HR Workforce Solutions
By Nonprofits, For Nonprofits
With $30 million in potential unemployment liability mitigated last year for over 2,100 nonprofits, it’s likely that your nonprofit could be overpaying. This short 30-minute webinar reveals some of the most common unemployment & HR risks that can cost your nonprofit thousands of dollars. After identifying the risks, this webinar reveals UST’s top recommendations to combat these issues.
Nonprofit Executives, Directors, and HR staff with 10 or more employees should register to learn about:
The webinar will also explore UST’s holistic program, created by and for nonprofits, which can help further lower your unemployment and HR liability. You can also get your questions answered live by an expert HR advisor at UST.
Register for your preferred webinar date at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/3707595373010251522
Even if you can’t attend live, when you register we’ll send you the recording as well as any handouts you’ll need to make sure your nonprofit is in compliance.
With $30 million in potential unemployment liability mitigated last year for over 2,100 nonprofits, it’s likely that your nonprofit could be overpaying. This short 30-minute webinar reveals some of the most common unemployment & HR risks that can cost your nonprofit thousands of dollars. After identifying the risks, this webinar reveals UST’s top recommendations to combat these issues.
Nonprofit Executives, Directors, and HR staff with 10 or more employees should register to learn about:
The webinar will also explore UST’s holistic program, created by and for nonprofits, which can help further lower your unemployment and HR liability. You can also get your questions answered live by an expert HR advisor at UST.
Register for your preferred webinar date at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/3707595373010251522
Even if you can’t attend live, when you register we’ll send you the recording as well as any handouts you’ll need to make sure your nonprofit is in compliance.
Is your nonprofit facing seasonal employment or in fear of funding cuts?
Marilyn Stemper, National Director of CareerArc, reveals how nonprofits who are utilizing outplacement services can more effectively reduce unemployment claims costs while establishing goodwill among former employees. (With CareerArc, you can help your displaced staff members find work up to 73% faster!)
CareerArc can help your former employees find new jobs quickly, with:
As a nonprofit, every dollar that you’re not paying in unemployment benefits is a dollar in support of your mission.
Watch the webinar recording today and learn how you can generate great savings and goodwill.
This webinar series is part of UST’s efforts to educate the nonprofit sector. For more learning opportunities, tips and legal updates just for nonprofits, sign up for our monthly e-News today!
There’s no denying that employee engagement numbers have been abysmal for the last few years but did you know that the engagement needle hasn’t moved in sixteen years? Disengaged employees are still leaving their jobs and while there are numerous reasons why, the most common explanations employees give when resigning are for career growth, pay and or benefits, issues with management, company culture or job fit.
According to the recent Gallup Report, State of the American Workplace, “51% of U.S. employees say they are actively looking for a new job or watching for openings.” That means that more than half of your employees could have one foot out the door already. And with hiring on the rise, employees have good reason to feel confident about finding work elsewhere.
The key take away in this report is that “to win customers – and a bigger share of the marketplace – companies much first win the hearts and minds of their employees.” When you have disengaged employees, not only do you have a higher turnover rate but you’re also more likely to have higher incidents of workplace accidents and absences caused by stress which can ultimately greatly impact your bottom line.
In Gallup’s research, they found that the vast majority of workers in the U.S. (70%) are not reaching their full potential – a problem with significant implications for American companies. Are your people getting the support and coaching they need to do their best? Happy and content employees that feel respected in the workplace create better quality work, greater contributions and commitment to their jobs.
Despite our best efforts, employee engagement is still a major hurdle for most companies. In this age of talent shortages and high turnover, it’s imperative that employers understand what truly drives their staff’s satisfaction levels and which factors influence their departures. Few things are as costly and disruptive as good people walking out the door. Losing an employee means bearing the costs of recruiting, hiring, training and lost productivity all of which can wreak havoc on your day-to-day business operations.
Your approach to employee engagement should be tying into the most common reasons for employee resignations. If you want your best people to stay, you need to think carefully not just about how you develop them but about how you keep them wanting to stay. It’s been proven time and time again that engaged employees have lower turnover, lower absenteeism, higher productivity and higher profitability. It’s time to step up your employee engagement plan.
Question: Can we include language in our handbook that limits and/or prohibits employees from discussing their pay and other incentives with each other?
Answer: While employers expect their employees to be professionals and not discuss their pay or other perquisites with others, it is not a best practice to add a policy or language to your employee handbook prohibiting or limiting employee discussion about pay or incentives. For instance, the federal National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), enforced by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), specifically provides that employees cannot be prohibited from discussing compensation and other working conditions because such discussions are protected concerted activity under the law.
Further, the federal Department of Labor released a fact sheet detailing how pay secrecy increases an employer’s risks for liability in equal pay claims. Finally, it is important that you research local or state laws to ensure compliance with this delicate legal issue.
Q&A provided by ThinkHR, powering the UST HR Workplace for nonprofit HR teams. Have HR questions? Sign your nonprofit up for a free 30-day trial here.
The UST HR Workplace powered by ThinkHR empowers nonprofit HR professionals with the guidance they need to be more effective and efficient in their jobs. By providing expert HR advice, thousands of HR templates, hundreds of training courses and an award-winning online library for all workplace concerns, the UST HR Workplace gives nonprofits the knowledge they need to avoid costly risks and liability issues.
“Maintaining risks in the workplace is crucial to any organization but specifically for the nonprofit sector where one unexpected risk can put the organization in a situation they’re unprepared for,” said Donna Groh, Executive Director of UST, “ThinkHR helps nonprofit HR professionals avoid costly litigation with the tools available to them through use of ThinkHR Live, Comply and Learn.”
Staying on top of the latest HR laws and educating employees on organizational policies can help mitigate volatile unemployment claims and reduce costs long-term. Last year alone, UST members took nearly 5,000 online training courses and submitted close to 1,500 HR questions. The most popular resources utilized included Workplace Safety and Harassment Prevention training, Compliance and compensation inquiries, the Employee Handbook Builder and downloadable HR forms.
The UST HR Workplace has been a go-to resource for UST’s participating nonprofit employers since its launch in 2014 and is a priceless support system that helps to save time and money – offered at no additional cost to UST members.
Nonprofits can get a free 30-day trial of the UST HR Workplace powered by ThinkHR by visiting https://www.chooseust.org/thinkhr/.
About UST https://www.chooseust.org/thinkhr/ Founded in 1983, the Unemployment Services Trust UST provides 501c3s with a cost-effective alternative to paying state unemployment taxes. UST participants save millions annually through claims management, hearing representation, claim audits, outplacement services and HR support. Join more than 2,200 nonprofits nationwide and request an Unemployment Cost Analysis at www.ChooseUST.org.
Podcast Description: This podcast discusses how most people can effectively talk about their company, but need to significantly improve upon how they talk about themselves—a skill that is crucial to advancing to and maintaining executive level status. The Founder and President of Association Strategies, Inc., Pamela offers three decades of experience in executive search, transition management and organization development.
Association Strategies, Inc. ASI is a premier executive search and transition management firm dedicated to finding and placing top notch talent in trade associations, professional societies, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. To learn more about Association Strategies, Inc., visit their website at http://www.assnstrategies.com/.
Listen to Podcast: http://throughthenoise.us/mediacast/250-association-strategies-pamela-kaul/
To stay up-to-date on the latest best practice tips and cost-saving ideas just for nonprofits, sign up for UST’s monthly eNews today!
Have you ever wondered about the gap between what you pay in taxes and what your former employees actually collect in unemployment benefits? Last year, after evaluating more than 185 eligible nonprofit organizations, UST found they were losing a combined $4,781,957.
By Federal law, 501c3 nonprofits do not have to pay state unemployment insurance taxes.
UST helps organizations like yours to keep more money in the nonprofit community without compromising the benefits paid out to deserving former employees. More than 2,200 organizations are already benefiting from a safe, cost-effective way to exercise their unemployment tax exemption and lower the hidden costs of HR, like hours spent filing paperwork.
If you’re a tax-rated nonprofit employer with 10+ employees or already direct reimbursing, please submit the online Unemployment Cost Analysis form and UST will readily determine whether you can save valuable time and money with their program. If you are currently overpaying, a UST Cost Advisor will provide you a custom two-year savings projection for free.
It only takes about 15 minutes to fill out the form—and UST participants often see savings of up to 60%—so we really encourage you to do it today.
When you join UST, you’ll be introduced to your dedicated Unemployment Claims Advisor, and receive access to a live HR hotline and nearly 300 employee training courses within 48 hours. To expedite your free Cost Analysis, go to www.ChooseUST.org/savings-evaluation and enter Priority Code: 2017BLOG.
Presented by ThinkHR, this on-demand webinar explores President Trump’s first 100 days in office. The presentation will address issues and questions about rescinded Executive Orders, regulatory enforcement agenda changes and legislative moves that could impact your nonprofit’s business operations.
Discover what you need to know and should be doing relating to:
Watch the webinar recording today: http://links.thinkhr.com/Q0FW0oT0Kj1Rn0Wf900v9S0
Want access to more HR-certified webinar opportunities and a live HR hotline? Visit www.chooseust.org/thinkhr/ to sign up for a FREE 30-day trial of the UST HR Workplace, powered by ThinkHR.
By exercising their exclusive nonprofit tax alternative, as allowed by Federal law, 501c3 organizations participating with UST have the ability to pay only for their own unemployment claims, which can save them thousands annually. Because they are no longer subsidizing for-profit companies in the state tax system, and are receiving expert claims guidance, UST members can efficiently manage their unemployment claims while mitigating liability.
“Within the last three years, UST has identified over $16 million in potential unemployment claims savings for hundreds of nonprofits across the United States,” said Donna Groh, Executive Director of UST. “It’s incredibly rewarding to know that the UST program continues to provide financial relief to such hard-working nonprofits and the communities they serve.”
In addition to offering claims support, UST also help nonprofits cut costs further by helping organization streamline their workforce and avoid costly legal fees with robust HR resources built into its program. These expert tools, including the live HR hotline, online job description builder and award-winning outplacement services, provide UST participants the extra bandwidth they need to strengthen their missions.
As the largest, lowest-cost trust nationwide, UST helps 501c3 organizations save valuable time and money through a host of workforce management solutions that include – unemployment claims management, cash flow protection, certified HR assistance, outplacement services and more. With the ability to find hidden savings for both tax-rated and direct reimbursing employers, UST encourages nonprofits with 10 or more employees to benchmark their costs.
Many managers lack fundamental training in managing people. More importantly, they lack the values, sensitivity, and awareness needed to interact effectively with their staff which affects the company as a whole and causes the bottom line to suffer.
Micromanagement – Bosses who are always under foot and constantly requiring updates are exasperating to everyone. All managers should start out from a position of trust with their employees. Micromanaging shows a lack of trust and makes an employee feel like they can’t be counted on to do things effectively.
Failing to get to Know Employees as People – Developing a relationship with employees is a key factor in managing. Managers need to know how to balance being professional with being human. Because we spend more time at work than we do at home most days, it’s important that employees feel like they belong. Celebrating successes, both professional and person, and empathizing during hard times can go a long way.
Workload Burnout – If you want push people out the door, nothing does it better than overworking your staff and pushing the limits of excessive production. Managers tend to push their best and most talented to do more but overworking your employees is counterproductive and risky if you don’t compensate with some sort of recognition such as raises, promotions or title-changes.
Failure to Communicate – The best communication is transparent communication. Sharing as much information as possible helps to make employees feel engaged and empowered. It also opens the door for feedback, ideas and suggestions which every company should encourage.
Don’t Recognize Good Work – Everyone likes a pat on the back every now and then and it’s the managers’ responsibility to reward a job well done. It can be as simple as verbal recognition, a small token of acknowledgement such as a gift card for coffee or as grand as a raise or promotion.
Failure to Develop Skills – Talented employees are always looking to learn something new and missing the mark on this one can cause your best people to grow bored and complacent. If you take away their ability to improve, it not only limits them, it limits you too.
If you want your best people to stay, you need to think carefully not just about how you develop them but about how you treat them. Cultivating happiness and good will through methodical efforts will help to avoid any unnecessary losses.
Presented by The Council on Accreditation COA, a nonprofit accreditor of human services organizations, this on-demand training is designed for people with little or no knowledge about COA.
The webinar will provide participants with a better understanding of:
Watch the webinar recording today: bit.ly/2kDwGhh
This webinar series is part of UST’s efforts to educate the nonprofit sector. For more learning opportunities, tips and legal updates just for nonprofits, sign up for ourmonthly e-News today!
Answer: One of the primary issues you face is in paying or not paying your interns. The Fair Labor Standards Act FLSA, which sets standards for the basic minimum wage and overtime pay, affects most private and public employment. Covered and nonexempt individuals who are “suffered or permitted” to work must be compensated under the law for the services they perform for an employer. Internships in the for-profit private sector will most often be viewed as employment, unless the test described below relating to trainees is met.
Interns in the for-profit private sector who qualify as employees rather than trainees typically must be paid at least the minimum wage as well as overtime compensation for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
Test for Unpaid Interns
The determination of whether an internship or training program meets this exclusion depends upon all of the facts and circumstances, and the following six criteria must be applied when making this determination:
If all of the above factors are met, an employment relationship likely does not exist under the FLSA, and the act’s minimum wage and overtime provisions do not apply to the intern. This exclusion from the definition of employment is necessarily quite narrow because the FLSA’s definition of “employ” is very broad.
Important: As of May 25, 2016, the Second Circuit New York, Vermont, and Connecticut and the Eleventh Circuit Alabama, Georgia, and Florida have rejected the Department of Labor’s six-factor test and have adopted the “primary beneficiary” relationship test, which takes into account the economic reality between the intern and the employer. The primary beneficiary relationship test has seven factors:
In examining these factors, no one factor is dispositive and courts should weigh the factors to determine the appropriate result depending upon the facts before them. The factors are also not exhaustive and, in certain situations, additional evidence may be appropriate to consider.
Here is our practical advice before you hire an intern:
Once the intern is on board:
Since its inception, audiences have come to expect a different kind of experience of being fully embedded in the life of an organization through the worldwide web. Organizations quickly came face-to-face with not only technical and operational issues but content barriers as well, all of which were far more difficult to overcome than expected. Organizations were also dealing with trying to figure out how to remain relevant to audiences looking to the web for their information and quickly learned that their standard marketing materials did not translate to the web. This required organizations not just to repackage what they were producing but also create new ways to transform how audiences receive, process, and interact with content.
The growth of social media over the last several decades has been boundless and continues to grow by staggering leaps. How we communicate with our audience changes on a constant basis and we are forced to adapt quickly. Just pushing a message won’t create a relationship but you are uniquely qualified to provide the perspective and guidance that your potential clients are looking for by creating public value and promoting an intuitive understanding of what your organization is about.
Building a mission-delivery engine requires a thoughtful process and the ability to create dynamic content to meet the needs of your audience. Organizations that know its greatest resource is its understanding of what its audience wants is the stepping stone to successful engagement.
Some helpful tips:
The web is central to how we enable, activate, and resource our mission. With multiple points of views and supporters, we’re enabling results that form something new. Get back to the possibilities that originally inspired us about the web and be intentional by providing a space on the web in which your audience’s needs are met.
It’s a competitive world for hiring managers and no one wants to get chopped or leave out a key ingredient.
Presented by ThinkHR, this on-demand webinar cooks up ideas and best practices for:
Watch the webinar recording today: http://links.thinkhr.com/o01iW00al00fSK09oWT9nR0
This webinar offers 1 HRCI and 1 SHRM-approved credit. Want access to more HR-certified webinar opportunities and a live HR hotline? Visit www.chooseust.org/thinkhr/ to sign up for a FREE 30-day trial of the UST HR Workplace, powered by ThinkHR.
The unemployment rate dipped slightly to 4.7% in February, down from 4.9 percent a year earlier and the number of persons employed part time for economic reasons was little changed at 5.7 million.Both the labor force participation rate (63%) and the employment-population ratio (60%) also showed little change for the month. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was essentially unchanged at 1.8 million in February and accounted for 23.8 percent of the unemployed. Over the year, the number of long-term unemployed was down by 358,000.
Job gains occurred in construction (+58,000), professional and business services (+37,000), private educational services (+29,000), manufacturing (+28,000), health care (+27,000), and mining (+8,000) while retail trade employment edged down in February (-26,000), following a gain of 40,000 in the month prior. Employment in other major industries, including wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, leisure and hospitality, and government, showed little to no change over the month.
In February, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 6 cents to $26.09, following a 5-cent increase in January. After years of stagnant wage growth, average hourly earnings have risen by 71 cents over the year.
With the unemployment rate at levels the Federal Reserve considers to be full employment and the blockbuster report on job gains, the path is clear for the Fed to raise its benchmark interest rates next week when they meet again.
For nonprofits, employees’ collaborative efforts are often the key element to mission advancement. But clashing personalities working toward the same goal can lead to resentment and impatience in the work place.
Learning to recognize and understand others’ personality strengths and weaknesses can help you appreciate the diverse environment you work in. Specifically, nonprofits can take advantage of their diversity when it comes to improving their employment procedures and ensuring ongoing structural soundness.
Basic working styles can often be separated into 4 general categories:
Whichever working style team members possess doesn’t really matter by itself. What most affects a nonprofit’s success is the compilation of strengths your team brings to the table and your team’s ability to successfully work together as a cohesive unit. As long as you understand and utilize everyone’s unique abilities, pertinent to your team’s progress, your nonprofit will continue to flourish.
Podcast Description: This podcast discusses how nonprofit organizations might be missing a crucial opportunity for growth and relevance by underutilizing their boards. Jeff De Cagna is an author, speaker and advisor for associations and non-profit organizations across North America and around the world with decades of experience under his belt.
Foresight First LLC is a governing orientation that provides actionable insights on plausible futures by challenging association and non-profit boards to deal productively with the past so they can focus their attention on the future and pursue the generative work of transformation. To learn more about Foresight First LLC, visit their website at www.foresightfirst.io.
To stay up-to-date on the latest best practice tips and cost-saving ideas just for nonprofits, sign up for UST’s monthly eNews: https://www.chooseust.org/
Do all your employees want to be on the safety team? Are you turning people away from your slips, trips, and falls training? Yea, we didn’t think so.
Workplace safety is important and ongoing, yet it’s tough to get employees excited and to stay on top of safety plans, regardless of the industry you’re in. Presented by ThinkHR’s workplace trends expert Don Phin, this on-demand webinar provides insight on the many ways to revamp or create a new safety plan.
In this webinar, Don discusses:
Watch the webinar recording today: http://links.thinkhr.com/A20b09KT10W9fSn00R0C0oW
This webinar offers 1 HRCI and 1 SHRM-approved credit. Want access to more HR-certified webinar opportunities and a live HR hotline? Visit www.chooseust.org/thinkhr/ to sign up for a FREE 30-day trial of the UST HR Workplace, powered by ThinkHR.
Answer: Although employers may see the “always on” employee as highly productive, the constant state of being readily available can leave employees feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. To combat this struggle, employers may:
Note: The application of any new or existing workplace policy must be applied consistently and without discrimination throughout the workforce.
Q&A provided by ThinkHR, powering the UST HR Workplace for nonprofit HR teams. Have HR questions? Sign your nonprofit up for a free 30-day trial here.
1. Give them room to grow. Employees need to know their duties and their responsibilities are recognized, and that there is a clear path to growth. Recognizing those employees that are eager to take on more can help you craft an upward moving path for them. And remember it’s okay to ask! What do they see themselves doing? What can they offer? Letting them feel involved in their own future gives them confidence in themselves and their leaders.
2. Have mentors. The next leaders are already in our midst. Giving them the tools they need – direct from the experts – is pertinent to maintaining a strong nonprofit sector. Who’s better than leaders within your own organization to provide this? Sometimes assigning a formal mentor to an employee is necessary to build this type of relationship. Consulting with your executives and even executives at other organizations as to who they can stand by and provide career direction, might just open some doors to some true talent development.
3. Ensure a fair workplace. Limited HR staff often means nonprofits are “winging it” when it comes to applying workplace rules. But are the rules fair, and more importantly, do they follow the law? You might think closing the office for a week during Christmas is okay if you require employees to work Saturdays leading up to the holiday (this is a true story), but that would be classified as overtime and not paying them appropriately could cause a damaging lawsuit for your organization. Wrongful terminations are another big source of costly legal exposure.
4. Train your managers to be the best. Employee satisfaction often starts with having the right guidance. Training your managers to be great managers helps provide the framework for the entire organization. People often leave managers, not companies… and because good leaders aren’t born (they’re created), providing leadership education and management-skill training is vital to helping build the leadership an organization needs to retain employees. UST offers 200+ free online training courses for managers and employees when you join the UST Program, which is exclusive to nonprofit organizations.
5. Acknowledge they have lives outside of work. As an employer you might think your role starts and stops during the 9-5 job. But recognizing that life-work balance is important, and giving employees options like flexible hours, working from home occasionally, discounted gym memberships or sponsorship of activities like registration in a race or creating a softball team, can help foster more happiness and productivity at work. With many for-profit companies making these types of moves, it’s important to recognize how the nonprofit sector can provide equally satisfactory jobs for workers. There are all kinds of ways nonprofits make a difference for their employees. Tell us some of your ways on facebook!
Employers added 227,000 jobs in January, exceeding economists’ expectations and marking the 76th consecutive month of job growth. This extends the record streak of job creation in the US and could reflect an economy that is approaching full employment.
Both the number of unemployed persons, at 7.6 million, and the unemployment rate, at 4.8 percent, were little changed from the prior month. The labor-force participation rate – Americans who had a job or were looking for one – ticked up to 62.9 percent from 62.7 percent in December, but it is still near its lowest level since the late 1970s.
The underemployment rate – people that are unemployed plus those who work part-time – rose 0.2 percent in January. Though the rate has fallen considerably in recent years, this is its highest level since October and nearly twice the level of the official jobless rate. Long-term unemployment – Americans out of work longer than six months – remains elevated at 24.4 percent.
America added 46,000 jobs in retail trade while construction rose by 36,000 and financial activities gained 32,000 jobs. Employment in health care also continued to trend up in January with an additional 18,000 positions being filled. Employment in other major industries, including mining, manufacturing, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, and information and government, showed little to no change over the month.
In January, average hourly earnings rose by 3-cents, following a 6-cent increase in December. Over the year, average hourly wages have risen by 2.5 percent, a sign of continued momentum from last year.
While this is the first jobs report to be released under the Trump administration, the survey was conducted weeks before the Presidential Inauguration so no doubt all of America will be watching closely to see how the state of unemployment starts to unfold.
Through the Noise interviewed Kiki L’Italien, CEO & Founder of Amplified Growth , to provide nonprofit employers the latest digital marketing tips they need to reach and engage current and potential members. Listen below or check out the full library of podcasts .
Podcast Description: This podcast discusses why it’s important to understand and utilize SEO and SEM—search engine optimization and search engine marketing—when looking to amplify your nonprofit’s voice. Kiki L’Italien explains how to get to know who you are trying to reach, where they spend their time, and how to meet them where they are.
Amplified Growth is a DC-based digital marketing consultancy specializing in SEO, social media, and content strategy for associations and commercial clients. To learn more about Amplified Growth, visit their website at http://www.amplifiedgrowth.net.
To stay up-to-date on the latest best practice tips and cost-saving ideas just for nonprofits, sign up for UST’s monthly eNews: https://www.chooseust.org/enews
Transitioning into a new job with a new boss in an entirely new environment can be one of the biggest transitions we experience as an adult. It is often an exciting time but also comes with a blend of emotions reminiscent of the first day of school.
First-time impressions are everything from both the perspective of the employer as well as the new employee. Training is a key component when welcoming new staff and can go a long way if done right. Some ways to help a new employee adjust:
1. All Inclusive Tour. The standard company tour is an essential part of a new hires first day on the job but including the unexpected such as a stroll to local hotspots – the best coffee house or favorite lunch spot – will help ease new employees’ nerves by allowing them to unwind a bit and will help in making them feel more welcome.
2. Make Connections. Meeting a dozen people in one day can be overwhelming so break down introductions over the first week and by departments. Include a cheat sheet that includes some background information on each person with names, titles and any known tidbits – favorite baseball team, hobbies, etc. This will also help to kick-start the process of building relationships.
3. Wine and Dine. Make sure new employees have lunch plans the first few days on the job. Once with you and then with other members of the team they’ll be working closely with or even with other members in the office that you think they should meet. Again this will make them feel welcome and at ease rather than sitting alone and feeling awkward.
4. Provide Resources. Have a Welcome Guide with checklists, sample documents, FAQs and a list of go-to-resources that will help new hires get acclimated before they’re off and running. Things like annual reports, marketing plans, the company newsletter and internal contact numbers for tech support and human resources among others. Easy-to-digest information that isn’t over-whelming helps to ease the stress associated with the transition.
5. Make Yourself Available. When faced with a steep learning curve anyone can get frustrated so make yourself available. Starting a new position is stressful enough, so making time to check in can make all the difference in the world. A no-fail way to make an employee feel like a part of the team is by making them feel comfortable in their new environment.
There’s no debate over the nerves associated with starting a new job so the more time you devote in the beginning, the faster you’ll have an at ease team member who feels welcome and wants to stay.
Are you dreading updating your employee handbook? You’re not alone! Most of today’s HR professionals can agree that employee handbooks can be a handful.
Presented by ThinkHR, this on-demand webinar will cover some best practices for creating an employee handbook. This one-hour presentation will go into detail about:
Watch the webinar recording today: http://links.thinkhr.com/O0y0S9nW0100WKRC0G09eoT
This webinar offers 1 HRCI and 1 SHRM-approved credit. Want access to more HR-certified webinar opportunities and a live HR hotline? Visit www.chooseust.org/thinkhr/ to sign up for a FREE 30-day trial of the UST HR Workplace, powered by ThinkHR.
Question: We do not give our staff floating holidays and only observe 10 holidays per year. How do we allow for staff who observe various religious holidays the time to do so, without giving them more personal time than staff who do not?
Answer: Employers are required to accommodate time off for religious practice, but are not required to pay for the time off. For employees who are nonexempt, the company should work with the employee to determine how much time off will be needed, and decide whether they will require the employee to use his or her available personal time off (PTO) before taking the unpaid time off for religious accommodation. It is important to note that although your policy needs to be applied consistently, different religions will require different amounts of accommodation. As a result, your pay practices should be consistent and aligned with the requirements of the religion. If employees requiring religious accommodation are exempt and taking partial days off, deductions may be made from their accrued paid time off banks and they must be paid their full salary according to FLSA rules.
Q&A provided by ThinkHR, powering the UST HR Workplace for nonprofit HR teams. Have HR questions? Sign your nonprofit up for a free 30-day trial here.
Presented by ThinkHR, this webinar will explore the practical impacts employers need to know now in the following areas:
When: Two dates available (Thursday, January 5th or Tuesday, January 10th at 8:30 am PDT)
Register: http://pages.thinkhr.com/HR-in-2017-Webinar.html
This webinar offers 1 HRCI and 1 SHRM professional development credit. Want access to more HR-certified webinar opportunities and a live HR hotline? Visit www.chooseust.org/thinkhr/ and sign up for a FREE 30-day trial of the UST HR Workplace, powered by ThinkHR.
Often equipped with fewer resources and a smaller staff size, nonprofit employees tend to feel overworked and stressed out. Because high stress levels can lead to a domino effect of general workplace unhappiness and high turnover rates, it’s imperative that employers take the time to encourage a balance between their work and personal life.
Here are 7 best practices that will help your employees maintain a proper work/life balance:
As a supervisor, your responsibility is to make sure that your employees have the tools and positive work environment they need to efficiently work through their day-to-day tasks. Taking the time to check in with your staff and encourage a balanced lifestyle will not only help your employees stay sane, but also improve general organizational productivity and growth.
Answer: Handling this type of discussion on such a sensitive subject can be difficult, but it is also an excellent opening for a frank conversation with that employee about his professional needs while you get direct feedback about his view of his job and the company. We recommend this approach:
During the course of these types of conversations, although compensation may be mentioned as the presenting problem, often the issue is really not that: You could find that the issues are more about the job itself, development opportunities, career goals, or other considerations. Consider the complete picture and be prepared to have a career development discussion with the employee about where he currently fits in the organization, what additional skills he may need to move his career in the direction he wants it to go, or other considerations.
The keys to these types of conversations are to treat the employee with respect and not dismiss his concerns without a good discussion of all of the relevant factors. Assure the employee that you value and respect his contributions to the business and want to do all you can as his manager to help him be productive and feel good about his contributions to the business.
This Q & A was provided by ThinkHR, powering the UST HR Workplace—a cloud-based HR platform provided to UST members at no additional cost. If you’re a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, get your toughest HR questions answered by signing up for a free 30-day trial
UST maintains a secure site. This means that information we obtain from you in the process of enrolling is protected and cannot be viewed by others. Information about your agency is provided to our various service providers once you enroll in UST for the purpose of providing you with the best possible service. Your information will never be sold or rented to other entities that are not affiliated with UST. Agencies that are actively enrolled in UST are listed for review by other agencies, UST’s sponsors and potential participants, but no information specific to your agency can be reviewed by anyone not affiliated with UST and not otherwise engaged in providing services to you except as required by law or valid legal process.
Your use of this site and the provision of basic information constitute your consent for UST to use the information supplied.
UST may collect generic information about overall website traffic, and use other analytical information and tools to help us improve our website and provide the best possible information and service. As you browse UST’s website, cookies may also be placed on your computer so that we can better understand what information our visitors are most interested in, and to help direct you to other relevant information. These cookies do not collect personal information such as your name, email, postal address or phone number. To opt out of some of these cookies, click here. If you are a Twitter user, and prefer not to have Twitter ad content tailored to you, learn more here.
Further, our website may contain links to other sites. Anytime you connect to another website, their respective privacy policy will apply and UST is not responsible for the privacy practices of others.
This Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use for our site is subject to change.
UST maintains a secure site. This means that information we obtain from you in the process of enrolling is protected and cannot be viewed by others. Information about your agency is provided to our various service providers once you enroll in UST for the purpose of providing you with the best possible service. Your information will never be sold or rented to other entities that are not affiliated with UST. Agencies that are actively enrolled in UST are listed for review by other agencies, UST’s sponsors and potential participants, but no information specific to your agency can be reviewed by anyone not affiliated with UST and not otherwise engaged in providing services to you except as required by law or valid legal process.
Your use of this site and the provision of basic information constitute your consent for UST to use the information supplied.
UST may collect generic information about overall website traffic, and use other analytical information and tools to help us improve our website and provide the best possible information and service. As you browse UST’s website, cookies may also be placed on your computer so that we can better understand what information our visitors are most interested in, and to help direct you to other relevant information. These cookies do not collect personal information such as your name, email, postal address or phone number. To opt out of some of these cookies, click here. If you are a Twitter user, and prefer not to have Twitter ad content tailored to you, learn more here.
Further, our website may contain links to other sites. Anytime you connect to another website, their respective privacy policy will apply and UST is not responsible for the privacy practices of others.
This Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use for our site is subject to change.
But wait, what’s wrong with this picture? You may not realize it, but disregarding that notice has just exposed your organization to serious risks.
UI Integrity
What is UI Integrity? Depending on which state you work in, it may already be familiar, but if you haven’t seen the impact of this federal legislation yet, it’s coming. Passed as part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011, compliance with UI Integrity provisions is required of all states no later than October of 2013.
UI Integrity was designed to address one of the biggest weaknesses of Unemployment Insurance funds nationwide: the persistence of unemployment benefits paid in error. In fiscal year 2011 alone, nearly 12% of unemployment benefits nationwide—approximately $13 billion dollars—were paid in error. While a common conception is that benefits paid in error are the result of bureaucratic incompetence, the truth is that most of these unwarranted payments occur when the state awards benefits to an applicant whose claim is later overturned. Frequently, the decision to award benefits is reversed when the employer offers information that wasn’t provided to the state in response to their initial request.
To address this problem, UI Integrity requires employers to provide complete and timely information for all unemployment claims in response to the state’s first request. And to make sure the reform yields the necessary savings, this law has teeth. Any employer that fails to provide a complete and timely response to a claim loses any hope of relief from charges attributable to that claim—even if you ultimately win the claim, you’re still on the hook for any benefits paid to the claimant.
Even more alarming, if the state identifies a pattern of failure to provide complete and timely responses, your organization and your claims administrator are at risk of permanently losing valuable protest rights and/or facing monetary penalties.
The bottom line on UI Integrity is that your organization has to be prepared to provide a response to every claim, every time.
At UST, our goal is to do everything we can to help minimize our members’ unemployment costs. As a claims administrator, we help nonprofits respond in a timely manner to all unemployment claims, which gives us the best opportunity to save more funds for our members’ missions. Learn more about UST claim management here: https://www.chooseust.org/claims-savings/