Human Resources

Illinois Says Yes to Recreational Weed: But What Does This Mean for Employers?

EmploycoUSA

Human resources expert weighs in on this important ruling & how it will impact the workplace

IllinoisIllinois lawmakers made a historic decision when they voted to legalize recreational marijuana use last Friday. The House of Representatives voted 66-47 to allow possession and sales beginning Jan. 1, 2020. But how will this decision impact employers and the workplace?

“Your ability to monitor drug use among your employees is going to depend on whether or not you are a unionized or private workplace,” says Rob Wilson, President of Employco USA (a national employment-solutions firm based in Chicago, IL) and human resources expert. “While you have the right to expect and require sobriety from workers on the job, it can become a bit tricky when you suspect drug use and want to act on your fears.”

Wilson says that if you work in a non-unionized environment, you should ask a supervisor or human resources team member to help you determine if an employee is under the influence of marijuana.

“If your suspicions are backed up by other leaders in your company, you can discipline and even terminate your employee,” says Wilson.

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Bringing Performance Reviews into the Millennium

EmploycoUSA

Employment trends expert explains why most companies fail miserably at performance reviews  

Performance ReviewsStatistics show that 95 percent of managers are dissatisfied with their company’s performance review process, and 42 percent of employees agree that performance reviews are ineffective. So how can companies better review and maintain their staff’s performance?

“Performance reviews have never been more important,” says Rob Wilson, President of Employco USA and human resources expert. “We know that 91 percent of millennials are going to stay at their current positions 3 years or less. Recruiting and training employees is expensive, and your company loses something every time another employee cuts ranks. A strong performance review system can help you to maintain your staff and ensure that you don’t lose employees due to ineffective management.”

Indeed, Wilson says that 79 percent of employees leave their job due to feeling unappreciated by their managers.

“Performance reviews can benefit both workers and their employers,” says Wilson. “It lets employees see that their work is not invisible and that their efforts are seen and valued by their higher-ups. And, it helps managers to pinpoint potentially problematic behavior and ensure that goals are being met.”

Wilson says that companies need to realize that training managers for these performance reviews, or hiring an employment-solutions firm like Employco USA to handle such measures, is an absolute must.

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Paid Family Leave Debate Heats Up

EmploycoUSA

Employment expert discusses pending family leave proposals

Paid Family LeaveMany large employers are starting to consider offering their employees paid family leave, but currently only 17% of workers have access to paid leave. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) is seeking to ease this burden on American families by co-sponsoring a bill which would allow new parents to borrow from their Social Security benefits in order to take time off work.

“Paid family leave has stalled in Congress for years, despite the fact that surveys show that most Americans widely support paid family leave for mothers and even fathers,” says Rob Wilson, employment expert and President of Employco USA, a national employment-solutions firm with clients across the country.

Rubio’s bill would allow new moms and dads to borrow against their Social Security for up to 3 months of retirement benefits, whether they adopted or birthed a child.

“Rubio’s plan would not put any additional burden on taxpayers, and it has received support from both sides of the aisle,” says Wilson, “But it has not gone without criticism. Since the Social Security system is already so overburdened, many Americans fear that this is a plan that will fall apart quickly.”

President Trump has also stated that he supports paid family leave, and promised his 2020 fiscal plan would include up to 6 weeks of paid leave for new parents as well as improved childcare programs.

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Upcoming Changes to EEO-1 Report Spells Headaches for Companies

EmploycoUSA

Employment solutions expert explains how employers can prepare for these changes

EEOImportant changes are afoot for the Employer Information Report EEO-1 (EEO-1 Report). Employers with 100 employees or more must file this report each year, but this year the EEO-1 will be more complicated than in the past.

“The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has required employers to provide information about each of their employees such as their gender and ethnicity,” says Rob Wilson, President of Employco USA and employment expert. “But now that is going to be just one part of the puzzle.”

Along with this information, Wilson explains that employers will now have to provide information on employee wages. Providing this pay data is in part the result of advocacy groups like the National Women’s Law Center and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement who believe pay data transparency will help to bridge the gender pay gap.

“President Trump has been vocal against these proposed additions to the EEOC-1 report, but now despite his hopes to the contrary, pay data is once again required reporting for companies with 100 employees or more,” says Wilson.

Sadly, many won’t be prepared.

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How to Protect Your Business from Phishing Scams

EmploycoUSA

Phishing crimes are on the rise – here is what employers need to know

PhishingPhishing scams cost the United States half a billion dollars each year. From direct deposit scams to fraudulent PDF files, there has been a shocking rise in these email phishing scams. Indeed, Microsoft’s Security team reports that these malicious phishing emails have increased by a whopping 250 percent.

So, what do employers and employees need to know in order to protect themselves from these scams?

First, it’s crucial that you educate everyone on your team about phishing scams and how to make safer choices online.

“It’s important to understand that it is not enough to simply be aware and cautious when it comes to your own online behavior,” says Rob Wilson, President of Employco USA and human resources expert. “Your entire company can be negatively impacted across the board if just one employee gives up access to your Office 365 account or similar program. Once the phisher has that foothold, they have access to an entire wealth of information, and they can then use this position of power to gain access to more info and phish other people on your team.”

Second, talk to your human resources and payroll team about how they should never make changes to an employee’s direct deposit paycheck or other benefits without every appropriate form being submitted and verifying the person’s identity.

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Podcast: Succession Planning

EmploycoUSA

Rob, Scott, and Jason discuss succession planning; from workforce planning and identifying key roles to providing successors with skills, facilitating training opportunities, coordinating hands-on experience, providing continuous feedback, and more.

Succession planning is the process of identifying high-potential employees, evaluating and honing their skills and abilities, and preparing them for advancement into positions that are key to the success of business operations and objectives.

Losing a key employee can be a devastating interruption to business operations. Succession planning can help ensure the smooth transition of staff into the vacant position with minimal interruption to the business.

Succession Planning

Contact us with any questions you may have, we’re here to help: hr@employco.com

Webinar (EACA): Controlling Workers’ Comp Costs

EmploycoUSA

Rob Wilson, President of Employco USA, recently joined Jim Wurm of the EACA (Exhibitor Appointed Contractor Association) for a webinar on “Controlling Workers’ Comp Costs.”

Check out the recorded webcast to learn “how to control your insurance costs and potentially save money through features like: Workers’ Compensation cost reduction through a bulk buying approach, direct access to a best-in-class experience MOD, paying premiums on a per-payroll basis to free up cash flow, and developing a safety and loss control program.”

Webinar

Succession Planning: Handing Down Your Business to the New Generation

EmploycoUSA

Human resources expert shares effective, actionable tips for how you can start succession planning

Succession PlanningResearch shows that most business owners are not as concerned with succession planning as they should be. Only a small minority of businesses have a succession plan for when their CEOs retire or switch companies, and this can be a very costly mistake.

“Scrambling for a CEO has been shown to cost upwards of $1.8 billion in shareholder value for public companies,” says Rob Wilson, employment trends expert and President of Employco USA, a national employment solutions firm. “Another issue with lack of preparedness around successions is that companies end up hiring ineffective CEOs, which again harms a company’s bottom line and employee performance. Indeed, 27 percent of companies have been negatively impacted by poor succession planning.”

Wilson also points out that C-level employees are not the only ones who pose a serious loss to the company when they leave. “Whether it’s a key person in your I.T. department or your marketing department, losing long-term, highly-skilled and experienced staff is going to be a blow to your company.”

So, what should employers do to ensure that these successions are as smooth and seamless as possible?

“First, look at your key personnel on every level of your staff,” says Wilson. “How deep is your bench? Don’t presume that just because an employee is young and not near retirement that you don’t need to worry about their successor at some point. Be prepared for all possible scenarios, including family emergencies, health crises and leaving the state for spouse’s employment changes or other reasons.”

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New Survey Says Performance Reviews are Useless

EmploycoUSA

Employment expert Rob Wilson explains what companies should do instead

Performance ReviewA recent survey found that two-thirds of organizations feel that their performance reviews are not effective. Described as ‘subjective and highly ambiguous,’ performance reviews can be a very impactful tool when used appropriately, but as this research shows, most companies say that they are falling short of the mark.

Employment trends expert Rob Wilson, says, “Although some employers are eliminating the annual performance review, we don’t see that as a good solution for the vast majority of companies. Without an annual review (even if it’s just a compilation of more frequent ones), it’s very difficult for employers to work on merit pay increases.”

Wilson, who is the President of the national employment solutions firm Employco USA, says that instead of ditching performance reviews entirely, companies need to rethink the way they approach this measuring stick and bring performance reviews into the modern era.

“Modern performance reviews are largely based on the merit system used by the military in World War I – a system that has not grown adequately to suit the needs of today’s corporate structures. The original idea was that workers were so plentiful that poor performers needed to be identified from efficient workers so the former could be replaced and the latter promoted. This mentality is slowly dying as the labor market tightens up. Employers are now more concerned with coaching poor performers instead of replacing them immediately. Annual reviews are less effective in this regard, since their primary purpose is to hold employees up to a (typically) quantitative standard, not to assess granular performance and insert coaching opportunities. That’s where frequent check-ins come in,” says Wilson.

What is a frequent check-in? Think of frequent check-ins as microscopic evaluations. In this process, managers evaluate employee performance periodically throughout the year, not just at its end. Managers are checking in on employee performance as it happens, not giving a rating months later.

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