The groundhog might have predicted six more weeks of winter, but spring has finally sprung and it will be summer before you know it. Spring is the perfect time to clean up, get organized, and let some fresh air into your human resources or recruiting department. Over the course of a busy year, policies, processes, and daily routines get “dusty” as regulations change, staff turns over, and technology is updated. If you’re not sure where to start, here is a list of spring cleaning tips to help you straighten up.
1. Policy Check
Are all of your policies and the employee handbook up-to-date and compliant with current federal and state laws? Review procedures and manuals, and update them where it’s necessary. You'll thank yourself for taking the initiative at the end of the calendar year.
2. Benefits Audit
Conduct an internal benefits audit for your company. Match benefit elections with the benefit carrier and payroll deductions. No matter what time of the year it is, health insurance renewal season always seems to sneak up on human resources professionals, so prepare early.
3. Meet with the Recruitment & Marketing Departments
Talk to your marketing person or department to make sure company profiles are up-to-date with open positions and recruitment social media posts. For example, has marketing created new recruitment social graphics or is recruitment running a specific promotion to garner the interest of more job applicants? Communicate with them to establish a process for keeping HR in the conversation when it comes to organizational branding.
4. Job Description Updates
Ask employees to review their job descriptions in case their daily work tasks have changed over the past year. Have new responsibilities been added? Old tasks fallen off? Take note of anything that needs to be updated. Need help with job descriptions? HIRECLICK has a guide to help you write the perfect job description.
5. Internships
If your organization hires interns over the summer months, now is the time to begin your search for the cream of the crop since most college spring semesters end in late April or early March. Schedule a meeting with each department to learn if an intern(s) would be a good fit, decide what interns will be offered (stipend, hourly wage, academic credit) and start recruiting at colleges and technical schools.
6. Vacation Schedules
With summer vacations approaching, time-off requests are going to start rolling in. Be prepared and review your time-off scheduling systems and processes to avoid having an entire department on vacation at the same time.
7. Clean Out Old Files
Companies are required to keep employee files and candidate applications on hand for a certain length of time (typically three years after termination for employee files, one year for applications). While these laws can protect employers in the event of a lawsuit, they can also lead to a backlog of old employee files. Spring is the perfect time to check the dates and purge the system of all the old files.
If you store your files electronically, purging old files can be a simple process that takes just a few clicks. If you haven’t converted your paper files to digital ones, but are considering doing so, going through your files and scrapping the old and unnecessary ones is a great first step to take. Whether the files you are purging are paper or digital, be sure to take security precautions and dispose of the information in appropriate ways.
8. Evaluate HR Compliance
Depending on the location of your company, there are likely some forms, reports, posters and other printed materials that should be managed in a certain way to ensure compliance. For example, posters with detailed information regarding workers’ compensation, child labor laws, and FMLA laws should be posted in conspicuous places to be compliant with Department of Labor laws. Forms and documents required for HIPAA authorizations, COBRA notices, and legal employment should also be well organized and accessible to employees.
9. Rewards & Recognition Check
Double-check the calendar for upcoming spring and summer employee birthdays, work anniversaries and other work-related celebratory events. Schedule any company picnics, off-site employee events, or team-building exercises to keep yourself ahead.
10. I-9s
Review your I-9 forms. If any are expired, either renew or terminate the ones you no longer need. Remember that inaccurate I-9 forms can lead to hefty fines up to $1,000 each.
“As far as HR ‘spring cleaning,’ my advice would be for recruiters to connect with their HR Business Partners to learn about upcoming budget changes to see how staffing will be impacted. Also, they may look into the current job openings and work with management to clean up old requisitions or update current ones. I know that in the corporate world, they track how long it takes a job to be filled so old reqs could have a negative impact on their numbers.”
Denitza Colores, SHRM-CP
Make the effort to “spring clean” your policies and procedures. It will save you time in the long run and improve your human resource department’s effectiveness.
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