Paying Overtime: No Buts About it

If your employees are willing to go the extra mile, you’ll want to make sure they are rewarded accordingly. Doing so could mean dishing out individual or group recognition, special bonuses, or other creative onthejob perks.   

That said, if going the extra mile means your team is working overtime, creativity may not be an option. If you have employees who are overtime eligible, you’ll have to play by the rules.  

If your overtime-eligible employees are putting in more than forty hours in any given work week, whether it’s mandatory, approved, or unapproved, they must be paid overtime.  

The following are NOT solutions to paying overtime: 

Adjusting hours or pay periods  

An overtime eligible employee who works 60 hours one week and 20 hours the next is still entitled to overtime for those 20 hours worked in week one. This is true even if all of this occurred in a single pay period. Hours worked per week are hours worked per week. Period.  

Work weeks can begin on any day and at any time and may be different for various employees and work groups, but the work week must be a set standard. Employers cannot shift work week start days or times to avoid paying overtime and hours cannot be averaged over multiple weeks or pay periods.  

Withholding pay for any reason 

Overtime pay earned in a particular week should be paid on the regular pay day for that specific pay period. It cannot be withheld as an incentive, until it reaches a certain number of hours, in retaliation, or for any other reason.  

Paying the wrong rate 

One common wage and hour violation is when employers attempt to pay overtime hours at an employee’s regular rate of pay. This is an incorrect payout. While the first 40 hours of the week are paid at the regular rate, all additional hours worked in that same week must be paid at 1.5 times that rate.  

Mixing up employee classifications 

Some employers misclassify employees to avoid paying overtime, but this can be a very expensive longterm strategy. Intentional misclassification of employees can result in time consuming audits and expensive fees and fines. Class action lawsuits can lead to exorbitant legal costs and settlements, negative PR, poor morale, and damaged reputation. 

Replacing it with comp time 

In one studyone-third of 500 private-sector employers said they used comp time instead of overtime — a common violation of the FLSA. Private sector non-exempt employees covered by the FLSA must be paid for all overtime hours worked and are not eligible for comp time. Even if both the employer and the employee would prefer a comp time system, it’s rarely legal. The FLSA still mandates that nonexempt employees be paid overtime instead of granted comp time  

But we didn’t mean to… 

Sometimes employees aren’t out to get anyone. They just don’t understand the complicated rules and regulations and how to apply them.   

  • Supervisors may think all exempt or salaried employees are exempt from overtime.  
  • Employers may not understand how to properly classify their positions.  
  • Employees may be classified incorrectly and not even know it themselves.  
  • Companies may have a comp time policy that is in violation of FSLA. 

Meanwhile, overtime can seem like a squishy concept in the following circumstances: 

  • When employees want to work extra hours and insist they don’t need to be paid for it. 
  • If technology allows workers to be available 24/7 and they are taking advantage of it. 
  • When employees are voluntarily working extra hours and not tracking or reporting it. 
  • If employers instruct employees not to work overtime, but they are doing it anyway. 
  • When businesses are using a comp time system that is in violation of the FLSA.  

In reality, overtime rules are not squishy at all. They cannot be bent, circumvented, or ignored. The FLSA requires that all overtime eligible employees be compensated for overtime if and when they work it, no matter what the circumstances surrounding it may be. Not buts about it. 

It’s important to note that overtime laws and requirements can vary by stateand that they may provide greater protection for employees than what is given under the FLSA. Where federal, state, and local laws are in conflict, the law that is most beneficial to the employee should be upheld. This is why it’s critical to stay on top of your local regulations or work with an expert who knows the laws inside and out.   

Making sure your company is playing by the right overtime rules will decrease your business risk and your HR headaches. And that’s a winning strategy.  

 

Content provided by Q4iNetwork and partners

Photo by Roman Samborskyi

If Your Company isn’t Using Video, it’s Time to Hit Record

There’s no doubt, communication and marketing have been constantly changing and evolving since the creation of the internet, and it can be hard to keep up. But one thing is for certain, the popularity of video content is on the rise and it isn’t going to slow down.

To be clear: video content is more than just a trend. It’s becoming foundational to the way brands and people communicate online. Every minute, over 500 hours of video content is being uploaded to YouTube. Every minute! That’s a staggering 720,000 hours every day, just on YouTube.

There isn’t any getting around it: video content is here to stay. If your company hasn’t already embraced video as a key communication tool, it’s time to get onboard.

It’s what people want

Any good marketing strategy is based around giving people what they want. It’s just common sense. Video is a lot more popular than any other form of online content. You are much more likely to grab attention and engage visitors with video content than you are with text. 80% of people visiting a site are going to watch a video over reading the text on your page.

It’s the same with social media. Your posts are much more likely to get liked and shared if they have video content. People just find it more engaging to watch video. Period.

Get remembered

Viewers are also more likely to remember visual content. People are able to remember 65% of visual content they are exposed to days after seeing it. Talk about a good brand recognition strategy! The more people remember and recognize you, the more likely they are to trust your brand, which helps build authority and attract the type of employees you want within your community.

This is what good marketing is all about. Creating a brand that people recognize, trust, and want to engage with.

But using video marketing isn’t just about making content people will like and remember, it’s about growing your business and producing results. Any successful marketing strategy should have the goal of educating, engaging, and selling. And what form of content do you think is successful at driving sales? You guessed it.

Drive engagement with your product

You’ve probably heard that people want to watch a video before buying a product or filling out a form. It’s true! Using video to encourage people to engage with your content offer or product greatly increases their final decision.

Here’s what the statistics say:

It’s Not Just About Your Customers

While customers are the obvious target for using video marketing content, there’s a whole community of job seekers out there looking for the company that’s right for them. Using video content—the type of content that grabs the most attention and sticks in people’s brains—to promote your company culture and values to prospective employees is just plain smart.

Imagine you create a video that showcases your employee community and company values. Maybe you even include a recent charitable event you participated in or sponsored. Then think of everyone who comes across the video. You’re not only giving prospective customers a chance to build a personal and emotional connection to your company, but you’re giving job seekers a chance to get a feel for what it might be like to work for you.

Use video content to create a reason for people to want to work for you (and to buy from you!) by showcasing your strengths, your values, and your vision.

Aaand, action!

So there you have it. Your company can raise brand recognition, increase website visits, engage new customers, drive sales, and attract top talent. All by using video content. Don’t think you have the funds to do it? You may be surprised! There are many ways to create fun, engaging video content on a budget. Plus, if you invest in video marketing, you’re almost guaranteed to be happy with your ROI.

If you’re looking for the next best way to improve your company’s marketing strategy, look no further. It’s just a video away.

 

Content provided by Q4iNetwork and partners

Photo by Maxim Lupascu

HR PSA: Sometimes it’s Not Your Problem

You got into HR because you genuinely like helping people. You care about other people’s wellbeing and you see the value in building systems that are mutually beneficial for both individuals and companies. You take pride in being able to listen, empathize, and help people deal with problems. 

But being a people person comes with its own challenges. You want to be able to help everyone, but in HR (and in life) that doesn’t always mean allowing them to bring all their problems to you. You’ve got to balance the needs of the company with the needs of individual workers. That does not mean you’re supposed to be the company therapist.  

Although playing the role of the listener is often a part of being in HR, it isn’t your job to listen to employees complain about each other. There are more productive ways to deal with those issues. 

Constructive Conversations 

When employees approach you to complain about a problem they’re having with someone on their team, or their manager, do a quick evaluation to see if they should be talking with you or if they should be taking the first steps to addressing the issue. 

  • Have they tried to solve the problem themselves? 
  • Do you get the sense they just want to change the other person? 
  • Are they trying to absolve themselves of accountability? 
  • Do they simply want to vent and aren’t interested in coming up with solutions? 

In these cases, they should be exploring other methods of addressing the problem rather than giving it to you. Coaching employees and managers to have constructive conversations on their own is key for teams to run effectively. People need to learn to approach, talk about, and solve problems within their team in a professional manner. 

It might include coaching on key concepts like active listeningmirroring, and how to create value from a conversation. Unless it is a matter of safety, such as harassment, this should be the first step anyone takes when dealing with an interpersonal problem at work.  

If your company culture pushes people into the arms of HR before they’ve tried addressing the problem themselves, some changes may be in order. Take steps toward adjusting the company culture around internal problem solving and empowering people to address some level of challenges on their own. 

Need extra support? 

Empowering people to manage their own concerns and disputes is a great way to develop a team. However, sometimes employees are dealing with something much larger than an interpersonal issue.  

Problems stemming from mental illness, grief, or trauma are common and can go unknown to teammates. It may be manifesting itself in disagreements with other coworkersnegativity, and decreased engagement. HR may be the right answer to help in these situations, and you’ll need to take the time to uncover the real issue.  

But often personal problems like this need extra assistanceSome companies have employee assistance programs (EAPs) that are designed to help with these issues. Having an EAP and pointing employees to these services may be especially useful if there was a recent event involving workplace violence or harassment.  

There are other resources outside of your company you can tap into to help deal with a problem that is beyond the capacity of HR. It’s important to be familiar with them so you can make informed recommendations for whats needed to help maintain workplace health. 

Here are some supporting resources you can tap into: 

  • Hire a coach to come work with your team 
  • Offer inperson or overthephone counseling options to employees 
  • Have a list of hotlines you can reference for employees struggling with personal issues 

Saying no 

Learning to say no to people approaching HR with the wrong problems can be difficult, especially when your first instinct is to help. But sometimes it’s necessary—although it doesn’t mean that the problem goes ignored. 

When you send someone away to deal with a problem themselves, and you give them the tools to do so, you are challenging them to take accountability for their situation and assume a leadership role in addressing the issue. You are empowering them by teaching them how to deal with future workplace challenges and showing them they have the ability to solve it on their own. You’re also taking a lot of unnecessary work off your plate. It’s a winwin.  

 

Content provided by Q4iNetwork and partners

Photo by Dmitrii Shironosov 

  

A Simple Guide to Employee Background Checks

Employee background checks can be an important part of the hiring process. Not only do they help you hire the right people, they also play a role in reducing organizational risk and keeping your workplace safe. 

There are many kinds of background checks available and many rules for conducting them correctly. If you’re looking to add an employee verification element into your hiring process, here are a few ways to maximize your return on investment. 

Stick with what’s relevant  

The kinds of background checks an employer can conduct are wide ranging and include everything from credit checks, education, and driving records to social media, drug testing, and criminal history.  

To put each candidate through all possible background checks is both expensive and unnecessary. Do you really need to know if your new accounting hire has a bad driving record or if your receptionist has a low credit score? Probably not.  

Evaluate each position and job description individually to determine what background checks are necessary and why, and then follow through with checks that make the most sense. 

Know the law 

Background checks can be a good thing, but they also have the potential to go bad. If you’re unsure of how to conduct them correctly, you could end up creating more problems than you were hoping to solve.  

Many states, including California, have passed laws regulating how to deal with criminal background checks. These laws are intended to help even the playing field for candidates 

reducing discrimination during the hiring process and increasing workplace diversity.  

Employers used to be able to screen out applicants with any kind of criminal history by placing a simple check box on a job application inquiring about criminal convictions. This may sound like a good idea in theory, but in reality, “Do you have a criminal record?” isn’t always an easy question or a simple answer. It’s also not necessarily a good indication of whether or not someone will be a good employee.  

The Fair Chance Act and other “Ban the Box” laws are in full effect and require employers to follow certain procedures. It’s important to know which laws apply to you and your candidates so you can make the most of your hiring practices while staying in compliance.  

Do it the right way 

  • Inform candidates if a background check is part of the hiring process. This is required by law. 
  • Pay attention to restrictions regarding the timing and nature of various background checks. Doing a criminal background check too early in the hiring process can get you in trouble. Doing a credit check when it’s not necessary can also get you in trouble. It’s important to know the rules here. 
  • Use these tools to your advantage. Yes, you can make hiring decisions based on background check results, but you have to follow the proper Adverse Action process when doing so. Skipping out on this process will open you up to legal risk.   

What NOT to do 

  • Decline to share background check information. Candidates are entitled to see this information upon request. Having this discussion not only gives applicants their results, it also allows for an opportunity to explore mitigating circumstances and clear up any potential mistakes. 
  • Institute a one size fits all policy. While this kind of policy may seem clear and easy to enforce, it could also put you in violation. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recommends tailoring your policy based on each individual position and role so that any basis for rejection is relevant and necessary. 
  • Skimp on your background service provider or processes. Googling a candidate isn’t enough. Make an investment in getting it right. Any money you might save going the inexpensive route will mean nothing if your background checks are incomplete or your business is out of compliance. 
  • Forget the little things. Always check references and employment to make sure your candidate’s resume speaks the truth. Consider skills testing to make sure they have what it takes to do the job.  

 The payoff? A better organization.  

Hiring the right people requires having effective recruitment and hiring processes in place, and background checks can be an important part of that equation. Taking the time to create a system that works for your HR team, your employees, and your candidates while keeping your business in compliance will put your company on the path to success. 

 

Content provided by Q4iNetwork and partners
 
Photo by:
Scott Betts