Employee Issues

Everyone says it - our employees are our most important asset - but many employers don't take the proper steps to either maintain the safety of that asset or to prevent legal problems brought by employees. You have to engage, not just inform, your employees. You need to ensure that proper background checks rule out people who could be a danger to your workforce. In addition to hiring, you need to know how and how not to fire people. This week's articles focus on these important topics and can provide you with good hints and tips.

Employers face challenging issues relative to employee safety and security. (Item #1)   Here are four reasons that IT executives charged with BC/RM/DR need to consider their employees heavily in their plan. (Item #2)   Unless you've followed good practices to enable you to defend against termination claims, at-will employment status of your employees will do no more than look good on paper. (Item #3)  

If you want to avoid legal action, then you should avoid making these employee termination errors. (Item #4)   Everybody needs HR, both in good times and not-so-good times; the business continuity planner is no exception. (Item #5)   The business losses that can be reduced by background screening - including turnover, theft/fraud, and catastrophic events (and their resultant legal losses) - add up to over $1.5 trillion annually. (Item #6)  

As always, we look forward to hearing your comments & insights regarding business continuity. If you have a topic you'd like us to cover, email me at [email protected].

Bob Mellinger, President
Attainium Corp

1. Employers beware

Every business manages multiple operational crises every day. What we are focusing on are those that can jeopardize the safety and security of employees. More and more we hear on the news of another event involving workplace violence. The Department of Justice estimates workplace violence accounts for 18 percent of all violent crime. The threat of a disgruntled employee is one that every employer, regardless of the industry, should take very seriously.
http://www.sbnonline.com/Local/Article/13495/81/99/Employers_beware.aspx

2. The Employee Factor of Continuity Planning: Four Reasons It Matters to IT Executives

Business continuity planning, risk management, disaster recovery -- whatever you call it, it's falling into the laps of the IT executive more often than ever before. If -- or when -- you find yourself called upon to extend your role and take responsibility for programs beyond data-centric implementations, you'll find that there are more considerations than you'd ever dreamed, not the least of which is employee preparedness.
http://esj.com/articles/2010/02/23/employee-continuity-planning.aspx

3. Decreasing the Legal Risks of Employee Termination

Most people are familiar with the term "at will" employment, a concept that means either the employer or the employee is free to end the employment relationship at any time, with or without notice or cause. Most employers throughout the United States establish at-will relationships with their employees, either as the result of the law or existing policy (or a combination of both). But does this broad principle that seemingly gives you the freedom to manage your workforce as you see fit actually function in the way it is written? The answer is both yes and no.
http://www.allbusiness.com/legal/labor-employment-law-at-will/10175092-1.html

4. Top 10 Employee Firing Mistakes

While terminating employees is one of the more unpleasant tasks that owners and managers have to carry out, it is a necessary part of business. Mistakes committed during the firing process can come back to haunt you by way of legal action, if you're not careful. Here are 10 common mistakes made in the termination process.
http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/workforce-management-termination/4010-1.html

5. HR as a business continuity resource

Human Resources, sometimes known as Personnel, is often overlooked as a business continuity resource. Yet, depending on the organization, it can be a valuable asset to the business continuity planner and to the business continuity plan. Getting to know HR personnel and taking advantage of their expertise is good for the plan, good for the organization, and good for the planner.
http://www.continuitycentral.com/feature0419.htm

6. The ROI of Background Screening

At the heart of every good Human Resources or Risk Management hiring strategy is employment background screening, widely recognized as a necessary to keep out undesirable candidates, but which also represents a significant expense. The question then is: How much actual dollar value does a background screening program deliver? We will review the major areas in which companies are adversely affected by hiring the wrong employees�hires that many times can be prevented with the implementation of a quality employment background screening program. This will allow us to establish the "waste bank" of dollars from which the screening program will draw its returns.
http://www.hrmreport.com/article/The-ROI-of-Background-Screening/