These past 12 months have been like no other. With vaccination rates increasing by the day and declining COVID-19 numbers (that we hope will continue) we look ahead to a brighter, more stable, stronger economic future for our businesses.
Here, we summarize a brand new law for California employers as well as share trends in performance management in 2021.

Topics covered in this newsletter:

Senate Bill 95 | Trends in Performance Management and Reviews |

Senate Bill 95 - California COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave

On March 19, 2021, SB 95 was signed into law by Governor Newsom. This new California law provides supplemental paid sick leave (SPSL) to employees for defined COVID-19-related reasons. Below are the highlights of SB 95.

• SB 95 is effective March 29, is retroactive to January 1, and expires on September 30, 2021.
• The law applies to employers with 26 or more employees.
• The law provides up to 80 hours of SPSL to full-time employees (pro-rated to the average amount of hours a part-time employee would normally work over a 14-day period) for COVID-related reasons as defined in this poster, not to exceed $511 per day/$5,110 in the aggregate per worker.
• Employers are required to post this poster, and also distribute it to employees who are working remotely.
• Employees can make a verbal or written request to use SPSL time, and they may do so for time used between January 1, 2021 - March 29, 2021.
• For employers who voluntarily extended FFCRA benefits or were already offering a company-provided paid sick leave benefit, pay provided to employees between January 1 and March 29 can offset the 80 hour obligation under SPSL.
• Employees may make a verbal or written request to use SPSL for future time off and for time off previously taken retroactive to January 1. The retroactive payment shall be paid on or before the payday for the next full pay period after the request has been made.
• SPSL must be listed on the employee’s wage statement as a separate line item.
• Employers may not require that an employee use other paid or unpaid leave before using SPSL for qualifying reasons.

 Many questions remain unanswered regarding this new law. The State has published FAQs. Be sure to check back as new FAQs will likely be added for additional clarity and guidance.

Trends in Performance Management and Review in 2021

For many of us, each new year brings news goals for self-improvement, both personally and professionally. In 2021 many companies are adopting these new trends on performance management and annual performance reviews to consider.
A strong performance management program is one that balances the needs of the business with the needs of the employees. In 2021, employees continue to seek a deeper connection and meaning with their work. Managers can deepen their employees’ connection by personalizing their work. Too often employees describe performance feedback as infrequent, non-specific, not meaningful, and ineffective. By transitioning a company’s culture into a people-first culture elevates their ability to keep their top-talent. One of ways to transition the culture is by personalizing employees work by outlining what their specific contributions are to the company's goals and their personal achievements. This leads to a meaningful experience for the employee and the result is an increase in employee engagement, productivity, and confidence as they understand how their performance makes a positive difference.
Likely it comes as no surprise to anyone in business that another trend in 2021 is that virtual work is here to stay. Gallup data shows that 65% of workers want to continue to work from home. Remote work is here to stay with many companies having a blend of on-site and remote workforce. Managers need to rely more on transparent communication and data-driven performance management to put everyone on an even playing field.
How does a company do this effectively if a portion or all of their employees work remotely? Using data-driven performance management is the answer. Data driven performance management is a process that relies heavily on factual data to make informed judgements and decisions about managing employee performance. The underlying intent is to bring to the forefront, an employee’s strengths and weaknesses in the most objective way.
To be effective, regular conversations need to occur on the employee’s performance using outcomes, results, and contributions. Managers can, and should, analyze data and translate it into actionable insights.
As managers establish regular performance management sessions with their employees, when it is time for the annual performance review a holistic approach is recommended. Here are performance review questions to consider before preparing and delivering an evaluation:

• What progress has been made since the employee’s last review?
• What goals were exceeded, met, or missed? What contributed to these results?
• What useful feedback have team members provided that can add context to the review?

This holistic approach to feedback allows managers to touch base with employees, address their needs in real-time, and optimize performance in response to the changing day-to-day landscape of a workplace. Regular check-ins ensure there are no surprises when it is time for formal reviews, especially when managers need to address a negative performance issue.

As we continue to move forward together and evolve our businesses to adapt to this new way of life, we are reminded of the resiliency of our local businesses. The Personnel Perspective is here to support you in all of your changing HR needs.

Please give us a call at 707 576-7653 if you have any questions or wish to discuss any of these new changes in more detail. 

The Personnel Perspective, its owners and associates are not attorneys and accordingly the above information does not constitute legal advice.