HR Essentials: Building a Strong Foundation
To help your business and employees Thrive. 🌿
From the Ground Up
No matter the size of your company, we believe having a strong HR foundation will allow your employees and business to THRIVE. Strength and peace of mind come from knowing you are following the laws applicable to your business and that employees have the guidance they need to do their jobs well.
Compliance
One of the very first steps in building a strong HR foundation is making sure your labor law posters are up to date and displayed where employees can easily see them, whether they work in an office or a remote environment. While it is good practice to review your labor law posters once a year, two changes went into effect in 2022, and employers unaware of these changes may be out of compliance.
You have a few options when looking for the required workplace posters. You can download them free from the appropriate government agency, purchase them online through a workplace poster provider, or we can provide them. One bit of advice if ordering online – ensure you are paying for a service that goes into the future – otherwise, your posters will be current now, but they will be out of compliance as soon as one changes.
The next compliance step in building a strong foundation is ensuring you have the correct legal forms for employees and know the requirements for completion, storage, and security. Forms include Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9), Employee’s Withholding Certificate (Form W-4), Residency Certification Form (PA), or other forms specific to your state or local area. Compliance also includes reporting new hires and notifying employees of unemployment and workers’ compensation coverage.
While these compliance tasks may seem daunting, you don’t have to do it alone. A brief review can quickly identify any areas of legal or compliance risk, and we can provide you with the resources you need.
Policies and Practices
Once your compliance is solid, the next part of HR foundation work is clarifying or building your company policies and practices. You want documents that truly reflect your company and culture, not something cookie-cutter from the internet. Downloading a template and adding your company name may seem like a solution, but does it draw employees in to be more engaged or push people away? Don’t have a handbook for the sake of CYA ~ do it because you want to communicate your policies and practices with employees, clarify your business goals and identity, boost retention, and keep everyone moving in the same direction. Here are some essential building blocks for your foundation:
- Employee Handbook – a general guide for all employees
- Job Descriptions – information on each role, responsibilities, and physical requirements
- Interview Process – unbiased and consistent process for all candidates
- Recruiting Process – where and how you find potential employees
- Onboarding Process – reliable and predictable steps from candidate through orientation
- Performance Reviews – feedback on the employee experience and what’s next
Job descriptions spell out the job duties, expectations, and requirements of a position. They also provide a platform for building your interview, recruiting, and onboarding processes and guide your performance conversations. Want to learn more? We will be talking about job descriptions in our next blog.
It All Starts with a Compliance Review
Building a strong HR foundation starts with identifying any legal compliance issues. It then moves to create (or update) policies and practices. These building blocks are a great opportunity to highlight your mission, vision, and values, increase employee engagement and get everyone working in the same direction. Together. Don’t just survive. Thrive with a structure created to support your growing company.
Want help? We can review your current business structure and provide advice and solutions while setting you up for success. Our service packages are built to fit all businesses—and we’re here to help you Thrive with trusted outsourced HR support.