Providing Accommodation for Disabled Workers Benefits Employers

Broadening your talent pool isn’t the only benefit employers experience when they provide accommodation for employees with disabilities. Some 85% of employers reported that implementing accommodations has allowed them to retain one or more valued employees. Better yet, most accommodations require minimal investment.

• Nearly 50% of organizations that offer accommodation to workers with disabilities do so at no cost at all.
• Another 43.3% report one-time costs of less than $300.
• Only 7.2% of employers report needing to invest in ongoing expenses to accommodate a disabled employee’s needs.

Other collective dividends employers report experiencing in the wake of providing support to disabled workers include:

• Improved staff morale
• More effective customer interactions
• Increased workforce productivity

What Is Reasonable Accommodation?

Of course, the most critical reason you need to know how to provide reasonable accommodation is because it is required by law. As outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employers must provide disabled jobseekers or employees who develop health challenges with modifications that will allow them to perform the job in question. A disability is defined by the ADA as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity. This can include chronic illness, physical challenges such as visual impairment, or intellectual or developmental disabilities including autism and other forms of neurodiversity.

As long as a disabled applicant or worker can carry out the most essential components of a job, it is up to the employer to ensure that they are provided with reasonable alterations that allow them to do so. This protection begins at the application stage and includes all aspects of employee tenure.

Reasonable accommodation examples might include revising the job’s incidental functions slightly to provide an equal opportunity for a disabled applicant, or modifying the environment in which the job is carried out to provide access, safety, or support for a disabled worker.

How to Draft a Reasonable Accommodation Policy

Rather than waiting until a job seeker or employee requests an accommodation to patch together your organization’s accommodation policy, you should have a written policy in place that includes reasonable accommodation examples.

The Right Words: Communicating Your Accommodation Polic

The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) offers sample ADA policy documents that employers can use as a starting point as they research, develop, and draft their own accommodation guidelines. Another great source to consult as you finetune your accommodation policy is your own workforce. Team members with disabilities can help to ensure that the language you use to describe your HR provisions is inclusive and clear and that it emphasizes performance enhancement.

You can even enhance your employer brand by providing contextualizing copy in your employee handbook and the job site section of your company website that explains that your policies on accommodation were developed in consultation with members of the disability community.

Your policy should include sample language for employees wishing to make an accommodation request in writing; however, such a request is not required for appropriate task or physical setting modification to be necessary under the provisions of the ADA.

A Word of Caution: Protecting Employee Privacy

Managers should be discouraged from making assumptions about the types of accommodation an employee might need based on their health challenges. In addition, HR staff are typically prohibited from sharing details about employee health matters with other employees, even direct supervisors of workers with disabilities, as this can constitute a violation of privacy under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

The better approach is for managers to check in with all direct reports frequently to ensure they have all they need to perform their roles optimally.

Reasonable Accommodation Examples

The U.S. Office of Disability Rights website contains examples of reasonable requests for accommodation along with information about how to meet requests. An exhaustive amount of information is available on JAN’s website, which offers compliance advice for dozens of disabilities and medical conditions, from autism and arthritis to thyroid disorders and vertigo, as well as tools that can help employers enhance employee accessibility, including technology, ergonomics, lactation, and service animals.

Hiring Process Accommodations

Any applicant with the requisite qualifications who can perform the essential elements of a given job must be given the opportunity to compete for that role regardless of disability status. To ensure that a hiring process is in compliance with the ADA, employers should:

• Include an accessibility statement in job descriptions that makes clear that they will make every effort to fulfill accommodation requests throughout the course of the hiring process as well as on the job.
• Separate and prioritize “mandatory responsibilities” from other duties with a label such as “other job functions might include” and include language in their job description that encourages candidates to apply even if they are unsure of their ability to carry out all listed job functions.

On-the-Job Accommodations

Additional tools, altered work stations, and modified schedules or processes are among the most commonly reported accommodations provided by employers. For example:

• A worker with diabetes might require extra breaks during their shift to check blood sugar levels or administer insulin.
• An employee with social anxiety might need to be excused from attending a large company-sponsored event if their role is not integral to the occasion.
• A pregnant worker on bedrest should be offered the opportunity to complete their work remotely, if possible, and not required to begin their parental leave or use their disability leave allowance.
• An office worker with arthritis might benefit from the use of an adjustable standing desk.
• A worker with a visual disability can be given access to software that provides synthesized speech and speech recognition software for content generation.

The range of accommodation is only expanding as technology develops, creating a modern workplace where more workers who once might have been forced to leave the workforce can instead become valued team members.

Access Top Performers From a Wide Range of Communities and Backgrounds

With a clearer idea of what constitutes reasonable accommodation examples, as well as what to include in job posts to encourage applications from a wider range of backgrounds, you can increase your chances of finding the right fit. Employing a customized recruitment plan from Monster can expand your reach even further.

Legal disclaimer: None of the information provided herein constitutes legal advice on behalf of Monster.

The post Reasonable Accommodation Examples and Ideas appeared first on Monster.com.

In this article, we’ll share five perks and benefits you should offer employees, including:

1. flexible work schedules
2. professional growth opportunities
3. employee assistance program (EAP)
4. health and wellness benefits
5. time off and vacation days

This way, you can build a stronger, healthier, and more productive workforce by providing employees with a healthy place to work. Here’s what to know.

1. Flexible Work Schedules

One of the most effective ways to promote mental health is to allow employees autonomy over when, where, and how they complete their work. Offering employees even a small amount of control over their working hours can significantly reduce stress and contribute to a better work-life balance.

Consider encouraging employees to:

• adhere to a hybrid work schedule
• pick their workday start and end times
• step away from work when personal issues or emergencies arise

You might also consider implementing a shorter workweek, where employees work longer hours for four days with a three-day weekend. This gives them a longer amount of time to rest and recharge.

Whichever options work for your team, a flexible schedule helps employees follow through with personal obligations, pursue hobbies, and allocate time for self-care, which ultimately contributes to improved mental well-being. These measures can reduce turnover and help employees feel more satisfaction in their work since they reduce personal conflict between work and home responsibilities. These mental health benefits also build trust with managers and loyalty to your company.

2. Professional Growth Opportunities

When you provide employees with ample opportunities to grow in their roles, it gives them a stronger sense of purpose and appreciation. Employees who are promoted and given access to professional development perks are more confident in their abilities and eager to contribute to your organization.

It is beneficial to:

• provide training opportunities
• match employees with mentors
• be transparent about career trajectories
• provide regular check-ins and feedback
• offer professional development stipends that can be used toward outside classes, certifications, and industry events

This demonstrates that you appreciate your team and are committed to investing in the personal and professional growth of your workforce.

3. Employee Assistance Program

EAPs help employees with work-related anxiety and other challenges. With an effective EAP, your employees can take advantage of:

• confidential counseling services
• access to mental health professionals
• other mental health resources and support

Comprehensive EAPs help employees access what they need to navigate challenging professional circumstances, and some also help with personal matters. Consider partnering with a mental health hotline service that offers access to 24-hour counseling and support. Also consider on-site mental health support services and stress management and meditation classes so employees can address their mental health concerns in a safe space. These programs show that you care about your employee’s mental health and will do what you can to create a supportive environment.

4. Health and Wellness Benefits

Even when employees receive a comprehensive healthcare package that includes mental health benefits and support, 50% are not able to use that coverage because of other personal barriers. You can empower employees to seek out the help they need by providing:

• childcare options
• transportation
• education to reduce stigma

It’s helpful to implement a reimbursement program for employee mental health services, such as therapy or counseling sessions. You can also offer discounts or subsidies for wellness activities, such as gym memberships, yoga classes, and mindfulness apps.

Consider promoting a better sense of connectedness with offerings that employees can do together, such as community service programs and other volunteer opportunities. Another popular option is employee resource groups, where a group of coworkers get together to improve the diversity and inclusivity of the workplace. Employees who feel valued and part of a community are more likely to feel included and connected to their coworkers.

5. Time Off and Vacation Days

Encouraging employees to take regular breaks from work and use all their vacation days goes a long way toward promoting mental health. Even short vacations where employees are able to completely detach from work can improve their health and sense of well-being.

When your organization provides employees with plenty of vacation time, personal days, and mental health days, you’re allowing them to rest, recharge, and come back to the office more relaxed and focused. They also help your organization foster a culture of self-care, which reduces stress and prevents burnout.

Improve Your Work Culture with Mental Health Benefits Employees Need

The right mental health benefits will help you foster a healthier, happier team. Continue growing a supportive work environment that promotes employee engagement, well-being, and productivity by starting a free trial with Monster.

The post 5 Mental Health Benefits to Offer Employees appeared first on Monster.com.

Though these statistics might discourage business owners and leadership, there are specific ways you can reengage your employees and build a more productive team despite this trend.

In this article, we’ll examine:

• what quiet quitting means
• reasons why employees disengage
• how to get employees back on track

This way, you can keep your employees happy, growing, and putting forth the appropriate amount of effort at work.

What Is Quiet Quitting?

Quiet quitting is when employees seem to lose passion for their work and do the bare minimum without showing overt signs of leaving.

This group is considered the middle ground of the three main levels of employee engagement in the workplace, which include:

• Actively engaged employees: Employees who put forth the effort required to do their job, and they also go above and beyond.
• Unengaged employees: These employees are the quiet quitters. They meet the minimum requirements of their job and no more, putting in time but not much effort beyond that.
• Actively disengaged employees: Also known as “loud quitters,” these employees are actively disengaged and do not meet their job requirements.

Though it’s tempting to label the less-engaged employees as “lazy” or chalk it up to work-life balance boundaries, studies show that quiet quitting is a psychological detachment from one’s job or company. This happens for a variety of reasons, including:

• Few opportunities to learn and grow professionally.
• No one at work encourages employee development.
• No one seems to care for the employee personally.
• Unclear expectations of what’s required.

Studies show that quiet quitting is most prevalent among the Millennial and Gen Z populations — and, specifically, those who work remotely. Some experts feel it’s occurring among the younger generations because they prefer a better work-life balance. While this can paint a dim picture of remote work and employee engagement in general, there are ways you can reverse quiet quitting within your organization.

How to Reengage and Retain Quiet Quitters

As an employer or manager, it’s important to get familiar with the reasons your employees are quiet quitting so you can recognize the signs of disengagement before it becomes prevalent or your employees leave. These simple steps will help you reengage employees and encourage them to rediscover their enthusiasm for their work and your organization.

1. Understand the reasons why your employees are quiet quitting

The key to reengaging quiet quitters is knowing why they are checked out. Ask managers for input because they regularly engage with your staff and can look for the patterns and triggers that could be causing employees to disengage. Ask managers to report their observations or send out a feedback survey asking employees how they feel about their jobs.

Some common areas of disconnect to look for include:

• Poor work-life balance and burnout.
• Lack of growth opportunities within the company.
• Little or no recognition for work.
• Toxic work culture or environment.

2. Create a supportive work environment

Once you’ve identified the main issues, focus on creating a supportive work environment that puts communication and support at the forefront. By fostering a culture of psychological safety, employees will feel more comfortable opening up about their happiness at work.

Employees need to feel comfortable speaking openly about the improvements they would suggest. It’s important to recognize that your employees are your biggest assets, and their feedback is essential in building a work culture they enjoy.

3. Personalize your outreach

To rebuild a relationship with disengaged employees, initiate one-on-one conversations that allow you to demonstrate your understanding and empathy. Use these conversations to allow them to discuss their feelings and show that you understand their challenges and support their individual needs. This assures employees you care about their wellbeing and recognize their value to the organization.

4. Offer flexible solutions

Though idle employees are often overlooked by management, there are often opportunities for positive change. For example, perhaps there are flexible working arrangements that will cater to their needs but were never thought of, talked about, or offered.

These could be solutions such as opportunities for:

• skill development
• greater autonomy
• part-time work
• remote work

Opening this conversation gives your employees a sense of control over their work while demonstrating your flexibility and support.

5. Recognize and celebrate employee achievements

Praise, recognition, and rewards are helpful for reengaging quiet quitters because it makes them feel like they are contributing to the team. Acknowledge when employees hit major milestones and celebrate their contributions, no matter how small they may seem. This not only helps employees feel proud of the work they’re doing, but it also boosts team morale, which is the key to better performance overall.

6. Build a sense of belonging

Employees want to feel like they belong to the team and organization. Organize team-building activities that promote collaboration, inclusivity, and interdepartmental relationships. With improved interconnectedness, employees are more likely to feel a sense of purpose beyond their individual contributions to the team and company.

7. Provide regular check-ins and feedback

Establish a structured system for providing employees with regular check-ins to monitor progress and ensure they’re moving in a positive direction. Regular feedback — and we mean more than the once-per-quarter check-in or yearly review — keeps employees engaged and consistently moving to the next target. Plus, it gives managers a chance to address problematic habits before they become engrained.

8. Create opportunities for growth

When there is little opportunity for growth within a company, employees often wonder why they should put forth the effort. Provide employees with challenging new assignments and growth opportunities to show them that you believe in their potential and are willing to invest in their future. Not only can this prevent them from quitting altogether, but it can also inspire employees to reverse their disengaged behavior and reopen the doors to productivity.

Reengage Employees with a Healthy, Happy Work Environment

Employees — especially quiet quitters — want to feel like the work they do matters, so when they become disengaged, it’s important to reengage them before it’s too late. Keep the lines of communication open and provide ample opportunities for growth. It could help your employees rediscover why they loved working for your organization in the first place and bring a new and reinvigorated energy to their work. Improve your work environment and hire top-notch candidates by signing up for your free trial with Monster.

The post How to Reengage Quiet Quitters appeared first on Monster.com.

Health insurance provides employees with financial protection against soaring medical expenses and shows that your leadership team supports employee well-being, engagement, and loyalty. Choosing the right plan for your employees, however, can be a complex and daunting task.

In this article, we’ll cover five key factors to consider when weighing your options, including how to:

1. Take time to assess employee needs.
2. Analyze coverage plan options.
3. Evaluate program costs.
4. Research plan administration and support.
5. Implement, evaluate, and review your health insurance policy.

1. Take Time to Assess Employee Needs

Before choosing a health insurance policy, it’s important to evaluate your company size, demographics, and workforce needs. This is because different health insurance plans are useful for different employees. To form a deep understanding of employee healthcare needs and preferences:

• Send employees job satisfaction and healthcare preference surveys.
• Ask employees about their health-related habits, such as daily activity levels and tobacco and alcohol use.
• Analyze workplace injury data.
• Compare your findings with local, state, and national data.

Be sure to only ask lawful questions and work diligently to protect employee confidentiality. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides guidance and assessment tools on their workplace health promotion homepage.

2. Analyze Coverage Plan Options

Once you know more about your employees’ needs, you can evaluate the different provider networks and coverage plan types, such as:

• Exclusive Provider Organizations (EPO): These insurance plans allow you to see specialists without referrals, and they cover some out-of-network care in case of an emergency.
• Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO): This coverage relies on primary care physicians to refer employees to specialized services and act as a gatekeeper of sorts. These plans tend to have lower deductibles.
• Point of Service Plans (POS): A combination of HMO and PPO, these plans require preapproval for specialist visits and often come with higher copays for out-of-network care.
• Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO): These plans provide the most flexibility for seeing in- and out-of-network physicians, but employees will pay higher premiums.

When choosing your health insurance plan, take into consideration the network size and structure, such as the hospitals, doctors, specialists, and other providers that participate. This will help employees access more care options and help them pay less for being able to choose in-network providers. Also, consider which preventative care and additional health services are covered, such as mental wellness programs and maternity coverage.

3. Evaluate Program Costs

Considering program cost is important for both employees and employers. When choosing your plan, be sure to compare:

• Premiums: The base cost employee pay to have health insurance.
• Deductibles: The required yearly amount employees pay in addition to their premium before the insurance takes effect.
• Copayments: Set fees employees pay for doctor visits and prescriptions.
• Coinsurance structures: What employees are responsible for paying after all deductibles and terms are met.

These costs can vary widely from provider to provider and plan to plan. The goal is to find a plan that provides your employees with coverage at a lower cost without sacrificing availability and quality.

4. Research Plan Administration and Support

Employers that choose the less expensive health insurance providers without doing a bit of due diligence might find themselves with low-cost coverage but lousy processes and customer service. Research which of your top choices have:

• Easy ways to administer plans.
• Adequate support from insurers.
• Quality customer service and responsiveness.

Also, consider how easy it is for employees to submit claims and use online tools, such as provider directories or claim-submission portals, and ensure all providers adhere to legal mandates, such as the Affordable Care Act and other applicable local and federal regulations.

5. Implement, Evaluate, and Review Your Health Insurance Policy

When implementing your new healthcare plans, communicate openly with employees and assist them with the process. Ensure employees understand:

• How the insurance plans work.
• What the coverage options are.
• How to use the plans effectively.

Provide additional education resources, such as benefits summaries, a list of FAQs, and online tools for signing up and checking their coverage.

Also, keep in mind that your employees’ healthcare coverage needs and what providers can offer will change throughout the years. Continually review coverage performance and cost in addition to employee satisfaction so you can keep on top of your employees’ needs and keep offering cost-effective healthcare coverage. By keeping track of and evaluating your offerings and benefits on a regular basis, your team will be able to adjust and improve upon your plan as needed.

Attract Top Talent with a Quality Health Insurance Plan

If selecting the right health insurance plan for your employees still feels overwhelming or complex, know there are numerous brokers and advisors who can provide expert insight and guidance. Designing a comprehensive and cost-effective benefits package that aligns with your company’s priorities and goals. Start a free trial with Monster to reach qualified candidates and attract top talent in your industry.

The post 5 Tips for Choosing a Health Insurance Plan for Your Company appeared first on Monster.com.

This process can help you increase team efficiency, streamline processes, and reduce overhead. It also enables you to respond quickly to changes in your market. It is an excellent choice for business owners who want to trim excess costs without drastically reducing their workforce. In this article, we’ll explore what it means to rightsize and how to use this restructuring method to set up your business for sustainable growth. Here’s what to know.

What Is Rightsizing?

Rightsizing is a proactive approach to restructuring your business that doesn’t only focus on cutting jobs. Instead, the goal is to align your business with your current needs and allow you to make changes quickly, constantly adapting to shifting markets as needed, without always sacrificing talent.

For example, if you need to cut costs but aren’t looking to downsize drastically, deciding to rightsize will offer you different ways to cut costs in addition to unavoidable layoffs, such as:

• Shifting staff to different departments.
• Streamlining operations and processes.
• Leveraging technology and innovation.
• Reevaluating real estate costs and other company assets.

By taking a more strategic approach to reshaping your business, your new organizational structure can work more efficiently.

How to Use Rightsizing to Restructure Your Business

Once you decide to rightsize your business, these steps will help you decide how to approach it:

1. Identify areas for improvement

First, you must assess which business areas can be tightened and how. You will want to determine the efficiency of:

• operations
• workforce
• technology
• resources
• real estate

Look for indicators that point to problem areas, such as declining profits, production bottlenecks, redundancies, and changes in demand. This will help you see where to rightsize to make the most significant difference.

2. Evaluate your workforce needs

Though rightsizing can help you minimize the need to downsize, which will help you keep top talent, it’s essential to factor in excess or underutilized employees. Start by analyzing each employee’s skill set and job responsibilities. Review performance reviews and compare the feedback to productivity metrics to be sure your teams are helping your company hit its goals.

Use this information to identify skill gaps and potential redundancies. This will help you also consider opportunities for reassignment, cross-training, and upskilling employees to meet your needs and create a more versatile workforce.

3. Streamline operations and processes

Tight-knit operations and processes save your business time and money. Evaluate where your team can eliminate bottlenecks and reduce waste while implementing automation to simplify repetitive tasks and improve accuracy.

It’s also helpful to analyze whether certain functions could be outsourced so your team can focus on their core responsibilities. You can consistently review and improve your processes to ensure your business is always running optimally.

4. Leverage technology and innovation

Today’s technological advancements can help you rightsize your company more effectively than ever. From AI to the wide variety of software solutions, many technological innovations can help your employees work more efficiently and make it easier for you to reach your objectives.

Look for technologies that can automate your processes and increase productivity, such as tools for email integration, sales pipelines, and customer outreach. This will enable repetitive and simple tasks to be accomplished easily so employees can focus on high-value work.

5. Evaluate real estate costs and other company assets

With flexible work environments and the ability for employees to work remotely, companies no longer have to invest in large office spaces. You can also evaluate your needs for large, bulky machinery or excess off-site storage.

Once you evaluate your real estate and spacing needs, consider downsizing office space or optimizing the layout. Also, identify underutilized assets and replace them with more efficient alternatives where applicable.

6. Communicate and implement changes

When implementing changes in your business, it’s essential to appropriately communicate these changes to management and staff. Transparency will help you build trust with employees.

To do this, communicate the rationale behind your changes and highlight the potential benefits for employees and the organization. Also, encourage employees to step forward with their concerns so you can address them. Be sure to provide lots of support and train managers in change leadership skills. With solid communication and plenty of opportunities for feedback, you will ensure all voices are heard and considered.

7. Track progress and continue improvement

Rightsizing is an ongoing process, and how you evaluate your company’s needs and set it up for success will help you adapt to changing business landscapes. Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to track employee performance and measure the success of your efforts.

Use these KPIs to assess your:

• productivity
• cost savings
• employee satisfaction
• customer experiences

Then, use the insights you gain to continue making improvements, refine strategies, and ensure that your efforts remain effective.

Set Your Business up for Success — Now and in the Future

Now that you know how to rightsize your business, it’s time to plan how to restructure your company for short- and long-term success. Start with the right workforce and access millions of qualified candidates through a free trial with Monster.

The post Rightsizing Your Business: What It Is and How to Do It appeared first on Monster.com.

If your company is going through a significant change, you need to know how to guide, support, and inspire your team so they can thrive in a shifting work environment. In this article, we’ll explore what change leadership is and share which skills will help your team succeed.

What Is Change Leadership?

It’s an approach to guiding an organization through significant changes and transitions that can disrupt how employees approach and feel about their roles, company culture, and professional relationships. Strong change leadership benefits employees who need professional and emotional support with changes such as:

• Organizational restructuring: When companies undergo major structural shifts, such as merging with other organizations, switching business models, or conducting widespread layoffs, leadership can guide employees through the transition, align teams with new goals, and ensure a smooth integration.
• Implementing new technologies: Using the latest technology and software systems can be challenging for employees. Leadership is needed to support the team as they learn how to use new tools effectively.
• Culture transformations: Companies often need to transform employee culture to adapt to new market conditions and enhance employee engagement. Leadership helps drive these changes by supporting employees as they embrace new values and behaviors.
• Process changes: Leadership skills can make your team more successful as you change and streamline processes. It’s important to assess the current process, identify areas of improvement, and guide employees through new workflows.
• Strategy implementation: Few organizations succeed without developing a new strategic direction or business plan at some point. Skilled leadership can communicate the new vision and align teams around clear goals to achieve the desired outcome.

Essential Change Leadership Skills

The most important thing leadership can do during major transitions is foster a work environment built on positivity, alignment, and trust. Skills that are useful during these transitions include:

1. Visionary Thinking

This skill enables leaders to set a clear direction and purpose for the changing landscape. When great leaders envision how to best achieve company goals, they are more likely to inspire others to embrace change and work collaboratively.

Motivate your team with visionary thinking as you:

• Take time to learn more about your industry.
• Use this knowledge to develop long-term strategies.
• Set and track short- and long-term company and departmental goals.

This can lead to innovation and faster transformation within an organization.

2. Communication and Influencing

Communication and influencing are necessary change leadership skills because they help you increase employee morale and engagement, making your team more successful. When your company is going through change, it’s helpful to discuss:

• What changes are occurring.
• Why the changes are necessary.
• When the changes will be implemented.

Also, practice how to listen with empathy and be more concise and direct. This can help you clarify your direction and create trust.

3. Emotional Intelligence

Change often brings about uncertainty, which can be stressful for employees. The best change leaders understand how to manage their emotions and respond well to the emotions of others.

It’s paramount to have strong emotional intelligence skills so you can:

• Recognize and acknowledge others’ feelings and emotions.
• Develop a strong self-awareness through personal reflection.
• Empathize with your team.

Being able to identify common emotional triggers will help you respond to and mitigate emotional responses quickly and effectively — especially before negative feelings can lower team morale.

4. Resilience and Adaptability

Change can be challenging and unpredictable, which requires leaders to build resilience and adaptability. Resilience allows leaders to bounce back from obstacles and learn from failure while remaining focused on the desired outcomes. Adaptability helps leaders adjust quickly to new challenges.

Change leaders can build these skills by:

• Embracing failure as a learning opportunity.
• Keeping engaged during changes and challenges.
• Facing obstacles with a positive outlook.

This is a change leadership skill that comes with practice.

5. Collaboration and Team Building

Change often requires cross-team collaboration, and it’s up to leaders to encourage this by breaking down silos. To develop this skill:

• Encourage different perspectives.
• Seek out and leverage others’ expertise.
• Work to promote an inclusive team environment.

This will ensure you fully utilize your team’s collective intelligence, which can make team members feel a sense of ownership of and commitment to the change.

6. Decision-Making and Problem-Solving

A change leadership skill all management needs is the ability to make informed and timely decisions. You must understand how to analyze complex problems, consider multiple perspectives, and use that knowledge to implement effective solutions.

To make big decisions and solve problems effectively:

• Use logic, data, and reasoning to gain clarity around the issue.
• Rely on company or industry peers for valuable input.
• Once a decision is made, take ownership of the results.

Be sure to track the results of your decisions and analyze the positive and negative aspects so you can continue to learn and grow.

7. Stakeholder Management

Properly engaging and managing stakeholders throughout organizational change is an important leadership characteristic. Effective leaders know how to recognize valuable stakeholders, build strong relationships with them, and address their concerns proactively to gain and maintain their support.

To do this:

• Work deliberately to understand your stakeholders’ needs and reservations.
• Be transparent about possible outcomes and challenges.
• Update them along the way and continue to ask for feedback.

This builds trust and encourages communication throughout the process, which is key.

Lead Your Team Effectively and Build a Better Culture

Effective, empathetic change leadership will play a critical role in the success of your organization while employees navigate an ever-changing workplace. Build a stronger work culture and access millions of qualified candidates by launching a free trial with Monster.

The post 7 Essential Change Leadership Skills appeared first on Monster.com.

In this article, we’ll examine:

• What misconduct is and how to spot it.
• Different types of misconduct.
• How to develop a misconduct policy and plan of action.
• What steps to take when misconduct happens.

This way, your employees will have a clear understanding of the behavior expected of them in the workplace and the ramifications for people who violate the policy. (It can be helpful to have an employment lawyer review your policy before you implement it.) Here’s what you need to know.

What Is Employee Misconduct?

Employee misconduct is any employee action that goes against company policy or behavior standards and can create a negative work environment. Roughly 75% of employees have witnessed misconduct, yet only 41% of violations are reported, according to Gartner. This is why having a clear code of conduct and ethics can help you and your team more easily spot and report violations that could otherwise go unnoticed.

Common Types of Misconduct

The most common types of misconduct include:

Gross Misconduct

Gross misconduct represents more serious violations. These employee infractions can result in termination and, in some cases, even legal ramifications. They include:

1. Harassment: This unlawful behavior can include unwanted sexual advances or inappropriate comments based on someone’s sex, age, race, religion, or other factors listed in the protected class. Some examples include making sexual jokes, emailing or circulating insulting images and emails, and inappropriate touching.
2. Discrimination: This occurs when employees are treated unfairly because they are in a protected class. People can be discriminated against during the hiring process and on the job, such as being unfairly passed over for a promotion or left out of high-profile assignments. Employers today are placing more emphasis on creating inclusive work environments for all employees.
3. Theft: Theft occurs when employees take things that don’t belong to them. It highlights the importance of keeping an accurate inventory of company property, installing surveillance equipment, limiting access to susceptible areas, and having clear internal policies and procedures.
4. Substance abuse: Substance abuse can include drugs, alcohol, and other addictive substances. Employees violate the substance abuse policy if they sell, buy, or use drugs and alcohol at work or are under the influence during the workday.
5. Breach of confidentiality: This is when employees disclose confidential information about the company or employees. It can negatively affect your organization. Some examples include trade secrets, patent applications, and proprietary company data that can be damaging if it falls into the wrong hands.

General or Simple Misconduct

There are also types of employee misconduct that can be considered less egregious. For example:

1. Lateness or absenteeism: These occur when an employee is constantly late or absent beyond a reasonable number of days and without prior approval. It can affect work and company performance, not to mention team morale.
2. Poor quality work: This happens when employees consistently perform at a level that doesn’t match up with their ability or job expectations. People have bad days and different employees are capable of different work qualities, but when it happens consistently, further action might be needed.
3. Insubordination: This occurs when employees refuse to complete tasks mandated by their managers. This failure to complete the requested work by difficult employees can be considered insubordination when it’s a flat-out refusal of direct, authorized demands.

It’s important to investigate and deal with misconduct appropriately based on the nature of the infraction. Now that you know which can be considered serious versus less serious, you can use this information to create your policy and plan of action.

Developing a Misconduct Policy and Action Plan

Business owners and leadership should have clear policies in place for addressing employee misconduct. This helps managers and HR know how to:

• Recognize misconduct and identify who might need to be involved in the process.
• Properly investigate infractions.
• Proceed with the appropriate level of discipline.

When employees or managers spot misconduct, they will be more likely to report it if there are clear guidelines about the process. Here are some useful tips for drafting yours.

Identifying Who Might Need to Be Involved in the Process

Share the process for filing an employee misconduct report, such as alerting their manager or HR and providing a verbal or written statement. When employees report misconduct, they need to know whom to contact for specific violations. This will eliminate confusion and increase chances the misconduct will be reported.

Properly Investigating Infractions

Next, outline the procedure for investigating claims. You’ll want management or HR to:

1. Gather information of the incident, such as the date, time, and circumstances. Also get a list of witnesses and their contact information.
2. Interview employees involved separately and privately. Be sure to take meticulous notes and keep a record of all statements.
3. Review relevant evidence or documentation, such as emails, performance reviews, previous disciplinary records, or other correspondence.

Once all the information is gathered and reviewed, your team can make their decisions about the next steps based on the results.

Proceeding With the Appropriate Discipline

Not all misconduct requires legal action or termination. It’s important to determine the appropriate level of response. Be sure your policy is clear about what actions require discipline and how to do it fairly and consistently for all employees.

For example, minor infractions might require warnings or corrective actions. Others might necessitate suspension, transfer, or firing. When in doubt, remember the aim shouldn’t be to punish the employee, but to rectify the situation and ensure other employees comply with your policy.

Promote a Positive Workplace Culture

Identifying employee misconduct and taking the proper measures can provide employees with a safe, productive, and professional work environment. Creating a positive work culture starts with making the right hires. Start a free trial to access Monster’s pool of candidates and find your next great hire today.

The post How to Handle Employee Misconduct appeared first on Monster.com.

• More than 5 million women in the United States will give birth.
• An estimated 53,000 children will be adopted by new families.
• Another 65 million people will shoulder the responsibility of caring for a disabled, chronically, or terminally ill family member.
• 61 million people will have to endure and address their own significant disability or chronic illness or even face the stress of navigating treatment for a potentially fatal illness.

These numbers paint a vivid picture: The ability to access family and medical leave has the potential to improve the lives of a substantial proportion of America’s workers at any stage in their professional journey. This is where the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) comes in.

But the federal law only requires employers to provide their workers with unpaid leave and it only applies to employers with 50 or more employees. By providing a generous FMLA leave policy that goes beyond the provisions of FMLA, you can improve your company’s work-life balance, and by extension, employee retention, engagement, and performance.

What Is FMLA Leave?

Since 1993, the FMLA has required private employers with 50 or more employees to permit up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in any 12-month period to attend to family or medical matters, such as:

• The birth or adoption of a child.
• Caring for a child, parent, or family member with a serious medical condition.
• Recovering from a health issue that hinders their ability to perform their role.

Group health benefits must be maintained during the leave and the employee must be permitted to return to the same job or a comparable one at the end of their leave period. Workers become eligible for this benefit once they have worked for the same employer for at least 12 months and for at least 1,250 hours during those months.

In addition, the law requires eligible employers to notify and educate employees about their rights under FMLA by displaying a poster with information about the Act, including how to file a complaint if they believe their rights under the law have been violated. Free downloads of the required poster are available in English and Spanish on the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) website.

The DOL provides a variety of forms that employers can use to administer their leave policy; however, the law does not require employers to use any particular FMLA form so your HR department is free to design and implement forms and internal processes that best meet your needs, as long as they do not place undue hardship on your employees to obtain leave and do not violate the provisions of the law. Your employee handbook should also outline the provisions of FMLA.

Implementing FMLA

Adhering to the provisions of FMLA and administering your company leave policy in adherence to state and local employment laws is as crucial as it is complex. FMLA is a complicated law that has been amended twice since it was enacted. In addition to the federal law, several states have leave policies that extend beyond federal mandates.

Because individual managers and HR personnel have been held accountable for violations, it is a good idea confer with an employment lawyer when facing these decisions. Quibbling over the technical definition of “family member” and getting it wrong, for example, could be costly for not just the employer but the individual manager who made the error as well.

Leave for New Parents

Under the provisions of FMLA leave, employees are permitted to take family leave to bond with a new baby or adopted child at any point during the 12 months following their child’s birth or placement for foster care or adoption. Employers often require employees to take parental leave consecutively, but they are free to negotiate intermittent leave with employees.

Only 5% of new fathers take two weeks or more of parental leave. By urging employees of all genders to take leave, you can help improve employee wellness and establish your organization as a family-friendly and supportive workplace.

When an employee announces that a new child is coming into their lives, reach out to remind them of the provisions of FMLA and let them know that you are expecting them to take some time off. Not only will this bonding time strengthen your employee’s relationship with their new child, but many experts believe encouraging more men to take paternity leave is an important step toward increasing equity for women in the workplace, helping to bridge the opportunity gap at a critical point in their career trajectory.

Leave for Medical Illness

Unlike parental leave, employees may opt, or even need, to take medical leave for a serious medical condition intermittently. Under FMLA, qualified medical conditions include pregnancy, illness, or injury that causes incapacity, as well as procedures or treatments that require an overnight stay in a hospital. Employees with chronic medical conditions can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave intermittently during periods of incapacity.

Many employers opt to offer FMLA leave as an extension to their paid sick leave allowance for the year. In other words, once an employee has used all their paid sick days, they can take an additional 12 weeks unpaid to deal with illness. Another option is to allow employees to donate their unused PTO to coworkers in need.

Leave for Caregiving

Whether it’s staying home for a couple days to care for a sick child or requesting more extended time off to provide or oversee care for a spouse or parent with a prolonged illness or disability, employees often find themselves trying to balance the dual responsibilities of work and caregiving. Helping them navigate these life roles is a common HR task, and one that FMLA leave can make a bit simpler.

As with parental and sick leave, having materials that clarify your employees’ legal rights under FMLA and being ready to explain exactly how your own company leave policy can augment federal, state, and local leave provisions can help make these family crises a bit less stressful. It’s also important to be aware that an employer can be held legally accountable if an employee can prove they have been terminated or discriminated against due to caretaking.

Going a Step Further Than FMLA

The United States is the only developed country that does not require employers to provide paid parental leave. Even unpaid leave as required by FMLA is unavailable to the nearly 44% of the workforce who are employed by organizations with fewer than 50 employees in states that do not go further than the act’s provisions.

Only 35% of U.S. employers provide paid maternity leave, with even fewer—27%—offering paid paternity leave, and that number appears to be shrinking. Yet, a majority of jobseekers believe this benefit should be required by law. Younger workers are especially focused on finding workplaces that foster wellness and work-life balance. This makes paid family leave a potentially powerful enticement for job candidates.

Coupled with other generous PTO policies and wellness benefits, a robust family and medical leave policy, one that builds on but goes well beyond FLMA leave, can serve as a powerful incentive to increase retention for workers at every stage of their career path.

Leverage Your Family and Medical Leave Policy to Attract Top Performers

By building on mandated FMLA leave provisions, you can combine paid and unpaid leave provisions that show your current and future employees you care about work-life balance and workplace wellness, and then promote those provisions in new job posts that are bound to attract coveted candidates.

Legal Disclaimer: None of the information provided herein constitutes legal advice on behalf of Monster.

The post How to Effectively Manage FMLA Leave appeared first on Monster.com.

• Less than 12% of employees believe that their most recent early employee training was adequate to set them up for success in their new role.
• Proper onboarding can increase employee productivity by 40% and retention by 82%.
• More than 95% of employers spend less than 90 days training new employees.
• 83% of employees reported that they spent less than 14 days training for their current position, with 39% of employers dedicating seven days or less to the process.

No wonder nearly one-third of new hires quit within the first 90 days of employment. No employee wants to stay in a role if they’ve been set up to fail, and when employers opt to skimp on new employee training, they’re making a short-term calculation that could have costly long-term consequences. By extending and expanding your training process for new employees, you can accelerate your new hire’s path toward profitability and likely extend their tenure with your company. You’ll also save the estimated $4,000 per employee cost of starting the hiring process all over again.

These 11 steps will help you understand how to train new employees to set them — and you — up for success.

1. Provide Benefits That Ensure Success

New employee training can be paired with ongoing professional development to better support success. Mentorship programs, peer-to-peer learning, and tuition reimbursement communicate to potential and new employees that your company is serious about continuous improvement and knowledge acquisition.

Encourage employees to immerse themselves in your sector, setting them on the path toward mastery in their field and ensuring that your team is among the best in the business, by:

• Providing access to expert websites and industry journals.
• Paying for professional association memberships and certification programs.
• Sending employees to relevant industry conferences.
• Bringing in recognized experts in your field to facilitate skills training and workshops.

2. Hire for Potential

Employers are often so focused on recruiting applicants who can “hit the ground running” that they fail to recognize candidates with the qualities most likely to distinguish high performers, such as strong foundational skills, values alignment, and potential.

High-potential employees — those most likely to maximize your capacity and help you achieve your goals — are also more likely to desire and embrace a robust training program. Better yet, sharing the parameters of your training processes with applicants as part of your employer brand will tend to attract better-fit candidates and deter less professionally engaged job seekers, thus serving as a built-in filtering mechanism.

3. Create a New Employee Training Framework

Once you’ve decided which elements to include in your initial training process, you need to establish a sequence and timeline. This framework should be similar for every employee in every department. You will also likely need to develop an offsite training framework for remote employees.

For example, you may decide that in the first week on the job, every employee will complete onboarding paperwork and learn about your cybersecurity policies. By the second week, you might move on to safety procedures and company policies, while during the third week, each employee might begin learning about department-specific processes. The fourth week might encompass company culture and teambuilding, and so on.

4. Customize Your Framework for Each New Employee

The specific content each employee learns will be the same at some points (for example, workplace etiquette), but likely to differ at some steps of the training framework in others depending on what department they work for and what role they have been hired to fill within that department. For example, the first few weeks of training for an engineer might look very different than the first month of onboarding for a sales representative.

At some point during the first week on the job, ask about your new hire’s preferred learning style — visual, auditory, hands-on? — and tweak their training plan accordingly. This will help them get up to speed faster and retain the information longer.

5. Build in Breaks

The first few days in a new job can be overwhelming — so many names to learn, applications to master, and passwords to set up and memorize! Encourage new employees to take frequent breaks by building them into your training framework. Taking more breaks will help them absorb all the new information faster and more thoroughly.

6. Leverage Prior Knowledge

Your new employee should meet one-on-one with their direct supervisor at the midpoint of the first week to learn what skills and knowledge from their last job they think will aid them in their new role, as well as what processes differ. Getting a sense of what they already know and what is new to them after they’ve had a few days to assess their new environment will help you tweak their training plan to leverage their experience.

7. Provide Context

During your new hire’s first few days, provide a guided tour of the physical space and an overview of the tech tools, especially communication and project management tools like Microsoft Teams or Slack.

Rather than allowing them to become immediately immersed in the department, team, or project they will be a part of, explain how each department contributes to your organization’s success and how they work together. Introducing new hires to people from other departments, especially those they will be most likely to collaborate with, is a great way to improve inter-departmental cooperation.

8. Dedicate the Resources Needed to Ensure Success

Research shows that the most significant insights needed to foster deeper employee engagement and mastery occur at the 30-day mark, yet only 4% of employers dedicate that much time to onboarding. By extending the time dedicated to training new employees beyond that 30-day threshold you can improve the likelihood that each new hire will become a top contributor.

Make sure they have someone to go to with questions and consider assigning a peer to work alongside them for the first few weeks. This is also a great time to pair your new hire with a more senior mentor from a different department or team.

9. Focus on Task-based Learning

Committing to an onboarding program that is at least 90 days long doesn’t mean you have to wait more than three months for your new hire to make a real contribution. Even at its earliest stages, training should be task-focused rather than hypothetical.

As you have your new hires work to become familiar with your project management system, for example, you can have them begin to set up or participate on a project that you know they will be a part of and start making contributions as a component of their training, with low expectations and lots of feedback along the way. Near the end of their training, set short and long-term goals that build on what they’ve learned.

10. Nourish Collegiality

During the first week, welcome your hire to their new team with a low-stakes team-building activity, such as an offsite lunch. As their training period proceeds, consider using it as an opportunity to refresh soft skills with training that can help their new team bond and build on past professional development endeavors. For example, you might bring in an outside expert to facilitate a workshop on presentation skills or time management.

11. Obtain Feedback Every Step of the Way

Rather than creating a static training framework, obtain frequent employee feedback by tracking:

• How long it takes employees to go from the earliest stages of onboarding to expected levels of productivity.
• How satisfied employees are with their onboarding experience.
• New employee retention rates for each department.

In addition, seek out feedback from top-performing employees by asking:

• What aspect of your early training program did you find most helpful?
• What do you think is not helpful and should be replaced?

Use the data you obtain to assess and improve training for future employees.

Learn How to Leverage Your Onboarding Policies to Find and Retain Top Performers

Monster’s guide to attracting, engaging, and retaining top talent can help your business thrive in an uncertain labor environment with easy-to-access strategies, from the three key steps needed to improve your retention rates to four ways you can build your talent pipeline.

The post Training New Employees for Success appeared first on Monster.com.

• Mental health challenges.
• Trouble being productive at work.
• Stress about current and future finances.
• Increased tension in the workplace.
• Frequent turnover, as employees leave for higher-paying jobs.

The good news is that businesses can help employees weather economic hardship and help them feel more secure in their jobs, which can lead to increased employee morale and better company performance, without overspending. Not every business can increase employees’ pay across the board — an obvious but often impractical solution. These tips aren’t costly and will help you support your employees during turbulent economic times.

1. Open the Lines of Communication

The first thing you can do is make sure your employees know that you’re aware of how difficult inflation can make their lives and that if anyone is struggling, they should feel free to reach out to their manager or HR. Simply stating that you care can do wonders for your staff — as long as it’s genuine.

You can also:

• Host an all-hands meeting and work with managers to be sure everyone understands how to reach out for help if they need it.
• Send a poll to employees to gauge how everyone is feeling and see whether there are issues that they are struggling with more than others. This can help you make better decisions about how to help your staff.
• Be transparent about your plans moving forward. Employees can feel nervous in difficult economic times. Make sure you’re communicating your business plans (e.g., plans regarding layoffs and furloughs) to keep them in the loop.
• Conduct stay interviews with stellar employees. Ask them how your company can improve and what conditions would help them stay.

Train your managers on how to approach the subject when it comes up in staff meetings and one-on-ones. You want all your leaders to be on the same page about what your company is willing to do and how you can help.

2. Revamp Your Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

If you already have an EAP, consider reviewing the services you’re offering employees. If you don’t, it might be time to utilize the program — especially during inflation.

It’s a cost-effective way to help employees:

• Budget for retirement and manage debt.
• Take charge of their physical and mental health.
• Expand their skills and career-development opportunities.
• Pay off student loans and get help with tuition.
• Find family care assistance (child, pet, and elder care, etc.)

You can work with third-party providers who can help your employees get set up with the services they need. You also don’t have to spend more than you need, as some organizations let you pay per employee or based on services used, making it an economically viable way to make a big difference.

3. Customize Benefits and Perks

An often-overlooked way to help employees is to customize your benefits and perks. This means that instead of offering underutilized benefits, you are asking employees what they would benefit from most and tailoring your offerings to their specific needs.

As many as 73% of employees would stay in their job longer if the benefits were worth it, according to a 2022 MetLife survey. For example, your employees might appreciate a stronger healthcare plan or more paid time off. You can make these changes for the entire company or allow employees to pick and choose from a list of options and sign up for the ones that help them the most.

4. Offer a 401(k) Program with Matching

If you don’t already offer employees a 401(K) with matching, a period of inflation is a good time to give it a thought. Pensions are rarely offered these days, and employees want to know they will have retirement savings to fall back on.

About 56% of employers offer 401(k) plans, and about half of them match employees’ contributions. Most offer between 0 and 6% of the employees’ salary, but there are lots of ways to contribute and plans to consider.

The expenses are tax deductible and with many reputable mutual fund companies out there, it’s easy to get a good deal. It’s a great way to keep your best workers and give them peace of mind.

5. Encourage Flexible Work Schedules

The average commute for employees is 27.6 minutes — one way. This means that most of your staff spend roughly four and a half hours per week going to and from work. Allowing employees to work from home either full- or part-time will help them save on commuting costs, such as fuel, train or bus tickets, and tolls.

It might sound like a heavy lift, but creating a hybrid workplace for employees (if you haven’t already) can be done in a few simple steps:

• Take a poll to see what schedule will work for employees.
• Use this information to create your hybrid workplace policy.
• Assess which technologies you’ll need to get everyone remote, such as portable computers and docking stations.
• Train management on the best way to keep employees in the loop and engaged.

Of all the factors employees consider when taking on and staying in a role, 72% consider a healthy work-life balance the most important. Plus, it’s an easy way to save both you and your employees the extra costs associated with coming into the office full time.

Continue Improving Your Work Culture — Even During Inflation

High inflation isn’t fun for employers and employees alike, but with the tips in the article, you know how to ease some of the burden without overspending. Building a better work culture starts with your people. Find high-quality employees with a free job posting on Monster.

The post 5 Low-Cost Ways to Support Employees During Inflation appeared first on Monster.com.