Page 14 - MetalForming March 2015

Human Capital By Debbie McGrath
How to Prepare Your Office for Bad Weather
Posted to HR.com by Bill Copeland, vice president, mar- keting, MassPay
As winter sets in across most of the country, the weath-
er outside is not so delightful. Blizzards, as well as
flooding and hurricanes, can wreak havoc with busi- ness operations and commuting employees. Planning ahead and documenting your policies and procedures in an employ- ee handbook helps you focus on safety and make things a lot smoother when these events happen.
How to Prepare Your Office for Bad Weather
Businesses should examine their inclement-weather ver- biage in the employee handbook to ensure that employees understand the company’s policies for these events and what is expected of them when these situations arise.
Issues that the employee handbook needs to address include: • Conditions that will close the business
• Procedures for determining closure
• Communicating closure, partial closure and delayed
opening to employees
• Determining essential personnel and their responsibilities • Telecommuting and other options
• Pay policy (for hourly employees)
• Absence policy
These items need to be defined in the employee handbook
for both pre-events (i.e., forecasted blizzard), as well as pro- cedures during an event when employees are sent home.
Determine When the Business Will Close
First and foremost should be concern for employee safety. Recognize that much of your workforce may not live close to the office, so driving/road conditions are a major considera- tion. Many businesses look to the state or federal government to help them determine if they will close or not. For example, if a governor asks people to stay home and stay off the roads, then businesses need to seriously consider closing as well. During a storm, it will be important to continually monitor winds, snow depths, road conditions, temperature and other factors to determine if an early closing is in order.
Content for Human Capital comes courtesy of Debbie McGrath, founder and chief instigator of HR.com, Aurora, Ontario, Canada. McGrath has a degree in computer science and business administration from the University of Guelph. Founded in August 1999, HR.com aims to help build great companies by con- necting them with the knowledge and resources they need to effectively manage the people side of business.
www.HR.com
tel: 877/472-6648
Define How Closures Will be Communicated
In today’s digital world, communicating with employees is easier than ever. You can post the closure on your compa- ny website or send text messages to employees. Some com- panies use an automated calling system to communicate the company’s plans and expectations before and during an event. Employees should know where to seek out updates, such as the website, or a dedicated emergency line.
Ensure that your webmaster can access and update your website as needed. If you use an outside agency/company, then seek out other methods to keep employees informed (staff an emergency line, for example).
Establish your chain of command and have supervisors and managers contact their direct reports with this infor- mation. Many companies have an employee directory read- ily available (online or printed) to help with these efforts. The HR department should ensure that employee information (home address, home phone and mobile phone) are up to date. Encourage employees to verify their personal data.
Define Essential Personnel and Responsibilities
Some businesses need to have a skeleton staff in order to continue operating. Analyze your business and determine what staffing level is needed. Essential employees must be told that they are expected to be at the office, regardless of weather conditions. You may need to make special provisions in order to help them get to the office (contracts with a plow service, 4WD vehicles to pick them up, etc.).
In today’s digital age, much of today’s professional workforce can do some or all of their job from home. That expectation needs to be relayed to employees who can operate this way.
Pay Rules
Exempt employees typically are guaranteed their normal salary regardless of inclement weather. Many employers also will pay hourly, non-exempt workers for their scheduled shift in the event of a closure, but it is not required. In the event you send employees home early, most companies pay employees the balance of the remaining shift, but they are not legally obligated to do so. Check your state for minimum shift laws.
How Absences Count
Employees often are unclear if closures or partial closures count toward vacation and sick balances. These questions need to be addressed in your employee handbook. If the com- pany is closed and salaried employees are capable and author- ized to telecommute, and they choose not to, are they charged a vacation day? You also will need to address the hourly folks— will a missed shift be paid, unpaid or eligible for paid time off?
12 MetalForming/March 2015
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