But what is the best way to address evolving employee expectations? This post outlines 9 HR best practices that small business owners should tackle this year.

What Are HR Best Practices? (And Why They Matter)

HR best practices are the guiding principles that businesses keep in mind when managing their relationship with employees.

They set the groundwork for fostering a positive workplace culture, while improving operational efficiency, and ensuring compliance with evolving regulations.

No matter the size of your business or who oversees your HR efforts, you should set some time aside to discuss HR best practices and define how to bring them into the workplace.

9 HR Best Practices to Follow this Year

1. Get High-Quality Talent on Board

In such a competitive landscape, small businesses might find it harder to attract top talent than larger organizations.

To bridge this gap, you need to adopt a strategic and proactive approach that resonates with potential candidates.

Here are three actionable tips to discover top-tier candidates — and get them to say YES!

• Leverage local networks. Tap into your local communities and networks to identify talent. Building relationships with local universities, attending community events, or participating in industry-specific gatherings can give you access to a pool of skilled professionals who are already connected to the area.
• Highlight company culture. Emphasizing your business’ unique culture and values in job ads and recruiting materials can attract candidates looking for more meaningful and impactful work experience.
• Build a strong online presence. Refresh your company website and be active on social media. Potential candidates often research companies online before applying, so be sure to make a good impression.

2. Design a Memorable Onboarding Experience

Onboarding is much more than paperwork and basic orientation. In fact, research shows that companies with a solid onboarding program see 50% greater employee retention and 62% greater productivity than those who don’t implement one.

Effective onboarding is about making new hires feel supported and integrated into your company culture.

Here’s how to improve your onboarding process:

• Create a 30-60-90-day plan for your new hires. Provide clear expectations and set realistic goals right from the start. Be sure to include regular check-ins to follow up on their progress.
• Let your best employees be part of the training process. Encourage employees to have an active role when someone joins the team: this not only speeds up the new hire’s learning curve but can also foster supportive relationships.

3. Invest in Training: If your Employees Grow, You Grow

When you invest in training, you invite employees to develop their skills, keep them motivated, and encourage them to do their best work.

Having a solid training program also gives you a competitive edge and helps you stay ahead of the curve with new trends and technologies.

Even if you are a small business with a limited budget, there are creative and cost-effective ways to implement training programs to improve your employees’ skills and contribute to your business growth.

A few ideas to plan your training strategy for the year ahead:

• Provide diverse learning options, from e-learning courses to mentorship programs.
• Emphasize soft skills training, enhancing communication, customer service, and leadership abilities.
• Are you growing fast? Align training initiatives with your strategic goals and train employees in the skills they’ll need in the near future.

4. Embrace Regular and Constructive Employee Feedback

Providing regular feedback contributes to a healthy work environment. But employee feedback is not just about evaluating performance and showing employees what to improve — it’s also about encouraging open, honest communication.

Keep this in mind for your performance evaluation conversations:

• Be solution oriented. Your goal is to help employees grow and improve their performance. Keep your feedback actionable and focus on the future.
• Recognize and reward employee contributions, motivating outstanding work.
• Promote a culture of continuous feedback rather than limiting it to annual reviews.

5. Stay Up to Date on Labor Laws & Regulations

Staying compliant is a critical responsibility, regardless of the size of your business. It involves staying on top of the latest regulations related to data protection, employment laws, health and safety, corporation taxes, and industry-specific regulations, among other areas.

Understanding this amount of information might be overwhelming, but it’s key to avoid costly fines and penalties.

Here’s how to navigate compliance nowadays:

• Use HR compliance management software to stay up to date with compliance requirements, get access to real-time reporting and analytics, and ensure you are ready for audits.
• Consider partnering with a Professional Employer Organization (PEO). A PEO helps you handle compliance and minimize risks while providing expert assistance and support. Check out our compliance services at EmPower HR to learn how we can get you covered.

6. Foster Team Building and Employee Engagement

If finding top talent is a challenge, keeping your workforce actively engaged is an even bigger one. In small businesses, a close-knit team is crucial for success. Research shows that teams with high engagement levels were able to reduce absenteeism by 81% and boost profitability by 23%, among other benefits.

How to promote engagement among employees?

• Organize regular team-building activities to strengthen relationships. From a team lunch at the office to an off-site team-building day, there are plenty of options to allow workers to share some quality time together, stay motivated, and encourage collaboration.
• Define specific strategies to keep remote and hybrid workers engaged. Recent studies have shown that remote and hybrid workplaces have an eroding connection to the purpose and mission of the organization. To address this, schedule meaningful conversations on a weekly basis, encourage open communication channels, and provide remote-specific professional development opportunities.

7. Encourage Flexible Work Schedules

Flexible work schedules allow for a more harmonious work-life balance and contribute to improved job satisfaction and productivity.

There are different models you can implement, such as remote work, flextime, or compressed workweeks. Choosing the right model for your business will depend on your workforce’s preferences and needs, as well as your goals and priorities.

If you are implementing flexible work models this year, you can consider:

• Allowing employees to set flexible working hours to fit family needs and responsibilities.
• Emphasizing results over rigid working hours, focusing on productivity. To prevent burnout, it’s important to set realistic expectations and performance goals beforehand.
• Implementing technology solutions that facilitate remote work and collaboration.

8. Prioritize Mental Health and Well-being

After the pandemic, mental health has taken center stage among HR best practices. Recognizing and prioritizing the mental health and well-being of your employees is the key to an open and supportive work environment.

Creating a healthy workplace has a positive impact on productivity and employee satisfaction. Employees are taking it seriously: research from the American Psychological Association indicates that 81% of workers will be looking for places that support mental health when looking for job opportunities in the future.

How can you promote a healthy and supportive work environment?

• Encourage open conversations about mental health in the workplace. Foster an environment where employees feel supported and heard. Break the stigma around mental health and empower employees to talk about their feelings and challenges.
• Implement mental health awareness programs. Introduce initiatives that raise awareness about mental health and provide resources for support. This could include workshops, webinars, or seminars led by mental health professionals, addressing topics such as stress management, work-life balance, and resilience.
• Provide Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs): Implementing Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) can be a valuable resource for employees facing personal or professional challenges. These programs typically offer confidential counseling services, mental health assessments, and referrals to external resources.

9. Craft an Employee Handbook for Clarity and Consistency

Creating a comprehensive employee handbook is a fundamental step to make sure that employees understand your business policies.

An employee handbook is a vital document that outlines company policies, procedures, and expectations, promoting clarity and consistency across the organization.

Consider this when crafting your employee handbook:

• Tailor policies to your culture. Customize your handbook to reflect the unique values and culture of your small business, ensuring that policies resonate with your team.
• Communicate clearly. Use plain language to articulate policies, making them easily understandable for all employees. Foster an open-door policy for questions or clarifications.
• Regular updates. Keep the handbook dynamic by updating it regularly to align with evolving company policies and compliance requirements.

HR Best Practices Final Thoughts

HR best practices help you navigate the challenges of the modern workplace while preparing your organization for success.

However, we know that staying on top of all the responsibilities of being an employer can be overwhelming. At EmPower HR, we serve more than 400 small businesses across many industries, taking the heavy work off their plates so they can focus on what matters most.

From handling HR administration and payroll to providing employee benefits, we can be your dedicated HR partner. Contact us to learn how we can elevate your business with HR best practices!

Related Articles

• 5 Simple Ways to Help Your Employees and Their Mental Health
• 5 Toughest HR Compliance Issues Every HR Leader Should Know
• Four Ways Companies Can Maintain Positive Culture During Rapid Growth

1. Communication is a priority

Whether you use video conferencing, chat apps, or even good old-fashioned phone calls, regular check-ins with your team members will help everyone feel like they’re part of the same workplace culture when working remotely. Ensure employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas, even if they are not face-to-face. Encourage regular check-ins and allow for plenty of time for questions and discussion. Holding regular office hours as well for employees to virtually ‘drop in’ is also encouraged, as it allows employees to not feel as formal when wanting to stop by for a chat.

2. Create opportunities for connections

Although employees may not be able to interact with each other physically, there are still ways to create opportunities for connection as a remote team. Regular social events, team-building exercises, an online book club, and even virtual coffee breaks can help coworkers feel like they are part of a community. Great tools for remote work and creating connections are conferencing platforms like Zoom or Google Hangouts. Team members can get to know each other better and feel more connected by sharing personal stories, playing games, or simply chatting casually about non-work-related topics. Has anyone seen Inventing Anna?! Wow, what a scandal!

3. Make sure everyone feels included

With a remote team, it’s essential to go out of your way to ensure that everyone feels included and heard. This means being conscious of time zone differences when setting up meetings, as no one wants a video call at 9 pm. Also, ensure you connect with employees who may not be as engaged or mentally checked out. If you feel someone on your team is pulling away, set up a 1-1 and see how you can support and share their missed contributions and voice during team meetings. 

4. Promote employee autonomy

As a remote team, encourage employees to take ownership of their work and make decisions that impact their job satisfaction. This will help to foster a sense of ownership and responsibility among employees and promote engagement and motivation. Encourage your employees to choose their hours, work from various locations and take breaks when needed. Of course, not everyone may have this flexibility given their personal situation, but encouraging everyone to work in a way that prioritizes them and their work is a win-win for everyone. 

5. Don’t forget to show your appreciation for your team’s hard work

A little recognition can go a long way in making everyone feel valued and appreciated, which helps build a strong culture. From a shoutout in a company meeting to a team appreciation lunch, taking the time to say thank you is so key. In remote work, not everyone has the opportunity to pass one another in at the shall say “great job,” so intentionality is the key ingredient to ensuring you are showing your team a little extra love. 

6. Celebrate diversity

Remote teams are often more diverse than traditional workplace teams, so it’s important to celebrate and embrace this diversity. As a remote team, create a slack or chat channel to encourage employees to share their favorite foods, movies, and holidays in a personal way. To help build a team culture, each employee can pick a month to share and celebrate a holiday that is important to them. They can share stories and traditions and invite others to learn and participate as well.

The workplace setting is changing faster than anyone could have ever anticipated. The Great Resignation is a call for business owners and management to open their eyes to the importance of an HR department. HR for marketing agencies is vital for keeping your talent from resigning.

Common HR Challenges that Marketing Agencies Face

HR challenges are standard for any company, regardless of the industry. If you’ve been struggling, you’re not alone. HR managers worldwide face unprecedented difficulties, and you’ll probably identify well with one or two from this list.

Remote Work

HR leaders are paving the way for remote work. Not only has working remotely become generally unavoidable, but potential and current employees expect the option, especially in a forward thinking industry like marketing and advertising.

As the weight of the Covid-19 pandemic began to taper off and the world launched a global reopening, many businesses planned on returning to the office. Instead, it became undeniably clear that hybrid and remote work models are here to stay.

With that said, HR teams must change how they maintain productivity and manage human capital. Interpersonal communication is a cornerstone of every office environment, regardless of where employees work and live.

Diversity, Equity And Inclusion

Whether you use an in-house team or utilize outsourced HR for marketing agencies, one of the main focuses for the next year should be diversity, equity, and inclusion, also referred to as DEI. Creating an inclusive working environment lessens HR managers’ external and internal pressure to focus on DEI.

It also widens the talent pool to include remote workers from around the globe. Organizations across every industry strive to raise internal awareness of DEI-related problems within their company. Once you’ve identified the issues, you can begin to mend them.

Tackling Change Management

Massive organizational changes come with moving any company to a hybrid or remote working model. Managing these changes effectively, preventing staff from becoming fatigued, is one of the most significant HR issues that many businesses are facing right now.

Expecting behavioral changes from employees while failing to model said behavioral changes through management can be catastrophic. If your transformation isn’t working, prioritizing change management can lessen burnout and exhaustion in employees due to consistent changes.

Locating Talent During A Shortage

It’s no secret that there is currently a shortage of talent, primarily due to the effects of the Great Resignation. Companies globally struggle to find quality, reliable talent to fill gaping staffing holes.

HR teams should develop methods of effectively evaluating potential employees, including remote interviews and amplified skill tests. The goal is to speed up the hiring process while filling positions with employees that bring talent and innovation to the table.

Identifying Necessary Skills To Move Forward

HR is so much more than communication between management and employees. Moving forward, HR departments should begin to identify current employees’ skills to move forward, thereby creating new training programs that target those needs.

It’s a huge challenge to determine which working skills will be necessary for the short and long-term future. Rapid technological advancements regularly change necessary job skill sets. However, it’s entirely possible to make predictions based on the past while leaving current training programs open to change when needed.

Nurturing A Healthy Work Environment

Above all, HR teams should focus on nurturing the healthiest work environment possible. A competitive salary and positive work experience are the two most important things to employees right now. These aspects require a companies’ ability to adapt to remote work and focus on employees’ physical and psychological health.

Though many companies operate on a remote model, workplace safety is still important to those who come to work every day. In a remote model, workplace safety could look like COVID-19 protocols and employer-provided methods of managing stress and burnout.

The bottom line? Employees want to know they can rely on you, and most potential workers have had it with businesses that deem them easily replaceable. Address individual concerns and create an environment that prioritizes mental and emotional health.

Handling HR Challenges With Ease

Effectively handling the HR challenges that come your way is a lot easier with preparation. When your human resources team is on the same page, they’ll help your organization cultivate a productive, inclusive, happy, diverse working environment.

A great HR team harbors stronger onboarding processes, fewer compliance issues, plenty of diversity, and improved employee retention. There are always ways to battle the HR challenges that come your way.

Remember, access to HR anytime and anywhere is vital to current working models and helps save time and energy for everyone. Outsourcing your HR department is a highly effective way to make that happen.

As the virus continues to spread and evolve, many businesses (and their employees) are wondering when to go back to work after COVID. For those businesses who do choose to return to in-person work, there are many factors to consider as far as ensuring the workplace will be safe. If your business is still struggling to find its footing in this COVID-19 era, don’t worry! Below are some tips on how your business can protect its employees after asking them to return to in-person work.

Without making this sound too harsh, the EEOC also added that employers that do so would need to reasonably accommodate employees who are against the vaccination due to health or religious reasons. This is key as you research and put together your covid-19 employee vaccination policy template.

The real question now is, should your business make the COVID vaccine mandatory?

We know the obvious benefits of requiring employees to get vaccinated, and if you do decide to implement this policy, make sure you know what’s needed for special exemptions and considerations — and more importantly, have a plan in place. These include:

Employees With Disabilities

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states that employers must provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees with disabilities. A business may choose not to do so if it can demonstrate the accommodation would create an undue hardship.

Reasonable accommodation may include adjusting the company policies, including requirements imposed by a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. You will need to engage with the unvaccinated employee to identify the ideal workplace accommodations.

Employees With Conservative Religious Beliefs

The Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) states that employers must provide accommodations for employees with religious beliefs that may prevent them from complying with the mandatory policy. In addition, the law permits exceptions related to the employer’s undue hardship. Be prepared for a cumbersome process as defining a “sincerely held religious belief” can be notoriously difficult, and courts have reached a wide range of conclusions on what is a sufficient religious belief under Title VII.

Relevant Medical Information Under The ADA

The ADA typically frowns at disability-related questions from employers to their employees. Requiring COVID-19 vaccination according to your vaccine policy does not qualify as a medical examination. If you have mandatory vaccination programs and policies, you need to use caution with the questions asked.

The EEOC has even stated that pre-screening questions asking whether an employee has been vaccinated may be tagged as a disability-related inquiry. You must then be able to demonstrate the business necessity of these questions. Furthermore, information about an employee’s COVID-19 vaccination is confidential medical information under the ADA. Hence, you need to be careful not to violate the ADA’s confidentiality requirements when implementing workplace safety policies based on an employee’s vaccination status.

Wage Considerations For Taking Vaccines

The federal law states that employees may be entitled to compensable work time for their time spent waiting for and receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Ensure this is handled properly, as failure to meet the wage and hour requirements is often a costly mistake with consequences. Apart from being ethically ideal, providing paid leave to get vaccinated or recover from vaccine side effects may be required by state or local law. Note that practical law provides comprehensive coverage of paid sick leave, including leave relating to getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

According to the EEOC, while this might not be ideal, an employer can ban employees who refuse to get vaccinated from the workplace. Just don’t forget reasonable accommodation obligations or treat employees differently based on protected characteristics. Ensure you work closely together to address any significant concerns.