Pack of FIVE : Best HR Courses on Employee Handbooks: 2020 and HR 101, Onboarding Best Practices, Medical Marijuana and Documentation

The purposes and the scope of employee handbook policies and the practices are changing and expanding. From a siloed HR activity that creates insular documents concerned primarily with communicating the organizational work rules and benefits, employee handbook policies and practices have evolved into a critical component of an organization-wide management process that maximizes organizations' achievement of business objectives, enhances the value of their human capital, and minimizes legal risk.

To increase the effectiveness of their employment policies, organizations will have to:

• Enhance their business, operational, and legal intelligence to ensure they have identified the changing external and internal factors that affect their policies
• Increase internal stakeholder participation in the handbook development process to obtain greater employee commitment and operational alignment
• Establish new metrics to assess handbook policy and practices performance and measure the achievement of organization goals
• Implement internal controls that identify and alert management when employee handbook process failures occur

Thus employee handbooks will increasingly have to ensure that they are aligned with strategic and business objectives, are properly drafted, and are effectively implemented. Additionally they will have to:

• Enhance the employment brand
• Play a key role in recruitment and retention
• Enhance employee relations, employee morale, and productivity
• Contribute to uniform and consistent application, interpretation, and enforcement of organizational policies and rules
• Protect the organization against claims of improper employee/supervisor conduct
• Reduce the organization's exposure to employment related liabilities

From this perspective, employee handbooks will continue to play an important role in communicating with and providing information for employees.

HR's role in mission and strategy Key anti-discrimination laws & protected classes Meaning of disparate treatment and adverse impact Rights employers DO have Recruiting and behavioral based interviewing Importance of goodness of fit in employee selection Onboarding basics and the 4 C's of onboarding Key considerations in managing employees Seven steps to employee recognition Basics of Employment at Will Five considerations in determining just cause Progressive discipline and why you might not want it Seven steps to effective corrective action Twelve parts of disciplinary documentation. What to know in disciplining employees.

The basics of sexual harassment and how to stay out of trouble. What is quid pro quo and hostile working environment.
Essentials of the FMLA - what it is, who is covered, 6 things to remember. Essentials of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADAAA) Reasonable accommodation and interactive discussion basics. What you need to know about wage and hour Independent contractor, exempt and nonexempt employees. Seven reasons for having employee handbooks and six tips.

Reducing turnover and fast-tracking new employees to productivity is a key business imperative. The reality is that about 30% of employees don't make it past their first year and it's expensive.

Good recruitment and hiring can be quickly undone by disorganized poorly executed new employee orientation. And as millennials become a driving force in the workplace, they represent special opportunities and challenges.

Every generation has unique needs and Millennials are no different. But good onboarding practices for Millennials is generally good for everyone. This is an opportunity to step up our game. The research is clear; a systematic comprehensive onboarding process is good business. In fact formal onboarding increases the chance of keeping a new employee for at least 3 years by 69% and one study showed employees were productive two months earlier with an effective program.

Employees get up to speed quicker and stay on the job longer when their first year experience is well managed. Best practices onboarding integrates the employee into the company through socialization, acculturation, training, and coaching. The result is employees who clearly understand their role and feel connected to the company. We'll show you how best of class programs start onboarding during recruitment and have a systematic program for the first year of work.

aThis webinar gives you the key components to a cost-effective onboarding plan that will increase retention and productivity.

Marijuana laws are evolving across the United States.  Some state laws are legalizing medical marijuana only, while other states recognize marijuana as a legal recreational drug along with alcohol. 

Is marijuana illegal in your state?  Are some companies no longer conducting drug testing for job applicants even if marijuana is illegal?  What is an employer to do when marijuana is illegal based on federal law but may not be illegal based state law?  Does Cannabidiol (CBD) contain any TCH, the mind-altering element in marijuana, which would cause a worker to register positive for marijuana in a drug test?  Does it matter?  The answers to these questions may result in employers having a complex and confusing mess on their hands when dealing with drug use in the workplace. 

Employers are tasked with ensuring their work environment is safe and productive.  Marijuana’s effect on workers runs the risk of comprising that safety.  Is an employee who is taking medical marijuana protected under the federal American Disabilities Act or your state’s disability act?  Does your company’s drug policy address issues around medical marijuana, recreational use of marijuana, and CBD?