Author Archives: CorpStrat News

MediaStratX and The 21st Century HR Solution

Our Client

Located in Santa Ana, California, MediaStratX is at the forefront of the automotive warranty market. Tripling in size this last year, they seek to provide auto protection plans that help solve the rising costs of repairs for the consumer. MediaStratX brings to the table friendly customer service, while also being able to expand coverage protection plans to meet their customer demands.

Their Challenge

Because of MediaStratX’s rapid growth, they never took a step back to analyze their processes when it came to HR. Manual processes that worked when they had ~30 employees – like Payroll Entry, Onboarding Employees, and Employee Handbook Acknowledgements – were starting to get extremely cumbersome and tedious as they grew. For example, due to their large expansion, MediaStratX was distributing 5-10 hard copy, new hire packets every week, collecting them, and then manually entering employee data into their system. This daunting task alone took 3+ hours every week for the HR team.

The Solution

CorpStrat recommended their branded “21stCentury HR Solution” which is comprised of a dedicated on-site Human Resource Consultant, as well as a fully integrated Payroll and Human Resource Information Software System to completely streamline MediaStratX’s Human Capital Management.

Before we learned about the CorpStrat 21stCentury HR Solution, we were completely lost!  We knew the ins and outs of our industry but didn’t really know how to navigate the constantly changing landscape of HR in Southern California. We couldn’t be happier that CorpStrat showed us the way!” – Jacquelyn Le, COO, MediaStratX

The Results

When fully implemented, CorpStrat’s fully integrated 21st Century HR Solution helped save MediaStratX’s HR team countless hours of administrative work every week that were previously wasted on simple HR tasks. Not only are employees able to log into their employee portal to fill out new hire paperwork, enter hours, acknowledge company policies, and request time off, but now MediaStratX has a partner that will help them, and their employees grow in a streamlined, compliant fashion when it comes to HR.

To learn more about CorpStrat’s 21’st Century HR Solution contact their offices at (818) 377.7260.

The Importance of Quality Employee Benefits in 2021

2022 is just around the corner, do you have your Employee Benefits in order? Remaining competitive in searching for the best and brightest job candidates who will drive business is difficult. Once you find the candidates, you have to convince them that your company is the better option to work for than your competitors.

However, there are ways for employers to take full advantage of certain aspects of their business to win the war on talent. A strategic, quality, and comprehensive benefits package can help you attract and retain your most valued assets, your employees.

According to a survey conducted by Glassdoor in 2015, 4 in 5 Employees Want Benefits or Perks More Than a Pay Raise; Glassdoor Employment Confidence Survey (Q3 2015). Employees value a well-rounded selection of benefits, and health insurance plans, a 401(k) plan, life insurance, and dental + vision coverage are a few of the plans that you can consider offering to gain a competitive edge.

Have questions? Email us now at marketing@corpstrat.com.

Popular Employee Benefit Examples

Benefits packages offer value to your employees and help you, as an employer, boost productivity and retention in a cost-effective manner. Here are a few of the advantages of offering employee benefits as part of your compensation package.

Talent-Oriented Benefits

Employees highly value a quality benefits package offers that go beyond just the minimum health insurance. Developing a strategic benefits package that invests in your top talent can help attract the right job candidates and keep your organization running at peak efficiency.

Once you have these top-performing employees at your company, providing a tailored employee benefits package will serve as a barrier to them leaving—a great benefits package can be a huge advantage when looking at retention strategies because it holds more than just monetary value for the employee.

A bigger salary at another company likely won’t be as strong a pull for an employee tempted to leave if the other company’s benefits package isn’t as attractive as yours. That’s why considering creative offerings from beefed-up paid parental leave policies to implement student loan benefits — think free college tuition, breast milk shipping services and free babysitting services — can make a significant impact in retaining top talent and increasing your bottom line.

Health and Productive-Oriented Benefits

When your benefits package includes a combination of health insurance and dental and vision coverage, you will have employees who are able to take a proactive role in managing their health. They will have easy, affordable access to health care, reducing absenteeism due to illness.

When they are on the job, healthy employees are more productive than sick ones. It’s beneficial for your company’s productivity and your employees when they have access to medical coverage and time off when they are sick.

 Providing Satisfaction

A good benefits package leads to satisfied employees with higher morale. Employees who find value in their benefits are typically more willing to commit to their company because it helps make them feel valued—which leads to increased productivity and decreased absenteeism.

 Efficient Use of Resources

Offering valuable benefits can help lower top employees’ expectations for salary. Many employees are willing to accept good benefits in lieu of a slightly higher salary.

This is an advantage to your budget because the value you present to employees with benefits, especially health insurance plans, can be monetarily equal to a raise in salary for them, while costing you less due to group rates and lower payroll taxes. Employers can avoid the hidden cost of paying extra payroll taxes on higher salary by instead offering benefits to provide similar value to employees.

 Think Long-term

Even if you think you can save a little money in the short term by skimping on employee benefits, you will eventually face the consequences through a lowered ability to attract high-achieving employees, increased difficulty retaining your top performers, and lowered morale and productivity.

Offering a quality array of employee benefits will pay off through a stronger, more productive workforce with employees committed to your company.

Working with CorpStrat will help you develop a strategic benefits package that works for your budget and offers attractive options to your employees. We can also give you access to educational materials for your employees as you launch your new or improved benefits package. Contact us at 800-914-3564 or send an email today.

2019 Labor & Employment Law Update for California Employers

california flag in from of state capital building

California Governor, Jerry Brown, recently signed into law several bills that will have a significant impact on California employers’ workplace obligations. Effective January 1, 2019, the new laws will restrict nondisclosure agreements and certain settlement agreements covering harassment and discrimination claims.

These changes significantly expand harassment training obligations (including for employers of under 50), require female quotas on California-headquartered boards of directors, and potentially require updating lactation accommodations.

Continue reading

CorpStrat’s Holiday Collaboration

Promoting Holiday Cheer

Clients got in on the action this year by participating in our company’s holiday promotion. A cardboard cutout that looked like an Instagram post was passed around offices to take photos with. The winner – GEAR MANUFACTURING – brought the card to their holiday party and had all the employee take photos with it – like a photo booth. Gear Manufacturing won a pizza party for their entire office on us. Read more for tips on how to better promote all types of events amidst the holidays.

New 2019 Affordable Care Act Guidelines and Their Effects on Businesses

Magnifying glass over Affordable Care Act policy and business paperwork

Laws change all the time and it’s important for employers to stay up to date on employment-related news as they come along. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has seen annual changes since it began nearly a decade ago. The new year 2019 is no different, especially since the tax reform act from 2017 featured a few ACA changes that take effect in 2019.

Companies must keep track of these changes in the ACA law or face fines, penalties or even worse. Here are a few major changes to look out for in relation to the Affordable Care Act in 2019:

Companies with 50+ full-time employees must offer affordable health coverage

Requiring that health coverage is offered to employees at large businesses has been a goal of the Affordable Care Act since the start. In 2018, the rule went into effect that requires companies with 50 or more full-time employees to at least have health care offered to them by their employer. This rule goes unchanged for 2019.

While affordable care must be offered, and the plans must be of high enough quality to fulfill the ACA’s coverage requirements, employees are not required to accept.

However, most employees do accept an offer of coverage, if for no other reason than to avoid the tax penalty for going without coverage. But that changes in 2019 as well.

The individual mandate for healthcare has been suspended

Up until now, if an individual did not carry ACA-approved healthcare, they would be charged an extra tax come April 15th. This included anyone who had coverage that did not qualify for ACA, as well as anyone who lacked coverage for any amount of time during the year.

However, in 2019, this mandate has ended. Now if an individual chooses to go without coverage, they will not be penalized for doing so. This could affect employers as they may see a decline in employee enrollment in the company’s group plans.

The health insurer tax is suspended again

The Health Insurer Tax is a fee placed on healthcare providers based on the premiums they brought in throughout the year. In 2017, the fee was suspended, but it was brought back in 2018. Now it is suspended again for 2019.

The hope is that the health insurance companies will be able to control the cost of premiums now that they do not have to pay this extra fee, which could lead to better rates for employers and employees.

The affordability threshold has risen to 9.86%

In order for there to be affordable care, there must be a definition of the term “Affordable”. According to the law, the lowest-cost self-only coverage option made available to employees cannot exceed 9.86 percent of an employee’s household income.

For example, plans that use the Federal Poverty Line for affordability can’t charge more than $99.75 per month to their employees who choose to sign up for a health plan.

These are the major changes that could have an impact on many businesses around the country. Be sure to consider how these changes will affect your organization when budgeting for the next year.