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  • Wow, that’s a lot of letters. What does this all mean?

    Over the last several years, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has been contending that their reach expands beyond unionized workers. On March 18th, the NLRB General Counsel, Richard Griffin, released a 30-page report providing guidance to attorneys and HR professionals on what he believes is not a legal rule for an employee handbook under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).  

    In short, Mr. Griffin’s report proposes major changes under which the NLRB believes it can apply its rules.

    NLRB loosk to expand NLRA and what it might mean

    But you’re not a union shop, so who cares, right?

    If this report gains any traction, you should definitely care. By offering guidance to the legality of rules under the NLRA, it can expand its reach because all employers are governed under the NLRA.

    In this 30-page report , the General Counsel gives real-life examples of “good” and “bad” policies. Among those areas addressed are:

    • Confidentiality policies

    • Conduct toward management 

    • Conduct toward co-workers

    • Conduct toward third parties 

    • Use of company logos, copyrights, and trademarks

    • Restrictions on photography and recording

    • Miscellaneous unlawful policies

    What you should do next

    At the beginning of this piece, I wrote that this report was created for those in the legal profession and HR professionals to help them advise their clients/employers. If you haven’t gotten your copy yet, you should get in touch with your attorney. Today.

    If you’re still not sure where to begin, give us a call at 330-659-0101. Our HR specialists are there to not only react to new rules as they come across, but to help you be better prepared before it becomes an issue for you.

  • Managing the operations of a small business is costly and requires time away from more valuable projects. That’s why many small and mid-size businesses outsource human resources, payroll, employee benefits, and risk management services. A PEO (Professional Employer Organization) can help take these responsibilities off the plate of business owners, so they can focus on the growth and success of their business.

    We’ve put together a guide to understand what PEO services entail and how to choose the right PEO for your business.

     PEO services help small and mid-size businesses with employee management.

    What is a PEO?

    A PEO provides comprehensive business solutions and services. Through the co-employment model, PEOs work with small and mid-size businesses to:

    • Manage payroll and tax administration
    • Manage human resources and risk management functions
    • Provide employee benefits
    • Stay compliant

    By providing these services, PEOs help make the companies they serve a better place to work and conduct business. This typically translates into faster growth, higher retention rates, and increased success for businesses. The National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) found that businesses working with a PEO:

    • Grow 7 to 9 percent faster
    • Have 10 to 14 percent lower employee turnover
    • Are 50 percent less likely to go out of business

    PEOs help businesses grow by allowing them to spend more time improving productivity and profitability while focusing on their core mission. Additionally, employees benefit by gaining access to big-business employee benefits such as 401(k) plans, wellness programs, and health, dental, life and other insurance offerings. All of this contributes to the success of a company.

     

    How to Choose a PEO

    There are more than 900 PEOs in the U.S., according to NAPEO. With so many options, it can be hard to know which one to choose. Follow these tips to help you to choose the right PEO for your business.

     

    Assess Your Business Needs

    Before talking to a PEO, you should take stock of your business needs. What current challenges does your business face? Do you anticipate any changes to your company that could impact the services you need? Look at facets of your business, such as:

    • Payroll: Between managing payroll and filing taxes, small and mid-sized companies spend an average of $2,000 per employee each year to handle payroll and many incur IRS penalties each year due to compliance issues. Outsourcing payroll services to a PEO can save you time and money by providing you with a simplified, online payroll system.
    • Human Resources: From recruiting and retaining employees to tracking vacation time, managing your company’s HR responsibilities takes a lot of time. Outsourcing these HR functions to a PEO can help you save time and money, while growing your business.
    • Risk Management: Managing your company’s risk on your own can be time-consuming and costly. Instead, you can build toward a more secure future by outsourcing to experts at a PEO. PEOs can help you qualify for workers’ compensation discounts, keep unemployment tax rates down, and create a safer environment for your employees.

    Identifying your needs within each of these categories will help you better determine how your business will use a PEO and set the stage for choosing a qualified partner.

     

    Build Your Benefits Package

    Employee benefits will make your business a great place to work and help retain talent. While you’ll be hard pressed to find a PEO that doesn’t offer access to health insurance, the providers they work with and the amount of coverage their plans provide will vary. In addition to assessing your business needs, you’ll need a good sense of what types of health coverage your current and future employees will require and what you’re willing to spend on it.

    When you work with a PEO, instead of directly with insurance companies, you’ll be able to leverage buying power through mass policies, which lets you take advantage of purchasing multiple policies at typically lower premiums. 

    Speaking of multiple policies, you’ll also want to consider other benefits like dental, vision, and life insurance as well as 401(k) retirement savings programs to make your business more attractive to quality candidates. Additionally, wellness programs can help manage your premiums, while keeping your business running like a well-oiled machine. Whichever benefits are most appealing for your business, you’ll want to do your research to make sure you find a PEO that has everything you require.

     

    Perform a PEO background check

    When vetting PEOs, it’s important to look at their history, experience, and qualifications. Ask questions, such as: 

    • How many companies do they partner with? 
    • Do they have experience working in your industry? 
    • How many employees do they represent? 
    • What is their client retention rate? 

    And don’t forget to look at reviews from places like Google and Facebook. These are all telling signs of whether a PEO will be able to properly handle your business needs.

    Additionally, accreditations from organizations like the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and certifications, such as the Certification Program for Professional Employer Organizations (CPEOs) from the IRS, help demonstrate trustworthiness and reliability in a PEO. CPEO certification affects the employment tax liabilities of both the CPEO and its customers. To become and remain certified under the CPEO program, CPEOs must meet tax status, background, experience, business location, financial reporting, bonding, and other requirements. With only 37 CPEOs in the country, small businesses know they are working with a trusted partner.

     

    Evaluate a PEO’s Technology

    The purpose of PEO is to make your life easier. If the technology platform that a PEO offers isn’t simple to use, then the PEO is going to be more of a burden than an asset to your company. Web-based payroll portals benefit employers by compiling everything they need to manage their back office in one place. They also help employees get paid on time, track time, and access W-2’s and paystubs. 

    Your PEO’s online payroll system should help employers:

    • Manage and access payroll information
    • Complete payroll in minutes, not hours
    • Easily keep track of deductions
    • Simplify workers’ compensation calculations and payments
    • Generate on-demand payroll reports

    These payroll functions streamline the process for employers and keep employees satisfied. 

    Beyond payroll, any other administrative functions a PEO can digitize is only to your advantage. Your PEO should offer online data collection services for:

    • Employee reviews
    • Timekeeping and PTO requests
    • Health insurance and employee benefits
    • Company communication
    • Employee handbooks

    Being able to store these types of files in an online portal makes it easier for you to access, edit, and track.

     

    Focus on Your Business

    The point of working with a PEO is to ease your workload. A PEO that you have to manage is only going to add to your stress and laundry list of tasks and responsibilities. Knowing your PEO is taking care of your more administrative needs while you focus on the core of your business is comforting to business owners.

    Your PEO should provide you with designated HR, payroll, and benefits specialists to meet all of your needs. Additionally, your PEO should have a comprehensive risk management team, from  safety specialists that keep your workplace and employees safe, to unemployment and workers’ compensation experts to investigate and help process claims.

    By having a PEO handle the HR, payroll, benefits, and risk management side of your business, you’ll be able to focus on what really matters: building your business. 

     

    Work With a PEO

    When you work with a PEO, you need to make sure all your needs will be met. Group Management Services offers payroll, human resources, employee benefits, and risk management services to help your business succeed. With our proven history, easy-to-use online payroll portal, and dedicated team of experts, GMS is proud to take on your administrative burdens. When you work with us, you can put your focus back on client relationships, building an effective team, and growing your profits, while we help you reduce costs, limit risk, and save time and money.

    Ready to work with a best-in class PEO? Contact GMS today to talk with one of our experts to see how we can make your business simpler, safer, and stronger.

  • Human resources are one of the most important components of any small business. However, the responsibilities often fall to the owner or an executive, as many small businesses don’t have the capacity for a designated HR department or full-time employee. Often, managing these HR functions in-house creates many challenges. 

    Small businesses find it helpful to outsource human resource management.

    Small Business HR Challenges

    When you devote so much time to growing your business and improving your products and services, how are you supposed to find the resources to manage HR? From recruitment and retention to payroll and benefits, it’s important that HR doesn’t fall by the wayside in a small business. Deficiencies in any of these areas could result in:

    • Non-compliance fines
    • Lack of talented employees
    • Inefficiencies that slow down your production cycle

    Below, we identified some of the most common HR challenges for small businesses and how you can overcome them.

    Hiring process

    Hiring new employees is a major time and financial commitment for a small business. When job ads and interviews are improperly handled, the recruitment process can quickly become a time-consuming headache. 

    For one, it takes an average of 23 days to find the right candidate, according to Glassdoor, taking time away from other important projects. For more technical positions, it can take a lot longer. On top of that, poor job descriptions can attract non-qualified applicants, eating away even more time to manually sift through each resume.

    A hurried interview process or failing to ask the right questions can then result in bad hires, which can cost nearly $15,000 according to CareerBuilder. While many small businesses rely on referrals when it comes to hiring, interviews need to be consistent and conducted in a way that attracts quality talent and provides a clear path toward making a job offer.

    Employee training and safety

    Once employees are hired, having HR resources can be a great asset during training to prevent costly errors and even injuries from occurring. However, many small businesses simply don’t have the time to properly train new hires, which could affect workplace safety.

    According to the National Safety Council, a worker is injured on the job every 7 seconds, with 25 percent of these injuries caused by contact with objects and equipment. Proper training can help prevent workplace injuries like sprains, strains, cuts, lacerations, and punctures as well as promote morale and retention.

    Employee handbook

    Along with poor training, new employees may look to the employee handbook to gain a better understanding of the work environment and job expectations. When was the last time you updated your handbook? An outdated employee handbook can cause miscommunication and even legal issues for a small business. Employee handbooks should be updated at least annually to reflect the ever-changing employment laws and regulations.

    Payroll

    For small businesses, managing payroll and filing taxes can be a time-consuming and challenging task. Small and mid-sized companies spend an average of $2,000 per employee each year to handle payroll, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Proper bookkeeping and tax filing may be a hassle, but they play an integral role in the success of your business when it comes to avoiding compliance issues. The IRS found that 40 percent of small businesses incur an average of $845 in penalties each year, which can be a huge financial burden.

    Employee time tracking

    Depending on where you live, you’ll need to comply with local, state, and federal laws regarding vacation, paid leave, breaks, and overtime for your employees. Without a solid time tracking system in place, it can be difficult to ensure your employees are being paid fairly. Utilizing an online platform can help save time and energy for both small business owners and their employees.

    Employee benefits

    In order to attract and retain top talent, it’s important for small businesses to include quality benefits in their employees’ compensation packages. Employees want comprehensive benefits that include everything from health insurance to retirement plans to supplemental insurance. However, many small businesses find that it can be very expensive and time-consuming to purchase and manage these benefits on their own, compared to the buying power of group benefits.

    Employee compliance

    Small businesses must adhere to federal regulations, and failure to comply is common and costly. Perhaps the most common compliance issue for small businesses is employee misclassification. According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), up to 30 percent of audited businesses had misclassified employees. Many misclassify workers as contractors in error, so it’s important to know the difference. While the consequences vary depending on whether the DOL and IRS deem the misclassification intentional or unintentional, it can be a costly mistake. 

    Other laws include the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Equal Pay Act, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), to name a few. It’s important to stay educated on these federal regulations in order to stay compliant.

    Conflict resolution

    When growing a business, there is a potential for conflict in the workplace, and ignoring it can cost time and money. A study by professional training and coaching company CPP, Inc. found that 85 percent of employees experience conflict in the workplace. Workplace conflict wastes nearly three hours per week, costing billions in paid hours. Not having an HR resource to properly handle conflict resolution will only take up more time and money in addition to dampening employee morale and retention rates.

    Employee retention

    When HR management issues aren’t handled properly, it can be difficult for small businesses to retain quality employees. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), retention is a growing problem for many, with the average turnover rate sitting at an unhealthy 18 percent. Running the gamut from bad hires to insufficient benefits to conflict issues, employees are less likely to stay with companies that don’t take initiative when it comes to HR management.

    Your HR Solution

    Between recruiting and retaining employees to managing employee performance, there are many challenges small businesses face when it comes to the responsibilities of HR management. Outsourcing HR through a professional employer organization (PEO) like Group Management Services can help small businesses save time and money, while allowing you to focus on growing your business. 

    GMS provides comprehensive HR services, including payroll administration, risk management, employee benefits, and more. Additionally, GMS can perform HR audits to help your business improve HR functions in a fraction of the time. Contact GMS today to see how we can help you cover these challenges in human resource management, so you can focus on your core business.

  • Personality tests can be an effective tool in employee recruitment, training, and development. As your business grows and becomes more diverse, a one-size-fits-all approach to employee management won’t work well on a team made up of different personality types. Company leaders will need to have a better understanding of what makes employees tick and how to encourage everyone to play nice in the workplace.

    Managing different personality types in the workplace can present its challenges. As a result, you’ll need to be flexible with your employee management style. Using Deloitte’s Business Chemistry, here’s how to manage employees with these four different personalities.

     Managing different personalities in the workplace.

    How to Manage the “Pioneer”

    Pioneers are the wheels set in motion. You never know when or where their next big idea will come from, but you can be sure they’ll want to give it a try. Business Chemistry describes pioneers as:

    • Outgoing
    • Spontaneous
    • Risk-takers
    • Adaptable
    • Imaginative

    Pioneers are the social butterflies and adventurous spirits in the workplace. When managing this type of employee, it’s important to give them the creative freedom to explore new ideas. They don’t like being confined by rules or structure and may have a hard time focusing on the smaller details of a project, so don’t try to micromanage them.

    Lean on your pioneers to think out-of-the-box and come up with creative new ideas, perhaps in a group brainstorming session, but then shift the project details and execution to your drivers and guardians.

     

    How to Manage the “Driver”

    If pioneers are the wheels, then drivers are the fuel that keeps it going. Ambitious and efficient, drivers are motivated by results and will always rise to meet a challenge. Drivers are described as:

    • Logical
    • Focused
    • Competitive
    • Quantitative
    • Deeply curious

    Drivers are laser-focused and work quickly, so they need to be continuously fed new challenges or they risk getting bored or frustrated by delays or long processes. When you come to them with new assignments, they’ll appreciate clearly defined plans and processes and will work tirelessly to meet and exceed your expectations and goals.

    Because of their workaholic tendencies, drivers may also struggle with work-life balance, as they can easily be consumed by the tasks at hand. Reinforce good habits, like taking lunch breaks, not responding to emails after hours, and delegating tasks when their plate is full.

     

    How to Manage the “Integrator”

    Integrators are best at bringing everyone together. If pioneers are the wheels, drivers are the fuel, then integrators are the ones who makes sure everyone gets a seat in the car. They see the value in workplace culture and understand how it can affect employee happiness and performance. The Integrator is:

    • Diplomatic
    • Empathetic
    • Nonconfrontational
    • Team player
    • Intrinsically motivated

    As intrinsically-motivated employees, integrators thrive when they can really get behind your cause. As a business owner, be sure to clearly define and communicate your company mission. 

    Similar to pioneers, it’s best not to micromanage your integrators. It’s important to show these employees that you trust and respect them, whether it’s allowing them to work remotely or believing in their idea. Finally, when assigning projects, don’t isolate your integrators. They work best in group settings, where they can bounce ideas off one another and play to each other’s strengths.

     

    How to Manage the “Guardian”

    Guardians are the employees who make sure you reach your destination on time and in one piece. They value stability and order and have great attention to detail. According to Business Chemistry, Guardians are:

    • Reserved
    • Detail-oriented
    • Practical
    • Structured
    • Loyal

    Guardians are practical and structured, which means they can easily become impatient with seemingly wacky ideas or meetings that get off topic, but you may not notice.

    Guardians are quiet and reserved, so they may not always speak up in meetings and can be easily forgotten. They need time to process, digest, and formulate a well-thought-out response. When managing this type of employee, it’s best to follow up with them the next day to ask for their thoughts or opinions. Because they’re fiercely loyal to their employers, you know your company’s best interests will be at the heart of all their decisions.

     

    Employee Management Assistance

    While no single workplace personality is “the best,” managing these different workplace personalities can be challenging for business owners and managers. Need assistance? Outsourcing human resources to a professional employer organization (PEO) like Group Management Services (GMS) can help with employee management. From employee recruitment and retention to performance management, GMS can guide you through any issues you’re faced with, while you keep full control of your employees.

    In addition to human resources, GMS offers a full suite of HR services, including payroll, risk management, employee benefits, and more. Contact GMS today to request a consultation.