Human Resources

How do we know when an employee is ready for a leadership role?

It’s good you’re thinking about this. Promotions into leadership too often come with little discussion about how the leadership role will be different from the current role or whether the employee has the interest or skill set to be an effective leader.

Fortunately, there are indicators that someone is likely ready for a leadership role. These include (among other traits) their ability to communicate effectively, inspire and motivate others, resolve conflicts while minimizing drama, adapt to change, and take accountability for the work of their team.

If there’s an employee you’d like to promote, but they haven’t expressed an interest in a leadership role, schedule a meeting with them to talk about the idea. Share why you feel they are ready for the role and what it means to be a leader within your organization. Ask about their career goals and how they would like to advance within the organization. Let the employee know how you can support them with these goals, and provide additional training whether or not they move into a leadership track.

If the employee is interested in leadership, provide them a clear picture of the responsibilities and the training and guidance they’ll receive as they move into the new role. Most employees who are new to leadership will need extra support as they transition into a position of greater responsibility.
This Q&A does not constitute legal advice and does not address state or local law.

If you find evidence that harassment or any policy violations occurred, you should follow up with the offending employee. Your response should match the severity of the offense. A mildly insensitive comment might warrant an educational conversation or a warning, whereas a racial slur might warrant a final warning or termination, depending on the circumstances.

Make sure to formally Document your findings and any disciplinary actions taken.

If you have questions about how to handle specific HR Situations or have an interest in making sure your company stays in compliance, give us a call. Over 152,000 US companies use our system to make sure their staff has the proper tools and resources to keep your HR house in order.

An employee allegedly made a racially insensitive comment in the presence of a coworker. How should we respond?

You need to investigate the matter. A racially insensitive comment could be considered harassment—unwelcome behavior that’s based on a protected class such as race. Harassment becomes unlawful if putting up with it is a condition of continued employment or if the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive. (Note: Several states have lowered the bar for what constitutes illegal harassment and no longer require that certain behavior be severe or pervasive. This Q&A addresses the standards under federal law.)

Make sure to formally Document your findings and any disciplinary actions taken.

We would like to reclassify an employee from exempt to nonexempt status. Is it okay to do this? What do we need to do to change their status?

Yes, it’s possible to make this change. Any employee can be classified as a nonexempt employee, although we generally recommend that all employees in the same role have the same classification.

That being said, exempt employees sometimes feel there is a certain “status” involved in being salaried and exempt. If you decide to reclassify an employee, aim to do so in a manner that does not denigrate them or cause them to become disengaged.

When reclassifying employees from exempt to nonexempt, it’s important to clearly communicate the change in writing, make the change effective in payroll and job descriptions, and communicate your policies and expectations that will be affected. You’ll also want to ensure that managers understand all applicable wage and hour laws impacting nonexempt employees and how they may affect their day-to-day work. These may include:

Taking meal and rest breaks
Properly tracking their time
Reporting any overtime worked

If you are reclassifying the employee because you realized they have been misclassified as exempt, you may want to speak with an employment attorney first since the change may tip the employee off that they were previously missing out on overtime or other benefits.

What are employee classifications and how do I know if I’m doing it correctly?

Below is an overview of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) classifications. Each of your employees must be classified as exempt or non-exempt and I’ll provide the steps for proper classification and what each classification means below.

Taking meal and rest breaks
Properly tracking their time
Reporting any overtime worked

We also highly recommend that you implement this change with advance notice to the affected employees and with an effective date that falls on the start of a workweek and your payroll cycle. This gives you time to communicate your expectations and train your employees on the policies they’ll need to follow now. We recommend obtaining a written acknowledgment from the affected employees showing their understanding of these changes.
If you are reclassifying the employee because you realized they have been misclassified as exempt, you may want to speak with an employment attorney first since the change may tip the employee off that they were previously missing out on overtime or other benefits.

An employee recently had a heart attack during his shift at our facility. Is a heart attack considered a work-related injury and can be claimed on Workers Compensation?

Since it sounds like the incident may have taken place on company premises, it is possible that it could potentially be covered under workers’ compensation so we would recommend that you reach out to your third-party workers’ compensation insurance carrier for guidance.

In general, injuries that arise out of or in the course of an employee’s employment are considered to be work-related. For the determination of workers’ compensation eligibility, an employer’s premises, including parking lots, would be considered within the zone of employment. If an employee was injured at work in the course of a heart attack while at work (such as falling and hitting their head) then it may be covered, An employee would have to apply for such a benefit and your third party insurance provider would then determine their eligibility.

We would recommend that you follow the procedures for an injury at work and let your third-party workers’ compensation insurance carrier determine whether or not it would be determined to be workers’ compensation. Even if an employee has not missed time for an injury the company may potentially need to cover the initial medical expenses.

How can we make sure our online Employee training is effective?

Online Employee Training can be a useful tool for developing talent, but they can also end up being a waste of time and resources, even if the content and presentation are good. The difference between effective and ineffective training often comes down to whether employees are able to absorb and retain the information they receive.

There are obstacles to absorption and retention of training. Busy employees may listen to a webinar while they work on other things, catching only tidbits here and there; or they may put a training video off until they’ve finished a project and are too exhausted to give it due attention.

To avoid these training pitfalls, consider these three tips:

The Neuro Leadership Institute argues that we learn quickly and retain information best when:

we focus on one topic (attention),
we actively connect what we learn to what we already know (generation)
we experience positive feelings while learning (emotion)
space our intake of information (spacing)

For example, cramming training on multiples topics into a tight two-day workshop would be much less effective than spreading that training out over a few weeks. Give employees time to reflect and practice the skills they’ve learned.

In some professions, like music and athletics, you spend most of your work time learning, building, and reinforcing skills before the big performance. Whether it’s a concert, game, or race, good performance necessitates constant practice. In most professions, practice seems like a luxury you can’t afford because you’re expected to be performing during your work time. This is one reason training fails to deliver desired results. To master new skills, employees need time to focus on building those skills. This means some work time needs to be set aside post-training for them to engage and practice what they’ve learned.

Align training with the present needs and future goals of both the company and the employee. When assessing online employee training goals, consider what additional knowledge and skills will enable them to do their jobs better now, but also set them up for success in their future career. Employees are more likely to be excited by and personally invested in their training if they see there is a personal return on their investment. It is the perceived personal value of training, that encourages its success.

AllMyHR’s Online Employee Training system has hundreds of quality, pertinent and effective modules. And our training consultants are available to help you design a customized package specifically for your company, for less than the cost of a Latte a Day! Schedule a quick call today 540-373-2121 or Schedule a Demo.

An employee is requesting copies of their harassment complaint and investigation files. How should I respond?

It depends. You can certainly share a copy of the original complaint with the person who filed it. You can also tell them about the general results and let them know whom they should speak to if the harassment continues.

You shouldn’t hand over investigation notes, witness statements, or other documentation. That information was shared with an expectation of confidentiality (at least whenever possible). Sharing would violate that trust and potentially deter employees from participating in future investigations. Likewise, the employee’s complaint shouldn’t be shared with anyone else. This, of course, includes the accused party. Aside from breaking confidence, it could lead to retaliation.

On a related note, since under state law personnel files may have to be provided to employees upon request, it’s best to keep investigation files separate from personnel files. It’s reasonable to include a copy of the general results of an investigation in the personnel file, but don’t include any complaints, investigation notes, or witness statements.

During an exit interview, a departing employee accused one of our managers of harassment. Should we investigate even though the accuser is no longer employed here? The manager has been with us a long time, and we’ve never heard any complaints about him before.

Yes, investigate the allegations even though the accusing employee has left the organization. If your investigation shows that harassment occurred, you should take the appropriate disciplinary action.

Federal law obligates employers to prevent or stop unlawful harassment. Harassment happens when behavior is unwelcome and based on a protected class such as race, gender, age, religion, national origin, or disability. It becomes unlawful when it is severe or pervasive enough to create a hostile work environment. In this case, since you’ve been made aware of alleged sexual harassment, failing to investigate the allegations could invite risk, especially if additional complaints are made against the same individual.

What are the basic steps of a harassment investigation?

When an employer receives a harassment claim, they have a legal obligation to examine the claim by conducting a thorough investigation. This includes the following steps:

Select an interviewer. Typically, this person would be an impartial manager, company officer, or HR representative. They should approach the investigation process without a presumption of guilt or innocence and with the commitment to treat the situation as fairly as possible. Typically, the investigation can and should be conducted and closed within three days.
Speak with the employee who made the complaint (if you know who they are), the accused employee, and any witnesses they name. The questions asked during the interview should not lead an interviewee toward a particular response and should not be accusatory in nature. They should be unbiased, open-ended, and prepared in advance. It’s also important not to promise a particular outcome to employees participating in the investigation.
Once the investigation interviews are complete, document your conclusions and actions taken. If the company determines that the accused employee did in fact violate its harassment or other workplace policy, appropriate disciplinary measures may be administered. What qualifies as appropriate would depend on the severity of behavior; it may include termination of employment. A summary of the findings should be placed in the accused employee’s file.
Inform both the accused employee and the accuser about the conclusions of the investigation and any disciplinary measures taken. The complaining employee doesn’t need to know the specific disciplinary action, just that appropriate corrective action has been taken. Remind both employees that you will not tolerate retaliation.
In some situations, it is advisable to separate employees to limit the potential for future incidents, but care should be taken so this step doesn’t have a negative impact on the employee who raised the complaint.

We’ve been both super busy and understaffed recently. Is there anything we can do during this time to help our employees avoid extra stress or burnout before we can hire more employees?

Yes. Here are a few things you can do to make this time run as smoothly and stress-free as possible:

Remove nonessential work duties: For the positions that seem most stretched, make a list of tasks that could be put on hold (or perhaps reassigned). You can invite input from employees, too, but I’d recommend acknowledging that they’re overwhelmed and saying that you’ll do your best to alleviate some of the pressure. Then hold off on nonessential tasks until business slows down or you’ve increased your headcount.

Allow for flexible scheduling: If employees need to work longer hours on some days during the week, consider allowing them to work fewer hours on other days of the week. Note that some states have daily overtime, spread-of-hours, or split-shift laws.

Category: Human Resources