Symmetry provides outstanding human resource advice, support, and advocacy to start-up and small companies who do not have an in-house human resource team.
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Call of the Day: AM/PM on Timecards
Posted by Karolynn on September 11, 2013 Under | Tags: Employees, HR, Performance Evaluations
We have an employee who doesn’t document their time each day in our time-keeping system. Sometimes he does it several days later or will provide us with a paper copy of his hours that we used to use. Can we not pay him if he can’t get his hours to us the way we need them?
How to Get Fully Involved and Enthusiastic Employees
Posted by Karolynn on September 11, 2013 Under | Tags: Hire
Employee Engagement is something we talk about and it is almost cliché, but it also can be the cornerstone to successful businesses. So what really is employee engagement – it is when an employee is fully involved and enthusiastic about their work therefore increasing the business goals and objectives.
Call of the Day: Smokers
Posted by Karolynn on September 6, 2013 Under | Tags:
May I tell smokers not to apply for our job? Our employee’s works closely with our clients and we’ve had complaints about employees who smoke.
Company Culture: The Hardest Change of All
Posted by Karolynn on September 4, 2013 Under | Tags:
A business manager or owner can change company policies and procedures with simply a word. Owners and managers can also hire, fire and promote with minimal effort. The hardest to change is the company culture. Employees need the proper guidance, incentives and motivation to make those changes. Owners and managers must lead and use their predeveloped relationships with employees to be able to make these changes happen.
Call of the Day: Overtime Pay
Posted by Karolynn on September 3, 2013 Under | Tags: HR
Do I pay my staff overtime for working on the holidays? Do I have to do anything special for my salaried employees if they happen to work on the holiday?
Call of the Day: Bad Background Check
Posted by Karolynn on August 29, 2013 Under | Tags: Call of the Day
We just learned that the employee we hired does not pass a background check. What do we do?
Terminate or Demote?
Posted by Karolynn on August 28, 2013 Under | Tags: Call of the Day
As employers, most likely you can’t afford to keep employees who are not pulling their weight. Whether it is poor performance, misconduct, a mismatched skill set or just lack of motivation, there comes a time when you will have to make a decision to either terminate or demote. If you're faced with an employee who isn't a good fit with his or her current job, is termination the answer or is demotion a better alternative? Terminating is often the logical answer. It takes the work of going through a Performance Improvement Plan and hoping that the employee actually improves or leaves on their own before you have to actually have the very difficult conversation of firing the employee. It is clean and the way to cut your losses of a bad hire. Demotion is often looked at by employers given they know that it can cost up to 150% of a departing employee’s salary to find and train a replacement. If you’re struggling with the decision to demote or terminate, there are a few things to consider that can help to simplify the choice.
Call of the Day: Bad I-9s
Posted by Karolynn on August 26, 2013 Under | Tags: HR
We just realized the person doing our I-9’s was not completing the form correctly. What do we do?
Call of the Day: Employee with a Hurt Back
Posted by Karolynn on August 23, 2013 Under | Tags: HR
We had an employee who called in to tell us she hurt her back at a worksite. She claims she isn’t hurt bad enough to go to a doctor. What do we do?
Is Electronic Record Keeping Right for Your Business?
Posted by Karolynn on August 20, 2013 Under | Tags: Call of the Day, Employees
Record keeping is the bane of any small business owner’s existence. There are a whole host of federal and state laws that require the creation and retention of records during and after employment. Sometimes throwing in the towel seems to be the easiest thing to do. So why keep any records – paper or electronic? Beyond the state and federal requirements, the biggest reason is to present evidence of legal actions. As we have shared before, we see the modern day gold rush as the ability to sue your employer and unlike the criminal courts; business owners are guilty until they can prove themselves innocent. So now we need to determine if keeping paper records suffices or if you want to go green and consider (or you’ve already begun the process of) going electronic.