50 Quick HR Tips |

Examining
practical HR issues business owners
and managers encounter every day

50 Ways to Treat Your People

October 2008

25 More Tips

1.Discipline employees consistently

2.Involve employees when planning changes

3.Pay competitively

4.Don’t allow over-familiarity
5.Conduct performance reviews on time

6.Recognize staff accomplishments
7.Offer competitive time off benefits
8.Are your employees having fun?
9.Regularly assess which employees are keepers and which are not

10.Assemble an employee relations team

11.Review your handbook to see what policies aren’t being followed

12.Don’t hire out of desperation

13.Document, document, document

14.Purchase Employment Practice Liability Insurance

15.Always develop your employees

16.Script all interviews
17.Deal with issues as they arise
18.Respect confidentiality

19.Conduct harassment training

20.Don’t inflate performance reviews
21.Supervise everyone consistently

22.Outsource COBRA administration

23.Pay attention to employee complaints

24.Develop a management philosophy

25.Hire slow, fire fast

Quick Links…

If you’re not
having fun
with your
human resources,
call Arlene today
at 952-996-0975

Top Human Resources Tips

I was creating a training program for one of my association clients. This is my third year presenting one of my favorite sessions “Ask the HRxpert.”

It’s an open forum Q&A session where the audience members get to ask me the HR questions that are first and foremost on their minds for operating their business and handling their HR issues.

While this ultimately becomes an animated discussion, it sometimes takes a few minutes of asking “who has a question?” until everyone stops worrying about whether they’re the only one with this particular HR issue. After a lot of head-nods from other business owners affirming that they are encountering the same issues, the discussion becomes so animated that people wish they had more time for the session.

To minimize the start-up delay, each year I create some sort of checklist or tips sheet to help speed up the Q&A process. This year I created a list of 50 Tips for business owners and managers to consider regarding their HR operations. It’s in random order and if I went into detail on any one of the topics each could be a newsletter article in itself. If you see a topic that you’d like me to detail in one of the upcoming HRxaminer newsletters, send me an email and I’ll add it to my list!

1. Create an HR infrastructure
2. Develop and share goals with your employees
3. Clarify roles and job descriptions
4. Manage by walking around
5. Address potential sources of conflict before they erupt
6. Survey your company’s “climate”
7. Identify your stars and reward them
8. Train your managers
9. Offer a periodic in-company social hour
10. Always get candidate references
11. Make your employees feel welcome
12. Remember: a business is only as good as the people who work in it
13. Develop an effective employee handbook
14. Use incentives other than money
15. Enforce strict attendance procedures
16. Appraise your staff regularly
17. Create a culture of good leavers
18. Stay on top of HR compliance
19. Develop a compensation program
20. Screen candidates over the telephone
21. Understand overtime pay practices
22. Continually look for strong employees, even if all your openings are filled
23. When you can’t in-source HR, out-source HR
24. Manage your personnel files
25. Create a solid new employee orientation process

Of course, if you need any help with any of the concerns above, call or email me!

About Arlene Vernon

Arlene Vernon, PHR, partners with small businesses as their Human Resource Xpert to create their HR systems and solve their HR problems.

If you have gaps in your HR operation, have an employee problem to solve, or want to enhance your managers’ skills, call Arlene today. Learn
how HRx can save you time and help you avoid costly HR mistakes. HRx, Inc., 574 Prairie Center Drive #135/285, Eden Prairie, MN 55344, 952-996-0975,
www.HRxcellence.com.

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50 Quick HR Tips