Have you ever wished you could choose the kinds of businesses that locate in your city? Maybe you’d select a business that represents your values or choose one that would boost the local economy, creating jobs for generations to come. Well now is your chance!

The Startup PDX:Challenge is an initiative to find promising startups from around the world and bring them to our neighborhood, Produce Row, at the heart of Portland’s Central Eastside Industrial District, which has become an incubator for small businesses and innovative startups. The Portland Development Commission (PDC) will connect these emerging startups to the great services that Portland has to offer. It’s Portland’s next step in the creation of a collaborative community that provides real value for startups. The Challenge will offer access to accelerator programs and other organizations in unique ways. The Challenge winners will co-locate in Portland’s Produce Row, a neighborhood where the entrepreneurial and DIY spirit thrives.

16 Semifinalists Named

The PDC has named the 16 semifinalists for the Startup PDX:Challenge and put them up for a public vote on the Produce Row website. Winners will be connected to all the great services that Portland has to offer including free rent for one year in a collaborative, shared space and a prize package valued at over $40,000 each.

Trupp HR is a proud sponsor of the Startup PDX:Challenge and will be offering a suite of HR services for each winner designed to position them for growth and assist with the transition from being a startup to becoming a thriving small business.

Take a moment to review the pitch for each semifinalist and cast your vote!

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By Tom Faricy, PHR, HR Business Partner, Trupp HR.

It’s certainly no surprise that the economic downturn and the subsequent high unemployment rates have kept the majority of people from switching jobs over the last few years. As companies have been forced to downsize and “tighten the belt”, many employees have experienced increased workloads, longer hours; often with fewer pay increases and decreased benefits. The added pressure has left some looking to greener pastures.

Experts are predicting that the improving economy will support an increase in new jobs as companies begin to ramp up for growth, but it’s likely that the first surge in hiring may draw largely from currently employed people. We all have an employee or two we would like to have “move on”, but unfortunately it is your best employees that are most in demand!

Finding great employees is not an easy task. It takes time, effort, and a significant amount of money. In fact, the cost of recruiting and bringing on a new employee can be anywhere from 50%-250% of their annual salary and that doesn’t necessarily guarantee a good hire. Clearly, retaining your top talent is in your best interest and conducting stay interviews may be your best strategy to hedge against losing your star performers.

A Simple Strategy for Retaining Great Employees

Establishing a stay interview program allows an organization to get a pulse on overall employee satisfaction and acts as an early indicator of problems before they become more serious. Employers are able to discover what drives and engages current employees, why they continue to work for the company and what prevents them from searching for a new position.

During a stay interview, employees meet with their direct supervisor and are asked open-ended questions about their requirements to stay with the company. The focus of the interview is to discover any obstacles to high performance and personal development needs that may be present.

Sample Stay Interview Questions:

When you are traveling to work each day, what are the things that you look forward to?

If you’ve thought about leaving us, what are the key things I could do to change your thought process to want to stay here?

Guidelines for Successful Stay Interviews

It is important that employees have a high level of trust in the conversation and can speak freely about any concerns or needs they may have. Be sure to take notes while the employee is sharing information and fully engage active listening skills.

Active Listening Guidelines

80/20: Allow the employee 80% of the talking time and the leader 20%.

Probe: Ask questions like “tell me more,” and “elaborate on this,” to more deeply understand the employee’s interests and how the leader may be able to fulfill those interests.

Commit to Action: Identify commitments that the leader can make to the employee and then follow through on commitments made.

Check In with Others When Needed: Recognize that some matters may involve complex or difficult solutions that require additional discussion before making a commitment. If that happens, let the employee know that you will need to consult with others and schedule a follow-up time to discuss the resolution.

Don’t Pass the Buck: Resist the urge to defer responsibility to policies or others for dis-satisfiers that the employee may identify.

Avoid Avoiding: If tough discussions are required, resist the urge to bypass them. Be responsive and commit to resolving the dis-satisfier. If you need to prepare your thoughts before sharing them, schedule a second meeting.

Stay Interviews Build Employee Trust and Loyalty

Stay Interviews provide an opportunity for you, as a leader, to build and strengthen trust with your employees. Various research and findings on the topic of trust report the following:

• Relationships consistently “score” with employees over technical expertise or competence.
• Leaders who are authentic, even exposing flaws, can increase engagement with employees at a rate of 1 in 2 employees (versus non-trust leaders achieving a 1 in 12 engagement ratio).
• Highly engaged employees result in higher profitability and customer satisfaction.
• Low trust contributes to inefficiency and increased cost of doing business.

Don’t wait for your top talent to present you with their notice before addressing employee dissatisfaction. Be ahead of the curve by having proactive conversations with key employees and implementing actions that increase their desire to stay. You’ll have more engaged employees and a better bottom line; it just makes good business sense!

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May is just around the corner, and so is the sun! Here are some important HR items to check off your list for the month of May before you start planning your summer vacation getaway!

Conduct an Annual Job Audit
Employee classification errors can be very costly. Conducting an annual job audit to determine that you’re employees are classified correctly is important to maintaining compliance with employment law and will have your organization prepared should the Federal Wage and Hour auditors knock on your door. Follow the link below for advice about why a job audit makes sense for employers.
Read Article >>

Conduct Employee Surveys
Implementing an Employee Survey this May could provide some valuable insights. According to research released in March, employees shared the following sentiments on work and well-being:

• Only 51% feel valued
• Less than half (47%) say their employer is regularly seeking their input
• Only 59% reported having adequate health insurance benefits available to them
• Less than half (43%) reported that recognition is based on fair and useful performance evaluations

Employees sometimes mistakenly believe the “grass is greener on the other side,” and jump into a new job with a new employer. Leading employers have already learned that they can get higher profitability and stronger customer service by paying attention to employees. By asking employees for their input, they are able take actions to continuously increase employees’ sense of well-being with their organization. Employee Surveys conducted annually or at least bi-annually are an effective tool for employers who want to know whether their employees are at risk for flight.  Using the data obtained to turn the plane around can be a solid step in retaining a healthy workforce.
Learn More >>

National Senior Health & Fitness Day, Wednesday, May 29
May is Older Americans Month and the national fitness day organization recognizes May 29th as National Senior Health & Fitness Day. Local organizations will host senior-related health and fitness events at various locations including health clubs, YMCAs, parks, and hospitals. For more information on how employers can craft programs for staff and get involved in this event, click the link below or contact:

Patricia Henze
1-800-828-8225
info@fitnessday.com

Read Article >>

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The weather is warming up, and there are signs of spring all around. While most of us are eagerly anticipating some long awaited fun-in-the-sun, many small businesses are gearing up for a complex juggling act, trying to distribute workloads among an already stretched workforce as an increasing number of employees request time off. But don’t be discouraged; it also means an increase in college students on break from school! Many of these students are looking for opportunities to gain work experience, and just might be the perfect solution to maintaining productivity.

For employers, a summer internship program can bring many benefits – extra staffing when capacity is reduced, creative and engaged students eager to learn, and an opportunity to build relationships for future job openings.

Successful Intern Programs

In addition to maintaining productivity, Internships offer a great opportunity to bring on specialized skills and training. To find interns in your area, contact local colleges and vocational schools to inquire about students looking for internships. Some schools may even be interested in an on-going relationship with your business if you are willing to provide a good internship program that supports their curriculum. You’ll find schools often share an outline of expectations for both the employer and the student intern.

If you hire a student for summer employment and no college credit is granted for the work experience, consider creating your own outline of expectations to make it an educational experience for your temporary employee. At the end of the summer, share a brief synopsis of the student’s performance.  The assessment should include a summary of the skills they’ve engaged, feedback on areas of strength and weakness, and professional recommendations to assist in career development.

Whether you hire an intern through a college or a student for summer employment, make it a great experience for them. Give them interesting work to do that includes exposure to diverse facets of your business. Involve them in company and/or leadership meetings, and allow them to attend training classes with other employees. Engage with them one-on-one with mentoring and instruction. Not only will you have a better summer employee and a potential future hire – the intern will go back to their school and recommend your organization to other students, potentially simplifying your recruiting efforts in the future.

Avoid Common Internship Pitfalls

Paid vs. Unpaid Internships
There’s a common misconception that interns represent free labor. Implementing unpaid internships can be very risky and often violates the Fair Labor Standards Act. Interns are classified as an employee by the FLSA and are therefore subject to the same employment laws as other workers if they do work that:

• Replaces the work of other employees
• Directly benefits the employer
• Requires very little supervision
• Involves routine tasks pertinent to the business
• Covers for employees on vacation or leave

In order to meet the requirements for an unpaid internship, the student must be engaged in educational activities only and serving no productive use to your business. When in doubt, play it safe; pay your intern or consult an attorney to be sure you are complying with employment law.

Child Labor Laws
Remember that employees age 17 and under may be subject to Child Labor Laws. Be familiar with the laws in your state to ensure compliance.

Resources

Directory of State Labor Offices
http://www.dol.gov/whd/contacts/state_of.htm

Find Interns and Post Positions
http://www.experience.com/entry-level-jobs/employers/

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HR Outsourcing

Portland, Oregon – April 5, 2013 – Trupp HR, Inc., a human resources solutions company, is pleased to announce the recent hire of Tom Faricy, who will join the Trupp HR team as an HR Business Partner. In this role, Tom will function as a dedicated HR representative to clients of Trupp’s HR Outsourcing (HRO) services as well as contributing to various HR consulting and training efforts. Tom’s proven background directing human resources over multiple locations with several leadership teams and his experience providing executive coaching will add to the current success of Trupp HR’s HRO and training offerings.

“We are really excited to add Tom to the Trupp HR team,” said, Jean Roque, President of Trupp HR. “He exemplifies the kind of technical competency and leadership presence that is key to our commitment to contribute to the success of our clients. Tom’s experience with executive coaching and team development will also be a valuable input to our growing leadership and employee training programs for small to medium-sized companies.”

Tom joins Trupp HR as a certified SPHR with over 14 years’ experience as an HR professional and leader. Tom’s experience in human resources includes responsibilities for recruitment, succession/workforce planning, performance management and employee development in close alignment with corporate initiatives and brand strategy. Tom’s training and experience has contributed to a deep expertise in executive coaching and team development.

“Tom’s exemplary record delivering HR services in a multi-facility organization makes him a great fit for our HR Outsourcing program. I’m confident in his ability to represent Trupp HR’s unique approach to simplifying the responsibilities of being a great employer as well as building effective relationships with our clients and their team members,” says Jenny Sherman, Director of HR services for Trupp HR. “With trained professionals like Tom, our clients can enjoy the benefits of an engaged workforce and are well-positioned to focus on business growth.”

About Trupp HR

Trupp HR provides straightforward HR solutions for small business, including HR consulting services, HR outsourcing, recruiting, employee training, and leadership development. Our approach removes the complexity and frustration often associated with human resource activities while focusing on measurably contributing to the success of our clients. Trupp HR is a key business partner for small business clients who are concerned with maximizing organizational performance, insuring a solid foundation of HR best practices, and focusing leadership on primary business objectives. Trupp HR areas of expertise include staffing (recruiting, hiring, onboarding), employee relations, employee performance and productivity (employee engagement), people strategy (business strategy alignment, HR metrics and dashboards, organizational structure), HR audits, employee training, leadership development, and compensation. For more information, call +1.503.828.0255 or visit www.trupphr.com

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The long-awaited revised I-9 form has been published by the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). Employers should start using the new form immediately and not later than May 7, 2013. The updated form has a new look with additional fields.

I-9 Enforcement Increases

Compliance audits have been on the rise, increasing from only three in 2004 to 3,004 in 2012.  Making sure you are using the right forms and following the explicit instructions for completing the forms is essential.  Penalties steadily increase in amount with each additional error (offense) identified in the audit.  For example if over 50% of the current employee I-9s have paperwork errors, the penalty can be as high as $900 per error.  If the violation is for unauthorized workers, the penalty for a third offense could be as high as $16,000.  This data is according to information published by a Society of Human Resource Management’s legal writer, Allen Smith, on March 15, 2013.

Employers with a remote workforce are especially vulnerable because the rules related to in-person employer verification requirements are very strict.  Fax and scanned copies of documents and the employee signature do not satisfy the documentation requirements for an employer, complicating the 72 hour requirement to obtain the signed I-9 form when starting a new employee. Some employers have responded by contracting with a notary to act as the company representative and provide official verification.

In recent years, the USCIS developed an internet-based system, E Verify, which allows businesses to determine the eligibility of their employees to work in the U.S. It’s easy and it’s free to use. However, it does not, replace the requirement for I-9 Form completion. E Verify is voluntary except for certain federal contractors. As of September 8, 2009, federal contractors doing work under a FAR E Verify contract clause are required to use E Verify along with the I-9 documentation process.  Whether a contract requires the FAR E Verify clause or not is determined by the government contracting official.  Employers can find details on this requirement in the Supplemental Guide for Federal Contractors.

Verifying the work authorization for employees remains a high priority for employers and enforcement is increasing.

Additional Resources for I-9 Form

Follow the links below for additional information.

Download the new I-9 form

Visit the USCIS website

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“On average, companies that did a better job of attracting, developing and retaining highly talented managers earned 22% higher return to shareholders.”

Given the abundance of highly skilled candidates available in today’s job market, it may be surprising to hear that many employers are making poor hiring decisions. In a 2012 survey sponsored by CareerBuilder, 40% of nearly 2500 participating hiring managers and HR professionals claimed to have made a poor hiring decision. These numbers are startling because hiring the wrong person for a position is very expensive for an employer. The survey estimated the cost of each failed hire to be from $25,000 to $50,000 to the employer. These numbers include costs from lost productivity, bringing a replacement employee up to speed, the impact of turnover on the team, and so on.

Great Hiring Decisions Deliver Greater ROI

In the book “The war for talent,” published by Harvard Business School Press, the authors write: “On average, companies that did a better job of attracting, developing and retaining highly talented managers earned 22% higher return to shareholders.” Successful managers have learned that making great hiring decisions will reduce the cost of doing business as well as improve the returns on their people investments.

The CareerBuilder survey identified probable causes for poor hiring decisions as “pressure to fill jobs quickly,” which was reported by 43% of survey participants. Another cause that was cited by nearly 25% of the survey participants was not getting enough information about a job candidate before they hired them.

Interviewing for Success

Using best-practice methods to build comprehensive selection criteria for your job openings is the first step to a successful hire. The next step is to construct behavioral based interview questions that investigate a candidate’s talents around these selection criteria. Finally, evaluate the answers obtained and objectively rate each candidate against the job needs. Following these simple techniques can significantly increase a hiring manager’s success. It is important to investigate the technical skills for the role as well as verifying competency in customer service, teamwork, and a genuine enthusiasm for their work.

Hiring managers should avoid common pitfalls in selecting staff. Without clearly defined criteria, it’s easy to be influenced by personality similarities, shared hobbies, stereotypes or initial impressions.  A good interview requires setting aside any personal biases and applying critical thinking to the process – skills we are probably already using in other critical purchasing decisions.

Increase your success with these simple strategies. Hiring great employees is the first step in being a great manager able to achieve better business returns. Employees who are well-matched to their job will bring greater energy and interest to their role and will apply more innovative skills.

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April showers may bring may flowers, but all this early April sunshine is just bringing spring fever! Here is this months important HR to-do list to work through before the fever pushes you out the door.

File Early for H-1B
We mentioned it last month but here’s a second reminder just in case you haven’t filed yours yet! H-1B filing begins April 1. Last year the H-1B cap was met in only two months. To ensure you get your H-1B approved, file in April for your October needs.
Learn More >>

Take Your Child to Work Day – April 25
Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work Day Celebrates 20 Years on April 5!  Designed to show children (ages 8-18) the value of education, help them to discover their work life possibilities and encourage them to envision their future, parents and their workplace partner to create success for kids.  This year’s theme is “Work in Progress.”  Having a coordinated program at your place of employment offers the bonus of employee engagement and is an inexpensive form of employee recognition.
Learn More >>

Conduct Stay Interviews with Valuable Employees
Have you considered implementing Stay Interviews with key employees you don’t want to lose?  These interviews provide an opportunity for you, as a leader, to build and/or strengthen your relationship with employees.  This year over half of your workforce may be considering a job change.  Is the month of April a good time to stay ahead of the curve on employee retention?
Learn More >>

Implement a Record Disposal Policy
Thinking of doing some Spring Cleaning?  The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Disposal Rule became effective in 2005 outlining the procedures for disposing of sensitive information.  Develop or revise your record disposal policy to comply so you don’t get caught discarding personally identifiable information in unsecured dumpsters.  Two companies were fined more than $100,000 by the FTC.
Learn More >>

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New employees often enter the ‘honeymoon stage’ full of energy and great ideas. Then, as personalities, management styles, and organizational realities are revealed, the employee’s performance or perceived fit with the company may begin to shift. To break this cycle and avoid blaming another employee departure on a “bad hire”, make sure you are providing a foundation of success for your employees. Start by asking:

1. Does the employee understand what is expected of them?

A job description is a great starting point, but leadership and companies are often moving quickly to respond to customer and market needs, so it is important to regularly communicate to an employee what is expected of them.  This discussion should include priorities, time allocation, and how to respond to competing requests or an overwhelming workload.

2. Has the employee been trained and equipped?

Even if an employee comes with applicable experience, training is still essential and the learning curve can be dramatically reduced by educating an employee on your organization’s processes, tools, preferences, industry, subject matter experts and working styles.

3. Does the employee frequently receive feedback on how they are doing?

Once an employee has their “sea legs”, it is easy to neglect the need for frequent, honest and constructive feedback. Even seasoned employees need to know how they are doing and where they stand. Taking a just-in-time approach enables employees to make course corrections rather than delivering work that misses the mark.

4. Does the employee understand how their job relates to the success of the company?

You have hired a person—not a robot. So do not expect to give orders that are blindly followed. Rather, employees need to know how their work contributes to the success of the company, including why their work is important and how the quality of their work impacts others.

5. Are there mutually understood measurements of the employee’s performance?

How an employee’s performance is assessed should not be a mystery. Instead, the employee and manager should be referencing commonly understood measurements that are reliable indicators of the employee’s current or historical performance or leading indicators of anticipated performance.

Just as building a house requires setting a firm foundation to withstand the test of time, taking these steps with your employees creates rapid integration and proficiency to weather the storms of change and normal business cycles. Although using these techniques takes time and discipline, most of our business results are dependent on our people. An ongoing strategy to invest in employee development can pay significant dividends, especially in small to medium sized businesses.

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There’s no denying that collaboration in the workplace is a hot topic lately. With technology giants like Yahoo eliminating work-at-home options to encourage an environment of shared ideas and cooperation, headlines are abuzz with controversy. There’s no doubt that meetings with team members help to shape more robust and successful projects, but one could make an equally compelling case for an excess of meetings impeding our ability to make significant progress on individual mandates and action items. In the words of Horace Mann, are meetings making you feel like you “Lost yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with six diamond minutes.  No reward is offered, for they are gone forever?”

Meetings are necessary.  They create personal, face-to-face discussions for sensitive and/or high impact issues that may need the benefit of influence and relationships to retain a productive working environment.  With great facilitation, they work to bring out different opinions, air them among the group, and create synergy behind decisions.

Follow these best practices to regain control

1. Have a clear purpose

Identify the purpose for a meeting and only meet if you have to.  The goal should be to accomplish something that can’t be done independently, or by phone or email.

2. Create an agenda

Provide an agenda to participants with the first bullet point confirming the purpose.  This creates focus.  If you get to a meeting and no agenda is provided, spend a couple minutes at the beginning of the meeting to bullet point one out with participants.

3. Invite the right people

Ensure that the participants in the meeting are essential to the discussion. Having non-essential team members wastes everyone’s time, waters down participation and often impedes productivity.

4. Encourage preparation

Use others’ time wisely by setting up expectations, assigning preparatory activities, and sending out agendas and pertinent materials ahead of the meeting. Use 3 days as your compass to give people adequate time to prepare.

5. Stay on schedule

Don’t let late attendees dictate your start time, start on schedule, stick to the agenda, and end on schedule.

6. Keep on point

The cadence of the meeting should flow at a rate that keeps all participants engaged. Ensure discourse stays on point and aligns with meeting goals. It may be helpful to steer the meeting at transitional points to reduce unnecessary elaboration or story-telling. Use words like “we have agreement” to close a topic and move on to the next item on the agenda. Important points that are off topic can be addressed outside of the meeting – document them on a “parking lot” or “off-line” list.

7. Document action items

Identify what actions are required, who is responsible for them and when they will be completed. It is helpful to review them at the end of the meeting and ensure they are documented in the meeting notes.

8. Distribute meeting minutes

Rotate the taking of meeting minutes and commit to a one-day turnaround to ensure the key points are captured and commitments are documented. Encourage attendees to provide feedback in case anything was missed.

By following these simple guidelines, meetings can be effective tools for collaboration that energize your team, eliminate redundancy, and increase productivity. Who knows, you might even have a few more hours in your day to actually tick through a few of those action items! Now, where did I put those meeting minutes?

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