Top 10 HR Mistakes That Can Cost You A Ton Of Money & Get You In Legal Trouble

Sept. 12, 2013 - PRLog -- Today I’m talking about the Top 10 Human Resources Mistakes that can cost you a ton of money and get you in legal trouble. I’m bringing you this information because I want to help you avoid these types of problems in your workplace.

Fasten your seat belt because here we go!

Mistake #10: Not Having Accurate Job Descriptions

This is something that happens all the time in organizations. People get busy, the organization or business is growing, and those job descriptions end up taking a back seat. What happens then?

Employees aren’t really sure what they should be doing. Expectations aren’t properly managed. It’s really hard to measure somebody’s performance when his or her job is not appropriately documented. Then, when it comes to letting that person go what will you do when they say they didn’t know what they were supposed to be doing?

Okay employer, this is your opportunity. You really need to be focused on making sure you have absolutely accurate job descriptions. They will help you hire, manage and fire employees because you will have all the right documentation.

Mistake #9: Asking Whatever You Want In An Interview

We live in America and we are fortunate that we can ask a lot of the things that we want to. But you must be aware of the questions that are a lot riskier than others and the ones that are just flat out illegal.

If you want to avoid legal problems and costly litigation, get a list of appropriate questions and make sure to keep them focused to the job description. This will help you figure out if the candidate will be good fit for the job.

Make sure you don’t ask anything about age, race, religion, sex, national origin, and a couple other things that could get you in trouble.

Mistake #8: Failing to Properly Address & Document Performance Problems

This is always a favorite of mine because when you’re a business owner, a manager or a leader, having to deal with that problem employee is sometimes just too frustrating. You think you’re too busy. You think the problem will just go away all on its own. Or maybe you think they will just get better with time.

Let’s think about your last problem employee. Did they just magically get better overnight? Probably not.

Hopefully, you put together a performance plan or some corrective action. If you didn’t, then this is my charge to you: Do it! If you need to let that person go and you have no documentation, you have no defense.

Make sure you stay on top of it! Deal with performance problems properly, document them professionally, and address the behavior you need to have addressed. Lastly, write out an action plan and give it to the employee in writing.

Mistake #7: Hiring Too Fast → Firing Too Slow

You have to hire a little slower in order to find the right people who fit in your organization and culture.

A lot of employers going through the process of hiring are exhausted because they’ve interviewed so many candidates. Suddenly, someone comes in and the manager falls in love with that person. The employer makes an offer on the spot because manager thinks the candidate is perfect. But then what happens?

More often than not, it doesn’t work out if you don’t take your time and make sure that person is a good fit in your organization.

Any more, even if you’re hiring someone at minimum wage, that’s a $16,000 job or more! So you need to think about hiring as an investment in your organization at all times. If you’re investing 16, 20, 30, or 40 thousand dollars and above a year on someone, you need to treat that person as an asset.

You need to have a consistent process to help you higher better people that fit your culture and expectations.

Now, let’s talk about firing too slow. This is why I talked about having good performance documentation. If someone is not a fit for your organization or can’t or won’t perform the job, there are options. But the worst thing you can do is have someone that is a complete mismatch for your organization and the job and have that person stay in the job and fail. Nobody wants to fail.

Also, failing to let the person go properly with appropriate documentation can be costly and have legal implications.

To continue reading and to watch the video that goes with this, click here: http://integrityhr.com/top-10-hr-mistakes-that-can-cost-y...