HR Departments

Cutting Costs

• Reducing premiums
• Minimizing invalid claims
• Not wasting money on contesting valid claims
• Examining previous documents to make sure there were no errors

 Other ways businesses can save money includes restructuring employment models. Employment models should have structure so that employees can interact with each other in ways that minimize friction and maximize productivity. OLS will sit down with HR departments to come up with specialized plans to optimize their expenses.

Additionally, while investigating and modifying the existing employment structure is a relatively thorough method for preventing employment problems, another additional way of preventing problems is much simpler: an employee handbook.

Employee Handbooks

Employee handbooks are fantastic tools for establishing structure, creating an efficient work environment and protecting the company. How do they accomplish all this? They set out rules.

 A properly written employee handbook can detail procedures for employment problems that will guide people on the ways to act which, when followed, will stand the company in good stead if they have to litigate. This is because a well-crafted employee handbook should be in accordance with all relevant legislation and set out what standards an employee is expected to maintain. This does not mean that a code of conduct or handbook needs to be written by a lawyer, but it should be reviewed by a lawyer who is an expert in employment law to make sure that there is nothing wrong or that has been overlooked.

Investigating Harassment Claims

Harassment is quicksand to an HR department: both the accuser and the accused can claim a lack of impartiality if an internal investigation is conducted. At the same time, if an investigation is not quickly conducted, the person who lodges the complaint can allege that the company did not act in their best interests. This can give a company a bad reputation and/or negative media exposure.

The best solution is often to hire a third party to investigate a harassment claim. That is the best way to protect the company and the HR department from accusations from either party while doing its best to ensure that the truth is found and the right evidence-based conclusions are drawn.