Innoworks Newsletter
Below are select articles from Innoworks’ newsletter.
HOW DOES A PEO ADD VALUE TO MY COMPANY?
If you own a business and have limited experience working with PEOs, you’re not alone. A lot of small and medium size business owners are vaguely familiar with what PEOs are, but are unsure of how they operate or how they benefit SMBs.
PEOs can handle a wide range of important business functions, from human resources to payroll, risk management, benefits, and more. Surrendering all of these important operations to an outside company can be a bit intimidating. It involves a lot of trust on your end. So how can you be sure it’s worth your while?
We’ve broken down all the key ways that PEOs boosts efficiency and enables growth.
1. Streamlining Labor Intensive Processes
HR, accounting, and risk management all demand time and brainpower. You could spend your entire career focusing on just one of those three things, and still have your hands full. Handling these functions internally requires you to develop processes, find competent employees to manage them, and then hope that some unforeseen hiccup doesn’t disrupt your process. Add to this the fact that all of these are vital functions that, if mismanaged, could be detrimental to the health of your business. Instead of building these departments from scratch, many businesses choose to bring in outside help.
Professional Employer Organizations are specialists, not generalists. HR and risk management aren’t merely facets of our business, they’re the business itself. This is what makes Innoworks a cost-effective solution for managing these processes. We’ve streamlined these services, and draw on a wide pool of resources, which develops naturally after spending so much time in the game.
In addition to effectively managing vital functions, the beauty of a PEO is the additional time and manpower it frees up. Time not spent balancing accounts and onboarding employees is time that could be better spent elsewhere. Instead of struggling to keep your head above water, PEOs enable you to focus on actually growing your business.
2. Risk Management
Most industries are inundated with bureaucratic red tape. For businesses operating in highly regulated sectors, it may seem like there are new laws and guidelines popping up on a near daily basis. Staying compliant can be tricky. As your business attempts to navigate the treacherously uncertain waters of government regulations, you may find yourself in need of a lifeline, to keep you insulated from the pitfalls of noncompliance.
Innoworks offers resources for compliance and risk management, to keep you from running afoul of the law. This includes seminars, to educate personnel about regulations and best practices, and consultation, to help management refine business processes to maintain compliance.
For some industries, the threat of injury or damage is always present. Sectors like manufacturing are notorious for their inherent risk, yet that risk can be dramatically reduced with the right protocols in place. Safety training, hazard awareness, personal protective equipment, and disaster plans all go a long way toward minimizing liability, and these are all things Innoworks can provide. You’ll be able to rest assured that you’ve done everything in your power to prevent an accident.
3. Employee Morale
Good morale is at the heart of every successful enterprise. What better way is there to boost employee satisfaction than with quality benefits, reliable pay, and a healthy work environment?!
Benefits
Benefits, like insurance and childcare, go a long way toward improving employees’ quality of life. By partnering with a reputable PEO, you can secure better benefits for the people who keep your enterprise afloat. This level of commitment to employees’ well being isn’t just philanthropic either. By offering premium benefits you’ll attract top talent to bolster your organization.
Payroll
Payroll inconsistencies are the bane of employee existence, and can be devastating toward morale. Professional services for payroll management help make sure payroll is correct and on time. There can also be legal ramifications for not paying employees on time, so it’s best to just do it right the first time.
Work Environment
Cultivating a better workplace culture is key to keeping employees productive and happy. A full-service PEO will take on key human resource needs like employee onboarding and harassment training. When workers are confident knowing what’s expected of them, and what they can expect from others, their productivity won’t be disrupted by the pitfalls of uncertainty.
Conclusion
It’s easy to find yourself overwhelmed with the day-to-day hassles of running a business, and then become disillusioned with the entire prospect of being a business owner. That doesn’t have to be the case. By partnering with Innoworks, you can reclaim some of the freedom you enjoyed at an earlier stage in your business, and focus more on the big picture.
AVOID OUT-OF-STEP LEADERSHIP
The uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has led many of us to think deeply about the values we hold dear. We were forced to reevaluate ourselves, our businesses, and our leadership. Throughout the pandemic, we found that good leaders rose to the occasion, gracefully navigating economic hardship and bureaucratic turbulence with calm and poise. When unsure leaders found themselves having to manage unfamiliar situations, their shortcomings became ever more pronounced. As the economy regains its footing and the pandemic simmers, its important to remember what separated strong leaders from a weak leaders when everything hit the fan.
Here are three traits commonly shared by poor managers:
Micromanaging. Working for a micromanager is difficult at the best of times, and can be unbearable in a remote setting. Micromanagers do not trust their teams to do the right thing. Lack of trust leads managers to scrutinize each team member’s every move. In response, team members will hyper focus on miniscule details, while allocating little or no attention to the bigger picture. Cortisol levels spike and creativity becomes stifled, the reverse of what’s needed from an adaptive enterprise.
Poor communication. Prior to the pandemic, employees were told about large scale plans on a need-to-know basis. For better or worse, the office grapevine took care of the rest. Those sorts of policies were quickly eroded by the sudden free fall of the world economy. With corporate plans in a tailspin and employees on the verge of mass panic, leaders were forced to accept a higher degree of transparency within their organizations. Adept leaders embraced this radical restructuring and encouraged two-way conversations with their teams, even if it meant dealing with increased backlash.
Lack of willingness to learn. As professionals, we’re constantly adapting, and no one — not even the top brass — has all the answers. Many leaders are accustomed to being viewed as the ultimate authority on all business matters, but with how quickly the world has changed, that is not necessarily the case anymore. Poor leaders are unwilling to let this time-tested façade fall by the wayside, and their reluctance to do so reveals a critical weakness. By failing to acknowledge the need for new modes of thinking, these leaders reveal themselves as antiquated traditionalists,
The pandemic has given us a new perspective on what it means to be a great leader. It also better defined what it means to be a poor leader. Choose your next moves wisely!
RECRUIT LIKE BIG COMPANIES DO
The extension of unemployment benefits has left recruiters in a tricky spot. The economy has opened up, but the pool of candidates has shrunk. Too many Americans are happy to sit back and collect unemployment checks.
Southwest Airlines is one of only a handful of businesses to receive applications from TOO MANY qualified candidates. Recently, they received 342,664 resumes for 7,207 positions! How?
The careers section of their website features a streamlined user experience, which empowers applicants through apt job descriptions, information on benefits & culture, and a seamless application process. With just a couple of clicks, candidates can submit their application.
Now, that might not be an option for everyone. As a small business you may lack the resources to compete head to head with industry leaders, but that’s not to say their aren’t work arounds to recruit your fair share of qualified applicants.
If you lack the funds to pay a UX designer to build a refined application process, that’s okay. Here are scalable solutions to improve your online application process.
Job boards continue to play a huge role in recruiting, by helping employers create a seamless, digital application process without having to build it out themselves. Popular platforms include Glass Door, Indeed, Zip Recruiter, and Monster. Job seekers create profiles and upload resumes and cover letters to apply for jobs.
Some job search engines allow for promoted listings. Managers who want their ads featured on a search engine should investigate paying an extra fee for premium web placement.
LinkedIn offers employers a uniquely attractive platform for recruiting. It’s essentially a networking app and a job board fused into one. In addition to posting jobs, recruiters can use their network to identify and connect with candidates.
Quality is better than quantity. Focus your efforts on a couple strategically selected platforms, rather than spreading yourself too thin by trying to use them all.
Use your existing digital assets to display company culture. Candidates are likely to look you up before applying, so make sure your website and social media accounts do a good job of displaying company culture.
Managers should think strategically
Your size shouldn’t limit you. Even if they can’t offer the benefits of a larger business, they have other advantages. Managers need to keep in mind that candidates are likely to research company reviews and ratings when deciding where to apply, so a positive reputation as an employer is important.
While technology has changed many aspects of the job hunt, building a network and personal recommendations remain important. Work with us to find out how you can make a small company as successful at recruiting as major corporations.
Need more help with this? Contact the number below to learn how we can help!
SAFETY ADVICE FROM RICHARD AGAR
Richard Agar is an OSHA certified safety professional. His hard work helps Innoworks’ partner clients maintain regulatory compliance and promote employee well being by creating safer work environments. The following tips were pulled from Richard’s playbook for safety and risk management. He hopes that by making client partners aware of potential pitfalls, they’ll be better positioned for future success.
Tip: Know Your Plans!
Injury and Illness Prevention Plan (IIPP) – Failure to implement an effective injury and illness prevention program is the most common OSHA violation.
OSHA requires the following elements to be included in your plan for it to be considered an effective IIPP:
Management duties
Employee participation
Hazard identification and assessment
Hazard prevention and control
Education and training
Program evaluation and improvement
Emergency Action Plan – An emergency action plan is essential to maintaining a safe work environment. Your emergency action plan must be in writing, kept in the workplace, and available to employees for review.
An employer with 10 or fewer employees may communicate the plan orally to employees.
Learning the emergency action plan during an emergency is too late! Be proactive, and educate employees on how to react before the emergency occurs.
Hazard Communication – Employers that have hazardous chemicals in their workplace are required by OSHA’s hazard communication standard to implement a hazard communication program. The program must include labels on containers of hazardous chemicals, safety data sheets (SDSs) for hazardous chemicals, and proper training for workers.
Contact
We encourage our clients to review their state’s requirements for all safety programs and contact Innoworks’ risk management team at riskmanagement@innovemp.com.
THE RULES FOR HIRING MINORS
Many businesses employ workers under the age of 18. Employers should be aware of the state and federal rules which govern their employment. The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor protects young workers by ensuring that employers provide safe work environments that do not jeopardize minors’ health, well-being, or educational opportunities. Here is a succinct list of federal provisions you should know:
Children under 14 cannot be employed, except if they work for a parent or as a newspaper carrier.
Minors aged 14 to 15 are permitted to work outside school time in nonhazardous jobs for three hours a day and 18 hours a week. During holidays and school breaks, they can work eight hours a day and 40 hours a week, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and until 9 p.m. during the summer.
Teens aged 16 to 17 aren’t restricted from working during school hours, but there are limits to the number of hours worked, except for agricultural employment and for student learners or apprentices. However, there are special guidelines for agricultural workers that, among other things, impose limits on the use of hazardous equipment.
Children under the age of 18 may not work in certain hazardous occupations: excavation, manufacturing explosives, mining or operating many types of power-driven equipment.
Beyond Federal Rules
States too, have laws regulating minimum work ages, hours of work, types of jobs and required documentation for minors. Work permits or certificates are required in many, but not all states. Employers should be aware of their states’ rules. When federal and state standards are different, the rules that provide the most protection to the employees apply, except in cases of small businesses that do not engage in interstate commerce in any way, and which are subject to state laws only. If a business generates a total income of $500,000 a year, generates any income outside the state where it is based, or makes goods that are sold in another state, it’s subject to federal labor laws.
Keep age certificates for minors on file while they’re working, and return them when employment is over so the minor can work in the future. Certificates may be issued by the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division or, more commonly, by state agencies or schools. Birth or baptismal certificates with proof of age can be used for states without age certificates.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, an employer is permitted to pay employees who are under age 20 a minimum wage of $4.25 an hour for the first 90 days of employment, if the youth’s job doesn’t displace other workers. More guidelines on the federal youth minimum wage are available on the DOL site.
Knowing the federal and state rules regarding young workers will enable you to employ minors in lawful work activities and help ensure they have safe and rewarding work experiences. Contact us for counsel on any questions about hiring youth. These are just summaries of complex rules, and other provisions and exceptions may apply.
HOW TO RECRUIT THE BEST CANDIDATES
Learn how to identify, hire, and retain the best possible talent!
There’s more to an applicant than their resume. More important than the nitty gritty specifics of their qualifications are character, work ethic, and cultural fit. When pressed to choose between an applicant with an all star resume and one whose personal values closely mirror your company’s culture, choosing the latter will likely result in lower turnover in the long run.
Best Practices
#1 Network, Network, Network!
To acquire top level talent, you need to always be passively recruiting. It’s better to be proactive than reactive, which is why you should never pass up an opportunity to network and rep your brand. Practice your elevator pitch. Be able to articulate why someone should be excited to work at your company. By passively recruiting, you can start your talent search with a list of viable candidates, every time a position opens up.
#2 Always Start with a Phone Screening
Once you’ve found what looks like an eligible candidate on paper, set up a phone screening to gauge if they’re a potential fit, before setting up an in-person interview. Phone screenings are great for getting a sense for a candidate’s personality and critical thinking skills. Make sure to provide a short, concise overview of the position and ask situational questions.
#3 Try to Weed out Fence Riders
Uncertainty is a big red flag! Your ideal candidate should be excited by the position being offered
Be on the lookout for fence riders! If someone sounds uncertain about certain aspects of the job, they’re likely not the right fit. Recruiters can effectively reduce churn rate by trying to weed out fence riders when they encounter moments of push back or hesitation. Rather than passing them off to hiring managers for further interviews, or damaging your brand reputation by giving these candidates the cold shoulder, recruiters can serve everyone’s best interest by gently talking them out of the position during the interview. Convince them that the job isn’t for them.
#4 Know the Numbers
We recommend interviewing at least three people for every position, within 48 hours of each other. Additionally, even if you think you’ve found that perfect candidate, your search should be left open for at least eight total days.
#5 Use Industry Specific Assessment Tools
When possible, use industry specific assessment tools to gauge a candidate’s competency.
#6 Look for Longevity
Longevity and personal interests can be indicative of a candidate’s comfortability with their career. A candidate whose list of positions follows a logical succession starting with graduation is likely a good fit, or, at the very least, likely not a bad fit. If they also have hobbies and aspirations which align with the skills they utilize in their professional life, this person is possibly a great fit.
Conversely, someone whose career path is messy and skips in and out of all different industries could be a gamble. If their education and interests also don’t match their work, they’re likely not the right fit.
Conclusion
Your recruiting efforts will determine the future strength of your organization. Find the right candidate the first time, by being proactive in your search and refining your process with phone screenings, industry specific assessments, and the right metrics.