A client recently came to me to as her HR Consultant to let me know that she was going to be having twins through surrogacy and wanted to discuss the short term disability benefits that she would receive as a result of having a child. As a human resources professional, I provided her with a straight forward response – you will not receive short term disability insurance if you are not physically having the baby yourself, as short term disability benefits are a result of a medical condition, childbirth for example, that prohibits you from physically doing your job. After talking through this with her further, we moved on to discuss the differences between the company’s medical leave policy that specifically referenced childbirth (this particular organization does not offer FMLA) and parental leave policy, which offered four fewer weeks of leave than the medical leave policy. This particular employee’s frustrations were around one single question: Why am I offered less leave for the adoption of a child than if I had given birth – I still have an infant to take care of? I realized through conversations with my colleagues that parents who adopt children often have this same frustration and do not understand why they are not offered the same leave benefits as employees who give birth to a child. We are seeing more and more organizations developing leave benefits for employees that take adoption into consideration; while this does not necessarily provide equal benefits to adopting parents, it does provide them with significant benefits that were not previously provided to them. Below is a comparison of leave benefits that may be available to a new parent who is either adopting or giving birth to a child.

As you manage an employee through the progressive discipline process, your ultimate goal is focused around offering the employee as many opportunities as possible to improve performance in order for him or her to have a successful career at your organization. Performance feedback conversations, written warnings, and performance improvement plans are some of the tools used to give the employee an opportunity to improve and the resources to achieve a successful result and ultimately meet the expectations of the organization. Unfortunately, there may come a time in your career where your efforts to manage performance do not result in the desired outcome and you find yourself asking “now what?”

In the last several years, we have seen a significant increase in the number of employees requesting the ability to telecommute. Given the technological advances that have occurred to promote web-based collaboration in the workplace, it seems that telecommuting is quickly becoming seen as a standard to the current workforce. Telecommuting is defined as a working arrangement in which employees are able to work from a location other than the normal worksite and utilize technology to complete their work and communicate with co-workers, customers, and managers. Stepping into the world of telecommuting can be intimidating for an organization. You may find yourself asking how you even begin to transition into the telecommuting world. Consider the following when determining the parameters around your potential telecommuting program.

As HR professionals, we are often approached to help investigate a situation that has arisen within an organization. Workplace investigations typically begin when an individual notifies a company representative of a concern or occurrence in the workplace that they feel should be further explored. There are a number of situations that could trigger a workplace investigation. Some of the most significant and common situations that initiate the investigation process include but are not limited to:

Needless to say, it can be difficult to fully understand all of the talk about Healthcare Reform and the regulations that are coming out of it. As an employer, you've probably found yourself asking "what are my benefits options?" If you've found yourself asking this question, you may want to consider administering your employer benefits through a private exchange.

As HR consultants, clients often approach us seeking guidance on how to manage an employee who is under performing in their current role. By the time a manager has decided to approach HR with the situation they are often frustrated with the poor performance and are seeking HR intervention. Poor performance is an inevitable part of every organization and it is imperative that supervisors and HR work together to determine the best course of action for each situation.