Category Archives: featured

7 Mistakes You Might Be Making With Your Employee Handbook

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Are there errors in your Employee Handbook that you’re not aware of? An Employee Handbook is the baseline document that an employer gives to their employee to represent the company. Laws, policies, and compliance are constantly changing so if your employee handbook isn’t updated each year, you could get yourself into some hot water. For example, if you had to fire an employee because they took too many days off but their labor lawyer looks at the company’s Employee Handbook and the attendance policy isn’t updated, you might be served with a costly law suit.

Here are the top seven common mistakes we find in Employee Handbooks.

1. You’re Using a Cookie-Cutter Handbook Template

Your employee handbook should reflect your company—its culture and its values. It’s fine to reference templates but you shouldn’t just copy and paste an Employee Handbook that you found online and expect it to do everything it needs to.

2. You’re Not Including All Company Policies in the Handbook

Often employers will send memos via email or post bulletins in the break room regarding policy changes or new workplace rules, however these one-off notifications don’t always make it to the Employee Handbook. This can both be confusing for employees and could prove to be a liability for employers because an employee can easily claim they weren’t made aware of policy changes.

3. You Don’t Have Effective Anti-Harassment Policies

Having a clear anti-harassment policy and protocol is more important than ever. All employees should undergo sexual harassment training so they’re aware of what counts as harassment and what to do when it occurs. When there is an incident, employees should be able to refer to their employee handbook to find how to report the incident of harassment, including the specific person they should report the incident to.

4. You’re Enforcing Overly Restrictive Social Media Policies

Within the last decade, Social Media has transformed the way we communicate, share information, and keep in touch. When it comes to the workplace, Social Media can quickly become an HR nightmare so it’s important to craft a clear Social Media Policy. However, laying down an overly strict Social Media Policy could backfire and violate employee’s rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act. Striking the right balance is key by ensuring your policy includes dynamic language, brand and identity guidelines, and regulatory awareness.

5. You’re Not Making It User-Friendly

If your handbook is loaded with legal jargon and endless detail, you run the risk of employees not actually reading or understanding it. Make sure you’re keeping your handbook concise and readable so your company policies are easily absorbed and adhered to.

6. You’re Applying Policies Inconsistently

The longer an Employee Handbook gets, the great the possibility of contradictory or redundant language. This can lead to inconsistent enforcement which can have a negative effect on company morale, especially when two employees are handled differently for the same offense. This can devalue the importance of your employee handbook, leaving employees confused about where to turn to for reliable information. It’s important to get an Employee Handbook Audit every so often to troubleshoot your policies and look for ambiguous language.

7. You’re Not Running the Handbook by an Employment Attorney

Laws and regulations might change on a dime, so have your employment legal counsel review the handbook annually (at minimum) to keep it up-to-date. Make sure to notify employees regarding updates and have them sign and acknowledge that they received the updated copy of the handbook so you have a paper trail.

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Need an Employee Handbook Audit? We can help you with that. Reach out to us at marketing@www.corpstrat.com to schedule a consultation.

Why Every Employer Needs an ERISA Wrap Document

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Heading into audit season, a simple and cost effective solution to ensure your documents are prepared correctly is having an ERISA Wrap Document. Including a wrap document will mean if there’s anything missing in your insurance policy or coverage certificate, this one document will supplement the information necessary to comply with ERISA. It’s a bit like playing defense, it’s nothing flashy but when you need it, you’re so glad you’re covered. Plus, at less than $500 a year, it’s the easiest way to save yourself a ton of headaches.

What is ERISA?

  • Employee Retirement income Security Act (ERISA) is intended to protect employees who are counting on retirement benefits or pensions promised by their employer.
  • ERISA sets guidelines and rules for how employee retirements funds must be managed, it puts strict guidelines in place for when and how employees can earn a non-forfeitable interest in promised pension benefits.
  • Every employer who maintains a health and retirement plan is subject to ERISA and must have a separate written plan document.

What is an ERISA Wrap Document?

  • It’s a relatively simple written document that “wraps” around the insurance policy, coverage certificate, or plan booklet.
  • It describes the participants’ rights, benefits, and obligations within their plans as well as the plan’s terms and conditions.
  • By using a wrap document, an employer can satisfy the ERISA Summary Plan Description (SPD) requirement by using this one document for all the health and welfare benefits offered.

What doesn’t count as an ERISA Wrap Document:

  • Summary Plan Descriptions (SPD)
  • Certificate of Coverage
  • Summary of Benefits
  • Copy of the Master Contract

Why Do I Need An ERISA Wrap Document?

  • Using a wrap document is an easy, cost-effective way for employers to show auditors that they’re in compliance with ERISA and other laws affecting the employee benefits they offer.
  • The penalties for not having one are very steep.
  • Without one, the company is left vulnerable to costly lawsuits.

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If you don’t have an ERISA Wrap Document or your company’s ERISA Wrap Document is outdated, schedule a call with us now. We can help.

5 Things You Need To Get Your HR Policy Ready for 2021!

Happy 2021, from our CorpStrat family to yours! As we dive into the new year full force, it’s incredible to reflect on how much our world has changed. It goes without saying that COVID-19 has transformed our lives and our workplaces by extension. That’s why this year, more than any other, it’s so important to make sure that you’re set up for HR success in 2021. We’re here to help you with that.

Most people only think about HR when there’s a major compliance issue, but this is the worst time to find out your HR policy isn’t properly updated. Don’t let this be you. Here are our top 5 things you should do right now to make sure your HR policy is set up for 2021:

1. Make Sure Your Team Gets Sexual Harassment Training

Recently California enacted a series of laws that strengthened the state’s protections against workplace harassment. California used to require employers with 50+ employees to complete required training every other year, it’s now 5+ employees and the deadline to complete the training was January 1st 2021. If you haven’t completed this training, let’s talk. At CorpStrat, we offer affordable Sexual Harassment Training for every company size, from 3-300+.

2. Update Your Employee Handbooks

Has your handbook been updated or reviewed recently? If not, it may not accurately reflect your company’s policies, leaving room for confusion and major compliance issues. Take the worry out of it, sign up for a free consultation.

3. Learn About Policy Changes Made Due to COVID-19

COVID-19 has changed so many things we may have taken for granted. Are you familiar with the new laws and have your company policies changed in accordance with these laws? If you’re hesitating to answer, schedule a call with us, we can absolutely help you.

4. Get An HR Audit

How can you set up your company policy if you’re not clear on what your exposures are. If you haven’t had an HR audit done in the last year, we’d advise you to get one as soon as possible to avoid red flags.

5. Rethink Your Strategic Initiatives

Are you and your employees up to date on performance reviews, job descriptions, etc.? Talk to one of our HR experts to make sure you’re on track and doing all you can.

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At CorpStrat, our HR experts will guide you through setting up your HR policy for 2021. If you’re interested, let’s talk! Call us at (818) 377- 7260 or email us at marketing@www.corpstrat.com

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5 Reasons to Love Electronic Enrollment

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Are you looking for a benefits and HR solution that can help your employees make better decisions, conduct faster enrollments, and make changes on the fly with 24/7 access?

If your answer is yes, then it’s time to take your employee benefits enrollment paperless. There has been a large shift by employers away from paper and towards paperless benefit enrollment systems, but with the events of 2020, this has accelerated tremendously. Going paperless can sound daunting but we’ve found a way to make it hassle-free and mobile-friendly with a software that makes online enrollment easy. Let’s talk about online enrollment.

1.  It Helps Ensure Your Employees Have a Flawless First Day

No more wasting hours collating, auditing, scanning, and filing paper forms for every new hire. Also, no more burying Employees in a mountain of paperwork the second they start. Electronic enrollment makes it easy. All you need to do is enter the new employees’ information and in just a few minutes, new hires can complete their forms and set up direct deposit forms, all online.

2. It Simplifies Enrollment for Everyone

Tired of manually determining eligibility or having to distribute stacks of brochures to help employees understand and compare plan details? With electronic enrollment, simply send employees a unique login for their company benefits account and they can log in to make selections. Once logged in, they’ll be able to browse just the benefits they’re eligible for and calculate the cost per pay period.

3. It Makes Benefits Elections Easier Than Ever

During enrollment, if chasing down and auditing paper forms or decoding illegible handwriting is taking up a bulk of your time, something’s got to give. Not only are you left frustrated and overwhelmed, employees might be unsure if they’ve made a good decision. Electronic enrollment brings it all online so there’s no confusion and employees are empowered to make good benefits decisions because they can easily comparing options and plans.

4. It Gives Employees Easy Access

When you use electronic enrollment, employees get 24/7 access to their benefits information and makes it easy to update information on the fly. This means no more dealing with lost ID cards or billing problems, they can access all their information year-round via the desktop or mobile app.

5. It Offers Robust Reporting and Metrics

For many HR teams, building reports and graphs across multiple excel sheets with different deliverables to different teams is the bane of their existence. Electronic enrollment lets you automatically generate and view standard reports, and empowers you to create custom reports for plans, enrollment summaries, beneficiaries, and more!

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Interested in switching to electronic enrollment? Let’s talk. Give us a call at (818) 377-7260 or email us at marketing@www.corpstrat.com?

When Recruiting Meets Tech—A Perfect Partnership

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65% of candidates say they never, or rarely, receive notice about their application. It’s easy to see how this can occur, especially if HR teams aren’t set up with technology that helps them streamline and automate their workflow. 

Successful recruitment is about more than blasting a job listing and expecting a bevy of qualified candidates. It’s about utilizing current technology to make your recruitment workflow easier for your HR team and seamless for the candidates. That’s why we love Workforce Ready’s built-in applicant tracking. Standalone applicant tracking apps can quickly lead to errors and duplicate information. With Workforce Ready’s applicant tracking, everything is in the same database which improves the candidate experience, eliminates data transfer error, reduces time to hire, and allows you to attract and nurture the right candidates for the position.

Once you’ve attracted applicants from various channels, you want to make sure it’s easy for them to intuitively find and apply for the jobs that are right for them. Remember, you want your job portal to be technologically advanced and imbued with marketing savvy. Workforce Ready allows you to set up a job portal that:

1. Is Embedded & Branded

Align the look and feel of your career site with your company branding — this helps reinforce your company values and establishes brand authority.

2. Is Mobile-friendly and Responsive

86% of active candidates use their smartphones to begin a job search. This is why it’s important to create your portal using responsive design so it can be viewed on all types of devices, including mobile.

3. Able to Filter Applicants

It’s important for you and the applicants you’re considering to know quickly when something’s not the right fit. This lets applicants move on to the next opportunity and lets you focus your efforts.

4. Tracks Candidate Progress

With automated process tracking, you can view the stage each candidate is at, understand if the processes have stalled, and respond quickly to get things back on track.

5. Automates the Hiring Lifecycle

Define the phases you want your candidates to go through and how long you want each of these phases to take, then build the infrastructure for them into your HCM platform using checklists, automated actions you can assign, and notification workflows to make sure the right people are in on the right conversations

6. Communicates Consistently with Candidates

Set up touch points that keep your candidates informed at every stage of the application process, so they don’t start exploring other options. Use automation to keep your communications timely and reduce the manual overhead.

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Want to learn more about our Workforce Ready workforce management platform? Schedule a call with us today!