Dear GMA SHRM Members,

I hope this message finds you all in good spirits and enjoying the beautiful summer season. As we savor the warm weather and outdoor activities, I know many of you are also gearing up for the approaching fall and back-to-school season.

As you're heading into the midst of that, I invite you to take a break and treat yourself to some time with your fellow HR professionals for a few upcoming events. These events promise to enrich your professional development and are ones you will want to mark your calendars for! So, visit our website for a comprehensive 2023 GMA SHRM Programs and Events List to ensure you reap all the benefits. 

As kids return to school, we want to educate and help you stay at the forefront of industry trends and expand your network within our vibrant HR community through our educational programming.   

Our next Professional Development Summit is on August 15th, which focuses on Recruitment, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Session 1 is "Hiring to Fit Your Culture" by Dave Schwallier, and Session 2 is "Foster Healthy Conflict to Create More Inclusion and Innovation" by Diana Pastrana.  

Another powerful Professional Development Summit will quickly follow on September 12th. Safety/Risk Management; Insurance will be the overarching focus, and we're honored to have Chevon Bowen presenting "A View of Workplace Safety Through an Equity Lens" and Alyssa Germain on "How Can I Control Workplace Injuries and Their Impact? Fostering a Zero Accident Workplace Culture.” Be sure to register today; August 15th PDS Registration and September 12th PDS Registration.

Excitingly, your dedicated Board of Directors will also be focused on education during this time, with many members attending the WI SHRM Volunteer Leadership Conference in Fond du Lac on August 3rd and 4th. This conference offers a unique chance to collaborate with HR leaders across the state, gaining fresh insights and fostering valuable connections we can bring back to you. 

As many of you know, we have historically done a compensation survey every two years for our GMA SHRM members to participate in and gain access to valuable market insight. Our Compensation Survey Committee has been hard at work and has put together some exciting new options for this year and will begin preparing it annually. They recognize that the pace of change in this arena has been exponential, your input is invaluable, and the survey results will provide essential data to aid you in making informed decisions within your organizations. Your active engagement in this initiative is highly appreciated. Please visit GMA SHRM Compensation Survey 2023 to learn more and participate!

As always, our community thrives on the active involvement of each member, and your contributions make GMA SHRM exceptional. I look forward to seeing you all at our upcoming events and witnessing the impact of your participation in the compensation survey. If you want to learn how to get more connected and involved, please find one of our fabulous Board of Directors or me at one of the upcoming events – we'd love to tell you more and have you join in the fun!  

Enjoy the remainder of this glorious summer season and let us embrace what fall has in store for us!

Best wishes,


Laura Bermudo, President
Greater Madison Area SHRM Chapter
lbermudo@myhaus.com / 608.383.4568

Click here to view the full GMA SHRM Board of Directors

Legal Update – Important Developments Regarding Separation Agreements

Submitted from Mai Chao Chang, Storm Larson & Brian P. Goodman, GMA SHRM Programming Committee Member, and Attorneys at Boardman & Clark LLP, a Platinum Partner
 

Mai Chao

Storm Larson

Brian P. Goodman

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020, U.S. Immigration and Customer Enforcement (ICE) announced temporary flexibility allowing U.S. employers to remotely examine employees’ I‑9 documents, instead of requiring physical inspections of such documents. This flexibility ended on July 31, 2023, which means that employers must once again physically inspect all new-hire I‑9 documents. Employers should also complete in-person physical inspections of all I‑9 documents that had been remotely inspected during the flexibility period by August 30, 2023.

When the social distancing requirements of COVID-19 forced some employees to work remotely, ICE announced a temporary relaxation of the physical document inspection rules. For those employees not working in the employer’s workplace on a regular, consistent, or predictable basis, the employer was allowed to inspect I‑9 documents via email, video, or other remote arrangement and note ​“COVID-19” in the additional information field of I‑9 Section 2 to justify remote verification. The employer was nonetheless expected to request and inspect physical I‑9 documents in person when the employee returned to the office or when the flexibility was terminated, whichever was earlier, and note the physical examination on the employee’s I‑9.

Employers should review the records of those employees hired after March 2020, to determine which employees’ I‑9 documents were remotely verified during the flexibility period. Before August 30, 2023, employers are required to physically inspect those remotely viewed identity and employment authorization documents and make a note of such examination on the employee’s I‑9 form.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed rule in August of 2022 that would allow alternatives to the physical I‑9 document inspection requirement for some or all employers in the future. DHS is now reviewing the public’s comments to that proposed rule. If DHS determines that the relaxed procedures offer an equivalent level of security, the rule may become permanent. For now, however, employers should follow the physical examination requirements.

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The GMA Compensation Survey participation is now open!  Competition for employees across all industries is at an all-time high, leading to rapidly escalating salaries. The GMA SHRM Compensation Survey provides up-to-date local, regional and national benchmarks to help you get a better handle on this challenging labor market.  Conducted by Gallagher Surveys, this general industry survey collects base salary, bonuses, total cash, salary ranges and HR policy data for more than 150 jobs common across all industries.
 
Compensation surveys provide valuable information you can use as you plan your total rewards strategy for your organization. As you prepare to complete this salary survey, we have tips to help you along the way.
 
Look Ahead and Plan Ahead

At first glance, the details required to participate in a survey can be overwhelming. Planning ahead can help.

• Do not think you can complete the submission in one sitting, no matter the size of your data sets.
• Hold time to complete the information request in a few different sessions.
• Start the process by thoroughly reviewing the instructions and definitions to understand what data is requested.

Match Jobs Based on Job Descriptions
It is easy to look at the job title or incumbents and assume it is the same. As we know, job titles may not have the same job duties at another organization. Be sure to read through the job summaries thoroughly.

• Read your job description and compare it to the job summaries provided by the survey source.
• Only report jobs that are a good match. You won’t find a match for all your jobs, which is okay.
• Focus on submitting the jobs that match more than 70% of the description in the survey.

Provide Strong Data

• Carefully review the data requested and identify your sources for gathering the data. You may be able to pull it all through your HRIS or payroll vendor, or you may need to request the data from another department.
• Prepare your data to be submitted by making sure you are providing exactly what is requested by the survey.
• Take time to review the prepared data in detail before submitting. Ensuring your data is correct upfront will reduce any time spent on follow-ups or verifications later.

Understand the Results

• Take time to learn and understand the results and how you can use them for your organization when the salary data is returned.
• Use the compensation survey data to compare your employee pay, evaluate the effectiveness of your compensation strategy and build pay ranges.

Submitted by Jackie Cook, Popins CEO

Parental leave is a rare event. Perhaps not for HR teams; but certainly for parents. Like other life events, the transition into parenthood represents a retention risk. Parents often decide to leave or downshift their career for some period of time, for a variety of reasons; from wanting to make the most of precious months or years, to determining that the job isn’t fulfilling enough to warrant being away from their kids - or not lucrative enough to warrant the cost of childcare.

For the savvy employer, parental leave is an opportunity to highlight your benefits in a fresh, supportive light. When potential or current employees ask about your parental leave benefits, it is understandable to give a simple answer - we offer x weeks. But what if you intentionally guided a well-planned preparation for parental leave and supported a thoughtful return to work? What an opportunity for your business to run better, with both the parent and covering team members feeling good about their experience and the company.

Let’s dig into some of these opportunities:

1. Preparing for Parental Leave
2. Support during Parental Leave
3. Returning to Work

1. Supporting Parental Leave preparation
Before baby, expecting employees experience a range of feelings - excited anticipation, worry, the thrill or dread of sharing news with family, friends, and coworkers. And they have to navigate a range of new logistics - medical appointments, what to put on the baby registry (do I really need a special device for sucking snot?), financial considerations, and getting ready to be out of work for an extended time. As an employer, you probably have the basics for parental leave covered:

• Employer provides reasonable accommodations (such as those outlined in the recent Pregnant Worker’s Fairness Act)
• Managers say congratulations (hopefully!) and figure out “who’s covering the work.”
• Soon-to-be parent reviews & fill out the paperwork for parental leave

Beyond basic coverage, parental leave is an opportunity for both the business and the individual to step back and take a fresh look at who is doing what. Consider: is this what they should be doing based on their current position, skills and interest? Should anyone be doing this? I recommend triaging current work into multiple categories: temporary cover during leave, permanently transition, or eliminate. This gives others on the team a chance to grow in their career, as well as provides space for new pursuits on your expecting employee’s return to work.

For managers, working closely on coverage with their team member should involve:

• Back-ups identified, informed and ready-for-action 2-3 weeks prior to the expected due date.
• Discussing desired communication - for starting leave and during leave. A good question to ask is “When, or in what cases, do you want me to get a hold of you?”
• Addressing how company events that occur during the team members leave will be handled, such as performance reviews, compensation cycles, and open enrollment.
• Setting up a call 1-2 weeks before the employee’s planned return to see how things are going, and confirm or modify the return-to-work plan.

2. What happens during Parental Leave matters.
Did you know?

• Despite the guidelines & benefits of breastfeeding, 60% of US mothers don’t meet their own breastfeeding goals. Low rates in the US add $3 Billion in medical costs per year.
• 1 in 5 women (and 1 in 10 men) suffer from a Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorder[3] . Up to 75% impacted never receive treatment, costing an estimated $14.2 billion each year and resulting in negative long-term consequences for the health & well-being of parents, infants, and families.

These common struggles highlight an opportunity to show your employees that you care about them as a whole person. You likely offer benefits that new parents can use to set the stage for a healthy return to work, but the use cases are often unclear or not considered until too late. For example:

• HSAs can cover the cost of a birth or postpartum doula, lactation support, Mental Health therapy, and Pelvic Floor PT.
• Many companies offer a Dependent Care FSA, which can save new parents $1500/year on childcare - if they know about it. 
• Wellness or Professional Development funds can be used for specialty services to ease postpartum.
• Companies (or departments) who send a congratulatory gift for life events can consider easy-to-use meal & laundry services.

Every hour someone else checks in on a new parent’s mental health, cleans their kitchen, helps with breastfeeding (or showering), is another hour they have to focus on their new baby—and new parenting role. Planning for support in advance is crucial to take advantage of a fleeting time.

3. Returning to Work is a process, not an event
The team is probably excited to have your employee back at work; and it’s natural to default to pre-parental leave expectations. But the reality for the new parent is continual changes at home - as the tiny human(s) in their life grow, hit new milestones, sleep better or worse. And how life functions at home will impact how they feel about & perform at work (and is different for different people on different days). Did you know:

• It’s often months before babies sleep uninterrupted [6] through the night; many parents return to work before decent sleep is a reality at home.
• Returning milk-making employees need to breastfeed or pump (often 2-3 times) during a typical workday (the recent PUMP Act [7] outlines your role in supporting them). Unfortunately, 1 out of 2 moms are concerned that breastfeeding at work could impact their career growth . At a company level, consider incorporating programs that support continued lactation journeys such as Mamava pods for a clean, convenient space or a Milkstork for travelers. 
• Women in leadership are over 4x more likely to be responsible for their family’s housework & caregiving, compared to men in leadership.  Consider benefits that make life at home easier for all employees, such as stipends for meal services, cleaning/laundry, or childcare services.

Tactically, I recommend new parents build an intentional ramp back into work. While the ramp will look different based on the role and individual, some strategies include:

• Start back on a Thursday instead of Monday.
• Go back part time for a few weeks (partial days or partial weeks).
• Take a week to catch up before sharing “I’m back!”
• Stagger & prioritize taking back responsibilities or engaging in new projects.

Parents report feeling a wide spectrum of treatment on their return to work:

• Some feel tiptoed-around and overly accommodated for, or even isolated (“I didn’t want to bother you—you have a newborn!”)
• Others receive the same treatment as before, with not enough accommodations (“Thank god you’re back—here’s all your work again!”).

Direct supervisors and close colleagues make a significant difference in an employee’s experience with a company. My advice: avoid assumptions and check-in regularly with returning parents. Expect frequent changes over several months as parents figure out what works for them (and doesn’t) between home and work. Consider questions like “How are you doing, and what do you need?” “Are you feeling overwhelmed? What are you finding engaging? What are you excited about at work and at home?”

Your interest in your employee as a whole person makes a difference in company engagement and long-term outlook as a working parent.

About Popins - You provide benefits. We help your new & soon-to-be parents use them to their benefit.
Popins helps expecting & new parents save time & stress less on their journey into parenthood.
Learn more at https://www.popinsfam.com/
Interested in discussing how we can work together to uplevel your employee experience?
Contact Jackie at jackie@popinsfam.com or schedule a call.



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