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.

Employee Retention Strategies

Employee Retention Strategies
Sometimes you just make the best out of a bad situation: Use employee retention programs

In an economy when good help is hard to find, dismissing or firing trained workers takes an especially big bite out of the company budget. Recruiting and re-training are costly and time-consuming. Is there a better way?

Jerry Strahan assures us there is. You think your employee retention strategies are miserable? Jerry’s crew of hot dog vendors is made up of extremely difficult personnel.” Like it or not, Jerry has survived 28 years in the business because he learned how to manage the unmanageable. Maybe some of his advice will help you think again before you submit yourself to the headache and expense of terminating an “unmanageable” worker:

“You have to set rules, you have to semi-enforce them, you have to be very forgiving when they’re not followed; otherwise you don’t have carts out, [and you don’t make any money,] says Strahan. “You can’t eliminate the madness. Sometimes you can control it.”

• Running a company is like raising a child - It is not a by-the-book activity for everyone. Strahan’s “best practices” consist mostly of learning to make the best of bad situations. “They need work, I need vendors,” says Jerry. While company policy expects each vendor to be neat, clean, on time, polite, and conscientious, Jerry is usually willing to settle for four out of five.

• Don’t trust the applicant who tries to sell himself -The ones who tell Jerry they’re looking for a career quit showing up for work after about two weeks. Jerry always hires the ones who say, “I’m only going to be here for a short time,” because he knows they’re telling the truth. Employees who are willing to give you the bad news, rather than sugar-coat everything are like pure gold. They help you see where you can improve.

Always consult with our human resources department before terminating any employee. We’ll help you determine whether other options are available.

(Source: “Buchanan, Leigh. “The Taming of the Crew.” INC August. To read more, pick up Jerry Strahan’s Managing Ignatiusr. Louisiana State University Press. )

AmCheck's HR expertise offers effective employee retention strategies & programs. Request a free HR - Employee Retention strategies and service quote and start saving today.

Helping With Employee Relations Challenges

Helping With Employee Relations Challenges
Improve Employee Relations: What are your employee corrective processes?

Do you know you have a Human Resources professional available to help you with your employee relations challenges? One of our goals is to help our clients identify options and best practices to manage the balance between the laws governing employer responsibilities and employee rights.

On a daily basis our Human Resources Team is in communication, either by phone or in person, with many of you to discuss the problems you're having with various employees in order to improve employee relations within your organization.

Our process is to discuss the situation with you, exposing as many different aspects as possible, run scenarios, help you identify the options available, and suggest the best ways of documentation to memorialize the event for the record. Together we help you manage the employee relation risks and fight unnecessary increases in unemployment compensation costs.

Do you have an employee corrective action process in place? No company is too small. Contact your Human Resources Department today. We’re ready to help you establish a system at no cost. This is just another one of the many services available to our clients!

AmCheck’s HR expertise can reduce your employee relation communication challenges while improving your processes and efficiency. Request a free HR solutions and service quote and start saving today.

How to Protect Your Business

How to Protect Your Business
Worker Comp Premium: Protect your business from worker’s compensation penalties

Failing to report all employees to our company can be an expensive proposition. For example, a drywall contractor was fined $361,000 for failing to provide worker comp premium.

The company neglected to enroll six new employees with the PEO Company before allowing them to work on a jobsite. By not reporting these employees and paying them in cash, they were not covered under the PEO's workers' compensation contract.

This practice is extremely risky. The employer faces the risk of fines, and since the PEO does not have the employees covered under their workers' compensation contract, the employer retains all responsibility for the risk. If an employee gets hurt, the business owner may have to pick up the tab.

More specifically, the owner of the business becomes personally liable for all medical bills and the injured employee's pay, should the employee be unable to return to work. These costs can be almost endless because the business owner no longer has the protection of the workers' compensation laws.

The answer is simple: make certain you enroll your employees as soon as you hire them.

If the State enters your business or jobsite, they will call us to confirm employee names. If the names do not match, you might find yourself in a tricky situation. Besides, who has $361,000 to throw away in fines?

AmCheck offers nationwide worker compensation and PEO Service. Get online quote to save worker compensation premium penalties.

Making Better Hiring Decisions

Making Better Hiring Decisions
Employee Hiring Assessment: Hiring Permanent Employees to eliminate hiring errors

As we move toward greener economic pastures, many managers and employers are struggling with the question of how to make the best hiring decisions and get expert employee hiring assessment. Yes, the economy looks better, but can you afford to make hiring errors right now? Replacing an employee can be costly.

Experts estimate that you will spend up to 35% of a job’s annual salary looking for a suitable replacement employee. The costs can include recruiting expenses, more wasted time reading resumes and interviewing, loss of productivity, decreased morale among co-workers who must handle added work burdens while managers search for a replacement, and of course, training costs for the new employee.

Three suggestions will help you make better employee hiring assessment decisions:

• Avoid interviewing errors
• Learn how to evaluate a candidate’s work habits
• Consider non-traditional hiring options such as permanent placement.

Avoid interviewing errors
One of the costliest employee hiring practices that managers make is premature decision-making when hiring new employees. Typically, the executive doing the interviewing makes a hiring decision within the first five to nine minutes of the interview, and these decisions are often based on “gut feeling” rather than hard facts. Great managers must learn to hire with their heads rather than their hearts. Hiring the best people is the simplest way to turn yourself into a “superb” manager. The extra effort it requires is almost always worth it.

Discuss work habits
While a prospective employee may have a great resume, it’s pretty tough to tell what his or her work ethic is like. She may possess exactly the skill-set you’re looking for, yet be a chronic latecomer. Another prospect’s confidence and poise may mask his tendency to be condescending to his subordinates, or hide the fact that he was dismissed from his last job for harassing co-workers.

As a manager, you’ll need to key in on six or eight of the “work habits” that are indispensable at your workplace, and ask questions that will help you assess whether or not the potential employee possesses those habits. Maybe you value integrity above all else, or perhaps sensitivity to diversity is important in your corporate culture. Asking about past experiences related to these necessary work habits is one good method of discovering the individual who is the best “fit.”

Permanent Placement
Yet another option is to consider permanent placement. If you don’t have the time or the expertise to perform exhaustive recruiting and careful, thorough interviews, we can help. Because it is our business to recruit, select, and refer the best candidates, you can depend on our ability to find a candidate who best meets the needs of your company.

We’re pleased to help you discover the ideal candidates for your permanent workforce. Please contact our office today to learn more about permanent placement options.

Source: “Firms Can Avoid Costly Hiring Errors” USA Today. http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m1272/n2632_v126/20258650/p1/article.jhtml

AmCheck offers nationwide employee hiring assessment services. Get online quote for better & cost effective employee hiring practices.

PEO Services

PEO Services
We take the headache out of ERISA 401(k) compliance

Among the hefty employment responsibilities we help you tackle is ERISA compliance. Managing a 401(k) plan, for example, requires a specific set of standards and diligence. We assume these responsibilities for you, so that you can concentrate your efforts on building your business. As part of ERISA compliance, we monitor available 401(k) plans to insure that they meet appropriate guidelines. This service includes:

• Establishing a prudent process for selecting a 401(k) administrator, or other service provider.
• Ensuring that fees are paid, and that the level of service and quality matches the fees incurred (The law requires that the fees charged to a 401(k) plan are “reasonable,” but it does not establish a level of permissible fees. We help insure that fees are indeed reasonable).
• Educating investors about available plan options.
• Seeing that investment alternatives are adequately diversified
• Monitoring investments to assure that the alternatives offered by a specific service provider are appropriate
  

401(k) administrators charge many different types of fees, depending on how the plan is managed, but most fees fall into one of three categories: Plan administration fees, Investment fees, and Individual service fees. When these fees are carefully managed, the return on the employee’s investment is maximized. Unmanaged, the fees have the potential of taking a significant bite out of overall earnings. (For a detailed discussion on 401(k) plan fees, see “The Hidden Cost of 401(k) Plans,” HR Wire).

If you have questions about your 401(k), or would like to make one available to your employees, contact one of our representatives at your earliest convenience.

AmCheck offers nationwide ERISA compliance & 401K Plans. Get online quote for cost effective ERISA 401K compliance plans.

Random Drug Testing

Random Drug Testing
Workplace Random Drug Testing: Is it worth the costs?

When you add up the hidden costs of hiring an employee with a substance abuse problem (increased absenteeism, loss of productivity, theft, increased health insurance costs, and increased workers’ compensation claims), the expenses can amount to a substantial loss of profit.

More and more frequently, employers protect their “bottom line” by implementing workplace random drug testing. A recent study conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor reports companies which used a workplace random drug testing program reported a whopping decrease of 63.7% in worker’s compensation claims. Injury rates reportedly are lowered by 22.3%.

In this article dealing with drug testing featured in the March issue of The PEO Insider, Randall W. Montalbano wrote: “One mechanical contractor firm paid $2 million a year in claims prior to implementing a random drug-testing program. The first year their program was in place, they paid only $1.26 million. At the close of the second year, the total for insurance claims was only $264,000. You do the math.”

Montalbano’s articles rated drug use among several industry categories. Eating and drinking establishments reported drug use in up to 16.3% of their employees. Other industries figured in with comparatively high rates of drug use. A sampling follows:

Furniture and appliance retail 16.3%
Advertising, Consulting 13.1%
Construction 12.2%
Printing and publishing 11.7%
Auto Supply and Gas Stations 11.2%

Source: The ProEmp Journal.

AmCheck offers nationwide workplace random drug testing & employee screening services. Get a quote for better & cost effective employee screening solutions.