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Archive for HR Advisors

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

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.

Building HR Competence and Confidence

Managing the many aspects of the HR function can be challenging at the best of times. But when you are also trying to run the business, it can be especially frustrating. It can seem impossible to keep up with new employment laws and dealing with hiring and terminating employees.

Such was the case with a client of mine, who ran her own food services company. Like most entrepreneurs, she was highly skilled at her core business, but was learning about the HR function “on the job.” Her company was growing at a rapid pace and she wanted to be sure that her people processes were efficient and compliant with federal, state and local employment laws.

She called Connect to HR.

Over the course of several months I took a step-by-step approach to walk her through the various aspects of HR and what is most important in each area. I broke it down into simple, easy-to-understand steps: here is the issue, here are some scenarios, here are the rules.

We used actual situations within her business to help build her confidence and knowledge in how to handle them going forward. Because she was not in a position to hire a fulltime HR person yet, I felt it was important for her to have a backup with HR knowledge to help her. I worked with her Operations Manager to ensure that he also understood the local, state and federal ordinances related to employees and provided them both with links to credible resources.

As the result of our work together, the business owner and Operations Manager both have increased confidence in their ability to handle the various people-related issues that arise as well as general HR requirements and reporting. Also, they have saved time and headaches by having policies documented and processes to follow.

If you are a business owner and need some advice about HR processes or compliance, or have a particular HR issue you’d like to discuss, you may want to consider my Just in Time 3-Hour HR Advisory Service.

Contact me today to schedule a free 30-minute consultation to see how Just in Time 3-Hour HR Advisory Service can help you.

https://calendly.com/michellemendoza-connecttohr/30-minute-consultation

New to HR? You Don’t Have to Do it Alone!

When a company hits the 50-employee mark in California, a lot of HR regulations kick in. I wrote about some of those regulations in a previous blog.

Understanding what those regulations are and putting processes and procedures in place to ensure compliance are essential to avoiding costly lawsuits and penalties. At this point in a company’s growth, it’s wise to have someone dedicated to the HR function.

Such was the case with a hi-tech client who reached their 50-employee milestone and needed some help creating structure around the HR function. They had assigned their Office Manager to the HR role and tasked her with implementing an official HR department. She had been with the company for many years, but had no prior HR experience. She was very concerned about her new assignment and didn’t want to face this new challenge alone. That’s where Connect to HR came in.

The first thing we did was perform an HR audit to see exactly where the company was in terms of compliance and best practices. As with many companies with fewer than 50 employees, there was very little structure in place. Also, the practices around hiring, promotions and increases were random and inconsistently applied.

Top on our list of priorities was to document and communicate policies and procedures that reflect both legal requirements and company guidelines. These serve as the foundational piece for hiring, firing, promoting, performance management, etc.

We also helped the Office/HR Manager implement a performance management system, hiring process, and best practices around terminations. Often one of the hardest things for new HR Managers is handling employee relations issues. So for four years now, we have provided ongoing and just-in-time HR consulting services on various employee scenarios that pop up and how to handle them.

With the HR structure in place, plus the knowledge she gained from the HR audit and our one-on-one HR guidance and support, the Office/HR Manager felt more confident in her new role. Over the years, she has recognized that she isn’t alone when facing complicated HR issues. She’s comfortable knowing she has a resource in Connect to HR when she has questions or needs a sounding board.

If you are new to the HR function and need some advice about HR processes or compliance, or have a particular HR issue you’d like to discuss, you may want to consider my Just in Time 3-Hour HR Advisory Service.

Contact me today to schedule a free 30-minute consultation to see how Just in Time 3-Hour HR Advisory Service can help you.

https://calendly.com/michellemendoza-connecttohr/30-minute-consultation

Answers to Your HR Questions – Just in Time

Managing the many aspects of the HR function can be challenging, especially if you are also trying to run the business or are new to HR operations. In small and medium sized companies, the “HR person,” whether it’s the business owner or someone dedicated to that role, is often flying solo with no one to consult about an HR issue or the details of a new compliance requirement. Trying to find answers via an online HR database can be frustrating and time consuming.

Now, as we look at returning to work following the COVID-19 shelter-in-place mandate, business owners are faced with a new set of challenges:

How do we safely reopen?
What if someone does not want to come back to work?
What protective equipment do we need?
What are the new working guidelines?
How do I even get started?

Connect to HR’s Just in Time 3-Hour HR Advisory Service has the answers. With this 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 3-Hour HR Advisory Service is here to help.

You do not have to do it alone!

Contact us today for a FREE 30-minute consultation to see how our Just in Time 3-Hour HR Advisory Service can benefit you.

https://calendly.com/michellemendoza-connecttohr/30-minute-consultation

You can reach me directly at michelle@connecttohr.com, and find out more about our services at www.connecttohr.com. Click here to learn more about our Just in Time 3-Hour HR Advisory Service.

Connect to HR is Celebrating its 10th Anniversary!

It’s hard to believe, but it has been 10 years since I decided to leverage my human resources experience and start my very own business – Connect to HR.

It hasn’t always been easy, as you business owners will know, but it has always been gratifying, educational and inspiring! Having my own business has been like getting an MBA. It’s been the best teacher and has pushed me outside of my comfort zone.

This is the first in a series of blogs about my journey as a small business owner. Along the way I’ll be sharing some tips and lessons learned – how to get off to a good start, how to stay motivated, how to deal with setbacks, how to evolve to meet client needs, and more.

Before Connect to HR

After years of working in senior-level positions for large corporations across a variety of industries, I decided to leave the corporate world in search of work-life balance and a different work environment. Shortly after leaving, I had the opportunity to do some consulting work. One of my consulting engagements was with Apple, who had been around for a while, but still had that “start-up” feel. I was fortunate to do three consulting projects around the time Apple was reinventing itself and launching its first versions of the Apple iPod, iPad and iPhone. In between these projects, I had an opportunity with a nonprofit that was looking for someone to set up their human resources fundamentals. They wanted someone who could work in a small organization, but who had the experience of a larger, more established environment. I went from being part of an HR team to an HR Department of one. It was challenging and exciting and really honed my ability to be resourceful to get things done.

Other consulting opportunities followed, and I realized two things: 1) There was a big need for compliance experience. We were just coming off the downturn, and many companies had neglected that aspect of HR. And 2) I no longer wanted to work through someone else and lose part of the profit from my consulting gigs.

It was time to start my own business. In 2010, Connect to HR was born.

Getting Started

Running your own business requires you to wear many hats – management, marketing/sales, finance, administration, accounting, IT the list is long – in addition to actually doing your core work. SCORE is a great resource for small business owners. They have workshops on a variety of business topics and even offer experienced businesspeople as mentors. I learned a lot from their small business fundamentals workshop, and later had the opportunity to present a workshop on HR fundamentals for small businesses at SCORE for 4 years.

The human resources function is pretty broad, so one of the first steps was for me to decide on my focus area. I had worked in all aspects of HR, but was particularly interested in the legal area. In fact, at one point I had contemplated attending law school. Also, in the consulting work I’d done it was clear that there was a demonstrated need for compliance.

I decided that these three areas: employee relations, compliance and policies and procedures (Employee Handbook) would be my starting point, and I was off to the races!

Tips for getting started: Learn the fundamentals of starting a business. Be clear about your focus.

Tune in next time when I’ll share about acting on inspiration.

Check Out Our New Connect to HR Website

As I shared in a previous blog- “Pardon Our Dust,” I have added executive coaching as a service offering in addition to the strategic HR Consulting work I have been doing with small and mid-sized companies since 2010.

I’m happy to announce the launch of my new website, which reflects the two areas of Connect to HR focus: Executive Coaching and HR Advisors.

Here are some of the areas we cover on the Executive Coaching side of the business:

Transition coaching
Career planning and role progression
Successful onboarding of executives
360-degree feedback
Development plans
Leadership development
Executive influence

On the HR Advisors side, we work with organizations in the areas of:

Workforce planning
Talent development
Recruitment and hiring
Employee relations
Terminations and outplacement support
HR compliance

My experience over the years has been that often when I engage with a client in an HR Advisor role, an issue is uncovered that requires some executive coaching. For example, an employee relations issue that indicates a need for one-on-one coaching with a leader around specific behaviors. The value I provide to clients in these instances is the continuity of knowledge about the organization and an established relationship.

The reverse can happen as well. Through a coaching relationship we may discover a need Connect to HR can address through an HR Advisor role. For example, a stressed-out leader who is struggling to find the right talent to take on some of his or her responsibilities.

As we move forward with my blog articles, I’ll be alternating between topics that relate to executives and those that apply to more general HR issues.

Please take some time to visit our new website, and contact me at michelle@connecttohr.com if you would like to schedule a consultation to discuss your needs.