Author Archives: CorpStrat News

Effective Ways to Manage Employees in a Remote Environment: The New HR Department

In these unprecedented times, employers are forced to make difficult decisions around how much of their team they can sustainably keep on. Unfortunately, when teams working remotely, the first department that seems easiest to trim down is the HR department. Once the HR department is eliminated or whittled down, it leaves employers without the tools or resources they need to navigate the pandemic and vulnerable to litigation. Before eliminating your HR department outright, we’d advise seeking out creative solutions that can help keep the functional use of your HR team while keeping within your budget.

The Danger

Google can not replace a trained HR professional. Which of us hasn’t quickly typed an HR or payroll question into Google and found the answer that we needed? But be warned, Google is good until it’s not. Letting Google be your HR department can easily lead to large claims and getting sued by employees.

The employee/employer environment is as litigious as ever, making the wrong moves can come back to bite you. Add a pandemic with constantly updating rules and regulations to the mix and you have a real recipe for disaster. In our future post-COVID world, many employees who have exhausted unemployment may look for ways to get more compensation which could lead them to file claims against former employers.

How to Avoid

Don’t fire your HR team. It sounds simple but many business owners are trying to save every dollar they can and when making difficult cuts, HR can seem non-essential in the short run. This couldn’t be further from the truth, we believe it may be the most vital time in the history of your business to have a strong HR person(s). With so many new regulations, you need a trained HR professional to help you navigate the complex policies. Trust us, it will ultimately save you a ton of time, frustration, and money.

The Opportunity

Right now is the time to make sure you have all your ducks in a row by completing an HR audit. Even if you still have a full-time HR person, a CorpStrat HR representative can help you take a good look at your HR infrastructure, discover any vulnerabilities, and find ways to improve on it. In times of crisis, it’s important to find creative, sustainable solutions. For example, if you can’t afford to keep on your entire HR department during the pandemic, there may be a way to combine fewer HR team members with an HR outsourcing firm to maximize efficiency and stay financially viable.

CorpStrat Tip:

Hire a good labor law attorney—it’s worth the added expense. A good labor law attorney can help employers avoid a lot of headaches. Many business owners hire HR consulting firms and assume that they are compliant but not all HR consulting firms are created equal. Without a labor law attorney, you could unknowingly be overlooking important legal documents and leave yourself open to litigation. This is why we’ve included unlimited phone and email support with a labor law attorney in our CorpStrat HR Plus and Pro services.

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Interested in a full HR audit? Schedule a call with a CorpStrat agent: marketing@www.corpstrat.com

Effective Ways to Manage Employees in a Remote Environment: Workforce Automation

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There’s no doubt about it: our workplaces are going to look very different post-COVID-19. This might mean keeping some of your team remote indefinitely, changing the layout of your offices, or switching up your workflow to fall in line with health and safety guidelines. We can’t force things back to how they were but we can focus on setting you and your employees up for success in the “new normal”.

A few weeks ago, we gave a webinar on “Effective Ways to Manage Employees in a Remote Environment” in which we shared how companies can streamline their HR processes and maintain company culture. We’re excited to bring you the webinar in four parts: Workforce Automation, the New HR, Benefit Package and Company Culture.

Part 1: Workforce Automation

According to Capterra, 91% of professionals who work at small and medium sized businesses say workforce automation software is crucial, but almost 58% of them are not using it. That’s a huge gap. In our post-COVID-19 new normal, we believe more teams will adopt work from home policies which will make automated HR management software even more necessary.

The Danger

What’s the danger of not having a workforce automation system? Companies have done it the old-fashioned way with paper for over 50 years. What’s the fuss?

The reality is too many things can fall through the cracks. The fact is, relying on paper processes when you have a remote team becomes inefficient very quickly. A simple paid time off (PTO) request can mean piles of paperwork, redundant requests, and scrambling to calculate accrued balances—all leaving opportunities for potential oversight. With the technology available today, it’s a no-brainer to make the switch to an automated workforce system. With an automated system in place, your employees can submit a paperless request via their self-service portal, their time gets deducted, and it automatically updates in payroll.

How to Avoid

Help your employees help you by giving them self-service logins that allow them to access and edit their information. There’s a dual-sided benefit: if employees are able to make edits to their W4, change their address, view and sign items, submit PTO requests, and enroll in benefit plans, then they’ll feel empowered AND it will relieve the stress of managing manual processes.

The Opportunity

In addition to making things run more smoothly, there’s also an opportunity to eliminate potential lawsuits. Instead of worrying that employees can cite “you never told me”, you can keep track of everything in one database. This ensures nothing gets lost in the mix. Integrating employee lifecycle events into one system means that events are readily accessible at all times.

CorpStrat Tip:

We’ve seen many employers embrace workforce automation, but only in part. The market is filled with systems that offer piecemeal solutions: some just do new employee on-boarding, others only do benefit enrollment. Adopting separate services that don’t work together creates more manual work for your team.

We think employers should focus on making sure to streamline all employee lifecycle events into a single database that connects payroll and employee benefits into one system and has a powerful mobile application.

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Interested in streamlining your workforce automation? Schedule a call with a CorpStrat agent: info@www.corpstrat.com

PPP Reform Bill Features Extended Forgiveness & Updated Guidelines

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(UPDATE as of July 4th 2020: On Saturday, July 4th, President Trump signed an extension of the small business loan Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) into law, according to the White House. PPP will now remain open to applications through August 8th.)

Many business owners who have received their PPP loan are struggling to ensure all their spending falls within the right parameters in order to receive forgiveness. Last week we broke down those strict guidelines and answered some of your most pressing questions. This week, we have some great news for business owners: the Paycheck Protection Program reform bill was signed into law. This means small business owners will gain more flexibility and time to use their PPP loan money. Read on for all the notable changes you need to know about the PPP reform bill and what it means for your loan forgiveness.

Forgiveness Period Has Been Extended

Originally, the PPP loan allowed for 8 weeks to use the allocated funds in order to receive forgiveness, this is now being extended to 24 weeks OR until the end of the year (12/31/2020), whichever is sooner.

New borrowers now have five years to repay the loan instead of two. Existing PPP loans can be extended up to 5 years if the lender and borrower agree. The interest rate will remain at 1%. The bill allows businesses that took a PPP loan to also delay payment of their payroll taxes, which was prohibited under the CARES Act.

Payroll Cost Requirement Has Been Reduced

The previous requirement of using 75% of the PPP loan towards payroll costs has now been reduced to 60%. This means that if you received a $100,000 loan, you now only have to use $60,000 towards payroll costs, freeing up more funds to allocate towards eligible non-payroll costs such as rent and utility payments.

One important note: Previously, payroll cost forgiveness was based on a sliding scale, it is now a cliff. Before, if you spent less than 75% of your loan on payroll costs, it would just reduce your eligible forgiveness amount. Now, if you spend less than 60% of your loan on payroll costs, none of the loan will be forgiven.

More Time to Restore Workforce

Once small business owners received the PPP loan, they had to use it to restore 90% of their workforce. This means that if you had 10 Full-time Equivalents (FTE), you had to hire back 9 of your employees back. Under the this reform bill, employers now have until the end of the year (12/31/2020) to restore their workforce to pre-pandemic levels.

Previous guidance excused employers from bringing back workers if they can document that they were unable to rehire. For example, if an employer extended a good faith offer to a previous employee and that employee rejected the offer to return, the employer could provide documentation that this exchange occurred and be excused from bringing back the worker. The exemptions under the new bill allow borrowers to adjust if they 1.) could not find qualified employees or 2.) were unable to restore business operations to pre-pandemic levels (employment levels before Feb. 15, 2020) due to COVID-19 related operating restrictions.

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Our shareable graphic rounds-up all the notable changes to the PPP Loan. Feel free to share and tag us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

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We’ll keep you posted as more updates arise. If you have any additional questions, please email us at marketing@www.corpstrat.com.

Confused About Your PPP Loan? We’ve Got Answers For You

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Update: As of June 4th, 2020, the House-passed Payment Protection Program reform bill was approved by the Senate. The PPP Loan forgiveness parameters have changed, please see all updates at our new blog post.

So you just received your PPP loan and you still have a lot of questions. You’re not alone. It’s a new program and the Small Business Administration (SBA) is still releasing new guidelines. The most pressing question we’re hearing from employers who’ve received the loan is: How do I receive forgiveness on my PPP loan? Read on as we answer this and more FAQs you have about PPP loans.

What is the PPP Loan?

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, was enacted to provide immediate assistance to individuals, families, and businesses affected by the COVID-19 emergency. Under the CARES act, the SBA was able to temporarily guarantee loans under a new program called the “Payment Protection Program” (PPP). PPP loans are designed to help small businesses, independent contractors and self-employed persons keep their workforce employed during the economic hardship many are experiencing due to COVID-19. Loans guaranteed under the PPP loan will be 100 percent guaranteed by SBA, and the full principal amount of the loans may qualify for loan forgiveness.

What expenses are forgivable with my PPP loan?

In order to receive PPP loan forgiveness, you need to use the loan for eligible expenses. It is required that at least 75% of your PPP loan is used to cover payroll costs. The remaining 25% can go towards specified non-payroll costs that are essential to running a business. (Updated forgiveness parameters as of June 4th, 2020. See our new blog post.)

Speaking of forgiveness, is the PPP loan all or nothing?

No. Whatever portion is not forgiven can be retained and repaid over a 24 month period at just 1% interest. (Updated forgiveness parameters as of June 4th, 2020. See our new blog post.)

If I laid off employees – do I have to hire them back?

No. But, the loan forgiveness amount will be reduced if the business has reduced its number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees or has reduced the salary or wages of certain employees based on the following formulas:

Formula for reduction in FTE employees:

What percentage of the loan has to be used towards payroll?

Not more than 25 percent of the loan forgiveness amount can be used towards non-payroll costs (i.e.,mortgage interest, rent and utilities). Additionally, proceeds from any advance up to $10,000 on an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) will be deducted from the loan forgiveness amount. (Updated forgiveness parameters as of June 4th, 2020. See our new blog post.)

When does my eight-week period start?

The covered period begins on the date the lender makes the first disbursement of the loan, this means it begins the first day a loan payment is sent out.

After 8 weeks I can’t afford to keep my employees – what do I do?

Once the 8 weeks is up, continue running your business as you would otherwise do so. Even though it’s a difficult step, moving forward with furloughing or termination if necessary will allow your employees to sign up for state and federal resources. Note that any change in employment status requires paying out any PTO or unused leave. (Updated forgiveness parameters as of June 4th, 2020. See our new blog post.)

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We understand that these are confusing and uncertain times. That’s why we’re always here to help, contact your CorpStrat rep with questions, anytime! Call us toll free at (800) 914-3564 or email us at info@www.corpstrat.com.

Your Company Employee Benefits – Will you need a reset?

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Shaking hands after job offer Will we return to business as usual post-COVID-19? Sadly, not as quickly as we’d like. Some businesses will resume however, many may never recover. Companies will be focused on revenue generation, resuming some business operations, and restructuring workforce and office environments. One area companies should focus on, that may be key to recovery, is their employee benefits programs.

Just two months ago, companies had to compete for talent by offering robust packages and supporting programs to attract talent and retain staff. Now that a large number of Americans are unemployed, companies will have their pick of talent, a phenomenon we have not seen in years. In the coming months, companies will be feeling the pressure to offer a competitive benefits package while struggling to put back the pieces of their business. Here are some simple, low-cost ways to ensure your employee benefits package is appealing in the new normal.

1. Ensure you are COBRA compliant

Every employee who has lost coverage is entitled to COBRA continuation rights. The question of “who” makes the offer is a function of your group size and state. If your firm has 20 or more employees, it is your responsibility to comply, as penalties for non-compliance are steep. Keep in mind it is not just a termination issue! Work with your broker to make sure you are completing all the necessary parts of the COBRA compliance.

2. Review current offerings and contribution formulas

As previously mentioned, companies were ferociously competing for talent pre-COVID. Benchmarking benefits were critical and expanding offerings was essential. Looking forward, you need to review what you offer, why you offer it, how you offer it, and what the market demands for retention and attraction. Companies will scale coverages back, look to change contributions for employees, and seek ways to manage their benefits budgets. What’s right for your company may be different from others – given geography and demographics. Note that COVID hasn’t helped the pricing of benefit plans. Expect to see increased costs for healthcare in the years ahead.

3. Explore voluntary benefits

These are the hidden gems of benefits—plans that can be purchased by employees, and many times pre-taxed. It’s not only Aflac, but a host of offerings from life insurance, sickness, critical illnesses, and even pet insurance. These plans can add up and the premiums can have a collective reduction in payroll costs for workers’ compensation and payroll taxes.

4. Expand pre-tax offerings for premiums and healthcare expenses

This includes health reimbursement accounts, dependent care expense accounts, and review of health savings accounts. Each of these can help employees use pre-tax dollars to pay for items they are likely to pay for and saves taxes for all. (FYI – for post-COVID, the FSA has been expanded to allow for over-the-counter health care expenses).

5. Deploy an HR system that integrates payroll, time, attendance, and benefits

Companies have quickly figured out that having a system that can integrate payroll, time, attendance, communication, GPS tracking, and benefits enrollment is an essential tool for companies—big and small. With that in mind, a fully-integrated Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is a powerful tool to be equipped with. Without one, companies won’t thrive.

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Want an experienced professional to help you map out your benefit package strategy? Get in touch with CorpStrat today.