☺ Give Positive recognition immediately

☺ Meet individually with your employees to discuss their career goals and identify the skills they need to achieve these goals

☺ Evaluate yourself; ask “What do people have to do to get positive feedback from me?”

☺ Give immediate feedback on poor performance.  Silence is acceptance.

☺ Maintain a development file on every employee.  Track progress through out the year

☺ Focus feedback on behavior.  Be more descriptive and less evaluative in your feedback.

☺ Recognize development efforts, not just results.

☺ Help your employees build their skills by having each employee work on improving one development need at a time.  Be specific about the steps he or she can take to meet his or her goals.

☺ Identify your replacement and develop them to do your job.  If you don’t have a replacement, hire one.

☺ Rotate people through key positions to develop their skill set

Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz

What my students taught me this year:

• HR is still misunderstood in many organizations.

Many of my students  had a different answer to the question of what HR does. There were many surprised and overwhelmed faces as I talked about all the different domains and roles of HR in the workplace.  HR is more than just hiring and firing. We are million things in between.

• Students choose to study HR for many different reasons.

I believe HR is the best profession in the world. However, with all the misconceptions of HR students have, the choice to study it is sometimes fueled by them. Sometimes students choose HR because there is no math and other times, they have been told that it is easiest way to get a degree. Then they are those students who know it is an integral part of business because they have seen the effects of bad HR and they want to do it better. Regardless of the reason for the choice, these students are our future of HR. Watching them come to an understanding of what HR really is about was a most enjoyable experience.

• Not everyone comes with the same experiences and views.

People’s experiences have a profound impact on their views and opinions. It is often easy to see it in personal relationships. It is also true in the classroom and the workplace. It is important to remember the same of ourselves.

• HR is still the best profession in business. I have always believed that HR is the best profession. That opinion was formed early in my career as a manager after a critical moment in the trenches. At the moment I realized management and leadership was not about me, it was about them. I already understood that it was about the customers, but in the  moment I became clear that it was about the customers and my team, I really started to see impactful change. By improving my focus on developing top talent, I achieved the greatest financial results. HR is impactful, both good and bad.

Let’s keep doing good HR and moving he profession forward. And if you want to keep learning, teach.

Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz

When your business grows to the point where you need to start hiring people to work for you, you know you’re doing well. It means you’re growing, and it’s a big step forward in terms of just how successful your business can be. It also means you need to spend some time figuring out exactly what those employees are going to do, and how they’re going to do it. Do you need part-time employees? Full-time? Do you need occasional help? How you answer those questions will help determine how those employees are classified.
Employee or contractor?
Everyone who works for you is going to fall into one of two classifications: employee or contractor.  The first thing you need to determine when hiring a worker is whether the individual is an employee or contractor.
The IRS looks at three specific areas to determine whether a person is your employee or whether they’re a contractor:

• Behavioral issues. This has to do with who makes the decisions about how, where, and when a worker performs a task. If you specify exactly what is to be done, when, and where, and you even go so far as to specify which tools that the worker has to use to do so, you’re more in employee territory than you are in contractor territory.

• Financial issues. How finances are taken care of during the course of business matters, as well. For example, a significant financial investment required by the worker puts them more in the contractor category. Whether payment for services is guaranteed, or whether pay is on an hourly or flat basis matters, too. Even the question of whether the worker has the opportunity for financial profit or loss during the endeavor factors in here. The more financial responsibility that rests on the worker, the more likely they should be classified as a contractor.

• Relationship. Your intent, as well as the worker’s intent, matters too. Things like written contracts, whether you’re paying for benefits like vacation time or a retirement plan, your terms for discharging or terminating the worker, and whether the work that the worker does is integral to your business all determine the relationship. Someone who does a job that can’t be done by others that’s business-critical is probably an employee, as is someone to whom you pay for sick days.

As you can see, it’s not always cut and dried. While there are some obvious types of workers that are employees, for some it’s more nebulous.

Which is better?
From a financial perspective, it’s usually better for a business to classify workers as independent contractors whenever possible. That’s because there are many rules and regulations that apply to employees that don’t apply to independent contractors. For example, with employees you have to:

• Withhold payroll and federal income taxes.
• Pay your share of the employee’s FICA taxes.
• Pay the employee’s FUTA tax.
• Provide benefits as required by law, such as overtime pay or even health insurance.
• Meet any state requirements for employees, such as withholding state taxes.

These are things that you don’t have to hassle with for independent contractors.

The penalty for misclassification
If you classify one of your employees as a contractor without a verifiable and reasonable basic, you can be looking at a number of penalties. You can be liable for the worker’s employment taxes, as well as uncollected Social Security and Medicate Tax. This can create a bit of a tax nightmare, leaving you with a significant tax burden that can be very difficult to pay. On top of that, you’ll likely be looking at penalties and fees.

What to do when it’s not entirely clear
If you have some doubt about how to classify a particular worker, you should most certainly talk to your tax advisor. They can help you make sure you get it right.
Beyond that, you can also work together with the worker to determine their classification. If the worker is amenable, you can develop a contract that explicitly addresses some of those three categories of evidence. That will certainly help you build your case, should the worker’s classification ever be challenged.
Finally, you can fill out the SS-8 form. This form is sent to the IRS, who will then review your worker’s circumstances and determine whether or not they can be classified as a contractor or must be classified as an employee. It does take about six months to get a determination.
Getting your employees correctly classified can have an impact on your bottom line, as well as your tax burden. Do it right the first time.

Author bio

Dominique Molina is President of the CertifiedTaxCoach.org, a professional organization that helps tax professionals deliver thousands in tax savings to their clients. Dominique has compiled many resources for members, including powerful accounting templates, a tax-specific engagement letter template, and the most comprehensive tax training in the industry.

Recently, I got asked another question and the answer required a little more thought on my part. One of my HR students asked, “How do you know so much about this stuff?” After thinking about that for a couple of days, I discovered that the answer is that I am a true student of HR and all things related to people in the workplace. I read a lot of books, I read a lot of articles, I spend a great deal of time on websites, I attend professional development seminars and conferences, I teach HR, and I am actively involved in my local ASTD chapter. I am constantly seeking the most up to date information and I love research on the topic. I am a true HR Nerd.

So from one HR nerd to another, I would like to share a few things you should join me in attending.

• Your Questions, Your Webinar: Background Screening Q&A – The agenda of this webinar is set by your questions. For the price of a question, you can pick the brains of some of the best in the employment screening business including Nick Fishman and Angela Bosworth from EmployeeScreenIQ, Darby James, Director, HR Program Administration and Global Badging at United Airlines and Ron Bower, President of Bower Consulting Group. Follow the link and be sure to register. This one is Coming Soon!

• HRevolution Conference- This un-conference features the best in our business.  Previous attendees of these events can’t speak enough about their experiences. The next one is in Chicago in October. Check it out soon; they usually sell out.

• ASTD Greater Cleveland Chapter- Join Trish Uhle, PMP, CPLP in June as she discusses State of the Industry: Trends and Best Practices in Workplace Learning & Performance. She will also be facilitating the ASTD Certificate Program on Project Management for Trainers in Cleveland. You can learn more and register here.

Hope to see you there! Now share some things with me in the comments!

Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz

However, It also seems that it is difficult for many people to go one minute disconnected from their network of friends and colleagues. I witness this in every place from the board room to the church pew. And in this world where we can be reached anywhere via phone, or text, or email we can actually work longer hours and spend more time attending to the needs of our business. But in doing so, are we actually doing what is best for the business?

Having the ability to talk to anyone at almost any time from anywhere gives us little time to think and reflect. In addition to taking this time away from us, technology has hampered natural succession planning in organizations.  Before some of these constant communication devices were available, leaders took time to choose someone else to “be in charge” while they were out of the office. Their made their choices wisely and based on skill. They took time to develop them to make good decisions and handle a number of issues so that the business would run well in their absence.

Upon their return, they were able to quickly identify the employee’s strengths and further opportunities for development because the employee was given an opportunity to do the job without restraints. They were forced to make the decisions and handle whatever came up. There is no better learning for adults than that experience. However, today we spend thousands of dollars on trying to create perfect simulations so that employees can learn how to handle real scenarios. We also complain that we have a talent shortage. I would guess there are many worries in organizations today about what they will do if x employee leaves.

My advice, let x employee take a vacation without his blackberry and see what happens. Remember the best way to learn is experience.

Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz

You get a resignation notice from a top performing manager. You weren’t prepared. You have been talking about succession planning, but other priorities got in the way. Now you have the notice. So what do you? This is an important role and will be key to the future success of the company. Knowing the spot can’t go vacant, you take a look at the team and offer the position to the top performer.  The top performer tells you he’s not ready. You know that he will be fine. You tell him that, hand him a set of keys and get busy on those other priorities.

A couple weeks later, the newly minted manager calls you. He has an issue. Actually, he has a couple issues. As you listen, you can’t help thinking to yourself, “why would he do that?” Instead of asking him, you tell him how to handle the situation. You even complete all the necessary paperwork for him and have it ready. You tell him that you will sit in on the conversation he needs to have with his employees  if he wants. He says he’s not ready to do this on his own, so you take over and have the conversations. You already did the paperwork, so you might as well.

A few months later, you get another notice. This time it was from the top performer  you just promoted. You think to yourself, “I need to get to that succession plan.”

There are so many lessons one can take from this scenario. Here are just a few.

• You can’t predict every turnover situation. You will get surprised. Life happens and people leave for a number of reasons. Be prepared.
• The best individual contributors aren’t always the best solution to an opening. They don’t always make the best managers. Build the model. Whether it’s a competency model or other model, you have to know what skills, knowledge and attitudes are necessary to succeed in key roles. Develop those skills in your high potential employees. (Oh and make sure you have a way to identify high potentials)
• Make sure the employee wants the job. If they think they aren’t ready, they might not be ready. If you think they are ready, help them find their confidence.
• Have a plan for those who are newly in positions. Have a mentor or a coach available to them. And don’t do for them what they need to do for themselves. Guide them. Coach them.

A few months later as I was looking in the mirror, I realized that my skin seemed better that day. In fact, it was almost clear. And even as I stood there with the evidence right in front of me, I wasn’t connecting the dots. I wasn’t making a connection. As I reached for my make-up, it hit me. I never stopped using the make-up I had used for the past twelve years. I had changed everything else I put on my face, but I was still using the same make-up. What if it was the make-up that was causing my condition? I hadn’t even considered it since the product I was using was specifically designed for my condition. But here it was, the evidence right in front of me.  I realized that in the previous two days, I hadn’t worn any make-up. And now my face was clear (well, almost clear).

I thought that I had followed all the directions from the doctor even if it was reluctantly; however, I hadn’t. I missed that one crucial step. My reaction to him was that he didn’t know what he was talking about. When all that time, it was me. I didn’t follow all the directions.

How often does this happen in your workplace? How often do we seek advice from the experts, then discount it and blame them for their crappy advice?

Next time you seek advice, follow it. All of it. Be open and let go of your deeply held beliefs of how it is supposed to be.

And remember when giving advice, people don’t argue with their own evidence. Help them discover it on their own and you will help them change.

Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz.

In my experience, the  more systems we try to create, the more controls we tend to impose on the people in the organization. And despite the research that indicates these systems don’t produce improved  engagement and long term productivity, we still tend to focus on systems that inflict control and encourage managers to monitor employees closely imposing strict rules and compliance.

A few years ago, I attended a SHRM conference where the keynote lunch speakers were Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, the creators of R.O.W.E. (Results Only Work Environment). As the speakers explained R.O.W.E. and the supported research and positive impact it had when launched at their organization, my table mates were shaking their heads and commenting on how it would never work in their organization.

In his book, Drive, Daniel Pink discusses further research and examples of organizations whose systems are getting more consistent results. These organizations are doing things differently than the traditional HR systems. Examples include Netflix no vacation policy and the customer service policy at Zappos which includes no scripts and no call time limits. These organizations have been able to achieve leading customer service and employee loyalty. They have become models for achieving the results that many HR folks are striving for when creating their systems. However, what do you think those HR folks say when they go to Vegas to tour Zappos? Oh, this would never work in our organization.

In our organization we manage to the 15% of people who need those rules, those scripts, and all that monitoring. And we can’t figure out why the other 85% keeps leaving.

Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz

How often we suppose that the lack of performance is related to training. It is this very assumption that continues to breed frustration in many organizations and certainly fails to result in improved performance despite the fact that is exactly what most parties involved want.  Instead what happens looks something like this:

Manager- “My employees just don’t get it. They need to be trained on how to…..”

HR Pro- “I can set up the training, but if manager doesn’t support it back on the job, it will be a waste of time.”

Employee- “Training on this again. Don’t they know I already know this. I could teach this stuff.”

Trainer/Facilitator-“I don’t know why I am up here wasting my time. This people clearly don’t want to be here.”

So how do you prevent this in your organization? According to the quoted author above, a proper analysis is required to ensure the performance intervention will be successful.  That is a simple enough step. So where is the breakdown in the above scenario?

Simple, responsibility. Who’s responsibility is it to conduct the analysis? The manager blames the trainer, the trainer blames the trainees and/the manager, HR blames the manager, and the employee blames everyone!  Blame gets you in this scenario.

If this is common in your organization, you can change it. Take responsibility to start the analysis and involve the others in the process.

Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz.

Lesson Eleven

Your Lessons Can’t Be Forced On Others. My teenager reminds me of this daily. She has always been strong willed and independent. (I am not sure where she gets it really). She is determined to learn everything on her own and she is determined to do things her way. And from her, I was reminded that I need to let her. I have to trust that I gave her enough tools while she was growing up to make better choices and to learn from the few bad ones she makes a along the way.

When you consider how adults learn, we all know that it is not by listening to others anyway. However, I so often get the same response from managers when I ask how this employee or that employee should have known to make a better choice,  ”They should have known because I told them right when they started not to do it that way.” However, did we tell them why it was important? Or did we share the result of doing it that way? Did we give them the tools to make the right decision? Or did we just tell them to do it that way because we said so?

We need to provide the tools to trust employees to make the right choice. And when they make the wrong one, we need to coach them through the process.

Lesson Twelve

HR is Still the Best Job on the Planet. Despite all the bad press we get, HR can have the biggest impact on the organization. When it is good, you can see all the positive impact and when it’s not so good, you can see that too. Figuring out how to do it well is part of the challenge and with all the change that comes within organizations, the challenge is constant. And despite the challenge, HR can be the most rewarding job in the company when you find what works for your organization and see real impact to the bottom line. Many organizations still don’t expect HR to impact the bottom line in a positive way and often when it happens, credit is given to operations or other leaders.  That remains part of the challenge and I say it’s ok if someone else gets credit. If we are doing this for right reasons, that doesn’t matter anyway.

Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz.