Guest Column | January 14, 2015

Your Top 5 New HR Habits For 2015

By Robyn Porter, Human Resources Manager & Consultant, HTG Peer Groups

Happy 2015!  The start of a new year brings so much hope, promise and excitement for us all, both personally and professionally. And while many business owners and managers have spent the last few weeks focused on strategically planning execution of their 2015 business plans, I would suggest few have given much thought to their HR strategic plans. So here’s my shortlist of HR “habits” every leader and company, big to small, needs to incorporate into their 2015 plan (and every year thereafter):

  1. Create A Useable, Compliant Job Description Template. This sounds more daunting than it really is. Just find one you like, stick to it, and use it across all your departments and positions. Everything (and I mean everything) in the world of HR starts with a good job description. If you have a really good one, it can clarify expectations of your team members and managers with regard to their performance. It gives your new employees guidance as to what is expected of them. And it goes a long way to winning any kind of unemployment, wrongful termination, or job classification audits or lawsuit. Then use this document! It’s a living document, to be referenced and tweaked. And be sure to get your employees’ input into the document as well.
  2. Think Of Recruiting As Marketing. Treat your recruiting like any other marketing campaign. Establish a budget, timeline, and anticipated results, and add this to your business plan. Brand your recruiting like any other marketing you do, and get a jobs page on your website! Even incorporate it into your current marketing campaigns and cross-promote. You’ll double your exposure and look really savvy, too.
  3. Find An Applicant Tracking System. Once considered cumbersome and expensive, applicant tracking systems (ATS) have now become your best friend when hiring, especially if you don’t have a dedicated recruiter on staff.  They are user friendly, easy to manage and can help streamline your process, providing excellent ROI.  One I particularly like is Workable and starts at as little as $20 per month.
  4. Document, Document, Document. Water cooler discussions? Document. Habitual late employee? Document. Someone got an atta-boy/girl? Document. Employee mentioned they would like to get promoted? Document. Formal or informal, emails or performance improvement plans, just keep a record. Do a little research as to how to handle each kind.
  5. Audit Your Employee Files. Appoint someone within your organization to be the owner of this process (should be either an HR person or someone who is the official keeper of all things HIPAA). Companies need a minimum of three distinct files:
    1. personnel files
    2. I-9 files
    3. medical files.

I-9 and medical files should be kept in a locked, separate filing cabinet from personnel files. The reasons are many and varied and too complicated to go into in this brief post.

I-9s alone are extremely complicated. The agency audits of these are on the rise and easy revenue generators when infractions are found.

I encourage you to start your year off on the right foot in giving thought to an HR strategic plan.  By implementing a few from my shortlist of HR “habits” up above, you will be well on your way to an effective year in building and maintaining a high-performing team.

Robyn Porter is a Human Resources Manager of 20+ years and Consultant with HTG Peer Groups.  Her background includes the IT, Hospitality, Distribution, Entertainment and Gaming industries, and from operations to ownership to corporate human resources.  Her passion lies in the SMB space helping businesses to maximize HR processes and successfully navigate the challenges.  You can reach her at rporter@htgpeergroups.com or find her on LinkedIn or Twitter at @RobynTheHRLady.

About HTG Peer Groups.  HTG Peer Groups is an international organization of leading IT solution providers with nearly 300 member companies.  In everything they do, whether running peer groups, coaching, or consulting with clients, the HTG team looks to make a positive difference in the lives and businesses of those they serve.  Visit www.htgpeergroups.com or call 712-794-7994 for more information.