No matter how diverse the jobs within a company might be, there’s one department that knows what people do more than any other: human resources. While marketing might not know exactly what the coders are doing, and upper management might have no idea about the inner workings of warehouse jobs, HR recruiters have to know about all of these positions so that they can find the best people for the jobs at hand.

But for most people, HR itself remains a mystery. And wherever there’s mystery, there are sure to be myths and misconceptions that pop up. Today we’re going to take a look at three very real myths that surround the hiring process when you work with HR consultants.

MYTH: THE INTERVIEW IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF HIRING

Now don’t get us wrong, the interview can be...

Soft skills is a term used to describe intangible, non-technical skills that you can’t learn in school or from a book. They include things like communication, time management, work ethic, and critical thinking. Compared to hard skills, they are ways of working and interacting with people and today’s HR recruiters will tell you that they matter now more than ever.

Soft skills are more difficult to learn, and without them, all of the technical training and education will get you nowhere. If you want to make sure you’re hiring the right people for the job, you have to make sure they possess the right soft skills. Some are more desirable than others depending on the type of job, but let’s take a look at the ones recruiters focus on most.

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When posing the question, “Are you aware of the activities that take place in your company?”, they’ll undoubtedly tell you that they have a pretty good grasp on what’s going on in their workplace. Employees are engaging in chit chat about their day over lunch in the break room or important discussions about the next company’s project in the meeting rooms. As a business owner, you probably feel like you know exactly what’s going on beneath the surface.

If you want to succeed, you need to dig a little deeper. Are you interested in creating more meaningful conversations this week?

If your answer is yes, just ask these following questions.

How do you think this business could improve?

From time to time, you’re so involved in your own business that it sometimes...

New Figure Marks Decrease from 2019

Under the employer shared responsibility (“pay or play”) provisions of the Affordable Care Act, applicable large employers—generally those who have 50 or more full-time employees (including full-time equivalent employees)—may be subject to a penalty if they do not offer affordable coverage that provides minimum value to their full-time employees and their dependents.

For plan years beginning in 2020, the Internal Revenue Service has announced that coverage will generally be considered affordable if the employee’s required contribution for the lowest-cost self-only health plan offered is 9.78% or less of his or her household income for the taxable year. For plan years beginning in 2019, the applicable percentage is 9.86%.

Given that...

Onboarding is often known to be the last stage of the recruitment process – and the first step towards retention.

If done correctly – your new employee will evolve into a valuable asset to your team.

If done incorrectly – you’ll miss out on honing in your employee’s full potential, and you’ll waste your time and money.

Check out these 7 onboarding misconceptions to help you get your onboarding process started.

1. Onboarding begins on the employees’ first day – Usually, there is a gap of two-weeks from when you hire your new employee and when they first start their position. This is the time to get those small, tedious tasks out of the way, such as cleaning out their desk space, providing them with basic office supplies, creating their name badge, etc. It is...

On August 20th, 2019 our Sr. HR Consultant and President of Smarter HR Solutions, Nicole Bellow had the opportunity of joining Mr. Isiah Carey of the Isiah Factor: Uncensored to discuss how some employers are beginning to loosen their reigns when it comes to background checks and drug testing. We would like to send a special thank you to Misty Starks of Misty Blue Media and Isiah Carey FOX 26 of the Isiah Factor: Uncensored for this amazing moment!

When it comes to managing people it is important to have great communication, leadership and being a good delegator. There are also a few other rules that should be taken into count when it comes to management. Check out these 7 rules of management that can help you enhance your management style.

• Hire with an eye for tomorrow – When you first start a business, of course, you intend to grow that business. So, when you’re choosing your staff, think about how they can help you in the long run. All businesses plan to grow, so hiring within that plan is important.
• Trust wisely – When it comes to your team, you must put your trust in them. You should give people a chance to fail as well as succeed. To learn from any lessons, you must first make mistakes.
• Be fair...

When it comes to workplace safety, there is no better time to promote new ideas or reinforce safe working habits than in a safety meeting. However, we often see small business owners asking how to make their safety meetings more effective. It’s important that owners, managers, and employees don’t think of safety meetings as a waste of time. Here are some simple steps that you can take to ensure all your safety meetings moving forward are a success!

In an ideal world, we’d never have to worry about solving other people’s issues within our businesses. We’d have perfectly crafted policies, a highly skilled management team, and an engaged workforce with employees who are passionate about helping our operations to reach their full potential.

Of course, things don’t always quite work out this way. Pretty much every business owner has experienced some tricky Human Resource (HR) issues during their career, and most would agree that they can sometimes come out of nowhere but now is not the time to point fingers. If you’ve found yourself with a complex and confusing people issue that you must deal with, then right now, you need to be focused on finding the solution to the problem.

We’re going to explain more about the...

It’s the topic every human resource manager has heard repeatedly: millennials are the future of the workforce. Research from Gallup found that millennials are the generation most likely to switch jobs 60% of one survey’s respondents are open to new job opportunities and they’re the least engaged generation in the workplace. Though many may think this is because millennials are bored and constantly looking for a new thrill, we know it’s all about culture.

This goes beyond the unlimited paid time off and best-in-class snack bars. Millennials are willing to put the work in to feel they are valued, against what others think. They want to be surrounded by committed and talented people who...

Trust is a funny old issue. It’s hard to describe, and it’s arguably not very measurable. Those who are skeptical of the Human Resource profession might say that it’s exactly the type of thing that we’re known for dealing with. In other words, all fluff and no substance!

Jokes aside though, if there’s a lack of trust between management and employees, you’re going to run into serious problems. Issues that may occur could be things such as, low productivity, high turnover of staff, and a bad reputation as an employer. Issues such as these could suddenly, seem a lot more serious.

Trust issues may be caused by a wide variety of factors. It could be that you didn’t deliver what you said you would, or you were unable to keep a promise that you made in haste. Sometimes, these...

Being a great manager doesn’t happen overnight, it comes with grown, learning and developing the experience. Becoming a great manager requires honest self-evaluations and occasional reassessments of your management style. The following checklist is designed to guide you in that evaluation. Use it to take note of your people skills. Be honest with yourself. Then, revisit it in six months to reassess.

1. Lead and guide don’t control: Try to take a more completely hands-off approach, but don’t micromanage your employees either. Explain to your employees what needs to be done, but it’s best not to dictate exactly how you want it done.
2. Utilize your employees’ strengths: Each one of your employees has something to offer the company. Identify, recognize and cultivate their...

Imagine you had to miss work for a week, two weeks or maybe even a month. Would your employees or co-workers know how to step in and take over the reins while you’re absent? If you plan a vacation or become suddenly ill, you would want your business to run smoothly without major interruptions. So, here are some steps to get you started:

Delegating someone for the tasks:

We know that it can be hard to delegate tasks to another person because you have gotten into the habit of doing things yourself. However, before you go on vacation or must miss work, it is best to make sure to delegate critical tasks and discuss your expectations. So, when you return, you’re not faced with a lot of “need to do’s” that could have been done while you were away.

Empowering that delegated...

Have you made the decision to work with a Human Resource (HR) consultant to tackle people management issues within your business? This could be an excellent choice and tactic that could really pave the way for more efficient working practices in the future. If you don’t have the resources at the current time to have your own in-house HR expertise, using the services of a contractor can offer the best of both worlds. You could get flexibility, affordability, and most importantly, better results.

It’s important that you understand what you can expect along the way, and how you can get the most out of the working relationship. You’ll want to ensure that you get the best return possible on your investment, so it’s time to start planning and thinking about how you’ll get the outcome...

Do you ever stop for a second to consider the consequences of your staff deciding to leave your business?

You’ve put mass amounts of time, effort, and money into finding and recruiting the very best people, so it would make great sense to think about how you can continue to make a return on your investment by nurturing your employees and doing all you can to hold on to them.

It’s worth noting that there are right ways to improve your retention rates, and there are approaches that are far less desirable. In some cases, certain popular practices could do more damage to your business than good.

Let’s examine some shady ways of holding on to your staff that you should seek to avoid.

Making big promises that you know you can’t keep

Perhaps you are...

Nicole Bellow

SR. HR CONSULTANT

To Our Clients, Prospects, and Partners,

We are committed to being a resource to you while navigating through the effects of the pandemic, COVID-19. Please be sure to follow the recommendations from the CDC and do your best to refrain from large crowds, exercise good hygiene, and use your best judgment when exposing yourself to others who may be sick or those with compromised immune systems that you could unknowingly infect. If leaving your home is not an absolute necessity, please refrain from doing so over the next two weeks. However, if you know an elderly person who may need assistance with food, errands, medication, etc., please reach out to them because this population is at a greater risk for COVID-19 to cause serious harm to...

If your company has less than 50 employees, you are covered. Within the law, there was some language that the Secretary of Labor can issue an exempt to small businesses with fewer than 50 employees where it would jeopardize the viability of the business as a going concern but that may only be for the leave to care for a child whose school has closed. We are still waiting for further guidance on the details.

Summary of the Law:

To summarize this new law, it is a very short, quickly written law, that was signed by the President on March 18th and will take effect on Tuesday, April 2nd. Most of the questions about how to execute or implement it will be filled in over the next day’s/weeks/months. We are sharing everything we know below and will not be able to answer follow up...

Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)

Since the enactment of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act on March 18, new information and guidance have been released every few days, though still much slower than employers would like. We have summarized what we believe to be the most relevant new information below. We will continue to update the HR Support Center multiple times per day to keep you informed, and we encourage you to visit the site regularly for updates.

Required FFCRA Poster

The Department of Labor (DOL) has released a...

Now that our local area will soon resume business activities, it is prudent to start shaping our new “normal”. Business owners and managers plan annually to assess worst-case scenarios that may impact their business as it relates to their greatest assets – their employees – but now we should take more of a quarterly approach if not monthly approach. Pandemics are least likely to be planned for but now is the time to update your Employee Handbook and Emergency Disaster Plans using the knowledge that we’ve gained over the last 6 weeks and include a plan for a resurgence of COVID-19.

Usually, disaster recovery plans are not well maintained but unfortunately, we have used ours consistently over the last four years due to hurricanes and flooding. Remember how your employees have been...