Why Your Business Needs A Quality Payroll Service

Payroll is one of those crucial hinges in the doorway of your company. Without a purposeful plan in place, your staffers won’t receive their payments on time each month. And an unhappy staff is an unproductive staff.

Still, it can be a mountain to climb on your own. Payroll processing can rob you of precious minutes and hours from your day as you check payments back and forth. And everything relies on you – even if you get payments out on time, if there’s a mishap with someone’s overtime or a miscalculation of taxes, you’re responsible. Which, when you’ve already got the weight of an entire business resting on you, can be a bit more than some managers signed up for.

Join us today, as we examine the role of a payroll service in your business, and why it’s absolutely crucial for an efficient operation. No matter the size of your business, making payments on time is a favor you do yourself, and the least you can do for your staff.

Save Time

Every company is different, but an issue at the heart of every business is time management. Being able to use the hours in your day effectively makes you better at your job, but it also leaves room to address new issues as they come up. And, as any business owner will tell you, they tend to come up a lot.

Companies spend too much processing payroll and taxes every month. That’s not your job (unless you’re a payroll company, in which case this blog probably isn’t for you). You need a solution that separates you from this task, which can sometimes eat hours out of your monthly schedule.

This is why payroll services are so important. By removing the task entirely from your purview, you reduce the amount of time spent on administration, boosting productivity. And, with a professional in your corner handling the process for you, you won’t waste much spend much time double checking the process either.

Generate Reports

With a dependable payroll system in your corner, another great benefit comes with custom reporting. Every thriving business is built on a thorough understanding of how the business operates. This is equally true for payroll services.

Generate payroll reports to give you the raw data you need to make informed decisions about compensation. In companies with a notable employee turnover, for example, pay data can highlight problems before and help to turn the situation around.

Remember: information is your biggest weapon in business. With pay reports from an expert payroll service, you’ll have all the data you’ll ever need.

Simplify and Reduce Errors

Just because you employee a full staff of workers doesn’t mean you were born to crunch the numbers on their monthly payrolls. It’s a complicated process, and the line between being a good business who pays fairly and somewhere where the numbers run rampant is a fine one.

A comprehensive payroll service makes everyone’s lives easier, in this regard. Set up and process employees’ paychecks ahead of time, simplifying the process through automation. A professional services process calculates your taxes and deductions, guarantees payment amounts, and clears out administrative bottlenecks.

Remember: human error is more common than you might think. Even if you have “a system” or a head for math, the truth is we all slip up. Accounting for overtime, benefits, and tax withholdings is complicated, and anybody could slip up on it. The biggest downside to this is that fixing mistakes is often time-consuming and (even more often) stressful. Payroll services help to prevent these errors ahead of time.

Are you interested in high-end payroll service from one of Florida’s most trusted names in the industry? Get in touch with Vision H.R. today to find out more about our professional work portfolio.

Maximize the Effectiveness of Your Workplace Safety Programs

“No person should ever have to be injured, become ill, or die for a paycheck,” says the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This is the agency which enforces that workplaces be safe and healthful, administering the Occupational Safety and Health Act. This, in turn, focuses on rules, inspection regimes, and penalties for failing to uphold those standards. But often that focus can sidetrack employers from a more fundamental perspective, that is, creating a top-down workplace culture that puts a premium on safety.

No list of safety procedures and standards can fully accomplish a “no accidents” goal without a foundational commitment to the aim of having a “safe and healthful workplace.” How can your business achieve that?

For starters, be sure you’re measuring the right things when you’re putting teeth behind your safety policy. Many employers simply pat themselves on the back and reward managers if no accidents occur within their departments over a specified period of time. But that approach can backfire. For example, it can discourage workers from reporting accidents.

More fundamentally, it doesn’t directly reward activities designed to prevent accidents; it only rewards past results — which could simply be the product of good luck. While rewarding a period of time without accidents might sound good, it fails to recognize that some accidents are inevitable. And it doesn’t necessarily prove whether a safety policy is effective. Accident rates could rise and fall without any adjustment to the underlying policies.

What to Measure

Without abandoning the retrospective look at accidents, you can supplement it with a more forward-looking approach. Specifically, you can incentivize managers and employees to come up with new ideas and procedures designed to improve safety.

Working conditions generally aren’t static, which means that new hazards can arise. Managers and workers who recognize such new safety risks and do something to minimize them in advance should receive encouragement. And these rewards can apply to devising new safety measures in response to accidents.

Demonstrating Commitment

Of course, while employees will respond to incentives and disincentives, their workplace culture influences them as well. They pay attention to the priority given to safety by upper-level managers. Evidence that safety is a priority for leadership includes the following:

• Adequate resources allocated for accident prevention
• Safety processes and improvements discussed at staff meetings
• Management held accountable for accident prevention efforts
• Annual assessments of the success of existing safety rules and procedures

When employees feel comfortable communicating among themselves and with supervisors (and vice versa) about workplace-related concerns, they’ll be far more likely to flag safety-related issues. This includes unsafe behavior they have observed among their coworkers.

When criticism is offered and received gracefully with an understanding that problem-solving is the goal, proactive support on workplace safety can flourish. Immediate feedback on employee suggestions, including simple expressions of gratitude, demonstrates to employees that they are being heard. This seems to be true even if ideas are not immediately — or ever — implemented.

In addition, a formal structure to maintain ongoing communication about workplace safety issues can ensure its effectiveness. It could include quarterly or annual feedback to all employees about their accident prevention performance, and a report on the organization’s overall accident and safety track record.

Orientation Programs

No communication is complete without a safety orientation program for new employees, as well as a safety and health policy document signed by the most senior executive. Typically, such documents include a statement of the company’s commitment to maintaining a safe working environment and a listing of the roles and responsibilities assigned various managers to uphold the company’s policy.

“Communicating the organization’s commitment to safety is as important as the company’s statement on producing quality products; both statements should be mutually supportive,” according to The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.

Including employees in safety enhancements not only signals their opinions are valued but also prompts better ideas and greater buy-in to the end-goal.

Here are three opportunities for employee participation:

• Safety and health involvement teams
• Accident investigations
• Safety and health audits

The same principle applies to safety training. According to OSHA, “When workers have a voice about how training is developed, training programs are more accurately focused on specific workplace hazards.”

Workplace safety consultants can be helpful in ensuring compliance with OSHA regulations that may apply to particular businesses, as well as in emphasizing the need for common sense and for making safety a priority. As the saying goes, “Safety isn’t expensive, it’s priceless.”

(Source: BizActions)

Three Reasons Your Business Needs a 401(k) Plan

A 401(k) plan is a retirement savings policy sponsored by the employer at a business. It works by allowing the recipient to put away a piece of their paycheck before taxes are removed. Combined with employers matching contributions and the associated tax breaks and benefits make 401(k)s hugely beneficial to everyone.

But don’t take our word for it. Join us, today, as we bring you three great reasons to introduce 401(k) benefits to your Daytona Beach business today!

Employee Acquisition

A skilled and dedicated workforce is the backbone of any successful business. Make sure you bring the right people on board, to guarantee the quality of the work you’re putting out.

But nothing comes for free. There are certain expectations in most modern employer-employee relationships you have to pay attention to to get ahead. In order to make your business attractive to a team of talented workers, it’s important to offer perks that your competition may not have to offer. We live in an age where even the longevity of social security benefits is under fire, and a 401(k) retirement plan can help set you apart compared to the competition. It may even be the tipping point between bringing on a high-quality staffer and someone who represents the industry average.

Employee Morale

Of course, the value of your company’s benefits has direct implications for the people already working there, as well. Being able to show your worth to the employees you already have under your wing with a retirement plan can help to boost their satisfaction, as well.

A happy workforce is a productive workforce. If you can maximize your output and overall productivity, you’ll give your employees a goal to work toward. More importantly, you’ll show them your company genuinely cares about them. Even with a rudimentary understanding of positive reinforcement, it’s clear that this kind of reciprocation is more likely to produce effort in your employees. The obvious benefits of this are that it can reduce your overall turnover rate and promote loyalty among your staffers.

Tax Benefits

Something you may not have considered is that your business may have a lot to gain from 401(k) implementation as well. Companies that take advantage of the tax deductions associated with this kind of plan, companies can qualify for a $500 tax credit for the first three years for one or more employees.

This can, at times, offset most of the setup fees associated with this credit. It also doesn’t include contributions made by you. In addition to this, any costs you incur can be deducted, come tax season. While matching your employees’ contributions isn’t mandatory, it’s encouraged if your business is stable because these contributions are tax deductible.

It’s a win-win situation, helping your employees while incurring considerable tax breaks yourself.

401(k) Benefits: Now You Know

For more on the benefits of 401(k) implementation at your business, get in touch with Vision H.R. today. Our tailored plan works according to your company’s needs, giving your employees more options for investment and big benefits while keeping your costs low. With this in mind, it’s not hard to see why we’re one of the foremost human resources operations in Daytona Beach.

Find out more, and get ready for a whole new kind of retirement policy.

Workplace Harassment Policies: A Closer Look

Workplace Harassment Policies: A Closer Look

Modern businesses are more in tune with their staff and workplaces than ever before. With hundreds of articles, case studies, and news pieces on the topic, there isn’t any excuse to let workplace harassment slide anymore.

Companies are held responsible for maintaining harassment-free workplaces. There’s a lot of work to do to make sure they meet these standards. At the same time, employees should also be made aware that they have recourse, and that there is no need to remain silent in situations like these.

What’s important is creating an atmosphere of transparency where everyone understands their role.

Join us, today, at Vision HR, as we unpack what employers, employees and job seekers should be looking out for in terms of workplace harassment.

Employers

 

Making changes to policies or approaches to workplace harassment is a fairly personal thing. It usually depends on the specific culture at your office, and the degree to which you have to change comes as a result of what kind of office you have.

What never changes, however, is that you do have to acknowledge the fact that workplace harassment exists and that it is a potential problem. With this in mind, make sure that there are policies in place to prevent, report, discuss and work through it.

If your policy is to stay silent on the issue, you may find your workplace toxifying as staff members bottle up their grievances.

Employees

 

With the widespread news of workplace harassment ousted in companies around the world, more people know their rights. As a result, workplaces are being put under the microscope for their stance on these stories.

It makes sense. As an employee, one of the biggest warning signs of trouble with harassment could be whether your company thinks harassment is “a big deal”. Pay attention to your employers’ reaction to news like the #MeToo movement and other public anti-harassment news.

Job Seekers

 

When companies take a stand on issues like workplace harassment, it’s effective when the messaging they use is both internal and external. On the external note, this is important in that marketing recruitment has become much more prevalent now than ever before. When job seekers approach companies they haven’t worked with before, reputation can come into play when making the final decision. The more the word gets out that these companies are soft on harassment, the more likely new talent may be to avoid them.

Work Harassment: Create A Safer Business

 

Workplace harassment is obviously an issue, in and of itself. What’s important to keep in mind, though, is that taking a stance and addressing the problem is often enough to set employees minds at ease to some degree.

From an employee perspective, you should try to make yourself aware of what your company’s harassment policies are, in case they ever apply to you.

Make work harassment something you used to worry about, with human resource services from Vision HR. Get in touch with us today, and let us help you create a safer workspace for everybody.

Reimbursing Travel Expenses

Reimbursing Travel Expenses

In our last article, Travel and Payroll, we talked about paying employees for travel time. In this article, we will cover travel expenses. The three most common expenses are gas, food, and lodging. Depending on the distance all three can get expensive. Gas prices are going up and a decent hotel can run $100 or more. That is a lot of money for an employee to put out for a work-related trip. It might even cost more money than they are making. So let’s look into the laws and benefits of reimbursing employee expenses.

The laws about reimbursement are easy to understand. That is because they don’t have any. If an employee uses their own vehicle to travel for business there is no law forcing you to reimburse them. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t reimburse them though. Failure to reimburse employees can mean a high turnover rate. Employees don’t like using their own money where they are meant to be getting paid.

A high turnover rate not only costs time and money but also reputation. Companies with a high turnover rate don’t look good to new potential employees. This becomes crucial when seeking employees with a certain skill set. Many companies could be searching for the same potential candidates. Don’t miss out because of a high turnover rate from lack of reimbursing employees.

Exception To The Rule

In most cases, reimbursement is not a part of the law. There is one exception. A company can choose to outline reimbursement in an employee handbook. If the employee agrees and signs off on it, you become legally obligated to reimburse them. Failure to do so can result in a lawsuit placed against the company.

Reimbursing work expenses is a big part of forming strong workplace relationships. They are vital to employee management. To learn more about handling employees To learn more about handling employees or need help with an employee handbook, contact Vision H.R. contact Vision H.R.

Vision H.R. | The Human Resource Experts

Payroll Company In Ormond Beach

Travel And Payroll

Travel And Payroll

For some industries, travel is a must. Companies have to travel to meet clients or deliver a product. It could be for training or picking up lunch for the office. Travel could be down the road or across the country. The question that many have though is how do you pay your employee for travel? Rather the employee is in the office or across the country it’s still a part of a company’s payroll. It should be noted this article covers the payroll aspect of travel. It does not cover how to reimburse an employee for expenses.

That answer could be simple to complicated. The simple part comes from salary employees. Since they’re salary, you don’t have to worry about paying them for travel. It’s when you have wage employees traveling it gets complicated. What parts of their travel do you pay them hourly for?

Before we get into that, we should talk about commuting. Commuting is the travel between home and the workplace. This is not considered work in most cases so it is not paid. The one exception is when an employee is called to work outside of normal hours. If they have to come to work after already clocking out for the day, this commute would be considered work.

Now let’s start with a simple situation. An employee doing work related driving during normal hours. Because it’s related to work and during work hours, all drive time is considered on the clock. It doesn’t have to exactly be work related either. If you as an employer send an employee to pick up donuts during work hours, that is still work time. That is where the simple explanations end and things get more complicated.

Let’s look at traveling out of town for a day. In these cases, the employee is paid for travel time during work hours. Yet, normal commute time can be deducted from this. For example, if it takes someone 15 minutes to drive to work every morning. One day though, they are sent to a town 2 hours away for a special job. If the employee leaves from the office, they are paid for the full 2 hours of travel. If they travel from home to the out of town site, the employer can deduct the normal 15-minute commute. Only paying them for 1 hour and 45 minutes. The same goes for the drive home.

If an employee travels out of town during non-work hours the pay is different. Federal law only requires they be paid for travel time done during work hours. Work hours are their normal work schedule. If they work from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. with a 30-minute lunch break every day, that is what they get paid for when traveling. There is no set work time. It’s their normally scheduled work shift. Time spent traveling outside of a regular workday does not count. The exception is if work is being performed. For example, if an employee is taking a train and works from a laptop. Rather it takes place during work hours or after, the employee must be paid.

This law also counts for non-work days. Let’s say an employee has weekends off. An emergency comes up that requires the employee to leave town for work on Saturday. Even though it’s not a work day, normal hours still apply. They are only paid from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. with a 30-minute lunch.

That covers time, but what about expenses? Click here to read our article Reimbursing Travel Expenses. 

Vision H.R. | The Human Resource Experts

Payroll Company In Port Orange

Handling Complaints From Employees

Handling Complaints From Employees

There are many parts of owning a company that is less than glamorous. One of those parts is dealing with complaints. You can try and please everyone. There will always be people who complain though. There is no escaping the inevitable customer in a foul mood. You have to hear them out. You can also take our preferred path by letting a manager handle the complaints. But what if the complaints are coming from the manager? That is a whole different situation. It goes from dealing with customers to a human resource management issue. You have to listen and prepare to take action.

When a customer has a complaint, it could be a legitimate concern or something petty. When an employee or manager comes with a complaint, it’s something important. It’s affecting the inner workings of your business. One of the gears are getting stuck, and it could start affecting the whole machine. What is the best way to handle a complaint from an employee or manager? Let’s sit down and look at a list of steps to take.

1. Listen And Ask Questions: Hear your employee and let them speak. Depending on the issue at hand, ask appropriate questions. Encourage them to give details on the problem. You cannot handle a vague problem. For example, if someone says the overnight cleaning crew is doing a terrible job. Why are they doing a terrible job? But, if someone says they are missing spots in the kitchen. That the morning crew has to spend time cleaning what they miss, now the issue is clear. Having a clear understanding of the problem is the best start to a solution.
2. Separate Fact And Opinion: When an employee complains, there will often be bits of fact and opinion mixed in. Depending on the employee it might be more fact or more opinion. Make sure you focus on the facts surrounding the problem. Again, it is easier to handle a clear, defined problem. Wading through opinions to handle a problem only slows the process down.
3. Ask For Solutions: If the employee has seen the problem, it’s possible they also saw a solution. If not, they should be open to creating one. Working with an employee’s solution shows you care about them and the company. It reinforces their faith in the company. It also cuts back on the time it would take to create a solution on your own. What if you don’t believe their solution would be effective? Help them change it or approach it from a different angle.
4. Agree On A Solution: Looking at the complaint, facts, and possible solutions, come to a conclusion. Use all relevant data to decide on a course of action to fix the issue. If you can not come up with a solution that day, schedule a time to meet again. This has at least two people reviewing the solution. It helps solidify the effectiveness of the solution.
5. Schedule A Follow-Up: Finally, once the solution is in place do a follow-up meeting. See that the problem gets resolved. It doesn’t have to be a long meeting. See how things have gone since implementing the solution. Thank them for coming to you with the complaint. Don’t forget to compliment their proactive approach.

Following these steps has many benefits. It helps solve a problem, build strong working relationships, and increase employee retention. Want more tips on handling employees? Contact the Daytona Beach Human Resource Management specialists at Vision H.R.

Daytona Beach Human Resource Management

Vision H.R. | The Human Resource Experts

A Message From Your Payroll

Hey there. It’s me, your payroll. No not your payroll department or the people running it. I am your actual payroll talking to you. All those numbers and paychecks you send out each week? Yeah, that’s me. So take a seat because we need to talk. Let’s be honest, things have gotten stale between us. You use me to pay your employees every single week. You don’t do much more with me pass that. You only talk to me when you need something from me. This needs to change.

I know it’s easy to think that’s all I’m good for. Why do more with Payroll when you got to make sales? Because I help those sales. Who do you think motivates your employees? They are not getting up in the morning because they want to see their favorite boss today. They want to head into the office and earn that paycheck. They have bills to pay and vacations to plan out with that paycheck. Not to mention all the coffee I fund to keep this place running.

Let’s talk more about these employees. When was the last time you gave them a raise? It’s not enough to know your employees are doing their job. There comes a time you have to check them. Part of that evaluation includes me. Payroll reports help set a baseline for expectations. I tell you how often they work and how much they get paid for it. Are you getting a proper Return Of Investment on them? More important, are they getting a proper Return Of Investment? If either of these answers is “No”, then something should change. You would know that if you put me to work.

Yeah, it takes a little time out of your day but trust me, it’s worth it. Ever see someone that didn’t appreciate more money in their pocket? An employee who gets recognized for their hard work also gets more productive. The more productive they get, the greater the return you get. The longer they go without recognition, the less productivity you get. It’s simple numbers. Trust me, if anyone knows numbers, it’s a talking Payroll.

So let’s get some help with this relationship. How are we going to do that? You’re going to start by getting a free quote from Vision H.R. Vision H.R. is a Payroll Company in Ormond Beach. They handle your payroll and give you the info you need to work with. No messy spreadsheets or stacks of papers on your desk. clean, easy to read reports. Want to know more? Here, get that free quote and let’s get this thing started.

Payroll Company in Ormond Beach

Vision H.R. | The Human Resource Experts

Summer Schedules

It’s almost time for Florida to enter the real Summer season. Not the imitation Summer seasons we have most of the year. The temperature goes up and that cold ocean water gets even more inviting. More so when you work all day and don’t have time to enjoy it. We all have bills to pay and responsibilities to handle. Sometimes though we want to just leave work and head to the beach. Not just employees either. Sometimes we want to just send the whole company to the beach, including ourselves.

While the beach is definitely important, what about other aspects. School is either out or almost out by this time. This is going to really shift parents schedules. On one hand, they don’t have to drop off or go pick up their child from school. On the other hand, their weekly educational daycare is out for the summer. Someone has to watch the children until school starts back up. There are other things that can also disrupt a normal schedule as well. Which means flexibility is crucial to a functional company.

How do we accommodate our employees without cutting out customers and profits?

The answer depends on your business. If you own a retail based business, it can be challenging to rework schedules. Some companies do find ways to implement a new schedule. One common way has the store open and close earlier. If a store was normally open from 10 AM -8 PM it might change to 8 AM – 6 PM. Another way is working with employee’s schedules so some have plenty of morning time for taking care of their children who are out of school. They might need time to find new childcare options before returning to their regular schedules. That or so they can go to the beach. You don’t needs kids to appreciate a morning off of work.  

How do you decide what is best for your company and how do you implement this? There are a few things to consider.

Busy Times: When is your store busy? Is it generally quiet around open and close? If so than moving your schedule won’t be that difficult. If people tend to be waiting at the door when you open? Moving schedules would be a little more difficult. In either situation it’s best to give plenty of warning about changing your schedule. Post it on social media and in the store.

Customers or Clients: Retail stores tend to have a harder time changing schedules. Companies that have clients rather than customers tend to be easier. When you have clients, you tend to schedule times for them to arrive. So working them around a different work schedule becomes easier.

Employees Schedules: Some employees have schedules they need to keep to. Their child might get out of school at 2 P.M. so they need to be out of work by 1 P.M. to pick them up. Is it going to be complicated fitting your employee’s schedules? That is important to consider when you are working on a new summer schedule. When making schedules for employees, keep notes on it. It will help you in more ways than just Summer schedules.

Can You Get The Work Done?: The most important thing to consider is will the new schedule give employees enough time? The work needs to get done before leaving for the day. Otherwise you lose money and customers. Make sure you don’t change the schedule so drastically that employees have to struggle or take shortcuts.

Can Your Payroll Handle It?: Any good company needs a payroll that can adapt with changes. If you are not on top of your payroll, you can find it difficult to make decisions about your employees.

There are different resources at your disposal to answer these questions. One resource is Vision H.R. Payroll Services. Vision H.R. is a Payroll Company in Daytona Beach. We work to organize, optimize, and maintain our client’s payroll. With detailed reports about your payroll, you can make the right decisions about employees and their schedules. It also takes some stress off your shoulders. The less you have to worry about, the better the Summer gets.

So let Vision H.R. handle your payroll, so you can handle the rest.

Payroll Company in Daytona Beach

Vision H.R. | The Human Resource Experts

What Happens When You Don’t Pay Employees: Part 2

In our previous article, we spoke on the legal aspects of not paying your employees. While they could get pretty severe there are still other consequences. In this article, we will look at the impact it has on employee morale, productivity, and turnover rate. All items that are vital to a company’s success.

Not Paying Employees On Time: Morale And Productivity

You find yourself in an interesting situation. You couldn’t pay your employees on Friday. Now on Monday they came in late and are hardly talking to you. Their work ethic has changed and customers are not having it. What can you do? You can’t blame them for their new approach to work. You get what you pay for and you didn’t pay them anything yet. At the same time, you need this work to get done and get done right. You could terminate their employment though that has a whole list of consequences. The most prominent is that if they file a wage claim they can say you terminated them over it. Something that is against the law to do. On the other end you can’t pay your old employees, can you pay new ones? Not to mention if they find out the last employee left over not getting paid on time.

So now you have a handful of unmotivated employees. Some of them might not have been that motivated to begin with. Let’s be honest for a moment. We don’t always give our heart and soul to a job. I worked in a grocery store stocking dog food every night. I gave it 100% of my effort but my heart was with my paycheck every week. Luckily now I have a career I do care about instead of a job to get me by. For those employees only working to survive, that paycheck determines their productivity.

It also determines what they say about their work. Social Media today means two things. It’s a wonderful way to connect with friends and a dangerous way to spread gossip. They post one complaint about not getting paid and tomorrow 100,000 people might have seen it. Your competitors dance with glee while your customers go to them instead. It might sound extreme but it wouldn’t be the first time it happened.

Let’s do a quick checklist of damages now.

• You could be facing a lawsuit from at least one employee.
• Your state employment agency might investigate your business.
• Your employee’s productivity has dropped
• Your reputation is damaged.

As we said in the last article, the most you can do is talk to your employees. Discuss the situation and when you will be able to compensate them. It is best to do this before the intended payday. Do what you can to make sure they get their next paycheck. Otherwise, the problem will only get worse.

To make sure you are staying on top of payroll consider outsourcing to Vision H.R. Our team of experts will keep your employees paid on time with organized records to prove it. We have had years of experience and success stories as an Ormond Beach Payroll Solutions Company.

Ormond Beach Payroll Solutions

Vision H.R. | The Human Resource Experts