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: Non-Disclosure Agreement
Posted by Karolynn on December 6, 2013 Under | Tags: Call of the Day, Employees, Firing, HR, Legal
We have a non-disclosure agreement as part of our handbook, do we really need an employee to sign a second agreement if they sign that they have received the handbook?
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.
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.
The Proof is in the Paper Trail
Posted by Karolynn on June 20, 2013 Under | Tags: Call of the Day, Firing
How do you shield yourself from liability when faced with an allegation of discrimination?
Comp Time―Not for Nonexempt Employees of Private Companies?
Posted by Karolynn on June 12, 2013 Under | Tags: Call of the Day
Comp time, training time, and overtime
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.
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.
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.