Best Benefits

Best Benefits
Are you using your 401(k) lure effectively?

Ask Robert Garcia what benefit he offers to attract the best employees and his excitement will almost bowl you over. “We offer a 401(k) plans with a 50% match!” he grins. Garcia’s benefits manager isn’t so excited. “It’s a super benefit, but we only have about 14% participation in the program. We have a substantial number of blue-collar workers, and apparently, retirement savings isn’t a big priority.”

"What I see is, Joe Lunchbox everyday people don't understand the 401k benefits and aren't involved," said Patrick Vandenberg, manager of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service in Milwaukee. If we had a high school course that taught the value of compound interest along with English composition and Biology, we’d have better 401(k) participation, but until then, the burden for teaching employees the value of retirement savings rests with the employer. The PEO can help.

We’ll start by helping you get the word out about how much an employee stands to gain from contributing to a 401(k) retirement plans. If you offer an employer match and you don’t advertise that to potential recruits and current employees, you’re missing a great retention opportunity. In addition to getting the word out, consider easing eligibility for the plans. Many companies are reducing waiting periods to thirty days, or signing employees on immediately.

Pay close attention to helping employees understand that this is a long-term investment. Currently, 68% of employees cash out their plans when they leave the job, blowing retirement savings and incurring tax penalties. Most are simply not properly educated about the consequences of such a move.

Call us about the availability of training materials to help your employees see how the company 401(k) benefits them. Get the most out of this valuable recruiting and retention tool!

(See, Joel Dresang. “401(k); It’s a Benefit Employers Use as a Lure, But Workers Aren’t Completely Hooked.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.. Business; Pg. 01D.)

AmCheck offers nationwide 401k Benefit & 401k retirement plans services. Get an online quote.

Bilingual Employees

Bilingual Employees
Hiring Bilingual Employees for your benefit

In almost every state in the nation, financial and accounting executives are grappling with an increased need for bilingual employees. Demand for hiring bilingual employees is primarily increasing within financial services, pharmaceutical, technology, and life sciences sectors, according to Chris van Someren, president, Global Markets, at Los Angeles-based Korn/Ferry International. His company specializes in executive recruitment.

Whether you’re trying to meet the needs of immigrant customers who do not speak English, or because increasing globalization has made it difficult to do business in one language, the temporary staffing industry may be your best tool for recruiting top bilingual employees. Here’s why:

• As the U.S. population diversifies, you’ll want to stay ahead of the competition as you market to different ethnic groups. If you want to attract and market to the Hispanic population, you need Spanish-speaking staff. It’s that simple.

• Our firm assists with “testing” to help you make sure that applicants who say they are bilingual, really are. For example, is your Spanish-speaking candidate proficient in business or technical vocabulary?

• On the flip side, we can verify that a candidate who speaks Spanish fluently also has the skills necessary for the position.

• We work constantly to collaborate with firms that have access to employees with unique language skills. If you need an accountant who speaks Mandarin Chinese, you can spend hours beating the bushes, or you can let us do the footwork.

• You may have a short-term language need. If you have a temporary need to communicate with a Brazilian company, it doesn’t make sense to have a full-time Portuguese-speaker on the payroll.

• If we supply a worker who happens to be the perfect fit, permanent placement options can allow you to hire that worker full-time.

One of our associates can meet with you briefly to discuss your company’s unique language and communication needs. Our employee screening services are designed to meet your requirement of bilingual employees. Please call today.

Source: Teiseira, Julian. “More Companies Recruit Bilingual Employees.” Employment Management Today. Fall 2004. Vol 9, No. 4. www.shrm.org/ema/EMT/articles/2004/Fall04teixeira.asp

AmCheck offers nationwide Bilingual Employee Hiring, Screening, Development & Retention services. Get a n online quote.

Cutting Edge Business Practices: PEO Services

Cutting Edge Business Practices: PEO Services
The Professional Employer Organization

When we think of cutting-edge business practices and technologies, we think of improvements or advancements that are so influential they revolutionize entire industries. Consider, for example, the invention of machine tools. They made it possible to produce articles with interchangeable parts because for the first time, a worker could make a cut in a piece of metal that was accurate to the millionth of an inch. An identical cut could be made again and again and again. The result was the ability to mass-produce articles without seriously compromising quality. That was "cutting-edge" technology.

The growth of the Professional Employer Organization (PEO) industry represents a similar revolution. For the first time, you have access to assistance in complying with increased regulatory demands. You can get help dealing with business threats that did not exist in the past (such as sexual harassment suits). You can offer your employees benefits that make it possible for you to retain a competitive workforce. "Cutting-edge" indeed.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. Enrollment with a PEO allows businesses to increase efficiency and focus on core growth because many of the "annoying details" can be handled by the PEO.

• Have problems with FLSA compliance? Your PEO has it under control.

• Need advice about how to prevent accidents and lower workers' compensation premiums? Your PEO has a professional on-staff that is trained to see safety risks you might overlook.

• Are you interested in offering a 401k program and teaching your employees how to assess their retirement needs? We've got that covered too.

These and a host of other benefits are available to you, and chances are that our PEO company can offer them to you for less than you're already paying. Being on the cutting edge is what business is all about. Maybe it's time to sharpen your tools.

AmCheck offers nationwide professional employer organization (PEO) services. Get an online quote.

Developing Your People

Developing Your People
Workforce Development: The characteristic of a successful company

One might think workforce development is an obvious characteristic of all successful companies and their managers. But Lominger Limited Inc. - a leadership development think tank and consultancy - reports that managers and employees ranked "developing direct reports" dead last out of all 67 competencies in its bi-annual study of leadership skills. That's right—managers are viewed and view themselves "worst" at developing their direct reports compared to all other skills in their toolbox.

Fears and hollow excuses are usually what prevents managers from developing their people. You may not be actively developing your reports job because you fear:

• Losing power. If you develop your people, you may not be the technical expert of your area anymore. (In reality, you agreed to not be the expert any more when you took a leadership position.)

• Losing your good people. As people develop, they may want to grow further beyond the function of your department. Be aware, however, that if you are seen as a "people hoarder," your career will be severely diminished.

• Being "leap-frogged." Someone you develop may eventually get a job you want. You may even have to report to one of your previous direct reports. (Let's hope you developed them well.) If you use this excuse, you're revealing a basic insecurity about your own abilities.

• Creating a rival. Worse than the fear of being leap-frogged may be the fear that a former direct report could become an arch rival in your organization. This excuse is another indication of personal insecurity.

Or you may not be developing other leaders because it takes time or you want to avoid the responsibility. But what else are you doing with your time that is more important? Here are six reasons why you should can the excuses and work on your workforce-development skills:

• To improve productivity and effectiveness. While developing a direct report may cause some temporary reduction in productivity, it will pay dividends in your department, team or division in the long run.

• To maximize long-term potential. Developing direct reports improves the long-run success of your entire company.

• To keep your sanity. Good people developers usually go home on time. Developing your people not only improves their capacity to perform, but it improves your capacity to delegate.

• To attract talent. When the word gets out that you are a people developer, the up-and-comers in your company line up to work in your department, team, shop or division.

• To "plant" good people. When people leave your area, they know your department's function, your methods and your needs, and can help you be successful from their new position.

• To get promoted. Being a great people developer differentiates you from the pack. People say good things about you. People realize you are a more complete leader, not the usual, one-commodity manager.

No one becomes a great people developer overnight, and there's no one right way to do it. You should cater to your strengths and to your style. Here are some general tips for improvement:

• Be the motivator, not the "mom." Convince your employees that they are responsible for their own development. Each must have a written development plan, including both short- and long-term development goals. Remind employees that capitalism is "creative destruction" and that their jobs may dissolve without notice. Corporate maternalism breeds unhealthy dependence on the company and minimizes self-reliance.

• Incorporate their need to have a personal development plan into your performance-management process.

• Recognize that development is more than going to training. While training courses are an important aspect of development, so are rotations, special tasks, complex projects, reading assignments, informal "brown-bag discussions" and even successful staff meetings.

• Coach with a passion. Most people can remember a coach, teacher or mentor who dared to confront behavior when it was less than optimal. People developers constructively confront-in a private and professional way-when needed.

• Delegate incessantly, and make assignments with development in mind.

• Know your people, particularly their career aspirations.

• When interviewing potential hires for your department, discuss an estimated time for them to move on (assuming this fits their career aspirations), usually by the end of three years. Make moving on a goal, and promise that you will help them find their next position within the company when they have developed to your expectations and performed in their current job for a reasonable period of time.

• Creatively reward people who actively develop themselves. Money is not always the right answer. Know your people and reward them with a motivating intangible.

AmCheck’s HR expertise can reduce your workforce development & workforce training cost while improving your processes and efficiency. Request a free HR solutions and service quote and start saving today.