FOR THE PEOPLE

October 2009 A snapshot into the current issues affecting your people

Workplace Violence: Could It Happen Here?

The arrest of a Yale University worker for killing a fellow employee was all over the news last month. While we dont know all the facts, we do know that the incident is the latest in a continuing cycle of violence in the workplace. Workplace violence can occur in any setting. Consider the serial rapist who was hired at a fast food restaurant and raped his manager. Or the fired post office worker who shot his former boss. Or the husband who killed his wife in the parking lot at her office. These are all examples of workplace violence. Look for warning signs Warning signs are all around. How many times have we disregarded an employee who is having a messy divorce or one who shared that her husband has a drug or alcohol problem? Employees who seem severely depressed or angry should not be ignored. Also pay close attention to those who don't take criticism well or employees who seem obsessed with their jobs and have no outside interests. Prepare to act if an employee informs you that a colleague is intimidating or has shown signs of violent behavior. If your business handles lots of cash or is open late at night you are at increased risk of workplace violence as well. Please see Violence, page 2

The H1N1 Swine Flu and You

Part II

Inside This Issue

Workplace Violence: Could It Happen Here? The H1N1 Swine Flu and You My Employee is a Thief, Do I Care? 5 Easy Ways to Prevent Employee Theft One For the Road: Pet Insurance and Other Benefits Yup, They Said It Perfect People Solutions

Last month we discussed how to handle employees infected with the H1N1 or Swine Flu. In this article we will wrap-up this series by discussing how to reduce swine flu in the workplace, when a business should consider closing a facility and how to deal with employees who have infected family members. Reducing the Spread of Swine Flu in the Workplace Restrict business travel to any severely impacted area. If the Center for Disease Control (CDC) issues a warning as it did earlier this year for Mexico, stop business travel to that area. Consider recommending that employees defer vacations to impacted areas. Some employers tell employees returning from trips to CDC-identified hot spots that they must wait a week before returning to work. This is pretty risky legally but is a possible strategy to reduce the chance of a swine flu outbreak at your company. Like other strains of influenza, swine flu spreads mainly through person to person contact or by touching surfaces with the virus on it, then touching ones nose or mouth. Make sure that you emphasize the importance of washing your hands at all times. Provide hand sanitizer and wipes throughout your place of business. Have frequent cleaning of common areas such as bathrooms and break rooms. Shut off all water fountains and advise against the sharing of foods from employees homes . When Should You Close Your Doors? Only under the most severe conditions should a business consider suspending its Please see Swine Flu, page 2

Violence...
Continued from page one Preventing Workplace Violence This is one time where prevention may absolutely prevent something. Does your company conduct criminal checks and drug tests? If not, you are missing a real opportunity to protect your company. When you consider the fact that drug users are 100 times more likely to commit a felony, doing the test speaks for itself. Yes, these criminal checks and drug tests have a cost, but having a potentially dangerous individual on the payroll could cost you much more. Make sure you have a good relationship with your local police department. Invite a community relations officer out to your business to meet with you to discuss neighborhood crime stats or possibly even steps you could take to better secure your facility. If you have a hospitality business such as a restaurant, store, or hotel, consider offering a discount of some sort to law enforcement to incent them to visit your store frequently . We strongly recommend putting in an Employee Assistance Program or EAP. EAPs give employees and their families a place to seek free counseling. The counseling can be emotional, financial or legal, and is kept confidential. This outlet can sometimes relieve pressures at home. We suggest making information about EAP available to all your employees, as employees may feel uncomfortable having to come out and ask for it. Lastly, teach your managers and challenge yourself to really listen to your employees. This simple act is sometimes the best way of raising awareness and puts you in the best position to protect both your people and your company.

Swine Flu...
Continued from page one operations. Those conditions would involve a situation where working employees known to be infected with the virus could seriously risk the health of customers. A much more likely scenario is that a business would be working with a reduced or skeleton crew that is not infected but still providing services to customers. Identify vendors who could provide temporary workers or determine how non-essential work could be delayed because of reduced staffing levels. Consider cross training employees to prepare for potential absences, especially if you have workers whose tasks are critical to the continued operation of the enterprise. When Family Members of Employees Get H1N1 Employees with school-aged children may need to stay home to care for their children. The school situation could become more critical if a school actually closes as a result of the illness thereby making the employee responsible for care of a child during the work week even though their child may not be ill. Employers should review leave policies for the flexibility to allow employees to stay home if they need to care for their children or other household members. If flu conditions are more severe, the guidance for school-aged children is that they should stay home for five days from the time someone in their home became sick. This guidance, however, does not apply to adults. An employee with an ill household member may go to work, but it is especially important that these employees monitor themselves for illness. Businesses need to develop action plans for widespread illness such as H1N1, as well as contingencies for business disruptions caused by natural disasters and weather conditions.

One for the Road: Pet Insurance and Other Benefits

Even as a number of employers are getting rid of benefits offerings, some companies are considering new benefits to attract and retain talent. Most of these offerings are either completely employee paid or lightly subsidized by the employers, but seem to be an enticement to employees. What are some of these new benefits? Pet Health Insurance: As anyone who has had a sick dog can tell you, pets can be very expensive. Pet insurance is a fast growing trend. There are two groups of employees to whom this benefit is really attractive: Baby Boomers and Generation Y, both of whom have pets rather than kids at home. Other Benefits Other benefits that are being offered are Identification Protection, College Savings Plans and Long-Term Care for the Elderly. From an employer perspective, offering these benefits is pretty easy as it only requires being aware of the vendors who can offer and administrate the programs. The biggest commitment for employers is usually conducting the payroll deductions and sending the money to the vendors.

My Employee Is A Thief, Do I Care?

Part II In our September 2009 newsletter, we covered the need for businesses to establish clear policies around what employee theft is to them, as well as the need to apply the policies universally. Now, we will examine how you should go about investigating a theft and what standard of proof you need to make a termination decision. Investigating a Theft If you have a reason to believe that a theft has been committed, it is best to have someone investigate the case who is not the ultimate decision-maker. The investigator should collect as many facts as possible before ever confronting the employee. If you speak with other employees as part of the investigation, it is critical to swear them to secrecy. Let them know that sharing any part of the investigation with any else is subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination. Always have a witness present when speaking to an employee about a theft investigation. If you get enough facts to make an accusation, confront the employee. Ask them directly if they have ever stolen anything from the company and gauge their reaction. It is very important not to share many of the facts with the employee; ask open-ended questions instead. When to Fire an Employee for Theft So, you have conducted the investigation. The employee denies everything. If you don't have an eyewitness can you still fire them? You can always fire an employee, but the better question is "Should you fire that employee." The standard that we recommend is "Would I fire my best employee with the evidence I have?" Notice we did not say beyond a reasonable doubt or any other legal standard. Why? This case isnt a criminal situation, unless you plan to press charges for the theft later. What we call the "Best Employee Standard" allows you to go to bed with a clear conscience. If you would fire your best employee on these facts, then you should fire this person too. If your best employee would survive, but you still fire this person, you are in danger of firing someone simply because they havent been performing or you dont like them. It could create a legal problem down the road. Once again, this isnt a court of law. Employees are not entitled to face their accuser or have counsel present. No external people should be allowed to participate in the investigation unless you have a union shop. This includes friends or families. Terminations are an act of last result. They can produce future litigation or a claim being filed against your company even if you are right. The only way to prevent any action by the terminated employee is to have him sign a severance agreement with enough consideration (money) to have a court uphold the deal. Lastly, if it doesnt feel good just dont do it.

5 Easy Ways to Prevent Employee Theft 1. Pay your employees a fair wage. Employees who feel they are getting fair compensation are less likely to steal. Ensure that the job they perform is appropriate for the pay they receive. 2. Install security cameras. It is impossible for you to monitor all employees at all times. Security cameras can be reviewed quickly and at any point in time. The camera does not have to be operational as long as your employees believe it to be. 3. Install a time clock. One major form of employee theft is stealing time. Set up a system in which the employee cannot manipulate their attendance record. 4. Require proof of purchase. Be sure all employees can provide proof of purchase for any new item in their possession. 5. Reconcile sales transactions. Make sure that employees sales transactions balance with your records of the transactions.

101 E. Park Blvd., Suite 600 Plano, TX 75074 (972) 516-3717 www.perfectpeoplesolutions.com

Perfect People Solutions (PPS) is a cutting-edge consulting company that is focused on providing new and creative people solutions to all kinds of businesses. At PPS we are attentive to each individual client, their business, their culture and creating an answer that is unique to them. For instance, handbooks we make for your company will never look or feel like those for another company. We have a stable of consultants with years of business and human resources experience. They cover everything from recruiting to immigration; training to terminations; coaching to counseling; government regulations to organizational design and development. We can be your HR team or we can provide support to the team you have in place. The individual services we offer are rivaled only by the many different ways we can be available to support your business: Hourly Do you have a question concerning a people issue but dont want to pay the high fees a lawyer or large consulting firm charges? We offer our expertise on an hourly basis, substantially below what an attorney or large HR firm would charge. This service is primarily used to address a small issue or to deal with questions that require a detailed answer. Projects We are engaged by a company to solve a particular problem or to deliver a finished product over a period of time or by a specific deadline. Packages PPS offers unique packages to its clients. Our Perfect People Protection Packages are broken down into three types: Primary, Preferred and Premium. These packages include a set number of monthly consulting hours and other benefits to encourage our customers to take advantage of the cost savings versus paying hourly rates. Please contact us for more details on this best-in-class solution. We hope you found this edition of For The People helpful and check out our website to see what else we can offer you and your business (www.perfectpeoplesolutions.com). We stand ready to assist you with any of the issues addressed in this edition or on any other topic that is affecting your people.

While people arent perfect, your people solutions should be.

P ERFECT P EOPLE S OLUTIONS

Yup, They Said It

Tom was in his early 60's, retired and had started a second career as a retail store greeter. However, he just couldn't seem to get to work on time and would arrive a few minutes late every day. Finally, the manager called Tom into the office for a talk. Tom, I have to tell you, I like your work ethic, the customers and the other employees love you, but your being late so often is a problem. I know that you are retired ArmyWhat did they say if you came in late there? Tom paused and smiled, Good morning, General. ***** Two older female employees were in the break room, when one asked the other one how much she enjoyed the companys new workout program. Well, I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down and perspired profusely. Surprised, the woman replied, That sounds like a great class. The first woman shrugged and said Wouldnt know. By the time I got my leotards on the class was over.