As a supervisor or manager, one of your responsibilities is developing your people. And one of the best ways to do this is by giving regular feedback. Let your employees know when they’re performing well and let them know when improvement is needed. Too often we wait for the official performance review process before giving feedback. This significantly reduces the impact of the feedback – whether positive or constructive – and in cases where improvement is needed can often prolong and increase the impact of undesirable behaviors. Here are 5 tips for giving feedback effectively.

1. Make it timely. Saying “thank you” or “good job!” soon after an employee has done something extra encourages them to continue. Likewise, discussing performance issues “in the moment” helps reestablish expectations and initiates the improvement process sooner rather than later. If you allow a performance issue to continue without bringing it to the employee’s attention he or she may not even realize it’s a problem.
2. Be consistent. Be sure you’ve communicated expected performance levels and behaviors to all your employees and then give feedback consistently based on those expectations. This will prevent the appearance of favoritism.
3. Make it clear. Use the SIE format – Situation, Impact, Expectation.  State the situation – “Being at work on time is essential for us to be able to meet the needs of our customers.  You’ve been late three mornings in a row.” State the impact – “When you’re late, others have to make your deliveries which impacts the schedule.” State the expectation – “I expect you to be at work and ready to start deliveries by 8:00 am every day.” When employees understand the adverse impact of their actions they’re much more likely to change them.
4. Write it down. Writing down employee issues serves two purposes. First, it provides the paper trail necessary to prove you have a valid reason for corrective action or termination. Second, it holds the employee accountable for their actions.  See my special report for some additional tips on documenting performance feedback.
5. Own it. Feedback needs to be about something you’ve observed, not something you’ve heard second hand, and it should never be delivered when you’re angry or upset. Also, find a private place to have your developmental discussion.

Both positive and constructive feedback should be given in the spirit of recognizing people for what they achieve, and helping them be the best they can be.

One of the most frequent complaints on employee satisfaction surveys is lack of training and development opportunities. Yet, when budgets are strapped, training and development is often the first thing to go. The result is that employees don’t see a means to move forward and either become disengaged or go elsewhere. One way to help employees grow in their careers and thereby stay engaged is to create a mentoring program.  A mentoring program is typically a low cost way to retain employees and encourage employee development.

A mentoring program involves matching a less experienced employee or manager (mentee) with a more experienced employee or manager (mentor) for guidance and development.  In most mentoring programs mentees do not report to their mentor, which often allows a relationship where the mentee can be more open and candid about issues and concerns.

There are different schools of thought about the process for matching mentors and mentees. Some recommend that the pairings be allowed to evolve naturally. Others ask for volunteers to participate and then manually match mentors and mentees based on function and/or location. Others use software tools to do the match.

Whichever method is used, most participants would agree that there are multiple benefits for both the mentor and mentee. Mentors build their leadership and communication skills and often attribute to the experience an enhanced or revived motivation for their role or the business. Mentees develop new skills and corporate knowledge and learn how to navigate their career. Talk to any CEO and he or she will credit at least one mentor with helping them get to where they are.

If you are thinking about developing a mentoring program, here some tips to help it succeed:

1. Select mentors who are positive role models and enthusiastic about the program.
2. Establish clear expectations for the mentoring partnership, such as minimum number of meetings, length of partnership, who is responsible for initiating meetings and driving the relationship, etc.
3. Include at least one check-point to evaluate the relationship.
4. Encourage mentors and mentees to create specific goals for the partnership.
5. Orient mentors with best practices and guidelines around goal setting, giving feedback and basic relationship skills such as open communication, active listening, being accessible, building trust, sharing knowledge and ideas, and working together to resolve differences.
6. Develop a process for obtaining and incorporating feedback from both mentors and mentees about the program to ensure continuous improvement.

I had the privilege of starting a mentoring program many years ago.  The program was very successful and we were able to track the progress of the participants.  By the end of the 6-month pilot program, we had several mentees get promoted to different jobs.  Another mentee decided to go back to school to obtain a masters degree.   Another mentee decided to make a lateral transfer to different position that would provide the experience he needed to achieve a promotion. The mentors also benefited from the program.  They felt more engaged and motivated in their jobs.  They were very proud of their mentees and the progress they saw.

Have you considered developing a mentoring program?  If so, please share your tips below on what has worked and what to avoid.  What are your best success stories?

As companies look at new ways to attract and retain top talent, a growing trend is the development of “Total Rewards” programs.  These programs combine traditional health benefits and compensation features with additional no-cost or low-cost “perks” that both recognize talent and contribute to the company culture.

Consider how incorporating some of the following into what you offer employees might enhance your “attraction” rate and keep your employees loyal and happy!

No- cost ideas

• Community service projects – such as Habitat for Humanity or Food Drives for Second Harvest Food Banks – to build engagement and teamwork
• Wellness programs – weight-loss challenges, group walks at lunch
• Employee credit union
• Bring your pet to work day
• Potlucks
• Lunch & Learns with guest speakers – financial planners, estate planning, wellness
• “Green” initiatives – ride your bike to work day, e-Waste recycling
• “Fireside chats” with President and management team – informal, open forum for employees to ask questions and learn more about where the company is heading

Low-cost ideas

• Service Awards (5, 10, 20 years): Plaque and gift certificate
• Adopt a charity (employer matches contribution)
• Day off to volunteer at a non-profit of their choice
• Company-sponsored lunch or social
• Commuter reimbursement or subsidy program
• Company-sponsored holiday party or sports event
• Discount programs – amusement parks, theater tickets
• Dry cleaning services subsidized by the company
• Free coffee, tea, fountain drinks
• Informal wellness programs and classes paid for by the company
• Paid membership for professional organizations related to job

Please feel free to share your ideas about your total rewards strategy by leaving a comment below.  Also, contact me if you are interested in learning more about developing and implementing a total rewards program or other ways you can attract and retain top talent that won’t break the bank.

On June 28 the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act, including the individual mandate, which requires nearly every American to purchase health insurance coverage or
pay a penalty.

In the coming months, much will continue to be written, discussed and debated about the law.  However, it is the law, and it’s important to understand how it will affect you as a small business owner. Some of the provisions are already in effect. Others will not go into effect until January 1, 2014. According to the Kaiser Foundation publication, Focus on Health Reform, here are the top 5 changes small businesses need to know:

1. Beginning in 2014, all health insurance plans must guarantee the availability and renewal of coverage regardless of health status.  Higher premiums based on health status will not be allowed. Premiums for new plans will only be allowed to vary on the basis of age, tobacco use, policy type (individual or family), and geographic location.
2. Small businesses will have the option to purchase insurance through the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP Exchange). States are required to create these exchanges by 2014, otherwise the federal government will run one in the state. Employers may choose to continue to purchase insurance through the market outside of the exchange, but the goal of the exchanges is to reduce costs.
3. Starting in 2014, a business with 51 or more full-time equivalent (FTE) employees will be fined $200 per employee (excluding the first 30 employees) if they do not offer coverage for employees who work an average of 30 or more hours a week.
4. Businesses with 50 or fewer FTE employees are exempt from these penalties.
5. Small businesses with fewer than 25 FTE employees may be eligible for tax credits to assist in the cost of health care insurance. See the Kaiser publication for more details.

How are you preparing for Health Care Reform?  What changes have you made, if any?  Please feel free to leave a comment below.

The California Labor Commissioner recently revised (for the second time) the mandatory new hire notice that must be provided to non-exempt employees in California, and the FAQ guidance regarding the notice.  The changes are significant.   Employers must comply with the new requirements for employees hired after April 12, 2012, but are not required to provide additional notices to employees hired between January 1 and April 11, 2012 (assuming the notices provided to those employees were compliant at the time).

The new Section 2810.5 of the Labor Code requires that employers provide a notice to new employees, upon hire, that includes:

• The rate or rates of pay and basis thereof, whether paid by the hour, shift, day, week, salary, piece, commission, or otherwise, including any rates for overtime, as applicable.
• Allowances, if any, claimed as part of the minimum wage, including meal or lodging allowances.
• The regular payday designated by the employer.
• The employer’s name, including any “doing business as” names used by the employer.
• The physical address of the employer’s main office or principal place of business, and a mailing address, if different.
• The employer’s phone number.
• The name, address, and phone number of the employer’s workers’ comp insurance carrier.
• Any other information the Labor Commissioner deems material and necessary.

The new law also specifies that the employer must notify all non-exempt employees — by written amendment, a new written notice, or a revised paycheck stub — within 7 calendar days if any of the information changes.

If you haven’t already, be sure to incorporate this notice into your new hire materials. It’s also a good idea to update your Employee Handbook to reflect the new requirement.

The California Supreme Court recently reached a long-awaited decision clarifying an employer’s obligation with regard to meal periods and rest breaks.  The case, Brinker Restaurant Group v. Superior Court, filed in 2004, brought into question whether an employer merely needs to make available a meal period for employees, or whether they need to ensure that no work is done by the employee during that period.

According to Kara L. Arguello, member of Berliner Cohen’s Employment Law Group, “The Court ruled that the employer’s obligation is to relieve its employee of all duties, with the employee thereafter at liberty to use the meal period for whatever purpose he or she desires. The employer need not ensure that no work is done.”  Additionally, “The Court held that the first meal period must be provided no later than the end of the fifth hour worked, and the second meal period no later than the end of the tenth hour worked, but that there are no other timing requirements placed on meal periods.”

With regard to rest breaks, the Court said that employers must make a good faith effort to permit rest breaks in the middle of each work period, but may deviate from that if practical considerations call for breaks to be taken at other times.  As a general rule, during an 8-hour workday, there should be one 10-minute rest break in the work period prior to the meal break, and one 10-minute rest break in the work period following the meal break.  See legal opinion from Kara L. Arguello for more information.

You may want to check your Employee Handbook to ensure that any content regarding meal periods and rest breaks reflects the Court’s decision.

Summer is around the corner.  If you are interested in hiring interns in California, the Department of Labor considers six factors in determining whether an intern is entitled to wages in exchange for his or her services. The factors include:

1.) Training, even though it includes actual operation of the employer’s facilities, is similar to that which would be given in a vocational school.
2.) The training is for the benefit of the interns or students
3.) The interns or students do not displace regular employees, but rather work under their close supervision
4.) The employer derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the interns or students, and on occasion the employer’s operations may be actually impeded
5.) The interns or students are not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the training period
6.) The employer and the interns or students under that the interns or students are not entitled to wages for the time spent in training

According to a recent article written by the law firm, Hopkins and Carley, the Department of Labor also clarified the agency’s position with respect to three issues that have disqualified many persons from intern status in the past:

• Occasional performance of work normally done by employees not prohibited– In the past, the DLSE has taken the position that performance of any work which could be performed by an employee would defeat intern status and require the payment of wages. The Opinion Letter clarifies that the performance of occasional and incidental work tasks will not preclude intern status if the work performed is primarily for the benefit of the intern and does not displace other workers.
• Close supervision required– Interns require and should receive extensive supervision from the employer. The likelihood of a person qualifying as a bona fide intern decreases in direct proportion to the amount of independence and autonomy with which he or she performs in the workplace; and
• No immediate benefit to employer– While employers should derive no immediate benefit from the work of an intern, the DLSE now permits employers to realize benefits that may accrue gradually over time, particularly toward the end of an internship when the intern inevitably begins to apply the knowledge and skills acquired during the internship.

Hopkins and Carley suggests the Department of Labor’s change in position is good news for employers. However,  companies should continue to exercise caution when hiring interns.  Also, applicable laws may require companies to pay interns at least the minimum wage for their work.

For further information, check-out the California Department of Labor fact sheet #71.

If anyone has questions of a general nature regarding this topic, please feel free to contact me.  For specific legal advice, contact a California employment law attorney.

I have spent the past three months attending the equivalent of 20 hours of HR/ Legal updates. Living in California, it is vital to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of employment laws.Over the next couple of articles, I will highlight the most important legal updates for California employers. Even though I will focus on California law, many of these issues are broader and impact everyone across the United States.Before I dive into the legal considerations in 2012, I want to first cover the topic of our economy and how it impacts hiring as well as compensation.

Silicon Valley is hiring again.Regionally, we added 42,000 jobs,which is 4% higher compared to the national average of 1%. Our current unemployment rate is 8.3%, whereas the rest of the country, it is at 8.5%. Although Silicon Valley is enjoying a surge in growth, California’s unemployment rate, as a whole, has run significantly higher than the overall US overage. The current rate is at 11.1%. We truly live in an economic “bubble” sheltered from some of the issues facing the rest of California as well as the country.

Silicon Valley is very strong! It is partly due to companies in the technology sector such as Apple, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn,all of which have their headquarters in Silicon Valley. Therefore, it is not surprising, that the highest growth areas are in cloud computing, mobile devices, mobile apps and social media. Over the next 12 months, as we continue to see strong growth in these sectors, the war for talent will be very competitive. Once again, new hires have competing offers, and companies are using cash incentives (HR lingo for bonuses) to lure employees to their companies.With Facebook on track to go “public”, equity in the form of restricted stocks (RSU) are popular once again.

Retention and Engagement:

What does that mean to you?  As the war for talent becomes more competitive, as a HR professional or employer in Silicon Valley, you should be concentrating on retention and engagement.  Here are a couple of questions you may want to consider:

1) How will you compete for talent? How will you craft the recruiting strategy to attract the best employees for your company?

2) Voluntary turnover is likely to go up. Therefore, how are you retaining your current employees? Are you dusting off your employee surveys and making sure you understand your employee’s motivation?

3) Communication: Is your company aligning employee’s goals to the company mission? Do your employees understand their role in the company’s success?

4) Have you identified your key jobs,as well as your key employees,and created a strategy to develop and retain them?Equally as important, have you developed a succession plan in the event they leave the company?Who is ready to take over? If no one can fill a job, what are you doing to develop your talent?

5) Are you evaluating your incentive offerings, such as your stock plans and bonus structures? Are you crafting these programs in such a way that supports your retention efforts?

Final Thoughts:

For small businesses who might not be able to compete with larger companies on total compensation, it is vital that they find creative ways to engage their employees. A company culture and the people who make it up are key ways to retain employees. Exploring ways to foster a collaborative and mission based environment may be an answer when your salary budget is smaller.

How are you engaging your workforce? If you are working in a company that you love, what motivates you to stay? Please let me know and feel free to leave a comment below.

As we welcome 2012, I wish you a wonderful new year filled with abundance, joy, and treasured moments.

Thank you for visiting my blog in 2011 and leaving great comments!   I look forward to hearing from you again in 2012.  I also promise to continue to post Human Resources trends impacting businesses today.  Please visit my blog over the next several weeks and months for more information.

I hope 2012 is a year of great happiness and success for you.   May 2012 be your best year yet!

All the best,

Michelle

P.S. If there is a Human Resources trend you want me to cover, please leave a comment below or send an email to connecttohr@yahoo.com.

Winter is here!  So is the cold and flu season.  If you catch a nasty bug, should you go to work sick or stay at home?  It’s a real dilemma for employees especially in this economy.

A recent article written by Angela Hill from the Oakland Tribune explored this topic.   Ms. Hill interviewed me for her article.

My view is that employee’s should stay home.  You will get better faster and you will prevent your fellow co-workers from getting sick.  For more information, please visit the article by clicking here.

What is your view on this topic?  Please let me  know by leaving a comment below.