Reston, Virginia -- May 8th, 2017 — Helios HR partnered up with the HR Certification Institute (HRCI) to host their third Human Capital Impact Forum (HCIF) at The Tower Club located in Tysons Corner, Friday morning, May 5th. The Human Capital Impact Forum is where 100 C-level executives and their HR leaders come together to learn, collaborate and adapt human capital programs that drive business growth. This forum was developed as the next evolution of the Helios Apollo Awards, a program Helios held for the last 10 years that recognized leaders for outstanding talent development. This past HCIF offered recertification credit hours and the opportunity to learn what cultures are attracting and retaining today’s new graduates and top-talent.

Since revisions to the Fair Standard Labor Act’s (FSLA) overtime rule was stopped ten days prior to going into effect on December 1, 2016, overtime has been on the minds of employers. Many HR professionals, myself included, poured over reports of employees and salaries to see who would be pushed back into the hourly (non-exempt) classification and who would remain salaried.

Why Helios? As new consultants join the growing Helios HR team, they often ask me what I like most about working at Helios. I always take a moment to reflect on that question and to date, my response has always been, “our team”. When I say our team, I mean just that. It's the people we are surrounded by who at the drop of a dime are willing to help out, people I can count on, their expertise, the fun we have together, and our collaboration that inspires us to be innovative and continuously improve.

Unlimited sick leave policies are gaining popularity as a great addition to an organization's total rewards package. However, most employers tend to not implement the policies because of the risk factors. Yes, you might have that occasional employee who abuses the policy, but that can be managed. What I find most of my clients are worried about, is when an employee goes out on extended medical leave, causing them to become responsible for paying their full salary while they are out.

What Organizations Can Do to Reduce the Gender Pay Gap During a recent interview about gender pay equity on Freakonomics with Harvard economics professor Claudia Goldin, she noted that the reasons for the existence of the gender pay gap in the United States are varied and complex. For organizations that are interested in promoting pay equity, it’s important to understand what these varied and complex drivers of pay equity are. My colleague authored a great article that provides additional information about proposed legislation and notes steps organizations can take to create consistent pay practices.