Employers JobSite Blog

A well written Job Description is the #1 key to great employees.

2010-07-16T12:42:00.009-05:00

How are you writing your on-line recruiting ads? Do you write them yourself, or do you have an agency do it for you? If you hire an agency to handle it, are you confident they are placing the ad on-line where it will receive the most exposure? Do you have a viable job description written from which the agency can write the ad from? The answers to these questions are critical to the success of your on-line search for qualified candidates. If you're unhappy with the people the agency is sending you the problem is probably with your job description. Without a good description good applicants will hold off for one that matches their skills while unqualified candidates will line up in droves because there is nothing in the description that dis-qualifies them from the initial interview. Now you are responsible for spending hours interviewing less than stellar applicants, losing valuable time on your projects all the while wondering what happened the skilled tradespeople in this world. Eventually you hire the best of the bunch because you need a warm body to fill your orders but their work is marginal at best because you hired them on personality rather than skill (and set yourself up for discrimination lawsuits), and chances are you won't be satisfied in the long run. I've seen the same thing from the ads from the agencies that have no concept of what a CNC programmer does because they put the ads under the classification "Information Technology" rather than "Manufacturing and Production" and you immediately lose most of your qualified personnel before you begin. On-line recruiting can be the most cost effective manner to find the best people out there but you have to have your ducks in a row before you begin or else your search will fail miserably. It all begins with your job description. At MachinistJobSite.com we have partnered with the best in the business to work with you in writing a job description that will not only insure you have qualified candidates knocking at your door to interview, but you will also have clear guidelines to assess your new hire during their employee evaluation. A well written job description will save you time and money over and over again. For a free quote on what the experts from MachinistJobSite.com can do for your company, fill out the form at this link:

http://www.machinistjobsite.com/HR_Solutions.php

and we'll get back with you with a targeted solution specific to your situation. Writing a job descriptions is one of toughest tasks an HR department will come up against, especially since the Americans with Disabilities Act mandated rewriting almost every description out there, but for a shop without an HR department it goes far beyond the scope of most shop owners. This is one area where you don't want to step over dollars to pick up pennies, so allow us to offer you a solution written specifically for your shop environment, no matter how large or small we have a resolution for your budget.

Intermittent FMLA abuse can be controlled with careful planning

2009-12-29T21:18:00.002-06:00

Do you feel as if you are being made a fool of by employees using their certification for intermittent FMLA to take three or four day weekends while you sit back with your hands tied while your other employees grumble? Once the Friday-Monday absence abuse pattern begins to rear its ugly head it’s time for you step into action before you have a morale problem that grows beyond your ability to control by those employees that have to pick up the slack of those that aren’t there to take care of the job they were hired to do. It’s one thing to have an employee that has legitimate reasons for requiring intermittent FMLA, and if your employee is one of them their physician will support them. As soon as you detect a possible pattern abuse send a letter to their physician showing their absences in a calendar format so the pattern of absence is clear, then ask the physician:
1. Is this what the absence pattern should look like for this patient? [Y] [N]
2. Should (s)he be missing this number of days for their illness? [Y] [N]
3. Is this consistent with the treatment plan you have outlined for this patient? [Y] [N]
Include a self-addressed stamped envelope for the physician to sign and return your form to you. Do not mention to the employee that you are sending this letter to their doctor. Normally what you will find is that the employee is going to the family doctor and they are just doing what the employee is asking them to do, but it is not required and you will be able to put a stop to it. This approach has been approved by the Department of Labor.

How the certification is written by the doctor is of extreme importance. One occurrence of up to three days every quarter is exponentially different than three days every quarter. If the certification comes in as three days in three months, then respond to the employee that you will approve one occurrence of up to three days in one quarter. If they say that is not what their situation requires then tell them to get a new certification from the doctor with clarifying language that specifies the how they will take time off during the time frame certified. As certifications expire require your employees to get new certifications. Notify the employee at least a couple of weeks before their certification expires of the expiration date and give them the new form to give to their doctor. Make sure every conversation you have with the employee regarding their certification is confirmed in writing with a copy sent to the employee and a copy kept in their file. Include what was said, what they have to do and what the consequences are if the don’t do it by the date required.

So long as you take the bull by the horns you don’t have to let rogue employees control the morale of your organization with intermittent FMLA abuse.

For help with your HR problems click on the HR Solutions link at the MachinistJobSite.com website and fill out the form for an HR professional to be in touch to see what can be done to bring your organization into compliance.

Employers get serious about accurate job descriptions

2009-12-22T22:14:00.000-06:00

Just when you thought you were safe the word on the street is the “Plaintiffs’ lawyers are leaving the ugly world of discrimination and going to wage-and-hour litigation because it is easy.” During a recent seminar we were shown how a law firm in California is utilizing advertising posters on public transportation and business cards on church bulletin boards to garner minority clientele by asking if they have missed a meal or rest break. Not only have they been successful with this tact but they have a running caseload of 60 cases each and are looking at earning $10,000-$15,000 in attorney’s fees out of each case. It’s imperative that companies take the steps necessary now to protect your firms because this is the new gravy train, and if your employees perform both exempt and non-exempt work (working managers) then you could be challenged with a lawsuit. It’s time to take a good look at your job descriptions and make sure that they actually describe what the job entails. If you think you have a problem, now is the time to address it because the courts can go back many years and cover many employees. If you’re not sure, get professional help. MachinistJobSite.com has HR solutions that can be custom tailored to fit your organizational tree. Just click on the HR Solutions tab and fill out the form and put a check next to benefits administration. Take care of business now before the blood suckers have an opportunity to take what’s left of your company!