Business Adviser Magazine September 2013 | Page 39

Recommendation: Use a “Record of Counseling” or “Corrective Action Notice” to document performance issues as they arise. It is important to seek objective, experienced human resource guidance before taking disciplinary action to help avoid emotional or knee jerk decisions.

smooth operations. Evaluate and implement policies specific to your company’s situation, and then follow them. Recommendation: Ensure appropriate policies are documented and accessible to employees. Implement only the policies that will be applied consistently throughout the entire organization.

Risk #7:

Lack of a performance man-

agement system. A performance management system improves communication and ensures each employee’s activities and focus are aligned with the company’s objectives. It also documents accomplishments or misses, and provides objective, observable guidance for merit increases, and incentive compensation. Recommendation: Reward and pay employees based on deliverables. Provide performance input to the executive team regularly through a documented performance management system; develop shared expectations around performance ratings to ensure consistency in evaluation of performance; use goal setting templates and performance review forms in developing a performance management system. A well documented performance management system can be a key vehicle in executing a company’s business strategy.

Risk #10: Failure to train on harassment prevention. Harassment prevention training sometimes limits the company’s liability and partially fulfills an employer’s obligation to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment in the workplace under various laws. Recommendation: Conduct harassment prevention training every two years and in the onboarding process for new hires. Training can be delivered online or in person. Either way, make sure to document participant names, and the date and location of the training.

Here are some guidelines:

Risk #8:

Nonexistent or incomplete

job descriptions. Clear, easy-to-understand job descriptions encourage the accomplishment of business objectives and protect the organization from charges of discrimination and unfairness. Recommendation: Use a job description questionnaire to assist in gathering information. It’s important that your job descriptions cover essential work functions, including the physical ones along with any other requirements each position requires.

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Conduct an HR assessment to identify areas where improvement is possible.

About the author:

Marco Garza, UniqueHR
Marco serves as a trusted HR partner to growing businesses, helping them contain costs, minimize employer-related risks, relieve administrative burden, and keep them focused on core business. He can be reached at 956.240.4544.

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“Choose your battles” and prioritize those issues most affecting the company’s risk and/ or bottom line. Create a realistic timeline for accomplishing your risk management goals.

Risk #9:

Failure to follow published

policies. Consistent policies and procedures help set expectations and are essential for

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