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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Company records: What to Keep, What to Dump
Posted by Karolynn on June 6, 2013 Under | Tags: Caregivers
A records retention schedule ensures that an organization keeps the records it needs for operational, legal, fiscal or historical reasons, and then destroys them when they're no longer useful. You may base your records retention schedule on your own experience and research of legal mandates or on what other companies are doing.
Misclassification Mistakes: Know Risks and Prevention Strategies
Posted by Karolynn on June 6, 2013 Under | Tags: Call of the Day
It’s almost an understatement to call misclassification of employees as independent contractors a hot topic. It’s certainly the subject of a growing list of court cases, government agency investigations, and legislative initiatives.
When Your Employee Refuses to Sign
Posted by Karolynn on May 16, 2013 Under | Tags: Interviews
What should you do when an employee refuses to sign certain documents you present?
Making Sense of Overtime
Posted by Karolynn on May 9, 2013 Under | Tags: Call of the Day, Employees
Most managers think calculating overtime is simple—just take the employee’s hourly rate and multiply by 1.5. That’s one of the most common misconceptions about wages and hours, and consequently one of the most frequent violations. Overtime is 1.5 times the “regular rate,” which is often not the same as the hourly rate.
Is Your Company Missing Out on the Benefits of Telecommuting?
Posted by Karolynn on May 2, 2013 Under | Tags: Employees
Marissa Mayer, president and CEO of Yahoo! caused a sensation earlier this year when she declared a complete ban on telecommuting at the company. We don’t recommend you follow her lead: telecommuting offers considerable benefits for both employers and employees.
Sourcing and Hiring Employees: What Works?
Posted by Karolynn on April 25, 2013 Under | Tags: Call of the Day
SilkRoad's Second Annual Study Yields Needed Information
How to Correct an Attendance Problem
Posted by Karolynn on April 10, 2013 Under | Tags: Call of the Day, HR
Attendance problems can lower workplace morale and significantly disrupt employee productivity as all employers depend on employees arriving for their scheduled shifts. Failure to arrive to work may present an especially difficult problem if the employee with an attendance problem is an otherwise excellent employee. Nonetheless, employee attendance is an issue that must be dealt with and following the guidelines below will make the process much easier, and help to ensure that all employees are treated equally.
Words are Powerful: Racism and Hostile Work Environments
Posted by Karolynn on March 21, 2013 Under | Tags: Call of the Day
Words explain the world to us, communicate our thoughts and feelings. As useful as they are, it’s also true that words can be weapons. Trying to excuse linguistic cruelty with an “everybody says that” or an “I was just kidding” does nothing to remove the lasting sting. In English, the most heinous of all may be the “n” word. Although segments of pop culture seem to have a continuing and contradictory relationship with that word, employers should know it has no place in a workplace. Unfortunately, one employer learned that lesson the hard way.
Solutions for Workplace Negativity: Overcoming Bad Attitudes and Complaints
Posted by Karolynn on March 14, 2013 Under | Tags: Employees, Firing
It’s no secret that it doesn’t take much to poison the workplace atmosphere. Everyone gets bad-tempered at work sometimes. Chronic negativity is a different story. Co-workers who are consistently nasty and complaining can sap the very lifeblood out of your workplace.
Avoiding Association Discrimination in Your Company
Posted by Karolynn on March 7, 2013 Under | Tags: Call of the Day, Employees, Hire
An often overlooked but growing area of discrimination claims is association discrimination.