Tips About Dealing with Problems When There Is No HR

Tips About Dealing with Problems When There Is No HRTips About Dealing with Problems When There Is No HRHow can employees deal with issues and problems when there is no Human Resources staff to confide in and seek help or assistance in addressing common problems. Is it even legal for a retail store leid to have an HR department? These questions were asked by a reader and, as often is the case, you may seek these answers, too. Problems With Not Providing HR in an Organization Its certainly possible and more common than it should be for companies of any sort to reach 50 employees withno dedicated HR partie. And, unfortunately, many companies that do begin to have HR at about that stage, do so by saying, Hey, Jane, youre now in charge of HR. Jane became in charge of HR usually because she was already performing some HR functions such as paying employees, often from the finance department. Jane has no real training in HR, but she says, What the heck, this is easy enough. Hiring, firi ng. Got it. HR does far more than that, but without an experienced rolle on board, its tough to know what you need to do. Only an experienced HR person understands and can accomplish the full breadth of the job. For instance, several laws kick in when you employ 50 people, like theFamily Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Once you have 50 employees within a 50 miles radius, youre subject to those laws, even if no one knows what they are or how to administer them. Of course, you, as an employee, cant make your baboes see the value in a dedicated HR manager, but just because there isnt one, doesnt mean that the functions arent done. For instance, just because you have no HR manager doesnt mean that if you have a baby or get cancer, you arent entitled to take up to 12 weeks off for recovery. If your coworker is sexually harassing you, the company is still obligated to stop the harassment, even without an HR manager to conduct the investigation. In other words, not having an HR manager is a pain in the neck for the management team, but it shouldnt be for the employees. It doesnt always work correctly (and, that is why you should think about dedicated HR before you reach 50 employees), which can leave the employees feeling they have nowhere to turn. What to Do if You Have No HR Manager Heres what you can do in this situation. Remember that HR is never the boss. While its nice to have an HR manager, they arent the saviors for bad management. A good HR manager will listen to employees, investigate problems, and ensure proper application of all relevant laws. But, an HR manager only has as much power as her boss gives her. So, if an HR manager says to the boss, The scheduling is unfair and a violation of federal law because men are given the best shifts, and the boss says, Well, I dont care, theres nothing she can do about it other than report it to the proper federal or state agency. You can do this as well. You can report problems to your boss. In many companies, even wi th HR departments, thefirst step for any problem is the direct supervisor and then the bosss boss. In your case, since there is no HR department at all, you must use this reporting technique. If your direct supervisor is the problem, you can report the issue to her boss, all the way up to the president of the company. If the company president wont address the problem, remember, he wouldnt do it if an HR manager existed either. Educate yourself. While HR managers are really there to protect the business, good ones know that a business is most successful when the employees are treated well. Without that help, you can feel alone. Its possible to educate yourself on your rights. Start with the HR content on TheBalanceCareers.com. Another source that is highly recommended is employment attorney, Donna Ballmans book, Stand Up For Yourself Without Getting Fired Resolve Workplace Crises Before You Quit, Get Axed or Sue the Bastards. Ballmans book should be on every employees bookshelf, but especially on yours, since you have no HR department. Ask management who the dedicated HR person is. While there isnt an HR manager, somebody has to do those tasks. Somebody has to make job offers and determine salaries. Someone has to fill out the leave of absence paperwork. Somebody has to make the decision on company health insurance. That person should be the most knowledgeable about what is going on, even if she isnt well versed in what an HR manager should do. Go ahead and speak to that person about your concerns and questions. You may find that their experience can help you. Hopefully, the management at your company will realize that whatever money they save by not paying for an HR manager, they are losing in not having a skilled person running the people side of things. Just one lawsuit can cripple a small business, possibly forever- far more than paying a professional to handle the HR tasks. - - - - - - - - - - - - Suzanne Lucas is a freelance journalist specializing in Hu man Resources. Suzannes work has been featured on notes publications including Forbes, CBS, Business Insider and Yahoo.

Engineers Without Borders The Rwanda Project

Engineers Without Borders The Rwanda Project Engineers Without Borders The Rwanda Project Keir Hart, an ASME student member, vividly remembers that night when he stepped off the plane into the darkness of Rwanda. Six months of planning as a participant in Colorado University s Engineering for Developing Communities had brought him and his group to the village of Muramba to examine a failed water system.Harts group was working with Engineers without Borders-USA, the national non-profit organization founded three years ago by CU civil engineering professor Bernard Amadei.Hart, a mechanical engineering student at CU, joined project coordinator Evan Thomas, Laura Richards and Amadei on this project, to work on a deteriorating water system that supplied a few thousand people.Genocides Lasting EffectsThe village, still plagued by the aftereffects of a decade-old genocide, suffers from widespread starvation and disease. Poor water conditions cause frequent illness among residents. Inadequat e soil conditions and a severe drought have made barren farm fields a devastating blow to the agriculture-dependent village.Women and children would spend hours everyday carrying water from broken fixtures, Hart said. Unfortunately, we could only install simple repairs. We were not equipped or funded well enough to fix the entire system, merely to analyze what was there.Help on the WayThe group ended up installing three solar-powered lighting systems, a drip-irrigation system for farming, and handed out a few hundred soccer balls to kids. For engineers like Hart, the trip was about mora than just fixing a villages water and energy problems.I learned a lot about Rwanda, engineering, and especially myselfas all good traveling tends to do, but I think that the most important memory I took away was the look on the peoples faces we were helping, Hart said. I earned a renewed faith in what I was doing. With regular classes you look at books and your equations and hope for a right answer. When you are involved in a team like EWB-Rwanda, you still hope that you are correct, but you get to see the consequences.He said the best experience of all was seeing the faces of the kids light up. I will never forget my experiences there and I sincerely hope that I get to go back, he said.EWBUSA projects involve the design and construction of water, wastewater, sanitation, energy, and shelter systems. These projects are initiated by, and completed with, contributions from the host community, which is trained to operate the systems without external assistance. The projects are conducted by groups of students under the supervision of faculty and professional engineers from partnering engineering firmsThe CU-Boulder Outreach Committee, the Engineering Excellence Fund in the College of Engineering and Applied Science, along with private donations, sponsored the Rwanda project.For more information on EWB, and how you can participate as an ASME member, go to asme.org/Communities/Studen ts/Undergrad/Engineers_Borders_2.cfm.The group ended up installing three solar-powered lighting systems, a drip-irrigation system for farming, and handed out a few hundred soccer balls to kids.

Technical Support Specialist Job Description

Technical sttze Specialist Job DescriptionTechnical Support Specialist Job DescriptionTechnical Support Specialist Job DescriptionThis technical support specialist sample job description can assist in your creating a job application that will attract job candidates who are qualified for the job. Feel free to revise this job description to meet your specific job duties and job requirements.Technical Support Specialist Job ResponsibilitiesMaximizes computer system capabilities by studying technical applications making recommendations.Technical Support Specialist Job DutiesEvaluates system fhigkeit by testing compatibility of new programs with existing programs.Evaluates expansions or enhancements by studying work load and capacity of computer system.Achieves computer system objectives by gathering pertinent data identifying and evaluating options recommending a course of action.Confirms program objectives and specifications by testing new programs comparing programs with established st andards making modifications.Improves existing programs by reviewing objectives and specifications evaluating proposed changes recommending changes making modifications.Evaluates vendor-supplied software by studying user objectives testing software compatibility with existing hardware and programs.Places software into production by loading software into computer entering necessary commands.Places hardware into production by establishing connections entering necessary commands.Maximizes use of hardware and software by training users interpreting instructions answering questions.Maintains system capability by testing computer components.Prepares reference for users by writing operating instructions.Maintains historical records by documenting hardware and software changes and revisions.Maintains client confidence and protects operations by keeping information confidential.Maintains professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops reviewing professional publicatio ns establishing personal networks participating in professional societies.Contributes to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed.Technical Support Specialist Skills and QualificationsProblem Solving, Presenting Technical Information, Process Improvement, Software Maintenance, Software Testing, Network Design and Implementation, Load Balancing and Scalability, Vendor Relationships, Software Performance Tuning, Network Performance Tuning, Database Performance TuningEmployers Post a job in minutes to reach candidates everywhere. Job Seekers Search Technical Support Specialist Jobs and apply on now. Find out more about compensationSalary Negotiation Avoid the Peanut Butter ApproachSalary Negotiation Tips for EmployersSalary Calculator