Lists Season 2019

We’re well into December, and that means that we are in “2019 Lists Season”. This is the period where you will be able to find all the lists you can possibly think of:

• The list of predictions for macro trends,
• The list of predictions for business trends,
• The list of predictions for 2020 HR trends,
• The list of the most influential films of 2019,
• A complete list of your 2019 top songs on Spotify,
• The list of the best lists of 2019.

I love all these lists. Especially predictions. What do we think is going to happen? Massive shifts, or small, incremental changes?

In this post, however, I want to focus on a different kind of list. I want to step away from the Big Trends and Predictions for 2020 and focus on the basics of your human resources processes. For 2020, let’s make sure these topics are covered, so next year can be the year of focusing on running your business, and of addressing the HR items as they come up, as they surely always do.

1. You have a complete and updated Employee Handbook.
   A good Employee Handbook makes life easier. It means that everyone knows what to expect and what to do in certain situations. It is clear in how everyone is treated and how policies apply. It helps prevent favoritism, and limits the lack of clarity on how rules are interpreted, because all rules apply in the same way to everyone: consistency is clear. For you, as the business owner or manager, your life is easier because you don’t have to reinvent the wheel as soon as something happens. And easy: all policies are conveniently in one place.
2. You have up-to-date Job Description for all positions.
   This, too, helps with providing clarity for you and your team. It helps employees, current or new, to understand what their role entails and what is expected of them. You have had the time to think about what you are looking for in a candidate for the role. When you set out to hire a new employee, you simply pick up the description and recruit based on the requirements you’ve already drafted.
3. Your team is properly classified.
   This is a rather pesky one because the consequences of not being 100% right on this item could be costly. In an ideal world, you have clearly and correctly classified your team members and contractors in the appropriate categories: full-time, part-time or temporary employee, individual contractor, and exempt or non-exempt employee. And obviously, you treat the individual members of your team in accordance with the rules, regulations and policies that apply to each category.
4. You have time tracking down to a T.
   You are paying your employees correctly, and you are making sure you are applying vacation, paid leave, rest and lunch breaks and overtime correctly, and in full compliance with federal, state and local laws. In order to do that, you have a solid time tracking system – and ideally, software – that helps you track the time, so you can at any given time, show you are doing what you are supposed to do.
5. You have Proper Documentation of Employee Discussions
   This one applies to all organizations, big and small. Any time you have a performance discussion, either following the performance management process you have in place, or following a performance or behavior issue, you document your discussion with the employee, you fill in the necessary performance management forms or you document any improvement discussion and you archive it appropriately. Should it ever be necessary, you will have proof of the discussions you have had, the timeline and subjects of the discussions. Especially when you are faced with legal action or claims, this may prove to be a crucial help to your case.

Need help?

Soaring + Company can help you with these HR topics, and help you build, enhance and optimize your human resources processes. You can focus on running your business, and with the necessary processes and systems in place, addressing human resources issues is as effective and efficient as possible. Let’s discuss how we can help improve your company’s performance in 2020.

By the way, my own predictions for 2020 are:

1. The end of the Unicorn Entrepreneur Era – A return to more sensible investments and valuations
2. More action around diversity and inclusion – True efforts regarding gender balance in companies’ management teams and boards, and in diversity of thought
3. More AI, Robotics and Automation – The Age of the Bots commences
4. Storytelling – There will to be increased focus on company’s purpose, with a stronger connection for and to the stakeholders
5. Data Analytics – HR departments will increasingly use big data and analytics to identify and act on trends, developments and initiatives

I’d love to hear your thoughts what you prediction will happen in 2020, and leave a comments if you have any to add!