HR Brief: February 2019

This month's HR Brief examines how empathy can help retain your workers and informs about the proper way to calculate overtime pay.

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Retaining Talent: Are Your Leaders the Problem?

It’s no secret that bad bosses can send employees running, but what’s considered “bad” these days? To many businesses, it means being unempathetic.

Empathy is recognizing emotions in yourself and others, and using that understanding to influence your actions.

Lately, companies are seeking leaders who exhibit high emotional intelligence because they maintain better rapport with employees and can keep them on board.

In fact, when it comes to retention, an empathetic leader is sometimes more important than pay, according to a recent study from Businessolver.

Over two-thirds of workers in sectors like tech and health care say they would make concessions on pay if it meant having a more empathetic boss.

Moreover, 90 percent of workers are more likely to stay with a company if it empathizes with their needs, according to the same study.

Making it Work for You

Experts suggest forming a culture of feedback at your company. Employees at all levels should feel comfortable offering feedback.

Additionally, leaders should hold one-on-one meetings with employees to discuss what they need for success.

When workers are comfortable sharing with empathetic leaders, your business can focus on improvement and growth.

Speak with us to discuss more recruitment and retention strategies for your business.

Calculating OT? Double-check Your Math

Overtime (OT) is typically calculated by multiplying an employee’s hourly rate by 1.5—pretty easy, right? It depends who checks your math.

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently published an opinion letter on pay rates, as they relate to calculating OT.

According to the letter, you can vary employees’ average hourly rates from week to week—assuming the average hourly pay is always above the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) minimum wage threshold.

However, employers using this method should be cautious when determining OT pay.

The DOL specified that you cannot use the regular $10 per hour pay rate to calculate OT if the employee’s rate is higher.

They specified that a company may not “arbitrarily choose the regular rate of pay” on which to base OT—it must be based on fact and “mathematical computation.”

In the simplest terms, this means: use an employee’s actual pay rate when calculating OT pay.