Промышленный лизинг Промышленный лизинг  Методички 

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Temps and freelancers: Ensure that all employment procedures are managed through HR, particularly including the utilization of temporary employees, freelancers, and independent contractors. When line employees are allowed to retain the services of a freelancer, significant liability can be at risk, including:

-Rates: The opportunity to hire an individuals friend or past acquaintance can diminish the motivation to negotiate a fair market rate for the services to be rendered. By having HR negotiate the rate, management can be better assured that a reasonable rate was negotiated through this segregation of duties.

-Employment status: Very few managers are familiar with the tests to determine if a person can qualify as an independent contractor. Through its training, the HR department is best qualified to determine whether a person who wants to be treated as an independent contractor meets sufficient criteria to qualify for such status. Failure to properly classify such personnel may result in significant claims for overtime, benefits, taxes, and other perquisites to which employees may be entitled long after their temporary assignment has ended. If not accounted for properly, significant penalties may be assessed.

-Purchase order control: To ensure firm control over the use of independent contractors and consultants, it is best to use a purchase order that clearly spells out the terms and conditions of the assignment including the commencement date, due date, deliverables, rate of compensation, and the maximum amount of money authorized under the agreement. The topic of recruiting is covered in depth in Chapter 11.

Performance Evaluations

One of the most important managerial tools used in the professional services firm is the performance evaluation process. Legal review and approval of forms used in the process can significantly improve the firms position in a legal action, but only if the forms are used on a regularly scheduled basis. In general, it is the HR departments responsibility to distribute such forms and follow up with managers/supervisors to ensure the form is completed in a timely manner and reviewed for content before being discussed with the employee. That review should ensure that all statements made, particularly those that may not be well received, are supportable and written in such a manner that would not create a potential legal liability.

Employee performance should be evaluated formally at least once a year, with at least one or two feedback points made during the year. Some firms stagger their evaluation process to coincide with the employees anniversary while others conduct them in batches once or twice per year. Either way may be used based on managements personal preference; however, the critical factor is to ensure that at least one written evaluation is given to every



employee at least once per year, with a signed copy placed in the employees personnel file. Done properly, this is one of the simplest ways to improve performance and morale. Employee appraisals and career tracks are covered in depth in Chapter 9.

Layoffs/Reduction in Force

The decision to lay off a significant number of workers is always a difficult task. Invariably, such decisions become muddled with personal conflicts, performance issues, and, simply, who likes whom. Life-altering decisions made by managers who are under a tremendous amount of stress subject the firm to increased risk of liability. Before the list of names of employees to be terminated is assembled, the firm should fully evaluate its revenue and expense forecasts and ensure that it has identified not only its most likely projection, but also its best and worst cases. Layoff plans should be developed around all three of these scenarios so that management can build as much of a holistic plan as possible. It is important that staff remaining after the action is taken be confident that the worst is over, and are enthusiastic about pulling together and moving forward. Key points in the layoff process include:

Keep the list confidential. Only those who absolutely need to know should be involved, and great care should be taken to shield irrelevant information (e.g., a manager may see only a layoff list of people he or she selected within his or her team/department). The only people who should see the entire list are the CEO, COO, CFO, and HR director. Department heads should be concerned with only their own lists. For every person who has a copy of the list, there is an exponential increase in the probability that a leak will occur. Often these lists evolve over time and change right up until the last minute before an employee is notified that his or her position is being eliminated. If people found out that they were supposed to be laid off but ended up being taken off the list, their attitude toward the firm and management may be forever tainted. Key points to safeguard the lists security include: -Never label it with titles or headings that may suggest its true meaning. -Never let someone else copy it. -Never let it leave your possession.

-Never allow more than the absolute minimum number of trusted staff members in finance and HR to have access to it.

-Never print it out on a network printer-memory problems are not uncommon, and it is possible that the report could print out long after anyone responsible for it leaves the printer unattended, leaving it available for the first set of curious eyes.



Unplanned Communication

The administrative assistant to the CFO of a professional services firm was assisting in the late night preparation for a major presentation of the local offices plan to reduce staff in light of a wave of significant client losses over a short period of time. The multipage presentation was prepared in a very short amount of time and required that several charts be printed out in color. The only color printer was located in another part of the building, far removed from the assistants desk. For some reason, initial network print commands failed to work, so the assistant printed the pages a second time. That night the presentation was completed; however, the next morning, a single copy of the page that failed to print the night before was found sitting on top of the printer by another employee. Within minutes, copies of managements layoff plans were photocopied and posted throughout the building. Needless to say, morale plummeted over the following days and weeks leading up to the layoff action as a result of this very innocent error in the printer system network.

Set financial targets for each department to achieve rather than target a specific number of people to lay off. Let the department head prioritize his or her needs and then challenge that teams ability to perform its function in the post-layoff environment. Dont nitpick or micromanage the decisions of the department head.

Have a legal review of the list. Include searches for discrimination based on age, sex, and other protected classes. Further, counsel should review documentation supporting the action being taken and the specific reason(s) each person was selected to be included in the RIF.

Do it only once whenever possible. Often, employees are aware that the firm is facing financial difficulties before a layoff action. Their anticipation of the date can be distracting and lead to morale problems and productivity declines. If all cuts are made at once, management is in a much better position to make an affirmative statement to the remaining staff that acknowledges the action taken and assures them that there is no other shoe to drop, so lets get back to business as soon as possible. Without such a statement, nagging concerns can continue to drag down the firm and become a self-fulfilling prophecy. In many situations, it is not possible to complete all layoffs at once and actions must be taken in stages; but minimizing the time that elapses between those stages is very important.

Reorganize workflows and improve processes before taking action. Simply cutting the number of personnel is an exercise almost anyone can execute. However, great managers will anticipate potential business downturns and prepare for that day by working to constantly improve internal processes. By developing process improvements before a layoff,



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