Finding a great employee doesn’t just happen - you must go through the entire hiring process to get to this specific point of finding an exceptional employee. So far you have done everything right: you appealed to the employee with a comprehensive job description, you conducted a successful interview, brought them on board, and finally trained the employee to effectively do their job.

By all appearances, you think you are done with the hiring process, but do not be fooled, there is one finally, and less obvious step - keeping that star employee on board.

It’s hard to deny that money plays a role in keeping great employees on board, but don’t fall into the trap of thinking this is the only incentive to keep employees at your company. There are many other incentives that play a role in an employees commitment to a company. Like every relationship, employee and otherwise, communication is key and can be the secret to keeping your great employees happy. As a manager or supervisor, there are many ways to communicate effectively.

Conduct “Stay Interviews”

A one-on-one conversations, known as “stay interviews,” allow you to address individual employees and find out exactly what drives them to come to work every day. Stay interviews can be a conversational tone - keeping them casual will help employees relax and open up about their work experiences. Use the information learned in the interview to help keep the individual (and other great employees) on board.

Stay interviews are a great policy to adopt into a company. A stay interview is a way to maintain employee to manager relationships and strengthen employee commitment. Stay interviews give you the opportunity to get information from great employees - the ultimate goal should be to find out what is it that makes the employee stay. This information can be very helpful in managing both current and future employees.

Assign Challenging Projects

When it comes to retaining great employees, managers must be held accountable for more than conducting stay interviews. Managers need to be mentors - they need to inspire and challenge the employee. One way to do this is by working directly with the employee on new and challenging projects. Discuss the companies goal, mission, and how their employees’ work aligns with that mission.

Great employees should know their specific role in attaining company’s goals and that they are a valuable asset to the company.

Encourage Employees & Praise Hard Work

Another simple communication technique is is to offer praise and gratitude to employees. Encouragement can be extremely underused but is necessary to build an employee’s confidence, while giving them deserved recognition of their hard work.

At times, there will unfortunately be circumstanced outside of your control - there is no guarantee that your best employees will stay. However using these simple techniques, staying proactive and communicating with your great employees will give you a much higher chance of keeping them happily on board.

The below advice will help you effectively train new employees.

Prepare for the Employee’s First Day

Actually, the above header should also include, “Prepare Before the Employee’s First Day.” Meaning, be accessible for any and all questions the employee may have prior to their first day at the office, an early dialogue will help the employee feel more at ease on when they arrive on the first day.

When the first day does come along, ensure their work space is clean and ready for their use. A work space filled with old documents and folders can make an employee feel awkward and unwelcome. This is the employee’s first impression of the company, make it a good one.

Assign An Employee Mentor

Although not always possible, employee mentors should be appointed with the expectation of creating a lasting relationship. Choose a mentor who has worked in the same position, or a similar one. They should be the new employee’s go to person for all questions relating to the position and the company. A mentor who has been in the same position and worked their way up will give the new hire something to work towards.

The mentor should especially be available as a resource for the new employee during their first week. Introductions to other employees and a company tour are good ways to start. This allows them to see different departments and start to understand the company’s organizational layout. This also presents a good opportunity to introduce them to other employees who may be helpful resources in the future.

Immediately Assign Responsibility

During the first week, assign a form of responsibility to the new employee, immediately make them feel like they are an asset to the company. The automatic expectation builds trust and begins the development of communication between you and the new employee. 

You can offer suggestions on how to complete these tasks effectively and efficiently. Also, do not be apprehensive about giving encouragement and praise to new employees, enthusiasm is usually extremely appreciated and increases an employees confidence.

Continuous Training

Training should not be specific to new hires. An on going training process allows all employees to maintain skill levels and motivates them to continue to grow. Training should be done on all levels of an organization, including managers.

Don’t forget - Before you train employees, you have to hire them - learn how to write detailed job descriptionsand how to effectively interview to attract great employees to your company.

Now comes the hard part, deciphering between the good, great and bad candidates. Below is a compilation of steps to take and questions to ask before, during and after an interview.

Before the interview

In a previous post, we described the importance of job descriptions and their value in the hiring process. The next step is posting those job descriptions where quality candidates are able to find them easily. Post the position in as widely as possible, do not forget about social media and university career postings. The job description should do the work of filtering mediocre candidates and attracting the right ones. 

Once you start receiving resumes, you will have to initially weed out the candidates that are not a fit. Every company will have unique warning signals, but here are a few common red flags that automatically say, “Do Not Hire!”.

Misspellings or Grammatical Errors

Misspelling and grammatical errors are an immediate warning sign. The candidate is almost doing you a favor and telling you not to hire him/her. Right off the bat, these errors can indicate laziness and a lack of attention to details.

No Cover Letter

Cover letters are an applicant’s first opportunity to showcase their personality, develop their resume and illustrate their skills. No cover letter should equal no hire. A candidate who does not take the time to write a meaningful cover letter immediately demonstrates low motivation and effort.

Long and Vague Resumes

Another issue to be handled with concern is lengthy resumes. Length does not correlate with amount of experience. Long resumes are often extremely wordy and do not contain actual quality information. The long winded resume is more likely to be found when a candidate does not have a lot of experience but attempts to fluff up their resume. An example would be a candidate who uses an entire page to describe an internship that only lasted 3 months. This could be a warning sign of an exaggerated resume or the the lack of ability to communicate effectively and efficiently.

During the Interview

A telephone interview, or even telephone conversation, is good place to start. A ten minute phone call can potentially save you hours of interview time. A phone interview helps to determine the candidates communication skills and can help stop lower quality candidates from making it to an interview.

When the face-to-face interview arrives, try to answer three main questions - Can they do the job? Will they do the job and do it effectively? Will they fit into the company culture?

During the interview, ask open ended questions, the more you let the candidate talk, the more you will discover about their experience and personality. It is okay to pry for specific details and examples. No questions should be unanswered when the interview is over. Give them the opportunity to ask questions at the end, it shows excitement and curiosity in the position and the company.

Simply observing the candidates actions and eye contact can also be very telling. Think about the personality traits that are ideal for the position you are filling, do they possess these qualities? Will they fit in with the company culture?

After the Interview

After the interview, it is important to immediately meet with the interview team and discuss the candidate. What did you like? What didn’t you like? Be specific about each and have reasoning to use as back up.

Follow up with references. It is important pay attention to what they say about the candidate on both the work and personal level. Also look at who the candidate chose as references

Great employees do not just fall into your office. You must take time and search for the candidates that you want.

These may seem like mundane details of your job now, but at one point they were the characteristics that led you to your position. Think back to before you interviewed. What made you send in a resume to apply for that job? More likely than not, you read the job description and thought, “That sounds like something I can do.”

Although the interview is often viewed as the most important part of the hiring process, it can be argued the job description is just as significant, if not more so. While not mandatory, there are many reasons to take the time to create an accurate and detailed job description.

Benefits Writing of Detailed Job Descriptions

The first step in hiring a hiring a great employee is attracting them. A poor description can turn off prospective employees, while appealing to poor candidates. A job description should be a depiction of an ideal employee - writing one can force you to think about the exact qualities and skills you want a candidate to possess.

Additionally, job descriptions can be helpful post-hire. A good description can serve as a benchmark for performance evaluations down the line - how is the employee performing based on the initial expectations listed?

Lastly, job descriptions are often the first item courts look at in discrimination charges. If the description is detailed and prepared in advance, it could be your main defense in court that a candidate was not qualified for a position.

What to Include When Writing Job Descriptions

Writing a job description is one thing, writing an accurate, detailed, and thorough job description is another. As mentioned above, the end result should be an illustration of the perfect employee for the job. The below list provides a basic overview of details that should be present in all job descriptions.

• If you are hiring for an existing position, talk to the employee currently holding the position. This allows you to get an accurate idea of what qualities are necessary to be successful in the position, short and long term.
• Set the title and department. Who are the supervisors and/or who will the employee be supervising?
• Specify all requirements and skills that are necessary to complete the job to the expected satisfaction. This includes education, experience, licenses and physical requirements.
• Provide the essential and secondary functions the employee will be performing while at work. What are the standards to perform those functions? (example: how many phone calls are they expected to make per day?)
• List the time requirements of the job. What are the days, hours or shifts the employee will be working - what is the compensation?

Do not cut corners on the hiring process. Creating a comprehensive job description is the first step in hiring a star employee.

Check the Optimum Solutions blog next week for helpful tips and advice on what to do during the interview process.

With this increasing issue, managers need to hold themselves accountable to strictly enforce FMLA and other attendance policies. Use the six valuable tips below to avoid being taken advantage of by employees abusing FMLA.

Calculate FMLA Leave With a Rolling Calendar

Using a rolling calendar year means calculating FMLA backwards, based on the first date the employee uses leave. This helps to minimize the opportunity for employees to try and double their FMLA time based on a regular calendar year.

Require Medical Certifications

Every company should develop an internal policy that employees must submit a medical certification to the the appropriate personnel within 15 days of the start of their FMLA leave. Examine the certification closely to determineits creditability. If suspicion does arise, you have the right to ask for a second opinion from an objective provider.

Require Employees to Provide Advance Notification

Employees should be required to submit a request at least 30 days in advance for all foreseeable FMLA leave.  Obviously, emergency FMLA requests and other special circumstances may not apply.

Strictly Enforce All Attendance Policies

Members of management must be strict when enforcing all absentee policies. The key is to stay consistent in following procedures, whether an employee is gone for one day or two months.

Request Employees to Appropriately Schedule Medical Appointments Around Work

Employers have the right to ask employees to schedule treatments and appointments at convenient hours of their work day, usually early morning or late afternoon. Scheduling appointments in these time frames allows employees to be present and productive for the majority of their work day. If necessary, employers can give the employee an alternative position to accommodate the changing schedule during intermittent FMLA.

Require Medical Recertification

Finally, if an employee is taking an extended leave of absence, require them to resubmit medication certification every 30 days (or more frequently) to stay up-to-date. This will ensure the employee is not taking more time off than necessary.

FMLA was not intended to be disruptive or abusive to employers or companies, but unfortunately there will be employees who try to cheat the system. As a manager, remaining consistent, asking questions, and keeping track of all attendance will help decrease the opportunities for FMLA abuse by employees.

For more information on the basics of FMLA, read our Policies and Procedures of Family and Military Leave Act Blog post.

There is no way to eliminate the chance that a disgruntled employee will file a lawsuit against you or your company, however there are ways to minimize the risk. To help save yourself and your company from potentially damaging lawsuits, follow the below advice on practices to abide by in the workplace.

Document All Conversations with Employees

All conversations verbal, via email or formal can be presented to a jury. Document all forms of conversations you have with employees, to ensure you have the necessary proof to defend yourself if a case is brought up against you. Although sometimes monotonous, you should always communicate with your employees as if they are going bring you to court.

On the reverse side, be cautious to avoid over-documentation immediately leading up to a planned termination. There have been cases where employers attempt to overcompensate employee disciplinary documentation in the time leading up to a termination to make up for the lack of documentation throughout the entire employment.

Know Your Company’s Policies & Procedures

Be familiar of with your organizations standard policies and procedures, including employment law. A manager claiming ignorance in front of a jury will not be excused - it is a manager’s job to always be knowledgeable of company policies. 

Never make decisions without knowing the definite company policy. If ever in doubt about standard protocol, ask your HR department.

Never Over Exaggerate Employee Reviews

Do not over exaggerate positive performance reviews for employees. Overly enthusiastic reviews can discredit your termination decision if that employee is fired down the line. Always be honest and consistent.

Always Take Employee Complaints Seriously

Do not shrug off complaints from employees related to unfairness or perceived illegal actions. Not addressing employee complaints can not only come back to haunt you in a lawsuit, but also destroys your credibility as an employer and a supervisor.

Document Reasons For Non-Hires

Not all lawsuits stem from firing an employee. Companies are often brought to court under allegations of discrimination during the hiring process of an individual, often times because rejection decisions are not always as well documented as an employee hire. Avoid these situations by documenting the exact reason that you did not hire an employee. Remember, it is illegal to deny employment based reasons related to marital status, age, race, religion, children, political affiliation or health status.

Be Honest & Consistent When Defending Personnel Decisions

One of the worst mistakes you can make during a lawsuit, is to change your story or reasoning as to why you made an employee decision. Communicate with your employee the exact reasons for discipline and remain consistent. This includes the initial defendant statement sent to court. If you change your reasoning at any time during the lawsuit, your credibility will go out the window.

Work With Employees To Accommodate Their Needs

Employers are required under federal law to make “reasonable” workplace changes to accommodate employees’ disabilities. As a supervisor, do not try to dictate the solution - work with the employee to meet their specific needs. If the employer controls the situation and creates an unsatisfactory solution for the employee’s needs, the employee may have a reason to file a lawsuit.

Avoid Firing Employees Too Quickly

Before terminating an employee, managers are responsible to try and improve a workers performance. If you document attempts to fix the issues before firing an employee, you will have proof and credence in the court room.

For more information on properly terminating employees, read our Guide to Smooth Terminations & Layoffs.

Many times, work related lawsuits are not in the hands of the employer. However, taking precautionary action involving documentation, communication, and familiarity can help you be prepared to defend you or your company in court.

Take the time to plan ahead - start by asking questions about budgeting and the future. Asking these questions now may help you avoid asking questions about how to get out of debt later. Follow the budgeting tips below, and learn how to become a proactive saver.

Set Short & Long Term Goals

It is important to determine and evaluate both short and long term goals. Are saving for a summer trip to Europe or for your children’s education? Maybe it is both. Estimate how much each goal will cost and how much money you need to put away each month to reach that goal.

Track Your Expenses

If you don’t track your expenses, you may not realize where your money is actually going. Start by adding up your fixed expenses (rent, insurance, loan payments, etc.) and track your variable expenses (utility bills, food, transportation, etc.) for each month. Carrying around a small notebook or logging daily expenses in your phone is an easy way to track this and it may cause you to reconsider your day-to-day purchases! When planning ahead, take into account specific splurge periods. The holidays, for example, lead to higher spending habits. 

Cutting Unnecessary Costs

After looking at your monthly spending, ask yourself “where can I cut costs?” The coffee you buy twice a week can start to add up!

Here are some easy tips for cutting costs:

• Buy frozen non-perishable food to avoid having to throw away expired groceries
• Compare your current homeowners or renters insurance - there may be less expensive options that were not available when you initially signed up for coverage
• Look at options for internet, phone lines and cable/satellite. Again there may be cheaper options you have not heard of!

Bargaining on Purchases

Although we are not bargaining on most of our daily purchases, the operation isn’t completely dead. You still might have the power to actually lower prices, especially on larger purchases. Do your homework and be prepared, research the market price and find out what you should be paying. When you do arrive at the store, it never hurts to ask the salesperson if an item has coupons or if there are similar items on sale - the worst they can say is “no.” Finally, if it’s a larger purchase, such as car, be comfortable with walking away from the sale if you are not getting the price you want. In today’s economy, more often than not the merchant will want your money. And, if they do not stop you, you can always go back.

Remember your budget will not be set in stone. Life happens and you will have to make changes occasionally, but taking the time to budget now will help you stay prepared for the future and for your trip across seas!

Assign Every Email You Receive

In today’s work world, emails are never ending. An easy way to keep up on emails is being able to quickly recognize the next step for every email. This means every email should be assign an action.

• Delete all irrelevant or unimportant emails
• If urgent, complete the task and mark as completed
• Assign the email to a future date and time
• File the email to an appropriate folder
• Forward the email to the appropriate person

Prioritize All Interruptions

In a perfect world, every phone call or meeting would be properly scheduled in advance - but we all know this doesn’t happen. However, most of the time you can decide on when to actually have the conversation. Within the first two minutes of the phone call or meeting, make a decision as to whether it is an urgent issue or if you need to schedule a meeting for a later date and time.

Plan Your Schedule In Advance

Before you leave the office every day, plan out a schedule for the next day. Make a list of what tasks you need to accomplish and check items off as you complete them.

It is also smart to prioritize the tasks you need to get done. Come up with a system that helps you decide which tasks are necessary to complete by what date.

Keep Your Office Space Organized

This may sound simple, but the two minutes it takes you to find that document, can add up significantly during the week. Stay organized so you don’t waste time saying, “I know I have it here somewhere!”

Everything you do at the office should be worth your time. Planning ahead and taking 15 minutes to schedule your day can save you hours during the week.

Computers Left Unattended

The most common electronic data breach is an employee leaving their computer monitors unattended, exposed, and unlocked. Any passerby can not only read the electronic information, but may even have the opportunity to sit down and search through it.

This same issue occurs when papers containing confidential information are left on desks without any sort of security. To prevent these breaches from occurring, have an enforceable policy, such as timed computer locking, that is effectively communicated to all of you your employees.

New Employee Access to Old Information

In recent years, there have been decreases in data breaches stemming from old hard drives in sold or discarded computers. However, in- office data breaches have seen an increase. Frequently, new employees are able to access information from an old employees computer that is not meant for their eyes.

To avoid these breaches, all computers need to be completely cleared of any data from the previous user before given to a new employee.

Information Stored on Unexpected Memory Drives

In today’s world, more things seem to have memory drives than not - it no longer just computers. Make sure everything in your office with a memory drive is cleared off before being reused, sold or thrown out. This includes cell phones, printers, copiers and even fax machines!

Data breaches are serious and can get a company into more than a little trouble. Do not be reactive. Put in place security policies, communicate them, and enforce them.

Address Insurance Benefit & Premium Changes

Do not try to sugar coat cost sharing. Although employes may not like hearing that they are going to have to pay more for insurance, tell them the exact amount costs are going up and explain why. This builds a trusting relationship and employees will appreciate the honesty.

Add Voluntary Benefits

If your list of employer-paid benefits is decreasing, try and compensate by adding voluntary benefits. This can include everything from pet insurance to gym memberships. Although employees will still have to pay the premium, the company can often negotiate lower group fees.

Vary Communication Techniques

Use multiple mediums to communicate employee benefits, plan details and deadline reminders. Communication efforts should include staff meetings, take-home packets and emails. Companies should also get creative - using social media, YouTube videos, chat rooms and discussion boards to share the information allows employees to interact over various platforms. Some of the most important information to effectively communicate is change - change to their existing plans, change to the current health care law, change of deadlines, etc.

Streamline Your Benefit Enrollment Process

Enrollment should always be an easy process. Many times this means providing convenient online enrollment by having an available computer in the lobby or break room as a reminder to employees they can enroll right there.

Educate Your Employees

Educating your employees will also help limit passive enrollment. According to Highroads consulting firm, 71% of organizations automatically renew last year’s plans, except flexible spending accounts, for employees who don’t take any action during open enrollment.  This leads to employees with coverage that does not meet their needs because they are uninformed. Many employees also end up paying higher costs than necessary for their plans.

Communicate Early & Often

The easiest way to keep all of your employees informed is to start early and to update often. If you allow for a long lead time, you stay organized and will be prepared upon open enrollment season.