The Nervous Nine of Human Resources – What Now?

By Jim Annis, CEO

As a regular columnist and presenter, I address employment, workplace and business issues across the country. In ALL cases, I’ve always managed my public persona like I treat my in-laws – never discuss politics or religion – until today. My responsibility as an NCET presenter on this topic compels me to do so.

If mainstream Democrats won in November, we would have been able to predict future actions of the National Labor Relations Board. If mainstream Republicans won, we would have made confident decisions based on party lines. President Elect Trump is a wild card. Sometimes he goes party, then he does a 180. Employers are asking, “What now? How do I plan?” Here are five tips:

1) Plan Your Way Out of Binary Mindset – As the President/CEO of 5 different companies, I spend the bulk of my time planning. Decision makers often take a binary view of uncertainty: Are we in uncertain times, no or yes? If not, we’ll tend to take existing trends and develop reasonably precise forecasts. If yes, we assume that the future is ambiguous and may resort to guessing. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. So plan anyway. It helps you…

2) Never Overreact – We have learned this from 9/11 to the Great Recession. There is always uncertainty, risk and innovation in business. When I realized the recession was happening, it was a certain level of anxiety, but I created a new revenue stream as opposed to planning our demise.

3) Start with What You Know – Today, you know your business better than anyone. Use that. What have your HR claims been? How often? Then pair that with the historical trends. The number of retaliation claims is way up over the past eight years. Claims and litigation by employees is on the rise. The Ninth Circuit District Court typically favors the employee. We will have new Secretary of Labor.

4) Do Your Best/The Right Thing Every Time – UCLA basketball coach John Wooden said be the best that you can be on a regular basis and don’t worry about the competition. Even if the new administration changes laws in favor of the employer, our company will still focus on the employee. Why? Competition for employees in our market is high and we want to continue to be a “Best Place to Work.”

5) Get into Action Mode – What human resources trends do you need to plan for and be proactive about? What is the history of employee claims? What do you need to know specifically about Nevada decisions?