Are you a training or staffing expert that needs a little brushing up on your HR generalist knowledge? Or perhaps you want an easily accessible, right-at-your-fingertips online resource to help you with your continuous flood of HR questions. Promoted as "the first of its kind", TR Anton, Inc. gives companies the option of purchasing a comprehensive loose-leaf notebook or the flexibility of an online HR resource called EZ-HR.
What is EZ-HR?
The World Wide Web version of EZ-HR was first launched May 2000 as an easy-to-access online resource. EZ-HR is a subscription service that provides access to an HR informational resource that contains the "general principals of human resource management". The information includes:
TR Anton states that they have put 12 years of research into this resource and now have over 8,500 employees and their supervisors using EZ-HR over the Internet. By integrating an interactive approach to this new form of delivery, TR Anton Inc., has been able to access a broader scope of both HR professionals and novice HR employees throughout North America.
After subscribing to EZ-HR through their website, you simply access the resources by entering through the Subscriber Login using your unique UserID and Password which is emailed to you on receipt of your payment.
How is EZ-HR different from "HR for Dummies"?
One of the benefits to EZ-HR is that companies can access this information online. This method of delivery is a boon to HR employees since they can access this information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as well as receive the most updated HR information. For example, new court case rulings can easily be added to EZ-HR over the Internet. This means that HR-involved employees are receiving the most up-to-date information available.
How is EZ-HR organized?
EZ-HR first organized using their "Quick Look" reference system. EZ-HR´s Quick Look system was designed to provide the quickest and easiest guideline to the most commonly experienced general employment situations. Designed as a table that provides HR employees with an employment issue statement, i.e. Pregnancy, then provides the reader with the section or sections to refer to and a comment as to any pitfalls that the reader should be aware of or familiar with.
TR Anton, Inc., does caution users to first follow their employee handbooks before following the guidelines stipulated in EZ-HR.
The table is clearly designed with three columns stating the HR issue, precautions, and suggested solution or action. However, when you click on the solutions link, another screen pops up with a list of related links. All of the links are related to the topic, but you might have to filter through them in order find issue-specific information.
TR Anton is also aware that some of the jargon of HR is particular to the industry. Therefore, in acknowledging this, EZ-HR has it´s own HR lexicon and includes a wide variety of terms from legal to staffing to termination terms.
There are 15 training documents, or main HR sections in EZ-HR covering the following topics:
EZ-HR allows users to reproduce at an inexpensive rate, unlimited forms and documentation for management of personnel issues. These forms are consistent with federal law and have been used by a significant number of US employers. They also provide Spanish forms for many of the most-used HR forms.
Companies can access EZ-HR by paying an annual subscription fee for the training, forms, and instructional program for $199 per year, or about $16 a month. Companies can also purchase multiple site license programs as well as PEO licensing with the ability to customize the program to your organization.
From their website, there are only 20 word categories in their HR lexicon with perhaps a maximum of 2 definitions, and mostly one, under each category. This implies that there are less than 40 terms and on average 30 terms in their lexicon.
The terms they have listed are extremely useful ones, but I question the minimal number. For example, they don´t have FMLA, but they do have COBRA and PAF. Instead, you will have to look under Medical and Personal Leave of absence in the main resource section to find the information. I would suggest having a more comprehensive listing of HR-related terms in their "definitions" section.
They also provide a comprehensive listing of approximately 40 forms.
This is great resource and provides users with professional looking, well-designed forms.
The downside to this service is that there are a lot of other websites that provide free online forms. For example, HR.com provides approximately 25 FREE HR-related forms on our site under "Services" which are available in three different formats, PDF, DOC, and RTF. In contrast, the forms from EZ-HR are only in PDF format. This means that you have to download Adobe in order to access them.
My overall evaluation of this product is that it provides an excellent resource for non-HR professionals. It is easy to navigate, and well-organized. EZ-HR reinforces the briefer information with blurbs on where to find additional information in the EZ-HR resource. They also inform you of up-to-date legal changes that affect only particular states and advise you to review additional requirements for your state. Finally, they insert where you can find pertinent information within the legislation as well as other related laws.
My only caution would be to make sure that you also have HR specific information regarding the topics outlined in EZ-HR. As your non-HR professional becomes more competent in HR issues, you will definitely require more advanced resources to accompany your developing HR employee.
Located in California, TR Anton, Inc. has spent over 12 years refining and distributing their HR informational resource, EZ-HR. With over 8,500 employees and supervisors who can attest to the effectiveness of EZ-HR, the interactive format and Internet delivery of the information has changed the way both HR and non-HR professionals can access this useful resource. You can reach them at www.ez-hr.com.
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