Last week CrowdStrike’s global IT outage crippled airlines, banks, and healthcare systems, becoming the world’s largest-ever IT failure. Terminals and computer monitors at workplaces across the planet donned the imfamous “blue screen of death,” and some payroll admins and HR pros were sent scrambling to make sure employees were paid.

Fran Williams, the senior product director of payroll and managed services at the UK-based IRIS Software Group, told HR Brew that outage was especially difficult for smaller companies with limited personnel who touch payroll systems, those with smaller budgets, or those with older, on-premise payroll solutions.

The Crowdstrike outage served as an unmistakable reminder that, when it comes to payroll, it’s important to have a contingency plan. Williams said HR leaders who haven’t done so already should audit their process and create a plan B to protect employees in the future.

“Walk through your end-to-end payroll process and understand who are the constituent players, and what are the technologies as part of that process, and work out if one of those elements…fails, what would you do,” he said.

Keep reading here.—AD

HR is more than just recruitment, training, and planning the perfect holiday party. You also need to be prepared for times of crisis.

But don’t let that scare ya. All you have to do is make a plan—so when a crisis strikes, you’re ready to handle whatever it throws your way. And Tava Health’s got top-tier templates to help you out.

Get the customizable Crisis Support Template to access crisis-specific templates and pre-drafted comms that you can send out to all your people. It includes:

• initial crisis notifications
• status updates
• crisis resolution announcements
• follow-up and support messages

Whether you need help handling a natural disaster or leading your people through a cybersecurity breach, Tava Health has the guidance (and the checklists!) you need to steer your people through any crisis.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is seeking to crack down on earned wage products, arguing that many should be considered consumer loans, and thus subject to US lending laws.

The rise of EWA. Earned wage access (EWA) is a growing trend in the total rewards space, with employers such as the Nashville Predators and Valor Hospitality offering their employees advance access to their paychecks as a benefit. But a CFPB analysis of eight companies partnering with employers on EWA found workers often incur fees to get their wages early.

To better regulate the growing market for EWA products, the CFPB proposed an interpretive rule that stipulates many EWA products fall under the Truth in Lending Act, which requires lenders to disclose charges and fees associated with a loan. “The CFPB’s actions will help workers know what they are getting with these products and prevent race-to-the-bottom business practices,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a July 18 statement.

What the CFPB is proposing. Under a proposed rule developed by the CFPB, many paycheck advance products would be obligated to fulfill certain requirements under the Truth in Lending Act.

Keep reading here.—CV

Everyone has room for improvement…from the CEO down to the entry-level employees.

People pros are no exception to this rule, writes Deborah E. McGee, founder and CEO of consulting firm PZI Group, in her recently published book, The Leadership Attitude: Inspiring Success through Authenticity and Passion.

Leading HR at a multinational company taught McGee that leading a business is synonymous with leading people, and HR pros can lead people with more authenticity and compassion. She discussed her book and experience as an HR executive with HR Brew.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What are some takeaways from the book?

I’m hoping people will learn that there’s many ways to be a leader…So many times in HR, we get fixated on titles, and it’s not about the title, it’s about the leadership attitude.

Keep reading here.—MC

Revved-up recruiting. Candidate experience is much more than an HR buzzword—it can affect your org’s ability to attract and retain top talent. How is your company perceived? Figure out which experience metrics matter most (and how to improve yours) in Paylocity’s new guide. Give it a read.