Planning Today for Your Workforce Needs Tomorrow

As we approach 4th quarter and start to wind down 2021, now is good time to begin thinking about year-end activities that need to be completed as well as what you need to do to prepare for 2022.  Your planning should begin with forecasting what your workforce will look like now and into 2022 and creating a talent management strategy around your needs.

Given the labor shortage, the uncertainty around the coronavirus, and the increased tendency toward a hybrid work model, attracting and retaining employees in this market can be challenging. In my next blog I’ll share some specific ideas on how to address those challenges. For now, though, here’s a refresher on what you need to consider in your workforce plan.

The operational side of workforce planning includes considerations such as your labor budget, work schedules and hours, distributing talent among divisions and departments, identifying functions no longer needed, and reassigning workers.  The more strategic side of workforce planning looks at identifying skill sets needed as the company grows and changes, re-assessing the needs of the department and company as employees leave, and defining, and in some cases retooling, the recruitment strategy for future workforce needs.

Start by defining job roles. This includes defining the work that needs to be done, and asking the important question of what is it that the organization really needs?  Then move to identifying the skills and competencies required for that work. If you’re starting from scratch, you may want to identify required skills, experience, and behaviors, keeping in mind that a job should be designed around the role requirements and future business needs, not a particular person.  Remember that as remote work increases you may need to redesign and automate certain tasks.

Once you’ve defined and designed the critical job roles to meet your needs today, spend some time thinking about the skills/job roles you may need in the future.  This will be helpful in identifying skill gaps and determining whether it makes more sense to hire for those skills gaps or to develop current employees to fill the gaps. More and more, companies are hiring for job potential because in many cases skill sets can become obsolete quickly.

Next, create formal job descriptions. Job descriptions should be as detailed as possible. Be sure your job descriptions include at least the following:

  • Job title
  • Job location
  • A summary of the job objective/purpose
  • Scope of responsibility
  • Reporting relationships
  • Qualifications required (experience, skills, competencies)
  • Key functions and duties (including standards)
  • Physical requirements of the job

A well-developed job description will help you recruit the right person for the job. It will also give you a legally-defensible document, or ‘benchmark’ for performance management.

If you have questions about developing your workforce plan for next year, please consider Connect to HR’s 3-hour Just in Time Advisory Service. Many of my clients are finding this service helpful as they navigate the challenges of our new world of work.

You do not have to do it alone!

Contact us today for a FREE 45-minute consultation to see how Just in Time: Your Guide to HR can benefit you.

https://calendly.com/michellemendoza-connecttohr/45min

You can reach me directly at michelle@connecttohr.com, and find out more about our services at www.connecttohr.com. 

Leading in an Age of Uncertainty

As leaders and business owners continue to navigate the process of bringing people back to the office and fully reopening, many are finding that they are “leading in an age of uncertainty.”

The recent surge in coronavirus cases due to the Delta variant prompted another revision in back-to-the-office guidelines, and yet more compliance issues for leaders to monitor.  

Many employees have gotten used to the flexibility of working from home and are not ready to return to 5 days a week in the office. An Accenture report showed that 83% of employees prefer a hybrid work model, working remotely between 25% and 75% of the time.

Some workers have reassessed their careers over the past 18 months and do not plan to return to their current jobs at all, leaving employers struggling to replace them in the midst of The Great Resignation.

The opening, then closing again of schools and the lack of available/affordable childcare has left many parents (especially mothers) burned out as they strive to “do it all.” According to the National Women’s Law Center, female workforce participation has dropped to 57%, the lowest level since 1988.

Dealing with these challenges in the midst of so much uncertainty can be overwhelming. Yet sometimes all it takes is a sounding board, or some help putting together a plan, or a helpful nudge toward clarity.

You don’t have to do it alone!

Many of my clients have found Connect to HR’s 3-hour Just in Time Advisory Service the “right size” service that they need to work through these and other HR challenges.

Our Just in Time: Your Guide to HR service provides you access with up to 3 hours of senior-level Human Resources consulting support and guidance by phone, email or in person.  It’s designed for small to medium-sized companies, specifically owners, CEOs and nonprofit leaders; those running the HR function; and people new to HR operations.

Just in Time hours may be used for guidance on a variety of topics that need answers NOW. Some of our most popular topics are:

  • Return-to-the-office planning
  • HR compliance
  • Employee relations
  • Employee health and safety

Contact us today for a FREE 45-minute consultation to see how Just in Time: Your Guide to HR can benefit you.

https://calendly.com/michellemendoza-connecttohr/45min

You can reach me directly at michelle@connecttohr.com, and find out more about our services at www.connecttohr.com. 

Don’t Let Your Talent Walk Out the Door

It’s being called The Great Resignation and the facts are startling.

On top of that, in June, the number of job openings in the U.S. jumped to 10.1 million, the highest since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking job openings 21 years ago.

There are a variety of reasons why workers are quitting. Some have safety concerns about going back to an office environment when we are still fighting COVID. Others have gotten used to working at home and want to maintain that flexibility. Or they are frustrated with their job, their company, their pay, or their leader and want to take advantage of what’s clearly a “workers market” to find something new.

So, as a leader what can you do to get ahead of The Great Resignation and reduce the risk of your top talent walking out the door?

First of all, there are three important things to remember:

  1. Employees do not want to go back to the pre-COVID work environment. According to a recent Accenture report, 83% of workers surveyed said they prefer a hybrid model in which they can work remotely at least 25% of the time.
  2. Bad leadership has always been and is still one of the top reasons employees quit.
  3. Replacing an employee can cost between 50-60% of that employee’s salary with overall costs ranging from 90-200%.

Retention strategies should be an integral part of your workforce planning. Here’s a refresher on some best practices/strategies with a few additions for our new way of working.

Begin retention at recruitment. Be sure that the job candidates interview for and accept is the job they get. Provide an engaging, thorough orientation with opportunities to connect with the team (even remotely) and the culture. Show them where they fit into the organization now and into the future.

Train your leaders. Too often leaders are thrown into the role without any leadership development. The result is that they end up repeating the bad habits of their leaders, perpetuating a negative cycle. Or they fail. 40% of new leaders fail because of poor fit, poor delivery, or poor ability to adjust to a change down the road. Just because they were successful as individual performers does not mean they will succeed as leaders. Train them to avoid #2 above.

Be flexible. Consider each job role and each individual as you create your plan for reopening/bringing workers back to the office. Be willing to acknowledge that employees can be productive working from home, and in fact, are often more productive without the commute and other distractions.

Provide feedback and recognition.  Employees want to know how they’re doing and be recognized for their efforts. Don’t wait until the annual review to have those conversations.

Provide career development and opportunities. Make it a point to understand each employee’s career aspirations. If they want to do something different than their current role, maybe there’s an internal opportunity for them in a different department. Retain them by giving them a chance to grow within the broader organization.

Connect employees with resources. Many employees are stressed and burned out from all that we’ve been through over the past 18 months.  Let them know about your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) if you have one, or connect them with other resources for help.

And finally, be sure that you and other leaders in your organization are paying attention to your own burnout and accessing resources as necessary. Another startling statistic: 73% of teams with burned out managers said that they were feeling burned out. (Predictive Index)

It’s important for leaders to model behavior that encourages employees to take time off and to not work around the clock.  For example, sending email at 10 pm to employees doesn’t encourage work life balance.

If you have questions about employee retention or need help putting together retention strategies, please consider Connect to HR’s 3-hour Just in Time Advisory Service. Many of my clients are finding this service helpful as they develop their return-to-work plans.

You do not have to do it alone!

Contact us today for a FREE 45-minute consultation to see how Just in Time: Your Guide to HR can benefit you.

https://calendly.com/michellemendoza-connecttohr/45min

You can reach me directly at michelle@connecttohr.com, and find out more about our services at www.connecttohr.com. 

New Back-to-the-Office Guidelines in Light of Delta Variant

In my last article I discussed the importance of being flexible in your planning as you begin to bring employees back into the office. Consider each individual’s situation and co-create a solution that works for you both. This will help with employee relations and may help retain talent that you can’t afford to lose – especially in the current labor-shortage environment.

It’s also important to ensure that you are following the latest public health guidelines so that employees will feel safe when they come into the office.  Due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations resulting from the Delta variant, health officials are revising their guidelines again.

Additionally, many employers, including Google, Facebook and Twitter, are delaying their return-to-work plans and requiring vaccinations. Amazon, Wells Fargo and ride service companies Uber and Lyft are among many other companies delaying bring employees back into the office. Tyson Foods will require all U.S. employees to be vaccinated. Delta and United Airlines will also require employees to show proof of vaccination before returning to work.

Across the Bay Area, health officials are reinstating a mask mandate. For example, the Santa Clara County Department of Public Health is now requiring face coverings for all persons, regardless of vaccination status, when indoors except when:

  1. They are in their own residence, working in an office alone, or with members of their household.
  2. They are actively performing an activity that cannot be done wearing a face covering.
  3. They are specifically exempted from use of face coverings by the California Department of Public Health.

The Santa Clara County Health Officer also urges all businesses and governmental entities to:

  1. Implement mandatory vaccination requirements for all personnel.
  2. Move operations and activities outdoors where possible, and/or maximize ventilation.
  3. Prohibit personnel who are not fully vaccinated from engaging in travel to places with elevated rates of COVID-19.
  4. Require all personnel not fully vaccinated to obtain frequent testing.
  5. Require that any person, vaccinated or unvaccinated, who has COVID symptoms be tested immediately.

We are currently experiencing in this country what’s being called the Great Resignation. People are leaving their jobs in droves and one of many the reasons is fear of going back to an unsafe workplace. Be sure you are following the current protocols and communicating that to employees to eliminate “safety” as a reason for them move on.

Next month I’ll discuss best practices around retention and what you can do to proactively retain your talent.  

Flexibility is Key in Your Return to the Office Planning

As the world is beginning to reopen, businesses of all types and sizes are finding that they don’t have enough staff to handle the demands of a public that is desperate to get back to normal. Hardest hit are the travel, hospitality and restaurant industries who had to dial back significantly during the pandemic and now are struggling to ramp back up.

The shortage has also affected the supply chain – there aren’t enough truck drivers to move gasoline, materials and other products from origin to final destination.

Even Disney, the world’s largest theme park operator and the “happiest place on earth” is finding it a challenge to bring people back to work, especially housekeepers and cooks. About 20 percent of service trade employees at Walt Disney World have not returned to work. To attract workers, the company is offering $1,000 sign-on bonuses.

So, what’s causing the labor shortage? According to economists, there are a number of factors that may be contributing. Lack of available/affordable childcare, concerns about going back to work when we’re not quite through the pandemic, early retirements, and health complications for COVID long-haulers.

Another factor is that the past 16 months or so have given many workers time to reassess their careers – what they do, whom they work for, and where they do their work.

According to a McKinsey & Co. report, 26 percent of workers in the United States are preparing to look for new employment opportunities and 40 percent of workers globally are considering leaving their current employers by the end of the year.

This is a pretty shocking statistic and should be of concern to business leaders who don’t want to lose their talent. It’s much easier (and less costly) to retain top talent than to replace it.

Two of the key reasons cited for this “resignation wave” by SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) are better compensation and benefits and better life balance.

As you develop your plan to return to the office, let flexibility be your mantra. McKinsey & Co. found that there was a significant disconnect between what employers perceive as the best way forward (in the office) and what employees want (a hybrid model).

To bridge the gap, carefully evaluate which roles require being in the office and which can be performed partially or fully remotely. Take each employee’s personal situation into account. For example, parents may have childcare issues until schools are fully reopened. Consider delaying their return to the office until then. Offer a flexible work schedule. And follow the advice I gave in a previous article about best practices for the post-COVID return to work.

If you have questions or need help putting together your return-to-work plan, please consider Connect to HR’s 3-hour Just in Time Advisory Service. Many of my clients found this service helpful last year as they made the shift to a remote work model or needed to keep their essential business open safely.

You do not have to do it alone!

Contact us today for a FREE 45-minute consultation to see how Just in Time: Your Guide to HR can benefit you.

https://calendly.com/michellemendoza-connecttohr/45min

You can reach me directly at michelle@connecttohr.com, and find out more about our services at www.connecttohr.com. 

Updated Guidelines for Returning to the Office

As I described last month, there are specific health and safety guidelines for companies who are planning to bring their employees back into the office. In this article I provide you with some updates to the Santa Clara County and Cal OSHA guidelines. If you operate your business (or have employees who work) outside of Santa Clara County, please be sure to check your local County Health Department guidelines.

Per the Santa Clara County Public Health Order I wrote about in an article last month, employers must ascertain the vaccination status of all personnel. This includes employees, contractors, volunteers, and anyone who regularly works at worksites in the County. The County provides a self-certification form for this purpose. What has changed since that order is that businesses are no longer required to follow up every 14 days with personnel to determine their status.  Click here for the full text of the updated order.

Cal OSHA also requires that employers document the vaccination status of employees but does not specify a method for doing so. Per their updated order:

The employer must record the vaccination status for any employee not wearing a face covering indoors and this record must be kept confidential. Acceptable options include:

  • Employees provide proof of vaccination (vaccine card, image of vaccine card or health care document showing vaccination status) and employer maintains a copy.
  • Employees provide proof of vaccination. The employer maintains a record of the employees who presented proof, but not the vaccine record itself.
  • Employees self-attest to vaccination status and employer maintains a record of who self-attests.

Per State, Cal OSHA ETS and County ordinances employees who are unvaccinated or decline to state whether they are vaccinated must follow these guidelines:

  • Wear a mask when entering the workplace and in common areas such as the breakroom, restroom, or conference rooms. They do not need to wear a mask when meeting outdoors, while eating, while working alone in an office, or while sitting alone in their vehicle.
  • Although face masks are not required outdoors, they are recommended for unvaccinated persons outdoors when six feet of physical distancing cannot be maintained.
  • Masks must be double layered. Face shields, neck gators and valve masks are not permitted.

For a summary of the revised Cal OHSA guidelines, click here. You may also find their revision FAQs helpful.

Disclaimer: Because information and guidelines continue to evolve, it’s essential for leaders to keep an eye out for the latest guidelines from the state, CalOSHA, and the city and county where you have personnel performing work, as defined above. 

Also, if you have questions about your particular situation, it’s always a good idea to seek advice from your legal counsel.

Please reach out to me at michelle@connecttohr.com if you need help creating a return-to-work plan.

Leadership Tips for Managing Back to the Office Anxiety

As of this month, many states, including California, have “re-opened” following the pandemic. A lot of people are embracing this transition with long awaited travel, outings to restaurants, bars and ballgames, and other social gatherings.

At the same time, there are also a large number of people who, after more than a year of isolation, have some angst about getting back out there.

And that includes concerns about returning to the workplace.

As you begin to bring your employees back to the office – whether completely in person or in a hybrid model – it’s important to be empathetic to those employees who are struggling with the transition.

For some it may be the fear of leaving the safety of their home and potentially contracting the virus. Others may feel anxiety around exercising social skills they haven’t used in over a year. And others may just be challenged in general by change. It was a transition going into pandemic-mode and it’s another transition coming out. Change can be difficult.  

So, what can leaders do?  Here are some tips.

Observe. Look for warning signs that an employee is struggling. They’re moody or argumentative. They come in late. The quality or timeliness of their work is lacking. They just don’t seem to be themselves.

Acknowledge. Make time to have a one-on-one with each of your team members as they return to the office. Gauge how they feel about returning to work and acknowledge that transitions can be difficult. Give them the opportunity to share their concerns. Listen without judging.

Educate. As early as possible, have an all-hands meeting to talk about the importance of self-care – both physical and mental. Remind them of the importance of taking breaks, eating properly, getting exercise, and participating in whatever stress-relief activities work for them. Make them feel more comfortable in talking about mental health by sharing what you do to relieve stress and anxiety. Let them know that your door is open if they need to talk.

Support. If your benefits program includes an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), inform employees how to access it and encourage them to use it. EAP is one of the most underutilized programs because of the stigma related to mental health. Remove the stigma. If you do not have an EAP, talk to your insurance broker about adding it. Provide information about other resources such as how to find childcare. Check into university counseling programs where students need to build up their hours in counseling fieldwork. This could be a free resource.

The important thing is for you, as a leader, is to be aware that sometimes the smallest thing can trigger an unexpected behavior, or worse. We have all heard about the rising number of violent incidents on flights and fist fights in stores due to the mask mandate.

Be proactive in keeping your workplace and employees safe – observe, acknowledge, educate, and support them.

If you have questions or need help putting together your return-to-work plan, please consider Connect to HR’s 3-hour Just in Time Advisory Service. With Just in Time Advisory Service, you can access up to 3 hours of “live” HR consulting support from a trusted, senior-level HR consultant by phone, email or in person.

Whether you need a sounding board to discuss approaches to your return-to-work plan, need to create a return-to-work communication, or have questions on how to be compliant with the various State, County and City required safety protocols in the office, Connect to HR’s Just in Time Guide is here to help.

New Health Guidelines for Post-COVID Return to Work

If you are a business leader starting to bring employees back into the office, there are some specific Public Health Department guidelines you need to follow. These may vary according to your business location and where your employees actually perform their work. Also, the state, county, city and CalOSHA all have guidelines. If these guidelines differ, the more restrictive ones prevail.

Santa Clara County issued a new health order effective May 19, 2021. If your business is in Santa Clara County or you have employees or volunteers who regularly work at worksites in the County, be sure that you comply with these guidelines. We’ve listed a few of them below. For more information, read the full health order.

  • Employers must require that employees immediately notify them if they test positive for COVID-19 and were present in the workplace within 48 hours prior to the onset of symptoms (or the date when they were tested) or within 10 days after the onset of symptoms (or the date when they were tested if they were asymptomatic).
  • Employers must ascertain the vaccination status of all personnel who perform any work at a facility or worksite in the county within 14 days of this order (by June 1, 2021).  Personnel includes employees, contractors, volunteers, and anyone who regularly works at worksites in the County.
  • Personnel who decline to provide vaccination status are to be treated as unvaccinated. After the initial request, businesses must follow up every 14 days with all personnel who were not fully vaccinated to determine their status.
  • Employers must require unvaccinated personnel to wear masks, maintain the appropriate physical distance, and comply with all other County health guidelines for unvaccinated individuals.
  • Employers are also required to provide unvaccinated personnel with information on how to get vaccinated.
  • All employers must maintain appropriate records to demonstrate compliance. Non-compliance may result in fines of up to $5,000 per violation per day.

Per the County FAQs, compliance with the vaccination/recordkeeping requirement takes just a few steps:

  1. Provide staff members a copy of the one-page Self-Certification form the County has provided to assist businesses in meeting this requirement.  It should take employees no more than a minute or two to fill out the form.
  2. Collect the forms and store them in the same way you store confidential employee information like documents requesting medical leave, reasonable accommodations, etc.
  3. Provide employees who are not vaccinated or declined to state whether they are vaccinated an information sheet on vaccination, which is available here.

Click here for the Santa Clara County Public Health Order FAQs.

If you are based in San Francisco or have employees working in San Francisco, check out these guidelines from the San Francisco Department of Health.

Learn about the State of California guidelines for fully vaccinated individuals here.

CalOSHA is in the process of revising their COVID-19 prevention guidelines (ETS), which may be stricter than those issued by California and the CDC. These will not be finalized until later this month. The revisions include updates to face coverings, physical distancing and other prevention measures for vaccinated and unvaccinated workers. The ETS applies to most workers in California.  We suggest you visit their FAQ which will have more details on the proposed changes once they are approved and adopted later in June.

Disclaimer: Because information and guidelines continue to evolve, it’s essential for leaders to keep an eye out for the latest guidelines from the state, CalOSHA, and the city and county where you have personnel performing work, as defined above. 

Also, if you have questions about your particular situation, it’s always a good idea to seek advice from your legal counsel.

Please reach out to me at michelle@connecttohr.com if you need help creating a return-to-work plan.

HR Best Practices for the Post-COVID Return to Work

Now that companies have been given the green light to bring employees back into the office, many business owners and leaders are wondering how to do this safely and effectively.

I had the privilege last week to present at a webinar on this topic with the McManis Faulkner employment law team. Here are some tips I shared at that event.

Create a plan. Assemble a cross-functional team who will provide input on business needs to determine when to bring employees back and what that will look like. Survey employees to understand their concerns. Review individual jobs and decide which need to return to the office and which can stay remote. Take into account any out-of-state situations where guidelines may be different.

Be flexible – consider a “soft” re-opening. Some employees are anxious to return to the office. Others are not. Consider opening in phases to allow those with “wait and see” concerns to return at the later date. Also, based on your review of jobs, can you offer a hybrid work situation to those employees whose jobs aren’t required in the office five days a week?

Be compassionate.  Over the past year there has been an increase in substance abuse, depression and anxiety. Some employees may still be struggling with fears and the effects of isolation even as they are able to return to work. Offer mental health services and brown bag lunches on mental health topics to help those with concerns.  

Create an environment that attracts and retains women. Women were disproportionately impacted by the effects of the COVID pandemic. In fact, nearly 2.2 million women left the workforce entirely due to school closures, caring for a loved one, or the lack of affordable childcare. Consider implementing flexible schedules and parent-friendly policies. Review compensation annually and make adjustments to achieve pay equity. Promote more women to leadership positions at all levels of the company. And when hiring, give credit for activities and leadership roles taken during work gaps (for example, PTA president).

If you have questions or need help putting together your return-to-work plan, please consider Connect to HR’s 3-hour Just in Time Advisory Service. Many of my clients found this service helpful last year as they made the shift to a remote work model or needed to keep their essential business open safely.

With Just in Time Advisory Service, you can access up to 3 hours of “live” HR consulting support from a trusted, senior-level HR consultant by phone, email or in person. Our service is specifically designed for small to medium sized companies:

  • Owners/CEOs/Nonprofit Leaders
  • Those running the HR function
  • People new to HR operations

Whether you need a sounding board to discuss approaches to an employee relations issue, want tips on how to create a workforce plan, or have questions about implementing a social distancing protocol in the office, Connect to HR’s Just in Time Guide is here to help.

You do not have to do it alone!

Contact us today for a FREE 45-minute consultation to see how Just in Time: Your Guide to HR can benefit you. Click the link below to schedule an appointment.

https://calendly.com/michellemendoza-connecttohr/45min

You can reach me directly at michelle@connecttohr.com, and find out more about our services at www.connecttohr.com. 

Preparing to Return to the Office

A recent Gartner survey of HR leaders showed that 45% of them expect their workforce to reopen in the third quarter of 2021, while 24% plan to reopen in the fourth quarter.

But while everyone is anxious for things to get “back to normal” the survey indicated that the new normal will be more of a hybrid model, with most employees working remotely at least part of the time. Nearly 32% of respondents said they will let employees work remotely all of the time, while 49% said they would let employees work remotely on certain days.

This hybrid model presents a number of challenges for leaders as they wrestle with how to reconnect their teams, navigate various new rules and regulations, and manage the impact that the past 15 months has had on their people.

To provide some guidance around these challenges, I will be presenting at a webinar with legal experts from McManis Faulkner’s employment team on Wednesday, May 19 at 10:00 am PT.

We’ll be looking at the legal and HR side of returning to work and providing answers to questions such as:

  • Can I require employees to come back to the office?
  • What requirements can I put in place regarding vaccines?
  • How do I keep up with the ever-changing rules and regulations issued by various agencies?
  • How has the pandemic impacted men and women differently, and what effect will that have on the workplace?

Register here for the Return to Work Considerations for California Employers webinar: https://bit.ly/3t3LY1X

This virtual training is brought to you by McManis Faulkner and the Santa Clara County Bar Association. It qualifies for 1 general MCLE credit from MCLE provider, McManis Faulkner (# 3573). To receive credit, please provide your CA State Bar Number on the registration form. If you have any questions, please contact events@mcmanislaw.com.

I hope to see you there.

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