The U.S. Department of Labor issued its final rule amending the overtime regulations that take effect January 1, 2020. To be exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA's) white-collar exemptions, employees must be paid a salary of at least the threshold amount and meet certain duties tests. If they are paid less or do not meet the tests, they must be paid 1.5 times their regular hourly rate for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek.

The new rule will raise the salary threshold to $684 a week ($35,568 annualized) from $455 a week ($23,660 annualized). Non-discretionary bonuses and incentive payments, including commissions, paid on an annual or more frequent basis may be used to satisfy up to 10 percent of the standard salary level. The U.S. Department of Labor said the rule will make about 1.3 million workers newly eligible for overtime pay.
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In addition to raising the salary cutoff for exempt workers, the new rule raises the threshold for highly compensated employees from $100,000 a year to $107,432, of which $684 must be paid weekly on a salary or fee basis. 

Workers most value a manager who is a problem-solver, decisive, compassionate and can manage time effectively. According to SHRM, employees want managers who can help them tackle challenges at work from start to finish. This means identifying the root cause of the problem and the right solution while helping employees think critically about how to approach similar challenges in the future. SHRM identified the following steps for managers to use to help employees solve workplace problems. Nearly all of them require solid communication skills: 

• Identify the root of the business challenge that has the employee stumped. Ask questions to identify key stakeholders, the metrics used to determine if the problem is solved, whether similar problems have occurred in the past and the impact the solution will have.
• Work with the employee to identify and prioritize the solution.
• Help the employee analyze solutions.
• Assist the employee in pitching the solution to colleagues, including voicing logical arguments to the proposed solution prior to the employee's presentation.

The ability for managers to help their employees succeed has a lasting impact.

Better Managing with Active Listening. Harvard Business Review (HBR) Analytic Services studied how organizations around the globe are shaping their people strategy. A survey released in May found that 59 percent of 717 respondents drawn from HBR's audience said their organizations incorporated active listening/asking open-ended questions in its leadership training. People managers can learn to be the leaders their employees need them to be by utilizing active listening. Managers that focus on developing soft skills such as active listening further enhance their leadership skills and the emotional intelligence needed to create high-performing teams. 

As the leaves turn color, we as HR professionals are turning our focus to year-end responsibilities ranging from preparing for open enrollment to reviewing emergency closing policies due to winter weather. Here’s a quick checklist for employers this fall:
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Gear up for open enrollment. For most employers, the fall benefits enrollment period means helping employees review and select their health plans and other employer-provided benefits. By helping workers make educated plan choices, employers can reinforce the value of the benefits package employees are receiving.

Get all documents ready for Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting. With open enrollment and health benefit offerings, HR professionals need to keep ACA reporting requirements top of mind. Employers with 50 or more full-time or full-time equivalent (FTE) employees must report health insurance information to the IRS and furnish a statement about health insurance to their employees annually.
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Provide any necessary leaves for voting and school-related activities. In some cases, employees may opt to take time off to vote in fall elections. In addition to voting leave, many employees with school-age children may also need time off to attend parent-teacher conferences and for other school activities. Many states have laws granting employees time off for family matters and providing eligible employees with a certain number of hours of leave annually, per month or per school year. Providing flexibility for your employees can enhance your employee engagement and retention. 

Onboarding is a prime opportunity for employers to win the hearts and minds of new employees. According to SHRM, 69 percent of employees are more likely to stay with a company for three years if they experienced great onboarding. In addition, new employees who went through a structured onboarding program were 58 percent more likely to be with the organization after three years. Finally, organizations with a standard onboarding process experience 50 percent greater new-hire productivity. To halt the flow of new hires prematurely heading for the exits, organizations have to give more thought and attention to how they convert attractive job candidates into successful longer-term employees. Otherwise, they are wasting the time and energy they spend on recruitment and selection.

When designing and implementing a cohesive onboarding program or process, HR professionals need to engage with key stakeholders throughout the organization to ensure that all new hires have an optimal onboarding experience. Here are three steps to help your organization develop a strong onboarding program. 

​Focus on the Experience. The old adage still holds true: "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." So give some thought to what kind of first impression you want new hires to have of the organization. If you truly want to design an onboarding process or program that drives retention and performance, the new employee orientation is simply the first step in a journey that can take weeks and sometimes even months. Utilize technology to streamline the administrative process. Rather than giving new hires mountains of information to memorize, show them how to use the benefits portal to find the information they need, and then let them absorb that information on their own time. However, technology cannot replace the one-on-one interactions between new hires and various members of the organization that elevate the onboarding experience.  

Employee retention has taken on a new significance amid one of the tightest labor markets in the past 50 years. The robust job market has given employees the confidence to seek new opportunities, while employers are wrestling with rising compensation and heated competition for new hires, both salaried and hourly.

An estimated 41 million people voluntarily quit their jobs last year. By 2020, that number will jump to 47 million, or roughly 1 in 3 workers. Each employee departure costs about one-third of that worker's annual earnings, including expenses such as recruiter fees, temporary replacement workers and lost productivity. To engender loyalty, companies are trying every tactic, from raising salaries to bolstering benefits to offering more training and education. 

Why People Quit
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According to the Work Institute, a Franklin, Tenn. based consulting firm, inadequate career development is the leading reason people leave their jobs, with 21 percent of those interviewed citing it as the driving factor. Those employees expressed frustration with the lack of growth, development opportunities and advancement in their jobs. The second largest reason (12 percent) for individuals leaving their job is due to inadequate work-life balance, travel and scheduling preferences. A close third ranking (11.3 percent) is due to manager behavior. Employees reported a lack of positive and productive relationships. The fourth largest reason employees quit is due to relocation, or a physical move out of proximity of the job (10.2 percent).  Ranking fifth at 9.6 percent, is compensation and benefits. Employees reported that they were promised total rewards and what they actually received created enough of a factor to leave their job.