Forget Health Care Reform Loopholes; Let’s Stay Focused on Business
A business owner I’ll call Mr. Brown thinks he has cracked the code. He has overthought his way to flying under the radar on Health Care Reform, PPAACA, ACA, Obamacare . . . or whatever you want to call it. He thinks he cracked the code, but I think his idea’s cracked. Let me tell .. read more
Big Changes May Not Be A Big Holiday Gift
There’s an extra holiday that coincides this year with the otherwise festive holiday season. As 2012 ends, so does the tax holiday, and—what’s more—flexible spending limits go down. Happy New Year indeed. The Social Security program is currently funded by a 12.4% tax on wages up to $110,100. This number rises to $113,700 in 2013. .. read more
Another Year, New Regulations to Follow
Avoiding news of 2010’s health care reform would have been impossible, and keeping up with the many changes that it has brought can feel impossible, too. Along with the law came a slew of regulations, and employers bear the responsibility for responding to and complying with those regulations, which just keep coming. Here are the .. read more
SUTA Dumping: You Could Pay the Price for Your PEO
How well do you know your PEO? It’s an important question for a lot of reasons, including SUTA dumping, a too-common form of tax fraud that can do a lot of damage to the companies using a PEO. The Indiana Department of Workforce Development is aggressively pursuing companies that have engaged in SUTA dumping. It .. read more
The Multiple Choice: Why MEPs Make Sense
Does it take a village to get a savings plan to employees? Nah, but it sure helps. A multiple employer plan (MEP) is a 401(k) option that enables companies that otherwise might not be able to manage their own plans to merge under one oversight umbrella. There’s one plan sponsor covering many unrelated employers, meaning .. read more
Yes, You Do Need Job Descriptions
I meet a lot of resistance when I ask employers about job descriptions, and I get it: Job descriptions are not legally required, and they’re a little time-consuming to create. But that’s the end of the arguments against them. The list of arguments for thorough, well-formed job descriptions is much longer. Maybe your organization has .. read more
Conflict Will Come. Are You Ready?
Conflict can happen like a slow leak or an explosion. It never goes unnoticed, and it rarely fails to leave its mark on an organization. Still, conflict is practically a mark of success. It says that you’ve built a team of highly engaged, thoughtful, intelligent, and confident individuals. People who are invested in the company .. read more
Combating High Workers’ Compensation Premiums
Workers’ compensation premiums can really hurt your profitability, especially if you’re in a high-risk industry. And if you’re one of the unlucky few who have higher-than-usual claims within a high-risk business, keeping up industry-average profitability is almost impossible. So what can you do? There is just one answer—just one effective, sustainable approach: Get proactive and .. read more
Four Reasons to Outsource HR Work
Cash savings. What business owner wouldn’t want that? It’s a completely valid reason to outsource HR work and easily the number-one reason that most businesses do. But to think only about saving money is to sell short the greater value of contracting out human resource management services to outsourcing companies like Axiom Human Resource Solutions. .. read more
Human Resource Information Systems: It’s About Protecting Your Business
I have spent the past three weeks digging through mountains of paperwork in a client worksite, attempting to make sense of 17 years of clutter and rapid growth. This particular client now employs upwards of 100 individuals, and over the years has had several different managers in operations, accounting, and human resources. After nearly 50 .. read more
