Horizon Payroll Blogs

After working hard on completing your company’s end-of-year procedures, your human resources department may be ready to take a break. However, there is still much work to do to prepare for the upcoming year, especially when considering how the workforce is changing due to the pandemic. So, as the year comes to a close, give these ideas a look to make sure that your HR has the right plans in place to start the new year off strong.

We all know that retirement planning is important, and we also know that the best way to prepare for our golden years is to start saving early. Traditional pension plans are generally limited to the public sector and a few large unions, so most workers save for their retirements by placing funds in IRAs or 401(k) plans offered by their employers. This arrangement is fine for disciplined savers, but many Americans allow short-term problems to distract them from their long-term goals.

It’s the time of year for lists: shopping lists, gift wish lists, to-do lists, packing lists for travel, maybe even lists of lists … and at Horizon Payroll Solutions, we love a good payroll and HR task list too.

If you’re like many employers, you’re preparing to close out 2021 and set up for 2022. But sometimes there’s a nagging feeling you’re forgetting something.

Don't have time to read this article? Watch it instead!

A common question that many business owners ask themselves is, "How frequently should I pay my employees?" There are a few factors to consider when determining how often you pay your workers, but it mostly comes down to preference. In this post, we will go over how to find the best pay frequency for your business.

Talent acquisition is a time-consuming and costly process. According to Recruitorbox.com, below are the average amounts of time and money HR teams spend during the hiring process.

Manual HR tasks can take even longer and therefore become even more expensive, which is why we recommend you utilize an electronic HR solution. Let’s go through some examples and four major benefits of a paperless HR solution.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. Please consult a legal professional or attorney with specific questions.

As with many HR matters, the question of requiring one’s employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine is complicated. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), you generally can require the vaccine as a precondition for coming to work in person. But, just because you can do it doesn't mean it’s always the best or the only way.

This year started out like most, but now as it draws to a close so much is different. Even if January 1 can’t get here fast enough for you, those annual year-end payroll and HR tasks still need to be addressed. Use our updated checklist to wrap up 2020 efficiently so you can get ready for what’s next.

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S. BLS) reported a decline in unemployment rate by 2.2% via their “The Employment Situation - June 2020" press release. However, because COVID-19 and the coronavirus continue to be an area of concern, it’s important to be prepared for possible layoffs. 94% of states in the BLS recorded historically high unemployment rates in 2020. View up to date unemployment numbers per state here.

Delivering news of a layoff is a difficult task for anyone to complete. Doing so with compassion is the key to a seamless transition. We’ve prepared a helpful checklist and 11 tips below to help you through the process.

By now, you’ve probably heard the IRS has released a redesigned version of form W-4 for 2020, also known as the Employee’s Withholding Certificate. Most employees will need to fill out a new W-4 now and then, but how does this new form factor into the mix?

Supporting a strong team of employees can be just as challenging as finding a new candidate. Even top employees can steer off course and require guidance to do their best work. In some cases, encouraging the employee to move on may be the best course of action. But disciplining or terminating an employee is never an easy job for a manager. There are the personal delicacies to consider – hurt feelings, damaged work confidence and office morale – as well as the feared legal retaliation should the firing not follow the right process.

A Professional Employer Organization, or PEO, specializes in ubiquitous HR tasks like payroll, tax filings, benefits and retirement package administration, and more. Some companies turn to them to outsource this work so they can focus on growing their business, especially if they lack the internal expertise or the funds to hire dedicated HR staff. In fact, the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) says 175,000 small and mid-sized businesses currently work with a PEO, which represents about 15% of employers with 10 to 99 employees.

With unemployment at 3.9 percent in July 2018, it’s clearly a job candidate’s market. If you can find qualified candidates, they’re probably considering several employment options. While competitive salaries are still crucial, the benefits you offer are growing in importance. According to research by Glassdoor, “57 percent of US job candidates say benefits and perks are among the top things they consider when accepting a job offer.”

By now most of us know the Millennial generation is the largest portion of the US workforce. And their numbers are only going to grow as Baby Boomers and even Generation X workers age and retire in ever-greater numbers.

As a millennial who has just graduated from college and been through the job search process, I’ve realized a few things about which company benefits are truly important. Throughout my four years as a business student, I’ve heard some big talk about the amazing benefits at companies such as Google and the studies that prove their effectiveness. All of this buzz gave me extremely unrealistic expectations. Sure, companies like Google exist and yes, the studies don’t lie. Offering employees unlimited vacations, nap pods, free food, on-site medical facilities and a plethora of other extreme benefits does affect employee happiness and productivity. However, the expectation that every company can provide the same benefits as Google is absurd. The reality is that while many companies may want to offer their employees all these benefits, the price tag is far too high. I learned this quickly in my job search and my priorities shifted. While flashy benefits would be amazing, I came to understand that the benefits that are most rewarding and beneficial are the ones that help me save money and plan for my future.

Congratulations! Your business has grown to 15 employees! Since your very first hires you’ve complied with labor laws like the Immigration Reform and Control Act, the Equal Pay Act and, if you provide benefits, HIPPA. But did you know that 15 employees is a threshold for additional labor law requirements? Here’s what you need to know.

As you've probably heard, sexual harassment is making headlines. Men and women, from Hollywood stars to everyday people, are speaking out - and perpetrators are facing hefty consequences. No complaints at your company? Don’t breathe a sigh of relief quite yet; just because you haven’t heard about harassment at work doesn’t mean it’s not there. Make no mistake, harassment encompasses far more than dirty jokes or unwanted advances. You should know all the forms of harassing behavior, what to do about them and how to promote a workplace culture that doesn’t tolerate them.

Employee absences are inevitable.  Scheduled or not, legitimate or not, absences mean less work completed as time and money go to paid sick time and overtime, picking up the slack, training a sub, or bringing in a temp. And don’t forget “soft” costs like increased workload, coworker resentment and reduced productivity. Absenteeism may be an unavoidable part of life at work, but it can be managed. The time you spend tracking attendance helps you find ways to improve it. Besides, what you learn about your employees’ absenteeism could be like the canary in the coalmine – a sign that something else is wrong.

Ask anyone who works in human resources about the signs of autumn - chances are, leaf colors and pumpkin spice beverages aren't at the top of the list. In the HR world, open enrollment, preparing form 1095-C and setting up next year’s payroll schedule are really what signal that fall is here. There’s paperwork to file (or e-file), employee data to verify and did we mention the deadlines? It can make for a hectic time with lots of projects to keep track of. Read on to stay organized and manage the chaos.

It used to be that once an employee left a job, they were cutting ties with the organization forever. However, it’s becoming more common for employers to rehire former employees, anyone from seasonal workers to full-time professionals. A 2015 national survey of more than 1,800 human resources professionals, managers and employees found that ”nearly half of HR professionals claim their organization previously had a policy against rehiring former employees – even if the employee left in good standing – but 76 percent say they are more accepting of hiring boomerang employees today than in the past.”  So - how do you do it right?

Employees facing exit interviews need only look to Google for article after article offering guidance on what to say and what not to say. Leaving a job can be an emotional roller coaster, so employees are often advised to be constructive and diplomatic, honest but guarded and most of all, to avoid burning bridges. There’s an art to giving constructive criticism without breaking confidence with coworkers or making one’s manager look bad. Not everyone can pull it off and some don’t even want to try. The result for employers? Vague answers to exit interview questions and a lack of actionable insights. But, there’s plenty you can do to help departing employees give useful feedback while still taking the high road.