First, thank them. This lets the employee know you received their input and that you appreciate their taking the time and energy to give it. If you plan to act on the feedback and employee assistance is feasible, ask the person or people who suggested the change if they’d like to be involved in executing […]
Category: HR Q&A
Q&A: What is Mentoring in the Workplace?
Mentoring is a professional relationship between a senior or more experienced employee (the mentor) and a newer or less experienced one (the mentee). The mentor shares their knowledge and experience, offering guidance, advice, feedback, and encouragement. The mentee, for their part, can go to their mentor with personal and professional goals, questions, and frustrations. Mentorship […]
Q&A: What are SMART Goals?
The SMART goal framework is an approach to goal setting that helps you set goals that are more impactful and likely to be achieved, while avoiding goals that are too broad to be meaningful or simply too difficult. SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timebound. Let’s examine each quality in turn. A specific […]
Q&A: Can We Ask Employees About Their Medications?
Generally, no. The Americans with Disabilities Act restricts employers from asking medical questions of employees and protects the privacy of medical information. Asking about prescription medications would fall into the category of a medical-related inquiry and should only be done if job related and consistent with business necessity. For such an inquiry to be job […]
Q&A: Can We Store Form I-9 Documentation Electronically?
Yes, you can store completed Forms I-9 electronically. However, per U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, any electronic storage system must include the following: • Reasonable controls to ensure the system’s integrity, accuracy, and reliability. For instance, you would need to ensure that only authorized personnel have access to the records and have a backup plan […]
Q&A: Company Holiday Party Best Practices
A holiday party can be a great way to celebrate the year with employees, but it can come with risks. We recommend the following best practices: • Unless you intend to pay employees for their time at the event, make attendance optional. Employees should not feel pressured in any way to attend.Avoid conducting any work-related […]
Q&A: Are We Required to Update Expired I-9 Documentation?
You would only update a Form I-9 if the expired document pertains to a limited period of employment authorization. You should never reverify U.S. citizens and, in most cases, lawful permanent residents (Green Card holders). However, if a lawful permanent resident presents their employer with temporary evidence of lawful permanent resident status for Section 2 […]
Q&A: Employees Forget to Clock Out for Their Breaks
There are a few steps you can take to help your employees remember to clock out for breaks and meal periods: 1. Ask employees why they’re forgetting. There may be contributing factors worth addressing. You can also ask for feedback on what may not be working well with the current timekeeping procedures. 2. Review your […]
Q&A: Working Interviews
Yes, you can have a working interview as part of your selection process, but there’s a big caveat. If you have the candidate do “real work” that is useful to your business, you’ll need to hire them as a temporary employee, have them complete new hire paperwork, pay them at least the minimum wage, and […]
Q&A: How Many Hours Can I Assign to a Part-Time Employee?
There’s no limit per se, but there are few factors you might want to consider: * If the employee was looking for a part-time job when you hired them (and didn’t settle for fewer hours than desired), you may get pushback if you assign more hours than they bargained for on a regular basis.* Under […]