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HR Party of One is brought to you by BerniePortal.

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HR Parties of One already have an abundance of tasks to keep up with. From hiring to managing

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performance to maintaining compliance, being an HR leader is no easy feat.

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But there’s no need to recreate the wheel every time you need to complete an HR process. Having

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a well-documented set of processes can help you identify areas of improvement,

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streamline your responsibilities, and replicate them with ease. Additionally,

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when you’re ready to become an HR Party of Two or if you leave the organization,

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having defined, easy-to-access processes can make HR department transitions more seamless.

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In this episode, we’ll discuss 5 Processes HR Should Document, including:

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Recruitment and Hiring, Onboarding and Offboarding,

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Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable,

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Open Enrollment, and Payroll

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Let’s get started!

Recruitment & Hiring

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Recruitment and Hiring. Perfecting your hiring

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process and documenting it can help you remain fair, consistent,

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and compliant. The hiring process begins the moment a role opens at your organization.

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Documentation of hiring processes should include: Job Analysis Methods: How do you gather

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information to determine the skills, knowledge, and expertise needed to perform a job?

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Job description writing routine: You may even want to include a company template

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that you can replicate and edit with ease. Recruitment platforms: Does your ATS integrate

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with any job platforms? What do recruitment efforts look like at your organization? How

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much do you typically spend on recruitment? Interview methods: These include screening

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questions, your organization’s use of structured versus unstructured interviews,

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panel interviews, and more. Information on the applicant

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tracking system (ATS) used at your organization: How do you access it and how does it work to

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support your recruitment and hiring processes? Average cost-to-hire and time-to-hire metrics:

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This can include a statement of your organization’s hiring budget, and,

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Succession planning: Do you use level documents? How do you plan for the future of your workforce?

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It could also be helpful to create a “Hiring Handbook” that outlines

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legislation and company ethics around hiring practices. This document should

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be regularly audited and updated as new compliance laws are released.

Onboarding

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Onboarding/Offboarding.

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The way you onboard employees sets the tone for their careers at your organization. Documentation

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of the onboarding process should include: An outline of the new-hire orientation schedule:

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Having this on-hand makes it so that all you need to do is tweak the schedule to

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suit the various roles at your organization. 30/60/90 day expectations for new hires:

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Managers can create these since they better understand the roles on their teams, but HR

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should document and retain for their records. A plan to encourage employees to enroll in

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company benefits: When during onboarding do you plan on walking new hires through their benefits?

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Your organization’s culture guide or Employee Handbook: Consider walking

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through the entire document with new hires during orientation. You can include this step

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in your new hire orientation schedule. Information on your applicant tracking

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system or ATS: How are you keeping track of onboarding paperwork like I-9s and W-4s? An

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effective applicant tracking system will enable HR to store all information and documentation

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from applicants, including interview notes, personality assessment results, and more.

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Download our free Onboarding Survival Guide for tips and tricks you can use to create

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a positive new hire experience. I’ll link it in the description!

Offboarding

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An offboarding process formalizes the permanent separation of an employee from your

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organization from the resignation or termination announcement to after the employee’s last day.

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You will likely want to include the following items in your offboarding process or checklist:

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A notice of separation template. A wrap-up letter template that

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eases offboarding communication about an employee’s last day, paycheck info,

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details about COBRA eligibility, etc. How to collect company equipment like IDs and

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security equipment, company tech, and uniforms. How to transfer work responsibilities.

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A plan for the employee’s farewell if applicable. A plan for the employee’s exit interview.

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A plan for terminating employment due to gross misconduct.

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How to revoke access to secure accounts and information.

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Post-last-day housekeeping including terminating the employee in your HRIS and deleting the

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employee from payroll: With BerniePortal, employee records remain safe within the system, helping you

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ensure COBRA and ACA compliance. And, Your severance pay policy or system.

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Check out our Offboarding Checklist Template for

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more details on the offboarding process. I’ll link it in the description below.

Accounts Payable & Accounts Receivable

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Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable.

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Accounts payable (AP) is the money your organization owes to external vendors

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or suppliers. You may have accounts payable organized into subscriptions, utility bills,

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contracted work, and more. Accounts receivable (AR) is just the opposite of accounts payable.

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It refers to the money that is owed to you, which has not yet been paid.

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Having a strong accounts payable and accounts receivable process is essential to the financial

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success of your business. Especially when you’re an SMB, knowing the exact dollar amount you have

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access to matters. If you don’t have an accurate and efficient method of keeping track of where the

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money is going and where it’s coming from, it will be hard to plan for your organization’s growth.

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Documentation of AP and AR will likely include: Information on the system of data organization:

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Do you use traditional methods like pen and paper, or digital software?

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Detailed communication pathways: What do you use to keep in touch with customers,

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vendors, and suppliers? A timeline for invoicing clients:

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What consequences do you have in place for late payments?

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A standard schedule for when you do AR or AP:

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How many times per quarter do you do AR or AP? Is there a certain day of the week?

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Contact information for your organization’s accountant for AR and AP if you have one.

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The contract you have between your organization and its clients.

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To learn more about the processes behind accounts payable and receivable,

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check out the HR Party of One episodes on each topic. I linked them in the description for you.

Open Enrollment

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Open Enrollment. Open Enrollment can

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be a stressful time for HR. You have plenty of work to do in preparation for open enrollment,

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but guiding employees through making health coverage elections is not your

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responsibility. Your open enrollment process should include the following elements:

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Timeline and goals for communication with employees: The sooner you reach

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out to staff with information, the better. Using BerniePortal’s Benefits Administration feature,

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HR administrators can set an enrollment window where the portal alerts employees

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to the beginning of the open enrollment period and sends regular notices for you.

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Your timeline for working alongside your trusted broker: Plan ahead with your

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broker so employees can receive their ID cards before the effective date.

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A plan to reevaluate your benefits: How have your employees’ needs changed since last year? Consider

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tracking your workforce’s benefits participation rate. Think about the average ages, lifestyles,

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and interests of your workforce, and plan your benefits accordingly. If

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no one is using a certain benefit that doesn’t apply to major healthcare needs,

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then you may consider speaking to your broker about dropping that coverage for the year.

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An established system for administering Summary Plan Descriptions and getting employees enrolled:

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An HRIS like BerniePortal can host plan documents, including summary plan descriptions for you,

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so employees can review the information of each plan offering on their own time.

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Check out our 10-Step Timeline for a Smooth Open

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Enrollment for more insight on the open enrollment process.

Payroll

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Payroll Process. There are many moving pieces when it

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comes to payroll. Running payroll can be complex and time-consuming, but it doesn’t have to be.

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Many organizations are moving payroll onto HRIS platforms for a more seamless process,

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making spreadsheets a thing of the past. When it’s time for your organization to pay your employees,

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it’s essential to ensure everything on the back end of the payroll software is set up correctly.

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A strong payroll process will likely include the following steps:

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Establish pay periods. Establish employee subgroups

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which categorizes your workforce based on any factor you require to run payroll effectively,

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such as location, exempt vs. nonexempt, and more. Ensure accurate time and attendance and PTO counts

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are reflected each pay period. Regularly remove employees who

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have left the organization or been terminated from the payroll system.

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Set up any custom earning and deduction types for your organization. You may

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need this if you compensate for projects with special pay rates.

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Ensure employees have completed standard direct deposit, W4, and withholding

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documents that impact payroll. Ensure deductions are withheld:

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An efficient payroll system will naturally populate with your benefits administration

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system to automatically withhold deductions, and virtually eliminate that step of the process.

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Check out our Payroll Processing Checklist for a more in-depth look

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at the payroll process! I’ll link it in the description.

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Keep in mind that processes are meant to change! The more time you spend running

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through a process—whether it’s accounts payable, payroll, or open enrollment—the more you will

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recognize areas for improvement. Practice makes perfect, and developing efficient and accurate

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HR processes is all about trial and error. Remember—your role is as strategic as you make it!