HR Tip of The Week

HR Tip of the Week: Tips for staying cool in hot weather work environments!

•Keeping cool at work – switch on any fans or air conditioners to keep workplaces comfortable and use blinds or curtains to block out sunlight. Staff working outside should wear appropriate clothes and use sunscreen to protect from sunburn.

•Stay hydrated – employers must provide staff with suitable drinking water in the workplace. Workers should drink plenty of water throughout the day to prevent dehydration and not wait until they are thirsty.

•Dress code – employers are not under any obligation to relax their uniform or dress code requirements during hot weather but where possible it may be advisable to for employers to relax the rules for wearing ties or suits.

•Vulnerable workers – some workers may be more adversely affected by the hot weather such as the elderly, pregnant women or those on medication. Employers may wish to give them more frequent rest breaks and ensure ventilation is adequate by providing fans or portable air cooling units.

•Getting into work – if public transport gets adversely affected by the hot weather, this could affect staff attendance and their ability to get into work on time. Staff should check timetables in advance.

HR Tip of The Week

HR Tip of the Week

HR Tip of the Week: 7 Tips when you’re wanting a raise at work

• Know the number.
  • Once you do the research, figure out what you think is a fair amount of money to ask for. Have that number in your head when you ask for a raise.
• Schedule a meeting.
  • Find a time that works best for you and your boss. Give your boss a head’s up that you want to chat about your career growth so that you both have ample time.
• Practice salary negotiations.
  • This can be a difficult or awkward conversation. Practice with a friend who can be a tough negotiator.

• Tell them you know that the company isn’t handing out raises.
  • Make the case of why you should be an exception to this policy. This will need to focus on the results you have achieved for the company.
• State your case, and then pause.
  • Listen to what your manager has to say. Give it your best case for why you should get a raise. Never use idle threats or mislead an employer to think you have an outside offer. Make your case based on your research and the results of your work. The worst they can say is no. Depending on the response, gauge how much detail you now need and how much back up support you require.
• Bring your personal kudos file.
  • Bring a list of your key achievements, and focus specifically on the areas of accomplishment that are important to your manager. Bring up your strengths and talents, your accomplishments, your desire to do even more, and your ideas and plans for the future in your role at the organization.
• Be patient.
  • Remember, your manager may need a few days to think it over and get back to you, so don’t be disheartened if you don’t get an instant “yes”. There’s also a chance your boss isn’t the one to make the decision. He or she might have to go to the higher-ups with your request.

HR Tip of The Week

HR Tip of The Week: 3 Tips on how to attract the best summer talent for your company

• Reach the right candidates
  • A recruiter is going to have the best understanding of the candidates who are currently on the market and can share relevant openings with candidates they’re already working with. Additionally, recruiters can help identify specific job boards, such as ZipRecruiter, Indeed, and Monster, that cater specifically to workers seeking seasonal employment.
• Offer competitive perks
  • Another way to attract top talent is to offer competitive perks. While there may be a perception that company perks apply only to full-time workers, that’s certainly not the case. Spend some time thinking critically about what candidates want out of their summer employment and how your organization can appeal to that.
• Don’t underestimate the candidate experience
  • By creating a great experience, seasonal hires will be motivated to produce their best work and can also serve as a great talent pool for future, long-term positions. Finding, attracting, and securing seasonal talent is no easy task, but narrowing down the candidate pool in a strategic way, thinking about what motivates them, and creating a positive interview experience will almost certainly land you a great candidate.

5 Ways Companies Can Support Pregnant Employees

HR Tip of The week: 5 Ways companies can support expecting employees!

1. Make the benefits process easy. 
   • Companies who want to support pregnant employees should start by looking at their benefits documentation, and strive to make it as simple and accessible as possible.
2. Create Support Networks
   • Create communities where parents and parents-to-be can share openly about their experiences and seek support (they need it!).
3. Educate employees on the “Are you Pregnant?” Question.
   • Start a conversation on the right and wrong ways to talk about pregnancy at work. A good rule of thumb is to treat pregnancy like you would any other health condition — and when in doubt, ask what the person is comfortable with.
4. Make the “Unspoken” explicit. 
   • Instead of making dangerous assumptions about how a pregnant employee wants to be treated or what she would like to take on (or not), managers should have a conversation to get on the same page — and continue talking throughout the pregnancy in case circumstances or preferences change.
5. Offer Encouragement!
   • If you see a pregnant colleague do something awesome, let them know! I can guarantee even the smallest of positive feedback will be extremely appreciated.

HR Tip of The Week

HR Tip of the week: 7 steps to developing a more effective talent acquisition effort!

•Maximize employee referrals.
•Expand the use of remote employees, but have a plan to manage them.
•Build strong talent networks.
•Pay at least as much as your competitors for talent, and be transparent about what you offer.
•Simplify job applications.
•Forge relationships with relevant colleges and high schools.
•Hire more recruiters.

HR Tip of The Week

HR Tip of The Week: 5 Ways to help employees with anxiety and stress!

•Have a good employee assistance program (EAP), and ensure employees know about it and how to utilize it as well as an employee wellness program to encourage healthy habits.
•Have an open-door policy, and mean it. Employees should feel free to discuss their concerns and seek assistance. Consider allowing things like remote work, personal leave (paid or unpaid), and other similar benefits that employees can take advantage of when they need to.
•Train everyone that employee concerns are to be kept confidential. If an employee comes to someone to discuss his or her concerns or anything he or she is dealing with, that conversation should only be divulged on an as-needed basis. It should be treated as confidential medical information.
•Offer reasonable accommodations when an employee comes to you. Reasonable accommodations might include things like temporary adjustments in workload, additional days off, more frequent breaks, shorter work days, more private work space, or assistance prioritizing tasks.
•Train managers to recognize potential signs that employees are dealing with mental health concerns and to know what they should and should NOT do in this scenario. Managers should never make assumptions or attempt to “diagnose” an employee they suspect is having mental health concerns.

HR Tip of The Week

HR Tip of The Week: 4 Tips for preventing employee vacation scheduling nightmares!

1. Discuss your employee vacation policy during the hiring and orientation process and provide employees with written vacation policies and procedures.
2. Set a deadline for submitting vacation requests that gives you enough time to project how employee absences might affect production schedules and delivery dates to resolve any conflicts.
3. Prepare for the absences. If colleagues will cover vacationers’ jobs, make sure those taking time off provide a summary of work in progress, major responsibilities, key contact information, how to access related files, and other pertinent data to meet crucial deadlines.
4. Allow workers in identical positions to trade off vacation dates among themselves, so long as it won’t jeopardize production schedules or quality of work.

HR Tip of The Week

HR Tip of The Week: 5 Tips for Maintaining Employee Engagement During Summer!

•Give People Time to Go Outside
Once an organization acknowledges people’s desire to be outside, it seems like a logical next step to actually offer to let employees leave early and blow off some steam once in a while.

•Encourage Vacations and Long Weekends
There is a tendency among U.S. workers to feel like they have to work, and organizations are doing little to encourage people to take a break. If management proactively and authentically pushes people to use their vacation time and has firm practices in place for offloading their work, employees will not only be more likely to take their vacation, but also will feel more loyalty to the organization and come back refreshed and ready to be productive.

•Walk It Out
One way to combat the afternoon slump, but still get some work done, is to have walking meetings. Instead of having a meeting in a conference room, turn them into afternoon walking meetings.

•Rewards With a Summer Theme
Tailor rewards around summer themes like outdoor concert tickets, extra paid time off, and even frequent-flier miles. These types of rewards do double duty by both recognizing performance and giving extra incentives to take time off.

•Flexible Summer Schedules
Employees will benefit with reduced commute times and the ability to spend a little more time with family or on personal activities, while at the same time feeling an improved connection with the organization in exchange for the work flexibility.

HR Tip of The Week