March 2024 News

Dear Lynette,

Greetings from the HR Advantage team! Thank you for subscribing to our monthly newsletter. Each month, we intend to provide timely and valuable tips for maintaining best practices in HR.

We are truly grateful to serve our clients, candidates, and colleagues and want you to know we appreciate working with you!

As you assess your needs for 2024, please keep us in mind as your go-to resource for all things HR!

Sincerely,

The HRA Team-

Lynette, Camille, Karla, Dana, Liz, Seth, Sharon, Erinn & Anita

Lynette Weatherford MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, President

Email Lynette

877.894.0202 ext 4

Camille Knowles PHR,

SHRM-CP HR Advisor

Email Camille

877.894.0202 ext 3

Karla Callaway BS

HR Advisor

Email Karla

877.894.0202 ext 2

Dana Baldwin BS, PHR

HR Advisor

Email Dana

877.894.0202 ext 1

Elizabeth Hurst MBA

Business Development

Email Elizabeth

877.894.0202 ext 5

Seth Bunn BS

Recruitment Advisor

Email Seth

877.894.0202 ext 6

Sharon McElwrath BA

Administrative Support

Email Sharon

Erinn Johnson

HR Advisor Assistant

Email Erinn

Anita King MA, SHRM-CRP

Learning and Development Advisor

Email Anita

877.894.0202 ext 7

HR Hotline | Email | 877-894-0202 ext. 5

March HR News

• Do Gender Pay Gaps Still Exist?
• New Rule Takes Effect March 11th
• Pros to Hybrid Work Environments
• Understanding Retention Rates
• New HRA Team Member Announcement
• Career Opportunities

Do Gender Pay Gaps Still Exist?

The issue of a gender pay gap has been in contention for over 150 years, and yet, while progress has been made there is still a large discrepancy among pay between men and women, as well as among people of color.

In 2022, women earned about 82 cents for every dollar a man earned, according to Pew Research—and that’s without considering the effect that factors such as race and sexual orientation have on pay: Black and Hispanic women, for example, earned 70 and 65 cents, respectively, Pew Research found. If progress continues at its current pace, women won’t achieve equal pay until 2056, notes The Center for American Progress.

Many states are enacting legislation to address this gap and to promote pay transparency by eliminating requests for pay history from job applicants which perpetuate pay gaps, as well as requiring employers to to post salary ranges on job postings.

 Source: HR Brew

New 1099 Independent Contractor Rule to Take Effect

A final rule released by the US Department of Labor to establish an economic realities test for Independent Contractors will begin on March 11th of this year. This test will determine if a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This is a worker friendly rule that will replace the business friendly five-factor test originally put in place by the Trump administration in 2021. However, a legal challenge to this new rule has arisen by a number of businesses hoping for the chance to have this overruled.

What's in the Rule

Under the new rule, six factors will be used to "guide an assessment of the economic realities of the working relationship and the question of economic dependence":

• The worker's opportunity for profit or loss depending on managerial skill;
• The investments by the worker and the potential employer;
• The degree of permanence of the work relationship;
• The nature and degree of control;
• The extent to which the work performed is an integral part of the employer's business; and
• The worker's skill and initiative.

In addition, the DOL will consider any other factors that in some way indicate whether the worker is in business for themself, as opposed to being economically dependent on the employer for work.

Source: XpertHR

Why Businesses Should Consider Offering Hybrid Work Environments

Remote-friendly companies have shown that not only do they have higher employee retention rates, but also a 21% increase in sales compared to their counterparts with more stringent requirements. One survey also reported that 64% of employees would consider quitting if asked to return to the office, full-time. Companies that offer remote or hybrid options reflect a revenue growth four times faster than others. This does not come without its challenges though as leaders must consider the possibility of battling “proximity-bias” from favoring in-person workers, and must shift how they manage their employees.

Source: Forbes

Understanding

Employee Retention Rates

Speaking of retention rates, in our January recruitment newsletter, we highlighted the hard costs of hiring new employees and just how high it can become when factoring in the time taken from a business’ ROI during the recruitment and hiring process. With this in mind, it is important to pay attention to retention rates with a goal of staying above 90%. To do this, one must, “divide the total number of employees who remained employed with your business through a specific time period by the headcount you had on the first day of the timeframe”, then multiply by 100 to calculate the percentage. Why is this important? Financial stability and business continuity lowers as retention rates lower.

So, what can you do to avoid low retention rates?

• Ensure a robust onboarding process
• Create a positive, inclusive workplace culture
• Conduct employee surveys and ask for feedback
• Run employee recognition and reward programs

Source: 15Five

Welcome to the HRA Team, Anita!

We are pleased to have Anita King join the team as our Learning and Development Advisor. Anita has a master's degree in Human Resource Development and brings with her over 20 years of HR experience.

Anita's favorite aspect of HR is to help people navigate through their personal career journey. She has worked in several industries providing HR guidance and support, and has presented at multiple HR conferences at regional, state and national levels.

We are excited to have Anita as your "go-to" provider for all things training and development!

Connect with Anita:

anita@hradvantageweb.net

877-894-0202 ext 7

Need Recruitment Support?

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We are here to step in when time and resources to recruit internally are scarce.

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Let our expert recruiters help you attract and hire your next quality employee. Contact us today for more information!

Career Opportunities

HR Advantage works with qualified professionals seeking new employment opportunities in a variety of industries.

We offer concierge services to both the employer and candidates, helping to ensure the perfect match.

*Potential applicants are invited to connect with us!

To learn more, click on the open positions:

Recruiter

Full Time

Lee Summit, MO

HR Advisor Assistant

Part Time

Hybrid / Springfield, MO

HR Generalist

Full Time

Springfield, MO

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM)

Full Time

Springfield, MO

Applicant inquiries, contact:

Seth Bunn

seth@hradvantageweb.net

Employer inquiries, contact:

Elizabeth Hurst

elizabeth@hradvantageweb.net

*Placement fees are paid by the employer. Applicants may submit resume/credentials confidentially to HR Advantage Careers

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