December 2013 Newsletter

Welcome to the Four Point HR Newsletter

The New Four Point HR Separation Form

Hopefully all clients received our new Separation Form on Wednesday, November 6, 2013. If you did not receive the form, please contact kschene@fourpointhr.com to request a copy.

Clients who attended the Successful Separations webinar know that we have been working on a new form that will take the place of our old Termination Form.

The old form had many choices to select from when you were separating an employee from your business. The new form has only five choices and it is very specific. You either have a Resignation, a Termination or a Lack of Work. The one page form allows you to make an easy choice as you remove an employee from Payroll. If you are unsure about what specific kind of separation you have, simply look at the reverse side of the new form to locate the definition, and to understand the kind of documentation that you must send in with the form.

Previously, completing the old termination form was sufficient. Today, state agencies expect that we will send back up documentation for any kind of separation we are processing.

  1. Resignations require a resignation letter. Each resignation letter must contain 4 pieces of data:
    • The notice date
    • The fact that the employee intends to resign
    • The last day the employee will work
    • The employee’s signature
  2. A job abandonment situation requires that you send a Job Abandonment Letter to the employee via certified mail.
  3. Documentation accompanying a termination should contain at least 3 warnings to the employee stating that they must correct their behavior. Each warning should be progressive in nature, and discussed with the employee. Once the employee understands what he or she should do to correct the situation, they should sign the warning, with the understanding that they realize only they can correct the problem.
  4. Layoffs or a Lack of Work situation requires communication with the HR Director at Four Point HR and a copy of the layoff letter which will be provided to clients, should accompany the Separation Form.
    If you have questions about any of these separations or the documentation that should accompany the new form, please contact Kathryn Schene at kschene@fourpointhr.com for clarification, and examples to use in any of these processes. FPHR expects all Clients will begin using the new form on December 2, 2013, but no later than January 3, 2014.

Avoid Stress During The Holidays

Welcome to the holiday season — that whirlwind of gift-giving holidays, holiday parties and activities galore that begins right after Halloween, builds to Thanksgiving, and continues gaining momentum through the end of the year. The marketing blitzes start earlier and earlier each year and while we try to ignore the shelves stocked with holiday items in September; it does place the reality that the holidays are approaching in our psyche. While this season is meant to bring feelings of love and cheer, it also brings stress to many. In fact, polls shows that more than 80% of us find the holiday season to be ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ stressful.

As the holidays approach, many people get excited at the prospect of spending time with family and friends. Unfortunately, these gatherings come with their own set of stressors; your cousins want to stay with you in your one-bedroom apartment the week of Christmas, and they are bringing their newborn triplets? Your mother’s friend needs a ride to the airport at 2 am. George Burns once said: “Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.” While this is an extreme concept, set boundaries and stick to them. Feeling a little stressed and having extra responsibilities during the holidays is normal, but don’t let yourself be the go-to person for everything that no one else wants to do.

Too much stress can have a negative affect on your health. Some of the stress symptoms that you may notice as the holidays draw near are headache, anxiety, short tempers, muscle aches and pains. If you notice any of the above symptoms:

  • Listen to your body and slow down.
  • Eliminate anything that can wait to be done until after the New Year.
  • The National Sleep Foundation advises that we should get at least seven to nine hours sleep every night.
  • Take daily walks with a friend, a dog or listen to your favorite music on your headphones.

Make time for yourself. Many of us turn into holiday maniacs, filling our every waking moment with buying, baking, wrapping, entertaining, and rushing. As you plan for meeting your holiday obligations, schedule in a little down time for yourself, a long hot bath, going out to look at the decorations, or some quiet time spent reading.

All things in moderation, as the saying goes! Too many activities, even if they are fun activities, may end in too much holiday stress and leave you feeling overwhelmed. Relax – and create a quiet moment to reflect and remember the true meaning of the Season. And don’t forget to shut off your cell phone for minimal distractions – it’s not quiet time if you’ve still have one hand on your iPhone.

Remember, the only PERFECT holidays are on TV or in the movies so don’t set yourself up for failure by trying to create them. The best holidays are the MEMORABLE ones.

Establish Functioning Teams In Five Steps

Team building, team environment, team attitude, and teamwork are among the terms that businesses routinely use to describe the employment conditions that exist within their operations. What do these companies really mean by this and how do they maintain this sense of team? We are going to highlight five important steps to establishing a team-oriented work culture in your company.

In a team-oriented environment, an employee will work with other members of the organization to achieve individual and team goals that are closely tied to the overall objectives of the organization. The employee functions to serve a larger stated goal and is driven by the ability to achieve an end greater than what could be achieved if working in isolation. The take away from team building is the ability for the company and the employee to derive greater value from the employment process.

In today’s economy, the annual raise is no longer assumed and the majority of people in our society are more anxious due to dim economic forecasts. A functional team environment will improve work life inside your company and correlate to more effective, loyal staff members while delivering improved results for the business.

Create Understanding
First, understand the goals and objectives of the organization and of the team building process. Effective leaders must provide direction by clearly defining where the company is headed and seek collaboration at the beginning of the team creation process. Important in this introductory phase is clear communication of why team building is important to the organization, how the individual efforts relate to overall results and your expectation with regard to the emphasis that should placed on working within teams.

Be Mindful of Two Pitfalls
Keep in mind that you are probably asking your staff to change their normal work routines and to hold themselves accountable to each other. This can cause varying levels of discomfort among your employees. To counter this and to create enthusiasm for the process, you will want to pay attention to employee buy in and to employee skill sets.

Without fail, you are going to find that some staff members will resist this process. This can be marked by refusal to participate in meetings, lack of interest in discussion, failure to meet deadlines and lack of willingness to take on responsibility. These issues need to be handled one on one as soon immediately. Working in a team environment tends to bring to light those employee weaknesses that prevent them from delivering on responsibilities and meeting deadlines and goals. You want to determine what is holding the employee back, develop a plan for bringing the employee up to the necessary level of performance and closely monitor as you go forward.

Develop Ownership
You will want to ensure that your teams take ownership of their processes and of the results that they are trying to achieve. An effective team will clearly define its anticipated outcomes, timelines, and the steps it will use to measure those outcomes along with the processes the team will follow to deliver quality results within the anticipated timeframe. Once these are defined, you will want to specify the authority, reporting relationship and accountability that exists within the team as well as between the team and to those to whom it reports. The importance of accountability between team members and accountability between the team and management cannot be overly stressed. Ownership of outcomes and the positive results that you are looking for cannot be achieved without accountability.

Encourage Open Discussion
Once ownership of outcomes and results is defined, foster a team atmosphere that displays open communication and collaboration. You want to see a willingness to participate and interact among team members. Conflict and disagreement are a normal part of any team, but team members must establish rules for resolving conflict, arriving at decisions, and problem solving. Once these ground rules for communication exist, team members will feel more comfortable taking risks with innovative ideas, improvement strategies, and honest feedback. These fresh ideas and new methods are a hugely important outcome from the process and will help your organization improve outcomes.

Create Consequences and Rewards
At the end of the day, building team oriented work groups within your company is about getting better results from your employees. Once the goals are defined, deadlines established and teamwork begins, you will find that your groups will either meet expectations or fall short. When they meet expectations, you should reward them. The rewards will probably be less financial and more recognition-based at the inception of your team-oriented operations. However, as you progress, you will want to consider linking your rewards into a risk based pay system where individual income is directly related to team and company performance. Along the same lines, consequences should be included for those teams that underperform. These will certainly be recognition oriented at inception. The idea is not create fear but an understanding that by not meeting team goals, employees miss out on positive benefits that are established for those that do meet goals.

As you go forward, invest yourself in the process, check in on your teams regularly, and solicit feedback from the teams and the individual team members. A team atmosphere will not replace the need to manage. Instead, the process should change your management focus from being the sole source of accountability to one where you coach and support teams that function as accountability groups within your organization.

Free Webinar: Year End Recognition

Friday, December 06, 2013 at 10:00 AM EST
Presented by: Kathryn Schene, Director of HR – Four Point HR

This 45-minute webinar discusses different ways to recognize employees as 2013 draws to a close. Kathryn Schene will share no cost and low cost ideas that are easy to implement and will ensure that each member of your team feels appreciated for their individual contributions during 2013. Webinar agenda includes:

  • Different ways to share an “End of Year Thank You” with employees for their effort during 2013.
  • Personalizing your gratitude so that each member of your team feels appreciated for what they bring to the table.
  • Looking ahead to 2014.

REGISTER NOW: https://student.gototraining.com/r/8557290442758942208

For Our Clients: Year End Payroll Information

Four Point HR will be closed Wednesday, December 25, 2013 and Wednesday, January 1, 2014, in observance of the Holidays. All clients will receive a letter in the next few days with a detailed payroll schedule and a form to request special processing dates. Please contact your payroll specialist with any questions.

Of special note:

  • Due to year-end system configuration we cannot process payrolls for 2013 on Monday, December 30th or Tuesday, December 31st.
  • It is your option to change your pay date at any time during the holidays. Please notify your Payroll Specialist if you would like to do so.
  • The deadline for processing bonus payments and year-end adjustments for 2013 is Thursday, December 19th. Any requests received after the 19th will be applied to the 2014 Calendar Year.
  • Please submit payroll no later than 10AM EST on the day it is to be process