Happy New Year!
As you get ready to kick off 2009, this is a great time to review policies and procedures for your employees. Review your employee handbooks, reiterate polices that may have been conveniently forgotten by your staff, do performance evaluations, review job descriptions.............and this year............make sure you are classifying your employees correctly.
The DOL will be looking for Wage and Hour Violations this year, so be prepared!
Here, to get you started, are some of the jobs that the feds think are exempt (E) or nonexempt (NE) and their comments.
Note that these E/NE classifications are not set in stone, but they are a good starting point for your analysis. (Taken from BLR's FLSA Wage & Hour Self-Audit Guide.)
Examiner or grader—NE. Such as an employee that grades lumber, because the employee usually performs work involving the comparison of products with established standards that are frequently catalogued.
Executive assistant—E. If working for a business owner or senior executive of a large business if the employee, without specific instructions or prescribed procedures, and has been delegated authority regarding matters of significance.
Secretary—NE.
Human resources manager—E. Assuming this person formulates, interprets, or implements employment policies.
Personnel clerk—NE. This person "screens" applicants to obtain data regarding their minimum qualifications and fitness for employment.
Purchasing agent—E. If the job includes the authority to bind the company on significant purchases, even if the employee must consult with top management officials for certain purchase commitments.
Comparison shopper for a retail store—NE. If the employee merely reports to the buyer the prices at a competitor's store.
Certified public accountant—E. And many other accountants who are not certified public accountants but perform similar job duties.
Accounting clerk/bookkeeper—NE. As well as other employees who normally perform a great deal of routine work.
Paralegal—NE. Because an advanced specialized academic degree is not a standard prerequisite for entry into the field.
Driver who sells—E. If the employee has a primary duty of making sales, all work performed incidental to and in conjunction with the employee's own sales efforts, including loading, driving, or delivering products, is exempt work.
If you have questions about how you are classifying your employees.........CALL ME!!
Source: BLR
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
3 Deadly Sins of Interviewers-and how to avoid them!
From BLR
Want to avoid that? Avoid these three deadly interviewing sins. Fortunately, it's not that hard.
Deadly Sin #1—Failure to Prepare
Before you start recruiting you need to do two things: Clarify what you are looking for, and decide how you will determine whether a candidate has it.
"I want to start interviewing yesterday!"
Managers are always in a hurry to fill their empty spots, so there's always pressure to instantly start posting, advertising, and interviewing.
Not so fast. That's a recipe for disaster. As the old saw goes, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there."
Similarly, if you jump into the hiring process without defining what you are looking for:
· Good people won't be attracted to apply—they'll sense that if the announcement is only vaguely defined then the job's responsibilities might also be.
· Unqualified people won't self-select out, so you'll have to deal with hordes of them.
· Most important, you'll have no meaningful basis on which to judge the candidates.
Before launching a hiring campaign, take some time to determine exactly what you need. What abilities, skills, credentials, and knowledge are required? Talk to incumbents, talk to the people who work with the position, review the job description.
When you're clear on that, craft a concise statement of qualifications for posting and advertising, and to give it to agencies and other sources of candidates.
How Will You Know a Candidate Is Qualified?
Next, you need to figure out how you'll know if candidates have what you are looking for. What interview questions will help you find out?
If you start to interview before taking this step, you will:
· Spend your interview time thinking up questions instead of listening to what the candidate is saying
· Leave out critical questions (like salary expectations, willingness to relocate, possession of a required degree or certificate)
· Fall into the conversation trap of discussing sports and the weather, or worse—family issues and other topics that could spell legal trouble
· Lose consistency. When you go to compare candidates, you'll have nothing to go on because they'll have answered different questions. If you focused on technical issues with one, and
management issues with the other, how will you compare the two?
Deadly Sin #2—Falling Prey to Stealth Discrimination
The second thing that happens without a plan is that you can easily end up discriminating, even when you didn't intend to. For example:
Playing favorites ("I hire people I like."). With no good selection strategy, you tend to end up with someone you "feel good about"— probably someone who is just like you. This has the obvious effect of keeping out people who aren't like you—in other words, discriminating.
Stereotyping ("X's can't X."). When you don't have a good system for measuring candidates, it's easy to fall back on stereotypes. For example:
"Women aren't strong enough." "Men aren't compassionate enough." "X's aren't good at X."
Patronizing/paternalizing/maternalizing ("X's shouldn't X."). This is a special form of stereotyping that seems well-intentioned, but is, in general, discriminatory. For example:
"Terry is a city person, and won't want to relocate.""Parents with young children shouldn't travel.""Women shouldn't travel alone.""Pregnant women can't be subjected to pressure."
De facto ("Gee, I just never seem to hire X's"). One of the more subtle forms of discrimination is called "de facto." In these situations, there is never an intention to not hire or promote certain types of people-it just never seems to happen.
For example, a hiring manager says he's eager to hire women in a certain job, but, although many qualified women have applied, of the last 50 hires, all 50 were men.
Have you ever fallen into any of these mistakes?
Source: BLR
Want to avoid that? Avoid these three deadly interviewing sins. Fortunately, it's not that hard.
Deadly Sin #1—Failure to Prepare
Before you start recruiting you need to do two things: Clarify what you are looking for, and decide how you will determine whether a candidate has it.
"I want to start interviewing yesterday!"
Managers are always in a hurry to fill their empty spots, so there's always pressure to instantly start posting, advertising, and interviewing.
Not so fast. That's a recipe for disaster. As the old saw goes, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there."
Similarly, if you jump into the hiring process without defining what you are looking for:
· Good people won't be attracted to apply—they'll sense that if the announcement is only vaguely defined then the job's responsibilities might also be.
· Unqualified people won't self-select out, so you'll have to deal with hordes of them.
· Most important, you'll have no meaningful basis on which to judge the candidates.
Before launching a hiring campaign, take some time to determine exactly what you need. What abilities, skills, credentials, and knowledge are required? Talk to incumbents, talk to the people who work with the position, review the job description.
When you're clear on that, craft a concise statement of qualifications for posting and advertising, and to give it to agencies and other sources of candidates.
How Will You Know a Candidate Is Qualified?
Next, you need to figure out how you'll know if candidates have what you are looking for. What interview questions will help you find out?
If you start to interview before taking this step, you will:
· Spend your interview time thinking up questions instead of listening to what the candidate is saying
· Leave out critical questions (like salary expectations, willingness to relocate, possession of a required degree or certificate)
· Fall into the conversation trap of discussing sports and the weather, or worse—family issues and other topics that could spell legal trouble
· Lose consistency. When you go to compare candidates, you'll have nothing to go on because they'll have answered different questions. If you focused on technical issues with one, and
management issues with the other, how will you compare the two?
Deadly Sin #2—Falling Prey to Stealth Discrimination
The second thing that happens without a plan is that you can easily end up discriminating, even when you didn't intend to. For example:
Playing favorites ("I hire people I like."). With no good selection strategy, you tend to end up with someone you "feel good about"— probably someone who is just like you. This has the obvious effect of keeping out people who aren't like you—in other words, discriminating.
Stereotyping ("X's can't X."). When you don't have a good system for measuring candidates, it's easy to fall back on stereotypes. For example:
"Women aren't strong enough." "Men aren't compassionate enough." "X's aren't good at X."
Patronizing/paternalizing/maternalizing ("X's shouldn't X."). This is a special form of stereotyping that seems well-intentioned, but is, in general, discriminatory. For example:
"Terry is a city person, and won't want to relocate.""Parents with young children shouldn't travel.""Women shouldn't travel alone.""Pregnant women can't be subjected to pressure."
De facto ("Gee, I just never seem to hire X's"). One of the more subtle forms of discrimination is called "de facto." In these situations, there is never an intention to not hire or promote certain types of people-it just never seems to happen.
For example, a hiring manager says he's eager to hire women in a certain job, but, although many qualified women have applied, of the last 50 hires, all 50 were men.
Have you ever fallen into any of these mistakes?
Source: BLR
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Free Quickbooks
Are you considering buying Quickbooks this year?
Get it free on Monday, December 22!
http://techspheres.wordpress.com/2008/12/19/free-quickbooks-pro-monday-only/
Get it free on Monday, December 22!
http://techspheres.wordpress.com/2008/12/19/free-quickbooks-pro-monday-only/
Friday, December 19, 2008
Bizarre Interview Questions
I have had my fair share of crazy answers to interview questions that I have asked, but I found this survey that BLR did regarding questions being asked by the interviewer.......all I can say is please don't ever ask these questions!
So here are the worst or most humorous questions readers submitted:
"If you were a carousel, what type of music would you play?"
One of our managers proposed this question. It still makes me laugh, but only because it was never used in the actual interview!
"Who cuts the lawn in your family, you or your husband?"
The CFO asked me this one when I was interviewing for an Administrative Assistant position at an insurance company in the early 1990s.
"Does your spouse support your efforts to enter this profession?"
During an interview for a position as a police officer, I answered that question saying that I was hopeful my husband would "come around." When told that I did not pass the interview. I contacted HR for feedback. The director, a male, acknowledged that while the panel liked my overall answers, they were concerned by my answer to the "spouse support" question. (They justified this question by stating that there is a high divorce rate in this profession.)
The director then asked, "What will you do if your husband ultimately does not support you?" I replied that I wouldn't divorce him. The director said that he agreed with the decision to reject me because he certainly wouldn't want his wife to be a cop.
"How do you handle rumors and gossip in the workplace, especially if it is about you?"
I gave my answer but asked them, "Is there a problem with rumors and gossip in this office?" I respectfully declined their offer of employment—it must have been pretty bad if they were asking that question during the interview!
"How many children do you have?"
My daughter was also asked "What will you do for child care?" and "Who carries the medical insurance, you or your husband?" The interview was conducted by a team and not one of them objected or reacted when the questions were asked.
"If I were to ask your husband if you have a bad time during PMS, what would he say?"
Being young and really needing the job, I told him he would say that I was fine. He then explained that they had a secretary that "once a month" would be so cranky no one could even talk to her.
"If you were a vegetable, what would you be?"
I was too flabbergasted to respond to this CEO's question, but I got the position.
"I see on your résumé that all your previous experience is out of town. What brings you to this town?"
This question was asked of my wife. It was a military town, and the point was to see if I was in the military.
"Does your parents' house have a swimming pool?"
My 16-year-old was also asked, "What kind of car do you drive?" and "Are your parents divorced?"
"So when did you graduate from college?"
I took some time off of school so if the interviewer was fishing for my age, she got it wrong!
"Are you wearing a skirt or pants?"
A male interviewer seated at his desk asked me this one. Then he asked me to stand up. He then took notes about it. I was flabbergasted. I didn't get the job.
"What is the limit that you could earn under Social Security without losing any benefits?"
Not knowing any better, my husband told the interviewer that he could earn any amount because he was of full retirement age. He did not get the job.
"So, you are getting married soon, does that mean you will be leaving us to go have a baby?"
I got this question from a company president in the late 1980s.
"Do you live with anyone?"
I asked how that question was relevant to the position. The interviewer said that I could not possibly afford to rent or buy on my own. I said nothing. I think she was trying to get me to say that I was living with my boyfriend, which I was. I didn't get the job. The company went under a few years later.
So here are the worst or most humorous questions readers submitted:
"If you were a carousel, what type of music would you play?"
One of our managers proposed this question. It still makes me laugh, but only because it was never used in the actual interview!
"Who cuts the lawn in your family, you or your husband?"
The CFO asked me this one when I was interviewing for an Administrative Assistant position at an insurance company in the early 1990s.
"Does your spouse support your efforts to enter this profession?"
During an interview for a position as a police officer, I answered that question saying that I was hopeful my husband would "come around." When told that I did not pass the interview. I contacted HR for feedback. The director, a male, acknowledged that while the panel liked my overall answers, they were concerned by my answer to the "spouse support" question. (They justified this question by stating that there is a high divorce rate in this profession.)
The director then asked, "What will you do if your husband ultimately does not support you?" I replied that I wouldn't divorce him. The director said that he agreed with the decision to reject me because he certainly wouldn't want his wife to be a cop.
"How do you handle rumors and gossip in the workplace, especially if it is about you?"
I gave my answer but asked them, "Is there a problem with rumors and gossip in this office?" I respectfully declined their offer of employment—it must have been pretty bad if they were asking that question during the interview!
"How many children do you have?"
My daughter was also asked "What will you do for child care?" and "Who carries the medical insurance, you or your husband?" The interview was conducted by a team and not one of them objected or reacted when the questions were asked.
"If I were to ask your husband if you have a bad time during PMS, what would he say?"
Being young and really needing the job, I told him he would say that I was fine. He then explained that they had a secretary that "once a month" would be so cranky no one could even talk to her.
"If you were a vegetable, what would you be?"
I was too flabbergasted to respond to this CEO's question, but I got the position.
"I see on your résumé that all your previous experience is out of town. What brings you to this town?"
This question was asked of my wife. It was a military town, and the point was to see if I was in the military.
"Does your parents' house have a swimming pool?"
My 16-year-old was also asked, "What kind of car do you drive?" and "Are your parents divorced?"
"So when did you graduate from college?"
I took some time off of school so if the interviewer was fishing for my age, she got it wrong!
"Are you wearing a skirt or pants?"
A male interviewer seated at his desk asked me this one. Then he asked me to stand up. He then took notes about it. I was flabbergasted. I didn't get the job.
"What is the limit that you could earn under Social Security without losing any benefits?"
Not knowing any better, my husband told the interviewer that he could earn any amount because he was of full retirement age. He did not get the job.
"So, you are getting married soon, does that mean you will be leaving us to go have a baby?"
I got this question from a company president in the late 1980s.
"Do you live with anyone?"
I asked how that question was relevant to the position. The interviewer said that I could not possibly afford to rent or buy on my own. I said nothing. I think she was trying to get me to say that I was living with my boyfriend, which I was. I didn't get the job. The company went under a few years later.
How to Layoff--Euphemistically
This today from BLR's HR Strange but True!
If you must face the prospect of laying off workers, better dig out that old Roget's Thesaurus from college--you may need it. Everyone is finding ways to obfuscate the dreaded word "layoff."
BusinessWeek writer Jena McGregor reports in the December 22 issue that employers ready to shed workers are coming up with quite creative euphemisms--beyond "downsizing" and "rightsizing"--to spin and soften the bad news.
Here are some of her linguistic findings, which she calls "rosy words for pink slips," with some of their origins:
"Synergy-related headcount adjustment goal" (Siemans)
"Action to simplify our organization" (eBay)
"De-verticalization"
"Offboarding," "Rationalizing," and "Surplusing" (these all sound cold and cruel to us)
"Result of a strategic review of strategies" (Ha!)
"RIF-ing"
"Chao youyu" (from Hong Kong: it means to have one's squid cooked)
"Companies think if [they're] not so bald and straight about the term, it will ease the impact ... ease the pain a little," says Challenger, Gray & Christmas CEO John Challenger in the article.
If you must face the prospect of laying off workers, better dig out that old Roget's Thesaurus from college--you may need it. Everyone is finding ways to obfuscate the dreaded word "layoff."
BusinessWeek writer Jena McGregor reports in the December 22 issue that employers ready to shed workers are coming up with quite creative euphemisms--beyond "downsizing" and "rightsizing"--to spin and soften the bad news.
Here are some of her linguistic findings, which she calls "rosy words for pink slips," with some of their origins:
"Synergy-related headcount adjustment goal" (Siemans)
"Action to simplify our organization" (eBay)
"De-verticalization"
"Offboarding," "Rationalizing," and "Surplusing" (these all sound cold and cruel to us)
"Result of a strategic review of strategies" (Ha!)
"RIF-ing"
"Chao youyu" (from Hong Kong: it means to have one's squid cooked)
"Companies think if [they're] not so bald and straight about the term, it will ease the impact ... ease the pain a little," says Challenger, Gray & Christmas CEO John Challenger in the article.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Year End Tax Tips
Is your IRA tanking? If so, you may want to look at converting to a Roth and take advantage of the tax savings. Conversely if you switched to a Roth this year and your Roth lost value, you can unconvert by December 31 and you won't owe any 2008 tax on the conversion. Then you can convert back to the Roth in 2009 and pay less tax. You are allowed only one conversion of an IRA to a Roth each year, so plan accordingly.
The standard mileage rate will be lower in 2009 for business driving. The rate drops to 55 cents per mile next year. That's a decrease of 3 1/2 cents a mile from the rate that took effect in July. The rate for medical travel and moving falls from 24 cents a mile in 2009....down 3 cents from the rate in the last half of 2008. Remember to claim the cost of parking and tolls if you use the mileage rate. The rate does not include them.
Planning to claim the bonus depreciation for 2008 on your federal return? At least 23 states will not allow the write-off. Some states disallow the break in full and others require the businesses to add back part of the amount written off on their federal return.
The correct due date for businesses to give a copy of forms 1099, 1098, and W2-G's is February 17, 2009k not March 2 as the instructions state. So be careful or you could get a fine!
Lastly, factor in the current economic woes into your plans for year-end gift giving. Giving stocks that have declined in value to your children or grandchildren saves estate tax and the future stock rebounds are out of your estate. Also, you can take advantage of the housing slump and pass your home on to your kids. You can create a personal residence trust which transfers ownership of the house but allows you to use it. The subsequent appreciation is exempt from estate tax.
Talk to your tax/financial planner sooner rather than later!!!
Source: Kiplinger
The standard mileage rate will be lower in 2009 for business driving. The rate drops to 55 cents per mile next year. That's a decrease of 3 1/2 cents a mile from the rate that took effect in July. The rate for medical travel and moving falls from 24 cents a mile in 2009....down 3 cents from the rate in the last half of 2008. Remember to claim the cost of parking and tolls if you use the mileage rate. The rate does not include them.
Planning to claim the bonus depreciation for 2008 on your federal return? At least 23 states will not allow the write-off. Some states disallow the break in full and others require the businesses to add back part of the amount written off on their federal return.
The correct due date for businesses to give a copy of forms 1099, 1098, and W2-G's is February 17, 2009k not March 2 as the instructions state. So be careful or you could get a fine!
Lastly, factor in the current economic woes into your plans for year-end gift giving. Giving stocks that have declined in value to your children or grandchildren saves estate tax and the future stock rebounds are out of your estate. Also, you can take advantage of the housing slump and pass your home on to your kids. You can create a personal residence trust which transfers ownership of the house but allows you to use it. The subsequent appreciation is exempt from estate tax.
Talk to your tax/financial planner sooner rather than later!!!
Source: Kiplinger
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