Category: hiring

How to Train Your Supervisor

Published by Brett Holubeck on October 24, 2019

Image of a "world's best boss mug" to show the importance of supervisor training for managers to become truly great bosses — Photo by Pablo Varela on Unsplash

Supervisors are your front line of defense against any employment claims, low morale, productivity issues, and a number of other workplace problems. Unfortunately, many companies fail to adequately provide supervisor training and select the wrong people for the position. When this happens, disaster can strike with a fury.

What To Do When you Promote Someone

Many companies promote their highest performing employees to supervisors Many companies promote their highest performing employees to supervisors, which is a bad starting point if the sole reason you are promoting that person. The most crucial step in choosing a supervisor is to select the right person for the job. That does not necessarily mean that the person is completely ready to fulfill all aspects of the job because as we all know, supervisor training is essential. The fact is that the best candidate is someone that is either prepared for the role or can grow into it.

How do you pick the best supervisor? Here is what you should look for:

Are they independent? Do they make decisions by themselves (that are within the range of what is within their authority)
Do they interact well with their coworkers? Are they relatable? Do people like them?
Do they help others without asking? Are they constantly looking for ways to improve the team?
Do they take responsibility for what they do wrong or do they blame others for their mistakes?
Do they have a growth mindset? Are they looking for ways to improve themselves?
Do they represent the culture of the organization or the direction that the organization wishes to go?

You should also seek references from any and all internal and external applicants to determine whether they would be successful and how they actually work with others. Positive remarks from coworker speaks volumes about whether a person is actually a good leader or just someone that knows how to advocate for themselves.

Retraining and Continued Maintenance

People forget. Unless you are training and preparing your supervisor on a regular basis, they will forget what they need to do, especially if it is a task that they are not used to performing. For example, sexual harassment may not be something that supervisors deal with on a regular basis. It may be the case that they have never had to deal with a complaint from a member of their team. However, they need to know how to respond when these issues occur- and they will occur. This is one of the reasons that many states have adopted special supervisor training requirements on the issue of sexual harassment. California, for example, has initiated a requirement for supervisors of one additional hour per year of training on sexual harassment on top of the one hour required for all employees that work for employers with 5 or more employees.

There are a number of topics that supervisors should receive regular training on. Some of these can be done through morning meetings, additional work hours for supervisors, or special training days.

Topics that supervisors should receive training on include:

Basic Management skills
- How to recognize employee achievement
- Motivating your team
- How to improve employee performance
- Handling employee complaints
- Dealing with employee conflict
Sexual Harassment
Safety on the Job
Disability/Light Duty Requests
Union Organizing
Drug Testing, Marijuana, and Opioid usage
Employee Discipline
All procedures and policies in the employee handbook
- Supervisors need to know about the various workplace rules at the company- and not just briefly scanning the handbook and signing the page acknowledging they have read it. They need to have a much deeper knowledge than the average employee and how the rules need to be enforced in a variety of situations. This is going to be pivotal from a prevention and preparation perspective for your business.
Supervisors need to know the various steps that they need to take to conduct a workplace investigation (more info available here).
- Managers may need to function as the primary investigator and enforce discipline during their shift. Supervisors that work 3^rd shift or on the weekends when no HR staff is available especially need to know how to respond to the various problems that may arise in the workplace. They need to know how to gather information for the investigation before it is lost or employees no longer want to talk about it. The quicker that an investigation can begin, which includes taking witness statements and determining whether to suspend an offending employee while the investigation is ongoing, the better the overall investigation will go.

Conclusion

Supervisors are the frontline in a company’s defense. A good supervisor can minimize the risk of employment claims by being proactive, applying the appropriate response to a workplace issue, and by improving the morale and quality of the team. A bad supervisor will ignore employee complaints, not respond or address complaints, and unfortunately are often the cause of an employee lawsuit.

Choosing the right supervisors and providing supervisor training is a must for any company. It is an investment that pays dividends to a company in increased productivity, positive workplace morale/performance, and preparedness to respond to employment situations.

The information provided in this blog is for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. If you need legal advice, then you should speak with a lawyer about your specific issues. Every legal issue is unique. A lawyer can help you with your situation. Reading the blog, contacting me through the site, emailing me or commenting on a post does not create an attorney-client relationship between any reader and me.

The information provided is my own and does not reflect the opinion of my firm or anyone else.

New Employers Need a Hiring Checklist

Published by Brett Holubeck on January 22, 2019

Image of a "Come in. We're open" sign to show that the new business is open and to align with the theme that businesses need a hiring checklist. — Photo by Richard Balog on Unsplash

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign was fined $1,500 for failing to obtain the required worker’s compensation coverage from March 31, 2018, to April 30, 2018. As Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez found out, being a new employer is not easy. There are tons of laws to follow, multiple entities that make and enforce the required rules and regulations, and tens of thousands of court cases explaining and refining these laws. Not only is it important to follow employment requirements because you do not want to break the law; ensuring your employees are equipped, prepared; and welcomed on their first (and every) day, has long-term implications for employee retention; satisfaction; and helps to prevent liability in the future. New employers need a hiring checklist.

What New Businesses Must Consider When Hiring New Employees: A Hiring Checklist

Let’s talk about some of the many tasks that new businesses need to do to ensure they do not make a mistake when they hire their first employee. (For the sake of this piece I am going to assume that the company has already created a legal entity, opened a company bank account, applied for an employer identification number, registered with any required state or local agencies, obtained any required business licenses, and is basically at the point of being ready to hire its first employee.)

Here is a hiring checklist that any new business should review when hiring its first employee:

1. Employers need an employee handbook. The employee handbook should outline the various requirements that employees must follow and explain what the company will do for its employees including that the company will follow all the required laws and regulations regarding employment. A handbook tells employees how to request leave, the discipline structure, how to report complaints, what company holidays will be, what benefits employee have, and any pertinent information that all employees need to know. This is the guide that helps employees know what is expected of them.

2. Companies need a plan to motivate employees. A motivated workforce performs better. A lack of employee engagement is responsible for $450-550 billion in lost productivity each year in the U.S. Here are some things to ask yourselves related to employee motivation:

How will employees grow at the company? If there is no room for employees to grow, then they will not be motivated and will eventually look for a new job. Helping employees grow can help retain your best employees, which improves your business. (This includes things like room for promotions, learning new skills, opportunities to manage or train, utilizing employee strengths, etc.)

How will you treat them as employees? Employees want and need recognition and feedback. You shouldn’t just talk to an employee when there’s a problem, in fact, you should share with them how you feel about their successes (formally and informally).

3. Make sure that employees fill out all of their required paperwork correctly. Think about the I-9s. Section 1 on the I-9 must be completed on the first day of the employee’s employment. Employers have three days to complete Section 2. You can review what to do here in my earlier post.

New employees also must complete the W-4 form for their tax withholding.

4. Businesses also need to run any necessary background checks, drug tests, motor vehicle reports, and other checks that are required for your particular business or these employees. You should get the employee’s written permission to run drug tests and background checks.

5. Employers also need to set some formal processes that the employees will follow (and great employers also include not only adequate, but exceptional, training). This training/support should detail for employees how they successfully do their jobs. What are the processes for things that require step-by-step actions to perform them correctly? Who do they report to in the event of a problem? Who do they refer people to based on particular needs? What are the communication norms and expectations within the business/department/team? Essentially, how do they do their jobs? You should not expect an employee to be able to exercise their own discretion to do their new job. Just like anything else, learning to do a job takes time.

Think about Chick-Fil-A. They have a very particular way they want their employees communicate with their customers. Rather than saying “you’re welcome” when a customer says, “thank you” every employee is instructed to say “my pleasure.” This is something that is readily identifiable and special about Chick-Fil-A. People remember it. There are also a slew of memes about it. Employees would not do this with the consistency required for this brand recognition without the training and feedback they receive.

6. Employers need a personnel file and a recordkeeping system for the employees. When you hire an employee, you need to ensure that they sign any necessary documents for your company including:

Noncompetition and nondisclosure agreements
Employee handbook acknowledgement (stating that the employee received a copy of the handbook)
Life and health insurance plan information documents
401(k) documents

7. Ensure that the workers have a safe place to work and the tools that they need. Nothing makes an employee feel unwelcome more quickly then showing you didn’t put any thought into their arrival, first day, and needs. Do you have enough equipment for the employee on their first day? Is their computer set-up? Is there someone to train them? Have you showed them where to put their lunch? There is nothing worse than feeling like an afterthought on your first day of work because no one was told that you were starting, or nobody cared to figure out how to orient you. It makes you feel a bit like Milton when he gets moved down to the basement in Office Space.

8. And don’t forget to get worker’s compensation coverage for your business. Workplace accidents can get expensive.

Conclusion

Hiring a new employee is incredibly important, which is why all companies should have a hiring checklist. If a company fails to properly prepare for a new employee, then you start with an employee that already feels out of place and unwanted. The company may also set itself up for a lot of liability later on by not adequately ensuring successful orientation and onboarding. Great training, preparation, and navigation of the laws can ensure success for employer and employee alike.

The information provided is my own and does not reflect the opinion of my firm or anyone else.

Pitfalls in Hiring Employees

Published by Brett Holubeck on September 21, 2018

One of the most difficult tasks that managers, HR, and business owners face is hiring new employees. According to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, the average cost of hiring a new employee is $4,129 and the average time to fill a position is 42 days. This is not a process that you want to do more than you have to (at least for the same position). In addition, employers often hire their problems by not taking the hiring process seriously. Oftentimes companies will hire haphazardly for an ill-defined position. Companies can save themselves a lot of trouble in the future by carefully planning their hiring.

Before Hiring New Employees Assess Your Needs

The first step in hiring a new employee, even if it is to replace a current employee, is to determine what need you are trying to fill. If you do not know what the employee will be expected to do, then neither will the applicant. Moreover, you will not know what the requirements are for the position.

By outlining the duties of the position, a company understands what is expected of any applicant. A good job description includes duties that the employee will perform that are essential but may not be performed on a day to day to basis. This could include climbing a ladder or carrying a certain amount of weight. If you leave this information off, then it may indicate that these are not essential functions of the position. For example, one nurse did not have an ADA claim that could be pursued when she was unable to perform one of the essential functions of her position: lifting up to 100 pounds on occasion. She needed to be able to lift patients on occasion but was restricted from lifting more than 50 pounds for 6 weeks after returning from 12 weeks of FMLA leave. Her employer escaped an ADA claim because she could not fulfill one of the essential functions of her position: being able to lift patients.

Another mistake that managers and others make is that they believe that they know all the job duties and the requirements of the position. They do not talk to any other employees that may have more information. Employees that are already in the same position or anyone that works closely with the position are good resources. They may have guidance on what is actually required for the position, what the new hire will do, and any job requirements that you may not have considered. Companies benefit by involving these employees in the hiring process.

Finally, if you are determining whether you need to hire someone for a new position, then you need to spend even more time carefully considering what you are looking for in the position. Review where employees (or you) are spending your time. Are you doing work outside of your regular duties? For example, if you are a dentist and are spending a lot of time answering the phone, calendaring appointments, and completing office paperwork, then it may be time to get an office manager. If you are hiring your first employee, then it is often a good idea to track your time to figure out how much time you are spending in activities that someone else (a new hire) could do.

Legal Oh-No-No’s

Some quick reminders of what is absolutely illegal in an interview (and elsewhere in the process) and yet still appears every year in news articles, announcements from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and Jon Hyman’s annual worst employer of the year nominations.

This is some publicity that you want to avoid:

Refusing to Hire an Applicant Because She is Pregnant

Inc. has a great article on a woman that was fired one week after she started her job because the boss found out she was pregnant. Chris Matyszczyk also posed a great question in the article. “How much training does it take to tell a manager that they can’t fire a woman because she’s pregnant?” Training is an important step to reduce the likelihood of discrimination. The EEOC even offers guidance on training employees and managers.

However, training alone is likely not enough to combat discrimination in the workplace. Culture is often one of the key differences in having an effective team and minimizing harassment and discrimination. David Minze lists five steps on how to improve culture and reduce discrimination at work. He recommends that companies 1) develop values, 2) create a culture of feedback, 3) lead with courage (i.e. do not protect high performers just because they are valuable to the company), 4) build connections (treat employees as humans, which means that you or their manager should ask them how they are doing and genuinely be interested in their well-being), and 5) provide guidance to managers. These are simple steps that all companies can take.

Asking an Applicant Whether She Has Children

The EEOC does not look kindly on this question. Employers that ask this and similar questions get sued because the employer may be (is probably) discriminating based on the applicant’s sex.

Asking Questions About a Candidate’s Race, Religion, Sex or Any Other Protected Characteristic

Don’t refuse to hire people based on these characteristics. That’s just illegal. Well, it is usually illegal. Someone’s religion or sex may be a Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ) in certain jobs. For example, a Christian church may require that the pastor it hires be Christian. Another example is hiring only women for jobs that require close contact (e.g. strip searches) with female prisoners. The BFOQ defense is very narrow and many companies have been sued for potentially violating the policy (especially restaurants like Hooters and Twin Peaks).

Conclusion

Hiring is one of the most important issues that companies undertake. Employers that have a plan in the hiring process, seek help from their staff, and avoid major legal issues are generally more successful than those that hire employees without any plan.

The information provided is my own and does not reflect the opinion of my firm or anyone else.