Oceans of Opportunities

07/20/2016

Great time at the Taste of Mesa - BBQ challenge at the Mesa Chamber of Commerce!

05/21/2016

It’s Official! Changes to the Fair Labor Standard Act – Effective December 1, 2016
As you’ve probably heard months ago, the Department of Labor proposed updates to the requirements for exempt employees. The final rule was issued on May 18, 2016 with an effective date of December 1, 2016. No longer will exempt (salaried) employees paid less than $47,476 be considered exempt and must receive overtime for all hours worked over 40 in a pay week The good news (if there can be any) is they did lower the salary requirement from the original proposal of $50,440 to $47,476. It is still quite a jump from the current salary requirement of $23,660 per year.
When these changes were first announced last year, an effective date seemed far in the distance and the next six months will pass quickly. Options for complying include:
• Raise Salary to the new Threshold
• Limit to 40 hours
• Pay salary plus time and a half overtime pay
• Pay overtime at a modified pay
• Fixed Salary for Greater than 40 hours
There are pros and cons to each of these options. For help in finding the option that is right for you, give me a call! 480-309-4838 or [email protected].

01/06/2016

Attended a great seminar hosted by Snell & Wilmer as part of their Emerging Business Series. The DOL and IRS are getting more aggressive in looking at independent contractors versus employees. Overall the courts are saying "all workers are employees" but they are focusing on whether the "individual is dependent on the entity". If you are afraid you may have independent contractors misclassified - make it your New Years Resolution to make a change. Need help? Give me a call!

The most creative and innovative human resource service provider in Chandler, AZ. We are a virtual HR department providing you with answers, solutions, information and creative ideas to address your organization’s employee issues and concerns.

10/22/2015

It may be a little hard to do at first - but it makes a lot of good sense!

In this series, professionals share their secrets to being more productive. Read the posts here, then write your own (use in the b

07/08/2015

I recently reviewed some HR related forms already in use by a new client of mine. I was somewhat surprised to see an Exit Interview form. The form was well written and had a nice layout. It asked departing employees their reason for leaving, thoughts on working conditions, wages and benefits, their immediate supervisor and what if anything would make them stay. It also asked for advice on anything the organization could change to make it a better place to work.
I asked the client if they used the forms and if so, what they did with the information. The client replied that they did ask all employees who voluntarily resign to complete and form and when they do (which is about 50% of the time) she passes a copy onto the President. She couldn’t recall him ever taking any action on the information yet she offered to show me the file she had been keeping for the last 5 years.
This is a reoccurring HR problem I see for many smaller yet growing organizations. They see the importance of collecting HR data like exit interview information, turnover statistics, cost to hire and others, but they stuff it in a file drawer, failing to do anything meaningful with the information. Think of the possibilities!!!
• One exiting employee could have given you the key to why the next 5 employees decided to leave
• One exiting employee could have given you an idea for a process change that could have saved thousands of dollars
• One exiting employee could have forecasted that OSHA safety violation you received 2 months after they left
Having HR information and not doing anything with it is like not having the information at all. Go look in your HR file cabinet, you just may find a gold mine or at least the information that will help you dodge the next “bullet” that has your company’s name on it.

06/22/2015

Great article that steps you through the process of writing a results oriented job description that can quickly be transformed into a job specific performance evaluation form.

When writing results-oriented job descriptions, the first thing to consider is that you need to identify and state first the result to be accomplished.

06/09/2015

We are in week two of our stay in temporary quarters, being in between selling our home and buying a new one.
Who would have thought that packing and moving were like needing human resource help? When we first put our house on the market, our listing agent insisted that we “de-clutter” and move out some of the big pieces of furniture so that prospective buyers could appreciate the spaciousness and openness that our home offered. We rented a 16 square foot mobile storage unit and over the course of a weekend packed it with about a third of our furniture, 20 boxes and a lot of miscellaneous items we felt we could live without for a month or two. It was full.
When our house sold quickly and closed quicker than we could finalize a new home, we rented another 16 square foot storage unit. By this time we were tired, so we hired professional packers and movers to help us. As we surveyed a living room full of boxes stacked 4 high and the remaining furniture, plus a garage full as well as an outside storage shed, I was certain we would have to call for a third unit once the movers filled the second unit.
The movers arrived and surveyed all of our possessions and after 20 or 30 minutes gave us the good news. . . they could get it all in this unit. In the next six hours they proved themselves correct. It all fit.
The lesson I learned was why it pays to hire a professional and here’s why:
1. They are specialists. This is all they do and they do it over and over again. Sure every move is slightly different but they have dealt with hundreds of the same but slightly different moves, so they have a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw on.
2. They assess the situation and devise a plan based on their knowledge and experience. We had a plan when we packed the first unit but it was based on our knowledge and experience of backing our vehicle to go camping – not packing a large box with tons of odd shaped items.
3. They took advantage of every square inch of the unit by seeing things with different eyes. When we packed the first unit we put all the bedroom furniture on one side and all the boxes from my office on the other – only because that is how we looked and thought about the items, that they needed to stay together. The movers looked at these items differently and at the bigger issue – How do we pack all this stuff into this storage unit? By focusing on that one goal they were successful.
I learned it is important to hire a professional. Whether it’s moving or dealing with human resource issues there are many benefits to getting professional help. As human resource professionals we can help with employee related compliance issues and programs because:
1. We are specialists. Helping small and mid-sized business with employee related programs and issues is all we do. We have helped many clients with hiring, firing and everything in between.
2. We assess the current employee situation of all types of organizations and develop a plan based on our years of experience and up to date HR knowledge that help businesses increase productivity and comply with all employment related laws and requirements. This alleviates a lot of headaches and worry.
3. We see your employees and organization through a fresh set of eyes and offer solutions and recommendations that others might not have thought of because “we’ve always done it this way”. We focus on the important, overall goal of legal compliance and solid employee relations.
The dramatic results we got from hiring a professional mover made it worth the cost in money, time and headaches. Whether you are packing and moving or hiring and firing – use a professional.

01/29/2015

The Chandler Chamber has an opening for an Accounting Specialist. Apply online at www.chandlerchamber.com . Must have 3 years experience working with QuickBooks, payroll, AR/AP, auditing and financial reporting.

The Chamber of Commerce is a voluntary organization of citizens who invest time, talent, and financial contributions into a business and community development program, working together to improve the economic, civic and cultural fortitude of the region. The Chandler Chamber of Commerce fully embodie…

07/31/2014

The Chandler Chamber has an opening for an Accounting Specialist. Apply online at www.chandlerchamber.com . Application process closes on August 6th. Must have 3 years experience working with QuickBooks, payroll, AR/AP, auditing and financial reporting.

04/16/2014

Delegation - How to do more with less! We all want to do more with less - but the question I am asked a lot is "HOW"? I think it all falls back on the lost art of delegation. If you and your supervisors aren't artfully delegating you will never be able to do more with less. At some point all mom's delegate room cleaning to their children somewhere around the ages of 10 to 13. But the truly successful moms follow a few simple rules
*Set the stage. Inform them what the new expectation is "I'm no longer going to clean your room for you. I am asking you to take responsibility.

*Explain the expectation. "You know for the last several years, on a weekly basis I have dusted, vacuumed, changed the sheets on your bed and taken out the trash from your room".

*Set the consequences for non-compliance. "I expect you to devote 2 hours every Saturday to clean your room. If you don't complete all the tasks I have shared with you, you will not receive your weekly allowance".

*Encourage compliance. "I'm here to help you, answer any questions and provide all the tools and support you need. It is no longer my responsibility it is your. Ask for help when you need it."
Delegating tasks to employees may seem harder than getting your kid to clean their room, but think about it. Break it down to these 4 steps and I believe you will find it much easier than you think.

04/04/2014

Driving home from a client's yesterday I was surprised to see this on the back of a truck. I think this guy needs a different marketing strategy.

01/25/2014

My friend Chuck Paulausky - the Safety Guy says "Don’t forget to complete your OSHA log for 2013 and post the 300A summary page by February 1st. It needs to stay posted through the end of April." If you have any questions about what is recordable or with completing the log - let me know and I will get you in touch with him.