October 11, 2016
August 17, 2016
HR Reality Check: Yep, the Stories are True! HR CASE STUDY #3 Scenario: Barliabov-Water Funeral Home is a small family-owned funeral home with only five employees. The firm’s licensed embalmer recently broke his wrist while playing softball at a family reunion. When the employee reported to work on his next regularly scheduled workday, he provided a note from his doctor advising that he could not lift more than 15 pounds for the next two weeks or he would risk the bone not setting properly. The employee asked for an accommodation by the employer that would allow him to work his normal schedule. Barliabov-Water informed him that they could not make an accommodation and that he was free to use his sick leave and vacation time to cover the two-week period he was unable to lift more than 15 pounds. The […]
August 17, 2016
What You Need to Know About the New Overtime Rules Do you know what is important about Dec. 1, 2016? The recently released overtime rule changes to the Fair Labor Standards Acts released by the U.S. Department of Labor become effective. Cemetery and funeral business managers and owners will need to be in compliance with the new requirements by that date. The last time revisions were made to the FLSA was 2004. On the surface, it may seem that there are really not that many changes to the FLSA after 12 years; however, the impact to funeral and cemetery business owners may be significant. To grasp the possible implications to business owners, it is necessary to clearly understand exactly what rules the DOL altered or expanded. The FLSA previously established three tests that must be met for an employee to […]
July 30, 2016
Employers repeatedly find themselves trying to fill positions within their business. The most frequent question when this occurs is; “Who do we hire?” Such a simple question can lead to hours of frustration. Don’t panic, there is a process you can use to help overcome the challenge of prospecting through candidates to find that needle in a hay stack. Step 1. Make sure you have a job description for the position to be filled. You don’t have one? No problem you can make one following these steps: I. List the specific duties or tasks you want this position to fill. This can encompass many different things depending on the position. Meet with families Handle first calls Write obituaries Apply for death certificates Embalm bodies II. Describe the scope of the position. What is the purpose and responsibilities of this position? […]
May 5, 2016
After much time and effort, you’ve added a new employee. Awesome! Now what? 10 simple steps to creating an in-house training program. Getting a new employee through the front door is just the first step in your journey of creating a quality employee. The next step, training, is thought to be the most important in the employment process. Effective training maximizes the value a new employee adds to your business and establishes the necessary foundation for a long-term, positive employment relationship. Job satisfaction is one of the key factors that leads to an employee’s choice to remain with an employer, and creating a basic training program can reap significant benefits in terms of employee retention and job satisfaction. Unfortunately, many funeral home owners are overwhelmed by the thought of training a new employee, let alone developing a formal training process. […]