• Digitizing employee files
• Employee file auditing
• Candidate phone screening
• Offer letter and rejection letter handling
• Processing paperwork

To learn more about the company, visit justenoughhr.com.

Technorati Tags: consultants, Human Resources

Companies have a couple options when it comes to filling a job opening. They can hire a hiring manager to take care of it. They can also hire a recruiter. And in most cases in the startup world, they try to hack it themselves. However all three of these options are extremely time consuming and expensive.

Striving to eliminate problems in efficiency, high costs, and overwhelming numbers of candidates, Talentoid offers batches of on-target resumes from qualified individuals.

You can learn more about Talentoid at their website, or in their press release here.

Technorati Tags: employees, Finding Job Candidates, Helpful Links, Hiring, Human Resources, Recruiting, Selection

And now… Brian Samson!

Ahh… San Francisco, home to fog, the Golden Gate Bridge, and really steep hills. Since I’ve lived here since 2010, I’ve also realized the zillions of startups SF has. Seriously, there are a lot of them.

It seems like this city is overrun by engineers and designers all dressed in hoodies, and working 80 hours a week on the next big thing. I have to admit, I love it. The energy and optimism is exciting and it’s what motivated me to jump on the entrepreneur track and start a consulting business, geared towards startups. I still have plenty to learn and one of the ways I’m trying to keep pace is to go to startup events and pitches.

On Tuesday, 4/24, I went to an event called Founders Showcase, run by the prestigious Founder’s Institute (FI). FI helps provide mentorship, guidance, funding, and a collaborative environment to a select group of promising entrepreneurs who go through a 4 month program. This event featured successful startup founders as speakers, a panel on launching a startup in SF vs in an emerging market, and 8 startups pitching an idea to a group of 5 VCs in a competition format. The best part was seeing Kevin Hartz from EventBright speak, which got me thinking how I can help startups as an HR advisor.

Kevin spoke about how critical it is to have the right team in place and a great culture to support them. He recalled his time as founder of Xoom, which was relatively successful, but had a lot of cultural issues. They focused on IQ much more than EQ when hiring, and as a result, the team had a lot of problems communicating with each other. This was dangerous when combining highly passionate people working long hours together. He remembered seeing garbage cans thrown across the office and shouting matches. They didn’t have a good way to work out disagreements. Then when he founded EventBright, which is on it’s way to $1 billion in revenues as a major ticket and event disruptor, they made sure to hire for both smarts and cultural fit. He said that most startups face 5-6 situations that drive your company to success or failure. A strong and cohesive team can pivot, navigate the crazy times, and work through disagreements. As an HR advisor to startups, I want to help them not only hire the best people, but create an environment where disagreements can happen constructively yielding the best decisions.

I’m excited after going to the event and hearing Kevin speak, it’s one more idea to discuss when speaking with potential startup clients, because culture isn’t something they always think about. Oh, and If you happen to travel to SF, I highly recommend checking out a startup oriented event like this, after you try some clam chowder and ride a cable car, of course.

About Brian Samson

Brian Samson is the founder and ceo of HR for Startups, a San Francisco based firm hat provides HR and Recruiting to startups. He is SPHR certified with work experience that includes Google and Sapphire Technologies. His company can be found at: www.hr-startups.com.

Technorati Tags: consultants, entrepreneur, HR for Startups, Human Resources

EAPs also include programs for wellness and fitness to encourage healthy beheavior and reduced stress, job burnout, and emotional or physical symptoms. Some additional ideas for you to consider include company-sponsored flue shots, smoking cessation programs, and reduced-rate subscriptions to a nearby physical fitness center.

Employee Assistance Programs offer benefits beyond incentives to work for your company. The company itself will experience lower insurance premiums as a result of better habits, and lower overtime and temporary worker salaries as a result of increased productivity and lower absenteeism. Employee morale will also increase.

Some companies hire staff to provide EAP services, and others contract or hire affiliates to provide services. As a startup, it is recommended to reduce costs by contracting out any EAP services.

Technorati Tags: best practices, Hiring, Human Resources, outsourcing

Remember when I described FLSA and Personnel File Management?

In that post I outlined that the following types of information must not be included in an employee’s personnel file, and instead should be kept in the medical file.

• Information related to health plans and health care providers
• Electronic documentation of health care records
• Information related to injuries and disabilities, including workers’ compensation

So What is HIPAA?

The federal government requires that employers and caregivers comply with certain privacy standards for medical files. These standards are set out in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which forbids most disclosures of any individually identifiable health information.

The reason for HIPAA is to protect from:

• External threats such as break-ins, computer viruses, or computer viruses that can affect the integrity of personal health information.
• Internal threats including malicious employees who may want to access and misuse individually identifiable health or personal information

According to HIPAA, keeping personal health information safe is a matter beyond any single policy, procedure, or tool. Comprehensive security measures including technical services, physical barriers, and administrative defenses must be put in place in order to protect information and remain HIPAA-compliant.

What else do I need to know about HIPAA?

• If there is ever a security breach of personal health information, HIPAA mandates that you must notify each individual involved.
• HIPAA regulations apply to all employees who have health insurance.
• Medical records used to request accommodations for FMLA reasons are not included under HIPAA regulations.
• Health information files must not only be stored properly, they must also be disposed of properly. When eliminating a file that holds any personally identifiable health information, do not recycle or throw away the paper. Shred it instead.

Technorati Tags: Health information, health insurance, HIPAA, Human Resources, medical files, personnel files

Check out the introductory post, which outlines common clauses, here. You can read Part I here, Part II here, and Part III here.

In this post, which finishes up our series, Shannon outlines three additional common clauses to consider when creating an explicit employment contract.

Best Efforts Clause

Although it is often just assumed that the employee will work hard for the employer, sometimes employers add a best-efforts provision to the employment contract. It states that the employee promises to work to the best of his or her ability, and to be loyal to the employer. Sometimes it also states that the employee specifically agrees to make suggestions and recommendations to the employer that will be of benefit to the company.

This type of clause, when properly used, can help foster communication between an employee and an employer. Additionally, the best efforts clause can give good cause for dismissal if the employee is not exerting his best efforts.

Time Clauses

It may be obvious, but for most contracts you will want to mention a time frame, and for the more complex contracts you may wish to tie the time in with advancements in pay or stock options.

For a standard form contract, it is a good idea to include a length of time of a few months or a year. If the employee is one who is a staple of the company or with whom you expect to invest a large amount of training, you may consider up to five years. It is not wise to make a contract that is excessively long (probably longer than five years); long contracts are difficult to enforce and a lot of changes may occur in five years.

Think about the evolution you expect the business to go through, as well as the technological and personal changes involved in a period of five years.

The Salary Clause

Another clause in contracts is the salary clause. The salary clause may also include benefits. For form contracts a salary clause may be a discussion of hourly wage, standard healthcare information and a discussion of employee review in conjunction with raises.

In a more complex contract you may have to find an amenable annual salary, and, if the contract is for more than one year you may need to discuss increases for inflation. Benefits will probably only be acknowledged, any employee should get an in-depth packet of information on how to use their healthcare benefits, provider information and information on the deductible.

It is helpful for all involved to have an upfront discussion of what amounts are being taken out of the salary of the employee for healthcare benefits and how to utilize those benefits. Any other benefits or perks may be discussed in this clause as well. You should also state a fair market value of the benefits, for tax purposes. The employee will be taxed on benefits he or she uses as a portion of income, and so stating the value up front will save confusion later.

About the Author

Shannon K. McDonald is a sole practitioner and entrepreneur attorney, based in the Greater Philadelphia area with a business background. Shannon is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and Wyoming, and has clients based around the state. Her law firm offers business contract review and drafting, and corporate formation and legal support, as well as other business services. You can visit her website here.

This post is intended to provide broad information and should not be taken as legal advice; no attorney-client relationship exists with readers of this blog without further action and communication with Shannon.

Technorati Tags: Employer Laws, Hiring, Human Resources

But first– what is the difference between policies and procedures?

Policies vs. Procedures

Policies are general statements that guide decisions and reflect organizational philosophies, objectives, or standards.

Unlike policies, procedures are highly detailed, narrowly applied step by step descriptions of methods or processes for handling activities.

Employee Handbooks for Startups

Many startups and small businesses reject formal policies and procedures as they believe an employee handbook will bog the company down and reduce feelings of autonomy, trust, and decision-making capability.

However, policies and procedures have their place and offer benefits to both employees and employers. They are established to offer new employee orientation, maintain organizational consistency, minimize confusion, and protect the organization in the event of a disciplinary proceeding or lawsuit.

So while your startup doesn’t need a bulky hard-copy book of rules, I do recommend a short, 3-5 page document that outlines basic policies and procedures once you start hiring positions that aren’t C-level.

Here are a few things to consider including:

• Information regarding vacation, personal time, paid time off, holidays, etc. to ensure no one takes advantage of a lenient or non-existent attendance policy
• If you offer flextime, define official business hours to times when multiple people will show– this is for your employees’ safety
• “Acceptable behavior” policies such as throwing food trash into the kitchen trash, respecting an honor system with the fridge, and keeping noise levels low
• A company employment at-will statement so no employee can argue a contractual employment relationship upon dismissal

Technorati Tags: at-will employment, best practices, employee handbook, employee policies and procedures, HR for Startups, Human Resources, work rules

In this post, Shannon outlines three additional common clauses to consider when creating an explicit employment contract.

Stay tuned for the last guest post on common clauses, which will be next Tuesday!

Termination Clause

A standard part of any employment contract is the termination clause. It states the reasons which allow either party to terminate the contract, including the blanket statement of “just cause,” and provides the amount of notice required before termination is effective. It may also give the employer the right to terminate the contract without notice if the employee violates the contract in any way.

Another aspect of the termination clause is a statement that the employer has the right to terminate the contract if the employee becomes permanently disabled because of ill health or physical or mental disability such that the employee can no longer do the job.

Arbitration Clause

Arbitration clauses are found in many types of contracts, including employment contracts.

In this provision, the parties agree at the onset of the relationship that, if they ever have a dispute about any aspect of the employment relationship, they will submit that dispute to arbitration rather than seek resolution in a court of law. The arbitration clause may include details about the arbitration, such as whether the arbitration decision will be binding and how the parties will find an arbitrator if that time comes.

Arbitration is beneficial because it is less costly and generally more amenable to compromise than a court case. An attorney can assist in arbitration, and most courts insist on some effort at arbitration if the amount in controversy is relatively small. An arbitration clause is certainly something to include, and something your attorney can help you draft.

Choice of Law Clause

The employment contract should include a choice of law clause.

Employment laws vary from state to state. Some states have laws that are generally viewed as more favorable or beneficial to employers than employees, or vice versa.

The “choice of law” provision in an employment contract is an agreement that, if the parties ever have a dispute that results in a lawsuit, the laws of a particular state will govern it, no matter where the lawsuit itself arises or is filed. A choice of law clause is necessary where the company is incorporated or employs people in different states.

Many small up start businesses will not need to think about this issue until the business starts to grow and the company re-incorporates or opens a branch office in another state. Despite the fact that your business may not yet function in other states, in order to prevent future conflicts, you should include a basic choice of law clause.

About the Author

Shannon K. McDonald is a sole practitioner and entrepreneur attorney, based in the Greater Philadelphia area with a business background. Shannon is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and Wyoming, and has clients based around the state. Her law firm offers business contract review and drafting, and corporate formation and legal support, as well as other business services. You can visit her website here.

This post is intended to provide broad information and should not be taken as legal advice; no attorney-client relationship exists with readers of this blog without further action and communication with Shannon.

Technorati Tags: arbitration clause, Employer Laws, Human Resources, termination clause

Severance lets employees know that their contributions were valued and appreciated, and that their ex-employer cares enough to provide them with a cushion for the interim between jobs.

Why Offer Severance?

You always want to part ways in a cordial manner, as ex-employees will speak of their experience working with you. Further, you want to let your remaining employees know that they will be treated well when it comes time for their separation.

By offering severance to your separating employees, you establish that you are an ethical, well-meaning employer who respects and appreciates the time and efforts of your employees.

In addition, sometimes companies offer severance packages in exchange for the employee’s written agreement to not sue the company for wrongful dismissal. If a company wishes to discourage the employee from collecting unemployment benefits, then severance may be offered instead.

When to Offer Severance?

Situations where you as an employer may consider offering severance include:

• To those employees who cannot stay with the company as a result of an office relocation
• When separating an employee, willingly or otherwise
• When downsizing as a result of a workforce surplus

Most companies only offer severance packages to employees who are laid off or retire. However, some companies may also offer severance to those who are fired.

Sometimes employees ask for a severance agreement in their contract at the time of signing. However this is rare, as most candidates do not wish to discuss separation before even beginning the employment relationship.

What to Include?

Severance packages most commonly include pay continuation for a certain amount of time depending on the person’s position, seniority, and length of time at the company. A common rule of thumb is to offer one weeks pay for every year the employee completed service.

Sometimes benefits continuation is offered, or retirement benefits, stock options, or compensation for any unused vacation time.

Less frequently, companies may offer assistance in finding new employment. This assistance may include resume writing services, job search and interview skills training, or retraining to broaden an employee’s qualifications.

Technorati Tags: best practices, downsizing, firing an employee, layoffs, organizational exit, severance, turnover

In this post, Shannon outlines three additional common clauses to consider when creating an explicit employment contract.

Stay tuned for more common clauses next Tuesday!

Exclusivity of Employment

An exclusive employment provision can be helpful. In this provision, the employee promises that as long as he or she works for the company, the employee will not work for anyone else in the same or a similar type of business, while working for you. The provision may also extend to a promise not to be a shareholder or director in a similar business, or even to provide services voluntarily to a competitor business. This type of provision is a loyalty provision, and is helpful when there is a competitive field or a particular trade secret in your company.

“No Additional Compensation” Clauses

A clause to consider for an employment contract for a person who is expected to be a great managerial asset the business is a “no additional compensation” clause. The “no additional compensation” clause states that if the employee becomes an elected director or officer of the company or serves on a company managing committee, the employee will not be entitled to additional compensation for doing that work. The purpose of the clause is to allow full utilization of an employee’s skills, even where they may not have been a part of the original agreement, without adding financial strain to the company.

Agency Provisions

You may wish to include in the employee’s contract that he or she has no right to contract on behalf of the company. This is called an “agency” provision. It makes clear that the employer and employee only have an employment relationship only, not an agency relationship. An agent has a right to bind a principal (in this case, you), and acts with the principal’s authority in all matters legal and business. This provision makes it clear that the employee has no right to enter into a contract or otherwise obligate the employer, unless the employer gives express written consent to do so. Another way to prevent an agency relationship is merely to hold the employee out as nothing more than an employee; never refer to him or her as your agent, and do not allow the employee to contract or act on the company’s behalf.

About the Author

Shannon K. McDonald is a sole practitioner and entrepreneur attorney, based in the Greater Philadelphia area with a business background. Shannon is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and Wyoming, and has clients based around the state. Her law firm offers business contract review and drafting, and corporate formation and legal support, as well as other business services. You can visit her website here.

This post is intended to provide broad information and should not be taken as legal advice; no attorney-client relationship exists with readers of this blog without further action and communication with Shannon.

Technorati Tags: agency provision clauses, Employer Laws, exclusivity of employment, Hiring, Human Resources, no additional compensation clauses, retention