Staff One HR

It’s that time again…holiday parties and year-end celebrations abound, as we try to walk the fine line between having fun and things getting out of hand. Limit the number of tickets given to each attendee, and don’t provide tickets to those who do not intend to drink. * Make sure that alcohol is not served to underage employees and guests, or consider limiting who can be invited to the party (for example, no underage children), if alcohol will be served. * Provide food and entertainment (think dancing, games, etc.) during your event, so that cocktails and drinking aren’t the central focus of the party.

With the increase of employment-related lawsuits, investing in effective training for supervisors and employees can really save employers’ hard-earned money. Although the Supreme Court’s decisions simplified the employee’s capacity to sue his or her employer for sexual harassment, the decisions also provided employers with critical keys as to methods of avoiding harassment in the workplace and rectifying harassment issues before they became actionable offenses. Many employers promote employees based solely on their expertise rather than their leadership skills, neglecting to train the newly promoted managers for their supervisory position. Regardless of the method of delivery, a robust training program can help employers reduce risk and liability and reduce the likelihood of accidents, fines or lawsuits.

Professional Employer Organization (PEO) provides HR solutions such as payroll and benefits administration, risk management, and regulatory compliance support for its client companies. These roles tend to act as the client company’s HR subject matter expert on a variety of HR issues such as employee relations, compliance, and daily HR challenges that occur in the workforce. HR professionals in the PEO industry often joke that one year of PEO experience equates to seven years in an internal HR role, and I believe they are right! Internal HR roles are limited to the issues or needs of their specific organization, whereas the PEO HR professional is exposed to issues and needs of many organizations.

Here are four ideas for balancing work, life, kids, money, and health: Giving your children something to do such as age-appropriate chores, apart from homework and extracurricular activities, will help teach them responsibility and a host of other great attributes. In fact, according to an article in the Washington Times, a study done by Marty Rossmann of the University of Mississippi found that chores “instilled in children the importance of contributing to their families and gave them a sense of empathy as adults. It can mean different things to each person, but just having the confidence that your employer understands the sole responsibilities a single parent faces daily would create such a relief and result in greater loyalty to the employer for a win/win situation. We may buy our kids extra things they do not need, go on trips, or do more extra-curricular activities that ultimately stretch us thin and result in spending more money than we may be able to afford.