Recently, I was reading an article in the PEO Insider magazine by Christina Stovall, MBA, PHR regarding Workplace Violence.  Many statements which I will highlight throughout this post got me to thinking.  According to The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), approximately 2 million employees across the US experience workplace violence each year.  At first, that seemed like a big number. I know the news is filled daily with horrific stories, but millions, really? Then I got to thinking about all the cases that occur at your average small business that are not big enough for national news and realized it was possible.  Domestic disputes, arguments that turn violent, hostage situations, bullying, you name it.  In fact, a couple of years ago in my town, two business owners shot each other over a parking space.  I realized that the norm I am experiencing today is actually worse it seems than it used to be.  Stress levels are up, moods are declining, tempers are boiling to the surface faster and more and more people seem to be desensitized to judging comments or actions that can lead to many forms of devastating responses.  I think years of uncertainty, layoffs, financial concerns, lack of work and increased workloads are taking their toll.  In times like these, it seems some individuals are tested beyond what they can deal with when that final straw is broken.

So as owners and managers, what can we do to help prevent issues at our own place of business?  The following tips may help and I encourage you to share ideas that you may have as well.

• Be aware of changes in the moods of your staff.  Is anyone more stressed than usual?  Has anyone taken on a lot of extra work requiring even more hours of dedication to the job?
• Provide clear instructions to your employees regarding pending changes, their performance and any big developments that will have an impact.  Employees that know where they stand are generally able to better deal with change and typically will not react with violence.  But if they do not feel as if they have been treated fairly, their concerns have been addressed or that their feelings and comments have not been viewed as serious, they can quickly react with devastating results.
• Establish policies and procedures regarding workplace violence and ensure that each individual has been properly notified.
• Draft an emergency response plan and make sure that all staff members are well trained.
• Offer access to an EAP (Employee Assistance Program) for your employees to seek assistance on matters such as financial, family or health.  At StaffScapes we offer such a program to all of our clients and their employees. 
• Take complaints seriously and investigate claims completely.

No one can prevent every act of violence, but talking about the issues, having a plan in place and offering a support system will go a long way in assisting those that may need it and keeping violence out of the workplace. 

Did you know a dental or eye exam can help detect developing issues beyond oral and vision health?  Issues including Diabetes, Hypertension, Neurological disorders and several additional health care concerns are often discovered during routine check ups.  As a result, many insurance companies today are increasing the number of visits you can make to your dentist and offering vision coverage through standard medical plans or stand-alone voluntary benefit programs according to Business Insurance Magazine. 

Studies show that routine maintenance leads to early detection and in many situations can prevent the onset of serious conditions.  By finding potential issues before they develop into medical problems, you can often reduce the amount of doctor and hospital visits as well as the costly treatments and expenses associated.  With less on-going claims payments, the insurance companies find that their costs have been reduced and that lower premiums can be offered to employers and their employees.  A benefit for all. 

StaffScapes, Inc. offers flexible benefit plans as a part of its services.  Call us today at 303-466-7864 to discuss our Human Resource Outsourcing program and how we assist you to save time, make money and reduce liability.

Congratulations!  Your business is growing and you are now in need of a quality employee to help you with the increases in work load, sales and fulfillment of your product or service.  Should you just put an ad in the paper or post on-line somewhere to find your first employee?  Should you ask your network for referrals?  All of these methods are good options to help you, however, before you do, there are several suggestions we have for making sure you attract and retain the best employee possible.  With this in mind, we asked Beth Smith, Owner of A-list Interviews and a business associate of StaffScapes to add some of her thoughts as well and we thank her for her contributions. Here are the 8 key things you need to know about hiring your first employee: 

1. Determine what skills your new employee should have.  What job functions will they be performing and what soft skills will they need to be a good fit with your management style? “Dream BIG. This is your opportunity to think outside the box about your company’s needs.”
2. Write down all of the job tasks you plan this person to do.  Create a job description from this list. 
3. Take the key functions from the description and use these to draft your job placement ad.
4. Develop a list of interview questions.  Ask the same questions of every candidate that you interview.  Make sure the questions are centered around the job duties as well as questions regarding your mission, vision, values and ethics. “Make sure that you listen. Interview questions are important, but not nearly as important as the applicants’ responses.”
5. Prepare a manual for orientation that reviews all of your policies and procedures, including those that are required by State and Federal regulations.
6. Use a check-list for your orientation.  Make sure key areas are identified such as expectations, company culture, lunch rules, office hours etc.  Use this as well to keep track of action items you have such as key or uniform distribution.
7. Create a follow-up system for evaluating your new employee.  Review their performance more frequently in the first six months to provide input and guidance on small tweaks that can be made to improve if necessary their abilities.  This also helps to provide information for a formal yearly review and ensures that surprises won’t occur when you meet to review performance.
8. Plan incentive opportunities or team building by rewarding your employee with small tokens of appreciation.
 
By planning ahead, your search for a quality employee should be easier and the results will be better.  According to Ms. Smith, “a well executed interview process can be the key to finding the right person the first time.”

If you are investigating contracting with a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) for your human resources and payroll processing needs, we encourage you to contact us at 303-466-7864 or info@StaffScapes.com. As a PEO, we are your local trusted advisor dedicated to helping you focus on your employees, increase your profits and protect your assets.  Recently, we read an article by Anthony Jernigan entitled The Perks of Professional Employer Organizations.  It is a fabulous overview on the differences between a PEO and a payroll processing firm.  The article details the services our industry provides and informs the reader as to the benefits of partnering with a PEO.  We encourage you to read this article and contact us if you have questions or would like to learn more about how you can benefit from working with a PEO and StaffScapes.

Generally defined, harassment is any derogatory action, verbal or physical, that is perceived negatively by the receiving party. These can be actions made via slurs, graffiti, comments, pictures etc. Harassment is illegal and can also be perceived as such if any of the actions are based on protected classes such as race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic profile. Harassment isn’t only based on actions or comments regarding race or religion for example. It can also be sexual. This can include sexual advances that are unwelcome, requests for favors, trades (I’ll give you a promotion if you…), and any other actions that create a hostile or offensive work environment. Often harassers are victim’s managers, colleagues and even clients.

If a complaint is filed, it is the company’s responsibility to take appropriate action to ensure further discrimination does not occur. Be very careful with comments and/or decisions that can be seen as retaliation. For more information on how you can protect your company against harassment, contact StaffScapes at 303-466-7864 or info@StaffScapes.com. StaffScapes is a local human resources and payroll company that specializes in helping small businesses since 1996.

A brief article in the Denver Post caught our eye last Thursday.  Here at StaffScapes, we have been posting on Denver’s Initiative 300 for the past few months with updates and thoughts on this proposal.  According to the Denver Post, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research  has released a study indicating that “earned paid sick days for Denver workers would help reduce the spread of illness in schools and would potentially reduce teachers and student absences”. 

However, according to a survey conducted by the Denver Metro Small Business Development Center, small businesses see a different picture.  Many business owners feel that if passed, this initiative would force them to reduce hiring and even cut staff benefits.  In fact, according to the survey, 85 percent of respondents in Denver feel the measure would make it harder to do businesses in the city.

At StaffScapes, part of our specialization includes helping small business owners attract and retain employees. We believe that a comprehensive benefits package that offers time off for illness is necessary. However, mandating all businesses to offer the same benefit in our opinion is restrictive to free enterprise and our position is to vote No on Denver’s Initiative 300.

Last week, UNUM announced that all eligible employees with enrolled dependent(s) will be able to cover their children until age 26 regardless of their marital or student status. This announcement is effective for benefits such as the life insurance policy StaffScapes currently offers for all employees that work 30 or more hours per week. Prompted by regulations outlined in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), UNUM made the move to streamline benefits administration and increase satisfaction among its policy holders .  This decision is completely voluntary as supplemental insurance carriers are not subject to PPACA regulations.  StaffScapes is pleased to have added the Unum products in January of 2011.

If you have any questions or would like information regarding the UNUM life insurance policy and enrollment, please call us at 303-466-7864.

11,364.  That’s the number of new charges that were filed regarding Sexual Harassment with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) in 2011.  Of the 11,364 cases, 16.3% were filed by males. In 2011,the EEOC paid out $52.3 million is monetary benefits to claimants, and this number does not include awards provided through litigation.  
 

During the past year, the EEOC resolved 12,571 cases and settled 1,367 that reflected current as well as pending cases from previous years.  How did the cases last year resolve?  761 were found to be credible while 6,658 were closed citing no reasonable cause.  1,150 resolved their claims with benefits and 2,635 were closed by Administration. Conciliations, both successful and unsuccessful resulted in 761 of total claims.  In total, 205,996 cases have been filed since 1997. 
 

Keep in mind that these numbers only reflect cases that are filed with the EEOC.  There are thousands of situations that occur in which the victim does not report the incident nor feels safe in informing others of the occurrence.  Sexual Harassment is just one of the many forms of unwanted behaviors towards employees and in some cases employers.  It is also preventable. At StaffScapes, we encourage you to create a policy detailing a no tolerance stance on Sexual Harassment and indicate the consequence for this non-accepted behavior can and will include corrective action up to and including termination. We also recommend providing training sessions with all employees so they can better understand the policy and how Sexual Harassment is defined in the workplace.
 

Should an issue with Sexual Harassment lead to corrective action and or termination, StaffScapes has written a whitepaper to provide some direction.  Our “Avoiding a Termination Lawsuit whitepaper” can be a great resource to answer some general questions.  
 

To learn how this and other suggested and required policies can be implemented within your workplace as well as how StaffScapes can help you with your Human Resources, please call us at 303-466-7864 or info@StaffScapes.com.   StaffScapes is a Professional Employer Organization that has been serving small businesses since 1996 with all of their human resource and payroll requirements, including areas such as workplace safety, benefits, employee relations, payroll and workers’ compensation. 

Source: EEOC

Have you hired employees for your business?  Do you provide training? As part of your training, do you conduct exercises, testing or even a robbery?  No, you didn’t read that wrong.  In late 2007, a New Jersey pharmacy technician sued her employer for traumatizing her during a training session. We originally posted a blog regarding this case in 2009 and are updating with recent results today.

According to reports on FindLaw and SecurityInfoWatch.com, in 2007 a New Jersey pharmacy technician claimed she was traumatized from a mock hold up arranged by her employer. The gunman told the technician that he had taken another employee hostage and demanded the pain narcotic OxyContin. When a co-worker attempted to call authorities for help, they found that the telephone was not working which added to the stress of the situation.  Immediately the “gunman”, who was an employee, canceled the exercise. It wasn’t until later that the technician found out that the holdup was fake and that the employer had arranged it for a training exercise. The technician claimed she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the training exercise. Her claim rested on the fact that she was not notified in advance of the training drill.  Recently, this multi-million dollar case was settled in favor of the plaintiff. 

If you are planning training, you as an employer must be cognizant of how these training exercises will affect your employees.  It is your responsibility to try and prevent any undue stress or hardship. There is a balance between realism and effectiveness that must be calculated for any training exercises. In this case the effectiveness of the training seems to have been significantly overshadowed by the trauma caused by its realism. As a part of the services StaffScapes offers, we will review current training programs and assist with management and staff training related to areas such as risk management. Contact us at info@StaffScapes.com or 303-466-7864 to learn more about the human resources and payroll assistance we can provide you.