When you’re comparing PEOs, you’re at an exciting stage in your business — you’re ready for growth.

There comes a time when you need to onboard new employees and devote cash flow toward expansion initiatives. But you know if you continue to handle the financial and human resources details yourself, growth will only stall. This is where a professional employment organization (PEO) can step in and help you get over the hurdle.

A PEO, for tax purposes, is a co-employer of your staff. They handle all the HR functions that you aren’t ready to assign to a full-time, in-house employee. Because they offer their services to a number of companies, your small business is able to offer a more competitive benefits package due to lower rates — a talent attractor you may not have been able to afford otherwise. This just scratches the surface of the vast range of benefits provided by a PEO.

The concept of a PEO is relatively new, but there are still hundreds in business in the U.S. When you’re comparing PEOs and what they can provide, be sure to ask the questions below.

1. How Long Have You Been in Business?

Find out if the PEO you’re looking into has a long-standing reputation of excellence. Ask for references. Do your homework. Longevity is key, because it shows a company’s viability and commitment to their clients.

2. Do You Offer All the Services I Need or Will Need Soon?

Maybe right now you’re only interested in payroll and tax administration. That’s fine, but if you want to outsource more services to your PEO, what will you need them to take care of? Recruitment and hiring? Regulatory compliance?

Comparing PEOs can help you eliminate the candidates that don’t offer the full spectrum of services you will eventually need.

3. What Benefits Plans Can You Offer My Employees?

Get into the details when you’re interviewing a PEO. What specific benefits does their plan offer your employees? Is it enough to be worth the cost to you? Is it what your team is looking for from their company? Benefits plans are only competitive if they meet the needs of your staff.

4. Who Will Be My Primary Point of Contact?

Who should you call if you have a question on taxes? What if there’s a workplace injury? Make sure you get the logistics ironed out before you choose one company over another. Your point of contact should be someone who’s knowledgeable about your industry and your specific company.

5. What Will Our Contract Look Like?

What is the average monthly bill? How does the PEO charge? Do you have a contract with them? If so, what are the cancellation terms?

Make sure you get to the bottom of all these questions to ensure you have a clear idea of what to expect before you sign on.

6. How Much Will I Save?

Finally, get clear on costs. Will it be worth it for your business to make the transition? Between money and time savings, make sure the PEO you choose makes it worth it for your company to switch.

At WTA, Inc., your business’ success is our success. We are a co-employer you can be proud to depend on as you focus on what’s important: growing your business. Comparing PEOs is a process, and we are happy to provide you with any information about our team or the industry in general. Just give us a call!

Should your small business rely on PEO services?

It’s not always an easy question to answer, especially when you’re in full-on growth mode. The number of employees you have and the amount of revenue you accrue per year will factor into your decision as you look at the cost-versus-benefit analysis.

However, for most small businesses, there are five notable reasons that opting for a partnership with a PEO can deliver a positive return.

1. It Drastically Reduces the Cost of Benefits

When small businesses are looking to grow, it’s essential to analyze the benefits package offered to employees. Federal law requires small businesses to offer health insurance once they’ve gained a certain number of employees, and these costs can drastically weigh on a business due to the limited options available.

When your business is growing but still small, partnering with a PEO can provide access to the rates bigger companies enjoy and allow you to offer similar benefits packages at much lower rates than you would pay otherwise. The significance of these cost savings can make all the difference for a small business in its early stages of growth and expansion.

2. It Helps You Keep the Best Employees

When you save on health care, you can spend more on other benefits that your employees like as well, like gym memberships, paid time off, office snacks and more!

Or you could bump up their salaries, which is the ultimate employee appreciation effort. This will help your business retain the talent you need to maintain steady growth and avoid the major loss of time and money associated with key employees leaving the company.

3. It Keeps Your Business Compliant

It’s a full-time job keeping up with federal and state hiring and employment law practices. At the same time, they don’t give you any leeway if you don’t file paperwork on time or don’t abide by the rules. Ignorance is no excuse! You could face major fines which could translate to a serious financial setback.

When you work with a PEO, they handle all the filing for you, keeping your business in full compliance at all times.

4. It Lets You Focus on Your Business

You might not have the money to hire a full-time human resources expert, but you also don’t have the time to do the work yourself. Payroll, taxes, hiring — it takes your focus and attention away from what matters: leading your company in the right direction.

With a PEO on your side, you get back one of your most valuable assets: your time.

5. You Can Get Advice When You Need It

A quality PEO is a small-business owner’s lifeline. We’re here when you have questions about what to do in certain situations, like choosing the right hire or putting together an employment contract. In fact, we can take over most of these tasks for you. Call us anytime. We are here to help, giving you the peace of mind you’ve been missing.

WTA Inc. supports small businesses with PEO services to help them grow and flourish. How can we help you?

High employee retention is the goal for many business owners. Once you spend your time and energy training a staff member, you don’t want to see a resignation letter. You want a commitment from your employees and you want them to stick around to help you grow your company according to your vision. But do your employees want the same thing?

What Do Employees Want?

Now more than ever, employees are concerned about personal development. Millennials are the largest living generation, and they care much more about opportunities for growth at work than both Gen-X and Baby Boomer generations. They are looking for quality management and interesting work, but they score much higher than previous generations when asked about opportunity for advancement.

As a business owner, it’s up to you to foster an environment where your employees feel like they belong. There are four key ways you can do this with the help of a PEO.

1. Choose the Right Employees

When your business has a need, it’s tempting to hire the first individual you can find with the requirements you’ve laid out. If they seem capable, why not add them to the payroll?

Don’t hire carelessly! This is one of the biggest reasons businesses see high employee turnover. If your goal is employee retention, the hiring process should be in-depth, detailed and selective. You don’t want just anyone — you want the right employee for the long-term. PEOs help businesses with this screening process, saving time and expediting the result: a new team member you can rely on.

2. Train Them the Right Way

Training is another area where, if done incorrectly, could cost you an employee. If you want your employees to be confident and secure, they need to be prepared. A PEO can take the lead with orientation and ongoing training and help get your new hires integrated quickly.

3. Offer Your Employees the Complete Package

While money alone may not always be the determining factor on whether an employee chooses to leave your organization for another, it’s one of them. But more than just salary, it’s benefits they will take into consideration.

Contracting with a PEO levels the playing field for your business. Alone, it might be too expensive for you to offer exceptional health care. But by using our services, you can afford a benefits package that will keep your job offers competitive and attractive to top talent.

4. Run Your Business More Efficiently

Finally, a PEO saves you time, which is essential to the company’s overall success. When you can focus on running your business instead of handling everyday tasks like payroll, you can continue to pursue your company’s vision without distractions.

WTA Inc. Can Help Your Business

Right now, do you wear all the hats? Are you the human resources manager, partner and manager? Do you find yourself prioritizing one of these responsibilities over the others, to your business’ detriment?

If you are seeing high employee turnover, it’s key to find out why. In many cases, contracting with a PEO is the first step toward improving employee retention. WTA Inc. can help you hire the best employees and train them properly so your staff will be your greatest asset.

Using a PEO means your business doesn’t have to do everything on its own.

Think about it — from establishing a vision for growth to completing the day-to-day tasks and product or service fulfillment to managing your staff, do you have time to get caught up in the details of payroll and tax filing? It will only slow you down, and that is why businesses that want to boost productivity while saving on employee costs find a great advantage working with a PEO, especially when it comes to the changing tax laws.

Outsourced HR Team Informed of All New Laws

First off, what does a PEO do?

They take over all human resources responsibilities. This is helpful for businesses that want to grow but don’t have the money (or choose not to spend the money) to bring full-time HR employees in-house. Even if your company hired an HR professional, it’s unlikely they would be an expert in all things under the human resources umbrella.

For example, should you really expect your human resources department to stay on top of all day-to-day tasks and be able to accurately interpret how changing tax laws affect your company?

When you trust a PEO, you get an expert on new tax laws at no extra cost. That is the PEO’s role — provide accurate, real-time explanations of how laws should alter your company’s method of doing business.

Your PEO Files Employee Taxes

If you’ve never considered a PEO for your business before, the nightmare of tax time might change your mind. Since a PEO co-employs your staff, they are responsible for filing and issuing all tax forms. That means you don’t have to track down W2s — your PEO handles it. You still have complete control and direction over your employees’ daily tasks, but your PEO takes care of the benefits administration portion.

Since your employees are grouped together with a number of other companies’ employees in order to gain a better rate for insurance, you can afford to offer top talent complete, competitive packages that rival large corporations, but you don’t have to handle the paperwork.

Why it’s Important to Choose the Right One

The business-to-PEO relationship is an important one. First, you should be confident in your PEO’s longevity and reputation. You want to establish a profitable company, and your PEO should have the same objective, both for their internal team and for yours. Second, your PEO should be focused on streamlining operations to help you reach your goals.

At WTA, Inc., we prioritize our clients’ success. From handling tax filings to providing insight on new tax laws and how they will affect you, you can trust us for up-to-date, accurate information. Call today for a quote on our PEO services for your business.

The benefits of a PEO are wide-ranging. Joining a professional employment organization can help you meet growth goals and revenue targets.

In today’s marketplace, businesses need to explore every potential avenue to give them a competitive edge, and a PEO helps you conserve resources to divert back into growing your business to outdo the competitor. Below are the top five benefits of a PEO.

1. Attract and Retain the Best Talent

Small businesses sometimes struggle to provide the same benefits as larger corporations. Because of this, their hiring packages aren’t as attractive to the most sought-after talent.

If you’re going to attract and retain the best, you need to offer as many perks as you can. With a PEO, you can compile an impressive benefits package that would likely be too expensive to support on your own.

2. Reduce Time Spent on Administrative Tasks

Filing workers’ compensation claims, managing payroll and tracking employee vacation time — it can amount to a full-time job. As a business owner, getting bogged down in paperwork details is a major time suck. You can immediately add a big chunk of time back into your day when you hand these responsibilities off to a PEO.

3. Stay Compliant as You Expand

Another full-time job is staying on top of federal and state business regulations. With laws changing all the time, it’s stressful for the small business owner to constantly have to assess whether they are compliant.

One of the main benefits of a PEO is that you have an external team whose responsibility is to stay on top of changing regulations and inform you of all necessary adjustments. When you are working on scaling your business, this is an invaluable help, as fines can translate to major setbacks.

4. Spend Less on HR Services

You could invest in a full-time human resources employee, but they’re just one person. Can one person be an expert in all things related to both state and federal law, compensation claims, insurance and payroll?

Also, if you’re going to invest in adding an employee, wouldn’t you rather hire someone who is an expert at your core business service? This will help you grow, and if that’s your goal, have a PEO take care of the HR work.

5. Reduce Stress — Focus on What Matters

The confidence you’ll feel knowing that you have an on-call team of experts — that’s priceless. It helps you focus your energy and brain power on what matters and worry less about the details. A clear head and strong determination will take your business where you want it to go.

Small-business owners trust WTA, Inc. for delivery on all these benefits of a PEO. We’re dedicated to helping Utah companies reach new levels of success. Call us today to get a quote for your business.

Lowering worker’s compensation costs is an effective way to minimize operating expenses and free up more cash flow to reinvest into your business, but it takes planning to meet this goal. Lowering your premium helps, but cutting this cost significantly involves more than just shopping for a better rate.

Below are the top five ways you can reduce the amount you pay out of pocket every year for claims related to injuries in the workplace.

1. Set up a Comprehensive Safety Program

Trained, prepared employees are much less likely to get hurt. By eliminating hazards and instituting in-depth training procedures for every employee in your company, you can prevent injuries before they occur. It’s the proactive way to handle workers’ compensation costs, and it’s the cheapest. According to Safety and Health Magazine, every $1 invested in workplace safety results in a $2 to $6 return.

2. Set up a Return-to-Work Program

Both the employer and the employee benefit more the sooner the employee can return to work. The longer a worker’s compensation claim remains open, the greater the cost to your business.

The goal of setting up a return-to-work program is establishing a way for the employee to get back on the job, even if it’s in a modified, limited role during their recovery period. The sooner you can get your employee back on the job, the less likely it is that alienation will occur or the employee will leave altogether.

3. Be Proactive When Claims Occur

Many studies show that what happens in the 24 hours immediately following a workplace injury is key. The longer it takes to report the injury and file a claim, the costlier it will be for the company, according to multiple studies.

Prompt treatment and medical guidance results in faster healing and better long-term results. Because it may involve sensitive medical issues, it could benefit companies to depend on a nurse triage third party to gather information and document claims, versus an internal claims professional from human resources.

4. Investigate, Document, Evaluate

What caused the workplace injury? Were proper safety procedures followed? Is it probable that the injury could have been avoided with additional safety guidelines or training?

Only through honest investigation, documentation and evaluation of workplace injuries can companies create effective, safe workplace procedures and work environments. Don’t write off claims as anomalies — be straightforward and transparent in your review of the incident.

5. Cut Your Premium with a PEO Membership

In general, businesses can greatly benefit from a PEO membership to lower workers’ compensation costs. Not only can a PEO negotiate lower rates, they can handle all the previous steps as well, from implementing effective safety procedures to managing the relationship with the injured employee.

Trust WTA, Inc., for full-service PEO partnership. We can help your business grow by lowering workers’ compensation costs and supporting you to help create a worker-friendly, safe environment.

What are the requirements for providing paid sick leave according to state and federal law?

This is one of the most important questions any employer can ask. Never deny an employee’s request for paid sick leave until you are certain you are not obligated to provide that benefit. Otherwise, you could find yourself liable under federal or state employment law.

Protected Leave Laws

Currently, eight states and a long list of major cities have passed paid sick leave laws. Though Utah and Salt Lake City are not on the list, many employers in the state offer paid sick leave as a benefit, as it increases job retention and satisfaction.

Check Company Handbook and Job Offers

As a Utah employer, you are not obligated to include this benefit in employee compensation packages, but if you promise it to an employee, you could create a legal obligation you are required to fulfill.

For example, if you include it as a job benefit in your employee handbook or in a written job offer, you may then be required to supply this benefit. Make sure you regularly review employee handbooks to ensure policies are accurate.

Understanding the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

If your business has at least 50 employees, you are required to provide eligible employees with 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for illness, caregiving or bonding with a new child. Though this time is not obligated to be paid, you are required to continue their group health care benefits throughout their leave.

In the case of the FMLA, an illness is defined as a condition that requires an overnight stay in a hospital, residential care facility or hospice. Employees have the right to be reinstated after their protected leave has concluded.

Wage and Hour Laws

Be fully aware of all Utah wage and hour laws. You can set up an appointment with our team to make sure your business is in full compliance. We can also provide guidance on the intricacies of monitoring and implementing paid leave programs.

When You Need Benefits Management

If your company does offer this benefit (and more), how do you track it? Do you keep records of how many hours each employee accrues? Are you tired of the paperwork headache?

We can help. Employee benefits management and administration is a key area of our business services. As a local Utah business, our team at WTA, Inc. knows what you go through as a managing officer and we also know what we can do to take the pressure off you from month to month. Contact us today for a free quote on our employee benefits and administration services, including paid sick leave tracking.

A social media policy is a necessity in the modern age. Not only do customers look to your company’s social media policies for engagement and interaction, they look at your individual representatives — your employees — as well.

Your company’s social media policy doesn’t have to be complicated, but it should cover the basics. Social media develops quickly, and so should your company’s policy. Above all, it should be straightforward and sensible — a guide your employees can easily digest and implement.

What Is a Social Media Policy?

A social media policy is basically an outline of how your company expects your employees to act online. It includes protections to secure the online reputation of your brand.

It’s All About Image — Make it a Professional One

Online, image is everything. What your employees say, how they say it and how they present themselves all contribute to your brand’s image. Is it a professional one?

Less-than-professional profile pictures, slurs or harassment are not behaviors you’d like to see from your employees, and a policy can help you communicate why. Talk to your employees about maintaining professionalism online, as their online presence is an extension not just of their image, but the image of your brand.

Defend Against Legal Threats

Help employees understand copyright laws — they must credit the right sources if they publish photos or content that isn’t their own. Make sure they know that anything they post can hurt the company, even if they have the best intentions. When in doubt, make sure they know who to contact to verify that a post is OK before they hit “publish.”

Emphasize Personal Responsibility

At the end of the day, a social media policy is only that — a policy. Your employees choose to follow the guidelines or not. Make sure they realize that your company is trying to encourage personal responsibility. Nearly everything posted online is permanent and ultimately, each person is responsible for the content they publish.

Be Aware of Confidentiality

Make sure employees know that they can’t discuss any confidential information about any product that’s in development or any projected earnings/sales on social media. This could put your company at risk and it can sabotage success. Plus, violating confidentiality agreements is a fireable offense. Try to communicate to your employees that if they wouldn’t want what they write to become a national headline, don’t say it!

At WTA, Inc., we help businesses establish policies that make sense. Whether you need employee handbook advice or training programs, you can talk to our team. As a full-service professional employment organization, we are here to help with all things related to human resources.

The employee handbook is an undervalued tool for many industries and companies. It can benefit both the organization and the employees to have a reference manual for operational and personnel questions, but so many companies let their manuals get out of date. This leads to endless emails and meetings about issues that you shouldn’t have to address constantly.

If your employee manual is past its prime, it’s time to update it. Even if your employee handbook is only a year old, it may need updates.

Why They’re Necessary

Here’s a word that should catch the attention of business owners: lawsuit. It’s why you have commercial insurance, and it’s why you need an employee handbook.

An employee handbook outlines your company’s policies on everything from workplace dress to nondiscriminatory practices. If any disputes arise between an employee and the company, the manual can’t offer protection from a lawsuit, but it can provide proof that important messaging was communicated to the employee in full.

Your Manual Needs to Change with the Times

When are updates needed? Well, times change, as they say. Laws are passed that dictate the responsibilities of the employer on the local, state and federal levels. Whenever you find that your business is not in compliance with code, manuals should be updated and redistributed to all employees, and you should require a signature that they have received and acknowledged the contents.

It Needs to Adapt to Company Changes Too

Maybe your company hired its first expectant mother. Maybe you’ve had a change in management structure. Maybe you’ve made a major alteration in your procedures.

Whatever internal changes come along, make sure you’re prepared with an updated employee manual. Revisit parental leave (or add a policy, if you don’t have one yet), detail the management changes and outline the work process clearly.

Check Over These Policies During Every Handbook Review

Make changes right away when your policies become outdated, but also schedule annual review sessions as well. Check over employee handbook provisions for disability, equal employment opportunities and family, medical and sick leave, as these regulations change frequently.

You want to shield your company from litigation if you can, but you should also have a goal of defining your company’s culture. Creating an employee handbook is a chance to do this and make sure the message is heard throughout the ranks. For compliant, effective employee handbook creation guidelines, talk to WTA, Inc., today.

Remote employees are the future. In 2016, 43 percent of Americans reported they spent at least some time working remotely. As flexible scheduling becomes a priority for workers and as global communities connect more and more through technology, the number of remote employees will only grow.

Does your company employ remote workers? Do you depend on an out-of-office team for your company’s success?

Just as you work at developing effective in-office leadership, you should also prioritize encouraging and supporting remote employees, helping them reach new heights of productivity and achievement.

But managing them looks different than managing in-office workers.

Focus on Goals, Not Time Tracking

It sounds productive to simply track your remote workers’ time as a measurement of their effort, but this isn’t the best approach. You won’t be able to control when and where your team sits down to work, but by making their role goal-oriented instead of time-oriented, you establish an easy way to measure progress that takes the stress of time-tracking off both you and your employee.

Encourage Employees to Set an Individualized Schedule

Beyond simply doing away with time-tracking, encourage your employees to work at the times of day that are most productive for them. Of course, they may need to be available at key points for meetings and check-ins, but if they want to work late into the evening during their second rush of energy, why not allow it? That’s the beauty of remote work — the employee can focus their efforts when they are at their best.

Keep Them Involved in Daily Office Communications

It’s easy to leave remote workers out of in-office conversation. After all, they’re not there, so you have to go out of your way to send an email or make a phone call to update them on last-minute changes or project statuses. Even though it may take extra effort on your part, try to keep them in the loop so they feel connected and in touch with their managers and colleagues.

Set Up Regular Meetings

Don’t let weeks go by without checking in with your remote employees. Set up a regular check-in time when you chat about their projects and get a real-time update on how their workflow is going.

Use Technology to Your Advantage

You can easily use video conferencing to patch in remote employees to all team meetings virtually — it’s almost like they’re really there! Use the latest technology to get “face time” and make their remote office seem closer than it is.

Support Their Career Goals

Just like your in-house team members, make sure you’re supporting the career goals of your remote employees. Don’t let their physical absence affect the opportunities your company provides. You may have to get creative, but be honest about how you’d like to help your remote employees advance their careers while acknowledging any challenges you’re working on overcoming.

WTA, Inc., can help you hire for all positions, including remote ones. Modern companies need a helpful, supportive partner to handle the regulatory side of business so they can fine-tune their focus on day-to-day operations, creating a better life for customers and employees alike. We are that partner, and we are here to help.