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Finding good employees has always been a challenge - but these days it's harder than ever. And it is unlikely to improve anytime soon.

The so-called quit rate - the share of workers who voluntarily leave their jobs - hit a new record of 3% in September 2021, according to the latest data available from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. The rate was highest in the leisure and hospitality sector, where 6.4% of workers quit their jobs in September. In all, 20.2 million workers left their employers from May through September.

Companies are feeling the effects. In August 2021, a survey found that 73% of 380 employers in North America were having difficulty attracting employees - three times the share that said so the previous year. And 70% expect this difficulty to persist into 2022.

Observers have blamed a wide variety of factors for all the turnover, from fear of contracting COVID-19 by mixing with co-workers on the job to paltry wages and benefits being offered.

As a professor of human resource management, I examine how employment and the work environment have changed over time and the impact this has on organizations and communities. While the current resignation behavior may seem like a new trend, data shows employee turnover has been rising steadily for the past decade and may simply be the new normal employers are going to have to get used to.

The economy's seismic shifts

The U.S. - alongside other advanced economies - has been moving away from a focus on productive sectors like manufacturing to a service-based economy for decades.

In recent years, the service sector accounted for about 86% of all employment in the U.S. and 79% of all economic growth.

That change has been seismic for employers. A majority of the jobs in service-based industries require only generalizable occupational skills such as competencies in computing and communications that are often easily transportable across companies. This is true across a wide range of professions, from accountants and engineers to truck drivers and customer services representatives. As a result, in service-based economies, it is relatively easy for employees to move between companies and maintain their productivity.

And thanks to information technology and social media, it has never been easier for employees to find out about new job opportunities anywhere in the world. The growing prevalence of remote working also means that in some cases employees will no longer need to physically relocate to start a new job.

Thus, the barriers and transition costs employees incur when switching employers have been reduced.

Greater options and lower costs to move mean that employees can be more selective and focus on picking jobs that best fit their personal needs and desires. What people want from work is inherently shaped by their cultural values and life situation. The U.S. labor market is expected to become far more diverse going forward in terms of gender, ethnicity and age. Thus, employers that cannot provide greater flexibility and variety in their working environment will struggle to attract and retain workers.

Employers now have a greater obligation than in the past to convince existing and would-be employees why they should stay or join their organizations. And there is no evidence to suggest this trend will change going forward.

What companies can do to adapt

It has been estimated that the cost to the employer of replacing a departing employee is on average 122% of that employee's annual salary in terms of finding and training a replacement.

Thus, there is a large incentive for businesses to adapt to the new labor market conditions and develop innovative approaches to keeping workers happy and in their jobs.

A May 2021 survey found that 54% of employees surveyed from around the world would consider leaving their job if they were not afforded some form of flexibility in where and when they work.

Given the heightened priority employees place on finding a job that fits their preferences, companies need to adopt a more holistic approach to the types of rewards they provide. It's also important that they tailor the types of financial, social and developmental incentives and opportunities they provide to individual employees' preferences. It's not just about paying workers more. There are even examples of companies providing employees the choice of simply being paid in a cryptocurrency like bitcoin as an inducement.

While customizing the package of rewards each employees receives may potentially increase an organization's administrative costs, this investment can help retain a highly engaged workforce.

Managing the new normal

Companies should also plan on high employee mobility to be endemic and reframe how they approach managing their workers.

One way to do this is by investing deeply in external relationships that help ensure consistent access to high-quality talent. This can include enhancing the relationships they have with educational institutions and former employees.

For example, many organizations have adopted alumni programs that specifically recruit former employees to rejoin.

These former employees are often less expensive to recruit, bring access to needed human capital and possess both an understanding of an organization's processes and an appreciation of the organization's culture.

The quit rate is likely to stay elevated for some time to come. The sooner employers accept that and adapt, the better they'll be at managing the new normal.

[You're smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation's authors and editors. You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter.]

Ian O. Williamson, Dean of the Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Stuff happens! Often, human resources professionals encounter the unexpected. When employees bring surprises, priorities get rearranged, if not completely usurped. Still, having a plan helps everything stay on target and go much more smoothly. The new year is the perfect time to anticipate and plan, making all the difference in what gets accomplished. Here are a few ideas on getting started:

Know your organization. Understand the overall business goals and objectives. Identify how the human resources department can contribute and obtain top management support. Create a human resources strategic plan that supports the organization, its goals and mission.

Stay on top of deadlines. Whether month-by-month or week-by-week, develop a calendar or other means to track tasks for legal compliance and other deadlines that predictably occur. Overlay this framework with the additional HR projects you need to accomplish.

Update your employee handbook. Take into account changes in state and federal law as well as the National Labor Relations Board stance that social media policies not constrict employees' right to discuss the terms and conditions of their employment. Check for clear, concise wording and readability. Make sure policies are consistent with one another.

Revise job descriptions. Job duties change and job descriptions need regular updating. Make sure they are clear and accurate and convey the essential functions of the job. Well-written job descriptions provide a road map to employees, serve as a foundation for performance evaluations, and justify exempt vs. non-exempt status under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Use wording that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (HR Made Simple subscribers may access HRSentry's Job Description Tool to quickly create ADA-compliant job descriptions.)

Train managers and supervisors. Your need to depend on these folks on the front lines to properly implement your policies and procedures and state and federal employment and non-discrimination laws. Help them understand their role in claim prevention, especially in areas such as sexual harassment and retaliation. Teach the importance of proper documentation and let them know that HR serves as an internal consultant to help prevent and solve HR-related problems.

Target problem areas. Do you have high, unplanned turnover? Is FMLA abuse or absenteeism a problem? Are independent contractors vs. employees classified properly? Are you paying overtime lawfully? Are work-related injuries too numerous? Every organization has areas to improve. Identify the two or three most pressing issues and make this the year to solve them!

Need more in-depth help? Expect the unexpected and plan for what you can! HR Made Simple subscribers have all the resources and tools they need at their fingertips 24/7.

Enjoy a stellar 2016!

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Donna is a 30-year old single parent working at a quick service restaurant. She's been working here for months, but it won't be for much longer. At home on her kitchen counter sits a pile of unopened bills and collection letters. She's been struggling to receive consistent child support, and now she's behind on her rent. Daycare services are expensive and her credit cards are maxed out. She has trouble concentrating at work.

She makes careless mistakes with orders, has a surly attitude with customers, and even considered "borrowing" some of the contents of the cash register. She calls in sick when she needs to deal with occasional financial flare-ups. Last month she borrowed from her parents and sister just to prevent her car from being repossessed. Donna wonders how long she can hold on. She spends time during her lunch break looking at job sites on her phone.

Once Donna leaves or is terminated, her employer will need to interview, hire, and train a new candidate. Her money woes are about to be her boss's problem.

What will it cost to replace Donna? According to studies, the cost of a lost employee vary according to their level of expertise and credentials. For positions earning less than $30,000 annually, every time a business has to replace an employee, it costs an average of 16% of that person's annual salary.¹ That's $4800 for someone earning $30,000. But high employee turnover perpetuates itself. When staff members witness a revolving door, they tend to disengage, and become less productive, increasing the odds of their own departure.

Customer service becomes a casualty when staff is stretched, due to the exodus of employees. For management, continually interviewing, selecting, and training the newest hires, becomes exhausting. The monotony leads to cutting corners in the selection process, resulting in bad hires and further spikes in turnover.

How many Donnas work at your franchise? Surveys reveal that 33% of US workers across all industries, report feeling severe financial stress. According to PwC, 37% of these workers report that they spend over 3 hours per week at work thinking about or dealing with personal financial issues.

About 30% of the Gen Y labor force, find it difficult to make their minimum payments on credit cards, while only 19% of baby boomers do. The figures for the relatively unskilled labor force found in quick service franchises are bound to be sadder still, as many teeter on a ledge of despair.

What's more, 29% of money-troubled employees blame their employer for their predicament.² "Study after study has shown that employees who are financially stressed, experience health problems more often, and are less productive," says personal finance author Gerri Detweiler.

According to Reeta Wolfsohn of the Center for Financial Social Work, financial stress is the number one stressor in people's lives. The absence of a consistent and reliable work schedule for workers in businesses such as quick service restaurants, with a specific amount of income on a regular basis, increases that stress many times over.

These workers need greater stability in all areas of their lives, particularly in their jobs. When that is missing, the challenge of arranging for childcare and transportation can become unmanageable and result in absenteeism, lateness, and job loss.

What can a franchise employer do? The first step is to acknowledge the severity of the problem, and commit to addressing it.

Resources to Help

EAP's - Corporations with extensive benefit packages offer employee assistance programs, where staff can call for help in times of crisis. But franchises are smaller business units, where these services are not as widely offered.

The Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA) can help employers select and hire a group to provide assistance. Be sure to compare EAPs according to services provided and fees per employee.

Workplace Posters - Among free resources available, CareConnect USA has published a free workplace poster, for franchise management to print and display for employees. Posters list national helplines for employees to find assistance. The helplines cover critical categories such as Child Support, Housing Assistance, Credit Counseling, Free Bankruptcy Advice and more.

Calls are routed to government, non-profit, and private help centers according to region. Calls are free, and posters are available in large quantities for multi-unit owners.

Mobile App - A free mobile app called "Trusted Helplines" instantly connects employees with financial and crisis resources in a vast array of categories, including mental health, depression, abuse, and addiction. This format is well suited to young workers who primarily use mobile devices to access information. Franchise managers can print the app flyer and post it in the workplace. Employees can then discreetly download the app and explore many free resources on their own time. Posting such a flyer also sends a signal that management cares about the well being of employees outside of work.

Financial Education on Site - For employers willing to play a more active role, the Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation (PFEEF) can help them establish effective financial wellness programs and help employees adopt sound financial habits. Using the Personal Financial Wellness Scale™, PFEEF is able to assess the financial wellness of individuals before, during, or after the implementation of a financial wellness program to quantify the benefits of a given program. PFEEF then provides resources and services to help deliver effective instruction and training to employees.

It's no secret that franchise owners face a challenge to deliver quality products and services in a competitive marketplace. But within that challenge lays the tricky task of mobilizing a distracted workforce, walking a tight rope over financial ruin with no safety net. A walk that eventually leads straight out the door.

¹ The Harris Poll

² Center for American Progress

(A financial counselor since 1993, David has worked with housing, debt relief centers nationwide. In 2005, he created a reference tool to help social workers find resources for their trouble clients. Always searching for innovative ways to help employees and families connect with appropriate assistance. For comment or questions he can be reached at [email protected].)

American traditions abound next month and Thanksgiving: traveling to visit family, overflowing dinner tables, football games on television, Black Friday sales and, for many workers, a long weekend. But there can also be cultural pressures to meet an elusive holiday ideal and, for many, it's stressful when family relations go awry or dinner falls short of Martha Stewart perfection.

Add multiple doses of commercial tactics to ramp up holiday spending and another frenzied set of expectations emerges. Layer this atop an economic climate of insecurity and you've got the perfect recipe for stressed out employees. No wonder we sometimes neglect both the thanks and the giving in Thanksgiving!

But employers can help put both back into the holiday season while assisting their employees in the process. Consider these five ideas:

1. Model Gratitude. Thank your employees for what they do for your department and the organization. Catch them doing things well and let them know you notice and appreciate it. Give positive feedback whenever possible to help them feel motivated, encouraged and engaged in their work.

2. Appreciate the Whole Person. Employees don't bring compartmentalized pieces of themselves to work. For better or worse, they bring their whole being, their enthusiasm, talents, concerns and problems alike. Get to know your employees as unique individuals; learn about what's important to them and let them know that you care.

3. Create a Culture of Wellness. Everyone is better off when staff members are healthy, physically and mentally. Absenteeism and turnover go down; teamwork and productivity go up. Employees feel cared about when you pay attention to their well-being. Create wellness events, such as yoga, mindfulness training and nutrition classes, and provide an Employee Assistance Program to help staff manage personal issues and hardships.

4. Support Volunteering. The opportunity to serve others is gratifying. It can even be therapeutic when experiencing difficulties in one's own life. Consider a policy that allows employees to spend some work time volunteering for a worthy cause. Your generosity in allowing employees to themselves be generous will be appreciated and will encourage loyalty and greater commitment among your staff.

5. Nurture a Sense of Community. Trying to get more done with less these days, stressed out employees can narrow their focus, hunker down, view other departments as thwarting and lose sight of the greater picture. To counter these tendencies, create opportunities for staff, across departments and functions, to get to know one another better. Interdepartmental projects, committees and social events can foster cooperation, collaboration and even friendship. The U.S. Congress of twenty years ago engaged in socializing and friendship across party lines that resulted in compromise and cooperation which, today, is almost non-existent. It's all too easy to demonize others when you don't know them.

It can take mindful effort to pause and be thankful. But the more you do it, the easier and more habitual it becomes. So take some time out this week and in the coming weeks to encourage your employees to likewise pause, breathe, pay attention to others, engage in helping those less fortunate and appreciate one another.

Model, cultivate and provide opportunities for healthy, cooperative and generous behaviors and your organization will enjoy a culture of more committed, collaborative and appreciative staff.

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Kyle, age 21, handles the scheduling, appointments, estimates, and all payment transactions for the auto service center near my office.

On a weekday morning at 8:16, I call to inquire about getting my vehicle in for shocks and an alignment. Kyle politely tells me that if I can bring it in within the next 30 minutes, he'll have it out by 11:45, in time for me to make my lunch appointment.

I agree and head out immediately.

I arrive at 8:37 and notice that there are already three customers in the waiting area in front of me. Kyle is working fast and furious to make certain each gets their questions answered, receives an accurate estimate, and signs the required paperwork to begin the job. With so much to do, Kyle is multitasking like a one-armed paperhanger in a stiff breeze, and he's trying to make everyone feel like they are important and will attend to them shortly.

Kyle's friendly, knowledgeable, and he seems to be very competent at keeping so many plates spinning at once.

However, as I observe him more carefully, I can detect a subtle level of frustration brewing under the surface.

He's working solo throughout this rush and it's got to be incredibly stressful to take such good care of the four customers in the showroom while, at the same time, being constantly interrupted with questions from his service techs, while, at the same time, handling an endless stream of phone calls from prospective customers.

Eventually, it's my turn and Kyle begins by apologizing to me for the delay while looking over my shoulder to acknowledge the two additional customers that just walked in.

"I don't know too many people that are working harder than you are today, Kyle." I said to him.

Something about my statement must have made me appear like a therapist, as Kyle took a deep breath, shook his head, and began to offload his stress.

"I've been here for over a year and it's like this every day. Every day, man! They tell me to give friendly personal service to every customer and to suggest other things we can do for their car, but when they don't staff anyone else to help you, and they don't provide a voice mail system to help handle the barrage of calls that come in from the ads they place, you wind up playing the incompetent fool. Ultimately, no one gets the service they expect or deserve...I say I'm sorry a thousand times a day...and I can't wait for my shift to end."

I'm no therapist, but it doesn't take Dr. Phil to realize that Kyle is not going to be working here in six months. (Heck, I'd be surprised if he made it six more days.) And when he finally quits, this national big box retailer will attempt to find another Kyle to plug into that position.

It's a crying shame, too. Because if Kyle had just a little support from upper management, he'd be a safe bet for long-term employment. Imagine how much better he'd be with five more years' experience!

If management in this operation would observe what I did, they'd be the ones listening to Kyle, and they'd most certainly provide him with the resources (another counter person, etc.) and the tools (voice mail, etc.) he needs to succeed.

By supporting Kyle, their customers would get a much improved service experience; the kind they'd tell their friends about. And those referrals from delighted customers would have a substantial impact on revenues, decreasing their reliance on expensive couponing and marketing gimmicks to get new customers into the store. Not to mention the repeat business from their existing customers.

Unfortunately, this story isn't going to end like that.

With a death grip on wages and operational costs, my prediction is that this national retailing giant is going to keep churning and burning the Kyles right out of their organization. Their employee turnover and marketing costs will continue to escalate. Customer satisfaction, repeat business, and referrals will continue to erode. Stock prices will continue to fall.

Are you paying more attention to your daily deposits than you are to your Kyles?

POST NOTE: Kyle apologized again when he called at 2:18pm to tell me that service to my car was finally completed. He said one of his techs went home sick and that he had to install the shocks himself.

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The Real Importance of Job Descriptions as Risk Management

Job descriptions aren't legally required and, as writing them sometimes feels daunting, you may be tempted to avoid having them or to not update the ones you do have.

But I know from experience that real job descriptions are helpful for myriad reasons and provide important legal protection for your organization.

Why have job descriptions? They serve as a communication tool between the employer and employees so there's mutual understanding about the expectations and responsibilities of the position. They provide a useful reference for performance management and as grounds for termination if an employee cannot or will not meet the written duties and expectations of the job.

Job descriptions justify Exempt or Nonexempt categorizations as required by the FLSA, and they can protect an organization from employment claims brought under the ADA or Title VII. The key is to do them well.

Be thoughtful about making sure all the "essential duties" of the position are documented. The EEOC describes these as the tasks which are fundamental to the position and, if removed, would fundamentally change the job. You can also think of essential duties as the reason the job exists. If you are creating a description of a position that isn't new but already exists, get input from the person doing the job as that person knows the job well and will appreciate being consulted.

When culling the essential duties in a job description, focus on what needs doing, not on how it's done. Here's an example: don't say, "lift up to 50 lbs. equipment" if what is actually required is that the equipment be moved. The function to be accomplished is transporting the equipment so that's what you should say to make sure you don't exclude individuals who might need a reasonable accommodation such as using a dolly.

You should also pay attention to bona-fide occupational qualifications (BFOQ) to make sure the job description does not violate Title VII or other laws related to protected to class protection, such as those based on race, gender, age, national origin or pregnancy status. So, for instance, don't specify that the job occupant needs to male or female unless you can prove that it's really required to this this job. For instance, a counselor of a support group for teenage girls discussing sexual issues needs to be a woman if the girls are to feel comfortable opening up. So being female in this case is a BFOQ.

As mentioned job descriptions are not legally required but, if you have them, they are treated as legal documents and they must be kept for at least two years. So be thoughtful and careful about creating them and consider using Job Descriptions Made Simple to ensure they work well for you!

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Workplace investigations are tough enough without the office grapevine gossiping about who did what to whom.

As such, it's standard practice to ask anyone who participates in an investigation to keep their mouths closed about what is discussed behind the closed doors.

A new ruling from the National Labor Relations (NLRB), however, suggests that a blanket "keep your mouth shut" mandate may be improper.

The Case behind the Concern

Like many investigators, the HR director for Banner Heath Systems asked workers involved in an in-house investigation to not talk about the investigation with their co-workers. However, James, one of the employees involved objected that this request violated the rights of employees to discuss the terms and conditions of their employment with their coworkers. The National Labor Relations Board sided with James, saying that blanket requests for confidentiality during an investigation are overly broad and might have a chilling effect on appropriate - and legally protected - communications.

So what's an Investigator to do?

This is a new ruling (July 30, 2012) and time will tell what this means from a practical standpoint. However, the NLRB's ruling does offer some guidance. First of all, investigators can still ask witnesses to keep quiet as long as they have a legitimate business interest in making the request.

This business interest must extend beyond the usual "we're trying to protect the integrity of the investigation" reasoning.

So what business interest is legitimate?

It is one that arises from that particular investigation.

Perhaps, for example, the facts you've uncovered so far suggest that the accused might try to intimidate witnesses if s/he learns they will be talking to an investigator.

Perhaps you haven't had a chance to retrieve some valuable evidence and are concerned that, if the investigation leaks out, it might be destroyed before you have a chance to do so.

Or perhaps you have reason to believe (again, based on what you've uncovered) that a group of witnesses might get together and "get their stories straight" before you have a chance to interview them individually.

In addition, when you do feel requests for privacy are warranted, limit the scope as much as possible. For instance, ask that the witnesses not discuss the investigation as long as it's active or during work hours or on company property.

The Bottom Line

In every investigation, investigators walk a tightrope, trying to balance a number of competing interests. This recent ruling extends those competing interests to include the need to maintain confidentiality and employees' rights to discuss the conditions of their employment.

For now, the best solution during an investigation is to avoid blanket requests for privacy, articulate valid reasons for privacy requests when they occur, and make sure your requests are as limited as possible.

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Your franchisees are the eyes and ears of your business. They know what is working and what is broken. They are the first to hear your customer's complaints. They overhear important industry gossip from your vendors.They are most likely to identify inefficiency and waste.

Obviously, you need to know what your franchisees know as soon as they know it. That is why it is important to create a company-wide tradition that encourages open communication and collaboration. It is the prerequisite to creating a highly flexible and nimble organization that can respond quickly to fast changing customer and competitive circumstances.

Setting up a 21st century suggestion box is a simple way that many organizations capture franchisees ideas. However, it does not go far enough. Instead, you should leverage your franchisees' suggestions to create your company's Continuous Improvement cycle.

What is Continuous Improvement?

Continuous improvement is the goal of the most popular quality management approaches. For example, CMMI, (the Capability Maturity Model created by Carnegie Mellon University for the U.S. Department of Defense) offers a five step business improvement pyramid.

Notice that Continuous improvement is at the top of the CMMI pyramid.

Business improvement models, like CMMI, are helpful to explain the importance of adopting management theory. However, most organizations struggle with practical implementation.

To help, the Breakthrough Book suggests a simple three step approach to create an franchisee-powered continuous improvement cycle:

Step One: Capture your franchisee's idea, suggestion, issue or other information using a "Communication Switchboard."

Step Two: Assign a "Switchboard Operator" to forward the issue to the appropriate Process Team and to monitor resolution.

Step Three: The Process Team resolves the issue.

Communication Switchboard Template

The Breakthrough Book provides a Communication Switchboard template to help you create an ongoing tradition of communication between franchisees and the franchisor's teams.

To use the Switchboard, ask franchisee to report their ideas, suggestions, customer complaints and other issues directly to the Communication Log Switchboard Operator.

he switchboard operator then forwards the issue to the appropriate process team for resolution. The operator maintains a communication log that managers use to hold process teams accountable for resolving the reported issues. Also, the log is used to credit (and reward) employees with the ideas they contribute. The Breakthrough Book also suggests using coaching and team meetings to encourage employees to report their ideas, and ask process teams to report their progress in resolving critical issues.

In a very small company, the "switchboard" can be a spiral notebook hanging next to your water cooler. In a larger company the "switchboard" can be maintained by a receptionist, executive assistant or quality manager.

The switchboard logbook should have the following column headings:

• Date: The date the issue was first reported.

• Date: The date the issue was resolved.

• By: The franchisee who reported the issue.

• Process Team: The process manager responsible for resolving the issue.

• Idea Description: A sound-bite description of the issue .

• A sound-bite explanation of the issues resolution.

• Impact: An estimate of the financial benefit of the resolved issue.

How Continuous Improvement Can Work

To illustrate the benefits of initiating your company's continuous improvement cycle consider the following scenario:

A franchisee is frustrated because her employees are wasting valuable time looking up warehouse location codes that could be easily added to pick lists generated by the company's sales order software. Correcting this issue would improve productivity, speed order processing and reduce cost. The franchisee reported her suggestion to multiple field representatives over the years.

Promises were made, but no action was taken.

Now consider the quick resolution that is possible if the company facilitates communication between its franchisees and field representatives who are empowered to optimize and improve their procedures:

• franchisee reports her suggestion directly to the Switchboard.

• Switchboard forwards the issue to the Order Taking field representatives team.

• field representatives team discusses the issue. Several resources from the IT department are included in the collaboration. The decision is made to add the warehouse location code to the product database and add it to the pick lists generated during order taking.

• field representatives team creates a project to manage the steps necessary to implement the change.

• Order Taking process team updated related procedures and training materials.

• procedure change was communicated to all affected franchisees and their employees.

• issue was resolved quickly because franchisees and franchisor employees from multiple departments were empowered to communicate, collaborate and resolve problems that related to their areas of responsibility.

The above scenario illustrates how culture, effective process management and open communication work together to optimize your company. It is simple, organic and stealthy. It institutionalizes a culture of excellence. It leverages your franchisee's insights and creativity. It helps make your business flexible and resilient.

You will likely need to dedicate 5-10% of your franchisees' time to improving your company. Consider it the cost of your freedom. It is also a cost that should result in a significant return on investment.

Your company will finally have a way to capture your franchisee's ideas for saving money, making money, minimizing waste, and increasing quality, consistency and customer satisfaction.

Keeping a business running requires a lot of moving pieces. Good management, employee satisfaction, effective marketing, high sales, and client satisfaction are just a few of those pieces.

Juggling it all takes a lot of work, and that is why the quality and happiness of your employees can sometimes be seen as the most important factor behind a successful enterprise. Making sure your employees are doing their best work goes far beyond hiring the right talent. You need to make sure that talent is being put to use in the right places.

One essential tool for talent management is the performance review, but it needs to be used correctly in order to reach its full potential.

Here are nine ways to conduct more effective performance reviews:

1. Use a form to gather feedback - When collecting feedback from the employee's superiors and subordinates, use a form that asks specific questions and provides some multiple choice answers and some room for free form reviews. This will make it easier for the people filling them out as well as easier for you to provide the feedback to the employee.

2. Always start and end with positive feedback - Sometimes when providing evaluations to employees, managers focus on the negative areas that need improvement. But it is important to start and end with some positive feedback so that your employee feels valued, even if he is imperfect.

3. Provide specific examples - Always use specific examples in your feedback of both the positive and negative work the employee has done. This will make the critique more effective and give the employee assurance that it is based on the employee's work and not someone's bias or personal feelings.

4. Go up the ladder and down - It is very important to give subordinates the chance to review their superiors, as well as vice versa. How a manager runs his team and how that team feels about the manager is just as important as how the manager feels about his team.

5. Encourage questions - If the performance review doesn't include time for questions, it can feel like a lecture instead of a discussion. Your employee will probably have questions during the review, as well as afterwards. Encourage him to ask both so that he can move forward and improve his work.

6. Focus on behavior over attitude - It might seem like attitude is important - and it is - but because it is so subjective, it is not good to talk about it in a performance review. Don't say "You don't seem to care about showing up late." Say, "We have noticed you often show up late."

7. Be prepared and professional - Don't squeeze in a performance review when you don't have the time. Schedule the appointment in advance, meet in a private office, and don't accept non-urgent interruptions. Allow for more time than you expect and have written reviews from co-workers and superiors in front of you. Do not go off the cuff.

8. Do not argue with the employee - Arguments sometimes crop up in reviews because the employee feels as though she is put on the defensive. If the employee tries to argue with you about something you say, try to shift the argument into a conversation.

9. Look towards the future, not the past - Although the conversation will be largely based on past events, you should focus on ways to improve for the future. You are not seeking retribution for missed deadlines, you are seeking to ensure there are no more of them. Make this clear to the employee as well by talking about the future more than the past.

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In Part 1 we looked at why it's vital for organizations to document employment situations diligently.

But what constitutes good documentation that reduces employer risk? Of course every situation is fact specific but, practically speaking, here's some guidance on some types of documentation and what to include:

1. Summaries work well when behavior is being tracked over a period of time. When documenting a disciplinary situation, be sure to cite specific examples and information that aptly illustrate the problem.

In a summary, it's important to answer the classic questions who? what? when? where? and why? by including:

• Description of the offense , why it is an offense, when and where it occurred, names of witnesses and any other critical details;
• Copies of any supporting documents such as time sheets or production records.
• Description of any disciplinary action that has been or will be taken;
• Recap (including dates) of any prior oral conversations or disciplinary actions that have a bearing on the incident;
• Description of the behavior expected from the employee;
• Employee's version of the events;
• If the employee has any appeal rights, the procedure to exercise those;
• Future action to occur if the offensive behavior does not cease;
• Dates and signatures-sign and date the form and give the employee an opportunity to sign. If the employee refuses to sign, note that.

2. Forms work well for individual incidents and help employers standardize the documentation process. Forms may save time by prompting supervisors and managers for information and can help ensure consistency across the organization. They can also encourage the proper analysis of situations and consistent disciplinary actions. Forms may provide details and information that may later be incorporated into summary documentation, depending upon the circumstances. HRSentry subscribers may access a sample documentation form in the Discipline and Corrective Action Kit.

3. Other types of documentation further the human resources goal of risk mitigation. Here are a few examples usually handled by the HR department itself:

• Employee Acknowledgements-These are signed and dated forms to prove that employees have received and understand important information. Acknowledgements are useful when providing such items as: employee handbooks, job descriptions, and important policies such as anti-sexual harassment, anti-retaliation and confidentiality.
• Proof of Training-When you train employees and supervisors on important topics such as sexual harassment awareness and , document attendance with a sign-in sheet or use training software that tests for comprehension.
• Employee Communications-Documentation of important communication with employees can be copies of letters, emails or notes based on a phone conversation. Examples include forms designating FMLA leave, hire letters, and contracts.
• Recruitment Files-Maintain applications for at least one year or longer. Keep copies of all communications and candidate information in case there is an allegation of discrimination.
• Documentation of an Investigation of a Complaint-This a huge topic by itself. For further information, see our HRSentry blog on investigating allegations of sexual harassment.

Electronic files, backed up and with password protection, can help employers save space when documenting. Be sure to hold supervisors and managers accountable for their role in supporting this critical risk management function.

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When it comes to I-9 forms (you know, the federally required employment eligibility verification forms required whenever you hire someone) a few lucky employers will deal with common circumstances 99% of the time and won't be overly fazed by compliance issues if they are meticulous and well-educated on the law.

But there are a surprising number of nuances that even experienced employers may not be aware of.

For superb guidance, the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provides an easy to read, 69-page brochure.

Don't be put off by the number of pages. This color brochure, replete with photos, is an excellent reference guide, addressing just about anything you might encounter, including re-hires and the hiring of minors, individuals with disabilities, lawful permanent residents and refugees. The format is well laid out, uses clear language, and provides samples and Q&As.

All employers, but especially those new to human resources, small businesses just starting out, and employers with more unusual hiring and documentation situations, are encouraged to review it thoroughly. Because of its friendly format, it's well worth the read.

We don't want to replicate such comprehensive USCIS guidance here; but the following are a few basic tips to help you avoid compliance trouble:

• I-9 forms must be completed for all new employees, hired after November 6, 1986, even if just for one day of work. The form is never to be completed by applicants, only new hires or those who've received an offer of employment. Also, don't use the form with bona fide independent contractors.
• As soon as a candidate accepts your offer of employment, let him or her know the I-9 form is a requirement of employment. Send the form with the list of acceptable documents in advance if there's time. The law says the form needs to be completed within three days of hire but get it done on the new employee's first day. The employee may fill out Section 1 at any time after they receive an offer of employment until their first day of work.
• Remind new hires, through email or by phone, a day or two before their start date to bring their ID-one from List A will suffice OR they may bring one from List B and one from List C.
• Acceptable documents must be original, not copies. If the employee has lost a document, such as an original Social Security card, you may accept as documentation a receipt of their application for a one. The receipt is good for just 90 days; after that the person has to show you the newly issued document.
• Providing a Social Security number on Form I-9 is voluntary for all employees unless you are an employer participating in the USCIS E-Verify program, which requires an employee's Social Security number for employment eligibility verification.
• According to the law, you don't have to photocopy the documents the person provides but it's a good idea and may demonstrate your good faith effort to comply. What you do for one employee, however, you must do for all. Always apply your policies and practices across the board to avoid any appearance of discrimination. Also, if you retain photocopies, keep them in the employee's file or with their I-9 form.
• Keep I-9s separate from the employee's personnel file. I-9s can be retained either on paper, microform, microfiche or electronically. See pages 23-25 of the USCIS brochure for the specifics of these various retention formats.
• If you rehire someone within three years of the date the employee's original verification, the original I-9 may be used by completing Section 3. Otherwise be sure to use a new form.
• You must retain an employee's completed I-9 for as long as the individual works for you. Once s(he) terminates, the form is to be kept for either three years after the date of hire, or for one year after the date employment is terminated, whichever is later. It's a good idea to weed out I-9s you are no longer required to retain. As long as you remain methodical and meticulous about destroying only those no longer needed, your risk exposure will be reduced in the event of an audit. Fewer forms, fewer mistakes.

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As social media usage continues to soar, you should establish a social media policy, if you haven't yet. Such a policy communicates to employees your expectations on the use of social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc., as they relate to your business. If you already have a policy, good for you!

Now take a little time to review it to make sure it's legally compliant, especially in light of guidance from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB.) Even if you are not a union shop you need to take NLRB guidance and rulings seriously. Why? Read on.

The Acting General Counsel of the NLRB has just issued a report on employers' social media policies for the third time in less than a year. The report serves as guidance for employers as they craft and revise their social media policies.

In a nutshell, the NLRB has frequently determined that such polices are unlawful due to being overly broad, i.e. too restrictive in terms of an employee's right to engage in protected concerted activity in accordance with Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA.)

Such protection covers an employee's right, without fear of retaliation, to discuss their pay, benefits and other working conditions.

Section 7 says: "Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection, and shall also have the right to refrain from any and all such activities."

It's important to realize that Section 7 protection applies to union and non-union members alike; so even if your organization is not unionized, employees' rights to engage in concerted activity are protected. Your social media policy should not restrict that right. Further, you should understand that the use of social media, such as Facebook postings, for engaging fellow employees in conversation is considered by the NLRB to constitute protected concerted activity if the discussion involves pay, benefits or other aspects of working conditions. The protected discussion may well be mixed in with language that you or others at your organization find objectionable, such as disparaging remarks about supervisors or profanity. Although possibly offensive, it is nonetheless still protected.

Among the many policy excerpts addressed in the report, here are three to help give you an idea of where the NLRB is coming from. The excerpts are in quotation marks and italics with the NLRB's explanation immediately following in bold:

1. "Don't comment on any legal matters, including pending litigation or dispute."

NLRB: We found that the prohibition on employees' commenting on any legal matters is unlawful because it specifically restricts employees from discussing the protected subject of potential claims against the Employer.

2. "Think carefully about 'friending' co-workers . . . on external social media sites. Communications with coworkers on such sites that would be inappropriate in the workplace are also inappropriate online, and what you say in your personal social media channels could become a concern in the workplace."

NLRB: The provision of the Employer's social media policy instructing employees to "[t]hink carefully about 'friending' co-workers" is unlawfully overbroad because it would discourage communications among co-workers, and thus it necessarily interferes with Section 7 activity. Moreover, there is no limiting language clarifying for employees that it does not restrict Section 7 activity.

3. "If you enjoy blogging or using online social networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube, (otherwise known as Consumer Generated Media, or CGM) please note that there are guidelines to follow if you plan to mention [Employer] or your employment with [Employer] in these online vehicles. . .

Don't release confidential guest, team member or company information. . . ."

NLRB: We found this section of the handbook to be unlawful. Its instruction that employees not "release confidential guest, team member or company information" would reasonably be interpreted as prohibiting employees from discussing and disclosing information regarding their own conditions of employment, as well as the conditions of employment of employees other than themselves-activities that are clearly protected by Section 7. The Board has long recognized that employees have a right to discuss wages and conditions of employment with third parties as well as each other and that rules prohibiting the communication of confidential information without exempting Section 7 activity inhibit this right because employees would reasonably interpret such prohibitions to include information concerning terms and conditions of employment.

Companies can get themselves into big trouble when they fire someone based solely on a social media posting that violates their social media policy. Of course, termination may be warranted when postings portend violence or constitute bullying, harassment, racial slurs or defamation. But when the employee addresses working conditions, you need to tread lightly. Getting qualified legal advice is usually a good idea when considering an adverse action; when related to the possibility of protected activity, it's a must!

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As Winter arrives, it's time to prepare for winter weather. Storms are an expected part of northern winters but even southern states have experienced snow and icy conditions more frequently in recent years.

It's important, then, to make sure your employees know what to do when severe weather strikes. A good policy provides a helpful road map.

When you create or review your inclement weather policy, think about:

1. Employee Communication.

Who will make the decision to close early, delay opening or close operations for the day? You may wish to designate a backup decision maker.

Consider how the decision will be communicated. Good ways are to provide a phone number and web site employees can check for information in the early morning. Other methods are an internal Facebook page, intranet, or phone tree.

2. Smooth Operations.

How will operations be shut down properly? Who is needed to do what? Identify which employees or departments, if any, must continue working. Who else needs to know?

Consider the best methods to let clients know of changes relevant to their needs (e.g. voice mail, web site, email.)

3. Safety First.

Even if you remain open, you may wish to allow employees to make their own weather-related decisions about whether to risk travel conditions based on their circumstances.

Allow employees who are set up for it to work from home or to use sick or vacation time, if available.

4. Obligations with Federal Wage and Hour Laws.

Know your pay obligations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA.)

a) The FLSA does not require that you provide sick or vacation time off benefits nor that you pay non-exempt staff for time not worked.

b) It does, however, require that exempt staff, in order to retain exempt status, be paid their regular weekly wages except in rare instances. If the employer chooses to close for a day or two, exempt staff must be paid their full weekly salary although you may deduct the time from their accrued leave bank.

c) If exempt staff run out of accrued leave or go negative, you must still pay their full weekly wages.

d) If, on the other hand, the exempt employee, rather than the employer, chooses to take a full personal day off for any reason, you do not have to pay for that day, unless your personnel policies say otherwise.

e) Be careful, however, that it must be a full personal day off in order to reduce wages; working a partial day negates that option.

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You decided to become a newly minted franchisor.

And when that day finally arrived how exciting was that?

You were going to conquer the world with your franchise brand.

Here's what you did right.

Started with a tested business model with a verifiable proof of concept.

Hired a competent and experienced franchise attorney to develop your franchise agreement and franchise disclosure document - FDD.

Your franchise attorney strongly suggested (or insisted) since you have a strong proof of concept for your franchise model that you include an Item 19 Financial Performance Representation - FPR and you did it.

Developed an operations manual, training system and support system that is scalable as you grow your franchise system.

You had a reasonable budget to market for franchise recruitment.

But, after a while, you will hate being a franchisor. Here are your 7 biggest beefs.

1. Early franchisees you selected seemed very passionate about being franchise owner/operators but they are not living up to what they promised and you're more than disappointed.
2. Multi-unit franchisees are not current with their development objectives and they expect you to not hold them to what everyone agreed to. They want some or all of the following extensions, refunds or credits against franchise fees and in return you get nothing. Not even what you originally bargained for.
3. You have a great training program and franchisees are shortcutting what your program offers and requires.
4. Franchisee local market success depends on local store marketing, your franchisees don't make the investment in it. And they complain to you that sales are too low and your brand is not well known enough in their area.
5. Franchise owners expect you to fix their unit level problems with employees, landlords, suppliers, insurance, local municipality, their business & operating partners. You had no idea that you'd be expected to do so much hand holding and babysitting when you set out selling & opening franchises.
6. Franchise recruitment for a new franchisor is tough. However you couldn't have imagined how difficult generating and managing leads would be. And the cost per new franchise recruited is far more than you anticipated.
7. You discovered that your management team had a much greater learning curve for transitioning your business to a franchise development and operations company. And now you're faced with some tough staffing decisions as you move forward.

This is not an exhaustive list of awful franchise things and readers can feel free to add to the list.

Good news is that you had a good underlying business at the outset. And all these franchising challenges can be remedied.

If this sounds llike your franchising story & you want some help solving your problems call me at 443.502.2636 [email protected]. Lease the talents of 20+ year proven franchise executive, who has seen and solved these problems before.