Affogato HR Consulting LLC

A year ago I sat down to write a little blog post on this topic. I wrestled with it because I thought it was important, but I finally set it aside and wrote about something more important. I couldn’t leave it alone, though, so we’re back! Affogato does a lot of work with our clients on leaves of absence. For most of our clients they are rare, but often confusing and sometimes emotional. It feels like you’re in one of those traffic roundabouts where the employee’s “real life”, understanding and complying with the law, making sure that employees feel supported and valued, and keeping the business running all come together. Roundabouts can be very efficient if you know how to use them, but if you don’t, they’re just an intimidating traffic hazard to be avoided. Part of the challenge for small businesses is that so often an employee’s leave starts on the down low. How does that happen? The unplanned use of lots of PTO, or the manager who just doesn’t put someone on the schedule, or the employee who starts calling off work a lot. We’ve all seen it happen. Our instinct is to be nice, or to be strictly business, and to avoid being nosy. We say things like “I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you need to be at work” or “Oh my goodness, I am so sorry that bad thing is happening in your life/with your family/to your health; take all the time you need”. Sincere? Probably. Good for your business? Not so much. More like getting stuck in that roundabout. We really don’t make it easy. I looked up “leave of absence” in a few of my go-to sources: SHRM, HR California, Brightmine, and I found nothing. (That was frustrating, since leaves are so important in HR, but I digress.) How’s this dictionary definition: 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘, 𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦. I like the emphasis on permission while saying nothing about pay. Some of the confusion comes because we don’t always separate pay from the rights and obligations of a leave of absence. Huh? I think of all leaves as having a series of separate but related “lanes”: length of leave; type of leave; job protection with health insurance benefits; and pay.  And guess what? Same roundabout, different entrances and exits for each. Your Affogato HR Consultant can walk you through your employees’ leave situations, what you need to do to comply, and help create policies that make sense for your business. Reach out to us at info@affogatohr.com to learn more! #hrconsulting #leavesofabsence #affogato

HR Management Consulting vs. HR Outsourcing... What's the difference?   I often find myself describing what we do by talking about what we don’t do. That can work when people understand what the HR function is, but it can also be complicated. To help deal with all the variables (size, industry, location, work schedule, and on and on...) many organizations seek external help to tackle HR. Two common approaches are HR Management Consulting and HR Outsourcing, but how are they different?    HR Outsourcing focuses on ongoing operational efficiency. By outsourcing tasks like payroll or certain day-to-day HR services, companies can concentrate on core activities and maybe even reduce costs. This approach is ideal for businesses looking to streamline operations. HR Outsourcing partners may provide front-line help desk support to employees, and take on some of the work that an HR department might have done.    HR Management Consulting provides tailored advice to align HR strategies with long-term business goals. Think of consultants as trusted advisors who work with you to understand your company’s culture to offer customized solutions, from making small improvements that bolster your culture to guiding significant changes. They bring expert knowledge from various industries, helping organizations refine their HR strategies and navigate complex transformations.    So, which is right for your business? It depends.    At Affogato, we believe that all of our clients benefit from a strategic view, because your people are integral to your business strategy. We also understand that there’s just work that needs to get done, and sometimes turning it over to a trusted advisor makes the most sense. We offer a customized blend of both, ensuring your HR needs are met with the perfect balance of strategy and efficiency. To your success, Jonna, Lisa, Suzanne, Lisha, Karen, Christina & Linda

Prevent Burnout I write this as a I prepare for a wonderful trip to France with my mom. I’m grateful that this isn’t a vacation I need to maintain my mental health or sense of work-life balance. Instead, it’s a trip I am taking because I am determined to make short work of my mom’s bucket list, which is hardly a vacation! But it did cause me to reflect on the need to understand what burnout is, how to identify it and how to prevent it. I admit, I had been squarely in the “take a little time off of work, you’ll be fine” camp. Doctor Google did not disappoint. I found this good description of burnout (see comments for link) and was particularly struck by the difference between stress (too much!) and burnout, which is too little. Too little satisfaction, enjoyment, fulfillment, energy. Ah, midlife crisis. Actually, burnout can creep up on anyone. That feeling like you're running on fumes, emotionally drained, and mentally wasted, all while your body is trying to wave a white flag.  What does it look like in the workplace? Because everyone is different, there is no single right answer here, but look out for signs like decreased productivity, new performance or attendance problems, and a general sense of disengagement. Are they withdrawing from social interactions or seeming unusually irritable? Bingo, that’s a sign. Sometimes, in an attempt to be “professional” or “private”, people try to hide it. They put on a brave face, soldiering on even when they're running on empty.  That means good leaders cannot assume that no news is the same thing as good news. To really help identify it, take the time to check in with your team, ask how they're doing, and really listen to their responses. Sometimes, all it takes is a genuine conversation to uncover what's really going on. Then you can help the team make the adjustments they each need to refill their tanks. Preventing burnout can include encouraging a healthy work-life balance, communicating openly and appropriately, and leading by example. Show your team that it's okay to take breaks, set boundaries, share personal information (or not!) and prioritize self-care. I’m glad I took the time to learn a little bit here. The analogies abound, but I now see that vacations are more like band-aids than miracle cures. Or like the sweet part of life, which requires a little bit of bitter to be a well-balanced affogato. Although I’ll be gone, the team will still be happy to talk about ways you can identify, address and prevent burnout.... just send us an email: info@affogatohr.com  

I sat down to write our monthly client communication, and my thoughts kept getting pulled to something else. Maybe it's just because it's the beginning of spring...   Here’s where my thoughts kept going: Trust. Why? Well, last week I read this sensational headline (“More than a third of US small business workers say they don’t trust their company’s HR department”), then a summary of a study (“Half said a lack of an HR Department contributes to a toxic workplace”), then the actual study all about how employees in small companies don’t trust HR (“43% of our respondents said they don’t feel they can confide in their HR”). Yeah, that got my attention! I did a bit more digging and didn’t feel that much better about what I was reading. The fact was that it wasn’t a great survey and the conclusions didn’t seem to be supported by the evidence presented. Worse, the suggestions for improvement weren’t related to the study. To be fair, many of the suggestions were the same ones that an experienced HR pro would implement. It was weird enough that Lisa and I actually wondered if it was written by AI. That’s a whole other topic, and makes me wonder if the newsletter that picked up the study has a human editor. If they do, why haven’t they answered my email? I was venting my frustration with a colleague and he helped me to crystallize what my real issue was: it’s wrong to think that employees need to trust HR. What? Employees need to trust leadership, the company, the business, their employer – whatever you call it, they need to trust the whole system. If people don’t trust your HR function, then they don’t trust your business. That’s it. That’s the issue: when HR is regarded as separate from the business, then it can do its own thing or have its own agenda. More often we see that it doesn’t do enough, or doesn’t do the right things. Effective management integrates all the functions required to run an effective and compliant business. Effective leadership builds trust by navigating through conflicting requirements, making tradeoffs, and communicating with stakeholders. If you want to talk about how to build an HR function that is a part of your business and supports your business, let us know, it's what we do. Jonna, Lisa, Lisha, Suzanne, Karen and Linda   P.S. I won’t link to the study or the summary or the headline, but if you’re as curious as a cat, put "curious as a cat" in the comments and I'll send you the link. 

This is my favorite message of the year! If you know me, you know how much I love my birthday. It’s not about cake or candles or wishes, just a day to celebrate how wonderful life is. And while most businesses celebrate anniversaries, at Affogato we’ve always called it our birthday. Why? Because it’s a great day to celebrate how wonderful life is. Our gift to ourselves this year is a brand new website. Lisa and I worked hard on our original website and I still love it. But we’ve evolved and I’m pleased to share our updated site, which shows off the entire Affogato team. Take a look at www.affogatohr.com. And if you would like to gift us with a picture of you (and your team or friends or family) enjoying an affogato, we will thank you with a cup of coffee. Six is a big birthday, so we’re making an even bigger deal of it. We are growing our team, looking to add our sixth employee to our fully-remote California-based team. Referrals for this part-time role are welcome. Learn more here. As always, thank you! We appreciate all of our clients, partners and colleagues!   Jonna, Lisa, Lisha, Suzanne and Karen

We're hiring! If you're looking for a fully-remote, part-time HR consulting position, check it out. This is a regular employee role and the selected candidate must be based in California. https://lnkd.in/gJhH6Znj