Why Does It Make Sense to Outsource to a Human Capital Business Partner?

• Leaving HR functions to the experts allows you time to focus on your core competencies
• Ensures regulatory compliance for payroll and reporting
• Elimination of overhead costs for office space and highly trained human capital
• A seasoned team can help to attract the best talent to help grow your business
• An HR firm will keep you compliant with employment policies and practices to mitigate potential risk
• Increased efficiency and productivity as managers spend less time on payroll and paperwork
• Implementation of employee performance development and reporting
• A more robust benefit package can improve current employee retention and attract a higher level of future staffing

Let’s discuss how The DHF Group can help you streamline your Human Resources functions. Contact us at 973.513.2534 or via email

As your Human Resource consulting firm, The DHF Group provides customized flexible services to our clients. Acting as your on or off-site HR provider we help you develop your corporation’s strategic plan while coordinating the administration of Human Resources to fulfil that vision. Our group works with the executive team to ensure compliance and provide administration for the life cycle of your staff. Working on a contract, retainer or project basis to suit the individual needs of the organization, The DHF Group is your total HR Solution. Unlike the single source firms i.e. ASO or PEO, The DHF Group does not adopt a “one size fits all” approach to our clients. We understand that you have unique goals for structure, competition, strategy, marketing and culture and we strive to help you reduce time spent on non-revenue generating functions. Our Human Resource professionals listen, ask the difficult questions and offers guidance based on experience and careful research to provide timely, innovative and practical solutions to your unique situation. Studies have shown that streamlining your Human Resource functions and processes through outsourcing can deliver up to a 20% savings to the bottom line providing improved ROI and reduced costs. Located in the metropolitan New York area, The DHF Group provides a flexible HR solution for your growing business.

• Construction of a Benefits Plan to attract and retain employees while significantly reducing costs

• Employee Turnover consistently at or below industry standards

• Acquisition of high performing staff

• Individualized Coaching to develop critical leadership skills

• Development of corporate processes and procedures for Human Resources

• Creation and execution of employee development training programs

• Advise and Implement solutions for Federal and State required recordkeeping

Led by Jeanne Gulde, Founder and CEO, The DHF Group brings more than three decades of experience in Executive Management, Sales Training, Human Resources as well as Recruiting and Payroll functions. Founded in 2010, The DHF Group supports companies like yours with all aspects of people management.

Our team brings you award-winning HR expertise with services including but not limited to Record Keeping and Compliance Solutions, HR Technology, Payroll Solutions, Benefits Management and Employee Development.

Contact the The DHF Group to formulate the customized plan for your business that a “big box” firm cannot provide.

Harrassment

Today we live and work in a blended environment. The person working beside us may be of a different race, religion, ethnicity or language. They might be a citizen or not, a veteran or not. Some identify as a different gender or transitioning. With all these variables, it’s a wise idea to review the definition of harassment. What is and isn’t acceptable workplace behavior? Why tolerance and respect are crucial in today’s multi-cultural environment.

Our daily news cycle is filled with unfortunate accounts of sexual harassment. It can not be assumed that an occurrence was initiated by a male against a female or vice versa. Sadly, its not even always between two adults.

In today’s workplace, it can be challenging to determine if a coworker is making a friendly overture or a subtle sexually harassing advance. Sometimes, it’s as clear as day.

The Federal EEOC has joined forces with New York State and New Jersey to require ALL employers to clearly understand and define bullying and harassment -sexual or otherwise. Most employers have difficulty explaining the details surrounding harassment. It’s an even bigger job to educate and confirm the understanding of each employee around the company’s policies concerning harassment of any form and the legalities and company liabilities for alleged harassment.

An Internet search will bring back varying advice and information depending on the article but the clear message for employers is: Sexual harassment training should be at the top of your 2019 To Do List. Federal compliance is due immediately, but the New York State deadline has been extended to October 2019 with New Jersey requiring ASAP compliance. Annual retraining is also a requirement of the law.

Every employee is entitled to a documented complaint process if they feel that they have been discriminated against or harassed in any fashion. A form is required to be available for the employee to document their accusation against the harasser. Do you as the employer know how to handle these situations? Is your management team prepared with an understanding of the process? Have you formalized the procedures and documented it as a part of your daily processes and procedures? Is that policy, and the reporting procedure clearly stated in your employee manual?

The DHF Group can help by creating the employee manual based on your policies. We train you and your staff how to document the reporting and handling processes that will help mitigate your employer responsibility and liability in the event of an incident. Contact us at 973.513.2534 or jeanne.g@thedhfgroup.com

     

       

    

     

Hidden Bias

America’s population is changing. This is a fact. For many reasons it is in every employer’s interests to ensure their own workforce reflects that change. A more diverse workforce will help you connect more effectively with your increasingly diverse customers.

According to SHRM, studies are showing there’s strong evidence to suggest organizations with greater diversity in the workforce financially outperform their peers.

Achieving that diversity in the extremely low unemployment climate and realizing its benefits means reaching the more candidates in your market whether local, nationwide or global. It also means assessing them for their ability to do the job they’re applying for while assessing their soft skills.

Before a change can be made, we need to accept a few things about ourselves and our management team. Everyone has a hiring bias, but as an organization we need to learn how to move beyond that hidden bias. It will keep employers from achieving their business goals.

The human biases are carried by everyone. This is shaped by the circumstances of our upbringing, the places we lived, the influences that have surrounded us. With that said, research has shown, time and time again, how this will affect the neutrality of our decisions, whether we realize it or not. And then there are the procedural biases. This is how you make a new hiring decision. Your selection, interviewing and recruitment processes can, by nature, discourage or exclude candidates, often without you even knowing it.

These biases are subtle but can reveal themselves in different ways, such as asking different questions of different candidates for the same position, depending on their race, age, and gender. Inviting a male worker to attend a sporting event while ignoring a female worker that is close by. It is assumed that a mom is in not interested in a promotion because she is so busy with his children. These may be little things, but they can add up to create a pervasive (and possibly illegal) culture of bias.

Even with antidiscrimination and anti harassment policies in place hidden bias can creep in and damage workplace culture, productivity, and even retention. Also known as implicit bias, this type of bias manifests in stereotypes and attitudes that can guide the decision making process in a subliminal way. And, unfortunately, all of us are prone to have some level of unconscious bias.

Removing these biases means examining your current hiring and promotion practices objectively and putting a strategic data driven selection process in place. Using data collected during the process, analyzing it, and making decisions based on it, leads the way to hiring a successful candidate. However, this data-driven approach must be a companywide hiring process that your management team needs to embrace and follow. Otherwise there will be discrimination which you are trying to eliminate. This will increase the success rate of your new hire selection and eliminate the potential discrimination in the hiring/promotion process.

This may involve establishing additional support by implementing mentoring programs. Seeking out candidates with a high level of cultural sensitivity, whatever their own background. While ‘soft skills’ are notoriously difficult to identify, pre-hire assessments that reach out to a candidate’s previous peers and managers and asking the questions the right way can shed invaluable light on their past and likely future success.

Selecting the candidate with the right skill set and with a history of being culturally sensitive will help you actively foster a more inclusive working environment. The challenge you will face is to figure out how to identify and rid unconscious bias within your management team as best you can so your organization can create and foster a culture of respect, and acceptance. This will have a positive impact on hiring, retention, and engagement while fostering a culture of inclusiveness.

The DHF Group has helped companies of all industries develop a culture that brings diversity and employee success. To learn more on how The DHF Group can help you email jeanne.g@thedhfgroup.com or call 973-513-2534.

      

      

      

          

NJ FLA

The New Jersey Leave laws have just gotten more difficult to understand. Ever since New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed the promised bill to amend the states’ leave entitlement business owners now have the challenge of figuring this out. The bill, which passed early this year, provides longer leave and greater benefits for New Jersey workers. The DHF Group can help make headway toward understanding the new programs, how they will affect your workplace and how the programs will work together.

New Jersey Family Leave Act (FLA) FLA provides unpaid, job-protected leave to bond with a newborn or adopted child, or to care for a sick family member. FLA does not include leave for the employee’s own medical condition.

FLA is Job-protected leave which requires the employer to reinstate the employee to the same position or to a position equivalent in status, pay and benefits, with few exceptions. Group Health Insurance must be continued during the employees leave.

As of June 30, 2019, all New Jersey employers with 30 or more employees nationwide, will be required to provide workers with 12 weeks of job-protected leave. The leave can be 12 consecutive weeks, or intermittent during a 24-month period.

The new law covers child bonding to include foster care and surrogacy and expands leave to care for more family members including grandchildren, siblings, grandparents or any individual with a close association to the employee.

It is important to remember that NJ FLA is separate from the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which applies to employers with 50 or more employees. Workers may be eligible for additional leave under FMLA.

Family Leave Insurance (FLI) and Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) FLI and TDI are monetary benefits that provide up to 6 weeks of partial wage replacement. FLI is to bond with a child, or care for a sick family member. TDI is short-term disability for non-work-related illness or injury. Expectant mothers are eligible for both.

Beginning July 1, 2020, the programs will double paid leave to 12 consecutive weeks in a 12-month period. Intermittent paid leave will increase from 42 to 56 days in a 12-month period. Weekly payments will increase from an estimated $650 (2019’s max benefit), to about $860 in 2020. This is dependent on the employee’s rate of pay. It is important to remember that Employers do not fund the wage replacement benefits; employees pay into the programs through a payroll deduction.

Security and Financial Empowerment (SAFE) Act The SAFE Act currently provides 20 days of unpaid leave to address circumstances resulting from domestic or sexual violence. Effective July 1, 2020, SAFE leave will be eligible for paid benefits under TDI for victims, or FLI if a family member is a victim of domestic or sexual abuse.

The Cost to Employers Even though these paid benefits are not funded directly by employers the expanded eligibility to receive benefits and the increased duration of leave will have consequences for New Jersey businesses.

Operating costs will increase through additional overtime wages for staffing coverage and small organizations are the need to hire replacement staff to cover workers out on job-protected leave.

There are also new anti-retaliation provisions, applicable to all the family leave programs which went into effect on June 30, 2019. Employers may not retaliate or discriminate against workers who request or take leave. Nor can employers require an employee to use their PTO before FLI/TDI benefits begin. In addition, employers cannot refuse to reinstate employees after FLA ends.

The new law also comes with new penalties up to $1,000, and in certain cases imprisoned for up to 90 days. Retaliatory action will cost first time violators up to $2,000 and each subsequent violation will cost up to $5,000.

To learn more go to – https://nj.gov/governor/news/news/562019/approved/20190219a.shtm

We can be reached at 973-513-2534

The DHF Group can formulate a customized plan for your business that a “big box” firm cannot provide.

973.513.2534

jeanne.g@thedhfgroup.com