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  • Well, that’s a relief.  The employer mandate for 100+ employee companies has been pushed back to 2015 and 50+ employee companies to 2016. No worries until then, right?

    Unless you’re the guy who keeps kicking the can down the road hoping that something changes, you’re wrong. There’s a pretty good business book written by Rick Page called Hope is not a Strategy. I’m amazed at how many savvy business owners seem to think that it can be.

    The simple truth of the matter is that the Affordable Care Act has changed everything you know or have ever known about health insurance. In fact, it’s completely changed the game. If you think you’ve protected yourself by getting grandfathered in, you’re just going to trip over that same can later.

    You do, however, have options.  Larger companies have been self-insuring their healthcare plans for years and in the process been able to grab ahold of costs that were going up even back before today’s expected increases.  Small companies didn’t have that same luxury.  Until now……

    GMS has a solution for small companies that want to:

    1. Have the predictability of a level monthly cost like a traditional health plan, but with increased savings opportunities.
    2. Avoid any potential pitfalls that Community Rating through the ACA may create.
    3. Get access to claims data to help them control costs.
    4. Have more say in the network of providers their employees can use.
    5. Customize their healthcare plans to better serve their employees.

    If you’ve ever thought about any of these and think that it could positively impact the benefits package you provide your employees while significantly lowering costs, you need to speak with someone at GMS.  

    Think about it. If your workers’ comp premiums were raised without  you knowing why, would you tolerate it?  Unlike workers’ comp, you have a say in who you want your health insurance through. Why should they be held to a different standard than your workers’ comp insurance provider?

  • According to a recent article in Bloomberg’s Business News, HR departments are going to become increasingly busy over the next 12 to 18 months.  Why?  Because of a recent memorandum that was issued by the White House to the Department of Labor to “modernize and streamline overtime regulations and make more workers eligible under federal law.”

    At the base of this memo is the administration’s desire to transform employees exempt from overtime hours (salaried employees mostly) into non-exempt employees.  This will have enormous financial repercussions on businesses everywhere.  If a salaried manager is working 50-60 hours/week and suddenly becomes a non-exempt employee, one of two things will have to happen.  The employer will have to either cut that employee’s hours to save money (making him/her less productive) or will have to swallow the increased costs associated with more overtime.  A third option would be to hire additional help, potentially adding additional employee-related costs.

    Unlike the initial rules for the Affordable Care Act, there is no exemption based on a company’s size.  This could create extra pressure on small businesses.  Not only would there be the cost of additional overtime, but there would also be the additional costs associated with the auditing employers will have to undertake to make sure they’re compliant with the new regulations.

    Of course, larger employers already have many of the mechanisms in place to take on this added regulatory burden.  What about small businesses?  Where can they go for help?  

    You guessed it. GMS. Give us a call at 330-659-0100 or contact us online to learn more.

     

  • Ahhhh—feel the ocean breeze blowing through your hair, your toes digging into the sand, and the cool drink in your hand. Your computer is nowhere in sight. That’s right, you’re on vacation!

    As an employee, taking time off is important. It keeps you focused, gives you a break and lets you spend some quality time with your family or friends. As a company, administering a paid time off (PTO) policy is also important, and much less relaxing than taking the time off. 

    With traditional PTO and sick time plans, your company is trying define and limit the liability of paying an employee for time they didn’t work. Sounds simple. 

    But how do you keep track of it all? Without a streamlined system it can be easy to miscalculate PTO for your employees. Miscalculations mean lost money for your company. According to a 2010 survey by Kronos conducted with Mercer, poorly planned absences cost U.S. organizations over 8% of their payroll each year.

    What can your business do to effectively manage PTO?

    Maybe you’ve seen that some companies offer unlimited vacation days, or an “open” vacation policy. This may be an option for some companies, but it requires a high level of trust and accountability between employees and managers, and would still require planning for coverage of the absent employee. It also brings into question state requirements about reimbursement for unused PTO if an employee were to leave a company. This clearly isn’t a solution for everyone. 

    A better option is to look to a professional employer organization (PEO) to outsource human resource (HR) functions, including management of PTO. 

    Online HR Portal Available 24/7 

    If you’re nervous that outsourcing HR functions like PTO means you have less control over your business, you’re not alone. In reality, though, the opposite is true. GMS actually gives you stronger control. 

    How? We store all the information that you and your employees need so you can have a centralized place to measure, track and review critical HR information 24 hours a day, including, but not limited to:

    • Time off requests
    • Performance reviews
    • Job descriptions
    • Employee handbooks
    • Company communication
    Talk with GMS to learn more. Once we’ve had the chance to talk, we’re pretty sure the only question you’ll have is what you can do with time you used to spend keeping track of your employees’ PTO.
     
    We suggest taking a vacation—you deserve it.

  • What would you say if a prospective employer offered you perks like free catered meals, free fitness classes, tuition reimbursement, unlimited vacation days, and– for the expectant parents out there– four months of paid parental leave? 

    You might be tempted to rip the contract out of his or her hand and sign it on the spot—right?

    Well, we didn’t make those up. Practical benefits like these are real, and some are being implemented at companies that constantly rank at the top of employee satisfaction lists.

    So what does this mean for you as an employer? 

    In order to attract and retain the best employees, you should offer competitive compensation, medical benefits, and 401K options that are consistent with your industry and location. Prospective employees will take these more practical benefits into consideration.  

    We know most companies won’t be able to afford perks like the big tech giants in California, but here are four ways you could make life a little easier and more enjoyable for your employees. 

    Four Affordable Perks for your Small Business to Attract & Maintain the Best Employees

    1. Flexible work schedules

    More and more, work and life seem to be connected outside of the working environment. Establish guidelines that allow employees to work from home or in the evening if they have something to go to, like a parent teacher conference. 

    Or, consider flexible work hours. If getting to work earlier and leaving earlier makes sense for the family schedule, commuting, or other reasons and doesn’t conflict with business operations, then maybe this is something for you to consider. 

    Showing flexibility and empathy for employees by allowing flexible schedule will help build a stronger bond, making your company more attractive as a potential employer. It also helps promote a healthy work-life balance, and help make employees’ lives a little easier knowing they have this flexibility. Who wouldn’t want to work for a company that is trying to make life a little easier? 

    2. Pet-Friendly Workspace

    This one is not for everyone. But if it fits with your company, try allowing pets on specific days (maybe once a month, or once a year to start) to make employees feel more comfortable. Take Your Dog to Work Day is a national event and they talk about building codes, liability issues, and employees’ allergies or phobias to consider before adopting this perk. 

    There are many other articles about how to make a workplace pet friendly and tips on creating a dog-friendly workplace.

    Boss need convincing? Share these three benefits of pets in the workplace from PetMD: 

    Pets in the workspace:

    1. Help reduce stress
    2. Encourage longer work hours
    3. Increase camaraderie

    3. Free snacks

    While most companies won’t be able to cater every meal like some of the big tech giants, providing coffee & tea, healthy snacks to share, and maybe breakfast every once in a while will help boost morale and keep your employees focused. 

    4. Lunch-time yoga & Running groups 

    Investing in employee preventative health efforts could help lower healthcare premiums down the road. Depending on your workspace, you could look into hiring in a lunch-time yoga instructor, or massage therapist to help reduce employee stress levels. Or, for the more active employee, look into hosting a running group, training for a charity race, or getting your company involved in a sports league. These activities get people active and also encourage team building outside the workplace. 
     
    Practical benefits like these can help give you the edge when a prospective employee compares job offers in a similar market, and they show you care about the well-being of your employees. 
     
    What other affordable perks would attract new employees? Let us know what you think in the comments below. 

  • What would you say if a prospective employer offered you perks like free catered meals, free fitness classes, tuition reimbursement, unlimited vacation days, and– for the expectant parents out there– four months of paid parental leave? 

    You might be tempted to rip the contract out of his or her hand and sign it on the spot—right?

    Well, we didn’t make those up. Practical benefits like these are real, and some are being implemented at companies that constantly rank at the top of employee satisfaction lists.

     

    Pet friendly workplaces have lower stress, encouage longer hours, and build office camraderie. Photo of dog in office. “Office dog” by seanhagen is licensed under CC BY 2.0

    So what does this mean for you as an employer? 

    In order to attract and retain the best employees, you should offer competitive compensation, medical benefits, and 401K options that are consistent with your industry and location. Prospective employees will take these more practical benefits into consideration.  

    We know most companies won’t be able to afford perks like the big tech giants in California, but here are four ways you could make life a little easier and more enjoyable for your employees. 

    Four Affordable Perks for your Small Business to Attract & Maintain the Best Employees

    1. Flexible work schedules

    More and more, work and life seem to be connected outside of the working environment. Establish guidelines that allow employees to work from home or in the evening if they have something to go to, like a parent teacher conference. 

    Or, consider flexible work hours. If getting to work earlier and leaving earlier makes sense for the family schedule, commuting, or other reasons and doesn’t conflict with business operations, then maybe this is something for you to consider. 

    Showing flexibility and empathy for employees by allowing flexible schedule will help build a stronger bond, making your company more attractive as a potential employer. It also helps promote a healthy work-life balance, and help make employees’ lives a little easier knowing they have this flexibility. Who wouldn’t want to work for a company that is trying to make life a little easier? 

    2. Pet-Friendly Workspace

    This one is not for everyone. But if it fits with your company, try allowing pets on specific days (maybe once a month, or once a year to start) to make employees feel more comfortable. Take Your Dog to Work Day is a national event and they talk about building codes, liability issues, and employees’ allergies or phobias to consider before adopting this perk. 

    There are many other articles about how to make a workplace pet friendly and tips on creating a dog-friendly workplace.

    Boss need convincing? Share these three benefits of pets in the workplace from PetMD: 

    Pets in the workspace:

    1. Help reduce stress
    2. Encourage longer work hours
    3. Increase camaraderie

    3. Free snacks

    While most companies won’t be able to cater every meal like some of the big tech giants, providing coffee & tea, healthy snacks to share, and maybe breakfast every once in a while will help boost morale and keep your employees focused. 

    4. Lunch-time yoga & Running groups

     
    Investing in employee preventative health efforts could help lower healthcare premiums down the road. Depending on your workspace, you could look into hiring in a lunch-time yoga instructor, or massage therapist to help reduce employee stress levels. Or, for the more active employee, look into hosting a running group, training for a charity race, or getting your company involved in a sports league. These activities get people active and also encourage team building outside the workplace. 
     
    Practical benefits like these can help give you the edge when a prospective employee compares job offers in a similar market, and they show you care about the well-being of your employees. 
     
    What other affordable perks would attract new employees? Let us know what you think in the comments below. 

    Photo Credit: “Office Dog” by seanhagen is licensed under CC BY 2.0

  • Imagine you’re the CEO of a company with 49 employees. You’re currently covered through a fully insured health plan, but are considering switching to a self-insured group plan due to the potential premium increases resulting from the Affordable Care Act.  

    All of the companies you know with self-funded plans are larger companies (250+employees), so you aren’t sure if this is the right solution for you. You’re also concerned that since you would pay self-insurance claims directly, your company could be liable for a major claim if an employee has a serious health issue. 

    What do you think – what would you do in this situation? Before you make a decision, consider the following key points. 

    What happens when you have a major claim on a self-insured policy?

    The answer depends on the stop-loss insurance coverage.

    How Stop-Loss Protects you From Major Unforeseen Claims 

    • Stop-loss insurance protects you from higher-than expected claim totals. If your group’s claim amount exceeds the self-funded limit, the stop-loss insurance provider will  pays the difference.

    How Third Party Administrators (TPAs) Can Help

    • Reduce administrative tasks – TPAs administer the health plan by processing the claims, issuing ID cards,  and dealing with customer questions
    • Offer stop-loss with self-funded plans

    Benefits of TPA Self-Funded Health Plans with GMS 

    Creative, custom-tailored solutions for your employees 

    • Only pay for what you need – pay a specific amount into a claims fund each month
    • Stop-loss insurance included – you won’t have unexpected expenses in the event of a major claim 
    • One bill – streamline billing makes payments easy
    Ok, so go back to the beginning and imagine you are that business owner again. 
     
    Would you feel more comfortable making a decision with this information on TPAs and self-funded plans? Hopefully you’ll see that this option is not just for large companies—that this could be a time and money saving option for your company, too. 
     
    If you’re interested in learning more about how GMS can help save your real company time and money with TPA services, let us know. We’re always here!

  • Good businesses need good employees, and good employees look for good opportunities. A competitive benefits package plays a major part in attracting quality talent to your company, as well as retaining current workers. 

    Employee benefit administration can be a time-consuming and costly endeavor for a small- to mid-size company, especially one that wants to offer a complex benefits package. Instead of just accepting the hassle as a necessity, you should consider the possibility of teaming up with a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) like Group Management Services (GMS) to benefit your benefits.

    Employee benefits administration is yet another service provided by a PEO.

    Many Parts, One Partner

    A good benefits package in a pretty complex affair. Some elements of a package may include:

    • Health insurance

    • 401k retirement plans

    • Profit sharing

    • Supplemental insurance plans

    • Benefit administration

    • Group life

    • COBRA

    • Disability

    • Dental

    • Vision

    That’s a lot of information to have to focus on and administer out to your employees. Fortunately, a PEO has trained professionals that can manage your business’ benefits package.

    This also leaves you with one point of contact for your benefits package needs, instead of needing to deal with multiple providers when you have questions.

    Saving Time and Money

    Another advantage of partnering with a PEO is that it allows you more time to focus on your business. While you handle your area of expertise, GMS’ experts can streamline your employee benefits administration. In fact, we help out so many employers and their employees that we have greater buying power through economy of scale.

    The Right Fit

    A good benefits package can help you attract and retain talented employees. If you’re looking to save some time and money on employee benefits administration, contact us today to see if a PEO is the right fit for you and your company.

  • Administrative professionals in a wide variety of industries work long and hard to make sure that their office provides the proper support it needs to succeed. Given their contributions to an organization’s wellbeing, it’s only appropriate that you show your appreciation for these important employees. 

    Conveniently enough, April 22 marks Administrative Professionals’ Day in the U.S., giving employers a chance to reward the office administrators, secretaries, and every other person in a position that helps to hold the office together.

    Photo Credit: “Gift Basket” by Calvert Café & Catering is licensed under CC BY 2.0

    What is Administrative Professionals’ Day?

    In 1952, the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) sponsored Administrative Professionals’ Week. Sixty-three years later, the holiday is still going strong, landing in the last full week of April every year.

    According to the IAAP, there are more than 22 million administrative and office support professionals working in the U.S. so the holiday can affect many different businesses and organizations. Fortunately, we have some helpful gift ideas to treat your administrative professionals.

    Cater Gifts to Each Employee

    When it comes to rewarding your administrative professionals, the best gifts are the ones that you cater to that specific employee. Does your office manager like coffee? Perhaps a gift card to his or her favorite coffee shop would be best. Do they have a sweet tooth? There’s always chocolate. Plus, you can always treat your administrative assistants to lunch.

    Of course, there are also gift ideas outside of material goods. If your company’s administrative assistants have been doing a great job, you could always let them leave early for the day or give them a little extra time off.

    Keeping Employees Happy

    It’s important to keep up team morale, so don’t be afraid to treat employees who are working hard and doing a good job. 

    At Group Management Services, we know that your employees play a major part in your organization’s success. Give us a call at 1-888-823-2084 or contact us online today if you’d like to find out how GMS can help your company through Human Resources Management.

  • Sometimes simple gifts or notes won’t cut it when it comes to rewarding an employee. Earlier this month, we provided nine gift ideas and eight free suggestions for good employees, but this post is for bosses who are looking for some alternative ways to show a worker just how much they mean to a company.

    Consider some alternative ideas for rewarding employees, such as letting them work from home for a day.

    Five Alternative Employee Rewards

    While notes and coffee make for nice treats, sometimes an employee deserves a little something extra. If you really want to reward an employee for doing a great job, consider one of these ideas:

    • Offer to swap a task with them for a day or week
    • Reserve them a special parking spot for a week or month
    • Send something personalized to their significant other  or treat both of them to dinner
    • Let them work from home for a day
    • Offer to let them represent the company at a work conference so that they can get more experience and get out of the office

    Appreciating Your Employees

    Every employee is different, so some reward ideas may work better for some people than others. The same goes for businesses. For example, bringing a pet in to work may be out of the question at some companies, but others might see it as a great idea to improve morale. Choose a reward option that best fits your company and go from there.

    At GMS, we know how important your employees are. Contact us today to see how partnering with a Professional Employer Organization can help you and your workers.

  • As we mentioned earlier this month, it’s good to reward your employees. However, sometimes you want to reward an employee, but you have a strict budget. Even if you don’t have a spare few bucks to spend, there are plenty of ways to show your appreciation to a worker without having to take out your wallet. 

    Even simple rewards can make an employee feel appreciated.

    Eight Free Ways to Reward Employees

    You don’t always have to spend money to show appreciation. There are plenty of ways that you can thank your employees for their hard work. Here are eight different ideas of how you can treat your workers for free:

    • Let them dress casually for a day
    • Give them some freedom with their work schedule
    • Feature them in a company newsletter
    • Arrange for a boss several levels up to stop by and say thanks
    • Honor them at the start of a staff meeting
    • Congratulatory company email
    • Post a thank you note on their door or desk
    • Send them a sincere, handwritten thank-you letter

    Small Things Matter

    It doesn’t take much to make someone feel appreciated. Even a simple, genuine “thank you” can show that a worker that they’re doing a good job.

    Another way to help your employees is by partnering with a Professional Employer Organization. If you’re looking to save money on your HR management, contact us today to find out how partnering with GMS can keep your employees covered.