SERVICES
Virtually everything we do is some type of "risk management" in the area of human resources.
Entrepreneur's small business encyclopedia defines risk management as: "Decisions to accept exposure or reduce vulnerabilities by either mitigating the risks or applying cost effective controls." Before you can make that decision you need to know what the risks are.
For all business owners, small and large, the workplace is a minefield. When an organization is evaluating the risks involved with their particular business, it's important to understand that every business venture has risks. However, many of the risks associated with human resources go unnoticed by non-HR professionals. But once the risks are identified and assessed, steps can be taken to reduce them. Regarding a company's human resources, here is how NavigationHR can help:
Pre-Hire
You know your business, you know who you are looking to hire, and you want to rely on your own instinct to tell you if an applicant is a good fit for your organization. We understand this and agree with it. But once you have made that decision, who do you depend on to check backgrounds, educational degrees, and employment history? If the answer is no one, you are exposing yourself to liability before your new hire even reports to the office.
Negligent hiring can lead to a number of hazards in the workplace, including risks to employee safety and company finances as well as the long-term cost of frequent turnover. With NavigationHR's help, you can be assured that you really know who you hired.
Without established procedures and training for interviewing, you run the risk of asking illegal questions and making hiring decisions that may establish a pattern of discrimination, albeit unwittingly.
Current Employees
Once you have hired an employee, you have even more administrative obligations to comply with or risk stiff sanctions. Have you filed all the appropriate forms? Are you keeping adequate personnel records? Have you provided proper training? Do you have a process for requesting and recording paid time off? Have your policies and procedures been updated to reflect your current business practices? Do you have adequate job descriptions signed by each employee? With our help, you will be able to answer "yes" to those questions without hesitation.
We can also provide the necessary day-to-day human resources support. We can conduct internal investigations of employee complaints, mediate employee/manager disagreements, help you dispute unemployment claims, assist in performing fair and unbiased performance assessments, monitor corrective action, progressively discipline employees for policy violations, terminate employees, or provide support in any other area involving human capital where you need help. Best of all, we will sufficiently document everything we do to protect you from frivolous claims down the road.
One of the biggest problems you will face as an employer is being held liable for the conduct of your managers, regardless of whether you were expressly aware of their offensive conduct. To avoid allegations of discrimination, harassment, and a hostile work environment, we provide training to your executives, supervisors, and managers to let them know how to appropriately conduct themselves as your representative in the workplace. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
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Are your employees in the "right seat"? We help with your performance evaluations and your organizational chart (we prefer to call it an "accountability chart") to make sure both your employees and your company are headed in the right direction.
We can serve as your point of contact for your managers, employees, employment attorney, insurance broker, benefit providers, recruiters, and anyone else you need to deal with on a regular basis.
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We also help organizations with succession planning and effective transition, particularly on the executive level. Even "friendly" changes at the C-level need to be handled with thoughtfulness and finesse to ensure a smooth transfer of responsibilities.
In summary, dealing with your human capital risk is both time-consuming and a distraction from other areas of your business that need your attention. Handling these types of matters on your own without the proper expertise significantly increases the risk of liability, in terms of both your finances and your reputation.
Post-Separation
It is going to happen: You will lose employees. Sometimes it's for better, sometimes for worse, but with every separation, there is an opportunity to evaluate the cause and improve some facet of your HR practices.
In smaller companies, those without a human resources department, it is sometimes difficult to terminate an employee. Whether the separation is with or without cause, NavigationHR can handle the process for you. At the very least, you can consult us to discuss the reasons for the termination, review the documentation supporting the action, and identify anything that may be perceived to be discriminatory. These steps will greatly reduce the risk of a viable lawsuit or other post-termination damage down the road. Even when an employee chooses to leave you voluntarily, an effective exit interview can identify any problems within your organization that may have led to that departure and that can be mitigated to avoid the loss of future talent.