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  • The holidays can be a lot of fun, but they can also lead to a lot of stress for business owners and employees. Between the family events and changing schedules, holiday season can be pretty hectic. Here are a few tips to help business owners come out on top.

    Image of a n office during the holidays. Contact GMS about HR management from a Professional Employer Organization.

    Plan for More than the Holiday Party

    Figuring out a time, date, and place for the annual company party is not even close to the most important thing owners need to plan for during the holiday season. Office time may be at a premium thanks to a combination of days off from observed holidays and paid time off (PTO) days used by employees. This means you need to plan ahead and make sure that your business won’t fall behind on anything because of the limited number of work hours in the holiday months.

    Your employees won’t be the only people with fewer work days. Your clients and customers may be less available than usual thanks to the holiday season. Don’t wait until the middle of December to contact people if you can get a hold of them earlier than that.

    Take Advantage of the Holiday Season

    While the holidays mean extra days off, it can also afford some extra opportunities. Depending on your business, there may be marketing opportunities or various trends that you can use to your advantage. Holiday sales or specials can be a nice little incentive for your customers, even if you’re not a toy store or some other retailer. Don’t be afraid to get creative and use the season to your advantage.

    Learn from Past Mistakes

    Those who don’t learn from their past mistakes are doomed to repeat them. Take a look at your performance from the last year or two and note any trends or issues. This can help you identify problem areas and make the necessary adjustments, whether it’s more seasonal help, a better system for keeping track of time off, or any other factors. Plus, there are always the mistakes people can make during the office party. For tips on that, please refer to this helpful post on company parties.

    Treat Your Employees (and Yourself) with a PEO

    Nobody wants to deal with HR headaches. Even without any holiday party issues, managing HR can be a big pain for businesses. A Professional Employer Organization like Group Management Services can help you protect your business from HR issues and offer your employees greater benefits such as paid time off and other perks. Contact us today to learn how partnering with a PEO can strengthen your business this holiday season.

  • A federal judge has blocked the upcoming Department of Labor (DOL) overtime rule instituted by the Obama Administration. The rule was set to take effect Dec. 1, 2016, increasing the salary threshold for overtime eligibility from $23,660 to $47,476. This would have made any workers under the threshold eligible for overtime pay for over 40 hours worked per week. 

    Image of a judge. Read about how a federal judge has blocked the new overtime rules.

    According to Reuters, “U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant, in Sherman, Texas, agreed with 21 states and a coalition of business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, that the rule is unlawful and granted their motion for a nationwide injunction.”

    The group was granted a nationwide preliminary injunction, meaning they were able to prove that the law would cause “irreparable harm” to employers.

    “The judge said the Labor Department regulation exceeded the authority granted it by Congress, which he said gave Labor the right to define which workers are considered salaried but only based on the duties they performed, not by how much they made,” according to The Washington Times. 

    The DOL estimated there would have been approximately 4.2 million workers affected by the new law. Business owners would have been forced to reevaluate their current workforce to meet the requirements. 

    The Labor Department issued a statement regarding the decision stating, “We strongly disagree with the decision by the court, which has the effect of delaying a fair day’s pay for a long day’s work for millions of hardworking Americans.”

    The DOL has the ability to appeal this decision, but the incoming administration can then drop any appeal of the ruling.

    One way employers can assure they are keeping up with any changes to the law or other upcoming legislation is by working with a Professional Employer Organization like Group Management Services. We take on the administrative burden, so you can focus on what matters. Contact us today to learn more.

  • A good meeting can help steer a business toward success. Unfortunately, not all meetings turn out to be all that helpful. According to Inc.com, roughly two-thirds of meetings are seen as unproductive, which ends up hurting businesses more than helping them. Effective, efficient meetings are critical, so here are three ways you can help your business succeed in the conference room.

    Image of a business meeting. Read our tips for successful meetings.

    Think Ahead and Be Prepared

    A meeting without a plan is like trying to find a needle in a haystack; you might eventually get to the point, but it can take a while. Impromptu, aimless meetings are likely going to waste people’s time and accomplish little.  However, unnecessary meetings are even worse.

    Before you schedule a meeting, always consider if it’s necessary. If a quick phone call or an email will suffice, stick with those options. If a meeting is still the best option, make sure you set some goals. Consider why you need a meeting and arrange it so that you can achieve your objectives, whether it’s to gather information or take action on something.

    Finally, invite only the people who need to be in the meeting. If someone has something important to provide for the meeting, make sure that they’ll be involved. Time is money, so making someone sit through a meeting in which they’ll have little to contribute is a waste of resources.

    Be Timely and Stay on Point

    Like we said before, time is money. This means that overly long, meandering meetings aren’t great for business. Jerry’s vacation sounded like a lot of fun, but having to schedule and go through another meeting because people were too busy talking about Jerry’s mishaps in Mexico is a waste of time.

    A meeting agenda can help you keep the meeting on topic and efficient. Allot specific amounts of time for each subject and keep tangents to a minimum. Send the agenda out to a day before the meeting so that people can properly prepare their points. The people attending the meeting need to stick to the agenda, as well. Multitasking is one of the leading causes of unproductive meetings. Keep those phones, laptops, and tablets away unless there’s a specific reason that it helps the current meeting.

    Also, please make sure that everyone shows up to the meeting on time. It seems like common sense, but lateness can help derail a meeting right away, as well as waste the time of others.

    Sum It Up Into Actionable Info

    Valuable info isn’t very valuable if nobody remembers it. The ideas or decisions made in meetings can’t just stay in the conference room. Meeting recaps can help people remember the important details discussed in meetings and make it more likely that people will follow through on action items. Send out a recap email or create some kind of reminder system so that the meeting can matter after it’s completed.

    Stay Organized and Succeed

    Even efficient and effective meetings take up time that could be spent elsewhere. As a Professional Employer Organization, Group Management Services can help business owners free up their time by taking on administrative burdens.

    Like meetings, payroll administration, human resource management, and other important functions can take up a lot of time. As HR experts, we can manage these functions efficiently and effectively, freeing you up for other important tasks and potentially saving you money in the process. Contact GMS today to schedule an HR audit and see how we can help you steer your business for even more success.

  • Did you know that 75 percent of all healthcare costs are attributed to preventable conditions? Imagine the burden this places on employers and their healthcare costs. Here is what the numbers are saying:

    • 45 percent of Americans suffer from at least one chronic disease.
    • More than two-thirds of all deaths are caused by these five chronic diseases: heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes.
    • Treatment for chronic disease constitutes roughly 96 cents per dollar for Medicare and 83 cents per dollar for Medicaid.
    • More than one in four Americans have multiple chronic conditions (MCC), and this number is continuing to grow.

    Chronic disease, by definition, is a disease that typically lasts three months or longer. In most cases, chronic conditions can be controlled but not cured. In fact, it affects 1.7 million lives each year, being the leading cause of death and disability in the United States. Many people assume this is only affecting the elderly, but in the past 10 years, working aged adults being diagnosed with chronic diseases increased by 25 percent. This epidemic is having a strong effect on the cost of healthcare. A study performed at Milken Institute examined the relationship between chronic disease and absenteeism among full time workers. The study focused on seven different diseases and found that the indirect costs of chronic diseases (such as missed days away from work) are higher than the direct cost to treat them.

    Image of a stethoscope. Learn how workplace wellness programs can help business and employees.

    How Businesses Can Improve Employee Health

    Most businesses take an interest in their employee’s health in one way or another. In addition to the employee’s basic health coverage, some businesses provide amenities like healthier food options in their cafeterias, onsite Fitness Centers and ergonomic desks. These are all well-intended options for helping employees, but when it comes to chronic disease, it barely moves the needle.

    The question yet stands: How can an employer impact the prevention of chronic disease in the workplace? Answer: By educating employees on how to modify their current behaviors before they turn into a chronic condition. Adults spend most of their time in the workplace, which is why it makes the most sense to attempt to reach them at their job. All of this sounds expensive and tough to get everyone involved. Fortunately, the GMS Wellness Program has what you need, at a reasonable cost.

    When instituting a Workplace Wellness Program, your employees are not only supported with education on current topics but also with ways to take their health into their own hands and control it. Unhealthy behaviors like smoking, physical inactivity, poor diet, poor standard of care compliance, insufficient sleep, and lack of health screenings can quickly turn into chronic conditions like diabetes, coronary heart disease, back pain, obesity, COPD, and arthritis. A wellness program can help by providing:

    • A custom program that is in compliance with all of the ACA regulations for wellness plans
    • Health risk assessments, which are protected by HIPAA and confidential
    • Health screenings for height, weight, blood pressure, glucose, and total cholesterol, which are all done on site, with HDL, LDL, and Triglyceride screening available upon request
    • Biometric body fat scans by Body Metrix®
    • On-site wellness recommendations
    • Smoking cessation and drug and alcohol abuse prevention
    • One-on-one communication with a Wellness Coordinator
    • Voluntary lunch and learns, classes, and informational meetings
    • A monthly newsletter
    • Healthy challenges

    Contact GMS today to learn more about the services we offer and how we can make your business simpler, safer, and stronger. 

  • You’re likely familiar with the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” While this mindset can be beneficial in some areas of your business, it doesn’t quite fit when it comes to HR processes and policies. The landscape of federal, state, and local regulations is constantly evolving. Sticking to your status quo, even if it once met legislative requirements, could leave you non-compliant and expose your business to potential risks.

    In addition, technology advances quickly, and the systems that once seemed to streamline your operations might now hinder your efficiency or create unnecessary headaches for you and your team. This is where professional employer organizations (PEOs) can be of use. PEOs offer several advantages, particularly to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who may need more comprehensive in-house HR, payroll, compliance, and employee benefits management resources.

    While the temptation to stick with what’s familiar is understandable, embracing change, especially in HR, can significantly elevate your business’s efficiency and compliance. Partnering with a PEO can transform your HR department from a purely administrative function to a strategic asset. By offloading the administrative burdens that come with HR, you and your team can refocus on core business strategies and growth initiatives.

    The Benefits Of Partnering With A PEO

    PEOs can often provide services at a lower cost than if you were to handle these functions in-house. By pooling together employees from multiple companies, PEOs achieve economies of scale, allowing them to negotiate better rates for health insurance, workers’ compensation, and other benefits for your team. Often, these benefits are on par with Fortune 500-level companies and can assist with your recruitment and retention efforts. In addition, partnering with a PEO can help:

    • Ensure compliance: PEOs employ professionals with expertise in HR, benefits, payroll, tax compliance, and risk management. Partnering with a PEO gives you access to these experts, who can be invaluable for making informed decisions about your workforce and business strategy, all while ensuring your compliance with federal and local regulations.
    • Offer HR management and support: PEOs provide comprehensive HR services, including recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and employee termination. This support can relieve your internal team of these duties, allowing them to focus on other areas of your business.
    • Boost employee performance and satisfaction: Employees often experience better HR support with PEOs as they can offer more timely resolution of issues and access to a broader range of benefits. This can lead to increased employee satisfaction and productivity.
    • Provide flexibility for growth: As your business grows, a PEO can quickly scale its services to accommodate new employees, enter new markets, or adjust to changes in your business model. This flexibility is particularly beneficial for rapidly growing companies that need to focus on scaling operations without being bogged down by administrative tasks.

    According to the National Associations of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO), businesses in a PEO arrangement grow 7-9 percent faster, have 10-14 percent lower turnover, and are 50 percent less likely to go out of business. While the temptation to “stay with what’s familiar” may be strong, today’s business landscape demands agility and a proactive approach to HR management.

    By partnering with a PEO, you not only safeguard your business against compliance risks but also position it to thrive in an ever-changing market. This strategic move can be the difference between merely surviving and truly flourishing in your industry.

    Partnering With A PEO

    While partnering with a PEO might sound like a good decision, you might still be concerned about what that partnership actually means. When you start working with a PEO, you enter a co-employment agreement; this essentially allows the PEO to handle your payroll and benefits. However, you remain in complete control of your business, managing the day-to-day and making all the critical decisions related to your company.

    While PEOs speed up and streamline the hiring process by finding qualified candidates for you to meet, at the end of the day, you choose who joins your team. Your relationship with a PEO is designed to be collaborative. The co-employment model used by PEOs does not diminish your authority or ability to manage your team. Instead, it provides a support structure, enhancing your capabilities to focus on other business areas.

    Embrace Change With GMS

    Getting started with a PEO can feel daunting, but GMS makes it easy. Today, business owners need to be compliant with a multitude of regulations in regard to:

    Whether you’re seeking support in one specific area or need comprehensive assistance across all these critical functions, GMS stands ready to elevate your business. Our team of experts is dedicated to making your operations smoother, ensuring your workplace is safer, and fortifying your company against the challenges of tomorrow. Don’t let the complexity of HR and compliance slow you down.

    Contact us today to discover how we can transform your business into a simpler, safer, and stronger entity. Let us take the burden off your shoulders so you can focus on what you do best—growing your business.

  • Business jargon is everywhere, but that doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily helping your employees. Jargon is a way to condense interesting ideas into short sound bites so that business people could easily convey messages without lengthy explanations. Unfortunately, using jargon doesn’t always work out that way and can end up negatively affecting your employees.

    Image of bored employees. Read about the problems of business jargon and how a PEO can help keep your employees informed.

    What Does It Mean?

    Not everybody knows what you know and vice versa. When a person speaks in jargon, there’s always a chance that the message can be misunderstood.

    Some employees are better than others at keeping up with business jargon. Others may not have a clue or only a slight understanding of what someone is trying to convey when they throw around terms like “mindshare.” Employees aren’t likely to stop someone and ask what they mean for fear of looking uninformed, even if they’re not the only person who’s confused.

    If you think that someone might not be picking up on jargon, it might be best to just explain it in common language. This will keep your employees in the loop and save you from having to explain your message again at a later date.

    Jargon Relatability

    Jargon can lead to more than confusion. Author James Sudakow speculates that too much jargon can make normal work conversations feel inauthentic. Instead, it relies on business clichés to speed up discussions and explanations in place of language that may better connect with employees.

    This doesn’t mean that jargon doesn’t have its place. Succinct explanations can be worthwhile in moderation. However, if a jargon-heavy conversation is leading to some blank stares, it might be time to switch to more simplified language. 

    Less Jargon, More Information

    Confused employees are not going to be nearly as effective as they could be with clear communication. Like jargon, human resources can often be a source of confusion for your employees. Unfortunately, you may not have all the answers that your employees are seeking.

    A Professional Employer Organization like Group Management Services can offer HR management that can benefit your company by simplifying complex topics. A PEO can manage important functions like payroll, HR, risk management, and benefits, all while keeping your employees up to date. Contact us today to learn how partnering with a PEO can strengthen your business and keep you and your employees on the same page.

  • You need to identify problems before you can fix them. Inefficiencies, non-compliance, and other issues with HR policies can hurt your business, especially when you’re not sure why they exist. Fortunately, you don’t need a private-eye to get to the bottom of this mystery. What your company could use is a good human resource audit.

    Professional Employer Organizations can perform HR audits and provide recommendations on where you can improve. Here are three reasons why it might be time for your business to undergo an HR audit.

    Image of a frustrated owner. Human resource audits can help uncover sources of stress and strengthen your business.

    You’re Worried About Compliance

    Whether you’re not sure if your business is compliant or you know that there are lingering compliance issues, an audit can help. There are dozens of HR components and non-compliance can lead to costly fines. An HR audit will help uncover any compliance issues and help you take steps to fix them.

    There’s Miscommunication Between Departments

    Since there are several HR components, it can be easy to lose track of them and develop deficiencies in certain areas. This can lead to a lack of communication with various business departments. An audit can help get your business and its employees back up to speed on the state of your company’s HR.

    I’m Spending Way Too Much Time

    HR audits help businesses uncover more than just issues within human resources. As a business owner, you may be taking the lead on managing your company’s HR. Unfortunately, you may be spending so much time on it that it’s hurting your ability to focus on other areas of your business. An HR audit can help you discover more efficient and effective ways to manage human resources so that you can work on growing your business instead.

    Schedule a Human Resources Audit

    Business owners may be experts in their fields, but they’re not always able to effectively manage HR for their companies. Group Management Services can perform HR audits to analyze your business for compliance, best practices, strategy, and other specific functions. A dedicated HR specialist will then provide you with a comprehensive report and provide any recommendations on how you can improve internal processes and strengthen your business. Contact GMS today to schedule an HR audit today.

  • It can be hard to seek help when you don’t know who you should ask. Business owners can spend countless hours trying to manage their business’ HR functions. Fortunately, PEOs can help save them time and money while offering professional management services that can strengthen their business. The important part is to find the right PEO partner for your business. Here are some questions that owners should ask when looking for HR help.

    Image of a business owner contacting a PEO. Learn about questions business owners should ask PEOs, including “what is a PEO?”

    What is a PEO and How Does It Work?

    Nobody should jump into something they may not understand, so kick off your search for HR help with a single question: Exactly what is a PEO? A PEO is a Professional Employer Organization that works with your company to make HR functions more efficient and effective for you and your employees.

    According to the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations, “PEOs enable clients to cost-effectively outsource the management of human resources, employee benefits, payroll and workers’ compensation.” PEOs have been around for decades, providing important services for companies big and small. Every business is different, so the key is finding a PEO that can suit your specific needs.

    How Can a PEO Save My Business Time and Money?

    A PEO can make your business more efficient. Let’s face it; the average business owner isn’t the person who should be spending hours dedicated to managing payroll, benefits, and  other back office functions. They should be utilizing their time on areas where they can make a greater impact so that their company can grow. Of course, HR functions are a critical part of every company, so you need somebody who can help.

    PEO experts are just those people. A PEO employs specialists in all different areas of HR. This gives you the experts that can professionally manage areas like benefits, payroll, and other HR functions for potentially less than what it would take for the average owner to try and do on their own or to hire someone internally. Also, PEOs have a greater buying power than a small business, allowing your company to receive beneficial rates thanks to the economy of scale.

    Is My Business Big Enough for a PEO?

    You don’t need to run a big business to get quality HR management. As a premier PEO, GMS has helped everything from small, 20-person shops to companies with several hundred employees.

    GMS has been in business for 20 years and has helped over 1,000 clients make their company simpler, safer and stronger. Contact GMS today to see why we’re the right PEO for you and your business. 

  • The health and fitness industry is growing in the corporate world; yet preventable diseases are still the leading cause of skyrocketing healthcare costs for employers and their workforce.

    Here at Group Management Services, we do our best to design a program that is suited for everyone and every population. Our main priority is to help your employees achieve their personal health goals without interfering with your business. There are many benefits for the employer as well, such as a decrease in medical costs, reduced absenteeism, increased productivity, and business incentives through the ACA for offering a Wellness Program. Here is what GMS promises you:

    • A customized program that is designed to suit your work environment and employee needs. 
    • A team of wellness experts comprised from various health backgrounds to offer personal, hands-on guidance that will create individual motivation and accountability 
    • Privacy for your employees under HIPPA and other federal regulations while working on personal health goals.

    It’s not just about making or saving money; it’s a way to better the lives of the team you work with every day.

    The truth of the matter is, there are strict government regulations to abide by when it comes to a workplace wellness program. As a result, many companies are turning to professional employer organizations to aid in the proper execution of an effective wellness program at their office.

    Image of a health screening through a workplace wellness program.

    What You Get with GMS’ Workplace Wellness Program

    There are several components to a Workplace Wellness Program, including:

    • Designing a custom program that is in compliance with all of the ACA regulations for wellness plans
    • Health risk assessments, which are protected by HIPAA and confidential
    • Health screenings for height, weight, blood pressure, glucose, and total cholesterol, which are all done on site, with HDL, LDL, and Triglyceride screening available upon request
    • Biometric body fat scans by Body Metrix®
    • On-site wellness recommendations
    • Smoking cessation and drug and alcohol abuse prevention
    • One-on-one communication with a Wellness Coordinator
    • Voluntary lunch and learns, classes, and informational meetings
    • A monthly newsletter
    • Fun challenges

    In addition to the components listed above, you’ll also receive a quarterly review of employee claims and your Wellness Program.

    Give us a call today at 330-659-0100 or contact us online to talk to one of our experts about instituting a Workplace Wellness Program for your business.

  • Don’t look now, but Fall is upon us and we are closer to the start of 2017 than we are the start of 2016.

    We have a Presidential election coming up in a few weeks, meaning that there will be a change in the leadership of this country, one way or another. Either way, expectations are running rampant about changes to healthcare plans in 2017 and the compliancy tied to those programs.

    Image of a sick employee. Contact GMS about healtchare compliance for businesses.

    Potential Healthcare Changes to Consider

    What are these changes that are coming up? According to benefitsnews.com, the following are the top 10 compliance issues to consider when doing your benefits planning for 2017:

    1. Wellness
    2. Essential health benefits and ACA nondiscrimination rules
    3. Mental health parity
    4. Employer shared-responsibility strategy and reporting
    5. Preventive Care
    6. SBC model documents
    7. FLSA’s final overtime rules’ impact on employee benefit plans
    8. Expatriate group health plans
    9. HIPAA privacy, security and electronic transactions
    10. DOL fiduciary rule

    And as an added bonus:

         11. There is a push to make companies with fewer than 100 employees file a 5500 for not only their 401k offering, but also their healthcare benefits. 

    What Business Owners Can Do to Prepare

    For years, business owners would turn to Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) to help reduce their premium costs in healthcare, risk management, and other HR concerns. In recent years, more and more companies are now looking to PEOs to not only help control their short-term healthcare costs, but also to help put together a game plan for controlling those costs in the future. One healthcare cost that is often overlooked is the cost of compliancy.

    If the list above has you worried about your benefits plans or at a minimum, wondering if you’re compliant, you might want to consider talking with an attorney or a PEO like GMS.  Not only does a PEO provide you the buying power necessary in today’s healthcare environment, they relieve small business owners of the regulatory liability that keep them awake at night.

    If you want to learn more about a PEO and if it’s right for you, contact us today and find out how we can help your business.