Blogs

Summer is finally here.  Long days, relief from the routine of school, relaxing vacations, exciting travel – so much fun to be had!  But before you swing into summer, consider some workplace planning that will make the season a little more enjoyable – and more productive – for all, and not just for the lucky ones who are headed off on vacation.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) issued recently a newly revised  Form I-9 that must be used to verify employment eligibility for new hires starting on May 7, 2013.  This form also must be used for any reverification of existing employees (if necessary) and for rehires effective immediately. For new hires, you can start using it on May 7. To ensure you're using the correct form, check to make sure it says "(rev. 03/08/13) N" in the bottom left corner. 

Employee handbooks are an essential tool in managing employee relations and therefore successfully operating your business. An up-to-date, well-written handbook gives your employees clear guidelines of how you want your business to run. 

One of the biggest challenges for managers is getting top performance from employees.  While performance management can be a complicated process, there are three essential components: 1) establishing a clear definition of the position and an expectation of what is to be done; 2) providing feedback on performance as compared to expectation; and 3) rewarding success or correcting failure.  Below is an ABC guide to help you define your expectations and manage performance. 

Every day we get calls from our clients about challenges they are facing at work.  As is often the case, most of the concerns we handle are easily avoidable. Below are three common HR mistakes from recent months. 

Employers who have employees in New York are required to issue annual notices under the Wage Theft Prevention Act ("WTPA") to all New York employees between January 1 and February 1, 2013.  Although a bill was introduced in the New York State Legislature to repeal the annual notice requirement in early 2012 (which was the first year that the annual notice requirement was in effect), t

By Sallie Biittner, Executive Consultant, Affinity HR Group

‘Tis the season for holiday parties, gift exchanges, year-end bonuses, ringing out the old and welcoming the new.  It is a time of enormous opportunity to do good, but also of enormous risk that the best intentions can come back to haunt you like Marley’s ghost.  And misfires during the holiday season can leave a most lasting impression of any.

Last week, Fortune Magazine ran an article on how large, fast-growing companies have used the same candidate screening tests (TriMetrix HD assessments) that we use in our recruiting efforts. This article supports our findings that the test is highly effective and useful.  Beyond that, I found the article to be both inspiring and exciting because you don’t have to be a Fortune 100 company to be strategic in your hiring.

Do your employees use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, You Tube or other social media in the course of their employment? Are employees using social media outside of work? Do you have a policy regarding social media use?

In May, 2012, the Acting General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board issued a report reviewing language included in the social media policies of several employers and identifying content that did and did not comply with the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

We recently held a webinar entitled Ready, Steady, Engage! that explores the affordable and effective ways that employers can improve employee engagement.  Studies have shown that improving employee engagement reduces absenteeism, theft and medical costs and improves customer satisfaction, productivity and profitability.

This webinar was hosted by the Independent Insurance Agents of New York and is made available for download with their permission.

To access the 40 minute webinar, please click on the following link: