Kitchen & Bath Design News

MAR 2013

Kitchen & Bath Design News is the industry's leading business, design and product resource for the kitchen and bath trade.

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Personnel { Hank Darlington } Human Resource Trends of the Future A wealth of changes from the overlapping of multiple generations in the workplace to the impact of technology and various government regulations will continue to impact the HR peld in the coming decade. W hen it comes to human resource management, many kitchen and bath prm professionals would rather be designing projects, working with clients to help bring dreams to life or putting together new and creative marketing programs. But if you want to operate a really successful business, you need to be very good in all three major areas of running a business: marketing management, pnancial management and human resource management. If you���re weak in one area, your business will be out of balance and will never be as successful as it might be. As businesses have become more complex, so has the HR function. It encompasses ever y thing from addressing staffing needs to launching e���ective training initiatives to interpreting federal, state and local codes, and implementing policies and practices that safeguard workers while protecting your company interests. The stakes are high: The legal and economic consequences of a major human resource misstep can be enormous. KEY CHANGES Every facet of your business has seen dramatic changes in the past 30 years, but none more so than in the area of HR management. That���s why it���s critical to look at how upcoming changes/ trends might a���ect you and your business. ��� The Economy ��� Over the past several years, we���ve all had to tighten our belts. Since total people costs are probably in the neighborhood of 60 percent of your total expenses, this was likely one of the prst areas to experience cuts. If you were smart, you let your weakest people go. This should make you stronger. But the economic downturn has also a���ected those still employed. They���ve watched their 401(k)s and savings sink to new lows; raises have become few and far between, managers. You will have to develop social media and blogging policies. You���ll have to decide whether to monitor employee time online and if checking prospective new employee backgrounds online is the way to go. ��� Overlapping of Work and Home: Technology has blurred the lines between work and home. Employees work at home in the evenings on reports and email. They shop at work and take brief cannot work from home will keep you out of trouble with wage and hour laws. ��� Employee Training & Development: I���m currently presenting three different training seminars online. The rise of technolog yenabled opportunities for training and employee development has changed how training is being done and will be done. Podcasts, teleseminars, online learning and webinars now o���er wonderful, cost-e���ective ways to train your employees. ��� Rising Health Care Costs: The rising costs of health care insurance continue to a���ect what employers can provide in terms of additional benefits for their employees, and these costs will remain a future concern in the HR peld. ���GenerationalChanges: With Baby Boomers, Gen X and Millennials in the workplace, employers often have ���Every facet of your business has seen dramatic changes in the past 30 years, but none more so than in the area of human resource management.��� and salaries/hours may have been cut. There���s cautious optimism that the economy is on the uptick, but almost everyone agrees that it���s going to be a slow and tedious climb back to ���the good old days������if, in fact, we ever see them again. ��� Recruiting/Networking Online: The Internet has transformed employee recruiting. Social media interaction and networking on large boards like Monster to smaller niche job sites such as LinkedIn and Ecademy have changed how employers recruit and how employees job hunt. Social media networking is the new way to pnd employees, get jobs, pnd answers and build a widespread, mutually supportive network of contacts, colleagues and friends. This new phenomena brings new challenges for owners and 20 | Kitchen & Bath Design News March 2013 breaks to play games online. They do their banking at work and their work accounting at home. Almost no one goes anywhere without their smart phone, laptop or tablet. No generation has ever been this connected ��� which is good and bad! Some employees never stop working, which interferes with relaxation time and endangers healthy work/life balance. Others may become less productive due to increased distractions. Additionally, you need to pay attention to wage and hour laws when dealing with hourly employees. This work-home can cause problems for employers who must pay overtime. A policy that says hourly employees three generations on the same team. Many older workers who planned to retire at age 62-65 are staying in the work force because of the economic downturn. Younger workers are not happy about this because they���re ready to move up. Plus, we���re now finding Gen X and Millennial employees supervising Boomers ��� and these same older employees are mentoring the younger ones. The work habits of these three groups can also vary w idely. B o omer s of ten worked long hours at the cost of a good work/life balance. The younger generations want a life outside of work so managers must learn how to accommodate this requirement. You nger generat ion s also place high value on empowerment, and while they may need mentoring and coaching, it���s important to empower them to take charge of their jobs. ��� Impact of Government Intervention: Employeremployee relationships have been strained by the continuing intervention of our government. It can be a challenge to balance the benepts employees expect (or those mandated by government) with owners��� needs to keep the doors open. ��� Outsourcing HR Responsibilities: A number of firms now outsource their HR functions. There are many excellent vendors who will learn your company culture and manage the bulk of your HR issues. These vendors will also help in the important area of compliance. There continues to be an increase in employment-related claims (and lawsuits) in the areas of Equal Opportunity, wage and hour claims, wrongful termination, age discrimination, sexual and general harassment claims, etc., so it���s critical to ensure that your prm remains in compliance with the laws. ��� A Growing Mobile Work force: T h a n k s to tablets and the growing availability of wireless technology, more companies are reducing overhead through telecommuting. Statistics show that allowing employees to work from home at least part of the time can increase productivity and reduce payroll costs. It���s believed that this trend will help reduce turnover and improve company loyalty. Your business is still a people business. The better you hire, train, motivate, communicate and compensate, the better your business will be. Understand what all these trends may mean to you���and adapt. Read past columns and features and send us your comments about this article and others by logging onto our Web site: www.ForResidentialPros.com

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