Human Resources Management

Mindfulness – How to Increase Efficiency, Creativity, and Workplace Harmony

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013

mindfulness small

What is mindfulness anyway? Mindfulness has become the antithesis to multitasking; instead of focusing on many things at once, which can cause poor decision making and lead to confusion, stress, and poor communication, mindfulness includes calming and focusing of the mind, often through meditation and breathing practices. A 2003 study, and 6 week implementation of a mindfulness program, showed that 70% of participants took fewer sick days due to depression and anxiety. In the following 3 years following the study, absences for all health conditions were halved.
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Mental Health Issues in the Workplace – Accommodating Employees with Mental Health Issues

Tuesday, May 7th, 2013

mental health
Mental health issues affect roughly 25% of adults in the U.S., so it’s likely that at some point you will have a dealership employee who suffers from mental illness. However, accommodating mental health can be a delicate matter, as there can be legal implications if you handle the matter out of turn. If you assume an employee has a mental health issue, before it has been disclosed, and treat the individual as disabled, you are breaching the law. So what do you do?

There are a variety of ways to handle mental illness. Firstly, if the illness hasn’t been disclosed, simply document any odd or poor behavior that is violating the company’s workplace violence policy, or if the behavior is affecting performance or operation. Always support your employee, and be certain to ask open-ended questions about how they are. If the employee does disclose mental illness, make sure to follow policy: keep the information as confidential as possible and follow the obligations under ADA policy to accommodate the employee. Most importantly, is the employee looking for accommodation or simply sharing the information? Simply support your employee and their needs- accommodate their schedule and, if they desire it, provide them with any information they may need on an employee assistance program. Communicate with them and encourage them to work with Human Resources as they need to.

Gift-Giving at the Office: Do’s and Don’ts

Friday, December 7th, 2012

With the holidays fast approaching, employees and bosses alike are debating whether it is a good or bad idea to exchange gifts at the office.  To avoid any confusion, hurt feelings, and/or embarassment, Ladies’ Home Journal has come up with a few easy pointers to make sure you are following proper gift-giving etiquette: (more…)

Online Shopping @ Work

Thursday, December 6th, 2012

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday behind us, you may think that the chances of your employees shopping online during work hours are behind you as well. Think again.  According to the latest CareerBuilder survey, 49% of employees plan to shop at work this holiday season with most planning to begin sometime after December 7th. (more…)

How to Make a Social Hire [slideshow]

Monday, November 26th, 2012

Jon Stewart Exposes Veterans Hiring Mess

Tuesday, November 13th, 2012

This excellent clip from the John Stewart show highlights a key issue employers face in making good hires. It is especially relevant for those employers who are committed to hiring veterans, but it also hits home for any employer who simply wants to hire the best person for the job.

A big disconnect comes into play when hiring mangers rely on route, standardized education and certification requirements in the selection process. Here’s something important to note about these requirements: When  these recruitment standards are set purposefully high to weed out the “unqualified,” they reject everyone in the process, including people who be a real asset to the company.

Having a baseline of education and experience is a good screening practice.  However, not having the ability to look at a candidate’s background and make informed decisions on equivalency will results in missing out on some great employees.

Related links:

Facebook Recruiting: How to Locate Hard-To-Find Dealership Talent [Webinar]

How online job searches worsen the job crisis

How Measurement and Positive Work Environments Prevent Employee Theft (Part 5 of A 5 Part Series)

Friday, November 9th, 2012

10. Investigate

9. Audits

8. Hotline

7. Effective screening

6. Review building security

5. Evaluate Management Controls on an annual basis

2. Create a positive working environment

Compensation for effort is a given in the sales department, but what about other departments? Does your dealership have other programs to recognize employee performance, and are they appropriate?

 

If employees feel overworked and under-engaged, there is a higher likelihood of fraud or theft. Consider implementing a program that turns employees into invested stakeholders by educating them on the cost of shrinkage to the company. Then set a goal of reduction in the percentage and share a portion of the savings with all employees as part of a reward system. This encourages employees to watch each other and report theft if they see it.

 

Measure

Measure how well your employees recognize that your success is their success. The more engaged your workforce is, the more likely they see personal benefits to saving the company money and preventing fraud and theft.

 

… and the number one thing you can do to prevent theft and fraud in your dealership is…
1. Be proactive: Have a “3D” plan:

Deterrance

If you don’t do anything about employee theft, you are encouraging it to happen again and again. Not only by the person who stole this time, but by every other employee as well.

 

Detection

Use a systemic approach for early detection.

An internal theft prevention audit works backwards to find vulnerabilities. For example: Is there a second check of your payroll records? Can you prevent kick-back schemes? How do you audit inventory?

 

Determination

Finding areas in your dealership where fraud can occur.

 

How Manager Training and Written Policies Prevent Employee Theft (Part 4 of a 5 Part Series)

Friday, November 2nd, 2012

10. Investigate

9. Audits

8. Hotline

7. Effective screening

6. Review building security

5. Evaluate Management Controls on an annual basis

4. Train Managers

Help managers recognize red flags (things out of ordinary that are worth investigating, such as a minimum wage employee suddenly driving a $40,000.00 truck). Keep an eye not only on employee actions, but also keep an eye on computer security and vendors.

 

If the same person is always responsible for payroll, or inventory, there is a higher chance for pilferage. Rotating responsibilities enables other employees to recognize anomalies and bring it to your attention. Spot check among managers that reports are reconciled and work has actually been done. This eliminates kickbacks.

 

If you don’t do anything about it, you are encouraging theft to happen again, not only by the person who stole this time, but by every other employee as well. Managers have a responsibility to respond quickly before the behavior escalates.

 

3. Written Policy- as part of handbook or as a separate written policy.
This communicates to employees that you value ethical behavior.

Using clear Language (not legalese), define what your dealership considers theft and fraud, and set the tone for the entire organization. For example, define how or if employees can use the shop for personal gain, or purchase parts using the dealership discount.

 

The policy should be Concise (less than two pages), so that employees know what behaviors are expected of them. Clearly define what is and is not acceptable, and keep the fraud and theft prevention policy separate from the ethics policy (core values).

 

Define Consequences for failure to comply with the policy. For example, if your policy is zero tolerance, then it needs to explain that termination is the consequence.

 

Make sure all employees acknowledge that they are aware of the policy. This acknowledgement should be in writing or digitally stored in a HR system like KPA’s HR Management System. This acknowledgement does two things:  It is a record that employees have received the policy, and it provides a legal defense in the event that an employee fails to comply with the policy.

How Building Security and Audits Prevent Employee Theft (Part 3 of a 5 Part Series)

Friday, October 19th, 2012

This series focuses on proven techniques to stop employee theft and fraud at your auto dealership.

10. Investigate

9. Audits

8. Hotline

7. Effective screening

6. Review building security

Have a plan in place that limits employee access to sensitive areas. Look for weaknesses such as back office security- who has access, are there protocols for where people should or shouldn’t be? Use key cards, pass cards or fobs to keep people out of areas where they should not visit. Also, if your dealership uses traditional locks on doors, they should be changed annually.

 

Enable your employees to be the first line of defense. Employees should be comfortable in reporting something out of the ordinary, such as a sales person visiting the tire storage area. Install video cameras as a deterrent, and use monitor activities in sensitive areas. Make sure that employees are informed about the surveillance.

5. Evaluate management controls on an annual basis

 

This is a defensive process that closes small holes where employees could take advantage of vulnerabilities in your dealership’s financial systems.

 

On an annual basis, your dealership should assess procedures and securities around purchasing, payroll, accounts payable, petty cash, expense account, receiving (parts department), intake and outtake, and inventory. Annual reviews by a third party auditor and/ or senior management can go miles toward strengthening vulnerabilities and also to adjust these systems to better suit the current size of your business.

 

System responsibilities should be assigned to more than one person. Cross-training is always a good thing, and rotating duties helps protect your systems from being taken advantage of.

 

There should never be one person who has full control of all aspects of the accounting department. Duties in vulnerable areas like this should be separated out among different positions to create opportunities for control and feedback in the processing system. Checks for over a certain amount should automatically require dual signatures, including one from the owner or general manager.

51% Of Employers Have Hired Applicant With Criminal Record

Thursday, October 18th, 2012

According to a new survey by Career Builder, 51% of employers have hired an applicant with a criminal history. Since more than 92 million individuals have a criminal history on file in state databases, according to the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, employers will have applicants that have a criminal past. The key for employers is to run a background check so that they know about any criminal past activities and can make an informed hiring decision. Having a past conviction should not be a bar to employment but employers have the right to know and then to consider factors such as time since the offense, the age of the offender at the time of offense, efforts at rehabilitation and if the criminal offense is relative to the job. A background check is just one tool employers should be using to make sure they hire the right person for the right job but it is a very important tool.