In last week’s post I introduced our new blog series for 2021. Each week a member of our team will be sharing what they are working on…in real time. You can read our reasons for starting this series here.
I mentioned that not all posts would be about super exciting HR programs and initiatives. Sometimes the posts would be about every day, compliance, necessary but not necessarily the sexy side of HR.
If HR has a sexy side.
Today’s post is definitely one of those. What I’m working on this week is unbelievably necessary, even if not insanely exciting.
The HR Compliance Starter Package
At the beginning of every year we get inundated with calls from businesses who need help ensuring they are legally compliant from an employee standpoint. These businesses have no in-house HR and to this point, employee concerns have been handled by another member of the team who may have no expertise in HR.
The common line I hear from these individual is “I don’t know what I don’t know.”
We have a basic service that offers an HR audit, a handbook review/update and one-year of our HR Hotline (My HR Expert) service that becomes very popular this time of year. I consider it our Starter Package.
In the past week two days we have signed up 3 new clients on this program so that is what I’m working on this week.
Scheduling audits, assigning handbook reviews to team members and getting clients setup with access to our hotline.
Size/Type of Business
In these weekly posts I wanted to share the size and types of businesses we are working with. I hear from readers and those attending our monthly lives that they love it when I share relatable stories from other clients.
The recent clients going through compliance basics with us range from 9-32 employees. They are located in multiple locations throughout the US and are growing. The industries vary from computer software to digital advertising to CPA firms.
An Office Manager or COO or some other employee has been handling HR, but the company has now realized they need an expert to really ensure that things are legally as compliant as they think they are.
Why This Work Matters
Obviously, companies need to be legally compliant. Depending upon state, what I call regular “compliance maintenance” is crucial. There are many states that always have new laws that take effect January 1st of every year. California of course is one, but it’s not limited to the Golden State. Many others have new laws that take effect that impact small businesses. These new laws often require updates to an employee handbook and know how in understanding how to implement.
Further, things can be in-compliance and then due to a myriad of factors, fall out of compliance. Compensation is an area that comes to mind as well as recruiting. Ban the box has been in effect for many years in many states, yet we have seen many clients still taking applications that ask about criminal history.
There are also laws that are affected by how many employees you have. It’s easy to be compliant at one employee threshold and then fall out of compliance as you grow. Minimum wage and employee leave offerings fall into this category in California.
Cadence
We suggest audits happen every couple of years and that handbook reviews/updates happen every year, especially if you are in a highly regulated state. If you work with an HR consultant that knows your business, the handbook review/update process should be pretty quick.
You can do both of these things in-house as well. There are a ton of audit documents you can find online. We offer one here.
You can update your handbook by searching for laws in your state that have been updated. There are handbook builders online that you can find. SHRM has one, Cal Chamber has one. I don’t love or recommend them because they are then cookie cutter and don’t truly represent your brand which a handbook should, but as an easy DIY option they are available.
What Are You Working On #WIWOW
Part of what I want to do with this series is hear from other small businesses about the things they are working on inside their org. It doesn’t have to be strictly HR related. If you are an employee in a small business, I would love to hear what you are working on this week.
You can share it in the comments below or on LinkedIn or Twitter using the hashtag #WIWOW. I want to highlight all the cool stuff happening in small businesses and this is one cool way to do that.