Rick Rossignol

The Ins and Outs of California Paid Sick Leave: AB-555

woman in bed sick

As an employer, it’s important to know the ins and outs of California Paid Sick Leave to stay in compliance with the law. Small to medium-sized businesses will have generally the same requirements as a large company, however, it’s still important to know how these laws apply directly and specifically to your business. Here are the important details to know about California Paid Sick Leave:

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How to Apply a Remote Work Policy

man working in bed with dog

Amidst the current COVID-19 Pandemic, companies worldwide have suddenly had to resort to working remotely in order to stay in business. This shift comes with many new challenges for employers, including the need for business owners to create new policies that outline a clear understanding of what it means to telecommute. Even if you currently have a remote work policy in place, policies and procedures during this constantly changing crisis may need to be adjusted during this time to continue to make working possible.

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How The Secure Act Is Beneficial For Your Business

woman holding ipad

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act became law on December 20th, 2019. This bill has been designed to ultimately make retirement plans more accessible to many small business operators and part-time workers, and also allows for people entering retirement to make withdrawals from accounts later. Could your business could possibly benefit from the SECURE Act?

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Navigating 401k Plans as an Employer in 2020

coin jat with a plant growing from it

Coin jar and number 2020 on the table.

Are you familiar with the SECURE Act? If you’re running a small business, you should be. The new bill, which stands for Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE Act), was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President in December and took effect on January 1st. While many have focused on the new options it will provide for individuals saving for retirement, it’s important for small-business owners to know how to most effectively leverage the legislation so that they can use it to provide better benefits for current and prospective employees.

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Common HR Mistakes That Many Businesses Make

woman shocked at computer screen

Owning and managing a small business can be time consuming and overwhelming. You’re often required to perform a variety of tasks yourself, everything from marketing to human resources. With so much going on, it can be easy to get so involved in monitoring business growth that other tasks are pushed to the side.

 

Here are some common HR mistakes that companies make, ranging from ones possibly deemed as basic, to more sophisticated mishaps within businesses:

 

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How to Make Your Company More Inclusive

hands in huddle

Diversity is the spice of life, but a staff comprised of a wide variety of people doesn’t mean much if your workplace doesn’t also practice inclusivity. Having an inclusive company is a great way to influence good work, a healthy lifestyle, and workplace cohesiveness. So, what is inclusivity, what does it look like in the workplace, and how can your company take steps to achieve it?

 

Understanding Workplace Inclusivity

 

Workplace “inclusivity” is different from workplace “diversity”. Workplace inclusivity means being a company that truly cares about the diversity within it. It means being a company that strives to be conscious of and inclusive to everyone in regards to interactions, meetings, events, work and life. Workplace inclusivity is a necessity after workplace diversity has already been established. After a company has hired employees from different backgrounds and walks of life, it’s important to ensure that the inclusivity of each and every one of them is established. That means being inclusive in team meetings, office get-togethers, and even one-on-one interactions. You can meet the standards of diversity in the workplace by hiring people of all different backgrounds, but until you ensure that each person is valued equally, you are not being fully inclusive. Workplace inclusivity is the act of valuing the differences of all employees within a company and actively making efforts to support equality, diminish segregation, and avoid discrimination amongst the entirety of a workforce.

 

Put Workplace Inclusivity as Priority

 

Make a commitment to improving inclusivity by making public statements to your employees. By addressing that improvements are planned to be made for the inclusivity of your workplace, your business will be held accountable by its employees. Posting fliers about commitment to workplace inclusivity or sending out informational emails to staff will support this commitment.

 

 

Make Sure Leaders Are Educated and Emotionally Intelligent

 

Educating leaders within the workplace about inclusivity is a very important task that all businesses looking to make their company more inclusive should do. If employees see their leaders doing it, they may follow in their footsteps.

 

Having a team be emotionally intelligent helps harbor a more inclusive environment and will allow businesses to attract more employees.

 

Schedule Meetings About Inclusivity and Rotate Who Runs Them

 

Scheduling meetings about inclusivity is important for businesses that are trying to become more inclusive. Rotating who runs these meetings will influence more employees to attend and learn during these meetings.

 

Scheduling Meetings about diversity and encouraging all employees to participate furthers your businesses’ commitment to being more inclusive and holds your business more accountable to meet these expectations.

 

Make Times to Talk About Non-Work-Related Issues

 

Create specific times during the week for employees to meet with coworkers to discuss issues that they are experiencing outside of the workplace that relates to inclusivity. It’s generally nice to know that you are not the only one experiencing problems in life, which makes meetings such as these beneficial to most employees.

 

Hold Office Functions at Easily Accessible Times and Locations

 

Holding office functions at times and locations that work for all employees creates an environment of richer inclusivity in the workplace. For example, holding an office gathering directly after work may not work for employees with family obligations.

 

A solution to this could be having an optional office gathering on the weekend. For employees who commute from different areas, holding an office function in a general location such as a sporting event or music venue may prove to be more inclusive.

 

These are just a number of ways to ensure that a workplace is more inclusive, and if put into practice, can truly improve a workplace as a whole.

 

Do you need help making a strategy for workplace inclusivity at your business? RTR Consulting has more than 20 years devoted to developing effective and efficient Human Resources policies, procedures, and best practices for small to medium-sized businesses. Contact us today to learn more!

 

 

 

Workplace Benefits That Millennials Love

man drinking coffee

Millennials love workplace benefits, and for good reason. Who doesn’t love working for a company that provides benefits that alleviate certain pressures of life? Some benefits that millennials are finding to be the most beneficial include health insurance (physical/mental), fitness club memberships, student loan repayment assistance, flexible working hours and schedules, the ability to work remotely, unlimited paid time off or paid travel, free housing, and four-day workweeks.

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