Coastal Human Resource Group, Inc.

You’ve made it past a round of interviews for your dream job. Congrats! Now comes the negotiation stage. Gone are the days of solely nailing down your desired salary. Today, you can negotiate for items outside of salary. Such items stand to make or break your work quality of life. Follow our negotiation tips to create the position you really want.

Why can negotiating outside of salary be a good move? Salary has been the standard sole negotiating chip for decades, so why the change? First, with millennials entering the workforce more rapidly, the culture of the workplace is changing. They demand work/life balance, dynamic company cultures and in and out of office perks. Secondly, negotiating up front is in your best interest because it is nearly impossible to work out these changes when you are hired and into a position. Do it up front to set a precedent.

Here are a few top negotiables to remember for your next position.

Paid Time Off: PTO is a prized benefit. However, in most industries paid time off is accrued per pay period. With that, it can take a few months to gather one to two weeks off. In addition, two weeks is the standard annual paid time off allowance for most positions and can go up to four with executive and C-suite levels. Why not negotiate for more PTO at the start? This is especially helpful if the company has a hard stop on salary. You may not be able to bump the salary to your desired height but you can negotiate for more PTO than the standard. It’s a workable compromise.

Flexible Schedule: Flexible schedules allow team members to attain work/life balance, juggle family and work responsibilities and prevent burnout from long commutes. Many positions are well suited to remote work a few days a week. Additionally, some can easily be worked into a 4-day work week, with longer days. Gather all of the details of your position that you can and the responsibilities therein to ensure it can be done. Propose the specific flex time arrangement and outline suggestions for exactly what it will look like. The more specific you will be the more likelihood there will be of leadership buy-in.

Sick Leave: Negotiating for additional sick leave outside the company standard is good preparation and thinking ahead. Especially if you have a family with children, taking sick days is to be expected and should not have to eat into your paid vacation days. You can estimate how much to negotiate for by averaging the last few years’ count of sick days you took. Use this as a rule of thumb.

Perks: Perks greatly impact company culture. From small to big perks they can make the difference between retaining and losing employees. Think about what perks are important to you. Perhaps you are paying for some personal services out of your own pocket that would be nice to have covered.

Here are 5 examples of perks up for negotiation:  

1. Gym memberships 2. Supercenter memberships (Costco, Sam’s Wholesale) 3. Points towards merchandise 4. Stipends or discounts towards childcare expenses 5. Annual memberships to local entertainment venues (amusement parks, golf courses)

Coastal Human Resource Group, Inc. is a Human Resource Outsourcer (HRO). We serve as a full-service human resources department for small and medium-sized businesses throughout the Southeast which provided compliance screening as well as background checks. Visit www.Coastal-HR.com or call us toll-free at 1-888-757-7444. We’re here to help ensure that all your human resources needs are met.

Human Resources is one of the most important functions of keeping your business running effectively. But maintaining in-house HR departments is not always feasible. Why is this? It’s important to recall that many various functions fall under HR. Payroll, benefits, recruiting and interviewing and compliance, to name just a few. With this complex set of required functions and skills outsourcing your HR department can reap huge benefits to your bottom line.

Today Coastal HR outlines four benefits of outsourcing your HR department.

Staffing cost savings One of the most impactful benefits of outsourcing your HR department is to your fiscal bottom line. It can become very costly to maintain a full in-house HR department. From consistent salary requirements to providing ongoing annual licensing credits and providing the needed space to house a full department. It’s just not something many businesses can take absorb. However, outsourcing your department gives you the ability to staff as your business needs dictate. Many businesses are seasonal. For example, accounting firms are busier nearing tax season. Such a business may choose to forego in-house HR staff for outsourced staff they can add during their busier times of the year. Another example of this is a startup. Until such a business has a baseline annual activity upon which to draw, the true HR needs are not fully known. Outsourcing gives them the power to add and decrease as they ebb and flow.

Many types of businesses experience seasonality. Outsourcing enables them to staff high during the peak season and keep costs lower in the offseason.

Employment-related savings Hiring and training full-time in-house employees has many hidden costs that can add up. Saving in this area is another benefit of outsourcing your HR department. Consider the time it takes to train new HR staff to get up to speed, payroll processing expenses, workman’s compensation insurance and recruiting fees.

Risk management Firms who specialize in providing businesses like yours with HR professionals on an outsourced basis are experts in keeping these individuals up to date on state and federal regulations. The time and monetary investment you would be required to make to provide the same level of education and ongoing training to an in-house department is very high. It’s also risky. Employment laws at the state and federal level change all the time. It is far too easy for such law changes to go unnoticed by in-house staff as they juggle their other responsibilities. This leaves you vulnerable to lawsuits by current and former employees.

Employment laws at the state and federal level change frequently, leaving you vulnerable to lawsuits.

Securing expertise Firms that outsource HR staff ensure they provide experts in their field. You won’t need to spend 1-3 months training a new in-house staff. They will arrive equipped with the necessary knowledge to get the job done well. This, in turn, improves the quality of the service or product you are delivering as well as the quality of recruitment and other functions. In firms where outsourcing is not chosen many HR functions get done by generalists or assistants and are performed sub-par simply because there was no one else on staff.

Coastal Human Resource Group, Inc. is a Human Resource Outsourcer (HRO). We serve as a full-service human resources department for small and medium-sized businesses throughout the Southeast which provided compliance screening as well as background checks. Visit www.Coastal-HR.com or call us toll-free at 1-888-757-7444. We’re here to help ensure that all your human resources needs are met.

Are you beginning to notice some sour attitudes around the office space? It may be time to plan a team outing! Team outings are a great way to create bonding between team members, reduce the stress employees are feeling, and it gives employees an opportunity to get to know one another outside the office. Plus, they can actually be really fun! If you are in need of some effective, but fun team building activities keep reading below.

Scavenger Hunt On a beautiful day, rather than being stuck in the office, break your employees into groups and have a scavenger hunt around the city. You can organize it yourself or use ideas that can be found online! Teams will free rejuvenated from the fresh air and they will enjoy the challenge.

Cook-Off One great idea for a team building activity is by having a cook-off. Divide employees into teams, pick a food category, then challenge everyone to whip up their best meal! A few category ideas are salsa, pizza, or burgers! If you feel like adding a bit of a twist, pick an ingredient that all teams must use!

Board Game Tournament If you want to spark some competitive spirits, board game tournaments are the way to go. Plus, you don’t even have to leave the office. Some great game ideas are Jenga or just good old-fashioned cards! Don’t forget to include incentives for the winners.

Volunteer By volunteering to support a good cause, it will help your employees to bond. You could volunteer at local children’s hospitals, Habitat for Humanity, or find local organizations that your employees hold near and dear to them. By volunteering, it will help your employees get a little feel good for their soul, plus they’ll be out of the office for the day doing good!

Room Escape Games These room escape games are very popular right now and can be found all over! They are a great bonding activity that requires leadership skills, but most importantly teamwork! How does it work though? A group of people will be locked in a room for one hour, but during that hour they find hidden objects, solve puzzles, and figure out the clue to set them free. Contrary to what you may be thinking, it is not easy! Only around 20% of players tend to make it out before the hour is up.

Team building activities are a great tool to boost employee morale and increase employee happiness. By creating a great company culture, you will inspire employees to work hard and stay employed there for a longer period of time. You may even end up being considered a cool boss!

Coastal Human Resource Group, Inc. is a Human Resource Outsourcer (HRO). We serve as a full-service human resources department for small and medium-sized businesses throughout the Southeast which provided compliance screening as well as background checks. Visit www.Coastal-HR.com or call us toll-free at 1-888-757-7444. We’re here to help ensure that all your human resources needs are met.

There’s never been a more diverse workforce in American history. For the first time generations are working side by side. Cultures are forming teams that span the globe. Workplace diversity brings great advantages. It brings challenges too. Let’s take a look at what those are and how to bring them all together for your best team.

Diversity wins Welcoming diversity in your workplace and on your project teams has huge advantages regardless of industry. Generationally, innovation meets experience wealth as millennials work alongside baby boomers. Similarly, a culturally diverse team has increased ability to share different perspectives and ideas.

When managed well, diverse workforces can increase the value of the complete team and projects.

Diversity challenges What are some of the challenges diversity brings to your workplace? One that is commonly faced is the understanding and respect for time. With the remote workforce on the rise, it’s the norm for teams to work across time zones. Communication can present challenges as well. Poor email etiquette and casual, witty sarcasm are two examples that don’t resonate well in certain cultures as they might in some workplaces dominated by a Westernized culture.

Tipping the scale In looking into your own workplace diversity wins and challenges, how can you tip the scale in your favor?

6 tips for harnessing your diversity to bring out the best

In projects How diversity is managed in project teams is as important as the diversity itself.

1. Choose an excellent project team leader. Pick a team leader who is adept at cross-cultural dynamics, nimble, adaptable and a professional leader. They need to be approachable but not afraid of confrontation. They’ll handle issues as they arise, diplomatically. 2. Stay abreast of progress and pitfalls. Stay in tune with your team and any issues that may be arising. Don’t usurp your chosen leader’s authority. In contrast, allow them to lead but offer support and practice intuition and observation. 3. Give refresher courses. Office etiquette for email and other communications as well as time and deadline sensitivity may need to be revisited.

Every day Bringing out the best in a diverse team in the daily environment may take brushing up on skills.

4. Check your own diversity tolerance. How do you personally feel about a certain generation? Or culture? The first place to start making work its best is with you. Adjust any biases you have. 5. Be open to different ideas. Keep in mind diversity is of value. Stay open to the ideas of other generations and cultures. Implement those ideas as they are a good fit. 6. Get to know your officemates. Using a top-down approach, give ample opportunities to help officemates get to know each other. These can be as simple as a once-a-month office potluck or as formal as weekly meetings. Whichever fits your office style setting a tone for familiarity with one another will put those that are outnumbered at ease. It also builds trust and loyalty.

Coastal Human Resource Group, Inc. is a Human Resource Outsourcer (HRO). We serve as a full-service human resources department for small and medium-sized businesses throughout the Southeast which provided compliance screening as well as background checks. Visit www.Coastal-HR.com or call us toll-free at 1-888-757-7444. We’re here to help ensure that all your human resources needs are met.

According to SHRM, 86% of employers have uncovered misrepresentations through background screens. This is just one statistic that highlights the importance to your business of background screening. In addition to misrepresentations, other common findings that background screens uncover:

Lies about educational degrees earned Fibs regarding being a key player in huge company deals Stretches on the truth regarding tenure at influential companies

The importance of findings like these is threefold. First, keep in mind that you are interested in this candidate in the first place based on the information on their resume or application. It fits the job description. This becomes defunct if the information therein is false as you learn in a background screen. Secondly, after finding a discrepancy through a background screen, you are then put in the position of being direct with the candidate about what was found or removing them from the pool. The final issue and bigger picture issue is that of integrity. Whether you are a small or large company, hiring someone in who lacks the honesty and integrity to be transparent from the most initial “meeting”-the resume-puts your business at risk. This is the same person who would fudge an expense report, for example in mileage, and justify it to themselves; bill more hours than actually worked; be dishonest not only to the employer but to the customer as well. Is that risk really worth it?

Some items to remember

Human Resources has witnessed impact on the screening process and regulations in recent years. When committing to conducting background screens, keep in mind the following:

Always obtain written consent from the candidate or employee. In fact, not doing so was a common newsmaker in 2017 with class-action lawsuits on the rise that violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other violations. Ensure the screening is related to the job that will be performed. It’s a good rule to rescreen employees in new positions. An example of this is a promotion or change in duties. Many times, this leads to more responsibility in terms of handling money, vital keys and passwords and more. Be sure your company and the screening provider comply with all local laws to stay aligned with the Fair Credit Reporting Act as well as any “ban the box” legislation. Enlist a legal partner if possible to help your organization stay abreast of any legal changes that could affect you and the screening process. The screening provider can give you insight into what screens are needed and commonly requested for certain positions. Usually, they have knowledge of legislative changes and updates regarding the screens as well. This combined with your legal partner will keep you informed and prepared. Contingent employees are here to stay: more and more, businesses of all sizes are relying on freelancers, outsourced project managers, and other “nontraditional employees” to come in and complete a designated set of tasks or fill a role until a permanent candidate is located. While screenings are still necessary they may look somewhat different for these types of workers. Develop a forecast for 2018 of the percentage of your employees that will be contingent and how their screening process will differ.

Coastal Human Resource Group, Inc. is a Human Resource Outsourcer (HRO). We serve as a full-service human resources department for small and medium-sized businesses throughout the Southeast which provided compliance screening as well as background checks. Visit www.Coastal-HR.com or call us toll-free at 1-888-757-7444. We’re here to help ensure that all your human resources needs are met.