by admin | May 22, 2018 | Employee Benefits, Human Resources, Workplace
While there’s plenty of talk about work/life balance, many employees want to feel human while at work, too. Being able to bring their whole selves, according to “3 Ways to Create a More Human Workplace,” from Workforce, is an essential piece of a welcoming, inclusive workplace environment.
Putting employees first as a defined company value means helping team members feel connected, valued, and like their work is having an impact. Supporting employee well-being improves everything from engagement to loyalty.
Small changes, like building breaks into the day, as well as larger wellness initiatives are some of the best investments in resources, time, and money a company can make in both its people and its bottom line.
As companies think about the customer experience more and more, it’s also a smart idea to think about the employee experience. One-off opportunities or programs to check the wellness box, for example, are less powerful than a holistic experience. Employers should consider whether their employees would enthusiastically recommend a friend apply for a job, and craft a workplace experience that makes that a reality.
That whole person, whole experience approach also applies when building a diverse and inclusive workplace. Recruitment and hiring are often the talked about steps, but it’s as critical to think about the employee experience after the job starts.
Beyond the overall workplace environment, employers can strive to make the workplace a more inclusive space, according to “6 Steps for Building an Inclusive Workplace,” from the Society for Human Resource Management. After successfully hiring a diverse workforce, employers need to support and retain talented individuals.
It starts at the top, with education for leadership on topics ranging from inclusion to unconscious bias to training on how to best accommodate an employee with a disability. Creating a dedicated council or committee to act as intermediaries between executives and employees, clear employee goal setting, and regular reviews are just a few next steps.
Giving dedicated time, space, and opportunities (both organic and organized) to share about individuals’ background and opinions can help employees feel connected and seen in their workplace. Ensuring diversity is supported in both action and physical space—whether a meditation or prayer room or a space for nursing mothers—is essential. Likewise, celebrating culture and identity can also be a powerful connective tool.
Even the way day-to-day work happens showcases how inclusive a company is. Employers can learn what employees need and want by making time to listen part of the day. Rotating meeting times and checking on technology needs for remote workers are small choices a company can make to show it cares about its individuals.
And, ultimately, keeping inclusivity top-of-mind and visible for everyone helps foster a culture of expectations. Having leadership and management communicate goals and measure progress for an inclusive workplace ensures everyone knows inclusion is valued.
By Bill Olson, VP, Marketing & Communications at United Benefit Advisors
Originally posted on www.ubabenefits.com
by admin | May 18, 2018 | Compliance, Human Resources
Gary Wheeler, partner at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP, a well-respected national employment law firm and legal partner to ThinkHR, explains five mistakes he sees frequently in his clients’ employee handbooks.
It’s too long, inconsistent, or redundant.
Like with your house, when you live with an employee handbook for a while, you collect things and it gets cluttered. Your handbook gets longer and runs the risk of having internal inconsistencies. Once or twice a year, it’s a good idea to give it a thorough review to remove inconsistent or redundant policies, plus make it shorter and more readable. If you want people to follow the rules, it’s important to have them be clear and accessible.
It reads more like an operations manual.
An overly-detailed handbook becomes too much of a procedures manual. For example, it’s important to state that complaints of harassment will be responded to with a prompt and thorough investigation. But the policy should avoid giving too much detail, such as the number of days to expect each step of the investigation to take. Ultimately, if the employer needs to be flexible and deviate from unnecessary details in the handbook, this can be used against them.
Another area that often gets too detailed is the progressive discipline policy. If an employer has a collective bargaining unit, there are reasons these details may need to be given. But sometimes nonunion employers will have progressive disciplinary policies in their handbooks that don’t allow them to maintain flexibility in handling employee behavior or performance issues.
It sounds too overbearing or paternalistic.
Some handbooks include policies that, as written, sound more intrusive and paternalistic than they really are in operation. For example, a financial services company had a policy that required employees to handle their finances in a responsible manner, which sounds intrusive. However, the policy was truly only concerned with financial accounts they had through the employer. The policy wasn’t ultimately harmful in that case, but it required further explanation to make it clear the employer wasn’t concerned with what the employees were doing with their personal lives. Carefully tailored language can help avoid a perception of the employer being overbearing or paternalistic.
It’s missing information that affects enforcement.
Another mistake is including language that, while acceptable, isn’t the best training tool for supervisors because it omits certain nuances. For example, an attendance policy may state a specific number of absences that are unacceptable during a certain timeframe. If the policy fails to state that absences covered by FMLA or local sick leave rules don’t count against employees, you can end up having a well-meaning supervisor discipline an employee for absences that should have been allowed.
It doesn’t identify the right contact people.
One of the things I see frequently is employers missing the opportunity to specify who their company’s “first responders” are. These are the company representatives who will receive reports of anything from alleged misconduct to medical leave.
Employers should be selecting these people appropriately and training them about their role. For example, a person who receives reports of absences should understand when FMLA or local leave laws might come into play. A person who may receive reports of harassment should be trained to determine whether it’s a general grievance best handled by an immediate superior or if it will need a more formal investigation.
However, the handbook will be more durable if you mention the reporting person by title and not name. Be sure the titles used in the handbook match the titles that actually exist in your organization; for example, don’t tell someone to report misconduct to the HR director if you don’t have an HR director.
Get it All
Evaluate your employee handbook using our free Employee Handbook Self-Audit. If it’s time to update or replace your handbook, trust the ThinkHR Multi-State Handbook Builder, which now includes premium features including the ability to customize it for every state you operate in and to translate it into Spanish. Learn more by attending a demo webinar on May 22 or 24.
Originally Published thinkhr.com
by admin | May 16, 2018 | Benefit Management, Group Benefit Plans, Human Resources
Curious about when you should notify a participant about a change to their health care plan?
The answer is that it depends!
Notification must happen within one of three time frames: 60 days prior to the change, no later than 60 days after the change, or within 210 days after the end of the plan year.
For modifications to the summary plan description (SPD) that constitute a material reduction in covered services or benefits, notice is required within 60 days prior to or after the adoption of the material reduction in group health plan services or benefits. (For example, a decrease in employer contribution is a material reduction in covered services or benefits. So is a material modification in any plan terms affecting the content of the most recent summary of benefits and coverage (SBC).) While the rule here is flexible, the definite best practice is to give advance notice. For collective practical purposes, employees should be told prior to the first increased withholding.
However, if the change is part of open enrollment, and communicated during open enrollment, this is considered acceptable notice regardless of whether the SBC, SPD, or both are changing. Essentially, open enrollment is a safe harbor for all 60-day prior/60-day post notice requirements.
Finally, changes that do not affect the SBC and are not a material reduction in benefits must be communicated and summarized within 210 days after the end of the plan year.
By Danielle Capilla
Originally published by www.UBABenefits.com
by admin | May 8, 2018 | Hot Topics, Human Resources
The world is connected nowadays through our screens. Whether it be email, texting, websites, Facetime, or social media; we all use technology to connect us to others. According to Hubspot, an online marketing and sales software provider, consumers are on social networks more than ever before. They wrote:
“In our survey of 1,091 global internet users, we’ve found people have dramatically increased content consumption on the three most popular social networks in the last two years: Facebook (+57% increase), Twitter (25% increase), and LinkedIn (21% increase). These networks have notably doubled down on content in the past few years to capture and retain the attention of their users — and it appears the playbook is working.” The Future of Content Marketing: How People Are Changing the Way They Read, Interact, and Engage With Content
So, how do you harness this tech to strengthen your connectivity to your audience? Here’s the top 5 tips for using social media that every agency can benefit from using.
- Consistent Content Posting
Your followers want to know when they can expect new info to be posted on your website and social media. If you post once a week for 3 weeks and then not post again for another month, your audience will quit paying attention. Consistency is the key! Make a point to post at the same general time on the same days and you will see more interaction from your followers.
- Images & Videos
62% of users thoroughly consume the social media post if it includes video as compared to only 25% consumption of traditional long content posts. That’s a HUGE difference! Grab your audience’s attention when they are scrolling through their social media by posting pictures and videos. They are telling us that they will stop and watch or read more than skimming because of the images they see.
- Keep Up with Social Media Trends
Pay attention to what you are most engaged with on social media. Do you like to watch Facebook Live videos? Do you stop and scroll through pictures from companies when they post what they are doing in the community? Do you prefer to chat with a customer service representative online versus an email? If you are seeing your preferences change, there is a good chance your audience’s preferences are changing. Post pictures of your teams serving their community. Use videos to educate your clients on relevant issues in your field. Social media is constantly evolving so stay up on trends and use them on your pages!
- Facebook is Still King
Consumers are using Facebook for more than just connecting to their high school friends—they are using it to read content from their favorite businesses and groups. This means you MUST keep your Facebook page updated and have new content posted regularly. According to a new Hubspot survey, 48% of consumers use their Facebook feed to catch up on news, business, and lifestyle stories. This ties back to Tip #1 and reiterates that consistent posting is the sweet spot for engaging customers.
- Engage Your Audience
How are you talking to the people who use your business? Are you responding to inquiries on Facebook? When you post pictures on LinkedIn are you responding to the people who are looking and commenting on them? When you engage with your followers, they are more likely to have a stronger relationship with you. Entrepreneur Magazine says, “They are more likely to have a better evaluation of the brands, stay loyal to the brands and recommend the brands to others.”
By following these tips, your social media pages can grow into healthy sites and you can be more effective as you engage with your audience. Start using them today!
by admin | Apr 18, 2018 | Employee Benefits, Human Resources
Did you know that you can save time and money on your prescription drugs by simply signing up for a discount card online? With savings as much as 80% off, these discount cards keep your health care costs down even when the prices of prescriptions are sharply rising. At no cost to the patient, discount drug programs negotiate the price of medicines with pharmacies and then pass the savings on to the consumer. These programs give subscribers a personalized discount card to be used at any pharmacy. While the discount card cannot be used in conjunction with health insurance, the consumer may see that the cost of their medicine is actually LESS with the card than it is with their insurance.
Another benefit to the consumer is that these programs will publish at which pharmacy you can find your medicine. This is especially helpful to the person who has specialty drug prescriptions. For example, Rebekah is prescribed a specialty drug for pain and neuropathy due to Multiple Sclerosis. This drug is not commonly stocked in pharmacies and so many times, she has had to wait for them to order it. By using the discount drug program, Rebekah is able to see which pharmacies have her medicine in stock and the estimated price.
So where do you start? Here are a few discount drug programs to investigate costs and providers for your prescriptions:
- staterxplans.us
- Provides free drug cards to reduce the out-of-pocket cost of prescription drugs.
- Click on your state and the site will redirect you to your corresponding prescription assistance program.
- goodrx.com
- Compares prices and discounts at thousands of pharmacies.
- Receive coupons via phone, email, or text to print or present for discounts.
- refillwise.com
- Free drug card to present at pharmacy for cost savings on prescriptions.
- Earn rewards each time you use their card—similar to credit card rewards. Each fill is 500 points and when you reach 5,000 points, you earn a gift card to various retailers.
Being a savvy consumer can save you money! Shop around to find the best cost for your prescription drugs and save time by locating the pharmacy that has your meds in stock. Discount drug programs are a great resource so do your research and find one that fits your needs.
by admin | Apr 11, 2018 | Employee Benefits, Human Resources
When evaluating employee benefits, essentials such as health and dental plans, vacation time and 401(k) contributions quickly come to mind. Another benefit employers should consider involves subsidizing learning as well as ambitions. Grants and reimbursements toward advanced degrees and continuing education can be a smart investment for both employers and employees.
Educational benefits are strongly linked to worker satisfaction. A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management revealed that nearly 80 percent of responding workers who rated their education benefits highly also rated their employers highly. While only 30 percent of those rating their higher education benefits as fair or poor conversely rated their employer highly.
These benefits are popular with businesses as well. In a survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, nearly five of six responding employers offer some form of educational benefit. Their top reasons are to retain current employees, maintain or raise employee satisfaction, keep skill levels current, attract new talent and boost innovation and productivity. Tax credits offer additional advantages. Qualifying programs offer employers tax credits up to $5,250 per employee, per year.
At the same time, companies should offer these benefits with care as they do pose potential pitfalls. Higher education assistance can be costly, even when not covering full costs. Workers taking advantage can become overwhelmed with the demands of after-hour studies, affecting job performance. Also, employers would be wise to ensure their employees don’t promptly leave and take their new skills elsewhere.
When well-planned, educational benefits will likely prove a good investment. Seventy-five percent of respondents to SHRM’s survey consider their educational-assistance programs successful. To boost your employee morale, skill levels and job-satisfaction scores, consider the benefit that may deliver them all, and more.
Find out more:
IFEBP: Why Educational Assistance Programs Work
EBRI: Fundamentals of Employee Benefit Programs
By Bill Olson, VP, Marketing & Communications at United Benefit Advisors
Originally posted on UBABenefits.com
