There's No Better Way to Honor Labor Day Than by Improving HR Practices
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
Investing in employee relations has never been more important;
XpertHR offers employers 10 dos and don'ts to consider
NEW YORK, Aug. 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As an annual celebration of the American workforce, the Labor Day holiday presents an opportune time for U.S. businesses to reflect on their greatest asset: their people. More than two years of dramatic change--marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Great Resignation, the explosion of remote and hybrid work, and the rise in diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) initiatives--has changed the current landscape of the nature of work... not to mention its future.
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Employers must consider how they will address these trends. And according to human resources experts, there has never been a better time for companies to benchmark their organizations' HR policies against emerging best practices.
The best place to start, according to XpertHR(®)--an HR strategy, compliance and data
provider--is by turning to the Holy Grail of HR documents: the humble employee
handbook.
To help HR proactively address these trends, XpertHR has issued its Top 10 list of HR best practices dos and don'ts. The list includes:
Dos
Don'ts
1. Do include employee benefit policies that set 1. Don't use free templates from internet searches.
the organization apart. Highlight competitive, in- Cutting corners with free templates is risky. Who
demand perks like remote work, tuition reimbursement, wrote the template; are they credible and
student loan repayment, wellness initiatives, trustworthy? When was the template last updated; is
community service days or floating holidays. it reliable and compliant?
2. Do offer policies addressing DEIB. These policies 2. Don't stay stuck in the past. Staying ahead of
enhance employee morale and retention. Companies workplace trends and being culturally relevant is
should prominently place these policies at the important. Failing to update the language, tone and
beginning of the handbook, before the discrimination contents within certain policies may send the
and harassment policies, so that employees understand message that the company is disinterested in
the employer's commitment to DEIB at the outset. creating a positive work experience. Draconian
language and an unwillingness to recognize and adapt
to the current times will lead to employees sending
their resumes elsewhere.
3. Do use inclusive language. Inclusion isn't just Don't overload the handbook with legalese. Overly
culturally relevant right now; it is also important complicated handbooks may have the unintended effect
for creating a healthy and productive work of discouraging employees from reading them-which
environment. One way to demonstrate a commitment to is already a challenge for 68% of employers.(1)
inclusion is to replace binary pronouns such as "he/ Avoid multiple interpretations and
she", "him/her" and "his/her" with non-binary misinterpretations of policies by using clear,
pronouns such as "they", "them" and "their" in everyday language.
handbook policies. Reflect this wider social trend so
that transgender and non-binary workers do not feel
excluded or marginalized. 3.
4. Do view the handbook through the lens of employee Don't include the full employee, unemployment or
retention and recruitment. No handbook contains the workers' compensation benefits. These details are
secret recipe, master growth plan or any real all subject to change regularly and would need to
financials, so why keep it a secret? Handbooks be
u
pdated
on a near-
reflect an organization's values and benefits and can constant basis.
be used by both employees and prospective candidates
to determine whether an organization is the real deal. 4.
5. Do comply with employment laws in effect where remote Don't forget the acknowledgment form. It shows that
work is being performed. It's critical for employers the employer takes the handbook seriously and is
to be familiar with and comply with the state and useful when enforcing any of the handbook
local employment laws in effect where their remote provisions.
employees are physically located and their work is
being performed. 5.
Bonus Best Practice: Do include a remote work or hybrid work policy, if applicable.
E
mployers
will want to define what remote or hybrid work means to their organization, including which roles are remote versus hybrid, as well
as
any obligations employees have for maintaining data security, protected or confidential information and use of public wi-fi. They'll also want to tweak policies on harassment, attendance, paid time off, confidentiality, leaves, and wage and hour.
"The employee handbook is critical to keeping employees and supervisors aware of the organization's policies and expectations, and is also an important reflection of company culture," says Melissa Silver, Senior Legal Editor of Policy Solutions for XpertHR. "Keeping it up to date with rapidly changing workplace laws and trends allows employers to stay relevant within their industry and competitive with other organizations in their sector."
To further support companies in their quest to weave best practices into their Holy Grail, XpertHR has issued three whitepapers:
-- Designing an Employee Handbook for a Remote or Hybrid Workforce
-- Using Your Employee Handbook to Attract Talent
-- The 3C's: Keep Your Handbook Compliance, Competitive and Culturally
Relevant in 2022
New Data Offers Insights into Employee Handbook Compliance
Silver acknowledges that keeping an employee handbook compliant is a challenge in and of itself. Data from the XpertHR Employee Handbooks Survey Report shows that 51% of responding employers update their handbook on an "as needed" basis--which, according to Silver, reinforces the fact that an employee handbook is a living document that needs to be regularly reviewed and updated to not only reflect legal developments, but to ensure that the language contained therein remains culturally relevant.
In order to maintain compliance with federal, state and local laws, 34% of companies responded having one set of policies that are applicable regardless of jurisdiction, while 36% offer state and local addendums to their federally applicable policies. A whopping 76% of surveyed employers do not use any kind of handbook-building software to support their handbook creation efforts.
Silver points to Aptifore((TM)), a first-of-its kind employee handbook solution, as a way for employers to confidently stay on top of the shifting employment law landscape. Aptifore combines an extensive, current database of federal, state and local employment laws with an unrivaled selection of multi-jurisdictional policies. It allows customers to build custom handbooks, while ongoing, personalized alerts and insights support proactive handbook policy updates as legislation changes. Other features include access to vetted handbook policy templates, comprehensive guidance and compliance training (when combined with XpertHR's full suite of risk and compliance solutions).
"A handbook that is out-of-date and out-of-touch can impact employee morale and retention," Silver says. "HR professionals should consider if their handbook complies with current laws, is competitive in today's workforce, and culturally relevant to employees. If they can't affirm all three of these are true, it's time to go back to the drawing board."
To learn more about how Aptifore is helping companies build better employee handbooks, and to book a free demo, visit http://aptifore.ai.
Survey Note
The XpertHR Employee Handbook Survey 2022 was conducted from Feb 22 to March 18, 2022. The survey included responses from 366 U.S. employers of various industries and workforce sizes, representing over 460,000 workers. The survey report explores the critical subject of employee handbooks, such as preparation, distribution, approaches to multi-jurisdictional compliance, challenges, resources and more.
About XpertHR(®)
Global leader XpertHR empowers organizations to shape HR strategy, manage employee risk and embrace diverse talent ecosystems to create equitable, high-performing and purposeful workplaces. Since 2002, the data analytics and intelligent solutions provider has earned a reputation for providing expert insights, trusted resources and practical tools to help customers achieve greater efficiency, improve compliance and increase employee engagement. XpertHR is proud to be part of the LexisNexis(®) portfolio within RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. To learn more visit xperthr.com.
(1) Source: XpertHR Employee Handbook Survey 2022.
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SOURCE XpertHR
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