Uncategorized Archives

5 Ways HR Apps Are a Must-Have For a Mobile Workforce

December 19, 2019/in Uncategorized/by Joy Flateau

Do you have employees that are on the go?

Let’s review 5 ways a mobile HR app can help your business.

1. Employee Engagement

Smart business owners are proactive about employee engagement. Is your HR app as advanced as those your employees use in their personal lives? If it’s clunky by comparison, you have a great opportunity. You can improve engagement with a good mobile HR app.

2. Time and Attendance

Mobile time tracking apps are at the forefront of mobile tech. For example, WorkForceReady from Genesis PPG has geofencing and ’employee-aware’ clock prompts. Your employees can use the app with any mobile device—whether it’s their own phone or a company-provided tablet.

3. Recruiting

Around half of job candidates in all age groups use mobile devices in their job search. If you want to be competitive on the hiring market, you have to provide a mobile-optimized candidate experience. It’s no longer optional.

4. Onboarding and Training

Branded mobile apps for onboarding and training set your organization apart. Employees connect with your brand as soon as they begin onboarding.

Administrators appreciate the completion tracking and e-signature features. Supervisors use the analytics for real-time oversight of training progress.

5. Productivity

Business owners are adopting productivity apps in many industries. When workers get real-time feedback, they are consistently more productive.

UPGRADE TODAY

Genesis PPG offers WorkForceReady, the unified HCM portal that makes it easy to optimize the performance of your managers, employees, and organization.

We’ve added recruitment, onboarding, benefits enrollment, performance reviews, and employee engagement! WorkForceReady is created for busy employers like you who need to reduce cost-per-hire, streamline scheduling, automate time tracking, maintain regulatory compliance, and lower labor costs.

Why is a Formal Onboarding Process Important?

November 19, 2019/in Payroll, Uncategorized/by Joy Flateau

Does your business have a well-designed onboarding protocol?

If you don’t, you’re not alone. Like most business owners, you have a lot of things on your plate. Onboarding isn’t always top of mind. In many organizations, it consists of a short orientation meeting followed by reams of forms for the new hire to complete.
After that, the new employee
is sent to their manager for training.

Maybe it’s time to improve your on boarding protocol. You have much to gain.

A well-designed onboarding process has many benefits:

Employees hit the ground running
Employees are more productive
Employees develop better time and attendance habits
Increased company unity
Lower employee turnover

“When employees go through structured onboarding, they are 58% more likely to remain with the organization after three years.”

What can onboarding include?

Workplace tour
Orientation
Company policies and procedures
Time and attendance instructions
Payroll instructions
Benefits enrollment

Please note that we didn’t include training. We are focusing solely on onboarding tasks that are common to most industries.

Some companies are using employee onboarding software to automate some of the tasks. Instead, employees are directed to the company onboarding website before their first day onsite. In the onboarding portal, they are given an introduction. They are introduced to policies and procedures. They are able to fill out the necessary forms.

The advantages of advance online onboarding:

Employees can take their time to fully absorb the material
Employees don’t feel pressured to complete it quickly because a supervisor is waiting
It saves admin costs
Managers can track progress

Note: Employers are required by law to pay employees for time spent onboarding and training.

Workforce management systems simplify onboarding. Centralized document management simplifies the process for new hires and admin staff. Document confirmation validates completion. Administrators can easily edit documents. Digital files save money and reduce the environmental impact.

Genesis PPG’s Workforce Ready HCM is a unified workforce management portal that includes automated employee onboarding.

Genesis PPG offers Workforce Ready HCM, the unified Human Resources portal that makes it easy to optimize the performance of your supervisors, employees, and organization.

We have added onboarding, benefits enrollment, performance reviews, and employee engagement! Workforce Ready HCM is created for busy employers who need to streamline scheduling, automate time and attendance tracking, maintain regulatory compliance, and decrease labor costs

Lower Payroll Costs With a Biometric Time Clock

November 6, 2019/in Uncategorized/by Joy Flateau

Many business owners think biometric time clocks cost too much for the average server message block. Actually, this misconception is far more expensive. It prevents business owners from getting one. It is the lack of a biometric time clock that increases the cost of doing business.

Why? Any other type of punch in device is susceptible to errors. Sloppy employee timekeeping inflates labor expenses in numerous ways.

Employee Wage Theft Costs You

Employees punching in before their authorized shift start time
Workers punching out after their authorized shift end time
Workers failing to clock out for unpaid breaks and meals
A worker punching in for another employee who is not working (This worker may end up coming in late or not show up at all)

If you think this is not happening at your business, you must believe that your employees are somehow different than other workers. The truth is that study after study verifies that wage theft is pervasive among hourly employees.

When you are paying wages for time not actually worked, you are losing income. And your payroll budget is probably already your biggest expense.

Human Error Also Costs You

Workers unable to recall previous shift times when filling out a time card several days later
Supervisors making math errors when reconciling time cards
HR managers miscalculating accruals
Data entry mistakes when entering employee hours in the payroll system

How Much Are You Losing?

Studies by the American Payroll Association and other industry experts are sobering. They estimate that the amount of time employers overpay workers ranges from two to four hours a week per staff member. For our example, let’s assume that you are paying an extra three hours a week per staff member. If your average hourly wage is $10, and you have 30 employees, the grand total is $46,800 dollars in extra wages each year.

What biometric clock is best for your organization? Call Genesis PPG today and we’ll help you find the perfect one so you can pay less for labor next month. Genesis PPG offers Workforce Ready, the unified Human Resources portal that makes it easy to optimize the performance of your supervisors, employees, and organization. Workforce Ready includes Time and Labor, and HCMtoGO mobile app. We’ve added onboarding, benefits enrollment, performance reviews, and employee engagement! Workforce Ready is designed for busy employers like you, who need to streamline scheduling, automated time and attendance tracking, maintain regulatory compliance, and decrease labor costs.

7 Good Reasons Subcontractors Should Use A Time Tracking App

October 24, 2019/in Uncategorized/by Joy Flateau

Mobile time tracking apps are gaining ground as the de facto standard for time tracking. Managing subcontractors can be a logistics hassle. The right mobile time tracking app can make all the difference.

Here are 7 good reasons to download the HCMtoGo app:

1: Payroll Accuracy

Mobile time tracking apps are more accurate, and allow for direct data import for payroll. The number of potential problems you can avoid in payroll processing

is considerable. From poor handwriting to bad math, paper time cards foster errors from the start. This can create costly errors that sap time and profit from your productivity.

Accuracy in payroll is critical. Automated time tracking with a mobile app will save you time and trouble.

2: Real-time Recording

Mobile time tracking is the ultimate in convenience for employees. They are also a real time-saver for managers. Real-time recording provides up-to-the-minute reports possible.

Managers will know about overtime problems before they happen. Instant alerts can warn of overtime problems before they happen. Employees can see updated date to make decisions on shift swapping.

Mobile time tracking apps help generate reliable data that you can trust. They also help reduce records disputes and payroll errors.

Employees find them more convenient and easier to use. Managers enjoy accurate time and attendance records without the hassles.

3: Increased Profitability

With mobile time tracking, managers can keep a close eye on expenses. Time and attendance is a major expense for most projects. Tracking these costs is critical to effective management.

Overtime alerts, real-time tracking and tools for analysis give your managers unprecedented oversight. Automation can reduce the burden of monitoring and saves time and money.

Mobile time tracking apps increase manageability and renew focus on cost savings.

4: Accurate Data Recording

Mobile time tracking makes it possible to generate future-looking reports. These can be a big help in predicting expenses. Accurate data is the key, and mobile tracking apps are the way to get it.

While it is possible to create reports from traditional time cards, it takes a lot of extra time. There is also the possibility of human error.

Mobile time tracking allows companies to compile data with ease. Managers can generate reports with the click of a button. Data collection is automated. The result is better, more accurate data that helps you establish the true costs of a project.

5: Record of Work

Accurate and reliable records are important in the event of an audit. They can also be critical in a dispute about payroll accuracy.

With mobile time tracking, employees are prompted to record breaks and meal times. This helps generate a reliable history of work time to the minute. Error tracking and intelligent clocking help avoid mistakes or missed punches.

With complete, accurate and reliable records, employee disputes are minimized. Audit-ready records mean you are prepared for any scrutiny, and in most cases are protected from accusations.

An accurate and reliable record of work will help your company avoid compliance and legal troubles in the future.

6: Accountability

Mobile time tracking enforces accountability.

Subcontractors are able to punch in and punch out from any location. This means there are no more excuses for missing time cards or missed punches.

Subcontractors are empowered to track their own time. They share responsibility for generating accurate and reliable data. This helps generate accountability for time and attendance tracking.

7: Win Win

Your business will benefit by adding mobile time tracking to your subcontractor management. Subcontractors will also benefit from added convenience and accuracy. Mobile time tracking apps from Workforce Ready offer a world of convenience and accuracy. Your business can be more profitable. Give us a call today and find out more about how easy it is to get up and running with mobile time tracking for your subs.

Six Payroll Problems To Keep In Mind

October 7, 2019/in Uncategorized/by Joy Flateau

It is no secret that 20% of small businesses fail their first year. Payroll mistakes are the primary reason. Getting a grip on your payroll can ease cash flow and help keep your company afloat. As it turns out, payroll is critical. Payroll is also dependent on other systems that you need in place to make sure everything is running smooth. Here are six payroll problems you need to consider as you move your business forward: One: Human Error. Humans make mistakes. Employees enter incorrect hours on time sheets. Time cards get lost. Employees forget to clock out. Supervisors fail to track overtime. Human Resources managers make data entry mistakes. Employees do, too. If simple human error was isolated, the problem wouldn’t be such a concern. Human error, however, often causes a domino effect and can cause trouble down the road. Automated time and attendance can help reduce or even eliminate opportunities for human error to affect your payroll. Two: Missed Deadlines. For most small businesses, payroll comes too often, too fast. If you are the typical small business owner, you spend your week worrying about pleasing customers. Operational demands often come as an afterthought and are the reason we spend late nights at work. Payroll deadlines simply can’t be missed. There are penalties to be paid if you do, and not all of them financial. There are also federal, state, and local tax filing deadlines to worry about. Automation can help you save a lot of time in preparation for payroll. Automated time and attendance, advanced scheduling, and payroll integration are key. It also helps to have a good payroll company to back you up and take the burden. Three: Compliance. Compliance is a big issue that is often forgotten. It isn’t simple, and it requires constant vigilance. Laws change and new regulations are popping up all the time. Compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the most common area of trouble for small business. Affordable Care Act (ACA) regulations need to be considered. Healthcare providers will be burdened with Payroll Based Journaling requirements. The list goes on. And on. And on. It helps to be running your time and attendance, scheduling and payroll on a system that is up to date. Automated payroll and time-keeping will help alleviate most of the concern. Four: Preparing For Audits and Legal Challenges No one likes an audit, and few business owners think about them until they occur. Preparing for an audit can steal a lot of time from your focus. Preparing for an audit without good records can be terrifying. Preparing for an audit should be a matter of automation. When you use modern time and attendance tracking and payroll integration, your records are always ready. Our time and attendance software runs in the cloud, so backups are off site and available 24/7. Audits no longer need be a frightening event. Five: Improper Employee Classifications. Incorrect employee classification is a common payroll pitfall. It’s amazing that this is a common reason for business failure, but it is. The three critical classifications are:
● independent contractor, ● hourly non-exempt, and ● salaried exempt. The “exempt” refers to overtime protections. Non-exempt employees earn overtime when they work more than 40 hours a week. Exempt employees don’t earn overtime.
Improper classification of an employee can result in fines or non-compliance penalties. Employees might not receive credit for the right pay scale, resulting in a short paycheck. Employee classifications are a thing of the past with our advanced time and attendance software. We can help you get things set up so tracking employee classifications is fully automated. We can even integrate with payroll so records are reliable. Six: Cash-flow. Cash-flow can sink your business quickly. Many of the problems we have discussed have roots in cash flow. When funds are low, owners and managers can become desperate. Scheduling and time and attendance can have a huge impact on cash flow. Unplanned overtime can sink a business without you even knowing. Over staffing can drain your budget when income doesn’t match the resources. Workforce management software with integrated scheduling can help you avoid these problems. Efficient time and attendance management can help you shave time and increase productivity. With workforce management software doing the heavy lifting, you can optimize your cash flow.

What are the Employer Requirements in New York State for Paid Family Leave?

September 6, 2019/in Uncategorized/by Stephanie Mialki

As of January 1, 2018, almost all private employers, with one or more employees, are required to offer paid family leave to their employees. The Family Leave benefits were put in place for you to help your employees care for their families as they need to. Family leave has been shown to boost workplace morale, and increase employee retention. If you’re looking to see how the newly enacted family leave benefit will affect your workplace, keep reading.

What Benefits Does the New York State Paid Family Leave Offer?

When your employee is on paid family leave, they will earn a percentage of their average weekly wage, up to the same percentage of the predetermined state average weekly wage, or SAWW. This SAWW is updated annually and determined by New York State. Eligible employees can take their paid time off and receive a percentage of their average weekly wage, which is capped at the same percentage of the New York State Average Weekly Wage. (For example, the cap for 2019 for a SAWW is 55% of the 2017 calendar year SAWW, $1,357.11.) To explain further, an employee’s AWW is the average of their pay over the last eight weeks in which the employee worked and received wages, prior to beginning their paid leave. Does this make sense? Here’s a helpful graphic showing what your employees can expect to receive over the next 2 years.

NEW YORK STATE PAID FAMILY LEAVE BENEFITS 2019 THROUGH 2021
Year	Weeks of Leave	Employee Benefits
2019	10 weeks	55% of employee’s average weekly wage, up to 55% of SAWW
2020	10 weeks	60% of employee’s average weekly wage, up to 60% of SAWW
2021	12 weeks	67% of employee’s average weekly wage, up to 67% of SAWW

Who Is Eligible for Paid Family Leave?

New York Family Leave benefit requirements have been designed in such a way that they require employers to offer paid family leave and job protection for any employees who qualify for three specific life events. It is worth noting that an employee would not be eligible to take advantage of the family leave benefits for their own illness of health condition. (For the record, FMLA would be the route to pursue for a situation such as this to be covered for an employee, although unpaid, and could be utilized for the following events as well.)

The qualifying situations include:

Bonding with a new child within the first 12 months of their birth (or to bond with a newly adopted or fostered child within the first 12 months of their adoption/placement).
Caring for a family member who is seriously ill or has a serious medical condition.
Eligible family members include:
- a spouse or domestic partner of any gender
- parents or stepparents
- children or stepchildren
- grandparents
- grandchildren
- parents-in-law
Supporting family members/family obligations when a military family member is deployed abroad on active duty. This also includes any military events associated with active duty, post-deployment activities, and rest or counseling for service members.

Every full-time New York State employee that has worked for their employer for at least 26 consecutive weeks will be eligible for this paid family leave following a qualifying event. Part-time employees must have worked at least 175 days and do not need to be consecutively worked.

How Often Can An Employee Request Paid Leave?

It is important to note that there are certain restrictions on the 10 week leave time, so we’ll break that down for you to better understand. Firstly, an employee can utilize their 10 week leave once every *rolling* 52 weeks. This means their eligibility does not renew with the calendar year, but depends on the first time they requested it. The maximum leave amount will reset once every 52 weeks. Employees can request less than a full week of leave at a time.

What Is The Employer’s Role?

As the employer, your first step is to set up the policy, since paid Family Leave is an insurance benefit. Reach out to your insurance company and ask about available policies, as paid family leave is typically able to be added on as a rider to an existing disability policy, but does not replace it. Since this is paid for by employee contributions, this is not an out of pocket cost for you. You pay for your insurance policy using the contributions you collect.

Currently, In 2019, the employee contribution is 0.153% of an employee’s gross wages each pay period. The maximum annual contribution is $107.97. These numbers are updated annually and determined by New York State. They are accessible at https://paidfamilyleave.ny.gov/cost.

Additionally, make sure to inform your employees of their options in any written materials, like an employee handbook, or any other form of written guidance. Your insurance company will provide you with a notice to post and/or give to employees. Be sure to include what their paid family leave benefits are, and how to file a request. Be sure to respond to requests for paid leave and familiarize yourself with how to handle these requests.

Don’t forget to update your payroll to reflect the employee contributions and offer waiver forms to employees who are ineligible to receive benefits.

Ultimately, it’s important to be prepared to accept leave requests from your employees. If you already offer paid family leave, be sure that your benefit offers what the law requires, at a minimum, but it is your choice to supplement these benefits. If you choose to pay full wages to your employees while they are on paid family leave, you may request reimbursement from your insurance provider up to the amount payable under your family leave policy.

For more information, including Paid Family Leave forms and other resources for employers, visit PaidFamilyLeave.ny.gov or call (844) 337-6303.

How Business Owners Can Decrease the Chance of Fraud When Accepting Credit Cards:

August 21, 2019/in Uncategorized/by Stephanie Mialki

Credit card fraud and fraudulent card returns can be debilitating and costly to any business, but it hits especially hard for smaller business owners. Not only does it put customer information at risk, it potentially places sensitive employee or company information in the wrong hands as well. The good news is that there are a lot of things that can be done to mitigate the potential for fraud as you are accepting credit cards at your store or shop. For the most part, you can spot fraudulent behavior before any criminal activity or theft actually occurs.

Thankfully, many advancements have been made to reduce in-store fraud, and the implementation of chip technology has helped to decrease efforts of fraud as well. In fact, the chip technology is said to be so secure that, as of October 2015, credit card companies will assume liability if any fraud occurs for in person transactions utilizing an EMV compliant device.

Let’s talk about some of the things to look out for in terms of credit card fraud when it comes to your card reader while in a brick-and-mortar store. First and foremost, you and your employees or your team should know the signs of a fraudster before the actual criminal activity happens. It’s better to prevent it in the first place! Any customer that is exhibiting some strange behavior should set off some immediate red flags, but in case you need a refresher, here are some things to look out for.

Suspicious Behavior:

Any customer appearing uncomfortable, constantly looking behind their shoulder
Someone attempting to very quickly finish their transaction or appearing anxious
A customer who checks the name/signature on the back before purchasing
A person who doesn’t have a card on hand, but can tell you a card number
A customer who completes a purchase and returns shortly after to make another
Someone who shops right before store closing, or shortly after opening
A customer who is trying to distract the cashier/clerk from the card
A person who shares that their card has been giving them “problems” or “trouble”
Anyone who buys a very large number of expensive items, jewelry, or purchases clothing without paying much attention to the sizes and costs of their items

Of course, any of the above displays of behavior can be completely normal. A customer spending a high dollar amount or making multiple trips to the store does not mean they are attempting to conduct criminal activity. However, if someone is exhibiting one or more of the characteristics above, your team of employees should know what to look for and to exercise caution when necessary.

Watch Out For Fake Cards:

Another sign of fraud is a card that doesn’t quite look right. Fraudsters will frequently copy and emboss card numbers onto a different card. Looking at the actual card is a key step to take before processing a transaction, in any situation. This remains especially true if the customer has exhibited any of the behaviors listed above.

For example, it may be something that is often overlooked and easily forgotten, but all American Express cards begin with a 3, Visa cards start with the number 4, Mastercard with 5, and Discover cards with the number 6. So if you see an American Express card that starts with the number 5 or 6, you and your employees can spot that it’s a fake before the transaction is processed. Additionally, if the signature strip is smudged or scratched, or the mag stripe appears ruined, these are further warning signs that the card may be a fake. Major credit card companies also have a hologram on their cards, and tilting the card and looking at it under light should help you further determine the card’s authenticity.

When in doubt, train your employees to ask for identification from customers. This allows for dual verification – that not only does the person in front of you match the image on the driver’s license, but the name and signature match on both the card and the identification. While this can be seen as a hassle for customers on a daily basis, you can remind them that it is your highest priority to keep your customers protected from fraud and that it is important for you to keep their information safe.

Education Is Key to Prevention:

Ultimately, the best way to prevent any credit card fraud is to ensure that you and your employees are trained properly to look for warning signs, and will ask the right questions in order to keep your customer information safe and avoid fraud entirely. Don’t allow customers to bully your employees into completing transactions if they don’t feel comfortable. Remind your team that they are the first line of defense when it comes to processing card transactions. They are responsible for recognizing the red flags that accompany a fraudulent transaction. Empower them to trust their gut instinct when it comes to something they feel may not be right.