Commonwealth Payroll & HR is excited to introduce its full suite of newly tailored services, designed to make a tangible difference in your daily operations and take your workforce management to the next level.
We recognize that some companies require a full HR team, while others benefit more from engaging external, fractional HR support. Whether you’re focused on refining a specific HR function or looking for comprehensive collaboration, our flexible services are customized to meet your unique needs.
Raise the bar on your HR!
This webinar will give you a fresh perspective on your HR strategy. In this session, we’ll share:
- Overview of Our Expanded Services: The latest news about our newly enhanced Payroll & HR offerings that are designed with you in mind.
- Genuine, Personalized Support: Learn the difference of having a dedicated HR partner who’s invested in your success, ready to simplify workforce management and offer guidance tailored just for you.
- Customizable Solutions: Find out how you can customize our offerings to fit your unique business goals, choosing only the tools and support that make the most sense for your team.
- Flexible Growth, Built for Scale: Discover how our solutions can grow alongside your business, whether you’re a small team with big dreams or a large organization.
- Enhanced Efficiency: Discover how our streamlined platform takes the hassle out of HR and payroll, freeing up your time and energy to focus on what matters most – driving your business forward.
If you’re interested in leveling up your HR game, this session and these newly tailored services are for you.
This webinar was recorded live on December 17, 2024
Session Transcript
Kaleigh Johnson (00:05):
Thank you everyone so much for joining us today. In today’s webinar, we’re going to explore how to pinpoint the right level of HR support for your business, and help you uncover flexible solutions you may not have considered.
(00:20):
We will be recording the webinar today. So for everyone who’s attending, you will be receiving a recording of this link. And lastly, we are going to have a Q&A session at the end of the webinar. So if you have any questions at any point during today’s presentation, please put them in the chat and we will address everything at the end.
(00:42):
First, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Kaleigh Johnson. I am the Training and Development Manager here at Commonwealth Payroll & HR. And I am joined today by Susannah Forbes.
Susannah Forbes (00:54):
Hello.
Kaleigh Johnson (00:54):
Who is our HR Business Partner here, and a key member of the Commonwealth Payroll & HR team.
(01:03):
Our goals today are simple, we’re here to help shed light on the complexities of HR. We’re going to introduce you to our newest services, which are designed to streamline your HR operations and support workplace compliance. And lastly, we are going to help you identify the HR service plan that aligns perfectly with your business needs and goals.
(01:29):
So how confident are you that you know everything you need to know about being an employer? Let’s be honest, being an employer comes with a steep learning curve. How often do you feel fully confident that you know all of the ins and outs? From compliance, with ever-changing labor laws, to creating a positive workplace culture, there’s a lot to keep track of. Even the most seasoned employers face uncertainties. And that’s why we’re here, we’re going to provide you with clarity and support.
(02:06):
So a term that we have coined here at Commonwealth Payroll & HR is being, ‘The employest’. Which, simply put, means being the best employer. To be the best employer, there are three stages you need to go through when you’re looking at an HR business plan.
(02:23):
First, compliance. This is the foundational stage where employers focus on meeting legal requirements to protect the business. You need to understand and comply with wage and hour laws, which include exempt and non-exempt classifications. You need to navigate complexities, such as multi-state regulations if the company operates in multiple locations, and stay current with ever-evolving labor laws to avoid costly penalties.
(02:55):
Once you’ve set the stage for compliance, you’re going to want to create best practices that will keep you in compliance. With best practices you want to build systems and processes to create efficiency and ensure consistency. Some examples of best practices that you can establish are streamlining onboarding. You want to provide a seamless experience for your new hires and employees.
(03:22):
You also want to implement tools and/or platforms for benefit enrollment to reduce the administrative burden. And last, developing a structured approach to lead management, so that you can balance employee needs, but also operational efficiency.
(03:40):
Being compliant and having best practices in place will lay the framework to create an environment that reflects the company’s mission and values, which leads to culture and leadership.
(03:52):
In order to do that, you want to draft policies that are consistent with your organizational goals and cultural identity. It’s important to foster a positive work culture, and you can do that by prioritizing communication, inclusion and employee engagement. You want to equip your leaders and managers with the tools and training to effectively embody [inaudible 00:04:18] company values.
(04:19):
Transitioning through these stages will allow you to not only remain compliant, but build a thriving workplace. Success in each stage requires thoughtful planning and continuous improvement. And now Susannah is going to test your confidence in understanding some of the compliance factors that influence the stages of HR.
Susannah Forbes (04:42):
Awesome. Thanks, Kaleigh. Yes, so let’s talk about some of the factors that affect your HR confidence.
(04:49):
Exempt, non-exempt. Do you fully understand how to classify employees as exempt or non-exempt? Do you understand the risks involved in misclassification? Exempt employees are not eligible for overtime and non-exempt employees are eligible for overtime. This misclassification of these can lead to costly penalties.
(05:09):
Let’s look at this simple misclassification scenario. So Sarah was hired as a marketing coordinator and paid a fixed salary. Lisa, her manager, created a job description. Assumed, because she made the position salaried, that Sarah was exempt from overtime. First mistake.
(05:27):
Sarah had worked for over a year, often working 50 plus hours a week to meet deadlines, but she never complained to her manager. One day, Sarah learned that her role didn’t meet the criteria for exempt status under the FLSA. Her job duties didn’t qualify for executive administrative or the professional exemption. Because Lisa had misclassified her, Sarah was legally owed thousands of dollars in unpaid overtime.
(05:56):
Lisa’s mistake wasn’t intentional, but it was costly to Lisa’s company as they faced expensive legal challenges. Not only did they have to pay back wages to Sarah, but they also incurred fines for failing to comply with wage and hour laws. This is a reason why it’s so important to make sure you have a tool and a process in place to correctly classify jobs, and review them ongoing for changes.
(06:21):
Now, in keeping with wage and hour laws, what about overtime? How confident are you your company is correctly calculating and compensating for overtime? Remember, it’s not just about a 40-hour work week, state regulations can vary significantly. Are you paying OT when necessary? Remember, an employee can tell you that you don’t need to pay them for the extra hours, but that’s not legal. If their job qualifies for overtime, you must pay them overtime, either eight hours or over 40 hours a week depending on what state you do business in. These mistakes can, once again, lead to costly fines for failing to comply with wage and labor laws.
(07:06):
You need to make sure you have a tool in place for documenting hours worked and a process to review rule changes, regulations by state pertaining to wage and hour laws. A great tool that can help you make sure you’re reflecting current policies, workplace norms and legal requirements is a handbook.
(07:23):
How many of you have a handbook? If you do, when was the last time you updated your employee handbook? What tool or process do you have in place to keep it updated based on law changes? Handbooks are not just a formality, they are a best practice. They’re your first line of defense in setting clear expectations and ensuring compliance.
(07:45):
The next scenario is exactly why you want an updated handbook. So here’s Rachel. She worked for a company in a state that recently passed new paid sick leave requirements, but her handbook still reflected the company’s old sick leave policy.
(07:59):
When Karen, an employee of Rachel’s, challenged her denial of sick leave, Rachel realized she wasn’t compliant with the latest labor laws. Karen told other employees, employees started questioning if the company had policies that were following the correct state and federal guidelines. This became a productivity issue, a culture issue. Employees really need to trust their employers.
(08:23):
Your employee handbook is a document that protects your business and supports employees through their journey as an employee. You need to have a tool in place to create one and keep it updated.
(08:36):
You also really need to feel confident that you can answer these below questions about your handbook. Does your handbook comply with current laws and stay updated? Does it address modern workplace challenges like remote work? Does it reflect your company’s values and expectations? By keeping your handbook updated, you set your employees up for success and protect your organization from unnecessary risks and challenges.
(09:05):
How confident are we so far in these issues? Are you in compliance? Okay, so some additional issues that we can talk about that can affect your HR confidence.
(09:15):
Multi-state complexities. Do you have employees in multiple states? Wage laws, leave policies, employment practices vary significantly by state. Staying compliant requires proactive tracking of these state-specific regulations, particularly in the areas of sick leave and minimum wage. This can be administratively challenging. Having an HR tool that proactively gives you updates is key to ease these administrative burdens.
(09:45):
What about remote and in-office considerations? How many folks have employees that have moved states? Let’s say you had an employee that worked for you in Massachusetts in your office, and now moved and works out of their home in New Hampshire. Did you consider the new tax nexus and compliance challenges this could create? Have you established clear policies for remote workers, including reimbursement for expenses and technology needs?
(10:13):
You now have to work on fostering inclusion in your communication strategies to maintain engagement for both remote and in-office teams. All of these issues can affect compliance and culture for your organization.
(10:27):
What about pay transparency? Pay transparency laws are emerging in many states requiring disclosure of salary ranges. Open communication about pay fosters trust, mitigates the risk of pay and equity claims. These factors influence every stage of HR, from compliance to culture building. A proactive approach ensures legal compliance while strengthening the employer brand.
(10:56):
Many of these issues I just spoke about can be solved by partnering with an HR business partner and having an HR tool that can ease administrative burdens. So now let’s talk about Commonwealth Payroll & HR’s new services, Core, Enhanced and Premium. Our services give you access to an HR business partner and an HR tool to manage your compliance.
(11:21):
Okay, so our Core HR service. Core HR service includes the Commonwealth Compliance Center, which combines certified HR experts with a technology-enabled tool that takes the guesswork out of HR. It allows you to create an up-to-date handbook using the Commonwealth Compliance Center, which provides ongoing updates and policy changes. That’s key. It allows you to ask questions to HR experts on demand through an online ticket center. You get 30 minutes of support per month from a Commonwealth Payroll & HR business partner, for those times when you need more of a face-to-face interaction. You’ll also have an annual check-in with your HR business partner to discuss your HR needs and goals.
(12:09):
So we see this service for companies with possibly internal HR, but needing tools to track compliance issues, build a handbook, create job descriptions, et cetera. If clients are looking for more than sort of a do it yourself tool, the next level of support is our Enhanced service.
(12:29):
The Enhanced HR service really builds upon that Core plan and Core tools. We’ll give you assistance with the Commonwealth Compliance Center, including helping to create a handbook, and other policies and templates. You’ll still get the on-demand access to HR experts through the ticket center. You’ll have two hours of support per month from our Commonwealth HR business partner, and a quarterly check-in with your business partner to really discuss your HR needs and goals. You’ll also have an initial HR assessment with an action plan to kick off your HR service, so you have a good plan in place to work on.
(13:10):
So we see this service for companies possibly needing more guidance and support. This could be a company that has sort of operations, internal people management, but not an HR department. If clients are looking for more than just an assisted HR service, the next level of support is our Premium service.
(13:30):
So Premium HR service really builds upon Core and Enhanced. It includes really proactive guidance now with our Commonwealth Compliance Center ,where we guide you through creating your handbook, guide you through policy creation, answer questions on templates. Again, you’ll have access to HR experts on demand through a ticketing system. You’ll have four hours of support with this platform per month with your dedicated business partner. You’ll have quarterly check-ins with your dedicated business partner as well to see how you’re progressing. You’ll also do an initial HR assessment to really evaluate your HR maturity, create an HR action plan, that then you can follow up on in those quarterly check-ins.
(14:15):
So we see the service for companies really wanting a proactive guidance approach, hands-on support, managing their HR needs.
(14:25):
So some things for you to think about, some action items here to help you decide what solution’s best for you. When you think about your HR needs, do you just need an HR tool to help you be compliant and successful? Do you need an HR tool and guidance and periodic support to meet your HR goals? Or do you want a full HR partnership with the tools, ongoing support and guidance to meet your needs? Think about those things.
(14:53):
So in addition to our HR services, we also offer project-based HR support. Which includes staff augmentation for things like projects, like management trainings. You want to have a compensation study done, you want to do a very large in-depth HR gap analysis. So for project work like that, we offer staff augmentation.
(15:17):
So hopefully I’ve outlined for you how our HR services can help you maintain compliance, best practices, and a positive culture for your company, helping you to become the employest.
(15:28):
So now I’m going to hand it back over to Kaleigh so she can review sort of our initial goals.
Kaleigh Johnson (15:38):
Thanks, Susannah.
(15:40):
Okay, so today we talked about the different HR complexities that exist that can affect your business. Susannah tested our confidence. And we also talked about the different HR services and the levels of support that each will provide you under Core, Enhanced and Premium.
(16:02):
We posed the question, do you need an HR tool? Do you need HR guidance? Or are you needing a full HR partnership to get to what level of support is going to fit your business needs?
(16:18):
So now I’m going to go through some questions. If you have any questions and you have not submitted them, please do so now. So let me just check here.
(16:32):
All right, and we do have a couple questions. So Susannah, we have a question that says, “If I’m interested in signing up for HR services, what do I do next?”
Susannah Forbes (16:45):
Certainly. So if you’re a current client, I would encourage you to reach out to your customer service specialist or your account manager to talk about what solution would work best for you.
(16:57):
If you are not a current client, I encourage you to reach out to myself or Kaleigh, and we can put you in touch with someone here at Commonwealth Payroll & HR to sort of discuss your needs and find a match for you.
Kaleigh Johnson (17:11):
Awesome, thank you. Yes, so both Susannah and my contact information are up on the screen. You can absolutely send us an email. If you are a current client, like she said, you can reach out to your customer service and support specialist. And we will be more than happy to connect with you.
(17:28):
All right, let’s see, what else? “If I’m interested in signing up for one of the services, can I demo before signing on completely?”
Susannah Forbes (17:45):
Certainly. Yeah, certainly we can do demos of our Commonwealth Compliance Center, so you really can see the tool and all that it has to offer. Certainly, reach out to Kaleigh or I, and we can set that up.
Kaleigh Johnson (17:59):
Perfect. All right, it was just those two. So is there anything else? Last call for questions. All right, and that looks like that’s it.
Susannah Forbes (18:14):
Okay.
Kaleigh Johnson (18:15):
Awesome. Well, everyone, thank you very much for joining us today. We hope that you have a better understanding of the HR services that we are now going to provide.
(18:25):
And again, please absolutely reach out to any one of us, Susannah, myself, or your customer service rep if you have any questions or if you’re interested in getting more information.
Susannah Forbes (18:36):
Excellent. Thanks, Kaleigh. Happy holidays everyone. Take care.
Kaleigh Johnson (18:40):
Thanks so much.
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