1. Make sure you are compliant with wage and hour regulations
This is one the most common and potentially costly infractions I run across when conducting HR compliance audits. Here are the three most common mistakes:
- Paying by 1099 when the relationship clearly doesn't qualify. The Uberization of the workforce has been a hot topic of late, and make no mistake, utilizing 1099 labor can make strategic sense. But remember, the government doesn't like it and it is increasing its enforcement efforts against what it considers abuses of this practice.
- Failing to account for bonuses in overtime calculations. If Jane makes $10 an hour, earns a $50 commission for the week and works 42 hours, her gross pay is not $480, it's $481.18! Missing by only $1.18 doesn't sound like much, but over a two year period, multiplied by a number of miss-paid employees, it can add up and is subject to additional penalties. (Contact me if you need help with the calculation).
- Incorrectly classifying employees as exempt. Just because the company decides to pay an employee a weekly salary rather than an hourly wage doesn't automatically mean that the employee is exempt from overtime compensation. The employee must qualify for an approved exemption.
2. Conduct an employee survey
It's amazing what you learn when you bother to ask. A lot of small business owners don't conduct surveys because they think they have a good enough relationship with the employee base that they're already aware of what they like and don't like about the company. Don't underestimate the employee engagement benefits of simply asking in a forum in which employees can give anonymous feedback. And don't screw it up by compromising the anonymity. Utilize a third party if you need to.
3. Make sure your feedback and your rewards are aligned
The traditional performance review is giving way to performance dashboards that give more timely and more relevant feedback. If your organization awards performance bonuses and commissions based on achieving certain individual, group or company goals, take a look at how that information is communicated. You may have an opportunity to increase the motivational impact of dollars you are already spending by aligning the performance feedback and the rewards with better, more visual employee communication tools.
4. Adopt an applicant tracking tool
If your job ads still say, send resumes to hr@mycompany.com, you're living in the dark ages. You're having to open every email, then open at least one attachment for every applicant, whether qualified or not. This is a hugely inefficient way to keep up with applicants when there are low cost alternatives available. The Davidson Group can set you up with a branded applicant tracking site, post your jobs for you and help you establish screening criteria. The only applicants that arrive in your in-box are the ones that meet the criteria that you've established. An applicant tracking portal also protects you from certain EEOC compliance risk that you're exposed to if all you have is an Outlook folder full of emailed resumes.
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