INSIGHTS
Fourth Quarter Questions for HR Departments
by Colleen Malmassari
Fourth quarter is generally a demanding time for Human Resource departments across business types and industries. Benefit renewal process, assessment of policies for the upcoming year, and regulation changes are just some of the HR-related topics swirling around as another year ends. Here are just a few questions to ponder as this year ends:
Do you have an Employee Handbook?
- When was the handbook last updated? (Best Practice is to perform a review annually, at least)
- Does it make sense for you to maintain the Employee Handbook in-house or should you consider outsourcing the maintenance?
Have the following items been reviewed recently?
- Personnel files
- Forms I-9
- FLSA exemptions
- Minimum wage and overtime compensation
- Child labor requirements
- Attendance policies
- Leave of Absence Programs (FMLA, PFML, etc.)
- Time records
Do you understand and have a plan to implement relevant employment laws? Such as:
- Equal Pay Opportunity Act (EPOA)
- Salary Ranges in Job Postings
- Salary Threshold for Exempt Employees
Are you adequately prepared for a workplace investigation?
- Recognizing and addressing red flags that could result in company or even personal liability are critical to mitigating organizational risk.
- Don’t wait for an allegation of misconduct to arise
Have you provided a Respectful Workplace or a Harassment Prevention training to your employees in the past 12 months?
Colleen Malmassari
HR Consulting Services Manager
Colleen graduated from Central Washington University with bachelor’s degrees in Accounting and Spanish. She began my career in public accounting, providing assurance and tax services to many agricultural family-run businesses. About six years into her public accounting career, she became involved in recruiting and was instantaneously hooked on honing her skills in the Human Resources field.
For the past decade, she has helped lead HR teams at two different large Agriculture family-run businesses and in 2021, she joined Larson Gross to implement and lead the firm’s HR consulting services practice, helping clients cultivate their businesses and create improved workplaces for their team members.
How We Can Help
Outsourcing your human resources functions can reduce your administrative workload and free up your time so you can focus on your business objectives. We can help in the following areas:
Recruiting and Employee Retention
Performance Review Strategy
Policy and Handbook Development
Compliance Consulting
Workplace Behavior & Harassment Prevention Training