Employee engagement is beneficial for companies of all sizes and industries. Unfortunately most Dallas TX Human Resources departments have difficulty implementing an effective plan since it has to be tailored to fit all the company’s nuances such as their culture and employees. Follow these 5 steps to increase employee engagement in your Dallas TX workplace.

Involve Employees in the Mission
Make sure the employees are aware of the company’s long and short-term goals and how they will affect the daily workplace. Employees who are aware of the “big picture” are more likely to work harder as their involvement becomes more meaningful. Developing a context for each employee’s workload will help them engage more meaningfully with their projects.

Promote Teamwork
Invest in fostering a sense of camaraderie. Developing a team-based work environment where employees regularly collaborate will allow social bonds to develop between coworkers. This in turn will improve your workforce by boosting team performance and employee engagement.

Reward Employees
Motivate employees to go above and beyond what is generally expected of them by recognizing and rewarding those who do. While there is no “one size fits all” strategy to this task, it should be simple to implement if it is genuine and heartfelt. Whether through monetary gifts or simple acts of gratitude and recognition, rewards are a great way to incentivize your workforce.

Provide Opportunities to Grow
Offering learning and growth opportunities for your employees can be a great way to foster employee engagement while also strengthening their skills and abilities. Additionally, it can have long term beneficial effects for your business as your workforce becomes more educated and skilled.

Promote Communication
Establish and maintain a two-way conversation with your employees. While sharing ideas such as high-level company plans can keep employees involved, it is also important to gather feedback from them as well.  Employees whose opinions are taken into consideration often feel valued and consequently become more engaged.

Although larger Dallas TX companies might boast about their official perks and benefits, these aren’t always a guaranteed solution to employee engagement. Simple steps like personal recognition and honest discussion can help smaller companies with fewer resources for their Human Resources teams remain competitive in the marketplace.

About HumCap
HumCap is a Human Resources fractional outsourcing and Recruiting agency. Located in Dallas TX, our team of professional HR generalists have a wide range of expertise and can help companies of all sizes with their Human Resources issues. If you manage a small to mid-size business that requires assistance increasing the level of employee engagement or with any other Human Resources issue, contact us for more information!

Most business owners only see safety and risk management as a concern for human resources departments in industrial and manufacturing environments. Unfortunately, safety awareness can have far-reaching effects in all work environments – including offices, where illness and injury account for lost days and reduced productivity. Additionally many Dallas TX businesses with insufficient human resources personnel and resources find themselves non-complaint and liable in regards to OSHA regulations.

Among the few companies which do take precautions and create reward programs to foster a safer workplace, most unfortunately incentivize the wrong actions. Rewards to the team for reaching “no safety incidents” milestones often cause managers and other employees to ignore safety incidents rather than report them.

Follow these 4 tips to learn how to setup and promote a safer workplace in your Dallas TX business.

Identify core principles to guide workplace safety program
Begin by determining the most important human resources values that you seek to motivate within the workforce. This step can help define the details of your safety program and the behaviors that will be ultimately rewarded.

Develop a strategic recognition program
Based on the chosen principles, create a comprehensive recognition program that rewards behaviors which fosters a safety-focused work environment. The goal is to target behaviors that proactively promote a culture of safety.

Communicate the new processes and train employees
Share the new safety strategy with your Dallas TX human resources team and other employees and reinforce the plan throughout the first few weeks. A few methods you can use to remind the workforce of the safety plans are signs in high-traffic areas, reviews by direct managers and regularly rewarding good behavior. The goal is to emphasize and foster constructive behaviors instead of just incidence avoidance.

Maintain interest by regularly sharing stories of employee contributions
Keep up a two-way conversation throughout the implementation process by gathering feedback about what works and doesn’t work. With the information, you will be able to tailor the program to fit the specific needs of your company. By gathering safety information, you will also be able to recognize more involved members of your company and reward them for aiding the implementation process.

For additional assistance, Dallas TX Human Resources outsourcing firms like HumCap can take care of the entire setup, customization and implementation process of a safety risk program at your company. With a team of human resources experts, HumCap offers fractional assistance to companies lacking the HR personnel necessary to help them stay compliant with legal obligations – including their safety and risk needs.

Contact us for more information regarding our services!

Employee engagement is a valuable process for Dallas TX businesses of all sizes. It ensures that the management and the rest of the company remain on the same page throughout the year. This has a multitude of benefits, including higher productivity, efficiency and morale.

The key to utilizing employee engagement to its greatest effect is to accurately measure it and to constantly improve the organizational factors that affect it. By making routine employee engagement surveys a part of the company culture, Dallas TX business owners can ensure that employee feedback has an active role in defining the workplace experience.

In order to develop a great process of soliciting, analyzing and implementing employee feedback to boost Dallas TX employee engagement, you should follow these tips.

Before the Survey

• Make the survey relevant – Certain issues affect people differently. Make sure that the employees aren’t being forced to answer questions about a topic that isn’t important to them. A bored employee who has to answer dozens of questions unrelated to his job or duties will quickly experience response fatigue and might abandon the questionnaire altogether.
  
• Keep the survey concise – While designing the survey, keep it as succinct as possible while still being long enough to get all the necessary information. The recommended length for an average survey is 25-50 questions. This can vary, however, depending on the size of the Dallas TX company and other related factors.
  
• Keep participation simple – Don’t make it difficult for employees to access and answer the employee engagement questionnaire. The feedback they have to offer can be extremely valuable to the company so you want to make the process as streamlined as possible. This includes accommodating employees who might not always be in the office or might work an odd shift.
  

After the Survey

• Share the data – The easiest way to communicate to employees that their responses are being considered is to publicly share the information with them after it has been processed. This step assures the employees that the company has read their responses and actually cares about the feedback.
  
• Reveal actions plans – Communicate to employees at all levels the concrete steps that you plan to implement as a result of their responses. By sharing the details of your strategy, you can make sure that everyone is aware of the implementation process. To keep the momentum high throughout the process, include regular milestones that re-energize the team as they gradually complete each step.
  
• Involve managers – Train your managers on the benefits of employee engagement and how they can develop it within their individual units. Since they engage their team on a more frequent basis, they can take a more active role in implementing new policies. To ensure effectiveness, include each manager’s implementation progress as one of the considerations for their yearly performance review. 
  

By following these tips, you can begin developing a positive and engaging Dallas TX workplace for your employees. Although the actions won’t have immediate consequences in redefining the work environment, their effects become increasingly apparent as more and more employees adopt the new practices. By soliciting feedback and using it to guide workplace improvements, you can guarantee a happier and more productive workforce.

For more assistance with Dallas TX employee engagement services, contact us today!

By Azim Sookoor
August 21, 2013

Dallas, TX – Several HumCap clients were among the top 35 nominees announced at the Fast Tech Reveal at the Communities Foundation of Texas on Tuesday, August 13, 2013. The event was organized to recognize the fastest growing technology companies in the DFW Metroplex and identify the finalists who will be moving onto the next round. Notable HumCap clients honored at the event were:

• Distribion Inc.
  
• Geoforce
  
• IntelliCentrics, Inc.
  
• Lumenate
  
• One Technologies, LP
  
• OneSource Virtual
  
• Optimal Solutions Integration, Inc.
  
• Plexon Inc.
  
• Vertical Nerve, Inc.
  

The Tech Titans awards recognize local companies and individuals for accomplishments in a variety of categories. The Fast Tech category in particular highlights the fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, and clean technology companies in the DFW Metroplex. Nominees are ranked based on a calculation using the percentage fiscal year revenue growth from 2010 to 2012.

HumCap’s recruiting team works closely alongside its client’s hiring managers to build their award-worthy teams. Its account managers and recruiters ensure that candidates are great fits in terms of skill and personality. The attention to detail allows clients to make new hires with confidence that they can quickly acclimate to the company culture and become a productive and beneficial part of the team.

Additionally, HumCap provides its clients with various human resources services. With the company’s help, businesses are able to develop effective policies that keep them compliant with federal obligations while cultivating their talent and increasing workforce productivity. Utilizing HumCap’s HR service offerings allows managers to focus on developing and improving their core business processes.

About HumCap, Inc.

HumCap, Inc. is a technical recruiting and HR services firm with clients spanning a wide range of industries and market sizes. Formed in 2001 by Tad McIntosh, HumCap provides services to clients ranging from startups to midmarket and Fortune 1000 corporations. Their diverse focus accommodates businesses in a range of sectors including IT, Finance, Law and Marketing.  As a premier HR and recruiting company, HumCap helps its clients build and develop their most important assets – their human capital.  

For more information about HumCap and its services, visit www.humcapinc.com and www.humcaphr.com.

The employment background check is a great tool small business managers can use to sift through candidates and find the best talent. By including it in the hiring process, companies can greatly improve hires by achieving:

• Greater assurance of a hire’s compatibility with the company
  
• Less legal and financial liability in case of a dishonest applicant
  
• Higher workforce productivity and ROI
  

Unfortunately for managers who might not have specialized experience with the procedure, the process of implementing and maintaining an employment background check policy can be a daunting task. Follow these four best practices to ensure an effective execution of a screening program.

Create Standardized Policy
In order to create a robust employment background check strategy, first create an official written set of rules and standards. By doing this, the company creates a clear standardized set of rules for human resources personnel to follow. It also protects the company from any claims of discrimination and can help during regulatory audits.

While creating the policy, the company should alter search criteria to fit the needs of specific job roles. For example, examining a candidate’s credit history might only be applicable for positions with access to the company’s finances. Requiring credit checks for all applicants can be susceptible to discrimination suits.

Use Checks with Expanded Criteria
Managers need to consider several factors regarding the employment background check program to ensure that it is as effective as possible. Factors such as the search time period, location and frequency can greatly affect the results. Based on the search criteria, the examination might have several gaps and loopholes that can miss potential red flags.

Additionally, many managers often opt to use an employment background check for full-time employees only, leaving the company liable to part-time employees with criminal backgrounds. By using searches with expanded criteria such as county, state and federal criminal searches in all jurisdictions where the applicant has lived in or worked, employers can cast a wider neat and as consequentially be more protected.

Don’t Limit the Search
The majority of small business owners only use an employment background check for basic criteria such as criminal and identity checks. By limiting the search, employers are prone to missing critical red flags or information that could otherwise play an important role in the hiring decision. Information such as employment and education history among other things can be verified to gain a better understanding of the candidate’s skills and character. By implementing multiple types of criteria into a single search, the procedure becomes much easier for the candidate to complete and the company to process.

Regularly Update Your Program
According to a recent small business survey, over 50% of respondents don’t regularly assess their screening standards. This indicates a massive source of liability for companies. Industry best practices and government regulations are constantly evolving and employers who do not update their policies to comply with these shifting rules can expose themselves to great legal and financial risks.

The most robust employment background check policies are generally reviewed about once a year. This, in addition to regular monitoring of updates to legislative requirements, can ensure that the company’s policy remains up-to-date.

About HumCap
HumCap is a premier Dallas TX HR and Recruiting company. We provide small to mid-size businesses assistance with various human resources and recruiting needs such as:

• Employment Background Check
  
• Safety Risk Assessment
  
• Employee Benefits/PEO Services
  
• HR Consulting
  
• Search and Contract Recruiting
  

Our expert HR professionals can help guide small and mid-size business owners through the employment background check integration and management process. With our years of experience supporting growing businesses, we understand the specific difficulties managers face in implementing such policies and can help them smoothly develop the infrastructure to support the changes.  

Contact us today for an immediate consultation!

Although the implementation deadline of the PPACA was recently pushed back, the issue of updating company policies to comply with federal employee benefits standards can be a daunting and confusing one for many small business owners. With many factors to be considered such as the number of employees, their classifications and how many hours each of them works in a week, a Dallas TX small business manager would be overwhelmed attempting to find a practical solution. Fortunately, a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) such as HumCap can leverage its knowledge and experience in the field to offer affordable and effective employee benefits health plan options.

Dallas TX PEOs such as HumCap have been providing local small to mid-size businesses that lack the resources for a fulltime in-house human resources department a viable and inexpensive alternative. In addition to providing quality employee benefits services, PEOs also offer a wide variety of other HR services, including:

• Human resources management
  
• Payroll services
  
• Talent management
  
• Time and attendance
  
• Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI)
  
• Risk and safety management
• Recruiting

PEO services can efficiently undertake all the tasks that are not essential to the core business. By offering small Dallas TX businesses three valuable competitive advantages – money, time and expertise – the industry continues to grow. 

Affordable Services
Most Dallas TX small businesses can’t afford a full time in-house HR team. With their limited resources, they unfortunately often overlook critical operational tasks which can eventually lead to issues later.  By servicing multiple companies rather than just one, HumCap’s HR personnel are able to achieve economies of scale and offer services at affordable prices. With a local PEO administering employee benefits and other services, your company will be able to gain access to a team of experienced HR personnel for a fraction of the usual cost.

Quick Response
Dallas TX PEO services like HumCap often have to respond quickly when a client issue arises. Especially for projects with the goal of meeting the employee benefits and healthcare guidelines of the PPACA where deadlines are critical, our HR personnel have been trained to respond efficiently and effectively. With years of expertise developed around the most common issues faced by small to mid-size businesses, our HR professionals will be able to provide immediate assistance whenever necessary.

Experience and Expertise
Our HumCap team of HR personnel have years of shared experience solving a variety of problems experienced by business managers. If your company is experiencing difficulties meeting compliance with the PPACA employee benefits rules, we will be able to inform and guide your management in order to make the smartest decisions based on the company’s unique position. Small businesses will able to bypass all the perils of the new legislation by going to a PEO and asking them to “figure it out”.

About HumCap
HumCap is a Dallas TX human resources outsourcing and recruiting company that specializes in small to mid-size businesses in the Information Technology industry. Founded in 2001, the company offers a wide range of services that can benefit growing companies. By undertaking the operational tasks of the client, we allow them to focus on their core competencies – making them more agile and competitive.

Contact us today for more information!

Most small businesses are rarely aware of all their obligations in regards to workplace safety standards. Defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) with possible additions from state health programs, workplace safety standards are often difficult to comprehend and even tougher to implement. When combined with additional factors such as exemptions based on specific industries and the size of the company, the rules can be absolutely foreign to HR employees without proper specialized training.

Growing companies rarely have the resources to monitor and ensure that safety compliance processes remain effective as the company expands. Rather than divert their resources from value adding services, managers often end up overlooking this critical aspect of their HR policies. By overlooking preparations, companies can be left vulnerable to costly fines and penalties that can cause severe financial damage.

Fortunately, HR outsourcing agencies like HumCap offer extremely affordable OSHA and Safety risk assessment services for Dallas TX businesses. This service, administered by an experienced HR professional, can identify and spotlight areas of liability while offering recommended solutions.  Using HR outsourcing companies on a contingent basis allows growing businesses to efficiently utilize their resources to achieve the greatest effect.

Identifying Workplace Safety Issues

The first step of the OSHA and Safety risk assessment process is identifying any currently existing issues within the Dallas TX company’s policies, practices and facility maintenance. This allows the company’s management team to highlight the issues and begin formulating methods of solving them to ensure that the company is complaint with OSHA standards.

Proposing Workplace Safety Solutions

Following the identification portion of the Dallas TX OSHA and Safety risk assessment, the HR personnel can begin formulating potential solutions to the concern. The proposed actions will be practical, minimally disruptive options that can be easily implemented to protect the company’s workforce while reducing its liability in the case of an accident.

Preventing Accidents and Reducing Liability

By completing all the solutions proposed during the Dallas TX OSHA and Safety risk assessment process, a company can provide a greater sense of workplace safety for its employees while also protecting itself from additional liability in case of an accident. With updated workflow and safety processes along with recommendations regarding any facility maintenance needs, the company can effectively reduce the risk of workplace injury. This can lead to additional positive consequences such as increased morale and higher productivity that will ultimately benefit the business overall.

About HumCap

HumCap is a Dallas TX HR Outsourcing and Recruiting agency that provides a variety of services for small to midsize businesses which need personnel with HR expertise but lack the resources for full time HR employees. By engaging our services on a project basis, clients are able to access and utilize the experience and expertise of our HR employees at a fraction of the cost of an in-house HR department. Outsourcing their daily HR tasks to HumCap allows our clients to focus on their core business operations, resulting in a leaner, more competitive business.

Contact us today for immediate assistance!

While managing a growth stage small business, a President can often find his or herself balancing multiple responsibilities. With a growing number of employees and the legal responsibilities that follow, the demands can become overwhelming for just one person to handle. While the need for a dedicated HR presence might exist, the unfortunate truth is that smaller companies rarely have the budget for a full-time HR employee. Instead, they can use their resources more efficiently by utilizing the services of a Dallas TX HR outsourcing company. Through the external service, companies gain access to the expertise of experienced HR employees who work on multiple projects across a variety of clients.

Some of the services offered by HumCap, a premier Dallas TX HR outsourcing agency, are:

HR Consulting and Fractional HR

HumCap’s fractional HR services allow clients to leverage its human capital services without the costs and overhead expenses of developing an internal HR department. After an initial overview meeting to understand the current needs of the client, HumCap’s HR consulting professionals can create a detailed plan to solve current issues and prevent any future problems. Each plan of action is customized to reflect the nature and needs of the client and can be as in-depth as necessary.

Payroll Processing and Technology

From simple payroll processing to complete ASO services, HumCap offers a variety of levels of payroll assistance to companies scaling their businesses. By outsourcing the payroll processing function, companies are able to focus on reaching their core business goals instead of maintaining routine processes. As one of our many Dallas TX HR outsourcing services, HumCap’s payroll processing assistance is an affordable option to complement or replace systems that have been outgrown.

Safety Risk Management

One of the HR processes most often overlooked is occupational safety risk management. Especially for a growing company, managers have to be aware of any new liabilities that might be applicable to their expanding workforce. As part of its HR outsourcing services in Dallas TX, HumCap’s personnel perform an on-site visit to comprehensively assess and audit the current safety policies and practices. After evaluating the facility and safety procedures, HumCap creates a report highlighting areas of concern and possible compliance issues along with recommended solutions. If necessary, we can also implement the solutions to prevent any future occurrences of safety incidents.

About HumCap

HumCap is a Dallas TX HR outsourcing and technical staffing agency. We are located in Plano near the Telecom Corridor and offer a wide range of services to small to midsize businesses which require HR and staffing assistance but lack the resources for full time personnel. By sharing our employees’ expertise through fractional work among multiple employees, we are able to offer each client the specific levels of service necessary to achieve their goals.

 For more information regarding our HR outsourcing services, contact us today!

What is a Safety Audit?
A safety audit is a process by which a company’s health and safety management control systems are analyzed for strengths and weaknesses. Through the audit, a Dallas human resources company or an internal auditor can provide quantifiable measure the effectiveness of a business’ safety processes as well as monitor any changes from year to year. This allows those responsible for the safety of a company’s employees to more easily observe the areas that are functioning well and those which require improvement to meet standards.

Unfortunately, most human resources personnel working in small to mid-size businesses don’t have the specialization to develop a company’s compliance policies. The best solution to their dilemma is to hire a Dallas human resources service firm to perform a safety audit that can highlight all the core components of a company’s safety program.

Why do a Safety Audit?
Performing a safety audit will ensure that a company meets organizational compliance standards – protecting it from additional liability in the case of any workplace accidents. Regular assessments and updates to the health and safety program guarantee that a company is always up-to-date with ever-changing legal requirements. Some additional reasons a safety audit should be conducted are:

• Adherence to safety processes weaken over time and should be reviewed regularly.
  
• Consistent planned improvements to safety systems can help reduce emergencies and losses.
  
• Human resources personnel can benefit by identifying weaknesses and training skills.
  
• Implementation of safety audits demonstrates a commitment to the health and safety needs of employees.
  

How to conduct a safety audit?
A safety audit can be performed by two methods – internally or externally. A company could either train a member of its HR personnel to become an internal safety auditor or instead it could assign a Dallas human resources service firm to conduct and manage its safety audit. Each method has its own pros and cons.

Internal Auditor
Pros

• The company has immediate access to the auditor as a tool for developing safety standards and workplace procedures.
  
• An internal auditor has a better understanding of how the business operates.
  
• Since the auditor is an internal employee, the audit procedure can be flexible to minimize disruptions within the company.
  
• For larger companies planning on maintaining a more active, long-term safety program, having an internal auditor is more cost effective.
  

Cons

• An internal HR employee trained to function as a safety auditor won’t have as much experience conducting an audit and developing safety standards.
  
• Internal audit reports are not as widely accepted by shareholders and regulatory officials.
  
• Audits produced internally may not be as objective as those done externally.
  
• HR personnel functioning as internal auditors may have to balance multiple demands, reducing the focus on the audit.
  
• Unfavorable reports might cause internal conflicts.
  

 External Auditor
Pros

• External auditors will be able to benchmark a company’s performance against industry data.
  
• An external auditor will likely be a chartered member of professional occupational safety groups.
  
• The company will have access to specialized safety audit experience and expertise.
  
• External service providers will have lots of experience conducting audits within multiple industries.
  
• An external audit will always be unbiased and objective and will be accepted by most groups.
  

Cons

• Some coordination might be necessary to manage an external auditor.
  
• Employees might not be as willing to assist during an external audit.
  
• An external auditor will have to be trained on any peculiarities regarding the client company.
  

As a rule of thumb, an internal auditor can be beneficial for larger firms which require a more long-term audit and implementation process. Conversely, small to mid-size firms can benefit from the lower cost and high specialization available through a Dallas human resources service provider.

 About HumCap
HumCap is a Dallas human resources service firm which offers a wide variety of assistance to growing small to mid-size businesses. By engaging our team of experienced HR professionals, companies have immediate access to up-to-date information regarding regulatory and compliance standards. Our HR personnel will work hard to make sure your business is within compliance and safe from liability claims in the case of an accident.

For more information regarding our services, contact us today!

HumCap, a Dallas human resources firm, won the Dallas Business Journal’s Healthiest Employers in North Texas award in the Small Business category last week. The awards are organized to promote healthy workplaces that promote beneficial practices such as regular activity and better eating habits. To be nominated for the award, each company had to provide a detailed account of every active wellness initiative currently in place to help employees to improve their lifestyles.

HumCap’s victory in its category is due mostly in part to the comprehensive quality of its wellness program. Starting with simple steps such as providing healthier snack alternatives like fruit and other unprocessed food options, the company provides many opportunities for its employees to eat better. This allows its staff to achieve one of the most important criteria for developing a healthy lifestyle.

Additionally, the Dallas human resources company took the extra steps necessary to make it easier for its staff to remain active by installing a shower in the office bathroom. With the company's proximity to a running trail at its new Plano location, many of the HumCap employees enjoy going out and running the trail during their spare time. The new amenity promotes physical activity before or after work hours or even during lunch by making it convenient for employees to clean up afterwards.

These initial improvements are the effects of HumCap’s President, Tad McIntosh. An experienced triathlete, he leads an extremely active lifestyle and is an advocate of healthy dietary habits. His influence on the company initiated the wellness planning that has since developed into its current stage.

More recently, the Dallas human resources firm has adopted an online wellness portal and regular email program that updates employees with wellness goal outlines that change each quarter. Each email update includes a wealth of information that reminds employees of the simple steps they can take to improve their lifestyles. Additionally, these quarterly topics are always accompanied with specific activities that can earn employees points when completed. Accumulated points can then be returned at the end of the year for prizes.

The entire HumCap office was greatly honored to have received the award. Matt McElyea, HumCap’s Operations Manager, who played a major role in crafting the overall program, was especially enthusiastic about the company's success. As a validation of his efforts, the Dallas Business Journal trophy now stands among the other Dallas human resources company’s achievements.