Human Resources | Engineering 520-360-0415

HR Services

Increased litigation in the area of Employment Law has created an environment of greater risk to businesses. In addition, Federal and State laws change frequently. These laws vary by the number of employees a company has from 1 to 1,000 or more. To maintain legal compliance and avoid penalties, you need to be aware of what the regulations are and how they impact your business.

An organization’s best defense against the potential expense of litigation is to proactively review its Human resources policies and procedures, employee handbooks and other HR Processes.

A Human Resources Audit is a comprehensive method of reviewing your current human resources policies, procedures, documentation and processes to identify opportunities to improve the HR function, as well as, to ensure compliance with always-changing rules and regulations.

A business overlooking regulatory compliance with their human resource practices face fines and penalties.

An Audit can also ensure that policies and procedures are fair and consistent across the organization and strengthen employee engagement .

During the audit we will assess your:

  • Recruitment and selection program
  • Payroll processes
  • Recordkeeping for employment related documents
  • Employment related Policies and Procedures

Compliance Starts with Good Communication!
One of the most valuable services offered by S+S Consulting is assistance in the development of comprehensive Policies and Procedures, Employee Handbooks and Job Descriptions for your company and its employees.

Policies, Procedures and Handbooks:

  • Are customized to meet your needs – we do not believe in the “one size fits all” approach
  • Ensure fair and consistent application of your philosophy and business practices
  • Demonstrate your efforts towards compliance with State and Federal regulations

Job Descriptions:
Job descriptions document a job’s essential functions or duties, responsibilities and/or other critical components, such as skill, educational requirements, physical and mental qualifications, and working conditions.

While not always mandatory, having job descriptions can assist you in staying compliant with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Accurate job descriptions can be used to document an employee’s pay status according to the Department of Labor (DOL). The Department of Labor mandates whether an employee is exempt from overtime payments, or is non-exempt, and therefore, eligible for overtime payments. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that almost 70% of employers aren’t in compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Misclassification of an employee can result in back payments owed to the employee and other financial penalties. If you have classified an employee as exempt and they do not meet the qualifications as outlined by the Department of Labor, you may owe them for any overtime worked in the past, plus a possible $10,000 penalty. An accurately written job description ensures your employees are classified, and paid, correctly.

Job Descriptions can also be used to maintain compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and returning employees to work after either a work related injury or FMLA leave.

Depending on how detailed they are, job descriptions can be used directly or indirectly to:

  • Establish performance requirements
  • Help clarify expectations
  • Assign titles and/or pay levels to jobs
  • Train employees
  • Recruit for open positions

Interim HR Support

S+S Consulting, Inc. can fill in as your interim HR Manager if you need to replace a staff member out on a leave of absence, or temporarily filling a position while searching for a permanent replacement. We can also supplement your existing HR department – working under the direction of your HR Manager for special projects.

HR Outsourcing

Managing your Human Resources function requires extensive time and expertise; however, for small businesses, this does not require a full time person.

We will:

  • Establish the human resources function if none exists
  • Provide an outsourced HR solution for all or pieces of the human resources function
  • Run your HR Department

We provide a full service human resources function, at a part-time cost. As a business owner, time spent handling the HR activities is time NOT spent on generating revenue.

Recruitment and Retention Programs

Two of the biggest challenges facing businesses today are:

  1. Attracting the best employees
  2. Retaining and engaging them

Only about 27% of employees in the American workforce are actively engaged at work. Highly engaged employees are committed to your mission, vision and values. Engaged employees are 4 times less likely to think about leaving.

Finding the best employees is difficult and time-consuming. Recruitment requires lots of creativity to find quality candidates that will fit your culture and stay with you over time. The average cost of turnover is 50 – 150% of an employee’s salary.

Recruitment often includes:

  • Determining the best strategies for finding candidates
  • Screening hundreds of resumes
  • Recommending and managing the top candidates through phone and face-to-face interviews
  • Conducting reference checks, background checks and employment testing
  • Completing market analyses and recommending a total compensation package
  • Developing and facilitating new employee on-boarding

We will:

  • Analyze and recommend improvements to your recruitment process – or develop one if you don’t have anything in place
  • Create a recruitment plan to ensure the best approach and strategies are used to fill each position
  • Manage all or pieces of the recruitment process
  • Provide a contract recruiter on a short- or long-term basis

Did you know that almost 15% of new employees consider quitting after a bad first day?

One of the most critical issues that businesses face is how to retain the employees they want to keep. A focus on mutual respect between employees and supervisors, appropriate pay, benefits and rewards, as well as recognition for performance, are key ingredients of an effective employee retention program. Devising effective employee retention strategies requires businesses to understand both why employees leave and why they stay.

Retention often includes:

  • Providing a realistic job preview to candidates as part of the recruitment process
  • Assessing your candidates for “fit” – for both the job and your company culture
  • Socializing your new employees to the organization and to the other employees
  • Training and development opportunities for employees to update their skills
  • Compensation and recognition that reflects your employees’ value to the business

We will:

  • Participate in, and manage, the interview and selection process
  • Develop an On-Boarding program that engages new employees before they start work; streamlining their integration into your business and getting them productive and committed in the shortest time possible
  • Develop succession planning and emerging leader programs
  • Develop a reward and recognition program designed to keep your employees engaged and working for you

Organizational and Employee Development

Employee Development involves the identification of the short and long term development needs of an employee so that the employee has the necessary skills to meet both current and future job demands.

Employee Development often includes:

  • Management /supervisory training
  • Succession planning
  • Performance management
  • Coaching and mentoring

We will:

  • Conduct a training needs assessment to identify what skills are needed now and what skills will be needed in the future
  • Develop a performance management tool that will identify gaps in the skills needed in your business versus the skills currently available in your workforce
  • Develop and conduct management training to close these gaps
  • Create a succession planning process to develop your future leaders
  • Create a mentoring and self-coaching program

Employee Relations

Employee relations encompasses the organization’s overall approach to maintaining a positive, productive and cohesive work environment.

Basic employee relations include equal employment opportunity, fairness and consistency in the treatment of employees, effective communications between management and employees, documentation of employment actions, complaint resolution processes, and “best employment practices.”

Employee Relations often includes:

  • Employee issues and complaints
  • Management coaching
  • Disciplinary actions and terminations

What we will do:

  • Coach managers and employees on how to handle employee relations issues to avoid escalation and legal impacts on the organization
  • Train managers on how to write and conduct disciplinary actions
  • Investigate employee complaints of harassment, hostile work environment, unfairness and other wrongdoing
  • Develop a meaningful communication strategy that allows for two-way communication

Compensation and Benefits Management

Compensation refers to wages and salary paid by employers to employees in exchange for work. Wages and salary is the foundation of total compensation, because it establishes the standard of living for employees. It also serves as the primary indication of the value a business places on the role an employee plays and on the contributions the employee makes. For Wages and Salary to be effective, both the business and the employees must view them as being internally equitable, externally competitive, affordable and cost effective, legal and defensible, understandable, and appropriate for the organization and for the workforce.

A Benefit is a form of indirect employee compensation that businesses use to attract, recognize and retain workers.

Compensation and Benefits often includes:

  • Variable pay in the form of short and long-term incentives
  • Paid time off such as vacation, sick time and holiday pay
  • Insurance, such as medical, dental, life, and disability
  • Retirement and profit sharing plans
  • Flexible work arrangements, such as telecommuting, flexible work schedules and compressed work weeks
  • Tuition reimbursement, health and wellness initiatives and employee discount programs

What we will do:

  • Analyze the competitiveness of your current compensation and benefits
  • Analyze and design a compensation infrastructure that works for you
  • Develop merit- and performance-based compensation plans
  • Develop short and long-term incentive programs
  • Identify and create a benefits package that keeps your employees happy and healthy

Health and Safety Programs

Workplace safety is a process that seeks to eliminate or reduce risks of injury or illness to employees. Workplace safety is achieved through a variety of methods, including policies, procedures and specific hazard control techniques.

The goal of workplace security is to protect employees from internal and external security risks. Workplace security risks vary depending on an organization’s business, its location and its hours of operation.

Health, Safety and Security often includes:

  • Written Safety and Security Programs
  • Physical Working Conditions
  • Facilities/Security
  • OSHA requirements for your industry

What we will do:

  • Conduct a safety and security risk assessment
  • Identify strategies to address deficiencies identified in the risk assessment
  • Develop written safety programs and policies
  • Create and conduct OSHA mandated training for employees
  • Set up and maintain all mandated forms, reports and files