The Happy Cleaner Blog

Communicating Effectively with Employees Part 3: The Challenges and Opportunities of a Diverse Workplace

By Terri Swanson, EMPO Corporation

Just as there are many different types of personalities in the workplace, there are also an increasing number of cultural and other differences that make communicating with employees challenging. The more we learn and understand the differences in people, the more effectively we can communicate.

Here are some generalities about people’s communication preferences and styles that may help in your quest to communicate it your staff. Generally, men prefer to hear just the facts when you are communicating with them. They want you to get to the point and they prefer decisions versus pondering. Women, on the other hand, prefer to know the circumstances behind a discussion or a decision, they care about other people’s feelings (and their own), and they want to think through any decisions before making them.

There are also differences in communication styles with employees of different ages. Traditionalists (those born between 1915-1945) are ultra conservative and conscientious. They have high work ethics and strong brand loyalty. Many of the executive leaders of some of the most influential companies in the USA fall in this category. These people respond to the notion that ‘we are in this together’. They value formality and top-down chain of command. They appreciate face-to-face meetings.

The Baby Boomer generation (!946-1964) is the largest population with over 75 million. These people want respect from later generations and value civic loyalty. They show great respect for authority. These people respond to open, direct communication, and value flexibility and being shown through demonstrations. These employees will ask a lot of questions to gain clarity.

Gen X employees ( born 1965- 1976) have grown up in the computer age and with a prosperous economy. They aren’t afraid to challenge authority and place a lot of value on work/life balance. These individuals desire instant communication, short meetings and thrive to get their work accomplished in the shortest amount of time.  Gen Yers, (1977 – present) are college educated, competitive and self-absorbed. They want their opinions heard are comfortable with the newest technology. These employees also prefer instant feedback.

If this seems impossible to remember and even more challenging to implement, it can be; although it is well worth your while to try to make it work. The best thing to do is to get to know your employees individually, ask what type of communication they prefer, and then work hard to provide them with the information and feedback the way that works best for them. This will prove mutually beneficial in the end.

Communicating Effectively With Employees Part 2: When To Write And When Not To

By Terri Swanson, EMPO Corporation

You've been writing since you were 6 years old. So, of course you know how to write. Wrong. Putting words on paper isn't writing. Writing is expressing thoughts and ideas to help inform, educate or persuade someone.  Just like it takes practice and skill to be an active listener, it takes thought, work and good judgment to be an effective writer. The good news is that it does pay off. People who understand what you are writing will have fewer questions, have a better understanding of your point of view, and will more likely be persuaded to act successfully on your words.

The first thing you need to consider is whether or not you should be writing the message. Detailed or complex messages, communication to large audiences, and the need to document a discussion, decision or action are all best handled through written communication.

If you need immediate feedback, or interaction is required or preferred, then speaking with someone instead is your best route. You should also communicate directly with someone when the topic is sensitive. Unfortunately, this is the most abused type of message sent.  Many of us send letters, emails, or worse yet post something on a social networking site when they want to tell someone something negative or bad. This is a cop-out. If you have bad news or constructive criticism for someone, the only effective way to do it is face to face. The amount of time and energy you put into this conversation will cost less in time and miscommunication then if you write it; plus, it's the right thing to do. If you feel that you also need to put the message or discussion in writing to accompany the discussion, then do so.

Just as there are different times to write, today there are also different methods to write including e-mail, instant messaging, text messaging, as well as the traditional memos and letters.  Before you use what you prefer, think about your message and who you are sending it to. If it's short and sweet and non-controversial then an e-mail may be appropriate. If it's formal then perhaps a letter is the best alternative. If the intended recipient is tech savvy then a text message may be the right method.
And lastly, always remember to think through your message and re-read it, read it aloud to yourself, spell check, and use a proofreader when needed. Think about what you want to say, who you are saying it to, how it will be best understood and received, and then take the time to do it the right way. It will pay off in the end.

Communicating Effectively with Employees is More Than Just Talking

By Terri Swanson, EMPO Corporation

If you’re like many people, you know that it’s important to communicate regularly with your employees. In fact if you’re like most business owners or managers, you probably spend at least 45% of any work day talking with your employees. The question is, are you talking to or at your employees or are you talking with them. It may seem that because you’re the “boss” you should be talking to them, telling them what to do and how to do it, but if you really want to communicate effectively with your staff and thus create and increase efficiency and motivate them, there is much more to it. To be successful in business you must be able to build good relationships with your employees and although it starts with the words you say, your body movement (posture, facial expressions, eye contact) and tone of your voice (calm, excited, agitated, happy), also have a major impact.   It’s important to check your emotions before you talk to someone—especially if the topic you are discussing is of a serious nature. A couple other things to think about when you are talking with someone:

• a firm and steady handshake shows self confidence and willingness to communicate; 
• facial expressions like mimicking or rolling your eyes are perceived as insulting; 
• too many gestures are appropriate when trying to get your point across but too many can make someone uncomfortable; 
• maintaining eye contact with the person you are talking with shows you are interested in the conversation. However, staring at them can make them uncomfortable.

Another important thing to remember is communicating is a two-way street. In addition to talking to employees it’s important to actively listen to them as well. This will help build rapport, will help you earn power and respect, will reduce the risk of errors, and of course will help them better understand what you are saying. In turn, this will help save you and others time and money, and will increase employee satisfaction and retention. To actively listen, have eye contact with the speaker, let the person talk (don’t interrupt), lean forward to show your interest, and repeat and restate what you’ve heard. Although you think you may know what the person is saying, it’s important to restate and repeat to make sure: “I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.” Huh??

Next month…what to write and how to write it…

Be careful what you say…Seven Stupid Things Supervisors Say…

1. I think you’re depressed. Shouldn’t you see somebody?
This opens the company up to a possible ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) claim.  In suggesting that a person may have a medical or mental health issue, you put the company in the position of ‘regarding’ your employee as being disabled.  Under the ADA statute, as amended, regarding someone as disabled makes them disabled.  Once someone can claim a disability, the company must engage in an interactive process to determine how (or if) the company can accommodate the disability.

2.  You’re going to take 5 weeks off to “bond”? I don’t think so!
Most states provide for some sort of parental leave for the parents of a newborn or newly adopted child.  In denying such a request (six weeks is the norm), you may be violating an employee’s rights to take this time.

3.  You’re giving two weeks’ notice? Why don’t we just make today your last day? You’re fired!
Even if you don’t like this person, let them work out the two weeks notice, or pay them the two weeks and ask them to leave.  There are certain reasons to accept a notice immediately, and they can be determined case-by-case based on business needs, but telling someone they are fired after they turn in their notice is inadvisable.  When someone voluntarily turns in a notice, chances are really good that they will go away quietly, and you never hear from them again.  Once you fire someone, you can get into wrongful termination lawsuits, as well as make that person eligible for an unemployment claim charged to your company.  Much cheaper just to let them work out the two weeks (or pay it) and let them go away on their own.

4.  Are you married, and what are your family plans?
Questions during an interview that do not relate to a job requirement are rarely legal.  This one is not legal.

5.  Oh, what a lovely accent---where are you from?
As with the answer to situation number four, asking someone a question that could lead you to determine ethnic origin is not legal.

6. Do you really want to transfer to a job that has so much travel with all those young children?
A person’s parental status should not be a determining factor in whether they are offered a transfer or promotion.  Assuming that a company has well-drafted job descriptions, the easy way around this is to place the job description for the new position in front of the employee (just as you would for an applicant), and then ask them to review the job description (it should include the travel requirements) and sign it indicating that they could do the job.

7.  You’re fired, and I don’t have to give you any reason because employment is “at will.”

From a technical legal viewpoint this one is true.  Employment-at-will exists on the books in 49 states.  However, the courts in every state – and the federal courts – have been chipping away at employment-at-will for years.  EMPO’s advice is to never rely on employment-at-will as the only reason to terminate an employee’s position with the company.  Rather, an employee should be given chances to show that they can do the job with coaching whether they have been with the company for three weeks or thirty years.

By Scott Andreassen, SPHR, HR Director, EMPO Corporation

What stupid things have YOU witnessed supervisors saying? Click on the Comments link below to share.

Is Your Cleaning Business Proactive Or Reactive When It Comes To Safety Training?

It is imperative for organizations to take a proactive approach when it comes to the health and safety of workers in the workplace. Far too often organizations take more of a reactive approach because of an unfortunate occupational accident, injury, near-miss, or illness.

Unfortunately, this can be very disruptive for a business.  There should be no doubt that safety programs and safety training directly affect workers’ compensation and affordable insurance premiums. On many occasions, workplace accidents, injuries, and illness are the result of lack of awareness of a worker or workers. It is possible the worker(s) may have not known any better, or wasn’t told of hazards and potential risks, which is why it is so important that employers provide safety training and safety awareness to their workers.

To minimize occupational accidents, injuries, near-misses, and illness, employers should provide workers with ongoing safety training and safety awareness. They should also evaluate the safety performance of their workers. This will prove to be instrumental in keeping their accident and injury rating down, in addition to having a positive impact in keeping their worker’ compensation insurance premiums affordable. Also instrumental in reducing worker' compensation claims and possibly impacting the affordability of workers' compensation insurance premiums would be to implement an effective employee wellness program.

James Browning is EMPO Corporation’s Safety Consultant, Trainer, & Workers' Compensation Specialist. He has also developed a series of OSHA Compliant, Online Safety Trainings for janitorial and residential cleaning employees, which can be found here:

Online Safety Training For Janitorial Workers
Online Safety Training For Residential Cleaners

Health Care Reform and the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit

The recently passed health care legislation is a very complex law.  Most of the provisions do not even take effect this year, however we thought you should be aware of four provisions that will affect you in 2010.

1. Beginning with the first plan year after September 23, 2010, an employee will be allowed to enroll his or her child on the health insurance plan up to age 26 – even if the child no longer lives with the parent – provided that the child does not have other coverage available to him or her.
2. Beginning with the first plan year after September 23, 2010, some lifetime benefit caps are eliminated along with the elimination of the pre-existing condition limitation on dependent children under age 19. 
3. Beginning with the first plan year after September 23, 2010, an employer may no longer establish any eligibility rules for participation in a health care program that discriminates in favor of higher-paid employees
4. Beginning no later than the tax year that begins on or after January 1, 2010, a business tax credit may be available to certain small employers that provide health care benefits to its employees.  This program is discussed below.

The only major provision that became effective immediately is a small employer tax credit available effective no later than the organization’s tax year beginning on or after January 1, 2010.  A small business or tax exempt organization is eligible to claim a health care tax credit provided that

• The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, not including the owner(s) or family members of the owner(s), is 24 or less; and
• • The FTE equivalent is calculated by counting each full-time employee as one employee, and then adding the annual hours worked for part-time employees up, and dividing by 2,080.  Add the number of full-time employees to the FTE equivalent for the part-time employees, and you have the FTE equivalent.  A seasonal worker (defined as one who works less than 120 days during the tax year) does not count in the FTE calculations. 
• The average annual total wages paid to these employees, again not including the owners or family members of the owner(s) is $50,000 or less; and
• You pay at least half of the insurance premium for each employee at the single, employee-only, coverage rate; and
• This means that an employer who either employs 25 or more employee FTEs, or one who pays an average annual wage in excess of $50,000, is ineligible for the tax credit.

The tax credit percentage can be as high as 35% for a firm with nine or fewer employee FTEs and average wages less than $25,000.  The tax credit percentage that a firm with more than ten employees, or average wages up to $50,000 will be lower, dependent on the formula.  The calculation will also take the ‘average premium for a small group market’ as determined by the IRS into account; this determination has not yet been released by the IRS.

The IRS has published some valuable guidance on the program at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=220809,00.html.  EMPO recommends that you check with your tax preparer prior to your next medical renewal to ensure that you can maximize any credits available to your business.

The information provided in this article is guidance based on the information available to EMPO at the time this article was published.  We expect changes to be made to the law itself, either by Congress or by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  HHS has been tasked with implementing most facets of the new law.  Because HHS has been given broad powers in how to implement the general guidelines of the law, there are changes anticipated to what we presently know.  These changes should not greatly affect the changes planned for 2010 or 2011, but will likely affect later years.  We will keep you informed as these changes occur, and as we get closer to implementation in later years.

by Scott Andreassen, Director of HR Services at EMPO

Do you have questions about this post? Click on the Comments link to ask your question.

The HIRE Act – What It Can Do For Your Bottom Line

Do you plan on increasing staffing levels this year?  If so, you may be interested in new tax incentives recently passed into law by the federal government.  On March 18, 2010, President Obama signed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act into law; it became immediately effective, and provides an incentive for you to increase your staffing levels between February 3, 2010 and December 31, 2010.  There are two incentives that encourage a business to increase its payroll:

1. A payroll tax incentive of 6.2%, essentially offsetting the employer’s portion of the FICA tax, with a maximum credit of $6,621.00 against wages paid to a qualified employee who was formerly unemployed. This incentive is good only against wages paid from March 19, 2010 through December 31, 2010. An individual is determined to be qualified if:

1. he or she began employment on or after February 3, 2010, but not later than December 31, 2010; and
2. he or she can certify that he or she has not been employed for more than a grand total of forty hours during the sixty day period immediately prior to starting employment for you.
3. he or she is not a replacement for another employee unless a replacement is necessary due to either:
4. 1. a voluntary resignation by the other employee; or
   2. layoffs previously implemented by your company; or
   3. a position that has opened up because your company has terminated another employee ‘for cause’ (because the term is very loosely defined, EMPO’s recommendation is to be careful with the use of this part of the qualification pending further guidance (if any) from the IRS); and
5. he or she is not related to any of the company’s owners – more information, including a detailed definition of a relative, can be found on the affidavit referenced below; and
6. he or she completes the IRS Form W-11, Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act Employee Affidavit, which is attached to the newsletter email.

• The payroll tax credit is only for the FICA 6.2% employer-paid portion that is equivalent to what the employer would normally match on behalf of the employee. The employer tax credit does not affect the employer’s responsibility to withhold and remit the 6.2% employee contribution from each qualified employee’s paycheck, nor does it affect either the employee or employer portion of the Medicare tax.
• An eligible employee can be a new hire who has never worked for your company previously; or an employee who has been laid off, or another rehire who had not been laid off, provided that he or she is otherwise eligible as described in items a through e, above.
• You can also use this credit to expand your workforce through creation of a new position(s).
• If an employer claims the Work Opportunity Credit for an employee, the employer cannot also claim the payroll tax credit under the HIRE Act.  If your company claims the Work Opportunity Credit, you should consult with your tax preparer to determine which option is better for you to claim.  The IRS will be developing a form that will allow a company to opt out of the payroll tax credit in favor of the Work Opportunity Credit.

2. A one-time business tax credit of up to $1,000.00 (the lesser of $1,000 or 6.2% of the qualified wages paid to a qualified employee) may be claimed no earlier than on your 2011 business tax return provided that:

1. you hire a qualified employee as determined using the same criteria as in item 1, above; and
2. he or she remains on your active payroll for at least 52 consecutive weeks; and
3. he or she receives pay in the second 26-week period that does not ‘decrease significantly’ from the first 26-week period to the second 26-week period – unfortunately, ‘decrease significantly’ is the term defined in the law, and is open to interpretation pending further guidance (if any) from the IRS.

• If your business tax year does not follow the calendar year, your credit may need to be spread over the 2011 and 2012 tax returns.
• The IRS’ Technical Explanation of the HIRE Act is unclear as to whether the Work Opportunity Credit can be claimed along with the business tax credit.  Therefore, further guidance will need to be issued by the IRS on if (or how) the two credits can work together.  The payroll tax incentive described in item 1, above, will work with the business tax credit.

The payroll tax credit is effective for wages paid on or after March 19, 2010, and on or before December 31, 2010.  To estimate what this tax incentive means to your bottom line, multiply qualified wages you anticipate paying to the qualified employee in 2010 by 6.2%.  The IRS will be working to modify the Form W-2 to show qualified earnings.

The business tax credit will need to be claimed on your business tax return by the tax professional who handles your company’s business tax returns.

What should I do now?

You can start the process by providing each employee you have hired since February 3, 2010 with the attached Form W-11.  Going forward, you should provide each new hire with the Form W-11 as part of the new-hire package.  Remember that this program only works for an individual who was actually out of work.  So if you hire someone in a situation in which you cannot meet all the requirements listed above, then it is not necessary to complete the form.  Please do not hesitate to call your HR Consultant or EMPO if you have questions on this or any other matter.

By Scott Andreassen, EMPO's Director of HR Services

Do you have questions about this post? Click on the Comments link to ask your question

Is Now the Right Time to “HIRE”?

If you were looking for the “right” time to staff up, now may be it. Earlier this month, President Obama signed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act into law effective immediately.  There are two primary incentives to encourage employers to hire staff including a tax incentive of 6.2%, which essentially offsets the employer’s portion of the FICA tax with a maximum credit of $6,621.00 for wages paid to qualified employees who were formerly unemployed.  This incentive will be claimed on the quarterly tax filing beginning with the filing for the second quarter.

The second incentive includes a tax credit for businesses of up to $1,000.00 if these employees are retained for 52 weeks or more, and the amount of pay they receive in the second 26-week period is essentially equal to the amount of pay they receive in the first 26-week period.

Whereas you should always hire the best person for the job, you may want to keep in mind the following when you are looking at candidates.

To qualify a newly-hired employee:

• Must start work after February 3, 2010 and before Jan 1, 2011.
• Must not have been an employee for more than 40 hours during the 60 days before start date.
• Must not replace a current employee (unless that employee was separated from employment voluntarily or for cause).
• Must not be related to the employer or directly or indirectly own more than 50% of the business.
• May be previously laid-off employees.
• May be part-time or less than full time employees.

The payroll tax forgiveness does not apply to wages paid in the first quarter of 2010. However, any amount that would have been allowed in the first quarter (i.e., wages on or after March 18, 2010) would be credited against the employer’s OASDI liability for the second quarter. Beginning for new hire wages paid beginning April 1, 2010, the employer would take the OASDI forgiveness into account for regularly deposited payroll taxes.

In order to receive the retention credit the new worker must:

• Be employed 52 consecutive weeks. A prorated credit for a short period is not allowed.
• Domestics and workers eligible for a “foreign earned income exclusion” are not eligible.

The tax credit will be available to most employers on the 2011 income tax return. It should be noted, however, that the HIRE Act does not allow carry back of any unused Section 38 business credit that is attributable to the provision for retained workers.

Do you have questions about this post? Click on the Comments link to ask your question.

Do You Employ Independent Contractors? Really?

In December 2007, the IRS forced Federal Express to pay at least $319 million in back taxes because it “employed” independent contractors instead of W-2 employees to drive its trucks.  In December 2000, Microsoft settled a lawsuit with former independent contractors who claimed that they missed out on company-sponsored benefits. Microsoft paid $97 million plus back taxes. 

So... how many independent contractors are working at your company? If the answer is 1 or more, you may want to re-examine the status of your independent contractors.

While hiring independent contractors is a good short-term solution, it's not as simple as signing an independent contractor agreement. What it boils down to is whether the “contractor” is really an employee by law. While there is a series of questions to help determine the employee status, the primary factor is the extent to which you control how the person performs his or her duties. For example, if you hire an outside person to overhaul your computer system, he or she provides you with a date by which the work will be done, and you then let this person go about his or her work, the person is likely an independent contractor. Alternatively, if you hire the person, tell them when and where they need to work , how they need to report into you then they are probably an employee.

A second factor is how critical the position is to your business. For example, you can outsource accounting functions, but you would not likely outsource an executive position. There are many more factors that help government agencies determine the tax status of an individual when it is brought into question.

So why care? There are possible fines and back taxes that can be levied against an employer for failure to properly withhold, pay (employer portion), or remit employment taxes. The best thing you can do is start with a good position description.  At EMPO, we work with our clients to develop the position description and determine employee or contractor status; we recommend that you too work with an HR professional to help make the determination.  However, there are some resources you can use if you choose to ‘go it alone’.  The easiest is the IRS; they have developed a process that allows them to determine status.  It can be found at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss8.pdf.  The downside to using the IRS is that it could expose you to back payment of employment taxes.  Another option is to use IRS material available at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15a.pdf. 

By Scott Andreassen, Senior HR Consultant
Founded in 1999, EMPO Corporation is a leading Human Resource Outsourcing (HRO) and Professional Employer Organization (PEO). EMPO services all markets with specialties in the manufacturing, professional services and nonprofit sectors. For more information on EMPO Corporation and other human resource related topics, visit www.empocorp.com.

OSHA Safety Requirements for Cleaning Companies

What does OSHA safety requirements have to do with Employees and HR?  Plenty!

OSHA requires employers to train their employees in the safety and health aspects of their jobs in order to protect them from injuries and illnesses. For more information about OSHA's requirements for safety training listen to Steve Hanson's interview with James Browning, Safety Consultant and Trainer for Empo Corporation.

To purchase online safety training go here:

Hazardous Communications: Employee Right To Know