The 5 Most Common, Costly HR Mistakes (1)

1

• The 5 Most Common, Costly HR Mistakes

www.corpfi.com
Phone [phone] Email info_at_corpfi.com
2
The 5 Most Common, Costly HR Mistakes

• HR has a lot of responsibility in the workplace,
  to say the least.
• They manage everything from hiring new employees,
  to choosing a benefits plan, to making sure that
  company policies are in compliance with federal
  and state laws.
• With so many responsibilities, its easy to
  understand how some things might fall through the
  cracks however, these cracks can be costly

3
The 5 Most Common, Costly HR Mistakes

• If you are a manager or C-suite executive, its
  important for you to help your HR department
  avoid costly mistakes. To help you out, weve
  rounded up the 5 most common mistakes in HR so
  that you can know how to avoid them.
• Asking illegal questions during an interview
• While most employers know that it is illegal to
  ask an interviewee about their age, race, gender,
  pregnancy or disability status, that doesnt mean
  it doesnt happen. Sometimes, interviewees let it
  slide other times, they decide this is a company
  they dont want to work for. And yet other times,
  they sue for discrimination.

4
The 5 Most Common, Costly HR Mistakes

• To avoid this pitfall, keep your questions
  limited to the professional arena.
• You can even have HR draft a list of permissible
  questions, and stick solely to that list.
• You should also have HR help you when drafting
  the initial job description, making sure it
  doesnt list requirements that could be viewed as
  discriminatory.

5
Not being clear on your overtime policy

• Employers who are not clear about their overtime
  policies often end up with employees working
  unapproved overtime hours.
• While employees may say they needed to work
  overtime in order to get the job done, most
  companies do not want to pay unplanned overtime
  wages.
• One of two things can happen You can pay, and
  cut into your budget, or you can refuse, and risk
  a lawsuit.

6
Not being clear on your overtime policy

• Another overtime issue is when HR wrongly
  classifies an employee as being ineligible for
  overtime pay.
• In fact, the Fair Labor Standards Act has very
  specific guidelines for what renders an employee
  ineligible, and its up to HR to apply those
  guidelines accordingly.

7
Not being clear on your overtime policy

• To keep within legal overtime frameworks, set a
  clear overtime policy for employees. Whether it
  is setting a blanket ban on overtime, always
  allowing it, or requiring employees to receive
  individual approval for each overtime assignment,
  make sure you have a policy, and that your
  employees sign on it.
• To check if your employees are exempt from
  receiving overtime pay or not according to the
  Fair Labor Standards Act have HR do their own due
  diligence.

8
Thinking that not all laws apply to your company

• Its true that not all federal laws apply to all
  companies, but HR needs to do proper research in
  order to determine which laws apply, and which
  dont.
• Assuming that certain laws dont apply because,
  for example, you have fewer than 50 employees, or
  you are affiliated with a non-profit, is a recipe
  for disaster.

9
Thinking that not all laws apply to your company

• In order to stay in compliance with the law, hire
  an HR professional who is 100 familiar with the
  laws, or outsource to a consulting company,
  broker or agent who can do an assessment for you.
  
• They should be well versed in EEOC, Department of
  Labor, OSHA requirements, and any other relevant
  laws.

10
Not documenting performance problems or
complaints

• Sometimes managers have issues with employees,
  but HR is not so keen to record them. They think
  that it will blow over on its own, or that a
  warning will do the trick.
• This is not a good HR practice, and heres why
  Lets say a number of managers have come to HR to
  report the lackluster performance of a certain
  employee. However, the last documented performance
  review of this worker was 11 months ago, and it
  was great. If you fire him, he may have cause to
  sue after all, there are no documented cases of
  poor performance only a sterling report!
• Therefore, be sure to record any performance
  problems or complaints that occur, even though it
  means more paperwork.

11
Messy Firings

• When the time comes and you need to fire an
  employee, there is a wrong way and a right way to
  do it.
• The wrong way is firing an employee in public, or
  during a private meeting, to get emotional and
  drag out the conversation.
• The right way is to make sure you have legal
  back-up to what you are doing, and then to
  arrange a private meeting and state the facts
  with as much consideration as possible without
  becoming critical or apologetic.

12
Messy Firings

• Some examples of laws to review are
• Is this person pregnant? Disabled?
• Have they filed a Workers Compensation claim in
  which firing can affect the claim?
• Do you have documentation supporting your reasons
  for firing this employee?
• Has this employee received warnings in the past?
• What about the employees contract?
• Is it time-restricted in any way?

13
Messy Firings

• If HR has made sure you are in the clear in all
  these aspects, you can then proceed with the
  termination process.
• A good way to ensure that you dont stumble
  during this incredibly difficult meeting is to
  rehearse beforehand. Practice with someone from
  HR or in front of the mirror alone. As usual,
  rehearsing can ensure you are better prepared.

14
Other HR Tips

• Additional HR tips include making sure that
  employees have filled out all their paperwork and
  that managers have regular training regarding
  sensitivity and discrimination. If you have any
  questions regarding the HR practices of your
  company, feel free to contact Corporate
  Financial.
• We have over 20 years of experience in HR
  consulting and would be happy to help ensure that
  your company is in compliance with all necessary
  laws.

15
www.corpfi.com
Contact us Corporate Financial, Inc. Phone
[phone] Email info_at_corpfi.com