Feature
Important topics for HR strategic planning
Excerpted from South Carolina Employment Law Letter and written by attorneys at the law firm of McNair Law Firm, P.A.
The following are five important topics to help you do strategic planning to improve your company's HR functions and put those plans into action.
Planning to succeed
The essence of strategic planning for any organization is (1) the identification of desired goals and objectives and (2) the creation of a specific plan designed to help the organization realize those goals and objectives.
Ideally, and especially with respect to HR planning, the process is a continuous one that not only reflects the various priorities of your organization and its management but also demonstrates measurable progress toward the implementation of the organization's plan.
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This Week on HRhero.com
HR Tip of the Week
Excerpted from Michigan Employment Law Letter and written by attorneys at the law firm of Vercruysse Murray & Calzone, P.C.
by Robert Vercruysse and Gary Fealk
Unions may be on the decline, but they're once again ramping up organizing efforts, especially in stronghold states. More and more unions are seeking to avoid the traditional National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election process and are requesting employers to enter into card-check and neutrality agreements.
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Did You Know...
No manager wants to be the "bad guy" when inheriting a problem employee from another department. And if the "bad" worker previously received positive performance evaluations, terminating the employee can result in a lawsuit.
Help your supervisors correct behavioral and performance issues without placing your organization in legal danger. Register them today for When a Supervisor Inherits a Problem Employee: 10 Rules for Avoiding Legal Danger, and let master communicator-attorney John B. Phillips, Jr. walk your leaders through real court cases and situations where managers have inherited problem employees.
Read on for more information...
Employers Forum
Absenteeism among younger workers
I am developing a plan to address the ongoing problem of absenteeism among our younger seasonal workforce.
Each summer we hire about 90 summer staff to live and work here. For the most part, they are great employees. But there seems to be a very casual attitude about calling in sick for almost any reason (sunburn, headache, dizzy, etc). I think the staff sometimes exaggerate their sickness just to have a bit of time off or sleep in. Others maybe are lazy. It can be very frustrating.
We have a demerit system that works extremely well for discipline problems. You get 10 points for the summer and you lose points for being late, breaking rules, etc. But calling in sick has always been a loophole. I think some of the staff realize that and exploit it.
I have some ideas for next summer but I wanted to see what other suggestions the forum might have.
Paul in Cannon Beach , OR
Visit Employers Forum to join other discussions or post a question of your own.
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HRhero.com Subscribers Area Resources
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Employers in the Courtroom
What's in your discrimination policy?
Excerpted from Kansas Employment Law Letter and written by attorneys at the law firm of Foulston Siefkin LLP
by Boyd Byers
There's an old saying in business that the customer is always right. But what if the customer accuses your employee of race discrimination and sues your company?
A federal appeals court recently ruled that a jury will get to decide whether a department store is liable for its salesperson's alleged discrimination against black customers. This case reaffirms the importance of checking references, providing training, conducting thorough investigations, documenting performance issues, and taking appropriate disciplinary action.
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Tool: HR Sample Policies and Procedures
Ever get worried about some of your policies and procedures? Wonder how they measure up to those from other organizations? Afraid you're missing something? Help is available with a newly updated set of sample 
policies available to newsletter subscribers on HRHero.com.
M. Lee Smith Publishers LLC has teamed up with Margaret Morford, an attorney and president of the national consulting firm theHRedge., Inc. to design a top-notch Policy and Procedure Manual for our Employment Law Letter subscribers.
Sample policies have been available in the subscribers area of HRHero.com for several years, but with changes going on in the nation's workplaces, the time was right to update the existing policies and create new ones.
In addition to updates, new policies cover antitrust, visitors in the workplace, employees' contact with the news media, locker rooms, parking, interns, and use of company tools and/or supplies.
We created this manual to be more than just a template of policies. It contains commentary on what you should consider including in your policies as well as practical advice and suggestions. Each policy is available in RTF format so you can save and edit the policy on your computer.
How to access:
1. Log into HRhero.com Subscribers Area: www.HRhero.com/lc
2. In middle column, under HR Tools, click "Sample Policies & Procedures"