This year’s Fall HR & Compliance Virtual Summit, held October 16 & 17, highlighted fresh topics including employment trends, compliance updates, generational diversity, and so much more. Our speakers shared insights with HR leaders over the two-day event.
Did you miss any of the live sessions? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Check out our replays and our executive summary for top takeaways.
What is a “Drug-Free Workplace” Nowadays?
Julie Pugh, Esq. led an engaging discussion that explained how drug laws have impacted the expectations of employers. A lot depends on where you operate and what industry you’re in, but she explained the pros and cons and what it takes to create a drug-free workplace.
- You’ll need a clear, written, published and acknowledged policy, supervisor training, employee education and appropriate document review.
- When does your company drug test? (pre-employment, post-accident, random, etc.)
- There are five types of drug screens.
- The ADA protects recovering drug addicts and alcoholics from discrimination.
- The presence of THC in a drug test simply shows that THC was consumed sometime in the past but can’t tell when or if the person is currently under the influence.
Key Quote:
“It’s easy to get lost in the sea of metrics, and practices. But let’s never lose sight of the end goal: Helping managers be effective, or become more effective in their management of their business and their people.”
Creating Workplaces that Rock!
Join two of Paycor’s HR leaders, Tim Douglass and Montoya Hawthorne, as they walk through the employee life cycle, from recruiting to off-boarding, and point out opportunities along the way to build workplaces that rock!
- Candidates with a positive experience are 3X more likely to improve retention.
- 49% of job seekers agree that job applications are too long and complicated.
- Build a culture of regular performance conversations and create several paths to rewards and recognition.
- Organizations with active Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) have higher employee retention rates.
Key Quote:
“All of the individual moments of an employee’s experience play a role in how a worker feels about an employer’s purpose, brand, and culture. These feelings directly affect retention, engagement, performance, and development.”
DOL Updates: What They Mean for You
Paycor’s top-notch compliance team explains the upcoming Department of Labor’s overtime rules that change the exemption thresholds for salaried executive, administrative, professional (EAP), and highly compensated workers.
- On January 1, 2025, the standard salary level for exemption from overtime for EAPs will be $1,128 per week.
- The salary threshold will automatically be adjusted by formula every three years beginning July 1, 2027.
- Employers must decide to either increase the employee’s salary above the new threshold to keep them exempt or maintain the employee’s salary and start tracking hours to pay overtime at 1.5 times the employee’s regular rate of pay.
Key Quote:
“Determination of a worker’s status is determined by the employer in consultation with their legal advisor.” positions for women or minorities, could be more vulnerable.”
Beating Burnout: Practical Strategies for Thriving in the Workplace
Dr. Josh Hammonds, PhD, walked us through the four dimensions of burnout, and offered symptoms of each type, how to identify the root causes, strategies for recovery and how to develop an actionable plan.
- Burnout can be physical, mental, attitudinal, or skill based.
- 83% of managers think meetings are unproductive, work against creativity and efficiency, and prevent true connection in the workplace.
- Stress doesn’t necessarily cause burnout. Not all stress is created equal.
- Intentional breaks throughout the day are imperative.
Key Quote:
“Seventy-six percent of the global workforce has reported feelings of burnout at some point at work.”ce can help your brand, but a negative experience could go viral.”
Stop Doing the Dirty Work for Frontline Managers
In this session, Deb Calvert founder of People First Leadership Academy, showed us ways to make managers more self-sufficient so they don’t have to rely so heavily on HR. Managers should be comfortable delivering routine feedback and performance issues. Insights included:
- HR can’t substitute as a mercenary manager. It’s not practical or feasible.
- Managers have two roles: managing work AND leading people.
- HR’s feedback is always second-hand reporting.
- The #1 reason employees quit is they didn’t feel supported by their manager.
- What can HR do to help shift responsibility back to the manager? Start by saying “This is your job, and you can do it.”
Key Quote:
“Employee engagement really comes from being able to tell it like it is. What a manager does dramatically improves employee engagement. The manager has a tremendous impact on the level of commitment from employees.”nd is looking out for them.”
Understanding the Maze of Leave of Absence Laws
Audrianne Adams Lee founder of HR NETwork Inc., explains the different types of leave laws and what your responsibilities are as an employer, including family leave (FMLA), managing disabilities (ADA), pregnancy disability leave (PDL), paid family leave (PFL), Workers’ Comp leave, and changes to the California Family Rights Act (CFRA).
- Stacking occurs when an employee takes their available 12 weeks of CFRA and then their 12 weeks of FMLA.
- A little more than half of the states of some sort of leave policy for pregnancy disability/parental leave (paid and unpaid).
- Texas is the only state that doesn’t mandate its’ businesses purchase workers’ compensation insurance.
- There are federal and state tax credits available to help employers offset costs associated with making reasonable accommodations under the ADA.
- There are many “other” required leaves in some states such as voting, jury duty, organ and bone marrow donations, bereavement, etc.
Key Quote:
“The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is the most fantastic website. It has every type of illness and disability and gives you suggestions for workplace accommodations.”multigenerational organization.”
Don’t Let DEI Die: Five Strategies to Revive DEI to Impact Employee Engagement and Business Success
In a time when corporations are announcing the elimination of DEI initiatives, it’s up to HR practitioners to ensure these values don’t “die.” Lori Gentles and Lisa Sanchez co-founders of The Positive Platform showed us why DEI is still important and offer five strategies to enhance employee engagement and increase business success.
- Transition from DEI to ABIDE (Access, Belonging, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity)
- Operate as an HR cultural architect
- Recognize “hidden” workplace biases that undermine DEI
- Leverage generational differences to enhance your efforts with ABIDE
- Achieve accountability through difficult and honest conversations about experiences and engagements
Key Quote:
“It’s about who has what. Who knows what. We’ve got to give people access to opportunity and access to other people. We need to take steps to remove both physical and non-physical obstacles.”e needs for your company. Remediate things that need correction. Prioritize things that cause harm to the employees or company.”
Getting Leaders Buy in for HR Strategic Initiatives
In this engaging session, Catherine Mattice founder of Civility Partners, explains why it’s so important for company leadership to think of HR as a strategic partner that can align people strategies with organizational goals. Her insights show us how to propel HR from a cost center to an asset vital to the organization’s success. Highlights include:
- When leadership doesn’t buy in to HR initiatives, company’s experience: high turnover, lower productivity, higher absenteeism, decrease in revenue, lowered morale
- When crafting your script, start with a powerful statement about the bottom line. Focus on one message/mission. Give examples.
- Data is your best ally. Choose the right time to present your proposal; know that it might take several touches before you get an answer.
Key Quote:
“U.S. organizations collectively lose more than $1.2 billion in reduced productivity per day due to uncivil behaviors at work and $828 million per day due to absenteeism caused by incivility.”
Even though our Fall Summit has concluded, we’re already starting to plan our next event coming in Spring 2025!
