NAPEO
“I just can’t find the workers we need,” is an intensifying concern we hear every day from nearly every client. While the staffing function previously stayed in the middle-management court, it now has the appreciably driving attention of our clients’ most senior executives. In 2022, every employee counts.
In recent years, Congress, the federal agencies, and the Trump and Biden administrations have taken significant actions affecting health and welfare plans, and 2022 promises to be no different. This article discusses some of the primary issues we expect PEOs to be grappling with over the coming months with respect to their PEO-sponsored group health plans.
There have been many lessons learned over the last two years as we faced the pandemic and the new world of work. When the shutdowns were announced in March of 2020, ESC immediately put an action plan together that included how we could best assist our clients and what would be most helpful for them during that challenging time. Some clients were nimble and employees began working from home with little interruption, while others did not know where to start. We assisted them through the transition to work from home, and then many of them came back to the office. Currently, the majority of our clients are either working on-site or in a hybrid model, while a few made the decision to be fully remote. We wanted to share best practices and lessons learned as our team of HR business partners and clients worked together to navigate this new world of work.
It’s an “employee’s market.” That’s a phrase business leaders have heard over and over again during the past year. Many HR professionals and business owners alike were hoping to see a change after stimulus programs ended. Since then, employers haven’t seen a rush of candidates back to the workforce as anticipated, nor have companies experienced a widespread rebalancing of workforce supply and demand. A change in worker attitudes and a return to normal also have been slow to materialize. That has left employers questioning whether these trends are here to stay. Regardless, these employment challenges can’t be ignored. To remain competitive and to continue business operations, organizations need to bridge the gap between employee expectations and workplace realities.
The Great Resignation or the Turnover Tsunami—however you refer to this period of change in the workplace—is a historic moment for the workforce. As the quitting rate continues to increase along with the number of open positions, employers are being forced to take action to counteract the labor shortage.
Many issues stem from the current labor shortage crisis. Many long-term employees who are great at their specific skill sets have their eyes set on retirement. These employees are consistent, yet some are stagnant and slow to embrace change. This may pose a challenge for contribution to forward-thinking strategies. Leaders need to push long-term employees from becoming stagnant, which is especially important when these workers are in charge of hiring and training.
Employees are vital to your organization and a significant investment for most businesses, typically averaging 70 percent of operating expenses. This essential business asset deserves a well-crafted strategy. While compensation is only one factor to consider for recruiting and retaining talent, it is critical to your overall HR strategy. Whether initiating or updating your compensation strategy and philosophy, the following best practices may help guide your process and decisions.
A successful business is dependent on positive employee relations and as our nation battles racial inequity, it is crucial to understand the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace. In trying to keep up with this progressive trend, it behooves any business to work on its DEI strategy. Many business owners would be surprised to learn that DEI is imperative for success and growth. The influential byproducts of DEI include increased overall company performance, positive employee morale, innovation, and financial gain. According to an article in Forbes Magazine, “Companies with a strategic focus on diversity produced higher revenue based on innovation in comparison to companies that did not have the same strategy.”
Many employers carry employment practices liability insurance (EPLI), which provides cost-of-defense and other insurance coverages to employers for covered employment claims. EPLI claims, such as discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination, can be extremely costly and time-consuming to defend. As a result, proactive employers should seek ways to reduce the number of EPLI claims to cut down on business costs.
PEO industry professionals are in a unique position to experience a feeling of déjà vu around this time of year. That’s because we’re probably following a specific cadence that has been built from years of experience around the usual end-of-year/beginning-of-year processes that apply to our own organizations as well as those of our customers. You likely end up asking yourself, “Didn’t we just do that?” more than once
Years ago, a business owner talked to me about his organization’s diversity initiative. The challenge he faced was retaining employees hired as part of the diversity initiative. He was perplexed because he and his team put considerable energy into hiring African American employees only to have them quit within months of being hired. He attributed the poor retention to the assumption that “they just don’t want to work here,” and the diversity initiative was shelved. This conversation stuck with me for many years and pushed me to learn more about creating successful and sustainable diversity and inclusion initiatives.
It’s year end and everyone within the walls of a PEO is heads-down, preparing clients for “the push:” the end-of-year payroll, benefits renewal, W-2s, and annual tax filings. This is also a natural time to reflect and chart a path forward, maybe even make a resolution or two. If diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) isn’t in your review mirror or your windshield looking forward, you’re leaving your organization and your clients behind. The truth is, DEI is good for business—yours and your clients.’
Uber. Netflix. Airbnb. They all took business-as-usual ideas—taxis, video rentals, hotel stays—and turned them on their heads. They were all disruptions we welcomed because they fixed friction in our lives, unless of course you were a taxi driver, Blockbuster, or hotel chain. Disrupt or die became a critical shift for all industries, and it became crystal clear that digitally enabled, diverse experiences were the future.
