Full-Service HR

How to Avoid These Four Common HR Issues

Chelsea Bikner
Common HR Issues
Reading time 5 Mins
Published on Nov 22
Share

Human resources can be one of the most exciting departments in a company. Soliciting resumes, conducting interviews, and welcoming new hires into your company gives your HR team a concrete sense of their jobs and their contribution to the success of your business. In all that excitement, a number of common HR issues and problems often arise that some small and mid-size businesses aren’t equipped to handle on their own. Here are four of the most common HR issues and how we can work with you to help you avoid them.

Subpar hiring practices

The hiring process involves far more than posting a job, waiting for candidates to apply, and selecting someone to fill the role. From issues with how the job is described or where it’s posted, finding and obtaining the right talent for your company can be more difficult than you think. Lost time looking through resumes from candidates that aren’t a good fit and posting to dozens of job boards means lost productivity for your office. Then there are the liability issues related to not establishing and using appropriate equal employment opportunity hiring practices.

Mistakes commonly made in the hiring process can be detrimental to the health and growth of your business. Poorly written job descriptions can attract the attention of unqualified applicants and a rushed interview process often results in the hiring of the wrong person for the position – which can be much costlier than you imagine. In fact, a 2013 study found that a single bad hire can cost more than $50,000. To avoid these issues, make sure that your job descriptions are detailed and easy for applicants to understand what you’re looking for. You should also develop a consistent interview process that fully vets candidates and attracts the highest quality candidates.

Sheakley’s human resources outsourcing experts will be able to help you navigate all of these common HR issues and other potential pitfalls to reduce potential liability for your company and to help you attract and retain the right talent. Sheakley works with you and your managers to ensure adherence to proper employment practices that can ensure you avoid turnover and lawsuits.

Insufficient training

Speeding through the hiring process can cause serious issues with turnover, decreased morale, and lead to production hiccups. The training process may seem time-consuming and tiresome sometimes, but adequately training all of your employees is important to ensuring that your business is able to run smoothly and efficiently. Consider implementing a mentor program for existing employees to train new hires and don’t forget to provide sufficient training for existing employees when they move into new roles or when you integrate new technology.

Sheakley’s PEO team can help you craft training programs and employee guides to get your employees off to the right start. These measures allow you to create a more highly trained workforce and allow your employees to take grow in their skills and commitment to your company.

Outdated employee handbook

The importance of a comprehensive employee handbook cannot be overestimated. In addition to laying the foundation of policies and procedures that can help resolve disputes before they arise, a well-developed employee handbook protects both you and your employees.

The employee handbook is your all-inclusive guide to your policies, procedures, legal obligations, and introduces new employees to the culture and values of your company. Your handbook should also provide valuable information about dress codes, time off allotments, and essential information about your disciplinary process and employee performance evaluations. Every employee should receive a handbook on their first day of employment and sign an acknowledgement that they have read and understood the documents.

Sheakley’s knowledgeable PEO team can help develop an employee handbook can also help protect you in case of a lawsuit or complaint from current or former employees and ensures that your employees understand the expectations the company has of them.

Misclassifying employees

The IRS is very strict when it comes to how businesses classify employees. Misclassifying workers is one of the costliest mistakes that employers can make – sometimes leading to hundreds of thousands of dollars in penalties. When you make a decision to bring someone else into your company, make sure that you know the difference between an employee and a contractor and that you classify your new worker accordingly.

A simplified definition of an independent contractor is someone who provides services that are unrelated to the employer’s primary business and who offers these services to the general public. An employee is someone for whom you, as an employer, control what work is to be performed, when the work is performed, and where the work is performed.

For businesses that are still unclear on worker classification after reviewing the three categories of evidence, the IRS offers employers and workers the opportunity to file a Form SS-8, Determination of Worker Status for Purposes of Federal Employment Taxes and Income Tax Withholding. The Form SS-8 allows the IRS to review the facts and circumstances of employment and make an official determination of worker classification.

Explore the many other benefits of working with Sheakley

There are many pitfalls that face your HR department. Some of these may be obvious, while other issues only become apparent when a problem arises. HR can be a tricky road, but you don’t have to navigate it alone. The success of your business is our business. Learn more about Sheakley’s PEO and Human Resources Outsourcing Solutions and contact us for your free consultation today.

Stay up-to-date on all things Sheakley by subscribing to our blog and following us on social media. What are some of the common HR issues that you and your business experience? Join in the discussion by commenting below.


You may want to read

See all articles
X
X
X
X