HR is Often Overlooked During the Startup Years
Often, start-up companies prefer the freedom to focus limited time and resources on their industry specific objectives rather than on becoming subject matter experts on human resource management and compliance. However, it’s imperative across all industries to address these common HR compliance risks for start-ups by establishing an expert human resource team highly proficient in developing key performance indicators (KPIs), personnel systems, policies, and standard operating procedures designed to promote recruitment and retention while mitigating against risk of compliance penalties associated with a litany of labor laws and the ACA.
Flyte Human Capital Management (HCM), contracts with employers of all sizes to establish and maintain an expert human resource management and compliance team tailored for your company’s individual needs. Flyte HCM is an industry expert experienced in creating human resources solutions that will maximize recruiting and retention efforts and minimize regulatory labor and ACA compliance liability.
Defining KPIs
Compliance errors are easy to commit but hard to recover from as a start-up business or non-profit organization. A strong human resource management system must first be built with a strong framework. Consulting with a human resource expert to establish appropriate key performance indicators (KPIs) in accordance with your human resource objectives will build a more meaningful human resource metrics system for you to quantify successes, areas for improvement, payroll management, and compliance. A metrics system with carefully crafted KPIs to structure the input facilitates precision. Flyte HCM’s package offers HR audit, gap analysis, compliance action plans and other services to ensure your start-up is set up for success with a solid foundation.
Defining Job Descriptions
A common error made by start-ups is failing to adequately define the job descriptions which can have substantial consequences. Vicarious liability for employers often presents as the employer’s liability for the actions of their employees. If an employee is acting within the scope of their job the law considers the employee to be acting as an agent of the employer imputing liability back to the employer for the actions of the employee through what is called an “agency relationship”. This might sound straight forward but the application of it can get murky quickly especially if the employer does not have well defined job descriptions.
The broader the job description, the broader the potential for future argument that an employee was acting within the scope of their job even when it may be questionable whether they were, whether vicarious liability is incurred. Additionally, there are ADA compliance issues that may arise when job descriptions are not carefully crafted. If an employee needs to request a reasonable accommodation you want to start that conversation with a well-define role. Misclassifying regular employees as contractors can have substantial compliance and tax implications. By partnering with Flyte HCM, start-ups find peace of mind in compliance solutions and strength in foundational building with human capital management experts.
Policies, Procedures, & Employee Handbooks
Failing to develop compliant internal policies and standard operating procedures or failing to maintain an updated employee handbook reflecting compliant policies and procedures can both cause a variety of compliance issues. Maintaining compliant policies and procedures up to date with shifting labor laws, employee notice requirements, OSHA policies, and other relevant authorities are central to mitigating the potential for compliance and other civil liabilities. Conducting an annual HR audit, one of many services included in a Flyte HCM HR package, ensures all regulatory and legal updates are properly reflected in all applicable policies, procedures, and reflected in the employee handbook.
It is best practice for employers to maintain an employee handbook updating it no less than every two years. Employee handbooks should include:
- Code of Conduct
- Social Media Policies
- Communication Polices
- Employment and Termination Guidelines
- Compensation and Benefits
- Nondiscrimination Polices
Employers should require each employee to sign the handbook. By requiring each employee to sign the employee handbook, you have made that employee responsible for the information contained in it. This is important when conveying certain workplace expectations such as anti-harassment policies. It is important for an employer to be able show not only that such expectations exist in policy but that those expectations are conveyed clearly to employees. Flyte HCM walks start-ups through the daunting task of ensuring initial policies, procedures, and employee handbooks are compliant and useful for your human resource needs.
Three HR Service Options to Choose From
Flyte HCM has a three-tier service delivery system. For companies with one to five employees, we recommend our first tier, Self-Service HR. Self-Service HR provides law library access, training on demand, alerts on federal and state laws, among other features.
Our second tier is our HR On-Demand which we recommend for employers with fifty employees or less. HR On-Demand includes on-demand consulting, multi-state handbook development and support, harassment prevention training, custom job descriptions and related documents, and live chat.
We recommend our third-tier option, called Consultive HR, and is recommended for employers with 25-150 employees. With Consultive HR, you get everything included in HR On Demand with the added benefit if HR audit & gap analysis and HR Compliance action plans. Flyte HCM understand there is a lot to consider. Give Flyte HCM a call and we will be happy to answer any further questions or set up an informational call to fully assess all the ways you can partner with Flyte to invest in your business’ success.
