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  • Direct deposit helps to make payday convenient. More than 60 percent of business had switched over to direct deposit as of 2014 and the number has only grown since. If you still haven’t made the move to direct deposit, here’s how it would be a good move for you and your employees.

    Image of a paycheck. Learn how direct deposit services can beneift you and your employees.

    How Direct Deposit Benefits Your Business

    Paper adds up. The cost of a single check may not be much, but having to pay every employee of your company at every pay period can lead to a lot of checks being passed out. Direct deposit is paperless, helping your company go green and saving you from having to order extra checks every other month.

    Not only is filling out checks an extra cost, it can also eat up extra time. Instead of having to fill out checks all the time, direct deposit automates that process. Now you don’t have to stress out over getting everyone paid on time; direct deposit will do that for you. 

    How Direct Deposit Benefits Your Employees

    You won’t be the only person that’s happy about switching to direct deposit. Your employees will be able to benefit from the convenience of direct deposit as well.

    With direct deposit, employees won’t have to rely on their employers to hand them a check every pay period. Instead, their check will appear directly into the account of their choice come payment day without ever having to make an extra trip to the bank. Plus, if they happen to miss work on a payday, they won’t have to badger their employer about it the next time they’re at work.

    Switch to Direct Deposit

    Want to make the move toward a more convenient payday? Group Management Services offers expert payroll administration services for businesses looking for direct deposit and other payroll strategies. Contact us today to learn more about how GMS can make your payroll and HR functions more convenient.

  • A good administrative professional can really benefit a business. As Administrative Professionals Day is April 27, here are some gift ideas to treat the administrators, secretaries, and other similar employees at your office.

    Image of chocolates for Administrative Professionals Day. Contact GMS about premier employee benefits administration.

    Appeal to Their Stomach

    Sometimes the best way to an employee’s heart is through their stomach. A tasty treat is a simple way to show your appreciation to an administrative assistant. These gifts can take a variety of forms, with some suggestions including:

    • Chocolate
    • Coffee beans or tea bags
    • Candies
    • Cookies

    Those are just a few examples, but there are plenty of other potential treats as well. Just make sure to cater your gift to the employee, as you’re not going to want to give peanut butter cups to someone with a peanut allergy.

    Go-to Gift Cards

    If you’d rather have your administrative assistants choose their treats for themselves, a gift card is a great way to go. Gift cards are simple and let your employees decide for themselves exactly what they’ll get. All you have to do is pick an establishment that fits each employee. If you really have trouble narrowing it down to a store or restaurant, it never hurts to ask.

    The Gift of Time

    When in doubt, time can always be on your side. Long lunches and early dismissals are nice rewards in lieu of gifts. If an administrative assistant has really done a great job, a day off is certainly a great way for that employee to celebrate Administrative Professionals Day.

    Rewarding Your Team With Employee Benefits

    Small gifts can go a long way to build your employees’ morale. Another way to reward your team is through professional employee benefit administration.

    Group Management Services can offer your business the flexibility, control of premiums, access to data and networks, and overall options that can help your team. Contact us today to talk to our experts about benefit administration.

  • Unhappy employees can make for an unproductive company. Sometimes the key to boosting morale is to make small changes in the office. Here are four things that may upset your employees and how you can help fix it.

    Image of an unhappy employee. Here are four ways you can work to improve morale at your business.

    There’s No Flexibility in Their Schedule

    Not everything works conveniently with a set schedule. Having set work hours is great at creating a regular office routine for your employees, but it can be extremely frustrating for employees when there’s absolutely no flexibility in their work hours. Telling someone that they can’t pick up a sick child from school because they still have an hour on the clock isn’t going to make anyone happy.

    Keeping regular hours is important, but so is flexibility. Personal lives can lead to situations where someone needs to take an hour off or work a half day from home. Being open to allowing your employees to make up lost time at home or on different days can show your team that you care about their lives outside the office as well.

    They’re Burned Out

    A stressed employee is not always an effective employee. Burnout can be a real issue for people who have trouble stepping away from the office and can decrease morale.

    Sometimes a break is just what an employee needs, so don’t be afraid to encourage your workers to step away occasionally. From a quick 10-minute breather at the office to a mental health day, breaks can reenergize your employees and do wonders for stress.

    They’re Being Bombarded By Work Emails After Hours

    It can be hard for an employee to relax when they feel like they have to be ready to work at any moment. After work emails will happen, but too many late night work messages can have a negative impact on your employees.

    Just because your employees are connected to work by their smartphones doesn’t mean it’s necessary to always contact them while their at home. If an email is truly important, go ahead and send it. If it can wait until tomorrow, don’t bother your employees while they’re with their family. That way your employees will be refreshed when they enter the office and not grumbling about having to respond to emails at 9:30 p.m.  You can also let them know that should you send an email after hours, a response will not be expected.

    They’re Dealing with Meaningless Meetings

    Too many meetings can be a drag on productivity. Long, directionless get-togethers can end up being viewed as a waste of time and frustrate workers who are trying to focus on getting work done.

    A good, efficient meeting is still a vital part of many businesses’ game plans. Keep your meetings structured and actionable to cut out wasted time. Your employees will thank you for it.

    Keeping Employees Happy with GMS

    Small changes can lead to big results for your employees. The same philosophy can also apply to you. Running a business is a big job, especially if you’re struggling to manage your company’s human resources as well. 

    Group Management Services is an HR Outsourcing Company that partners with your business to save you time and money. If you want to focus on growing your company without sacrificing on HR, contact GMS today about what a PEO can do to help your business.

  • As the Affordable Care Act heads into its third full year of existence (some provisions started before 2014), there doesn’t seem to be any more clarity for business owners and what they should do. If you have 50 or more employees, do you offer it? Do you succumb to the ever increasing costs and drop coverage and pay the penalty? If you’re under 50 employees, should you drop it and get out while you can? Are there any more changes coming down the road that you need to know about? Well, a recent article in New England Journal of Medicine may help shed a little light on things for you.

    GMS provides Affordable Care Act guidance for businesses.

    A New Twist in ACA Financial Consideration

    Like many people, I wondered about the financial advantages of paying high health insurance premiums when you could pay a fine of $2K. Aside from the possibility of not attracting or retaining quality employees due to a lack of benefits, that would make all the financial sense in the world, right? Yet when reading through the New England Journal of Medicine article, a financial consideration I hadn’t thought of was brought up.

    “The ‘simple math’ that a $2,000 fine is less than the $10,000 average per-employee cost of coverage is complicated by the tax deductibility of employers’ health care contributions. The increase in non–tax-deductible salaries that would be needed to keep projected health care costs from damaging employee recruitment and retention efforts exceeds the savings an employer could expect from dropping health care coverage.”

    Now the cynics among us are also thinking that if the history of inefficient government bureaucracies continues, then the penalties are sure to go up in the future. Those factors, and the popularity of CDHPs (Consumer-Directed High-Deductible Plans) helping control health care cost increases, have kept employers from dropping coverages en masse.

    ACA Guidance from the Experts

    If you’re under 50 employees, my suggestion is that you don’t get too comfortable being exempt. The majority of businesses in this country are small businesses. As the cost of the government-run exchanges continues to go up (more than half of the federally-run exchanges have shut down for insolvency), the pressure will increase to lower the threshold for mandating employer sponsored coverage.

    If you’re looking for guidance or help, or need to think about offering a comprehensive benefits package of your own, you can reach out to a Professional Employer Organization like GMS for advice on what the best plan of action would be for your business. Contact GMS today to talk to one of our experts about ACA guidance.

  • In the event of a fire, we have all been taught STOP, DROP, and ROLL. But do we know what to do in the event of an unconscious, choking, or injured employee? According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 211,000 workplace injuries occur each year. In an emergency, seconds count. Is your staff ready? 

    Image of CPR training. GMS is a certified training provider through the Red Cross.

    Training Your Staff for Medical Emergencies

    GMS is now a licensed training provider through the Red Cross. We can provide your entire staff with the training and skills they need to prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies at a significantly reduced cost.  

    We will be offering trainings in:

    • First Aid
    • CPR
    • AED
    • Bloodborne Pathogens

    Preparing Your Staff Through Licensed Emergency Training

    “Prompt, properly administered first aid care can mean the difference between life and death, rapid vs. prolonged recovery, and temporary vs. permanent disability.” – OSHA. 

    As a licensed training provider through the Red Cross, we can help your company be prepared in case of emergency. Contact GMS today for more information or to schedule your training today!

  • Roughly 2,000 U.S. workers suffer an eye injury at work each day according to the Centers for Disease Control. From tired eyes to serious abrasions, companies need to take measures to help protect their workers. This March is Workplace Eye Wellness Month, so we’ve put together some tips to help your employees protect their vision while on the job.

    Image of an employee with safety goggles. GMS can help your company and its employees through risk management services.

    Safety Gear in the Workplace

    When your employees work in places where particles, chemicals, or other dangerous hazards can get into a person’s eyes, they need to have the right protective gear. It seems obvious, but simply wearing eye safety gear is a huge step in preventing injuries.

    While it’s a big first step, eye safety requires more than just wearing goggles, glasses, or face shields. Workers need to make sure that eye safety equipment is properly fitted. Too tight or too loose isn’t going to be nearly as helpful as a comfortable, secure fit, so make sure your employees are using protective gear correctly to help protect them against potential problems.

    It’s Not All the Same

    Not all eyewear is Safety eyewear. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has established the standard by which all safety eyewear must be measured. The Z87.1 standard is accepted by OSHA for eyewear PPE in the workplace. All eyewear should have a Z87 stamp on it if the original design has been independently tested and meets the standard for being used to protect employees.

    Defending Against Eye Strain

    You don’t have to be working on a production line to be worried about eye injuries. Eye strain has become a growing problem as improvements in technology have led workers to require digital devices for their work. Too much strain can result in computer vision syndrome, which can cause eye twitching and overall fatigue. If your employees work in front of a screen all day, here are some tips to help relieve eye strain and vision-related issues:

    • Keep at least 20 inches away from your monitor
    • Keep the top of the monitor even to or below your eye level
    • Take quick 20 second breaks for every 20 minutes you are looking at a screen
    • Prevent your eyes from drying out by blinking regularly

    Protecting Your Business Through Risk Management

    Proper eye protection is important for any business. Developing proper safety training programs and manuals are another way to help teach your employees how to protect themselves and protect your company from workers’ compensation claims and rates. 

    Group Management Services can help companies with risk management by putting together and implementing loss prevention and cost containment strategies that will benefit your business. Contact us today to learn more about how GMS can make your business safer.

  • An award is great, but it doesn’t mean too much if you don’t know what it represents. As a premier Professional Employer Organization, Group Management Services has earned a fair share of accolades over the years. This is what our awards should represent to you and your company.

    GMS has earned several awards due to our HR administration services.

    GMS is a Growing Professional Employment Organization

    We’ve been making employee management simpler, safer, and stronger since 1996. In the past 20 years, we’ve continued to grow ourselves, adding extra resources and capabilities help you with the burden of HR administration. That’s why GMS has been named as winners of both the Weatherhead 100 and Inc. 500 awards. These awards honor the fastest growing companies in Northeast Ohio and nationally, respectively.

    GMS Brings Value to the Region

    By providing a series of HR administration services, we provide value to our clients and help them grow. The Leading EDGE Awards Program recognizes 100 companies in Northeast Ohio that create value in the region and has named GMS as one of its honorees. This means that partnering with GMS on payroll administration, risk management services, or any of our other functions is an investment in the future of your organization.

    GMS is a Great Place to Work

    As a PEO, it just makes sense that our employees should love their jobs. GMS is proud to be listed on the Plain Dealer’s list of Northeast Ohio’s Top Workplaces. We take HR administration to heart, so we provide our employees with the same care that we offer our clients through functions like employee benefits administration.

    GMS Provides You with Expert HR Services

    GMS has been providing companies with valuable HR services for the past two decades, earning recognition and respect along the way. If you’re losing time and money managing your employees, contact us today to get in touch with one of our experts today.

  • As a business leader or as the owner of your own business, I’m sure you already know about the changes to the I-9 form that have come around in time for its 30th anniversary. Unfortunately, in my travels as a sales representative for GMS, I often run into business owners who don’t know what an I-9 form is, let alone if they’re filed properly.

    Image of a business going through I-9 compliance. Contact GMS today about business compliance.

    Explaining the I-9 Form

    According to the Website of the Department of Homeland Security, “Form I-9 is used for verifying the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. All U.S. employers must ensure proper completion of Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and noncitizens.” This is also a form that causes a lot of unnecessary regulatory and financial headaches to businesses.

    According to a newsletter recently put out by HR Specialist and its LEAP (Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices) Letter, “Form I-9 is used for verifying the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. All U.S. employers must ensure proper completion of Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and noncitizens.” A big reason for this was a new audit initiative put out by the Obama Administration in 2009, to crack down on employers who violate immigration laws.

    Maintaining I-9 Form Compliance

    Those fines can be steep and violations can be simple. According to that same newsletter, “The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) recently slapped a California-based production company with the single largest fine ever for Form I-9 paperwork violations. The $605,250 fine was for violations on more than 800 different I-9 forms. The company’s biggest mistake: a repeated failure to sign Section 2 of the form.”

    If you’re concerned where you stand with compliancy on your I-9 forms or just need help to get your business compliant with all government regulations, known and unknown, there are steps you can take. You can talk with your attorney or you can do what more and more small businesses are doing and speak with a Professional Employer Organization like GMS about I-9 compliance. Contact GMS today about how we can help you stay compliant and make your business simpler, safer, and stronger.

  • According to Career Builder, 43 percent of businesses check out the social media profiles of potential job candidates to learn more about them. Job interviews can tell you a lot about a candidate, but social media can provide some more information that you may not have been able to find out in a meeting.

    Watching for Social Media Red Flags

    When you’re planning on adding someone to your team, you want to know just what type of person you’re hiring. Social media can show off a whole new side of a person – and it’s not always good. Some red flags that you can find on social media include:

    • Inappropriate photos or messages
    • Bad mouthing their current or past employer
    • Discriminatory messages or comments
    • Evidence of potential illegal activity

    In this day and age, candidates should know that potential employers might be looking through their social media profiles. If they can’t stop themselves from posting those embarrassing photos or that offensive status from a personal account, what’s to stop them from making the same bad decision at work?

    Signs of a Good Candidate

    Warning signs aren’t the only things you can find on social media. A job candidate’s social media profiles can help you get a sense of their personality and what they’re like outside of an office setting.

    If they run a professional, updated profile on LinkedIn, it’s a sign that they are serious about their career. Facebook and Twitter can also serve as a means of information outside of looking for red flags. Social profiles can help you verify some information that the candidate may have given you. Even better, social media helps you figure out a candidate’s personality, allowing you to get a sense of if he or she might be a good fit for your company’s culture. 

    Hire the Right People for Your Company

    You need more than just the right resume for your team; you need the right person. GMS has experts that can help your company with employee recruiting and training services, letting you find the right candidate for your open position. Contact us today to learn more about how GMS can benefit your business.

  • Chronic diseases are a serious concern for employees. Issues like hypertension, depression, and other maladies can lead to employees needing sick days to recover or being less productive while at work.

    We’ve already discussed how proper health education can help your employees. Here are some ways that a workplace wellness program can get your employees started on healthy habits.

    Image of an employee with a healthy lunch. Workplace wellness programs can help start healthy workplace habits.

    Working Out at the Office

    According to the Centers for Disease Control, roughly a quarter of workers are considered obese. Instituting healthy practices at work can help your employees developing good habits such as a regular workout routine and a healthy diet.

    While some people push off plans to go to the gym after work, on-site fitness programs can provide employees with the means to get into an exercise routine. By having a convenient location and available time for exercise, workers are incentivized to finally commit to working out.

    Stopping Unhealthy Habits

    A workplace wellness program is about more than just exercise and healthy eating. One component of a good program involves providing help for people looking to break habits like smoking. Quitting something addictive can take some support, and a workplace wellness program can provide some assistance for employees looking to kick certain habits to the curb.

    Another bad habit is eating junk food at work. If your company has a vending machine, swapping out healthier options can allow workers to snack without as many consequences. Healthy food at lunch-and-learns can also provide some education along with a side of nutrition.

    Wellness Programs for Healthy Workers

    GMS has experts that can help you institute a workplace wellness program to help your employees improve their health. Contact us today to start the process today.