4 Ways to Start Fresh for 2010



Posted: Tuesday, December 15, 2009

by Michele O'Donnell
MMC, Inc.

With the dawn of a new year approaching it is time to start planning the organizations Human Resources priorities for the new year. This can be a daunting task and quite a large undertaking for many employers. Many Human Resources initiatives involve long time lines and careful planning is always advised. If you have identified your organization's Human Resources needs or initiatives for 2010 make sure enough time is allotted for the planning, research, development, and implementation of those initiatives to allow for the smoothest implementation possible. A few good guidelines to follow are discussed briefly below.

Employee Handbook: Review your current Employee Handbook and ensure the included policies are still in line with your business practices and mission, and revise when necessary. It is also a good idea to update existing policies to reflect any federal and/or state employment regulations since your last update; for example the expanded Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) language regarding Military Family Leave entitlements. Remove any policies that are no longer applicable, if any. A few key areas to review are paid time off policies, leave of absence policies, non-discrimination policies, anti-harassment policies and attendance policies.

Employee File Review: Ensure current addresses are on file for W-2 purposes. File any outstanding paperwork, so you can begin the year fresh. Additionally, you should make sure the information contained in the file is up to date and accurate, such as job title, pay rate, attendance record, etc. You may consider purging employee files that you are no longer required to keep by law, make sure you know the federal and applicable state requirements for the length of time files are required to be retained. If it is not your practice to purge files you may consider putting those files in long term storage.

Training Needs: If training needs have been identified, plan out a training schedule for 2010. Schedule trainings required by your industry, licensing requirements, or state and/or local governments. For example: California requires Sexual Harassment Prevention training for supervisors on a bi-annual basis. If training needs have not been identified work with staff and managers to determine what trainings will be of benefit to the employees and organization as a whole. Develop a plan and establish a budget to address those identified needs.

Staffing Needs: Many employers have had the unfortunate circumstance of having to lay off employees in the last year or have had to implement cost saving measures in regards to staffing such as reducing work hours. Now is the time to look at the current state of your business and determine if those staffing decisions are still applicable. If you have open positions to fill consider recalling employees that were previously laid off.

Michele O'Donnell joined the MMC team in January 2007 and currently leads MMC's elite team of HR Consultants. Ms. O'Donnell has been involved in the Human Resources industry for more than 14 years, bringing vast training and management experience to the MMC leadership ranks. Her experience spans the broad scope of labor law, regulatory compliance and HR Best Practices, drawn from her rich experience as Director of HR for several firms throughout her career. She currently works to ensure that MMC's consultants forge long lasting relationships with our clients, fostered in exceptional service and unsurpassed HR expertise.  Ms. O'Donnell earned her baccalaureate degree in Business Administration from Auburn University before receiving her Masters degree in Human Resource Management from Troy State University. Learn more about MMC’s comprehensive HR services at http://www.mmchr.com

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