When managing employees, it is important to use best practices during the entire employee lifecycle to maximize productivity, improve employee morale, and reduce employer liability.

Recruitment

Best practices should start at the very beginning, during the hiring process. Hire the right person for the right job by specifying job expectations and making sure the prospective employee is qualified to fulfill those requirements. Reduce liability by performing pre-employment screening that aligns to the employee's job duties.

New Employee

Give your new employee every opportunity to succeed. Obtain signed acknowledgement of the employee handbook policies with in the first few days of employment. Provide a written job description and make sure the new employee has a clear understanding of his or her duties. Provide adequate and documented job training.

Ongoing Employment

Maintain open communication by providing clear performance objectives and giving honest performance reviews. In cases where performance or behavior becomes a problem, manage the situation with documented progressive discipline, communicating specific conditions that may lead to termination.

Termination

Unless an employee is being immediately terminated for egregious behavior such as threatening the safety of coworkers, terminations for cause should never come as a surprise. Ideally, there will have been a string of documented counseling leading up to the termination, with expectations clearly laid out along the way. If an employee voluntarily resigns, request a letter of resignation and conduct an exit interview if possible. Have procedures for final details in place, such as timing of the final paycheck, PTO payouts if applicable, COBRA notifications, as well as security measures such as computer passwords and company-issued equipment.

Nextep helps with every step of the employee lifecycle. For assistance, please cont act Nextep's Human Resources Department.

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