Executive Summary: 2020 March HR & Compliance Web Summit

“This was the first webinar to ever make me cry (in a good way).”

“Great session! Good information, relevant and easy to understand and follow.”

“Best HR webinar I’ve ever heard.”

This is just a sample of feedback from attendees at Paycor’s 2020 HR & Compliance Web Summit!

During our 2-day event, industry experts like Josh Bersin offered actionable insights and advice on all things HR, from must-haves for small businesses to succeed to salary history bans and medical marijuana in the workplace.

Did you miss any of the live sessions? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. You can watch them on our On-Demand Webinar page.

In the meantime, check out our executive summary for a short overview.

How to Help New Parents Re-enter the Workplace and Thrive

Speaker: Katy Bunn

When new parents re-enter the workforce, they can often feel torn between two worlds. In this session, Katy Bunn provided employers with tips and best practices to support moms and dads returning from parental leave.

Before Leave:

It’s important to create documentation so expecting parents know what to do while on leave:

• How to activate insurance
• Rules while on leave (i.e. don’t work or check your work email)
• Create a color-coded leave calendar
  • PTO (how many days will the worker exhaust)
  • FMLA (will they take all 12 weeks of FMLA?)
  • Unpaid (will they take any unpaid days off?)
  • Return-to-work dates

It’s also extremely important to provide tools to prep workers for maternity leave coverage:

• Template outlining various roles and responsibilities and corresponding owners
• Job aide samples

If maternity leave coverage is needed, make sure the person filling in starts with enough time to receive proper training:

• Have a few weeks to work side by side
• Overlap of coverage upon return

As an employee nears their due date, here are a few things to consider:

• Avoid putting them on new large projects
• Review the maternity leave plan with the appropriate team members

After leave:

Here are a few things employers can do on a returning parent’s first day back:

• Encourage team members or colleagues to provide a warm welcome
  • Donuts or bagels
  • Print out pictures of the new baby
  • Have a “Welcome Back” card or sign at their desk
  • Consider providing a few of their “favorite things”

But most importantly, colleagues should check in with them to see how their transition back to work is going.

A new parent’s first few weeks back can be a challenging time. To help them get back into the swing of things employers should:

• Avoid early morning meetings for a few weeks (lack of sleep is a real thing)
• Schedule a recap/download meeting so they know the key milestones/status updates that happened while they were out

Did you know that companies with 50 or more employees are required to have a dedicated pumping space (mother’s room) and allow time for mothers to pump?

To make the mother’s room comfortable, consider adding these amenities:

• Comfortable chair
• Mini fridge (to store milk)
• Tables to allow a spot for the pump and laptop
• Surge protector
• Paper towels
• Do not disturb sign
• Extra pumping bags
• Shelves to allow employees to leave their pumping bags between sessions
• Mirror
• Plants or flowers
• Sink

Want to learn more? Watch the full on-demand session here.

Keynote Session: 5 Ways HR Pros Can Engage the C-Suite Today

Speaker: Lori Kleiman

In this session, HR leaders discovered the 5-step process to building bridges with business leaders, impacting the bottom line and getting noticed by the C-suite.

1. Get Aligned
   The first step to alignment is understanding what drives success in the organization. Is it return on investment, market share, becoming an industry leader, product development or risk diversification?

    

   Understanding objectives will allow employers to create a strategic HR plan that aligns with the overall corporate strategy.

2. Eye on the Future
   To be seen as “strategic”, HR leaders need to monitor changes across the world. One way to do this is to track the megatrends impacting HR.

    

   These include:

   • Social contracts between employees and the community
   • Resource scarcity and abundance
   • The need to be global
   • Understanding workforce competencies
   • The future of smart technology
3. Executive Presence
   To have an executive presence, HR leaders must communicate with a purpose and build working relationships with other departments.

    

   By tracking essential metrics like turnover rates, time-to-fill open positions and cost-per-hire, HR can make recommendations backed by data to help impact the bottom line.

4. External Connections
   HR leaders should extend their reach beyond the organization and network with peers to bring fresh ideas and solutions to the table. One of the best ways to do this is through Mastermind groups.

    

   These can help HR leaders:

   • Build relationships
   • Access experts and tap into their knowledge
   • Think outside the box
   • Make strategic decisions
   • Test ideas in a safe place
   • Gain confidence
5. Controlling the Chaos
   To control the chaos, HR leaders need to work in an agile environment where they can be flexible and collaborate with leaders throughout the organization. Easier said than done, right? For HR to focus on business strategies, automating routine tasks is essential. That’s why finding the right HR technology to help drive efficiencies is more important than ever.

For more tips, watch the full on-demand session here.

The ABC’s of CBD and Medical Marijuana in the Workplace

Speaker: Sarah Laboranti

How is medical marijuana, recreational marijuana use and CBD oils affecting your current drug-free workplace policies? In this session, Sarah provided an overview of employer responsibilities amidst all the recent changes.

Here are 5 key employer responsibilities:

1. Handbook/Policies
   Although 33 states now have laws around marijuana use (medical/recreational) in the books, employers should remember that federal law still maintains that marijuana usage and possession is illegal based on its Schedule 1 drug status. That means employers have the right to remain a drug-free workplace.

    

   Employers should set expectations:

   • What will you test for?
   • Who will be tested and when?
   • What happens if they test positive?
   • Will you give second chances?

   This is information employees want and need to know.

2. Employee Communication

   Employers must communicate drug policies with employees clearly and often. Sarah recommends employers do this by creating a document for employees to acknowledge and sign.

3. Be Vigilant!

   Keep in mind: no state or federal laws allow employees to “get high” at work or come to work impaired.

4. Reasonable Suspicion Testing
   What to do:

    

   • Train leaders to look for signs of impairment on the job
   • Create a “checklist” to review observable behaviors related to possible impairment
   • Prepare a plan for immediately addressing the situation
     • Interview the person believed to be impaired
     • Witness statements
     • Employee agreement to test
     • How/where/when/who will complete the test
     • What to do if an employee admits to impairment

     What NOT to do:

   • NOTHING
   • Let them work
   • Let them drive home
   • Wait until Monday to investigate
5. Leadership Training

• Provide talking points to leaders with common questions heard from employees
• Provide current training related to all workforce policies on substance abuse, testing, reasonable suspicion and safety
• Do not provide advice related to “will this show up on a test.”

Sarah’s #1 takeaway: HR leaders can’t afford to fear this topic. Creating open dialogue with employees is critical to remain compliant and ease employees’ concerns.

Watch the full on-demand session here.

HR Must-Haves for Your Business to Succeed

Speaker: Josh Bersin

In this keynote session, Josh Bersin—a global industry analyst in the HCM space—shared his unique insights and best practices to help small and medium businesses effectively manage HR and adapt to the needs of the modern workforce.

Here are 5 things every HR leader should do to help the company succeed:

• HR Domain ExpertiseTo be a strategic leader, start with understanding the fundamentals of HR. Josh recognized six key areas of focus for HR professionals: recruiting, people management, benefits, compliance, labor costs and managing the employee experience.
• Consulting and Problem SolvingHR leaders should see themselves as consultants. With HR domain expertise, hiring managers, finance leaders and business executives will look to the HR leader to provide input and solve problems.
• Business Acumen and Industry ExperienceHR leaders are still business people. They need to focus on goals, success metrics and how HR can help achieve those goals.
• Technology, Data, Tools and VendorsMany HR leaders are bogged down by manual, administrative HR tasks. They need to invest in HR technology to streamline tasks so they can focus on more strategic initiatives like recruiting, onboarding and people management.
• Leadership, Executive PresenceHR deserves a seat at the table. By tracking turnover metrics, labor cost metrics and people analytics, HR leaders can find themselves working closely with C-suite executives to solve problems around the organization.

To watch Josh Bersin’s full keynote session, click here.

Don’t Ask Me About My Salary History!

Speaker: Julie Pugh

Are you up-to-date with laws around salary history bans?

To address inequality, several states have enacted bans on asking for previous salary information, although laws vary in terms, scope and applicability. Although, it’s been illegal for decades to pay different wages to men and women for the same work there is still a significant pay gap between genders. The salary history ban was designed to help.

In this session, attendees learned how to get the information they need without asking the questions they can’t.

Here are a few ways employers can determine how much they should pay an employee (and remain compliant):

• Set your upper salary range for a job by determining what the job is worth to you
• Follow market trends (average pay) to establish a base pay for the position
• Candidate’s pay expectations (it’s okay to ask: “How much do you expect to be paid?”)
• Labor laws (exempt vs. nonexempt employees)
• Account for fringe benefits (i.e. health insurance, life insurance or retirement plans)

Want to learn more? Watch the full on demand session here.

The Worst Data Breaches and How You Can Avoid a Similar Fate

Speakers: Vorys Legal Counsel

Employee data can be a treasure trove for hackers. Just think about it… social security numbers, bank accounts, check stubs and more. This webinar explored recent data breaches and tips to help businesses avoid a similar fate.

What are the most likely causes for data breaches? (2019 data)

• 48% of breaches resulted from hacking
• 30% of breaches featured malware
• 17% of breaches resulted from errors
• 17% were social attacks (email phishing)
• 12% of breaches resulted from privilege misuse

Here are 3 basic tips to protect employee data:

1. Never leave your screen open to prying eyes when accessing employee information
2. When working in public places never use an unsecured Wi-Fi network
3. Always log out of email and other work accounts when not using your personal work device

For more tips on employee data security, watch the full on-demand webinar here.

Employer Branding: How to Get Noticed in a Tight Labor Market

Speaker: Samantha Osbourne

Employer branding is an organization’s ticket to getting noticed in a tight labor market. In this session, attendees learned tips to build and enhance their brand to help attract more qualified candidates and retain top performers.

According to SHRM, employer branding is what the organization communicates as its identity to both potential and current employees.

That includes:

• Mission, Vision & Values
• Culture
• Personality
• Expected employment experience
• How you treat your employees
• Mirror image of your organizational culture

How can HR leaders build their employer brand?

First, establish the ideal employee experience:

• Perks
• Goals
• Growth

Then, determine a unique value proposition:

• Desirable—what benefit drives people to want to work for you?
• Distinctive—what makes you different from your competition?
• Deliverable—can you deliver on promises to employees and job candidates?
• Durable—will this value proposition stand the test of time?

Finally, involve employees:

• Involve them in public-facing materials (i.e. videos, webinars, etc.)
• Focus on them in relation to your company values
• Let them refer job candidates
• Foster a culture of transparency, engagement, empowerment and understanding

To learn more about building or enhancing your employer brand, watch the full on-demand session here.

Soldier to Civilian: An Untapped Resource

Speaker: Rob Arndt

Veterans bring unique skills to the workplace, yet some organizations are reluctant to hire them or unsure how their experience will translate into a civilian role. This session explored the many reasons why veterans make great candidates and offered tips to attract more veterans during the hiring process.

Here are 5 things to keep in mind:

1. Hire for character. Train for a specific skill.There are plenty of skills that align with military candidates. Plus, veterans are trained to learn new information fast. Provide them with tools to learn the technology and they’ll quickly adapt.
2. Compensation should align with the national averages.A high-end technician in the military makes on average $60,000 with overtime pay.
3. Candidates are in HIGH demand. Move quickly.The average time to fill for veteran candidates following the interview is less than 10 days.
4. Go the extra mile.Although some candidates in the military may require assistance relocating, any additional assistance you can provide (sign-on bonus) can help sway their decision. Also, candidates love mentorship. Any sites with existing military workers should leverage these connections when interviewing and developing talent.
5. Show them a path.The best employees want to see an opportunity to grow. Outline goals and milestones that give them confidence that they’re on a career path.

   Interested in learning more? Watch the full on-demand session here.

Upcoming Webinars

Every week Paycor hosts live HR Center of Excellence webinars. For a list of upcoming sessions click the link below. Keep in mind: our June Web Summit is fast approaching! Stay tuned at Paycor.com for the final dates.