Author Archives: CorpStrat News

Learning with CorpStrat: Free Courses for Clients

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Black Woman Working From Home With Laptop Computer

We understand there are many businesses struggling during this very challenging time.

With most people working remotely now, it is easy for employees to feel disconnected from the rest of their team, having to manage stress and learn to adapt each day. While we have also been adjusting to remote work, some have also been juggling their other jobs as parents, teachers, & employees.

As part of our 21st Century HR Solution that uses technology to simplify and streamline HR procedures, we are offering CorpStrat Learning: a platform for employees to come together to connect and collaborate, which allows companies to assign, track, and educate their staff and managers on a host of subjects.

Our CorpStrat Learning tool is for clients to empower employees during these times when everything can start to feel rather bleak.

Here are the 5 courses we have identified as the most purposeful and helpful during this time:

  1. Coronavirus Preparedness for Managers and Employees
    This course informs managers and employees of simple steps they can take to stay healthy and prevent the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19). (Recommended for: Managers and Employees)
  2. Crisis Management and Emergency Response Planning
    This course teaches managers how to safeguard their employees and the reputation of their organization with advance planning and swift, effective actions during a crisis or emergency situation. (Recommended for: Managers)
  3. Handling Stress
    In this course, managers and their team will learn effective techniques to learn how to best manage their stress levels, allowing them to not only improve their overall sense of well-being but also to work more productively. (Recommended for: Managers and Staff)
  4. Working Remotely
    Whether your business has always been remote, or this is the new normal for you given the circumstances around COVID-19, our “Working Remotely” course offers managers and their team strategies on how to be an effective, remote employee. (Recommended for: Managers and Staff)
  5. Managing Remote Teams
    As we touched on earlier when it comes to working remotely, feeling connected and touching base frequently is important to keep your team productive and engaged. Not to be confused with our “Working Remotely” course, this course focuses on providing managers guidance on how to strengthen their team’s synergy during times of remote work. (Recommended for: Managers)

We know times are tough, so CorpStrat is proud to offer this platform for FREE to our existing agency clients. Contact us now to enroll and roll out these courses.

P.S. (If you have more “downtime” and want to get ahead of the compliance curve, CorpStrat also offers a full set of California compliance training courses. As a reminder, it is required by California law that employers of 5 or more employees are required to provide Sexual Harassment Prevention Training. Although the current stay-at-home order may give us all a sense of comfort with this issue, it is important to ensure this is completed before January 1, 2021.)

Ready to feel empowered to tackle working remotely?
Email us at Learning@CorpStrat.com to get started.

 

The Value of an HR System Amidst COVID-19

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Man video conference with team

With Los Angeles County extending the “Safer At Home” emergency order through May 15, 2020, employers and their employees have had no other option but to adjust and get comfortable working from home. Even furloughed employees need a way of interacting with the basic processes of HR.

While human resource teams are dealing with the changes in the workforce the last thing they need to worry about is how to properly relay all new information to their employees now that everyone is out of office. With that in mind, an HR system is critical to help keep businesses running smoothly and efficiently during these remote, unprecedented times.

Here are some ways employers with a robust process can make the best use of their HR system during COVID-19.

Ensure Contact Information is Current

With the news around Coronavirus changing day by day, it’s important to make sure your system contains all employees’ most current contact information should you have to make any company announcements. It is also good to have on hand now that everyone is working remotely and it can be harder to get an immediate response from an employee since you cannot physically stop by their desk to grab their attention.

Keep Employees Updated on Policy Changes

If there are any important policy changes and/or relevant COVID-19 news for your employees, it should be added accordingly to your HR system. Make sure your employees also know how to access this information themselves so they can easily locate any important documents they may need regarding taxes or pay statements.

Help to Keep Your Team Accountable and Engaged

Social distancing by working remotely can be an adjustment period for some, especially companies who are more “old school” and thrive on in-person connections. As employees are working from their homes, it can be harder to check-in with each other throughout the day as well as figuring out logistics that one may not have had to consider pre-Coronavirus. Utilizing an HR management system can alleviate these frustrations through various collaboration features to help rally your team to work on projects together and feel a little more “normal” even if it’s temporary.

Learning and Training

Seek and push out any and all ways that can help your team stay mentally fresh and positive. There are many companies offering training, continuing education, and advanced learning. Now is a great time for people to work on getting their credentials, enrolling in secondary learning classes, or completing state or federal required training.

How CorpStrat Can Help

With these challenges during COVID-19, employers have enough to worry about. CorpStrat’s cloud-based HR Management System will take the HR stress off your plate and transform your workplace administration. By being properly equipped with our streamlined process for HR management, this will help you overcome your COVID-19 HR obstacles by easily tracking your company’s HR needs including payroll, benefits, time off, and employee data – all through one tool.

 

Importance of Insurance Premiums During COVID-19

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health insurance are you covered

During these unprecedented times, business owners and professionals are becoming increasingly concerned about cash flow. No entity or individual is immune to the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 crisis. Today we bring you some of our thoughts on what’s happening on the insurance side of this pandemic.

Current State of Health Insurance

To date, we haven’t seen much from insurance companies in terms of extending payments and/or granting relief. Some carriers like Kaiser have announced their offering of extended grace periods for employer groups. Then there are some life insurers who have issued no-lapse statements while Blue Shield has agreed to grant employers some relief on their April premiums. There are also many carriers who haven’t released any statements to address this issue.

Insurance companies depend on premium revenues to support their actuarial assumptions and reserves. They don’t have systems in place to accommodate a mass change in premiums – even if such programs existed, they aren’t anticipated to abate any premiums, but rather simply extend them.

With this in mind, it is now more critical than ever to have some level of coverage in place for your health insurance, life insurance, and/or disability insurance.

We realize this is easier said than done for many. Employers are currently looking at their April billing and wondering to themselves, “Where is the relief for this payment? What do I do?”

From our experience, insurance companies are not likely to forgive any payments. Deferring only adds a larger amount to any subsequent obligation to pay future premiums.

While auto and equipment leasing are extending payments, some landlords providing flexibility on rent, and some utility companies are granting relief on tenants’ payments, insurance companies generally lag when it comes to consumer-centric thinking.

What Business Owners Should Do

CorpStrat believes in taking a pragmatic approach, in that the essence of insurance is that it must be in good standing in times like this when one’s coverage is needed the most.

If you are a business owner, make sure to explore the SBA loan resources and apply for opportunities that will best help you preserve your benefits packages.

Some other tips from CorpStrat:

  • Try your best to keep all insurance payments as current as possible
  • Work with your broker to ask if your carrier has any “unpublished” considerations and contact us for guidance on any issue

We hope you found this helpful during these challenging, uncertain times. Contact the CorpStrat team if you need guidance on organizing your insurance premiums.

COVID-19 and Your Health Insurance

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Health Insurance and COVID-19

Every business is struggling with how to retain their employees and also how to treat their health insurance.

What we have outlined below oversimplifies it, but is intended to give you a general sense of how insurance companies are addressing the most pressing concerns around the COVID-19 outbreak we have been experiencing the past month.

Are carriers granting premium extensions or extending grace periods for employee benefit plans?

Not yet and we are not anticipating. Insurance companies are seeing unprecedented usage (claims) and have not announced any formal extension of ordinary 30-day grace periods. Some carriers are suggesting employers write and request individual consideration. Keeping employees covered, even those furloughed, is critical for everyone. With the forthcoming Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), companies will likely be able to get forgivable loans (which will include 8 weeks of payroll INCLUDING health insurance), so with the availability of these loans and capital, employers should be able to remit premiums.

Patients who are hospitalized are consuming hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars of healthcare expenses. Unlike a building, where unpaid rent won’t weaken the structure or integrity of the building itself, loss of premium revenue atop massive reduction in revenues could potentially undermine the stability of insurers. Pay your health insurance premiums at all costs – these insurance companies just might be part of saving our lives.

Will carriers allow employees who are NOT actively at work, FMLA (Families First), those who drop below full-time status, or are otherwise furloughed, to remain on the health insurance plan?

For the most part, yes! Each carrier has announced a relaxed “actively at work” provision allowing employees who are otherwise not working to remain under plans for some period. Of course, employers should be addressing with their staff their intent and providing proper notice for any layoffs or leaves and complying with the Families First Act.

If employees are laid off and later hired, will the new hire waiting period be waived?

In general, most carriers will allow employers to adapt their policies to accommodate this unprecedented time. Here is what each has already declared:

  • Aetna – Yes, through July 31, 2020
  • Anthem – Yes, if rehired by May 31, 2020
  • Blue Shield – Yes, if rehired within 6 months
  • CIGNA – Unknown
  • Kaiser – Will allow each client to define their waiting period
  • United Healthcare – Yes

Will the carriers allow mid-year benefit changes at the employer level? At the employee level?

While this seems appealing, adapting a change in benefits during a period of chaos and where communication with eligible participants might be hard, is not recommended. That being said, here is what each major carrier is saying they will allow:

  • Aetna – Yes, by July 31, 2020
  • Anthem – Unknown
  • Blue Shield – Yes, a one-time, mid-year exception
  • CIGNA – Unknown
  • Kaiser – Must be made by May 31, 2020
  • United Healthcare – Yes, a one-time, mid-year exception

Are carriers offering a Special Open Enrollment period for employees who previously waived the coverage to join the plan?

For the most part, yes. This creates a dilemma for employers who may be seeking to minimize participant enrollment and the outlay associated with each employee on the plan. However, for someone who wants to open their enrollment, here is what each major carrier is allowing:

  • Aetna – Not at this time
  • Anthem – Special enrollment window through April 3, 2020
  • Blue Shield – Special enrollment window
  • CIGNA – Unknown
  • Kaiser – Special enrollment window through April 3, 2020
  • United Healthcare -Special enrollment window through April 6, 2020

Are carriers waiving the co-pay for Telemedicine or any other employee responsibilities for deductibles and/or co-insurance?

Universally YES. In fact, this period will spark the growth of telemedicine as a faster, more cost-effective and immediate way for people to receive healthcare advise and guidance.

  • Aetna – Waiving cost share for telemedicine and cost share for COVID-19
  • Anthem – Waive cost share for telemedicine
  • Blue Shield – Waiving cost share for telemedicine
  • CIGNA – Waiving cost share for telemedicine and cost share for COVID-19
  • Kaiser – Waiving cost share for telemedicine
  • UnitedHealthcare – Waiving cost share for telemedicine

Please keep in mind that everything is subject to change in a moment, and small/large group pools may dictate exactly what, when, and how things will happen. Reach out to your dedicated account executive at CorpStrat for guidance.

Loan Programs Employers Need to Know About During COVID-19

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signing a small business loan form

Several loan programs are going to be available for employers and details are highlighted below and in the links to our website. This update includes information about three employer loan and relief programs, in order of priority:

  1. Payroll Protection Program
  2. Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL)
  3. Payroll Retention Credit

The big item is the Payroll Protection Program, which is probably the most immediate of the items.

Call your bank now and tell them you intend to apply. Time is of the essence here as the initial money will run out, although it is quite possible Phase IV of the Congressional COVID-19 response will expand the funding beyond $350 billion.

These loans will be administered by SBA-recognized banks and possibly include other non-SBA banks. It is a Section 7(a) SBA program. Our feedback from bankers is that it might be two or more weeks before the process can get going, but some anticipate forms for applications to be produced in the next day or two.

  1. You will need to do some calculations. The maximum loan is $10 million or 2.5 times your monthly payroll and some other costs.
    1. Several calculations might be required but, basically, determine your average monthly payroll for the 12 months preceding the date in which the loan is made.
    2. That means you calculate the payroll costs from the prior year
    3. Payroll costs can include health insurance and some retirement plan contributions. Independent contractors you pay would also qualify.
  2. The loans will not need to be personally guaranteed and will not require collateral.
  3. There are several things you can pull together now.
    1. Average monthly payroll.
    2. Number of Full-Time Equivalents during that same period.
    3. Estimate the percentage of your normal operations functioning now.
    4. Some idea of how much you might be requesting
    5. Financial statements as recent as you might have.
    6. Links or copies of your latest filed tax returns.
    7. Payroll Tax Returns for the last several quarters.
    8. Forms 1099 MISC for independent contractors you may be claiming as included in the loan amount calculations.
  4. Don’t forget about the required certification that your business needs this money because of the current health crisis and the uncertainty that puts on the business’s ability to pay its employees and continue to function normally.
  5. Some or all of the loan amount will be forgiven, depending on how you spend that loan. these include 8 weeks of payroll immediately following the loan closure but employee retention is critical.
    1. A long list of expenditures exists that, when documented, will permit the business that loan forgiveness.

The second thing to prepare for is the EIDL, which stands for Economic Injury Disaster Loan.

  1. Provisions exist for an EIDL Grant of $10,000, which is a request for an emergency advance if you are applying for an EIDL loan. Some notes to consider:
    1. You must be an eligible entity.
    2. If used for expenses like payroll, rent, supply chain costs, and certain other expenses, the payback is not necessary.
    3. Any PPP loan would be reduced by this advance.
  2. The EIDL loans may be granted up to $2 million.
  3. They are more difficult to get and may take longer.
  4. The amounts advanced are likely to be recourse and backed up by personal guarantees of each of any 20% owners.
  5. These loans will be collateralized.
  6. In addition to the items necessary for applying for this loan:
    1. Itemize your liabilities (they can be grouped for now).
    2. Prepare yourself to submit personal financial statement details. You might refer to your latest bank form for your most recent loan and update it.
    3. Include your monthly sales report.
    4. Prepare some projection of what you expected in revenue and expenses. Do one for before the health crisis and one after. This is not required but might smooth the acceptance process.
    5. There will be forms and other items to fill out and sign. We or your advisors can help guide you on this.

The Payroll Retention Credit is also available, but it is the third thing to consider now.

This benefit is available where you can document operation suspension or severe reduction.

  1. It is a refundable credit against your employment taxes and is refundable.
  2. It cannot be claimed if you have a forgivable SBA loan. The forgivable loan probably works better.
  3. We recommend that you focus on this after you prepare for items 1 (PPP) and 2 (EIDL).

Need assistance to start applying for these loan programs? Contact CorpStrat today and we’ll walk you through the process.