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You’ve probably heard the old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

I remember in my youth that my grandfather swore by this philosophy. He was very particular when it came to what he owned and how to maintain it, as he lived through the depression and he was cheap! Fast forward a few years to where my grandfather trusted me to mow his lawn. Now by trust I mean he sat in his lawn chair, watched, and critiqued each and every pass I made. Like I said, he was particular.

That Christmas my family got my grandfather a new lawnmower and the first thing he said was, “That manual one still works fine. Matthew was able to mow all summer without any issues.” Now there were issues: the mower was ancient, rusted, and dull. All signs pointed to the fact that a change was necessary BUT would gramps be open to it?

The next summer I was not asked once to come mow his lawn. My grandfather religiously mowed it every week because, as he stated, “This thing is a gem! It’s like I’m not even putting forth effort and my lawn looks the best I’ve ever seen it!”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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In addition to an upcoming national election, we are now quickly approaching open enrollment season for the Affordable Care Act. This is the time of year when people can  apply for healthcare coverage through the exchanges and look for income-based subsidies to help them offset some of their insurance costs.

It’s also the time when employees who don’t feel they have an adequate or affordable employer-sponsored health plan may  seek out coverage and subsidies through the exchanges. While an employer may be tempted to find relief in one less person to cover (and pay for), there may be some repercussions.

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Most entrepreneurs start a business based on something they are passionate about. For the majority of auto shop owners, their dream started working on cars. When that passion turns into a business venture, it quickly becomes apparent that running your own auto shop requires more than just a love of cars.

Leading a group of people, keeping systems in place to track hours, and tracking employee history are just a few of the tasks that shop owners handle on an everyday basis. Owners have enough on their plate in handling day-to-day business, but the work is not done when the shop closes. Here are some of the most common HR issues facing these small business owners.

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Are you a business owner looking for additional ways to compensate and retain your key employees? There are several options that are mutually beneficial for employees and businesses.

I’m going to preface this blog with the fact that I was born and raised in Ohio and am therefore an Ohio State fan. I was on ESPN’s website the other day and came across a story about the “school up north” and their Head Coach Jim Harbaugh getting additional compensation in the form of a life insurance loan.

The story caught my attention because you don’t see articles like this too often, especially when you are looking to read about sports. The fact is, it is commonplace in the corporate world for businesses to offer additional benefits to key executives and/or employees. The agreement that the University of Michigan and Jim Harbaugh have entered into is called a split-dollar life insurance arrangement. These types of arrangements can be a win-win for the employer and employee.

Photo by Eric Upchurch via Wikimedia Commons.

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Recently, I watched a documentary on Tony Robbins. Tony was telling his audience to write down all the things that were getting in the way from becoming the person they wanted to be and then talked about “looking in the mirror.” This talk made me think of my business and how we conduct exit interviews.

Whether it’s a voluntary resignation or termination, we always ask the employee to complete an exit interview. It’s a very simple interview asking the former employee about his or her experience working for Group Management Services. In many of the exit interviews the employee talks about enjoying their time here, but their circumstances changed: they received a better offer, had a baby, a spouse is getting transferred, etc. Many have offered useful suggestions that we have acted upon such as “the sales manual needs to be updated, not enough holidays are recognized, need to have a more flexible schedule,” to name but a few.

These recommendations have all helped GMS become a better company, but they are definitely not the fun ones. The comments I really look forward to are from failing Sales Reps. You see, we have a very thorough sales process. We know how many calls you have to make every day. We know how many people you have to see every week. We know how many people you have to propose to every month. We know who is cheating by looking at the numbers. Thus, their suggestions are the ones I love.

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