September 11, 2017
Published by 
Stephanie Ramsey on September 11, 2017
Stephanie Ramsey on September 11, 2017Last year many funeral business employers were frantically attempting to address the potential change to their payroll based on implementation of the Fair Labor Standards Act Overtime Rule which was anticipated to go into effect on December 1, 2016. The enactment of this rule was stalled by a Texas District Court judge issuing a nationwide injunction in November. Then President Trump paused, via a presidential memorandum, all proposed federal regulations that had not yet taken effect. Does that mean that the FLSA Overtime Rule is dead? What about other new or proposed employment regulations that might impact funeral business owners? For employers, the environment under which they try to operate a business is often caught up in the ever-changing waves of new employment laws or regulations at both the state and federal levels. At mid-way through 2017, let us take […]
August 16, 2017
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on August 16, 2017
Stephanie Ramsey on August 16, 2017As a business owner or manager, there are times when you’re faced with employee performance issues. These employees are usually not your worst employee or brightest star. They did not commit fraud or anything that would lead you to move to immediate termination. They just don’t seem to be the most comfortable fit. Owners and managers eventually reach a point where they feel they must make a difficult decision. Should they let an employee go and find a replacement or should they keep them on and hope to help them improve their less than stellar performance? Well-known quotes and proverbs may start racing through your mind such as “roll the dice and hope for the best” or “the devil you know is better than the one you don’t know” when faced with this type of situation. The bottom line is […]
July 14, 2017
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on July 14, 2017
Stephanie Ramsey on July 14, 2017 Scenario: ABC Funeral Home, owned by Jim and Jane Smith, is a funeral home considered to be the market leader in a Midwestern town with a population of approximately 300,000. Part of its approach to maintaining market share is its high quality of family services fostered primarily through its experienced and qualified staff. ABC Funeral Home pays its employees well and offers competitive benefits. They live in a state that recognizes at-will employment. Finding quality employees is challenging for everyone in the area. Recently, one of ABC Funeral Home’s senior funeral directors gave notice indicating that he would be joining another firm in the area. His resignation indicated that he would stay with the firm another 30 days. Jim accepted his resignation, but he was concerned about his senior employee stealing confidential and proprietary information, so he told the […]
April 28, 2017
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on April 28, 2017
Stephanie Ramsey on April 28, 2017Bridging the divide How funeral homes can leverage the diverse experiences of five generations. By Stephanie Ramsey How can the information we know about the various generations help funeral service owners and managers? Let’s consider various scenarios for attracting employees for certain positions in which a specific generation might be a good fit. Baby boomers. Latchkey kids. Millennials. The Silent Generation. These terms referring to the different generations have been bandied about for years. Let’s look at their impact on the funeral service industry. It’s not news that funeral business owners have complained about not being able to find the kind of quality employee they did years ago, which points to the fact that generational issues are indeed impacting the industry. Perhaps gaining insight on these different generations will provide funeral service employers a clearer path to identifying and retaining […]
April 20, 2017
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on April 20, 2017
Stephanie Ramsey on April 20, 2017HR Reality Check: Yep, the Stories are True! By Stephanie Ramsey HR Case Study #5 Scenario: Millennial Funeral Services, owned by Mark and Margaret Millennial, is a funeral business in a Midwestern state that recognizes at-will employment. Including the two owners, they have 15 employees. While neither of Mark and Margaret’s children is active in the business, they do have a quality key employee, John James. In fact, they have spoken to John about how the business could potentially transfer to him when Mark and Margaret are ready to retire in about 10 years. About two years ago, John began dating a woman and they were married within six months. Mark and Margaret were happy for John and still interested in selling him the business. However, last year they hit a snag in their plans. It started simply with John […]
January 15, 2017
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on January 15, 2017
Stephanie Ramsey on January 15, 2017Determining if or when to give an employee a raise is a question funeral business owners/managers frequently struggle to answer. This year funeral business owners/managers are challenged to address this issue in a very direct and specific manner as a result of the impending new overtime rules. Currently, due to a Texas Judge issuing an injunction, the implementation of this rule is on hold and may or may not ever be put into effect. This leaves owners and managers uncertain about how they should or if they should address raises for their employees. Given the complexity of the overtime rules and the current focus on retaining quality employees in the funeral industry it is wise to consider the four following components when addressing raises: Company Budget/Profitability Market Rate of Position Employee’s Job Performance Future Expectations of Employee and the Business […]
December 1, 2016
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on December 1, 2016
Stephanie Ramsey on December 1, 2016Ban the Box Status Report Momentum for the policy has grown exponentially, particularly in recent years. There are a total of 17 states representing nearly every region of the country that have adopted the policies: California (2013, 2010) Colorado (2012) Connecticut (2010) Delaware (2014) Georgia (2015) Hawaii (1998) Illinois (2014, 2013) Maryland (2013) Massachusetts (2010) Minnesota (2013, 2009) Nebraska (2014) New Jersey (2014) New Mexico (2010) Ohio (2015) Rhode Island (2013) Vermont (2015) Virginia (2015) Six states have removed the conviction history question on job applications for private employers, which advocates embrace as the next step in the evolution of these policies. Hawaii Illinois Massachusetts Minnesota New Jersey Rhode Island Numerous cities and counties have implemented ban the box practices: Arizona – Tucson California – Alameda County, Berkeley, Carson, Compton, East Palo Alto, Oakland, Pasadena, Richman, San Francisco, Santa Clara […]
December 1, 2016
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on December 1, 2016
Stephanie Ramsey on December 1, 2016hr-newsletter-3q2014
November 3, 2016
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on November 3, 2016
Stephanie Ramsey on November 3, 2016T here are a wide array of guidelines, articles, books, and workshops on ways to effectively train employees. In fact, there are some very common catch phrases found in reference to training such as: Identify resources for your training Develop a training program Evaluate the effectiveness of training materials Strive for continuous improvement What these catch phrases really mean is open to interpretation. Rather than define these terms, it is more productive to approach training from the “who”, “what”, “when” and “how” perspective. Stop and consider the main intent of providing training to anyone for any position. Are you not sure what that is? Training intends to pass knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) from one individual to another. The real key to success for training employees is the sharing of these elements. There are many reasons for sharing KSAs among […]
October 11, 2016
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on October 11, 2016
Stephanie Ramsey on October 11, 2016HR-Quarterly September 2016 – SR
August 17, 2016
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on August 17, 2016
Stephanie Ramsey on August 17, 2016HR 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
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on August 17, 2016
Stephanie Ramsey on August 17, 2016What 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 […]