'Tis the season to worry about how winter weather can impact your business. Here are some tips to help you plan for what to do.

Accidents happen. Here's how to be prepared before OSHA comes to investigate.

FMLA covers family leave, but the law is confusing... and it doesn't apply to everyone. Here's what you need to know.

Nearly half of leaders SAY they struggle to effectively deal with workplace conflict, based on this article from HR Dive. In my experience, about 90% of leaders DO struggle with workplace conflict across all industries... and it's more like 97% in the trades. This is not a shot against anyone, and it is completely understandable. Most business owners in the trades are ex-technicians. You're more used to dealing with and solving mechanically-based problems that can be fixed by simply replacing a part, board, or unit. As soon as you have to deal with human-to-human conflict, there are rarely black-and-white answers; at least, if you wish to retain some or all of your employees, and to stay out of trouble with the law! 🤣 As part of the bigger picture outside the trades, our society as a whole has never been effective in teaching people how to manage interpersonal conflict. And don't get me started on how the current/next generation is being taught, in a politically driven atmosphere of subjective reality and a "avoid conflict at all costs" philosophy! So, how do WE as business owners and managers overcome this challenge to improve and protect our Brands? The same way we teach employees how to sell more effectively, be better technicians, etc... PRACTICE. Learn the principles, train on the concepts, and roleplay. As the linked article points out, 61% of polled manager candidates had trouble clarifying core issues. If you can't even figure out what's causing the problem, you'll have a tough time solving it! I deally, you'll prioritize and practice conflict resolution techniques BEFORE employee management situations force the education on you. As with most things related to HR, this is easier said than done... Only YOU can take the first step. Find a trustworthy mentor you can be open with to get on the path. If you need help, I know a Guy! 😇

Accountability should not be a fight... It's a conversation and an opportunity for everyone involved to improve! Before holding an employee accountable for X, ask yourself: Were my expectations clear? Was adequate instruction given? Were the required tools/equipment available? Is the employee's behavior likely to change going forward? If the answer to any of the questions 1-3 are NO, even in your own head, then it is an opportunity for training, not discipline. If the answers to 1-3 are YES, then #4 becomes critical... Wasting time disciplining someone who is not/will not be in alignment with company expectations does not help the employee, the management team, or the team as a whole. Finally, to improve your odds of an effective accountability session with the employee, ask THEM the same 4 questions! Doing this not only requires the employee to engage in the process, it can also expose opportunities for improvements. As always, I hope this helps.

Ian "H.R. Guy" Schotanus was featured in the Battle Plan Marketing Podcast! Here's a link to the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1768296/15691974 In this episode, Ian covers how to be a legally compliant employer, with some simple solutions to help build the foundation of your business and cover your tail. As the "foremost expert in complex pay systems," Ian also discusses commission-only vs. base pay with bonuses for contractors - and the fact that there is no perfect system. But you need to know the vulnerabilities of each system so you can work with them, stay compliant, and help motivate your employees to do their best work. He also spoke on HR's role in shaping business structure. You need to dot the i's and cross the t's, then get your employees on board. Believe it or not, HR touches every part of your business... because there are people involved in every part. Helping everyone feel confident about representing the core brand will give them a sense of accomplishment and keeps morale high. Make sure to listen to the podcast for a great overview of how The H.R. Guy and The Big Picture Consulting team help the Trades. And t o learn more about Battle Plan Marketing for home service contractors, check out their Facebook page .

Here's one example of why you need expert advice to not just regurgitate rules, but help find solutions (like what my team and I do all day every day!) Feds: Marijuana is an illegal drug. California (and others): We disagree, so we are going to make our own law saying marijuana is okay. Feds: We really don't care that much... so okay. California: Voter ID is cruel and suppresses voting... somehow. City in California: We disagree, so we are going to make our own law saying Voter ID is required. California: Oh HELL no... How dare you try to use your own democratic process. We are going to write a new law superseding anything you may try to do on this ever again. This happens on all sorts of different topics, at Federal, State, and local levels. Minimum Wage, Drug Classifications, Rest and Meal Break regulations, responses to things like COVID, etc. Your best defense is to be prepared to double check EVERYTHING you assume you know. Remember, just because you think something should logically work like X does not mean that you will not get sued over it anyway. The Big Picture Consulting is available to help if you want/need it.

There are many cliché’s surrounding the Trades and blue collar work, like the idea that technicians enjoy offensive jokes and off-hand comments. To make matters worse, today's society encourages responding boldly to even the perception of inappropriateness or offense, even if it wasn't intended that way. While neither of these stereotypical behaviors is 100% accurate, it's true that some people tend to speak their minds boldly, while others have a tendency to take offense, so you're sure to run into "sensitive employee complaints" at your company and it can be a challenge to know who's right. So what do you do if an employee comes to you claiming harassment, insult, threat, or offense? Here's a recommended plan to help you navigate, remain objective, stay out of legal trouble, and get to the bottom of what's truly going on. First, you need to plan your approach. Who's involved? Who needs to be immediately notified? How much can (and should) be kept confidential? How urgently does this need to be handled? Some claims are more serious than others, and before you take any steps you may want to reach out to The Big Picture Consulting to get a sense for how to proceed. Above all, let the complaining employee know that you're taking it seriously, will be investigating, and can use their cooperation. Once you have a general plan, it's time to gather information. You can't just go with "he said/she said" for sensitive complaints. Figure out what you want to learn, who has this info, and who's the best one to gather it. Do not make assumptions, but ask questions to understand the various perspectives. Why did the victim find this offensive? If the offender denies the accusation, why do they think they're being targeted for false claims? Follow as many trails as you can, and then DOCUMENT EVERYTHING! You can wind up in trouble if you fail to document things like the steps taken, your decision-making process, and key factors, and an employee disagrees with the outcome and drags you to court. Okay, so you gathered a bunch of info, now what? Analyze it. Consider factors like the reliability of each source, how well sources support each other, and whether you have enough information to get a clear picture of what happened. Only then should you draw conclusions about the situation. Finally, it's time to take action. Make sure all decision-makers have the info they need, and determine the most appropriate outcome. If needed you can consult experts (like us!) to help refine or adjust your strategy. Prepare the necessary documents and then implement your decision. Once the immediate situation is handled, ask yourself what you can do to prevent this sort of thing from happening again. Are you inviting communication from your employees and management team, so they come to you BEFORE things escalate into major problems? Do employees believe you'll respond appropriately if they approach you? Are your policies clear, so everyone knows what's expected? Ultimately, it comes down to representing your Brand and holding people accountable - not just with sensitive employee complaints, but all the time.

Marijuana may be legal in your state, for medical or even recreational purposes. This fact changes the historical assumption that you should test employees for marijuana usage and fire anyone who tests positive. So what's a business owner to do? Drug Testing for Other Drugs Even if your policies allow for recreational marijuana usage, you should still engage in drug testing to see what else an employee might be using. Unless you fall under federal Department of Transportation drug testing guidelines, you are not required to fire someone who tests positive for any drug, so there's no legal impact to a positive test. And testing will help you determine whether an employee is using something more serious, like meth, cocaine, or fentanyl. While we leave it up to the individual company to decide on a marijuana policy, w e do encourage companies to fire employees who test positive for harder drugs. And what you don't know CAN hurt you - you risk negligence lawsuits if employees have an accident while operating equipment, like company vehicles or power tools, and you didn't take steps to identify red flags like an existing addiction. Negligence lawsuits can result in awards of MILLIONS of dollars, especially if there was a death or permanent disability. Since you don't want to risk harm to your employees, clients, reputation, or bank account, it'd be wise to require (at a minimum) a pre-employment drug test. Drug Testing for Marijuana Even in states where marijuana usage is legal, the use of marijuana AT WORK can and should be regulated. Being high poses both customer service and safety risks, and should be strictly prohibited in all departments within your company (even your office staff). Think of it this way: if you wouldn't want an employee to be drunk at work, you should have the same standards for them being high. Unfortunately, unlike for alcohol, there's no quick test to see whether someone's currently under the influence of marijuana. The tests now on the market look for THC metabolites, which can stay in someone’s system for weeks, depending on their metabolism, making it highly unreliable for assessing when someone last “used.” This doesn't mean you should neglect marijuana testing, only that you should use multiple sources of information before deciding how to proceed. If someone displays behaviors of “being high” before the test, AND the test is positive, it makes a stronger case that he or she was under the influence of marijuana at work. Be aware that there's pending legislation in some states that might limit the use of marijuana tests currently on the market, so reach out to us if you have any questions on what's permissible in your area. Implications for the Future Congress is considering “rescheduling” marijuana at a federal level, which would place it on par with alcohol and change the requirements for looking at usage. Also, new marijuana tests are under development that claim to be more precise, able to tell if someone just used marijuana and went on to drive or work while under the influence. We recommend you continue drug testing while we await changes in laws and testing capabilities... but use discretion in how you act on the drug test results, particularly for marijuana.