As the end of the year approaches, businesses face a flurry of activity handling taxes, sales projections, and annual financial reviews. But some of the most important year-end tasks are related to the people at the heart of the company: its human resources.

Many times, companies will set up their HR policies, procedures, and practices and then never look back. This is a huge mistake. The world of work is moving rapidly, and changes in laws, employee expectations, and the economy will all affect how your company will grow in the coming year.

Critical to your success are the people who work for you. To position your company to both attract new team members and retain the superstars you already have, a good place to begin is with a thorough review of the following items.

Review and Update Job Descriptions

Are your position descriptions current and accurate? Be certain they reflect the actual work being done and include clear, measurable expectations. If updates are in order, remember to issue the updated description to the employee. Any upcoming new roles will also need to have a description created.

Analyze Compensation Strategies

Are your salaries competitive? With the institution of pay transparency laws in Massachusetts, having a clear, consistent, and competitive pay policy will be essential to attracting new talent. A year-end review ensures you aren’t falling behind the market.

Prepare for Performance Reviews

Annual reviews often happen at the year-end. Now is the time to begin the process. Work with managers to ensure they are prepared and trained to properly assess performance and conduct productive review conversations with employees. Be certain to involve employees by asking for their goals and career plans for the upcoming year.

Re-evaluate Employee Benefits

Open enrollment may be part of the year-end process in your organization. Be sure to provide adequate time for employees to review any changes to their benefits. With benefit costs climbing every year, you may want to look into non-traditional benefits that can add value to your package at little cost. A few possibilities include:

• A business book allowance to encourage employee education.
• A wellness fair for all employees, which insurance carriers often provide free of charge.
• One additional day off in the coming year for employees to volunteer with an organization of their choice.

Conduct a Strategic Staffing Review

As the year progresses, positions are often left open when someone leaves an organization. Now is the time to assess if those positions need to be filled or if the funding should be reallocated to other areas. Starting the new year with a clear staffing plan and an approved budget is important for staying on track and ensuring the workforce is adequate for the needs of your clients and existing staff.

Develop a Forward-Looking Training Plan

Most businesses will find that with rapid changes comes the need to upgrade the skills of their workforce. In addition to the hard skills that may need updating, remember that employees new to the workforce may also need soft skills training.

Final Compliance Checklist

In addition to the strategic reviews above, remember to perform these basic administrative tasks:

• Review any legal or regulatory changes and be certain you are in compliance. Update policies and issue notices to employees as needed.
• Obtain new labor law posters and display them in prominent places.
• Update employee personal and emergency contact information.
• Review employment documents that may require updates, such as I-9s or background checks. Ensure you are using the most current version of all forms.
• Plan and communicate significant dates for the upcoming year, including holidays, company-wide activities, and other key dates.

Get a jump start on yearend. You will be glad you did.

For assistance with training needs assessments and training programs for your organization, contact [email protected].

This is a contributed blog post by Myra Quick, founder of Fast Forward Learning and Development. Myra’s extensive HR experience and passion for training was the launch pad for the company. Her goal was to improve the effectiveness of the workforce, by helping people find the role best suited to their strengths and providing the professional development and knowledge they needed to succeed. She knew that to be effective, development programs had to be concise, informative, engaging, and relevant to today’s workplace. So, in 2018 Fast Forward Learning and Development was established.

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