Avoid the Top 10 HR mistakes!

1. What you don't track once you could pay for twice. For example, having to compensate departing employees for unrecorded-but used-vacation time. Develop a system for tracking time off and be sure to use it.
2. When you don't "keep up with the Jones's" in terms of pay and benefits, you could lose your best employees or prospective hires. Know what your competitors are offering and be sure your compensation and benefits package is in line with industry standards.
3. Failure to consistently and accurately document employee performance problems, policy violations, and complaints can turn into a liability nightmare. Do not ignore performance issues in the hopes that they will go away.
4. Non-compliance with policies and procedures is an invitation for claims. If you have policies that govern workplace conduct, make sure they are applied consistently throughout the organization.
5. Inflating the performance appraisal of an average or poor worker is the most common and most serious mistake managers make when giving performance reviews. Make sure they understand the importance of "telling it like it is" or a subsequent performance-based dismissal of the employee will be difficult to defend.
6. Forgetting to recognize and appropriately reward positive, energetic, high performance employees can lead to morale problems in the near term, and ultimately to attrition. Do not discount the importance of expressing your appreciation for a job well done, through bonuses, service awards, or even something as inexpensive as sincere words of gratitude.
7. If you improperly compensate contractors who are later deemed to be employees, or fail to pay overtime as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act, the consequences can be disastrous. Be sure that all workers are properly classified for tax and overtime purposes.
8. When HR is left out of the hiring process it results in inequitable levels of employee compensation because hiring managers often don't understand where an employee fits in the company's overall compensation structure. You need to implement a centralized recruiting process to avoid this type of "Wild West" hiring.
9. During interviews it is easy to accidentally "small talk" your way into a discrimination suit. It is imperative that everyone who participates in the interview process knows what questions are unlawful to ask.
10. Last but not least, remember the golden rule: treat everyone in your organization as you would like to be treated yourself.