by Mike Yoder | Business Resource, General
An interview and resume reveal only so much about a job applicant. Background checks often shed a clearer light on someone’s past. While there have been policies related to background checks, there has not been recent activity in the form of a federal guidance until last year.
In April 2012, the EEOC issued a new policy guidance essentially saying you cannot have a standalone policy stating you will never hire someone because they committed a particular offense without considering exceptions. If an employer were to say they would fire someone specifically because they were convicted of DUI, domestic violence or aggravated assault, for example, the fear is that there is some chance the decision would have a disparate impact on minorities.
There is a common way to deal with these guidelines. If someone is applying for work at your company, be sure the application includes a consumer authorization that says you can run a background check and ask if they have been convicted of any crime. It’s a simple “Yes” or “No” question. When you run the background check on that applicant, you will find out if they lied about having been convicted. If they lied, that is grounds for not hiring them.
If the potential employee indicated on their application that they were convicted of a crime, you must engage in an “interactive dialogue” With that potential employee prior to deciding whether to hire them. During this discussion, the HR services provider or employer talks to the applicant about what the background check divulged. You then have a conversation about the circumstances surrounding the crime committed.
A DUI is a common crime, often considered a crime of stupidity. Other common crimes are considered crimes of honesty. Those include things like petty theft, larceny, receiving stolen property or writing illegal checks. One important question to ask yourself in such a situation is whether you want the offender touching your money.
Two Areas to Consider During the Interactive Dialogue
During the interactive dialogue, the employer should consider the type of crime the person committed. Perhaps they did something dumb and are honest it. Do you hire them? Even in a crime of violence such as domestic violence, be sure to let the person tell their story before making a decision about their employment. The person could have been fighting back from an attack. Listen, and then decide.
You shouldn’t hire or fire an ex-offender just because they’re an ex-offender. First, consider when the crime was committed. For example, say in 1998 a job applicant got caught smoking marijuana. Listening to his story, you hear that he doesn’t drink or smoke now. He says it was a tough time in his life and then he found his faith. Listen and make decisions on a case-by-case basis.
Value of the New EEOC Guidelines
The new EOCC guidelines help set up a process for you to ensure that before you say “No” to a former offender who is qualified for a job, you step back and see if the situation runs too much risk for your company.
The EOCC guidelines have been out for over a year. There are certain industries such as childcare and long-term care, and employees such as those who work in collections on sensitive contracts, where certain felonies or misdemeanors could be serious red flags.
Ideally, the EEOC really should have solicited input from companies to see how this could impact them. I always think it’s important to engage with potential employees to ask questions to get to know the person and their story before you make the decision to terminate or hire. Ask them about previous jobs and what they do in their free time, for example.
At Servant HR, we are normally involved in the background check process. What we see most often with individuals with conviction histories is either people don’t admit they received a conviction or they admit a smaller crime but their background check divulges something much worse.
We generally are a fan of background checks because we believe you should know someone’s story. The cost is minimal, so for anyone with access to finances, you should absolutely run a background check. If someone is working with children or the elderly, run a background check.
You must have it in your employee handbook that you, as the employer, have a right to run a background check in order to run it on current employees. If someone’s criminal conviction runs a risk of jeopardizing the safety of your workplace, an interactive engagement is necessary and job termination might be necessary.
We can help you determine the best ways to handle background checks and other sensitive HR issues. Tell me about your HR challenge so we can get started.
by Mike Yoder | Business Resource, General
Employee turnover is a common challenge for most employers. You want to keep those top sellers, top culture creators, top producers and top team players. We are often asked the best ways to retain employees.
Survey Says …
The sheer amount of research and resources dedicated to employee satisfaction illustrates the importance of the issue, and the findings might surprise you. For one, more money is usually far down on the list of ways to keep your best talent. Job satisfaction is typically the real issue.
When we perform employee engagement trainings, we focus on what employees are doing and for whom they are working. It is critical to evaluate the culture of the company, the goals of the company and how each employee views his or her purpose and role in the company. Individually, we learn about what employees draw from their managers or senior advisors, as feedback from these people is critical. Satisfaction isn’t just the work you do. A strong HR strategy is one that helps train managers to help increase team aspects.
Studies have found work/life balance is another critical factor in job satisfaction. How this balance translates into expectations varies from person to person and generation to generation. Managing millennials is a hot topic for just this reason. People come into a job wanting to find a satisfying experience at work, but they don’t want it to detract from their lives outside of work, whether their priority is family, friends or going to every Indianapolis Colts game on the schedule.
Employees want to feel like their jobs support their lifestyles. That desire can be translated into vacation days, a pay increase, more attention to personal and emotional energy, or making sure an employee’s stress level doesn’t burn them out. People want balance. They want to be allowed to be the person they want to be. All of these factors affect their sense of satisfaction at work.
Top 5 Things Employees Seek
Forbes reports on CEB’s findings from its quarterly study of 50,000 employees over the second half of 2012, coming up with the top five thing people are looking for when they are seeking a new job. You can use these items as starting points for figuring out how to work on these areas of your company. Ask yourself the associated questions. And the top 5 are:
- Stability: Do your employees buy into your company’s long-term goals? Do these goals provide potential for employees to grow?
- Compensation: Do your employees feel well compensated?
- Respect: Do your employees feel respected by their peers, managers and leadership?
- Health Benefits: Are you communicating the value of the health benefits you’re offering? Are the benefits competitive in your market?
- Work-Life Balance: What kinds of quality-of-life issues are a priority for your employees and are your helping support those priorities?
Demographics Matter
It is also critical to know who your employees are. Demographic information is a useful indicator. When we carry out exit interviews for employers, we often hear from employees that compensation is important. What we have also learned is that younger people don’t care as much about money and health care benefits, but when those same young people start building families, money and health care benefits become more important to them. Once the family is established, retirement packages become more of a priority.
You need to know their demographics so that you respond accordingly. Get creative in what your compensation package looks like based on the demographic you’re employing.
Personal growth and development are also really important. Offering classes, training, seminars, coaching and mentoring all show your developing employees that you want them to excel and succeed in your company. They see that you are invested in them as a person.
What About My Industry?
Different industries have different challenges, but the struggle to retain employees is across the board. The differences typically lie in what people want more of, but the common ground is that people want “more” of something. Your actions and thoughts behind a gesture as an employer must fit your audience. (On a small scale, some employees will wholeheartedly appreciate a tray of homemade cookies while others will expect gourmet cupcakes.)
Start Evaluating Satisfaction
I know it sounds too simple, but giving your employees a platform to have a voice is a win for you and them. We have found that SurveyMonkey is a great tool to help businesses really figure out where they should focus and what they should do. Using simple surveys — some only five questions long — we can learn what employees would recommend to make your company a better place to work.
We can then drill down to figure out exactly what that looks like and start working on an employee satisfaction strategy. The key is to not let that survey just sit around. Let your employees be heard and don’t forget to listen and act on what you hear.
Be sure you are consistent and realistic, too. Once you carry out the survey, communicate the findings with your employees and let them know where you’ve going from here. Say to them, “This is what we heard you say and these are the three things we can do over the next two months. This is what we’re going to do over the next year.” Be sure to evaluate how things progress and get more feedback. Have someone in place to support these types of initiatives.
Annual or more frequent reviews are a great time to get qualitative feedback on employee satisfaction. Open the door to the conversation to find out what your top employees are really seeking. Make reviews meaningful times for each employee. Affirm their place in the company, compliment their work and discuss their goals. Do what you can to make employee retention a more manageable challenge.
To find out how Servant HR can help your company retain employees, please contact us.
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by Mike Yoder | Culture, General, Outsourcing
Ray Hilbert, CEO, Truth@Work
When Jeff Leffew launched Servant HR in 2003, he knew that as a business leader, he wanted to be held accountable to live out his faith in his professional life as well as his personal one. This part of his mission led him to Truth@Work in 2003. Jeff has been an active member ever since, one of hundreds around the country, and Truth@Work became a client of Servant HR in 2005.
Truth@Work is a nonprofit organization based in Indianapolis cofounded by Ray Hilbert, whose career path tested his ability to run a business on biblical principles versus worldly values. A man of strong conviction and bold vision, Ray and the Truth@Work team serve business leaders by hosting Christian Roundtables to integrate Christian faith into businesses’ daily operations. Products, programs and services help entrepreneurs, CEOs and executives develop and share technologies, achieve personal-spiritual-business “life integration” and balance, and experience a safe place to share issues and challenges.
Ray cofounded Truth@Work with fellow businessman Matt Peelen in 1998. At the time, they weren’t sure exactly how the new organization would function on a daily basis or precisely what this new model would look like. What they did know is they were searching for the next chapter in their lives and that the Lord would direct their steps.
In April 2000, Truth@Work had a roster of nine members. Slowly and organically, the Indianapolis organization grew. When a few people in other cities reached out with an interest in expanding Truth@Work to their cities, Ray said he wasn’t surprised.
“Since our inception, we felt it would happen. We didn’t know how or when. We just wanted to build the best things we could right now so we would be ready if and when it presented itself,” he says.
They ran beta tests in other cities for three years, 2007-2010, to see if the Truth@Work model was repeatable. The answer was yes. In 2010, Ray and his team decided to really scale and grow to other chapters. Since 2010, Truth@Work has moved into to about 30 cities.
“A very realistic plan is that by the end of 2014, we will be up to 100 cities. Five years from there, we will be in 200 markets,” Ray says. He calls it the “proverbial flywheel.” His team is totally focused on the job at hand. All systems are on go. They aren’t distracted by tasks that wouldn’t help them grow or risks they shouldn’t carry, so they are all going in the direction they want to go.
“The big takeaway of our value and relationship with Servant HR is it allows us to focus on what we do, which is grow and serve and build our Roundtable program,” Ray says. “We have peace of mind knowing our HR and payroll and all those pain-in-the-neck issues are off our plate so we can grow and build and sustain our organization.”
Truth@Work has seven full-time employees. To carry out the organization’s functions across the country, Ray and his team certify chapter presidents who are independent of the company payroll. Servant HR helped counsel Ray regarding why that would be a good structure.
From the start, Ray and Matt also made two critical decisions that have influenced the current growth. First, they wanted to be structured as a nonprofit.
“Because business owners and high-level executives are our audience, the nonprofit route has allowed us to stay very focused on what we do and to have very trusting relationships. There is no alternative agenda to make money,” Ray says.
Second, related to scalability, the Anderson University marketing graduate says Truth@Work didn’t make itself visible or findable on the web for its first several years. They didn’t want phone calls and emails without the infrastructure in place to be able to deliver on what they wanted to provide.
“We had the vision, but we intentionally didn’t position ourselves for fast, rapid growth that we couldn’t handle. So in beginning, we sent out a few letters sharing the concept and invited people to come to informational meetings regarding the Roundtable,” Ray says. Truth@Work is now highly visible on the web.
A major advantage of partnering with a PEO is to reduce risk. Asked how Servant HR helps him avoid unnecessary HR risks, Ray answers, “This the most intriguing question. My view and perspective on this is that they are doing their job right, so I don’t even know about the risks I’m avoiding.”
Most recently, Ray says Servant HR is helping Truth@Work navigate the real-world implications and impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, helping them understand how different choices might impact or affect the organization and its employees.
Servant HR has also helped on a number of occasions when Truth@Work has had to terminate employees by putting together solid exit plans to help them maintain friendships and a healthy culture. Handling those situations with honor, dignity and respect was important.
“Servant HR has been a great fit for us because they are also very family and values oriented. Christian faith is their No. 1 priority for them like it is for us. This is all a natural extension,” Ray says.
For more information about Truth@Work, visit the website. Contact Servant HR to find out how we can help your organization stay focused.
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by Mike Yoder | General
Anson Thompson (left) and Jenny Dils Durr of The Thompson Group joined forces, cultures and employees in 2012.
The Thompson Group’s mission is about finding pain, healing pain and showing love. About three years ago, the insurance agency began to feel its own pain. The Parker City, Ind., business had seven employees with owner Anson Thompson at the helm. He had purchased the agency from his father in 1996. While Anson was focused on growing sales and serving clients, he started to realize a significant gap.
“I’m not a good manager of people by any means. I’m a salesperson. A lot of my interactions with people weren’t going well. I hired Servant HR to act as a kind of buffer,” he says. Anson knew what he was good at and what he needed to focus on to be an effective leader, and HR didn’t apply.
Since that time, Anson has helped his agency grow in several ways. Its culture has matured, its staff has grown and it has added a second location. But The Thompson Group’s path to where it is now was not a simple one. After merging with a larger, more traditional agency, he experienced fundamental differences of culture and business direction that weren’t going to be worked out with time and effort.
“Our office has always been a little creative. We look at the insurance business in a different light than most people in our industry. We’re kind of quirky,” he says.
While the relationship between The Thompson Group and the larger agency floundered, one of the owners of the larger agency found she had a lot of common ground with Anson. As a result, Jenny Dils Durr and Anson joined forces and merged in 2012.
Servant HR handled the hiring of Jenny’s employees in Indianapolis under The Thompson Group’s HR umbrella. Servant HR had developed administrative processes, an employee handbook and other strategies that made it easy for Jenny and Anson to follow necessary regulations and be sure their employees understood the changes.
Anson says that having Servant HR handle the human resources for The Thompson Group’s 16 employees allows him to get out and sell. “If we have an issue at all, we call Servant HR . It’s the ‘good to great’ theory. Good is the enemy of great,” he says.
“We aren’t good at managing people, and Servant HR has become our HR position, which positions us to go sell and make money. By partnering with Servant HR, we are far more profitable than if we didn’t work with Servant HR. Servant HR makes us money.”
Contact us to see how we can help you focus on being the business leader you want to be.
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by Mike Yoder | General
Most U.S. states have an at-will employment policy. This means that you as a business owner or employer may fire someone for a good reason, a bad reason or no reason at all — as long as your reason isn’t illegal. While this does provide more freedom for employers, it is not a free pass to fire someone without regard for how it is handled.
What’s the issue here?
If you as an employer discipline or terminate an employee and do you it badly, you create risk for yourself. A former employee could potentially sue you for discrimination, wrongful termination or a similar claim.
In at-will states, you can terminate someone’s employment for almost any reason as long as it isn’t illegal. If you can’t prove just cause, the employee can file for and get unemployment compensation. More concerning, the person can claim you released them from their job because of their protected class status. Those characteristics could include being over the age of 40, being a certain race or sex, or having a disability.
Generally, as HR professionals, we want to be able to prove that an employee has earned the right to be terminated. There should be some level of just cause when they broke company rules, were insubordinate, etc. We use that information to defend an unemployment compensation claim or discrimination claim.
What are my risks?
While no recent legislative changes have modified how unemployment compensation is handled, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) under the current administration has become more proactive in addressing such issues. Employers should be even more mindful of these kinds of HR issues than they perhaps were in the past.
Most frequently, we see the biggest problems arise when an employer discharges someone who is in a protected class (e.g. they are disabled or practice a certain religion) and chooses to fire them at will. In such cases, the employee can come back and successfully say there was not just cause so they have a right to unemployment compensation. They can use that judgment to file a claim with the EEOC. From there, the EEOC hears those claims and if the employee is successful, the employer could be obligated to settle with the individual (in the form of money and/or the offer of getting their job back), or the EEOC gives the employee a “right to sue” notice so the person can potentially find an attorney and take the issue to federal court.
How can I limit my risks?
There are ways to protect yourself from risk or potential losses before an actual termination takes place or becomes necessary. A process of progressive discipline is a prudent, widely used method to follow. With progressive discipline, you follow steps to help document and show evidence of the employee’s bad behavior or failure to follow policy.
For example, if someone does something wrong, you first talk to them about the issue, giving them a verbal warning. If the problem persists, you may follow with a written warning. If this warning is not heeded, termination might be justified and necessary. Normally, the state wants you to walk through a progressive process so employees are warned and understand that if they continue down this road, they could lose their job.
If you can show just cause for terminating an employee, you as an employer are improving your chances that a terminated employee is unable to collect unemployment compensation and sue you.
What’s the bottom line?
Firing an employee comes with risk, and while a state employment at-will doctrine may lead an employer to believe they can fire someone for no reason, there are potential consequences if progressive discipline is ignored. Considering a progressive discipline process based on a just-cause standard is a recommended part of a company’s HR policies. When a policy is developed, it must be part of the company handbook, where you document just-cause offenses. HR professionals, such as those at a PEO, can walk you through the ins and outs of this policy development.
If you have any questions about this issue, contact me, Mike Yoder, at 317-585-1688.
by Jeff Leffew | General
http://youtu.be/Cz5Wg1Rupxg
Even if leaders are born and not made, none is born ready to be their most successful. Jeff Leffew, founder and president of Servant HR, has worked with lots of business leaders through the years. Here are three characteristics he has noticed the most successful ones possess as they are faced with HR challenges and tasks.
Visit the Servant HR video page to learn more ways to strengthen your HR. If you can’t see the video above, visit http://youtu.be/Cz5Wg1Rupxg.
