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  • For businesses located in areas affected by winter storms, it’s essential to familiarize yourself with wage and hour rules. There can be severe winter storms that prevent employees from coming to work. As a business owner, you may question if and when you need to pay employees affected by weather-related disruptions. Whether your employees are late for work due to road conditions, having to shovel their driveways, kids’ schools being closed, or even the business being closed, it’s critical that you understand your responsibility in all situations. However, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and other state laws don’t stop, even during a blizzard.

    What You Must Know

    Employee pay ultimately comes down to the following factors:

    • Non-exempt status
    • Exempt status
    • State and Federal laws
    • Company policies

    Non-exempt status

    Pay for non-exempt, hourly employees is straightforward, with a few exceptions. Non-exempt workers are entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay when working more than 40 hours per week. These workers are to be paid for the hours they work. If the employer closes the business early or the employee is late due to road conditions, they only need to be paid for the time they work.

    However, in some states, there are laws in place for “reporting time pay” or “show-up pay” that requires non-exempt employees to be paid for a certain number of hours whenever the employees report to work as scheduled, even if work isn’t available. In addition, state and city laws could affect an employee’s pay, which requires an employer to allow an employee to use paid leave for an absence related to a snow emergency or school closing. As laws vary from state to state, you must stay on top of the ever-changing rules and regulations.

    Exempt status

    Exempt employees do not receive overtime pay and don’t qualify for minimum wage as they are typically paid a salary rather than by the hour. During the winter months, when roads are dangerous, and businesses shut down, it matters whether the employer is closed for business, or the employee is unable or unwilling to come to work because of the weather. For example, if a business is closed because of weather conditions, exempt employees must be paid their normal salary for the week if they’ve worked at least one day throughout that week.

    However, if the business is open but the employee chooses not to come in due to a storm, then the FLSA permits the employer to treat that as personal time off. Should an employee arrive late or leave early due to poor driving conditions, the FLSA does not permit employers to deduct partial days from these workers’ wages. Depending on state or local laws, it could require more from an employer than federal law does.

    Let’s Have A Compliant Winter Season

    Any business owner who has experienced winter storms understands it can have a drastic effect on one’s business. From having to shut your business down for the day to employees not coming to work due to dangerous driving conditions, you’ve been there. It’s time to have a safe and compliant winter season and partner with GMS. Our experts can help you navigate the intricacies of wage and hour laws. Megan Wagner, PHR, GMS’ Client Services Manager, emphasizes, “One of the biggest ways employers can prepare for winter is to develop handbook policies addressing inclement weather. These policies should include details on how employees will be notified if the business closes, whom they should notify if they are unable to make it to work, and who is eligible to work remotely when conditions preclude commuting into the office. You also must consider if your non-exempt employees can work remotely for part of the day, and how a later commute should be noted on their timesheet. Companies are required to comply with FLSA guidelines regardless of weather conditions, so employers need to understand how to manage exempt versus non-exempt time.”

    Contact us today to learn more.

  • As 2022 comes to an end, it’s an excellent time to start thinking about your year-end performance reviews. During these annual performance reviews, managers usually evaluate and discuss an employee’s overall performance. It’s typically a formal conversation about an employee’s:

    • Achievements
    • Goals
    • Opportunities
    • Areas to improve on
    • Responsibilities
    • Strengths

    As a business owner, you’ve probably conducted many of these before; however, having a strategic plan is vital for a prosperous new year. In addition, the Great Resignation and the effects of inflation forced employees to quit their jobs and go elsewhere, which provides them with better benefits and flexibility. These reviews can be an excellent time for your employees to discuss their concerns and allow you to address them before it’s too late.

    How To Make The Most Out Of Year-End Reviews

    Conducting performance reviews multiple times throughout the year helps you understand how well your employees are performing and how satisfied they are. 92% of employees want feedback more often than just once a year. However, focusing on your business takes up the majority of your time and can take away from being able to conduct these reviews more frequently. So, if you’re only conducting a year-end review, we’re here to provide insights on how you can make the most out of them.

    Let’s start with the basics. Performance reviews should include the following steps:

    1. Set clear goals for the process

    Alongside the standard goals of measuring and evaluating employee performance, consider the company-specific objectives you might want to include throughout all reviews. You should have a process in place that all managers in your organization use to ensure you’re consistent.

    2. Create structure and tools

    Determine what tools you’ll be utilizing in the reviews or, if applicable, what structure you’ll use. For example, the most common tools used in businesses include an evaluation rubric, a pre-meeting and post-meeting reflection sheet, a goal-setting template, and an agenda. Whichever tools you decide to use, it’s essential that you have a digital copy and a place to store them for the duration of the employee’s tenure with the organization. You want to be able to look back at these reviews every time you conduct a new one to examine how the employee has improved over time.

    3. Clarify employer and employee roles and responsibilities

    Clarifying the roles and responsibilities of both parties makes for a more prepared and engaging conversation. Explaining your responsibilities as their leader shows them that you’re there to help them succeed and provide employees with the necessary resources. Refreshing your employees of their roles and responsibilities is also an excellent way to make for a more impactful review

    4. Seek employee feedback

    If you conduct one annual review, it’s essential that you listen to your employees and allow them to provide feedback. Positive and negative employee feedback is essential as it helps break bad habits, reinforces positive behavior, and enables teams to work more effectively toward their goals. When employees feel confident enough to share feedback with their manager, it creates a better work environment.

    5. Evaluate the process periodically

    Once you have a year-end review that works for you and your employees, consider evaluating it periodically. Monitor the progress of your performance review process against the established goals. Are there areas in which you can improve upon? Are your employees taking something useful out of these? Are they helping you grow your business?

    Best Practices For Your Business

    We all understand how much time it can take to conduct performance reviews. Nonetheless, you understand the importance of these reviews and how it makes for a more productive workforce. As a business owner, performance management is critical to making training, career development, compensation, and promotion decisions. It allows you to set clear goals and expectations for each employee and provide feedback about their performance related to these goals. Joe Wenger, GMS’ Senior HR Generalist stated, “Annual performance reviews are essential. However, it’s necessary for management to meet with employees on a more frequent and informal basis to review goals and progress throughout the year. This approach allows for any necessary adjustments to be made as needed if any significant changes within the company have occurred. It keeps employees on track and reinforces the value of everyone’s role in achieving team and individual goals alike.”

    In addition, performance management is valued by employees as it can offer opportunities for them to grow within your organization and, ultimately, advance their careers. Partnering with a professional employer organization (PEO) like GMS makes your job much easier. GMS provides you with a performance review system that provides you with the following:

    • Consistent feedback
    • Employee development
    • Goal setting
    • Tracking and documentation
    • Reporting
    • Customizable email templates and calendar invites
    • Training and implementation

    Want to make the most out of your performance reviews? Contact us today to get started.

  • As a business owner, training your employees is essential to growing your business. Training your employees allows them to expand their knowledge base and improve their skill set to become more effective. While this process can be costly, the return on investment is greater when you’re consistent. Companies that invest in training experience 24% higher profit margins. When you implement a strong training program, fewer employees will leave, translating to significant cost savings.

    The following are reasons why you should implement training programs for your employees:

    • Improves skills and knowledge
    • Prepares employees for higher responsibilities
    • Shows your employees they are valued
    • Satisfies the recommendations of performance appraisals

    Developing a great work culture relies heavily on providing your employees with resources to learn and grow. How will you ensure your employee receives the training they desire?

    Train The Trainer

    While having an internal training program is a powerful way to ensure your employees are enhancing their skills and knowledge, other approaches exist. The train-the-trainer model is a framework for training employees into experts on a subject to enable them to then train other individuals within your business. For example, a group of employees with excellent leadership skills receives leadership training. Once they learn how to be an excellent leader, they will then teach this content to future employees.

    The effectiveness of this technique lies in its ability to teach new skills to a wide range of individuals by using internal resources to scale up the delivery of training. The following are the benefits of this training technique:

    • A tailored experience
    • A cost-effective practice
    • Development of an internal training team
    • Allows new employees to ask follow-up questions once the training has concluded
    • Internal trainers understand your business better than any external trainer could, allowing them to better tailor their training

    Alyse Kimble, Training and Development Coordinator at GMS expresses, “Developing the next generation of leaders is the top challenge for 5% of CEOs. Only 63% of millennials believe that they are being fully developed as a leader by their employers for management positions. This not only causes a problem with employee retention, but it’s also causing headaches for HR departments as they struggle to build strong benches for leadership openings within their organization. Having a leadership development plan for your organization is key to your business’s success.”

    How To Get Started

    Determining the best option for you and your business might take time. However, at the end of the day, you need to do what’s best for your employees. Your employees want training programs and a path to career advancement opportunities within your business. According to a survey, 76% of employees seek career growth opportunities and training programs. If you’re interested in implementing a train-the-trainer model, follow the steps below to receive the best results to improve your bottom line.

    1. Define your goals – You must determine what you want your train-the-trainer course to achieve. Do you want to train them to onboard new employees? Do you want to build a core team of trainers who will train the entire organization when a new product is released? How often do you want them to train other employees?

    2. Define how you measure progress – How will you track progress towards these goals in the above step?

    3. Design your train-the-trainer course

    4. Create training materials

    GMS Has Your Back

    Training employees, whether they are current or new, takes an extensive amount of time; however, if you do it right, it’s worth it in the long run. When you partner with GMS, we ensure it’s done right. You’ll gain access to online employee training programs targeted to your employees’ specific job functions. The software allows you to streamline job training, improve employee performance, and reduce learning costs for learning platforms and in-person training. Contact our experts today to learn more.

  • The thought of working fewer hours and having more days off each week sounds great, doesn’t it? Many businesses have implemented shorter workweeks already, such as Basecamp, Bolt, and Panasonic, and have experienced significant benefits. Researchers found that businesses that adopted a four-day workweek found that 78% of their employees were happier, 70% were less stressed, and 62% took fewer days off.

    Background Of The Traditional Workweek

    Before we dive into what it means to implement a four-day workweek, let’s recall how the 40-hour workweek came to life. Almost 100 years ago, the U.S. revolutionized the way we worked by introducing a 40-hour “typical” workweek. The Industrial Revolution was a chaotic time forcing labor laws and practices to be tested.

    Henry Ford, an American industrialist who founded the Ford Motor Company, was the first to examine productivity and found that the more individuals worked, the less productive they were. This was the start of the standard 40-hour workweek. From there, the Fair Labor Standards Act was implemented in 1938, providing overtime pay for those who worked more than 40 hours within a week. This forced employers to create schedules so employees weren’t working overtime.

    Deep Dive Into A Four-Day Workweek

    Since COVID-19 and the Great Resignation, the typical 40-hour workweek has been a hot topic. It’s forced a new level of flexibility as remote work has become increasingly popular, encouraging employees to find more flexible careers. With work-life balance perks becoming more favored, businesses have begun testing and implementing the four-day workweek.

    A shorter work week usually means employees are in the office four days per week instead of five. While businesses have already implemented the four-day workweek, others have their employees complete four, 10-hour days. The truly shortened workweek reduces hours worked, usually 32 hours per week. You might be thinking that having your employees work fewer hours might not seem like the best idea. However, we’re here to tell you that it benefits you, your employees, and your business.

    The following are the benefits of implementing a shorter workweek:

    • Reduces company costs
    • Reduces employee costs
    • Greater work-life balance
    • Happier employees
    • Improved employee well-being
    • Increased productivity
    • Attracts more job applicants

    A Guide To Implementing The Four-Day Workweek

    All of these benefits sound perfect, don’t they? You may wonder where to begin or test it to see if it’s a good fit for your business. We will start with the bad news. Moving to a four-day workweek will require serious task reprioritization and workload reorganization. Now the good news. Implementing a shorter workweek can be done through the following steps:

    • Set clear guidelines
    • Use automation and artificial intelligence
    • Free up your and your employees’ to-do lists
    • Reduce the time spent on meetings
    • Inform your clients about the switch
    • Keep track of your key performance indicators (KPIs)

    With businesses already implementing this shortened schedule for their workers, the results are overwhelmingly positive. Companies have reported a 40% increase in productivity.

    New Year, New Schedule!

    As the new year approaches, it’s a great time to analyze your business efforts and find ways to improve next year. While this may seem stressful and challenging to jump into, GMS is here to help you. Whether you want to revamp your benefits offerings to provide more paid time off (PTO) or begin implementing a shorter workweek, our experts are here every step of the way. Our goal is to help you and your employees succeed by simplifying your business. Contact us now.

  • Company culture, a once cliché term, is now at the forefront of every leader’s brain. Pair the up-and-coming millennial generation that continues to shift the nation’s workforce with the hundreds of thousands of employees who have become accustomed to working at home over the last year and a half, and there you have it… The Great Resignation.

    According to the U.S. Department of Labor, during the months of April, May, and June 2021, a total of 11.5 million workers quit their jobs. This voluntary workforce mass exodus has left businesses of all sizes and industries wondering how, if at all, they could combat such an occurrence.

    As a business owner, you’re likely already aware that a solid culture could be your best defense in the fight. But what you may not have realized is that culture isn’t the casual dress code Fridays and suction-cup basketball hoops on the wall that once deemed an organization as a good place to work. Now, culture is developed on the premise of a much different set of values, including work-life balance, inspiring leadership, and professional development – just to name a few. Millennials and Gen Z workers are looking for a workplace that truly values them, and workplace culture is a huge piece of that puzzle.

    Every company will develop a certain type of culture over time, but it’s your job as the business owner to control the values, beliefs, and attitudes you create. Keeping an eye on this can help boost productivity and decrease turnover and negative behaviors. According to Balance Careers, your employees are more likely to enjoy their work and be more productive if you focus efforts on culture and making sure that your employees are happy while getting the job done. It’s not just about your current employees, though. If you’re looking to grow your business, consider how your culture may appear to candidates. 56% of workers ranked a strong workplace culture as being more important than salary, with more than three-in-four workers saying they’d consider a company’s culture before applying for a job there.

    Why Younger Generations Are Seeking New Jobs

    Some may call it “job-hopping,” but for these generations, they’re simply looking for a good fit. No one wants to feel like they’re stuck in a dead-end job. Millennials and Gen Z are generations who have seen unhealthy trends in the workplace with their parents and they’re not having it. Here are a few reasons why these generations are seeking new opportunities:

    • Money: We’re all feeling the effects of inflation in 2022, but this generation is the most familiar with pay inequality. Even before prices skyrocketed, students were racking up thousands in student debt just to have a solid career. These jobs often have not changed their pay structure, leaving people out of college struggling to pay their loans and make ends meet. The math is simple: once prices go up, you won’t be able to afford as much. But the issue here is that pay often stays the same. This is typically the reason why these generations job-hop. It’s proven that they’ll receive at least an 8-10% pay increase by doing so, even in the same industry. The best way to retain workers is by paying them fairly and being willing to increase wages to match inflation and work performance.
    • Lack of opportunities: The pay may be great, but if a Millennial feels stuck in a job with zero opportunities for advancement, they’re going to look elsewhere. These younger generations are striving to make an impact and they’re looking to do the same with their work. Giving your employees room to grow, resources, and career-building opportunities plays a significant role in retaining them long-term.
    • Relocation: Millennials and Gen Z are no longer children. These generations are currently in or graduated from college, getting married, and starting families of their own. The oldest millennials are actually in their late 30s. Relocation is often a factor in these big life changes. In a Cornerstone study, 77% of respondents revealed that they’d considered relocation to another town, state, or overseas as an exciting, positive career move.
    • Company culture: The big piece in all of this is company culture. A great career with good pay is worth nothing to a Millennial if it risks their mental health and well-being. Work-life balance is a priority more than ever for these younger generations. They value time with their loved ones, having an exciting personal life, and maintaining a solid career. It’s ok to want both! If your company culture is negative or doesn’t support employees the way they need it, you risk losing them.

    Five Aspects That Millennials Care About Most

    There are five aspects that can impact your company culture: opportunity, success, appreciation, well-being, and purpose. All five aspects are arguably subjective, but equally important.

    • Opportunity: Opportunity can look different for every role and every employee. Is it the opportunity to learn a new skill or the opportunity to one day have a higher title? If opportunity breeds success, why limit what opportunities are available to your employees?
    • Success: Both personal success and the company’s success should be key drivers for your culture, but at what cost? What does success look like to your leadership team and how will you communicate it along the way? How will you celebrate successes, and, on the contrary, how will you develop and coach employees when they fall short of it?
    • Appreciation: Heavily important to millennials, your employees seek recognition. The age-old saying, “A person who feels appreciated will always do more than expected,” still holds true. Is your management team expressing appreciation and recognizing achievements? Taking it one step further, are you recognizing your employee in a way that resonates with that particular person? Finally, recognize that communication is crucial in expressing your appreciation, don’t assume your employees know that you appreciate them.
    • Well-being: One of the most talked about topics as the country begins to put an emphasis on mental health, what does your culture offer for employees’ well-being? Sure, not every organization can offer mental health days or an office puppy to boost morale. But are your leaders trained to recognize burnout? Do your managers have a zero-tolerance policy for gossip? Are you working to create healthy relationships, or are you giving never-ending to-do lists and nonstop deadlines?
    • Purpose: The infamous “why.” What’s your company’s why? What is your employee’s why? Does your job candidate have a why? (Spoiler alert: if they don’t, they likely will lose motivation) Do those align? Are the values made clear?

    Tips On Retaining Millennial Employees

    Now that you have an idea of what these younger generations are looking for, here are some ideas to implement that will promote a healthy work culture and retain Millennials and Gen Z employees:

    Lose the stigma

    There is a common misconception that younger generations are lazy and unmotivated. This cannot be further from the truth. In fact, these generations want to make a change in processes and systems that no longer work. Seeing this side of them and championing their innovative ideas will not only break this negative stigma with their generation, but it will allow them to feel seen and heard.

    Root for teamwork

    Feeling a part of a team is a must, especially for Gen Z. Even in this ever-growing remote work culture, there are tools and resources that can help improve teamwork. Encourage your employees to jump on brainstorming Zoom calls with their peers or invest in processes that make communication easier.

    Make efforts toward diversity

    These younger generations understand the importance of diversity and are diverse themselves. No one should have to feel the effects of being denied opportunities because of what they look like. It’s one thing to say you are inclusive but making efforts to be inclusive is a completely different ballgame.

    Be flexible

    A key part in a healthy work-life balance is a schedule that works for an employee, not against them. More and more organizations are jumping on board with a flexible work culture. This can often look like half-day Fridays, an employee-made schedule, or working what used to be unconventional hours. Life happens, and employees want to be able to know their workplace understands and promotes flexibility when needed.

    Retain Younger Generations With Ease

    Taking the necessary footsteps above to define your culture could save you from losing your top talent. Still, it can be overwhelming to even get started. From improving skills to making employees feel valued, GMS can help you retain employees – and limit turnover costs. Contact us today to discuss your options.

  • If you’re a business owner, you’ve probably had to hire and fire employees in your time. You know how hard it is to find good people, especially when the job market is where it is today. What happens when you don’t take the time to conduct pre-employment background screenings? You could end up with an employee who can’t do the job or isn’t a good fit, or worse, someone who steals from your company.

    In this guide, we’ll discuss the importance of pre-employment screenings, as well as how to implement them into your hiring process so that you can ensure that every employee is a good fit for your company culture.

    What Is Pre-Employment Screening?

    Pre-employment screening is an assessment of a potential employee’s background. This typically includes information including their personal history and education level but can also include criminal record checks or drug tests. The goal of employee background screening is to make sure that you’re hiring someone who will be a good fit for your organization. They can also help you avoid lawsuits, prevent employee theft, and protect your brand’s reputation.

    Employee screening is an essential part of hiring a new employee, but it can be tricky to navigate. With so many options out there, it can be challenging to know where to start or what kind of testing is right for your business. That’s where GMS hopes to help!

    Why Is Pre-Employment Screening Important?

    There are many reasons why an employer would want to perform pre-employment screening on candidates before hiring them. Employers must ensure that their employees are safe at work, which means they must be confident in their abilities and behaviors. In addition, they need to make sure that their employees are not going to cause trouble for the company or otherwise disrupt operations. It’s essential that employers do not hire anyone who might bring negative attention upon them.

    In addition to checking a candidate’s criminal record, they may check their credit score and history of employment. This can help determine if they have been fired from previous jobs or if they have had any financial problems in the past.

    It’s important to keep in mind when doing pre-employment screening that it should be designed to protect both parties-the company and the applicant.

    To protect yourself, you need to make sure that you clearly understand what information you’re legally allowed to request from candidates, and how much of it they are required by law to disclose. You also want to make sure that all your questions are appropriate for an employment setting—not too personal and not too invasive—and that they conform with any laws or regulations related to confidentiality in your state.

    If you’re concerned that pre-employment screening may violate an applicant’s rights or privacy, that’s where HR professionals can step in.

    Types Of Employee Screening Tests & Methods

    Pre-employment screening includes a variety of methods, including written tests, interviews, background checks, and drug tests. They’re used when you want to find out more about an applicant’s skills and qualifications. They help you determine whether the applicant will be able to perform the job well. Pre-employment screening also gives you additional information about a candidate before making an offer. If there are any red flags in their background check or pre-employment screening report (such as criminal records), then this must be addressed before moving forward with an offer. If there are zero red flags, these tests can simply be used to tell whether a candidate will fit in with your company culture and get along well with your team.

    The following are different types of screening methods and where you can use them in the hiring process:

    Before the interview:

    Application and resume screening

    Many employers know this as the first step in the hiring process, but it’s important not to stop here. Application and resume screening allow you to weed out the right candidates through work experience and education requirements. You can also add job-related questions on applications to see how your applicant feels about the role.

    Aptitude tests

    Aptitude tests are a great way to assess whether applicants have what it takes to succeed in their roles. They can be used as a stand-alone tool or as part of a larger screening process. These tests measure a person’s ability to perform specific tasks, such as solving problems or working with numbers.

    The aptitude test typically consists of two types of questions: those related directly to the job duties and those that are more theoretical in nature. For example, if you’re applying for an administrative assistant position at a law firm, one type of question might be, “What is the difference between ‘trial’ and ‘appellate?’” Another type might be, “How many people work in our billing department?”

    Personality tests

    Personality tests are a popular pre-employment screening tool. They help employers make sure that the person they hire will be a good fit for their culture by assessing their traits and personality type. Commonly used personality tests include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test, DISC assessment, and the Enneagram.

    During the interview:

    Phone or video interview

    Once your candidates make it through the initial stages, it’s now time for the official interview. Depending on your process, you may wish to conduct several interview rounds. Some, if not all, of these can be conducted over the phone or via video. This is especially useful if your candidate lives in another state or is being considered for a remote position.

    In-person interview

    While in-person interviews aren’t always necessary, they can be useful if your candidate will be working in a set location or office. In-person interviews give you an opportunity to observe a candidate’s communication skills, personality traits, and behavior in social situations. In addition to these observations, you can also ask questions about previous employment experiences and future career aspirations during an interview. This can also be a great opportunity to give a tour of the office location.

    Interview methods

    In today’s economy, it’s more important than ever for companies to make sure that their employees are happy in their roles. That means that you need to be able to interview effectively and make sure your potential hires will be a good fit.

    If you’re looking for help with the interviewing process, here are some tips on how to ensure you’re attracting the right people:

    1. Start by asking questions that are relevant to the position they’re applying for

    2. Ask open-ended questions (“What do you think about this?” or, “How would you handle this situation?”, rather than yes and no questions)

    3. Make sure there’s time in your interview schedule for both parties to ask each other questions—this gives everyone a chance to gain a better understanding of each other and how well they’d work together.

    4. Find out about their experience. What did they do at their last job? What did they like about it? What could they have done better?

    5. Make sure your applicants know what kind of company culture you have (if there are any specific perks or benefits), so they can decide whether it suits them before accepting an offer from you.

    After the interview

    Verifications

    As much as we’d like to take someone’s word for their background and experience, it can be beneficial to verify just in case. A few different types of verifications you can perform are:

    • Reference checks
    • Employment verification
    • Education/degree verification
    • Licensing and professional certification verification
    • Military services records

    Background checks

    If you’re hiring someone, it’s important to know if they have any criminal history. This will help you decide whether they are suitable for the role. A criminal background check can also reveal if they have a history of drug use and alcohol abuse, as well as other personal issues that could affect their performance at work.

    Legal Considerations During Pre-Employment Screening

    The legal considerations of pre-employment screening are important to consider when conducting the process. There are various industries that require extensive screening and background checks, such as careers in healthcare, government positions, education fields, and working with children.

    The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the federal agency that oversees compliance with federal discrimination laws, but many states also have their own laws that must be followed. As employers, you may be responsible for any damages awarded due to a lawsuit brought against your company by an employee who feels they have been treated unfairly in the hiring process.

    It’s also important that employers know what they can legally ask during pre-employment screening. For example, if an applicant has been arrested but has never been charged with or convicted of any crime, employers should not ask about their arrest record on an application form—but they do have the right to ask about convictions (and even arrests) during in-person interviews.

    Pre-Employment Screening Tools

    There are various tools and programs that can make the screening process much easier, including assessment programs and tests. You can also use free methods for pre-employment screening. This can include double-checking the candidate’s professional LinkedIn account for experience and awards and asking for a portfolio of their work.

    Assistance With Pre-Employment Screening

    The results of your employee screening process should give you a good idea of whether this is the right candidate for the job. If they check all the boxes, then you can feel confident that they will contribute positively to your company. If not, you’ll know that you need to look elsewhere for someone who is more qualified for the position.

    Does all of this sound overwhelming? What if you don’t know where to start in the employee background screening process? GMS can help. Our human resources experts work closely with you to offer guidance on hiring and training, along with supporting the administrative burdens associated with all aspects of the employee life cycle. You retain complete control over hiring decisions, we just simplify the process. Contact us for more information!

  • Unfortunately, discrimination in the workforce is still relevant and makes the workplace uncomfortable, unsafe, and unsustainable for those affected. Discrimination in the workplace happens when an individual or a group of people is treated unfairly or unequally because of these specific characteristics:

    • Race
    • Ethnicity
    • Gender identity
    • Age
    • Disability
    • Sexual orientation
    • Religious beliefs
    • National origin

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for protecting you from these specific characteristics. The laws enforced by EEOC protect individuals from employment discrimination when it involves the following:

    • Unfair treatment
    • Harassment
    • Denial of a reasonable workplace change
    • Improper questions about or disclosure of your genetic or medical information
    • Retaliation

    While the EEOC is responsible for protecting individuals from these factors, individual states enforce laws that help combat discrimination in the workplace.

    Additional Steps Georgia Is Taking

    An ordinance passed by the Atlanta City Council amends its existing anti-discrimination law to include protections based on criminal history status and gender identity, which is effective immediately. Gender expression is the way individuals manifest masculinity or femininity through their clothes, hair, makeup, overall appearance, speech, or other behavior or form of personal presentation. The law amends existing law to include gender expression as an additional protected characteristic.

    In addition, the law makes it unlawful to discriminate based on the criminal history of applicants and employees. However, the ordinance allows employment decisions based on criminal records as long as the employer considers specified factors in certain decisions. The ordinance provides an exclusion that states, “Adverse employment decisions based on criminal history status shall not be considered a violation of the law if the criminal history is related to the position’s responsibilities.” This is determined by the following factors:

    • Whether the individual committed the offense
    • The nature and gravity of the offense
    • The amount of time since the offense
    • The nature of the job

    Additional Factors Of The Ordinance

    As stated in the Atlanta ordinance, employers can continue to follow state or federal laws barring employment in certain positions based on criminal convictions or violations. In addition, the ordinance adds gender expression and criminal history status to pre-existing prohibitions on “printing or publication of notices or advertisements indicating prohibited preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination in employment.”

    Stay Compliant With GMS’

    When you partner with GMS, our team of experts ensures you remain compliant. We’ve got you covered regarding anti-discrimination laws in the workplace. You must consider reviewing background check policies and procedures to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local laws. However, we understand how challenging that can be. At GMS, we take on the administrative burdens associated with hiring and recruiting. Contact us today to learn more.

  • In the current economic climate, businesses face major challenges in retaining and attracting top talent. The talent war has made recruiting practices uncertain for all companies, regardless of size or industry. Employees have a wider range of career options than they’ve ever had. With remote and hybrid work options becoming more popular, employees are no longer constrained by where, when, or how they work. You might be wondering, what led to the talent war? Continue reading to learn more.

    Talent War

    The demand for greater workplace flexibility has continued to rise. There are 10 million jobs in the United States; however, only half the talent is qualified for the positions. In conjunction with rising wages, there has been a major talent shortage. The balance of power seems to have shifted away from the employer and toward the employee. Are you ready to combat the talent war?

    Promote Employee Value Proposition

    Businesses should consider implementing an employee value proposition to win over the employees during the complex job market. An employee value proposition is a statement that shows what an employer or organization is willing to do to support its employees. Your employer brand is what attracts and retains employees for the long term.

    Clarify Recruiting Messages

    As a result of the pandemic, employees realized they needed a job that would not only fulfill them but also accommodate their needs. Employees have begun:

    • Shifting their own priorities
    • Pursuing more desirable salaries, benefits, and flexibility
    • Changing professional or educational paths

    Throughout the hiring process, recruiting is no longer about the job itself. Employees are looking to find a position that fits their specific needs.

    Align Your Marketing

    As a business, sharing a consistent message across all channels and platforms is important. This can begin on the careers page of your company website and reach across all social media sites.

    Social media allows your candidates to dive into your company culture, events, and more, to ensure they are the right fit. The following are major topics to consider when posting:

    • Culture and values
    • Employee spotlights
    • Client interactions or successes
    • Volunteerism and other community or philanthropic initiatives

    Break Geographical Barriers

    Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were often geographical barriers within the hiring processes. Since hybrid and remote work schedules became increasingly popular, there has been a break in that barrier. The recruiting process is not limited to one local area. This simplifies the process by finding quality candidates nationally or even internationally without expecting candidates to relocate.

    Make Everyone A Recruiter

    Recruiters are still responsible for finding top talent; however, it is no longer the expectation that recruiters are the only ones to engage in the hiring process to find qualified candidates. Push everyone at your company to share their experiences. Anyone can leverage their individual connections to refer to a potential candidate.

    Organizations often fear using platforms such as Glassdoor or Google My Business due to poor reviews with the opportunity to tarnish a company’s brand. Although these websites can cause uncertainty, they can create a major benefit. As an employer, it’s important to consider recruiting efforts that focus on the following:

    • Employee experience
    • Company culture
    • Organizational values

    Focusing on these three key features will allow employers to feel at ease on review platforms. If the time comes that there is a negative review, be sure to work on addressing candidate or employee concerns. This allows job candidates to see your company’s professionalism while handling adversity.

    Uncertainty And Retention

    Throughout times of uncertainty, recruiting efforts shouldn’t stop. No matter what’s going on, you should still promote your employer brand to potential candidates. Focusing on your employer brand is more critical than ever. Employer branding is how your company is portrayed to potential job seekers. This can be shown through the values your business brings to the table.

    Recruiting is a continuous process. After seeing success, employers must consider employee retention. Unfortunately, not all employees stay for the long haul. To continue in your retention efforts, you must vocalize the following:

    • Why they’re here
    • Why their work matters
    • Potential opportunities
    • What they love about the company

    Don’t fall behind in the talent war, focus your efforts on your employee value proposition. Focus on building an employer brand based on experience, culture, and values. Ensure that your social platforms and website share a glimpse into your company culture. Push your employees to become brand advocates. It’s essential to never give up on these recruiting efforts, even when you’re not hiring.

    Your Hiring Hero

    What makes your business stand out from others? Partnering with GMS allows you to boost your typical hiring practices and build plans to increase employee retention. If that’s not enough, we will assist you with the recruiting process, from hire to retirement. With GMS, you can say goodbye to the tedious hiring process and focus on your business. Contact us today to learn more.

  • On October 12th, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published the final rule, “Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in the United States,” effective on November 14th, 2022. This final rule amends the Department’s regulations governing the H-2A program to improve worker protection and enhance enforcement against fraud. In addition, it modernizes the H-2A application and temporary labor certification process. The final rule ultimately does the following:

    • Strengthens protections for U.S. workers and H-2A workers
    • Enhances program integrity and enforcement capabilities of the Office of Foreign Labor Certification and the Wage and Hour Division
    • Modernizes the prevailing wage determination process
    • Provides clarity to employers and other stakeholders

    Understanding The H-2A Agricultural Program

    Through the H-2A temporary agricultural program, agricultural employers can hire nonimmigrant foreign workers to perform temporary or seasonal agricultural labor or services in the U.S. Employment is determined to be seasonal nature when the job is tied to a specific time of year by an event or pattern such as a short annual growing cycle. Temporary employment is when the employer needs to fill a position with a temporary worker who won’t last longer than one year.

    In addition, the DOL must determine that:

    • There are not sufficient able, willing, and qualified U.S. workers available to perform the temporary and seasonal agricultural employment for which nonimmigrant workers are being requested,
    • Employment of H-2A workers will not adversely affect similarly employed U.S. workers’ wages and working conditions. The statute and Departmental regulations provide worker protections and employer requirements concerning wages and working conditions.

    Deep Dive Into The Provisions

    In the final rule issued by the Biden administration, all provisions intended to improve the program’s flexibility and effectiveness were removed except for the electronic filing requirement. The final rule shows that the DOL focuses on worker treatment, protecting the U.S. workforce, and increasing enforcement, but several measures that would have benefited employers are missing.

    The following are key provisions of the final rule:

    • Mandatory e-filing
    • Joint employment
    • Housing standards and inspections
    • Expanded prevailing wage surveys

    What This Means For Small Business Owners

    When you partner with GMS, we ensure you stay ahead of any legislative changes that may impact your business operations. We understand how challenging it can be to wear multiple hats at once. The last thing you need is to receive a hefty fine for something that could have been avoided. Allow GMS to take on the administrative functions of your business that you don’t have the time or expertise to handle. Contact us today.

  • The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released the new ‘Know Your Rights’ poster on October 19th, 2022. The poster summarizes federal laws prohibiting job discrimination based on the following:

    • Race
    • Color
    • Sec
    • National origin
    • Religion
    • Age (40 and older)
    • Equal pay
    • Disability
    • Genetic information

    In addition, the poster explains how employees and job applicants can file a complaint if they believe they have experienced prohibited discrimination or retaliation. As the poster may share similarities to the previous poster released by the EEOC, the new version includes the following changes:

    • It uses straightforward language and formatting
    • It notes that harassment is a prohibited form of discrimination
    • It clarifies that sex discrimination includes discrimination based on pregnancy and related conditions, sexual orientation, or gender identity
    • It adds a QR code for digital access to the “how to file a charge” webpage
    • It provides information about equal pay discrimination for federal contractors

    Ultimately, the new version makes it easier for employers to understand their legal responsibilities and for employees to understand their rights and how to get in touch with the EEOC.

    All covered employers are required by federal law to prominently display the poster at their work sites immediately. It must be placed where the employer and employee can see it. In addition, employers are encouraged to post a notice digitally on their websites. Covered employers are subject to fines for noncompliance.

    Ensure You Comply With Rules And Regulations

    Complying with ever-changing rules and regulations is vital for the growth of your business. The last thing you need is an expensive fine for not complying with the laws and regulations you must follow as a business owner. When you partner with GMS, we take on that burden, so you don’t have to. Our experts work diligently with you to ensure you and your employees are safe and aware of all rules. Contact us today to learn more.