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June 2023 Dates

JUNE CALENDAR

June is LGBTQ Pride Month, National Safety Month, & National Great Outdoors Month.
Mid-Year Benefits Review – Remind employees to take advantage of any eligible voluntary benefits.
Mid-July TBD  EEO-1 Data Collection Begins *(This date has not yet been set.)
June 1 Submit your health plan’s annual prescription drug data collection report to CMS
June 12-18 International Men’s Health Week
June 14  Flag Day
June 19  Juneteenth
June 18  Father’s Day
June 21  First Day of Summer
June 26 to July 1  The Hajj
June 28 to July 2  Eid al-Adha
June 30  End of Q2

Better to Be Safe Than Sorry

June is National Safety Month. Did you know that over 4,100 workplace deaths and 4 million injuries were preventable in 2020?

Now is the time to refer to your OSHA logs and review the incidents that you can prevent. Look for the safety incident patterns in your workplace.

Many safety challenges have been the same for decades and we have evolving risks to consider too this month and year-round. Read our blog about being smart and keeping your workplace safe and fun this summer in regards to weather-related and heat-related issues.
The National Safety Council (NSC) is also presenting their weekly promotions to heighten awareness on safety in the workplace:
-Emergency Preparedness
-Slips, trips, and falls
-Heat-related illness
-Hazard recognition
Want to share your safety pride? Consider Downloading the #gogreenforsafety sign to post on social media and around the office.
You can also encourage your employees to the their commitment to safety seriously by taking the SafeAtWork Pledge.
For HR support in keeping your office safe, Click here to contact us.

Oh the Places We’ll Go

June is National Great Outdoors Month -it is time to get outside! We seem to spend more time indoors than ever, contributing to stress and disconnectedness. How are you encouraging your office to step outside the office this month and leave technology behind? We all need to take a break from our work and the tiresome day-to-day regimen. Consider encouraging Great Outdoors Month as a company wellness initiative fitness challenge to build a healthier work environment. If you need ideas how to incorporate summer outings into your company culture, check out our blog. Exploring the outdoors is important for our social, mental, physical, and economic well-being, according to over 100 studies.
Experiencing the outdoors aids us in 9 areas:
  1. Intellectual wellness
  2. Relieves sleep problems
  3. Inspires
  4. Exhilarates
  5. Improves physical health
  6. Sounder affinity
  7. Boosts spiritual well-being
  8. Increases volunteering
  9. Creates connectedness
Not sure where to begin? Hear what HR Synergy team members are doing this month to celebrate!
In addition to these activities, you could also hike, bike, picnic, fish, kayak, zip-line, meditate, or swim in a lake. You could also consider participating in these events from the official Great Outdoors Month guide:
Bike travel event- 3-5 June
National Trails Day- 4 June
Free fishing day- 1-9 June
National Get Outdoors Day- 11 June
Outdoor Stewardship Week- 13-17 June
Do you need assistance planning safe outdoor activities for your employees? Click here to contact us.

May 2023 Dates

MAY CALENDAR

May is Global Employee Health and Fitness Month.

May 1 File Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return
May 6-12 Nurses Week
May 7-13  Public Service Recognition Week
May 8-12  Teacher Appreciation Week
May 14-20  National Women’s Health Week
May 14  Mother’s Day
May 14-20  National Police Week
May 15  Non-Profit Tax Returns Deadline, including Form 990
May 15  National Chocolate Chip Day 
May 19  Bike to Work Day
May 21-27  National EMS Emergency Medical Services Week
May 23 *National Lucky Penny Day
May 29  Memorial Day
June 1 Submit your health plan’s prescription drug data collection report to CMS

How to Retain Your Quality Employees

Now that you have your stellar employees, do you need help retaining them? Consider conducting regular employee pulse surveys of those involved in the day-to-day operations in order to gain insight into your personnel’s morale. You can use this feedback to obtain a valuable perspective and directly tackle issues. There is a direct correlation between higher satisfaction scores and higher levels of profit and productivity. In a SHRM survey, 90% of HR executives concur that consistent employee surveys positively affect the business.

SHRM identifies 4 questions to include in your engagement surveys to enhance retention and productivity.

If you want help formulating your employee pulse survey, contact us today!

Pay Range Transparency in Job Ads

Pay transparency is becoming a bigger workplace issue. In fact, some states and cities are putting into a law the requirement to include a salary range on job advertisements. With the increase in remote workers, your company could be impacted by these laws. Not including a salary range on job ads could also reduce the number of qualified applicants applying. A ResumeLab’s survey reports that 89% holding master’s degrees expect the listing of a salary range. The survey also shows that 4 out of 5 workers are unlikely to apply to a job if the range is not listed, 14% are unsure if they would, and only 6% are not impacted by the presence/absence of a salary range. 80% of those surveyed feel that companies should always clarify how pay is decided. Including a pay range in job postings reflects a company’s security and job satisfaction felt there.

Companies have seen a positive trend in quality applicants by including a salary range and felt pressure to do so by social pressures of Generation Z employees’ openness. According to Payscale research, those who include it have more than doubled in the last year from 22% to 45% that include pay ranges in job ads. There are positive and negative aspects to posting salary ranges. There is an administrative burden to disclose salaries as ⅓ are not ready for pay transparency. Also there is fear that the range feels inflexible and might price-out potential candidates. However, without the pay range disclosed, job candidates have less trust in those companies. Pay range transparency gives companies a competitive edge.

With the strong job market persisting, recruiting and retaining expertise remains a HR concern. Pay transparency is an indicator if a company values employees’ whole selves.

If you are unsure how to post strong job advertisements or need assistance hiring, HR Synergy is here to help you.

Click here to contact us.

I Spy a Resume Lie

With so many employees looking to switch jobs, you may be reading through a high volume of resumes lately. Do you know how to spot inconsistencies and mistruths? In a survey, ResumeLab discovered that 36% of applicants disclose lying on their resumes and 56% admit to “stretching the truth” to appear more experienced. While it shows diligence to verify resumes are completely accurate, who has the time? Here are 7 ways to quickly spot mistruths on resumes before fact-checking any of those you put in the “maybe” pile.

To reduce the chance of potential employees lying, use these 3 interview tips:

  1. Conduct morning interviews. 20-50% of people are more likely to lie in the afternoon.
  2. Arrange interviews face-to-face. This can be achieved in person or using video conferencing.
  3. Administer in-interview testing to verify an applicant’s experience and skills.

Some suspicion is useful when reading resumes -just do not get paranoid as it can be a time and energy suck. In the end, go with your gut.

If you are unsure how to navigate resumes or need help hiring, HR Synergy is happy to help you.

Click here to contact us.

April 2023 Dates

APRIL CALENDAR

April is National Financial Literacy and National Humor month.

If you are unsure how to navigate these deadlines and communicate with your team, HR Synergy is happy to help you.

Click here to contact us.

TBD EEO-1 Data Collection Begins *(This date has not yet been set.)
March 22-April 21  Ramadan
April 1 April Fool’s Day
April 2 Autism Awareness Day
April 5-13 Passover
April 7  World Health Day
April 9 Easter
April 15 Forms 7004 and 8928 Filing Deadline
April 15-21 National Volunteer Week
April 18 Tax Day
April 21-22  Eid al-Fitr
April 22 Earth Day
April 26  Administrative Professionals Day
April 30  Quarterly Forms 720 and  941 Due

Can remove OSHA Form 300A (on or after 4/30)