Human resources, often called just “HR”, is one of the more complex aspects to running a small business. Unlike other, more tangible assets, people aren’t going to fit too neatly into a spreadsheet or software infrastructure.
Despite its challenges, HR is extremely important to the day-to-day running of your business, and certainly not something you can afford to neglect. The following is a brief guide to setting up your HR, and doing everything necessary to manage and protect one of your most important assets: your employees.
Due to all the tricky laws and regulations, and the sheer diversity that exists from one company to the next, there’s no real way for me to give you a catch-all plan for your HR. However, for businesses with 50 employees or fewer, following this guide should cover all the necessary bases.
Employee Files
Source: Max Pixel
Every employee at your business needs to have three specific files tied to them. The first of these is their I-9 file, the form that’s used by the government to verify that the employee is legally permitted to work in the US. These can all be kept together in a single place, rather than under individual workers’ names.
The next file you need is known as an “employee general” file. This is something you keep for your own benefit, and should contain any kind of documentation associated with a given employee that you’ve gathered while they’ve been with you. This might include their CV, written performance reviews, training certificates, records of disciplinary action, W-4 forms, and so on. You’ll use this file fairly often, so it’s important to keep them in an accessible place.
Finally, you need to keep employee medical files. These will contain doctor’s notes, information about employee’s disabilities, and any other medical data you have on your employees. Because you’re dealing with private medical information, you need to make sure these files are distinct from the rest, and protected from easy access. Failing to keep these somewhere secure can have massive repercussions, so don’t neglect it!
Employee Handbook
Source: Max Pixel
The next piece of documentation you need to think about is the employee handbook. This is going to be unique to your business, and will serve two very important functions.
First of all, it will spell out, to all of your employees, what is expected of them. Secondly, it will give you some degree of legal protection in the case of a major dispute. Technically speaking, your company’s employee handbook can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. However, there are certain general approaches and elements which could be worth considering, depending on the nature of your company.
Some businesses, for example, might benefit from having a non-disclosure agreement which employees have to sign. This isn’t applicable to every start-up in the world, but if you have any major trade secrets, one of these …read more
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