With casual drinks in the office becoming increasingly prevalent, the keg has become the new water cooler.

More and more companies are blurring the lines between work and social lives, offering employees alcohol in the workplace, although usually at the end of a work day.

While the perk can help lure top talent and connect different departments around the office, some employment lawyers worry that drinking in the office can cause a slew of problems.

Encouraging alcohol consumption in the office, for example, has the possibility to lead to intoxicated driving or sexual harassment.

If you are an American employer, it’s important to understand that many states have laws that reflect the “social host” liability, which makes alcohol servers responsible for injuries and damages caused by intoxicated people.

As well, employers in the U.S. should consider the ‘exclusive remedy’ provision of the Workers’ Disability Compensation Act. Normally, this act protects employers when an employee is injured in a work-related incident. However, this protection does not typically apply in company party situations, and such injuries would not be covered by workers’ compensation.

While it may seem extreme to conclude that a few casual beers breeds an environment of illegal activity, research also indicates that it can make some employees uncomfortable, such as those who do not drink for health or religious reasons. As a result, a company initiative meant to make employees feel more connected could actually end up leaving some feeling excluded.

Nancy Rothbard, a Wharton professor who studies workplace socializing, says that encouraging drinking in the office can increase employee engagement and connectedness among like groups of employees, such as young, white males, but tends to make those who are racially dissimilar feel excluded.

So, is bringing alcohol into the workplace too risky altogether? Not at all.

There are many ways you can minimize your company’s exposure to liability and make happy hour happy for every employee.

1)    Include an alcohol use policy in your company’s employee handbook – Clearly state that when alcohol is served at company sponsored events, employees are expected to drink responsibly, not to drink and drive, etc.

2)    Make attendance voluntary – generally speaking, a company will be considered more liable if employee attendance is considered mandatory.

3)    Give options – Offer pop, juice, or other beverages for those who choose not to consume alcohol. This will help to make everyone feel included.

4)    Serve snacks – Tasty, and they soak up alcohol.

5)    Limit excess – Give a stipulated time for the happy hour to start and finish and avoid buying too much alcohol for the event.

6) Remind people about expectations – Communicate early on and often. Use internal communications, emails, or bulletin notices to remind employees about the company’s alcohol and sexual harassment policies.

Is your organization missing important pieces in its Policy Manual? Could the lack of clarity regarding alcohol consumption and sexual harassment put you in a costly legal situation? Check out our FREE Policy Manual cheat sheet and ensure all your bases are covered!

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A strong and vibrant company culture is integral to the success of any organization. Your HR team plays an influential role in the creation and maintenance of this culture, in addition to fostering employee engagement and happiness, and ensuring the smooth running of day to day operations. And for businesses with a smaller People & Culture team, it can feel like there are simply not enough hours in the workday to achieve all of this!

Fortunately, there are a number of tools and scalable solutions available to optimize your People & Culture efforts. Not only can these methods help streamline your existing processes and procedures, which saves a significant amount of time, they can also help your organization move towards a stronger and more defined company culture. Let’s take a look at ten of the top tools for enhancing your company’s HR efforts:

[…]

Did you know that it can cost up to 18 months’ salary to lose and replace a manager, and up to six months’ salary to lose and replace an hourly employee?

[…]

As organizations strive to grow and optimize business practices, they oftentimes look inward to their people. Rightfully so – people are the backbone of any company.

When employers evaluate themselves internally, they frequently use the terms ‘culture’ and ‘engagement’ interchangeably. This makes sense – they are inextricably linked. But engagement and culture are also distinct, differing in the way they are created, measured, and enhanced.

In short, engagement surveys look at the “I” point of view, while culture surveys examine the “We” perspective.

Now let’s get in-depth about it:

[…]

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) used to be viewed as the obligatory “giving back” of the big bad corporation. It’s how companies atoned for the sin of being a for-profit business. But that’s not exactly the case anymore. In a transparent, highly-connected world, there are now good companies and bad companies in the eyes of the public. Not just bad companies who try to make up for it with CSR.

In this article, we’ll share four reasons why it’s critical for companies of all sizes to become cause-driven in their CSR efforts (and why the term CSR is quickly becoming outdated). […]

If you ever studied Psychology, you probably learned about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. If not, here’s a brief rundown:

The basic idea behind Maslow’s theory is that people will excel in life when their basic needs are met.

The theory is often visually represented as a hierarchical pyramid with 5 levels, or different ‘needs’ (see image below). In order for higher-level needs to be fulfilled and influence behavior, the lower level needs must be satisfied first.

The lowest level of the pyramid includes the basics – food, water, sleep, etc. and moves upwards into more advanced needs like security and belonging.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory can be directly applied to how an organization keeps its employees engaged.

We’ve all heard that higher employee engagement positively impacts the success of a company – but how well do we really understand the motivations that drive high employee engagement?

For a lot of people, the basic needs are a job are that the salary lets them pay the bills. Generally speaking, having a sense of financial autonomy is innate in almost all of us. Most people won’t feel comfortable disregarding money in favor of other things.

Moving up the pyramid, employers should consider security.

While we may like to think we are motivated by other factors, after the salary meets their needs, job seekers will then consider if the position is permanent or if there is room for growth.

By nature, we crave stability.

Given the volatility of the job market, most people will be reluctant to take a position they may not be able to keep, or one that has no upward mobility.

Luckily, the majority of organizations recognize the importance of the previously mentioned survival and security needs. It’s the higher-level survival and security needs where employers should be paying closer attention if they want to attract and retain great employees.

The third level of Maslow’s pyramid, is belonging.

We like to feel like we a part of something.

Do your employees know your mission statement? Do they recognize the values of the company? How is your company culture?

Don’t make the mistake of assuming that hiring great people is enough on its own to create a company culture and camaraderie.

The 4^th level of Maslow’s pyramid is what really enables an individual to excel in their job and reach the highest level of engagement with an employer – importance.

Your employees should understand that their work matters.

As an employer, are you adequately recognizing your team and meeting their need for importance?

If you’re not sure, consider implementing an employee recognition program

Hint: If you’re not sure how – Check out Employee Recognition and Engagement

Once the needs of survival, security, belonging, and importance have been met – Employees can reach the top of the pyramid: self-actualization

Employees who get to the level of self-actualization are highly engaged and able to reach their full potential. Simply put, they are passionate about what they do.

Reaching this final stage, the emphasis is on what an employee can do for others. Specifically, how they can help the business grow or inspire other people around them.

Interested in learning more about employee engagement or helping your employees reach the top of the pyramid? Check out one of our free resources below!

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“You will never get a second chance to make a first impression”                                                               Will Rogers

In workplace interactions, first impressions are crucial. Knowing that you have less than a few minutes (sometimes even a few seconds!) upon meeting a potential employer to make a good first impression can be daunting. While you can’t always predict the types of things an employer is looking for in a candidate, you can take note of these non-verbal cues which heavily influence your first impression on an employer – in some cases, more than anything you say.

[…]

Your employees can account for up to 80% of the costs of doing business. Therefore, how you hire, retain, and manage your people directly impacts your bottom line. Due to this fact, it is imperative that you are proactive in how you manage your human resources. 

[…]

On track to have the best NBA season in history, the Golden State Warriors may know a thing or two about basketball. Still, their rise to virtuosity hasn’t been an accident! Check out some of the key HR takeaways from the best in the game:

[…]

If you’ve been a savvy job seeker in the past few years, you’ve probably heard of the website Glassdoor.

Giving more transparency for the recruitment and job-hunting industry is what the ‘glass’ in the name is referencing.

The Silicon Valley company provides an online platform where employees (past and current) can anonymously review companies and their management

The website is ideal for job seekers who want an inside look into potential employers. Users can browse through a company’s salaries, interview questions, and the pros and cons for working there (You can check it out here!)

GlassDoor is an excellent resource for candidates – But what are the implications for employers?

Every year, GlassDoor aggregates its own content (company reviews) and compiles a ‘Best Places to Work List’. Based on anonymous ratings and reviews, Airbnb topped the list last year and unsurprisingly, received a massive influx in job applications.

Last year alone, Airbnb received over 180,000 CVs.

Because of the power that GlassDoor’s list has in attracting candidates to a certain company, an increasing number or businesses are taking note of the website (or others similar) and realizing that the reviews cannot be ignored.

According to an article by Forbes, J.B. Kellogg, the CEO of software provider Madwire takes the time to personally respond to reviews on GlassDoor. He’s even gone as far as making changes to company policies based on reviews that have come into the website. For example, Madwire now offers a share of paid time off at the beginning of each month instead of requiring employees to accrue it over time. Kellogg believes that the positive reviews received on GlassDoor have helped him acquire top talent.

But what can you do as an employer to ensure you’d come across positively on Glassdoor?

When done properly, responses on GlassDoor can go a long way toward elevating your employer brand.

If you are in a leadership role with your company – ensure that there are outlets for your team members to give regular feedback. Be transparent, Glassdoor gives employees the option to rate their approval of the CEO.

As well, go as far back as your hiring process. Did you treat applicants fairly? Were people followed up with? Were interviews grueling and uncomfortable? One of the most viewed parts of the site is the section in which employees (or those that didn’t get the job) review the interview process, a section where things can get quite scathing.

Additionally, In an interview with Talent Management, Robert Hohman, Glassdoor founder and CEO explained how employers can engage with reviews:

“I highly encourage employers to thank a reviewer for taking the time to write it. If they highlighted something great you do, you can amplify that and give a little more detail; if they pointed out something that needs to be improved, and maybe you’ve changed it, you can talk about that, or at least thank them even if you don’t agree with what they said because they took the time to review.”

As seen through the rise of Glassdoor, the importance of employer branding cannot be overstated. To learn more about attracting top talent and becoming an employer of choice – Check out one of our FREE resources!
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