need. If you do not already have a job description, then you need to write one before you look for the employees that you need.

Next, you are going to want to determine how you are going to figure out if a specific candidate has these traits or qualifications or not. You cannot outright ask “Do you have such and such skill?” because applicants are likely to say yes even if they are not the right candidate for the job. Instead, what you are going to want to do is pick out key issues in a job description and design your questions that are going to help you to get at those specific issues. Ask routine questions that will be deal breakers, such as “Do you have the degree we require?” But also make sure you’re asking questions that are going to help the applicant actually tell you whether or not they are ideal for the job. When you ask questions that do not allow for yes and no answers, then you are much more likely to find out good information from the applicants rather than simple and meaningless answers.

You need to have an interview strategy so that you can benefit from the interview process rather than accidently hiring someone that you are not satisfied with down along the road.

Filed Under: Hiring, Human Resources Tagged With: Employment, Human resources, Job interview