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HR MATTERS E-TIPS
THIS WEEK'S TIP: Six Actions to Improve Your HR Performance
Published by Personnel Policy Service, Inc.
"Your Policy and Compliance Experts Since 1972"
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THIS WEEK'S TIP: Six Actions to Improve Your HR Performance
Here's a list of New Year's resolutions for HR that you can use to boost
employee morale and improve legal compliance. |
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THIS WEEK'S TIP: Six Actions to
Improve Your HR Performance
The New Year has just begun, so you still have time to make significant
changes in your work environment by identifying old barriers to success
and replacing them with new, more effective behaviors. The six
suggestions on the "To Do" list that follows are based on common sense
and are relatively easy to implement, plus when executed properly, they
can have a strong impact on your effectiveness.
On the one hand, they are designed to limit corporate liability and, on
the
other, to build morale and improve overall employee relations. Either
way, you are taking action to set a positive tone while improving
professional standards.
1. Make sure employees get feedback on a regular basis.
Once-a-year evaluations are not enough. Employees should receive
regular input from their supervisors. These discussions should typically
focus on day-to-day performance objectives rather than on past mistakes
or failures. This approach requires supervisors to observe and evaluate
their employees regularly and to work closely with targeted individuals,
as needed. In addition, make sure your managers give positive
feedback for a job well done.
2. Terminate poorly performing or disruptive employees.
This advice is an obvious companion to the first suggestion. However,
many managers are unwilling to terminate an employee even when the
action is justified. The most common reason is the fear of being sued,
but others include organizational inertia, fear of confrontation, and
concern for the employee's economic well being.
However, if you allow a poorly performing or disruptive employee to
continue working, productivity and efficiency will suffer and discontent
will spread. You can help limit the possibility of legal claims and make
yourself more comfortable with the decision by following your normal
disciplinary process before you terminate. For most employers this
includes:
-- Giving notice to the employee of the specific performance problems
and the consequences of not improving;
-- Establishing goals for improvement;
-- Setting a reasonable timeframe for meeting the goals (normally two
weeks to 30 days);
-- Following up to see if there is improvement; and
-- Terminating the employee if the goals have not been met.
3. Pay overtime, even when you do not think it was properly
authorized.
One of the surest ways to provoke a wage and hour claim is * not * to
pay employees properly for overtime they have worked. According to
Department of Labor (DOL) regulations, if you are aware that an
employee is working more time than is scheduled, you must compensate
the employee, even if you did not specifically request the additional
work.
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For example, if your policy requiring prior authorization for overtime
work
was not followed but a manager was aware the employee performed the
work, you should pay for the overtime. You may, however, discipline the
employee (and manager) under your normal disciplinary procedures for
violating your work rule prohibiting unauthorized overtime.
4. Treat your exempt employees properly as exempt.
Most employers expect their exempt employees (those exempt from the
overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)) to work as
long as it takes "to get the job done." Yet, some of these same
employers also penalize their exempts by requiring them to use hours of
paid vacation or sick time when they leave early to take care of
personal
business. This practice can backfire in two ways.
First, it may jeopardize the employees' actual exempt status. The FLSA
prohibits employers from docking the pay of exempt employees for
absences of less than a day. The DOL does permit vacation or sick
leave offsets since the employee does not experience a reduction in
compensation. However, a few courts have disagreed.
The dissenting courts have determined that this practice, in fact,
treats
the exempt employee like an hourly, nonexempt employee and,
therefore, triggers loss of the exempt status. As a result, you may be
put
in the position of having to pay overtime to the employee, and others
similarly situated, if they lose their exemption because of your pay
practice. (Note that there are special rules for exempt public employees
allowing them to be considered exempt even if their pay is reduced for
partial-day absences.)
Second, and perhaps just as importantly, the offset policy creates poor
employee relations. Exempt employees will resent being required to use
paid leave for partial-day absences, particularly if they regularly work
more than 40 hours per week. If your concern is that your exempt
employees may abuse their status by leaving early or coming in late,
address those issues as a separate matter. For example, discipline
exempt employees who do not complete their work or are not available
when needed. In other words, do not penalize all your exempt
employees just because of the possible abuses of a few.
5. Make sure you designate leave appropriately under the FMLA.
The single biggest compliance mistake most employers make under the
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is their failure to notify an
employee that a leave is specifically covered by the FMLA. When this
failure occurs, you cannot count the time off against the employee's 12-
week FMLA allotment until proper notification is given. As a result, the
employee still enjoys the protections of the law, including continuation
of
health care coverage and reinstatement, but does not draw down the 12
weeks of protected FMLA leave until notice is given.
To prevent this problem, every time an employee requests a leave (such
as for workers' compensation, short-term disability, or pregnancy), you
should immediately determine whether the employee's need for leave is
covered by the FMLA and then whether the employee is eligible for
FMLA leave. If the leave qualifies, you should give the employee written
notice that it will be counted against the FMLA's 12-week entitlement.
6. Review your HR policies and procedures.
Clearly written policies that are regularly reviewed can be both an
effective employee relations tool and a good defense against employee
lawsuits. In contrast, policies that are out-of-date or improperly
applied
can have exactly the opposite effect.
So, make sure that your policies reflect any new laws, regulations, and
court cases that can affect both policy language and how you implement
the policies. Most experts suggest both a thorough review at least once
a year and the use of a notification service or publication to keep you
posted during the interim. Of course, if you revise any of your
policies,
you should distribute and thoroughly explain the changes to all
employees.
* Ensure Success – Don't Get Overwhelmed *
Many successful executives will tell you that the best route to
achievement is commitment followed by action. In this case, think in
terms of "must" and "will" rather than "should" when you address the six
HR items suggested above.
Another way to ensure success is to break up these six priorities into
groups and tackle them three at a time. Studies have shown, particularly
in the military, that personal effectiveness diminishes dramatically as
you
take on more than three priorities at once. So, plan your HR priorities
accordingly and take steps to implement these positive actions so that
you can enjoy the benefits of better HR management. |
YOU CAN TRUST PPS
Information provided in HR Matters E-Tips is researched and reviewed
by the HR experts at Personnel Policy Service as well as employment
law attorneys. However, it is not intended as legal advice. Readers are
encouraged to seek appropriate legal or other professional advice.
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