How to Plan for Hiring and Payroll in 2011

INC.com

By Hilary Johnson |  Nov 1, 2010

For many business owners this year, the budgeting process may grind to a halt once they hit the payroll line item.

Aside from pervasive concerns over the pace of economic growth, there’s the rising cost of health care, new health care rules and regulations, and a tax environment that’s anything but certain. Even the small business incentives recently legislated seem to many to be too little, too late.

For John Doster, chief executive of CCS Presentations-Florida, a professional audio-visual dealer in Jacksonville, the situation has indeed been paralyzing.

“It’s making all business people very uncomfortable in terms of forecasting for the next six, nine, 12 months,” he said. “Instead of doing anything, people are doing absolutely nothing.”

CCS Presentations currently has 30 employees, and north of $10 million in sales. There are definitely growth opportunities for the business, Doster said.

“We would ideally want to hire another person or two in sales and marketing,” he said. But, he added, the time isn’t right yet. “We would like to do that, but we’re not doing it until we get some clarity.”

A stubbornly high unemployment rate is proof that Doster is not alone. (On the positive side, week-to-week employment figures are starting to loosen up.)

Many companies are still intent on doing more with less. Of the 28,000 jobs added to the U.S. economy in September, the majority of the gain was temporary help. Though they are considered a leading indicator of future hiring, temp workers are like a faucet companies can turn on and off to control fixed costs. Seeing them rise can just as easily be interpreted as a sign of unease rather than hope.

For his part, Doster has redeployed some workers during spikes in demand, using teams of existing employees to do extra work to scout out potential growth areas, and hiring outside contractors from time to time.

But with such seesawing activity, how can a small business plan effectively for payroll and hiring?

The keys to navigating the morass, consultants say, are careful assessment, planning and strategizing; flexibility; plus some optimism and opportunism, so the company won’t be caught flat-footed versus competitors when the pace of economic growth improves.

Hiring/Payroll: Face the Music

Salaries are the largest part of any organization’s fixed costs, which all companies are still taking great pains to control. As such, now’s the time to get detailed about mapping out personnel expenses month by month, quarter by quarter, using measures like revenue per employee, and benefit costs per employee, suggested Ken Kaufman, chief executive of CFOwise, a firm that provides outsourced CFO services for small and medium sized businesses.

Then, benchmark those measures against competitors and organizations similar to yours to see how you compare. (CFOwise, Sageworks, Dun & Bradstreet, and the Risk Management Association are a few sources for financial information on small and midsize businesses. Your bank may have access to benchmarking resources, as well.)

Next, you can start to create dream and nightmare revenue scenarios. This will help you determine whether your current employee count would be able to handle the work, should the dream scenario win out.

“You need to figure out how many more employees would you need to hire to raise employee costs to match that revenue growth,” says Kaufman.

Dig Deeper: How to Find the Right Temp Agency

Hiring/Payroll: Keep Making Adjustments

Take advantage of being a smaller, nimbler company, and prepare to adjust budgets on the fly. Keep the best and worst-case scenarios you planned out in mind, and be ready to hire or hold off as the situation dictates.

Dan Stoll, principal of The HR Consulting Group in Jacksonville, Florida, who works with 25 small and medium size clients in the Southeast, said he’s helping many clients do just that.

“Companies can plan to hire on a contingency basis,” he said. “If they start seeing 20 percent to 25 percent revenue growth, and if it continues, they can hire 20 people. If it doesn’t, they may only hire 10.”

Ken Abosch, North American compensation practice leader at Aon Hewitt, said he’s also seeing clients of all size adopt this tactic. “In the normal business environment, you saw organizations planning budgets in advance, with everything laid out ahead of time,” he said. “Now we’re finding there’s a more provisional viewpoint. They’re saying ‘Let’s hedge our bets, and see how the year goes, and we can adjust accordingly.’”

Dig Deeper: Every Tool You Need for Hiring

Hiring/Payroll: Plan to Invest in Existing Employees

One positive sign for the economic recovery is that employers plan to invest in their existing employees again. So, if you haven’t done so already, you might want to consider the same in order to keep pace and retain employees.

Recent surveys from HR consulting firms show that companies are planning to give modest raises this year. One such survey from Sibson Consulting shows that the largest firms are planning to increase executive salaries by an average of 2.7 percent and those of other employees by 2.5 percent.

Abosch, who saw similar figures from his own firm’s survey, noted, “It’s moving in a more positive direction, but it’s still a far cry from where we were pre-recession,” when salary increases averaged 3.8 percent per year, according to Aon Hewitt’s data.

Dig Deeper: How to Institute an Employee Review Process

Hiring/Payroll: Follow the Money

As the year progresses, watch revenue like a hawk, and begin to match up numbers with your best and worst-case scenarios. As trends begin to emerge, and if it looks like the best case might win out, start thinking ahead to what kind of people you need to hire. This will help you avoid hiring someone out of desperation.

Common sense dictates that you should invest in revenue-producing areas first, like sales and marketing, or in the areas that best match up with your strategy.

Paul Leinwand, a partner with consulting firm Booz & Company, emphasized that too few companies think in terms of strategy, in fact.

“What’s required is not a hiring strategy but rather a clear understanding of where investments will pay off,” Leinwand wrote in an e-mail. “Too often, companies think of their costs as just that - a distinct item to manage. But costs mostly reflect the choices of your strategy - what capabilities are important, and where a company has to continue to distinguish itself. Without this, hiring plans all look risky.”

Jason Adwin, a partner in the performance rewards practice at Sibson Consulting, noted that even before hiring is certain, companies consider getting HR and recruiters involved, and proactively look for talent. If you might use this strategy, don’t forget to include recruiting costs in your budget planning.

Dig Deeper: How to Hire for Creativity

Hiring/Payroll: Act with Confidence

Although most companies, like CCS Presentations, are in limbo — hoping and waiting for clarity on the political, tax, and economic environments — at least a few companies are taking the hiring plunge.

At Aribex, a medical device company in Orem, Utah that makes portable X-Ray machines, revenue has grown by about 20 percent over the last three years, to roughly $8 million this year. That growth has given the company the confidence to rebuild its staff after some layoffs in 2008.

Next year, chief executive Dr. Clark Turner said, Aribex will increase staff by about 10 percent, adding four or five people to help with international expansion, on top of its existing 35.

But before doing that, Dr. Turner said he gave his existing employees an average raise of about 3 percent, after keeping salaries flat in 2008 or 2009. It’s the first time he’s considered hiring since 2008.

“We’re more confident about our future, and since we’ve continued to see revenue growth,” Dr. Turner said. “We’ll need staff to support that growth.”

Posted December 29th, 2010 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources | | 0 Comments

How to Get Feedback From Employees

Inc.com

That suggestions box? Ditch it in favor of savvier methods for getting workers to open up.

No employee wants to be just a faceless cog. No matter how big or small your organization is, employees who don’t feel like they have a voice can drain the oxygen out of other employees, lower productivity rates, and even cause increased turnover. Employees who feel voiceless are more likely to be a drag on the day-to-day mood around the office.

Like a good therapy session, giving workers of all levels a chance to express their thoughts on the direction of the company has the opposite effect: Show your employees you’re interested in their opinions and they’ll be more likely take a personal stake in the business. They’ll go from feeling like they’re working for the man to feeling like they’re a part of the team.

"We don’t recruit engaged employees. Engaged employees are created," says Lisa Wojtkowiak, client relationship manager with the Opinion Research Corporation, part of Infogroup. "It’s our job to engage our employees from Day One."

In the old days, soliciting feedback from your employees meant putting a box marked "suggestions" next to the water cooler. Now, smart companies realize that, as they become more reliant on a knowledge-based economy, they need to engage their employees on a much more detailed level.

Getting Employee Feedback: The Issues to Target

Every method of gathering employee feedback depends on what challenges you need to address as a business. Consider: Is your employee base growing or downsizing? Are you preparing for a merger or staying level?

Professionals in the industry of employee research say offering general feedback opportunities are important — open-office policies or meeting with managers — but specific targeting of issues can help guide your company through difficult times.

Common questions managers seek input on include: how engaged are my employees? How satisfied are they working for the company? What is the communication like with management? Do they have the right tools to do the job? How secure do they feel in the job?

You can also use a survey to find out the demographics of your work force, such as age and gender, and to look for reasons for high turnover.

"You don’t do business without employees," says Howard Deutsch, CEO of Quantisoft, a survey and consulting company based in Monroe Township, New Jersey. "Those who are highly engaged or motivated will be better at their job."

Gerry McDonough, CEO of LeadFirst, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based partner of data collection firm WorldAPP, that provides survey design and employee engagement consulting, says asking about the culture of the organization is important. The culture is "upstream" of issues like employee satisfaction and engagement, meaning the answers workers give about their coworkers and the general office environment often directly affect their job satisfaction.

The culture questions can affect your core mission statement too: is it a set of values your employees support?

Dig Deeper: How to Handle Employee Complaints

Getting Employee Feedback: Conducting Employee Surveys

Conducting a full-scale employee survey is still the most recommended method for gaining actionable employee feedback. Professionals recommend doing surveys on a regular basis, but say you shouldn’t do it any more often than once a year because employees could lose interest if pressed for feedback too often.

Although it’s recommended to tailor the specific questions to your company’s current issues, though a common thred that most surveys seek to discover is how connected the employee feels to the company. Most surveys will inquire as to the whether the employee has a good work-life balance, whether they are proud to work for the organization and how much effort they put into their work. Questions can also be tailored to find out how long the employee plans to stay with the company or what their feelings are about health and safety issues.

"We have a lot of clients, and every single questionnaire is different," Wojtkowiak says.

Professionals say a mix of quantitative questions — asking employees to rate their satisfaction on a five-point scale, for instance — should be mixed with open-ended questions to gain a mix of anecdotal and statistical information.

As for length, experts say a survey with between 35 and 55 questions is the ideal length, and it should take no more than 15 to 25 minutes to complete.

"You want to make sure you have enough information so you can make good judgments based on good data," Wojtkowiak says.

If you want to conduct an employee survey more than once a year, she recommends trying a six-month "pulse" survey, a short four-to-10 questions of inquiry, usually based around measuring the impact of changes made based on feedback during the larger customer survey.

Companies should allow time for employees to complete the survey on the clock. It also helps to do the survey when the calendar is more likely to be clear: Avoiding the holidays or even your company’s open enrollment period helps workers focus on their feedback.

Dig Deeper: The 60-day New Employee Survey

Getting Employee Feedback: Using Other Methods of Information Gathering

Just because a comment box is one of the oldest forms of employee feedback doesn’t mean it might not be useful for your business. Although it feels a little cold, and, frankly, antique, Wojtkowiak says keeping a suggestion box is an easy way to let employees know you’re interested in their opinion outside annual surveys. Town hall-style meetings and other group events that place management in front of workers are also becoming popular with companies. Or, consider an online portal where employees can send an anonymous note or post. Employee feedback can also be worked in from Day One. Wojtkowiak says successful organizations incorporate the need for employee feedback options and open communications in their training programs.

"If you’re retaining your most valuable staff, you’re really taking those best practices from those highly engaged employees and applying them down the road," she says.

Dig Deeper: Rounding up Staff Ideas

Getting Employee Feedback: Ensuring Participation

Typically employee surveys get a 70 to 90 percent response rate, but experts recommend several ways to ensure strong participation.

    * Anonymity.  If employees can be assured their responses won’t lead to any retribution, they are much more likely to give honest answers, Deutsch says.

    * Proving access. Online surveys are considered the most efficient, but you’ll need to make sure everyone in the company has access to a computer. This can be done by setting up a dedicated computer station in the human resources office or by scheduling time for certain workers to use a computer terminal.

    * Encouragement from management. A successful push for employee engagement has to be believable. That’s why experts say if you really want to hear from your employees, you should have your top bosses encourage feedback on a regular basis or send out reminders. "The response rate really depends on how much senior management gets behind the project," says Josh Greenberg, president of AlphaMeasure, a research firm based in Boulder, Colorado, that has worked for Little Debbie snacks and the Canadian Red Cross.

    * Incentives. While experts discourage companies from offering direct incentives to individual employees who participate in feedback opportunities, other methods are available. Greenberg says some businesses will offer a raffle prize for something like an iPod nano. Others will offer to donate money to a charity if their surveys reach a certain response rate.

Dig Deeper: How to Communicate With Employees

Getting Employee Feedback: Using the Feedback

The worst thing for a company is to go to great lengths to solicit employee feedback, and then do nothing with it.

"If you’re going to collect all this data and then not close the loop back to the employees it almost makes sense not to do the survey," Greenberg says. "It’s important to let them know that they’ve been heard."

This can be achieved by sharing at least some of the results with the whole organization and setting benchmarks for improvement. Some companies will set up a goals monitoring system either online or on an office white board tracking efforts at reaching those goals so employees can be reminded of the progress.

Gerry McDonough, of LeadFirst, recommends companies split feedback into two categories: the broad issues that need to be addressed on a corporate or high management level and the narrow issues that can be addressed at a departmental or division level.

The shorter "pulse" surveys can also be conducted throughout the year to gauge progress. Wojtkowiak says matching the results to the hierarchy of your organization is important, to differentiate between the engagement of employees in an office in Kentucky versus one in Iowa.

"Don’t put everybody in the same bucket," she says.

Posted October 15th, 2010 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources | | 0 Comments

10 Things Employees Want Most

Don’t want your employees to go the way of JetBlue’s Steven Slater? Here are 10 things that could keep them happy.

It’s no coincidence that Steven Slater, the now-famous JetBlue employee, has been elevated to the status of a working person’s hero. He did what so many frustrated employees would love to do, if only they had the courage, the beers, and the inflatable slide to help them escape a less-than-pleasant office environment.

It should come as no surprise, though, that the most successful businesses are the ones that work the hardest to please their employees, and it’s up to managers to make sure they’re giving their staffs what they want to the best of their abilities.

After reading the book Why Work Sucks and How to Fix it by Cali Ressler, Jeff Gunther, CEO of the Charlottesville, VA-based software company Meddius, decided he would change the way his staff works by instituting a results-only working environment, often referred to as a ROWE. Meddius employees can work any time from any place in any way, as long as they get their work done. Gunther has found that by giving employees the trust and autonomy they need, they’ve actually been more productive and loyal to the company.

We’ve broken down the 10 things employees want that will help you keep them on board.

1. Employees want purpose. Don’t assume that a hefty paycheck and regular bonuses are the most important things to your employees. They, like you, want to know that what they’re doing on a daily basis has some purpose behind it. "What people want most is the chance to make a difference," says Alexander Hiam, the Massachusetts-based author of Business Innovation For Dummies. "When you have a chance to have your ideas heard and one of them actually gets implemented, it’s such a boost."

Dig Deeper: Building a culture of employee appreciation

2. Employees want goals. To instill a sense of purpose in your employees, be sure to lay out a clearly-defined set of goals for them on a regular basis. At Meddius, Gunther’s team of managers re-aligns each department’s goals every three months. "The goals have to be very measurable, obtainable goals," Gunther says. For the sales team, for example, that might mean setting a goal as to the number of deals the team is expected to close in a certain period of time for a certain dollar amount. Once goals are in place, it is up to each team to decide how to achieve them.

Dig Deeper: How to set business goals

3. Employees want responsibilities. Sometimes the hardest part of being a manager is delegating, but employees crave your trust, and with that trust, should come responsibility. "People are so busy and harried themselves that all they do is work, they don’t really manage," Hiam says. "Ask people if there are more things they can do, and then you can catch your breath and be a manager."

Dig Deeper: How to delegate properly

4. Employees want autonomy. Take it from Gunther, giving your employees freedom over how they work can actually make them more productive. Unless you’re managing an assembly line, give your employees the freedom to work in a way that works for them. Daniel Pink, the Washington D.C.-based author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, says, "Let people figure out the best paths to the goal, rather than breathe down their necks all the time."

Dig Deeper: How to build a beautiful company

5. Employees want flexibility. In addition to deciding how they work, the experts say employees also appreciate having a say over when they work. Gunther has, of course, set up a radically flexible schedule for his employees that might not work for every office. But, he says, it has enabled him to find and retain top talent for Meddius. "We’ve had people who have taken significant pay cuts to work for us, because at their old job they were told to show up and be at the office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.," he says. "Generation Y is looking for a synergy between their personal lives and their professional lives." Set up a flexible vacation policy or a telecommuting policy that enables employees to work from home. It involves a great deal of trust, but, as Pink says, "If you don’t trust your employees, you’ve got much bigger problems."

Dig Deeper: Beyond Flextime: Trashing the Workweek

6. Employees want attention. Just because you’re giving employees the control they crave doesn’t mean they don’t want guidance and feedback. Hiam suggests checking in with them every few weeks, even if it’s just for a minute or two. "Look them in the eye and ask how things are going. Find out what’s really going on in their world," he suggests. "Responsibility is about giving them a chance to make a difference, but attention is the human dimension of managing." And don’t be fooled into thinking that the traditional annual performance review is your big chance to tell your employees what’s working and what’s not. In Pink’s words, "There’s no way to get better at something you only hear about once a year." That’s why, at Meddius, Gunther uses the year-end to make decisions about promoting employees, and uses the quarterly meetings where goals are set, to address big operational issues within each department.

Dig Deeper: How to communicate employee expectations effectively

7. Employees want opportunities for innovation. Not long ago, Google announced its 20 percent creative time policy, which encourages employees to work on any innovative ideas they have that are company-related during 20 percent of their hours at work. Both Hiam and Pink applaud this concept. "People need to be given a chance to bring about something new and exciting," Hiam says. "Just asking people for ideas doesn’t create innovation. It’s a culmination of creativity and leadership." Though you might not be able to give your employees this much time on the clock to work on side projects, you can always foster innovation through employee brainstorming sessions that allow the staff to work with new people and generate fresh ideas.

Dig Deeper: 10 employee perks we love

8. Employees want open-mindedness. When your employees come to you with their ideas, you need to treat them with equal parts sensitivity and honesty. Be sensitive because, according to Hiam, the more an employee gets shot down by an authority figure, the less likely he or she will be to make suggestions in the future. It’s also important to be honest because, as that authority figure, you may know what’s best for your business and what’s not. You don’t have to accept every idea that comes your way, but, Hiam says, "Don’t just shut someone down. Say, ‘Here’s what I know: years ago we tried something similar. Here’s what happened. Give some more thought to your idea, and come back if you think you can make it work.’"

Dig Deeper: A little enlightened self-interest

9. Employees want transparency. When Meddius publishes each department’s quarterly goals, Gunther does it as well, not because he needs reminding, but because he believes his employees should be cognizant of where the organization’s going. "Employees, especially the younger work force, want transparency," he says. While it’s not necessary to publish that information, Hiam emphasizes that the communication channel between a manager and his or her employees should always be open. "That’s why you need to build it by talking about ordinary everyday things," he says. "You need to have rehearsed talking about ordinary things before you can talk about anything major."

Dig Deeper: Testing a company’s commitment to transparency

10. Employees want compensation. Your employees do need to provide for themselves and their families, so, of course, salaries, bonuses and benefits are important, but perhaps not in the way you might think. Pink’s research on what motivates employees has led him to one conclusion: "The best use of money as a motivator is to pay people enough to take the issue of money off the table." He says it’s better to pay people a little more than the norm and allow them to focus on their work than to pay them based on performance. "Don’t pay people a measly base salary and very high commissions and bonuses in hopes that the fear of not having enough food on their tables will inspire them to do extraordinary things." The way Gunther has employed this strategy is by providing his employees with full health care benefits at no cost, so they can rest assured that their families are fully protected. "It’s a huge expense, but to employees, it’s really valuable."

Dig Deeper: The price of a healthy staff

Posted September 8th, 2010 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources | | 1 Comments

Answers to tricky HR questions: Could asking DOL for advice put us in jeopardy?

The team of experts at HR Morning field real-life, everyday questions from HR managers and gives practical answers that can be applied by any HR pro in the same situation. Today’s question: Will asking the DOL for guidance on classifying workers trigger an investigation?

Question:

We’re working with some independent contractors, but we’re not entirely confident in how they’re classified. Is there a risk in calling the local Department of Labor (DOL) office for advice? Or will that trigger an automatic audit?

Answer:

The DOL will try to help and won’t start an enforcement action, according to employment lawyer Carol Bernick of the firm Davis Wright Tremaine.

The problem is, DOL personnel probably won’t give you a lot of time — so they probably won’t be helpful if your question falls into a gray area and would require real research. In other words, you may not get the best-quality advice by calling the DOL office.

Better bet: Contact your own lawyer before talking with anybody at the DOL.

Posted July 14th, 2010 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources | | 0 Comments

Two HR issues you can’t Ignore

By Scott Buchanan

Significant liabilities reside with the HR side of any business, yet the HR area is often overlooked or operates with few resources. This article will present the current view of 2 significant HR threats/challenges.

Employee versus Independent Contractor

Yes, you have certainly heard about this one before, but did you know that the Obama administration plans to hire 100 more enforcement personnel to focus on this issue and that the IRS is planning to audit approximately 6,000 companies to examine compliance with the law?

When a worker is properly classified as an employee, the employer must pay social security tax of 6.20% and Medicare tax of 1.45% of gross wages. The employer is generally obligated to also pay workers’ compensation insurance and federal and state unemployment tax (generally 3.5% for a new employer in Florida). Assuming that the workers’ comp premiums are 3% of gross wages, the total burden rate is 14.15% of gross wages, before applying the cost of employee benefits.  It’s no wonder that so many employers are attempting to classify workers as independent contractors, especially in our current economic environment. However, the consequences of improper classification can be significant and potentially retroactive for the employer.

The initial determination of whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor comes down to whether the company directs and controls the worker. If the answer is yes, then most likely that worker is an employee. The IRS developed a 20 factor “test” to assist companies in determining the proper classification of a worker, which includes such topics as the level of instruction and training provided by the company, the flexibility or lack of flexibility of the worker’s schedule, and a company’s demand for full-time work. The IRS also allows a company or a worker to file Form SS-8 for an IRS determination of worker classification. The IRS believes that workers often file an SS-8 to challenge their own treatment as an independent contractor by a company.  This action has costly ramifications.

If a regulatory agency reclassifies an independent contractor as an employee, a number of issues and questions are presented. At a minimum, the IRS will charge an employer for back taxes, including the associated interest and penalties. The interest and penalties can be significant, especially since the taxes should have been paid on a quarterly basis in a prior year or years. If the reclassification determination is retroactive to a prior year, the question comes up regarding whether the employee should have been covered by the company health and retirement plans. What if the employee experienced a significant illness while previously classified as an independent contractor and was therefore not covered by the company’s health insurance plan? Can that employee now file a claim for reimbursement?  What about the employer’s matching contributions in the company’s 401(k) plan that the employee would have been entitled to receive in prior years?

Unemployment Claim Administration

Many employers were shocked when they opened their 2010 unemployment rate notice in December and found out that their company was maximum-rated at 5.40%. Even though recent legislation in Tallahassee has temporarily reduced some employers’ rates, most employers still experienced a noticeable increase over 2009 rates after the revised rate notices were prepared by the state.

Proper unemployment claims administration can achieve significant cost savings and should focus on the following three areas: 1) the actual claim that may result when an employee is terminated, 2) the information on the quarterly benefit statements and 3) the information on the annual rate notice.

The unemployment system was established to provide a cushion to those employees who are laid off through no fault of their own. Claims resulting from a lay-off or business closing generally cannot be challenged; however, claims resulting from termination for cause generally may be challenged by an employer, especially if the employer maintains good documentation and has a witness available to testify at a hearing.  For instance, if an employee has violated company policy and such violation was witnessed by another employee, the employer should consider challenging any claim made by the terminated employee for unemployment benefits. The employer may also want to challenge similar claims even if a witness is not available if strong documentation is available.  Most of the initial hearings are now handled by phone, so the employer’s representatives generally don’t even need to leave their office to participate in the hearing. Each claim approved by the state increases the employer’s unemployment tax rate since the system is experience rated. For instance, a 40 employee company with a 5.40% unemployment tax rate will pay additional taxes of $12,320 versus that same company with a 1% rate. Accordingly, it is in the best interest of the employer to review each claim.

One of the easiest ways to potentially lower an employer’s rate is to review the quarterly benefit notices to determine if each claim charged to an employer’s account was actually from a former employee of that employer. Erroneous claims from employees of other employers can mistakenly be charged to your account and increase your tax rate. Performing this review each quarter is a best practice for any employer.

The third step all employers should take is to simply check the annual rate notice which typically arrives in December of each year and includes the tax rate which will become effective on January 1 of the next year. Another best practice is to confirm all the data contained in the notice and to recalculate the tax rate shown. If errors were noted on the quarterly benefit statements pursuant to step 2 above, were those errors corrected before the annual rate notice was prepared? If an error is noted on the annual rate notice, an employer typically has about 10 calendar days to notify the state of such error, so this review should begin as soon as the notice is received.

How does an employer prevent or mitigate these HR threats/challenges?  Consider using a Professional Employer Organization (PEO).  PEOs provide comprehensive HR outsourcing including payroll, human resources, benefits administration and risk management.  The PEO you choose should be active in its industry association, the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (www.napeo.org), and accredited by the Employer Services Assurance Corporation (ESAC) (www.esacorp.org).  ESAC provides independent financial and compliance assurances for covered clients and employees through surety bonds in the unlikely event of a failure of an accredited PEO, a similar concept as the FDIC for banks.  The PEO you choose should have staff that is accredited by the American Payroll Association (APA) as well as Professionals in Human Resources (PHR) accredited by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).  Alternatively, both the APA and SHRM offer payroll and human resource training classes. Another option is to establish a relationship with an HR consulting firm.  Consulting engagements are flexible and can be tailored to your specific needs.

These few suggestions should help to keep your HR department, no matter how large or small, on the path to compliance. 
 

Posted May 17th, 2010 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources | | 0 Comments

The 411 on Gen Y

By JENNIFER CARPENTER from jobing.com

I’m young. I’m inexperienced. I’m a slacker. I’m entitled. I have a short attention span. I can’t hold down a job.

At least, that’s how my elders see me – a member of Generation Y.

But that’s far from how I see the majority of my generation. We’re in a tough spot right now. Most of us who are lucky enough to have jobs don’t like those jobs and those who don’t are finding job searching impossible. Although we’re ready and willing to contribute, we’re faced with Baby Boomers who don’t understand us, and Generation X, who’s stuck between two generations and thinks we’re trying to take their jobs.

The Stereotypes
I keep coming across articles that try to define Gen Y as some sort of anti-work culture. Granted, most Gen Ys are pretty young and mostly inexperienced, but that doesn’t mean we don’t know what we’re doing or that we don’t have goals of our own. Sometimes I think the older generations forget that they had to start out somewhere, too.

There are a lot of stereotypes out there, everything from "we’re the smartest generation" to "we’re the laziest generation," all of which only make it easier to discriminate. The definitive line between where Gen X stops and Gen Y begins ranges anywhere from 1975 to 1985 through 2000.

I’m not saying there aren’t slackers among us. I know some of them firsthand. There are those who grew up having everything handed to them by their parents – Gen Xs or Baby Boomers who were able to make it and wanted their children to have the best of everything. These Gen Ys always have the newest material things, their parents probably paid for college and they may have even walked into their first job without even having to try, just because they knew the right people. But I don’t think that handful of people should define my generation. There are many of us who have always had to work hard for what we want.

Change (Or move over, old farts)
Most people, no matter what generation they’re a part of, are scared of change, and there’s no doubt society has changed during our time. Because of this, some older generations see Gen Ys as a threat. Gen Ys are used to having information at the tip of their fingers, and grew up with an array of rapidly changing technology, making them extremely adaptable.

Why Hire a Bunch of Entitled Slackers?
As far as the current recession, a similar scenario happened during the 1990s. The dot-com bust found many Baby Boomers laid off, putting Gen Xs in a similar position as Gen Y is today. However, after the bust was over and companies began to recover, they rebuilt their workforce with Gen Xs, resulting in an infusion of youth and new ideas. It’s very likely this recession will bring about the same fate for Gen Ys. And employers have a lot to gain from hiring us.

Not only do we focus on being true and transparent, we’re not afraid to share our ideas and tell upper management we think they’re wrong or that there might be an easier way to do something. Aside from our high values, Gen Y has higher collective SAT and ACT scores than previous generations and is able to do lots of things all at once. And while Baby Boomers and Gen Xs think our ability to multi-task is a curse, taking a five minute break to check your Facebook is no different than taking a five minute break to talk about your children, hang out in the break room or go have a cigarette.

"Millennials are going to change the face of business," Nick Armstrong, of PsychoticResumes.com, said. "Because we multi-task so well, I doubt the eight-hour work day will last much past the economic downturn. I doubt that the eight-hour shift in the office will last either. Personally, I lack the focus to sit in a dreary office, listening to my co-workers ruminate on whatever healthy food they brought in, hear Nosey Nancy gossip about everything and everyone, and spend half my day getting belittled by a patronizing, condescending, hypocritical managerial staff."

How Gen Y is Coping
Due to the old-fashioned, disappointing work style Baby Boomers and Gen Xs seem to be satisfied with, many Gen Ys are escaping by starting their own businesses. Many of us feel it’s more important to make a difference and share ideas than to be caged into the typical work style.

"I want to express my opinions and share my ideas," Armstrong said. "I’m vested in the success of the company. It’s a mortal offense to be filtered, unheard, unable to express my opinions. I go to work to be useful and valuable, to contribute ideas and work with my co-workers to make everyone’s ideas better."

Final Thoughts
I think people my age tend to live more in the now. We grew up facing the dot-com bust of the 90s, the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and now have a grave economic recession to deal with. Because of those things, Gen Ys seem to be more concerned with where they are today and about doing something that will make an immediate difference than where they want to be 10 years from now. (Besides, nobody really knows the answer to that question).

We do want to save money and prepare for retirement, just as our previous generations have done, but there’s a more imminent feeling that now is the most important time, and everything else will fall into place. Just because we want to do something fulfilling – and it may take changing jobs 10 times to figure that out – doesn’t mean we’re slackers. We were taught to find something we love and do that for the rest of our lives. We’re taking that to heart – it just may take a little time.

As far as having a short attention span, maybe we do. But that doesn’t mean we can only focus on time-wasting activities like video games and texting. It does mean that we need to be challenged. That’s one Gen Y cliché I agree with. However, I don’t think wanting to be challenged is a negative trait.

I do think that any good boss should be able to recognize when an employee is not challenged enough or satisfied enough with their work and do something to change that. Give them another fresh assignment to work on.

We also don’t want work to be our whole lives. Sure, work is important, but there are other things in life, too. That’s why it’s important for us to do what we love and want to be doing, that way work doesn’t feel so much like work.

And last but not least, we do respect our elders, regardless of what they may say. The problem in their eyes seems to be that we only respect those who deserve it – those who have made a difference, whether that be in our lives or on a bigger scale. We’re also a lot less likely to respect people who have a preformed negative attitude toward us. People should remember that you have to give respect to earn it.

So if you can accept that things are changing, provide a little bit of a challenge and learn to respect us the way you want to be respected, then you can find a good Gen Y employee. If not, you’re most likely going to be faced with a scarce workforce as your Baby Boomers and Gen Xs retire and Generation Y moves forward without you.

Posted March 19th, 2010 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources | | 0 Comments

We might not talk about this enough…background checks

From worldlink.com

Question: Should I do a background check before hiring an employee and if so, how do I do that?

Answer: No, it’s not required, but, yes, do some form of background check on potential employees to ensure you are getting a person who will be a good fit for the business.

The cost of hiring and training employees is too high not to at least call references, the easiest form of background check. That can be as simple as calling references and previous employers, checking criminal records or doing a full investigative consumer report. Care needs to be taken not to violate privacy rights, so it’s important to know the rules beforehand. Information on what is allowable and what is not can be found at www.privacyrights.org, www.business.gov/business-law/employment/hiring/pre-employment.html, or by contacting your business attorney.

Many companies use outside agencies for a thorough pre-employment background check. This is definitely an option, but be sure to check on the credibility of the agency. What experience does it have? What resources does it use? Is it a reputable business?

Here are some questions to ask the screening company:

• Do you follow Federal Credit Reporting Act and applicable state and federal laws?

• Will you provide guidance about the proper use of the screening information?

• Will you provide the proper forms and seek the required permission from job applicants?

• How will you investigate any inaccurate information or handle a complaint by a job applicant?

Due to the complexity of human resources issues, legal requirements, time needed to process payroll and the tax reporting requirements for employers, many small businesses choose to use an employee leasing agency, payroll processing company or temporary employment agency to handle hiring, background checks, payroll processing and tax reporting.

Hiring good employees is worth the effort to do some form of background check, even if you just call references and previous employers.

(Arlene M. Soto is the director of the Southwestern Business Development Center. To ask a question call 541-756-6445, e-mail asoto@socc.edu, or write 2455 Maple Leaf, North Bend, OR 97459. For more information, visit www.bizcenter.org.)

Posted March 9th, 2010 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources | | 0 Comments

To Pay or Not to Pay

Courtesy of Pat DiDomenico at Business Management Daily

Last month’s news that AT&T is facing a $1 billion (with a B!) class-action lawsuit over wage-and-hour mistakes put a jolt into U.S. employers of all sizes. That came on the heels of word that the U.S. Department of Labor dramatically beefed up its enforcement division. If this doesn’t scare you, it should.

Which pay-related mistakes are you making?

• Employees wrongly classified as exempt from overtime?
• Hourly employees paid incorrectly (or not at all) for their travel time?
• Failing to retain payroll records for the right amount of time (3 years, right?)?
• You closed the shop when the blizzard hit – do you have to pay the staff?
• Violating – or being unaware of – the “rounding law”?

All it takes is one employee filing one complaint to get the class-action snowball rolling downhill. Wal-Mart paid $640 million; IBM coughed up $65 million; Siebel forked over $27 million. Amazon is facing a huge lawsuit for allegedly violating the rounding law.
 

 Something to think about….

Posted January 27th, 2010 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in 2009 Money-Saving Strategies, Human Resources | | 0 Comments

How to Conduct Layoffs in a Down Economy

Posted January 6th, 2010 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources | | 0 Comments

The difference between hiring and recruiting

From my favorite marketing blogger Seth Godin http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

Posted January 4th, 2010 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources | | 0 Comments