Project Management: The Prescription for Successful Hiring

Most business leaders today are keenly aware of the downsides of a bad hire. On the flip side, they understand how landing the right talent can energize a company’s success and potentially boost positive feelings within a company culture and workforce.   How costly is a bad hire on purely financial terms? Estimates vary, but the broad answer is very. Traveling back in time to 2003, the U.S. Department of Labor estimated that the average cost of a bad hiring decision can equal 30% of the individual’s first-year potential earnings. It’s probably higher today. Tony Hsieh, the founder and CEO at Zappos, told Business Insider in 2010 that bad hires had cost his company $100 million. The recruitment wars are littered with anecdotes and statistics about the horror bad hires can bring.   Apart from the financial risks, there are other unwanted intangibles resulting from a bad hire. Mainly, there…read more...

THE STAY INTERVIEW

In these tumultuous talent retention times, employees who stick are your company’s strategic advantage. After all, talented people who stay indicate you are doing something very right.   With that, winning companies conduct “Stay Interviews” – where you ask current employees why they continue to work for you and how things can improve – to keep turnover at bay through trust building. Stay Interviews also offer a key plank in any smart talent retention strategy. Stay Interviews, done right, give you a detailed picture of how to focus more on the good things you are doing while shedding the things that cause people to leave.   At a minimum, Stay Interviews should be done with high potential, critical employees and those who might present a flight risk. Having said that, don’t overlook your "steady Eddie's"— engaging average employees in these types of chats just might help transform them into high…read more...

Alert: Disclosing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Act of 2018

Effective October 1, 2018, all Maryland employers must comply with a new law -- the Disclosing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Act of 2018. The law restricts an employer from establishing any policy that requires employees to arbitrate harassment claims, or to waive the right to a jury trial in harassment cases. In addition, the act also requires Maryland employers with 50 or more employees to collect and electronically report data on harassment claims to the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. Check your Employment Policies To prepare for October 1, employers should review employment agreements and relevant employment policies to ensure they do not require their employees to submit to mandatory arbitration for sexual harassment or retaliation claims. This is a similar provision to the New York legislation that we told you about in our blog last month. An employer may not take adverse action (i.e. discharge, suspension, demotion) against employees who refuse to…read more...

Medical Cannabis and Your Drug Free Workplace

At our Legislative Update in June, issues around Medical Cannabis proved to be a hot topic in the discussion because employers are struggling with how to create and apply “Drug Free Workplace Policies” consistently, fairly and legally.  We want to share some insights and summarize the issues for you.   What's Legal? In Maryland, there are “more than 50 dispensaries operating … as of April 2018, about ½ of the number that have been approved by the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission.” (Baltimore Sun). Maryland is a “medical cannabis only” state.  Interestingly though, DC has legalized both medical and recreational use.   Here’s the catch:  Marijuana is still illegal under federal law and is classified as a schedule 1 drug by the DEA – meaning, at least in part, that the DEA believes cannabis has no medical value.   Making the Right Decision for Your Business How do these conflicting  cannabis…read more...

Generational Engagement in the Workforce

I have recently returned from Phoenix, AZ where I presented at the WyNACK Disability Trust Conference about generational engagement in our workforce.  It was a fun and lively workshop, where participants learned about the 6(!) generations in our workplaces and how the diverse strengths of each generation can be used to enhance the growth of our organizations. The Six Generations The presence of 6 generations in our workforce today presents opportunities for managers and teams. Each generation brings their unique perspective and skill set to the workplace. The Silent Generation brings us the grit and determination to make the best of any situation, while the Boomers competitive and idealistic spirit helps our companies to attain our best goals. The Gen Xers healthy distrust of authority is balanced by their flexibility and adaptability - these folks entered college with a typewriter and graduated with a computer. Tech savvy Generation Y employees…read more...

ALERT: New York Workplace Sexual Harassment Legislation

There's no doubt about it - The #MeToo movement has turned the way we look at workplace sexual harassment on its head. Businesses all over the country have taken a hard look at how they can prevent harassment within their organizations, but for the state of New York, they're taking it to the state law level. This past April, New York passed legislation to help prevent workplace sexual harassment and give additional protections to employees taking legal action against their employers.   For many of you running your businesses outside of New York, these rules may not apply, but don't ignore them - these regulations are guide posts to new best practices in preventing workplace sexual harassment, and it may only be a matter of time before similar legislation is put in place in your state. We've summed up the most important policies now effecting New York businesses.   Mandatory Annual…read more...

The Stay Interview

In keeping with our mission - to keep you informed about trends in HR and provide business insights that will keep you ahead of the competition -- we invite you to consider a developing retention strategy called The Stay Interview.   In her May 7, 2018 article How HR Can Master the Art and Science of Stay Interviews, HR Dive author Pamela DeLoatch and I discussed the emerging corporate strategy of Stay Interviews. The Stay Interview is designed to retain high quality employees by engaging them in conversation about what is going well in their jobs, what struggles they are facing and how the job is helping them to remain fulfilled and motivated. By having the Stay Interview conversation, companies are hoping to avoid having Exit Interviews with their best employees, keeping them engaged with the company mission. Companies know that there is little chance of altering the path of an…read more...

More Information About Maryland Sick and Safe Leave

The new Maryland Healthy Working Families Act (aka Maryland Sick and Safe Leave) is going into effect on Sunday, February 11th. We have less than 1 week until the implementation of this law. HR Strategy Group wants to make sure you are ready and we want you to know we are here to help you implement this policy in your organization. Please note that any guidance listed below reflects the current guidance from the State of Maryland as of today, but this could change. We will keep you updated with any changes to this law.   Here are some questions you need to ask yourself – and the answers! What should I be doing prior to February 11th? Confirm with your payroll company that your employees pay stubs will show the following: Amount of leave used; AND Amount of leave available for use   If you do not use a…read more...

Maryland Sick and Safe Leave – Frequently Asked Questions

We have developed some Frequently Asked Questions to help you to understand the new Maryland Healthy Families Act (aka Maryland Sick and Safe Leave), and to assist with policy development, implementation strategies, and assistance with employee communications.   What does the new law mean?   Under the new law, Maryland employers will be required to provide earned sick and safe leave to their employees, regardless of the size of your organization.  The law is scheduled to go into effect on February 11, 2018.  We recommend that you plan NOW for implementation!   I have 15+ employees.  Does this impact me?  The Maryland Healthy Families Act requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide employees with paid sick and safe leave, regardless of whether the employees are full-time, part-time, temporary, or seasonal.  If you employ 15 or more employees, you will be required to allow employees to earn at least 1 hour of…read more...

New Year, New Resolutions… EVEN AT WORK!

Hello readers, and welcome to 2018! Jaime Marie here, writing to you about a tradition I look forward to every January- New Year’s Resolutions.   For many, this will be the year they finally achieve that “dream body,” finish that novel they’ve been working on for years, or clean out all the junk drawers they’ve tried so hard to ignore for so long. According to the Statistic Portal, the top two 2018 resolutions in the United States were to save money or to lose weight/get in shape.   Promising to change and improve yourself and your life is an almost unavoidable part of the transition to a new year. So, as you take on the next 365 days, what are you going to promise to change? Think about what improvements you could make this year in your workplace.   Stuck? Can’t think of what you could POSSIBLY improve on at work…read more...

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