Tis the season for several HR and compliance issues associated with the holidays. Here are five (5) holiday HR issues that you should revisit as the holidays ensue.

With the war for talent in full-effect, it’s important to look more deeply into how compensation factors play in an organization’s ability to attract, engage, and retain top talent. Support your people strategy and stay competitive by keeping up with compensation trends.

Up until January 5, 2018, when employers needed to determine whether the internships they would offer qualify as paid or unpaid, they would turn to the long held 6-part test that was officially enacted by the Department of Labor (DOL) as of 2010. Amidst a number of high profile legal cases brought by unpaid interns against their employers (some of which initially favored the interns in their verdicts), several courts recently found the 6-part test was too rigid.

It is true that becoming a “great workplace” doesn’t happen overnight. But instead of getting overwhelmed by a seemingly endless list of programs and offerings (and money...being “great” must cost so much money!) that so called “great workplaces” should all have, let’s take a look at what it means really to be “great”—with a few practical bite-sized pieces that you might be able to tackle at your organization right now sprinkled in for good measure.

Employee satisfaction and employee engagement are two different concepts of measuring your workforce. However, they are often misunderstood and used interchangeably which can affect your methods and results of improving the levels of both satisfaction and engagement.

1. What is the end goal of your reward and recognition program?

Two-thirds of organizations participating in this year’s ERC/NOCHE Intern & Recent Graduate Pay Rates & Practices Survey have a structured/formal internship program in place. Internships can come in all shapes and sizes depending on the specific industry, the needs of the employer, and the skill set of the students applying for the program.

Compensation data is an essential element in organizations' efforts to competitively recruit and retain top talent. This data is used to ensure market competitiveness in employment offers, and provides a foundation for complete compensation strategy reviews. Be careful about the data you use for compensation decisions. It should come from credible compensation surveys.

The HR Awards annually recognizes Northeast Ohio HR professionals who have demonstrated excellence in the field of human resource management.