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Business Process Outsourcer

HR Knowledge advises on when and how to outsource human resources

Jeff Garr, CEO

Juggling the needs of your business with business tasks can be a delicate balancing act. Whether you elect to do things in-house or outsource tasks such as human resources depends partially upon the company’s growth, and partially upon finding excellent outsourcing partners.

Jeffrey C. Garr, CEO of HR Knowledge, Inc., a leading HR, payroll and benefits service provider in the Boston area explained, “As a company grows, it’s important to know when to look for support outside of the company. This is referred to as outsourcing. Knowing your strengths helps you to determine what aspects of your business can be outsourced to a specialist, which ultimately saves you time and money in the long run.”

There are five keys to understanding when and how to outsource human resources for success:

1. Know your core value proposition. The first step to intelligently delegating work outside your company is understanding what you do best. This is your core value proposition. Many of the things that are important to running a business will pull your attention and focus away from the core value, and understanding it and knowing what it is that you do best will help your company grow and will also define those things that should be done within the company versus those activities that potentially could be outsourced.

2. Be organized. Before you can delegate you must create the specification of work. The extent in which you can clearly delineate the scope of the project or work will define how successful you will be. In addition, you should create a timetable for deliverables, a template for reporting, and an exit strategy if the relationship isn’t functioning the way you feel it should be. Not creating a clear understanding in the beginning could be a recipe for failure in the future.

3. Know Your Budget. Your time is valuable. You’re more likely productive at your core value proposition that you are to some of the supporting roles that are necessary to run a business. To that extent, outsourcing will actually save you money since you can be much more proficient doing what you do best and simply paying others to do what they do best.

4. Make a Plan. Authorized alterations can be expensive. If you have plan, try to stick to the plan. Each modification that sounds great as the project moves along may wind up costing in the end. Be sure that you have a goal and plan in mind and that you and your outsourced vendor are both sticking to that plan.

5. Don’t Settle. If you aren’t happy with the results or the partnership, it’s possible you missed one of the steps along the way – you may not have made a good plan, or you may not have clearly shared expectations. Either way, if it becomes apparent that the project is not progressing well, you should have an exit plan.

Garr continued, “Understanding and sharing expectations when it comes to outsourcing is critical for the relationship to be effective.”

About HR Knowledge, Inc.

HR Knowledge, Inc. is a leading Business Process Outsourcer (BPO) serving emerging to mid-sized companies throughout the Northeast. HR Knowledge has the experience and technology to efficiently provide best-in-class integrated HR services at an affordable cost to clients.

HR Knowledge’s leaders have more than 100 years of combined experience and provide expert guidance in Human Resource management, Group Benefits Brokerage, Payroll Processing & Managed Services, Financial Services and Recruiting and Hiring Process Management (HPM).

Through their comprehensive Human Resource Services, HR Knowledge helps organizations minimize operational risks, reduce administrative costs and better serve their people.

HR Knowledge has been recognized as a Gold Level Broker by Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare. The company is headquartered at 905B South Main Street, Suite 203 in Mansfield and their second office is located at 890 Winter Street, Suite 208 in Waltham, MA. For more information, contact (508) 339-1300 or visit their website at www.hrknowledge.com

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In light of Herman Cain Situation, HR Guru weighs in on Sexual Harassment

Sexual Harassment can happen to any employer, manager or employee, we are all at risk. Herman Cain may be completely innocent of these allegations. However, most employers when these issues arise, will often times settle the cases before they go to court as the legal fees alone will usually be a far great dollar amount than the amount settled for in a much quicker time frame for resolution. Neither side is admitting fault but the settlement makes the matter go away.

What can employers do to protect themselves? Jeff Garr, CEO of HR Knowledge, Inc., a leading Business Process Outsourcer (BPO) serving emerging to mid-sized companies throughout the Northeast with offices in Mansfield and Waltham, explains there are a number of rules to set in motion as employers to ensure that companies and their employees are protected from frivolous law suits. Garr provides an easy set of guidelines to follow which are outlined below:

1. Create and maintain an up-to-date Employee Guideline or Manual. This Manual should contain all of the legal laws and regulations required by local and national laws. In addition, please ensure that all employees sign a notice of acceptance of this Manual and keep those signed/dated documents in a safe and secure place.

2. Provide annual Sexual Harassment Training for your entire company. This training should help employees understand the do’s and don’ts of supporting a positive work environment. In addition, have each employee sign a letter of acceptance that they have gone through this annual training.

3. Ensure that the Policy in the Employee Guideline/Manual for Sexual Harassment is followed and supported by all in the company. If there is an employee that is feeling as though they are being sexually harassed ensure that proper procedures and or an investigation ensues in order to determine what the issues are. Whatever you do don’t turn your head and act as though nothing happened, this can only make the employee angry and create a better likelihood of the employee suing the employer and or the employee. Remember that not only is the Employer subject to liability but so is the employee if they are the one doing the harassing.

4. Purchase an EPLI policy from your Liability Insurance Provider. EPLI stands for Employment Practice Liability Insurance. This is the only insurance in place to protect the employer and its employees from this sort of litigation. Without this insurance coverage the employer will run blind and the meter will start ticking with any attorney hired to defend you. This policy will also insure that you will be provided Legal Representation. These suits can bankrupt a company if the damages are great enough and they don’t have this insurance.

5. Enlist the services of a strong HR Outsourcing Company or have HR Professionals on board as employees. These professionals can help ensure that you are doing the right thing every day in every way. Notify them early on of any potential issues so that they can start the process of investigating and working on making sure level heads prevail and move forward in a positive way.

For more information or to arrange a speaking engagement with HR guru Jeff Garr, contact (508) 339-1300.

About HR Knowledge, Inc.

HR Knowledge, Inc. is a leading Business Process Outsourcer (BPO) serving emerging to mid-sized companies throughout the Northeast. HR Knowledge has the experience and technology to efficiently provide best-in-class integrated HR services at an affordable cost to clients.

HR Knowledge’s leaders have more than 100 years of combined experience and provide expert guidance in Human Resource management, Group Benefits Brokerage, Payroll Processing & Managed Services, Financial Services and Recruiting and Hiring Process Management (HPM).

Through their comprehensive Human Resource Services, HR Knowledge helps organizations minimize operational risks, reduce administrative costs and better serve their people.

HR Knowledge has been recognized as a Gold Level Broker by Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare. The company is headquartered at 905B South Main Street, Suite 203 in Mansfield and their second office is located at 890 Winter Street, Suite 208 in Waltham, MA. For more information, contact (508) 339-1300 or visit their website at www.hrknowledge.com

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HR Knowledge Inc. Outlines Developments in Healthcare Reform Legislation

Kenneth Bettenhauser
The implementation of health care reform legislation continues to move forward.
HR Knowledge, Inc., a leading human resources Business Process Outsourcer (BPO) serving emerging to mid-sized companies throughout the Northeast with offices in Mansfield and Waltham, outlines the highlights from the past few months:

Court challenges to the law. Federal district courts in Virginia and Florida ruled as unconstitutional the individual mandate contained in the health care reform. In their opinion, Congress did not have power under the Constitution to require citizens to purchase health insurance. Both of those cases have been appealed by the Obama administration to the U.S. Courts of Appeals covering those states. It’s anticipated the U.S. Supreme Court may ultimately decide this issue. In the meantime, the administration continues to implement and enforce the law.

W-2 reporting requirement modified. Guidance issued by the IRS has modified the timeline for employers to begin reporting the value of employer-sponsored health coverage on employees’ W-2 forms. Employers will be required to begin reporting this information in January 2013 for amounts paid during the 2012 calendar year. However, employers who file fewer than 250 W-2 forms for the 2011 calendar year will not be required to report prior to January 2014 (for amounts paid during the 2013 calendar year). Remember, although these amounts are reported on a W-2, this doesn’t mean the amounts are taxable to employees. The reporting requirement is for information only and is intended to provide useful and comparable consumer information to employees on the cost of their health care coverage.

Repeal of requirement for employers to provide “free-choice vouchers” to certain employees beginning in 2014. As part of the budget bill for the 2011 budget year, Congress repealed the requirement in the health care reform legislation requiring employers provide “free-choice vouchers” to certain employees beginning in 2014, when the health insurance exchanges are established. This would have required employers who paid any portion of the cost of health insurance for their employees to give “qualified employees” a voucher for the amount the employer would pay. The employee could then use that voucher to purchase health coverage from the exchange. For purposes of this requirement, a qualified employee was one whose required
contribution for the employer-sponsored coverage was between 8 and 9.8 percent of the employee’s household income for the tax year. Employers were concerned this requirement would cause healthy employees to leave the employer plan to purchase less expensive coverage through the exchange.

Repeal of requirement that businesses report payments made to all vendors on Form 1099. Congress passed a law repealing the requirement that businesses report payments made to all vendors, including corporate vendors, on Form 1099. This requirement was uniformly criticized as being overly burdensome, especially for small businesses.

“These are fairly significant changes and its imperative that companies stay abreast of them,” noted Kenneth Bettenhauser, President of Brokerage Services at HR Knowledge.
The HR Knowledge blog provides the most recent information on healthcare reform legislation and other HR issues. For more in-depth information, contact HR Knowledge at (508) 339-1300.

About HR Knowledge, Inc.
HR Knowledge, Inc. is a leading Business Process Outsourcer (BPO) serving emerging to mid-sized companies throughout the Northeast. HR Knowledge has the experience and technology to efficiently provide best-in-class integrated HR services at an affordable cost to clients.

HR Knowledge’s leaders have more than 100 years of combined experience and provide expert guidance in Human Resource management, Group Benefits Brokerage, Payroll Processing & Managed Services, Financial Services and Recruiting and Hiring Process Management (HPM).
Through their comprehensive Human Resource Services, HR Knowledge helps organizations minimize operational risks, reduce administrative costs and better serve their people.

HR Knowledge has been recognized as a Gold Level Broker by Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare. The company is headquartered at 905B South Main Street, Suite 203 in Mansfield and their second office is located at 890 Winter Street, Suite 208 in Waltham, MA. For more information, contact (508) 339-1300 or visit their website at www.hrknowledge.com

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HR Experts to Speak at XPX-Boston Breakfast at Babson College

Jeff Garr, CEO and Ken Bettenhauser, President of Brokerage Services at HR Knowledge, Inc., a leading Business Process Outsourcer (BPO) serving emerging to mid-sized companies throughout the Northeast with offices in Mansfield and Waltham, will speak at Exit Planning Exchange (XPX) Boston’s Breakfast Meeting on Wednesday, May 18, 2011, from 7:15 AM to 9:00 AM at Babson College in the Needham Wellesley Room, Wellesley, MA.

Garr and Bettenhauser will be speaking on the topic of “An Owner’s Perspective: When is an Exit not an Exit” and share their thought process around why they decided a merger was the answer to growth; how they developed their business plan; mitigated risk; dealt with challenges and leveraged their most trusted relationships.

A hot breakfast will be served. Advanced registration is recommended. Admission is $50 for Members; $70 for Non-Members. (Registrations at the door are an additional $10.) Parking is available in the lot next to Knight Auditorium.

To register for the event, visit xpxboston.com.

Garr and Bettenhauser are available for speaking engagements. Dedicated to helping businesses and individuals achieve their short and long term goals, they can share their knowledge on a variety of HR topics ranging from payroll processing, HR management, group benefits, financial services, recruiting and hiring.

Garr’s expertise has been honed from more than two decades in Sales, Management and HR in the distribution, manufacturing and business to business sectors. He has won countless sales awards and led dozens of seminars and training sessions over the years. Garr helped launch his first HR outsourcing company, HR Logic, in 1998, which was a Fidelity Investments Company. He went on to found AdminaService in 2001 and subsequently partnered with the HR Knowledge Team in 2005. Garr is the president of Network 128, an esteemed Boston based networking group and the past president and current auction chairman of The Mansfield Rotary. For the past eight years, he has been involved with MIT’s CFO Summit and he will be a speaker for Yankee Dental Congress 2012.

Bettenhauser is the co-founder of HR Knowledge. He works directly with clients to analyze and make recommendations to reduce their largest corporate expenditures surrounding payroll and employee benefit costs. Bettenhauser has more than 15 years experience in the Benefit, Payroll and HR Technology fields which he gained while serving as Director of Sales for ADP’s Emerging Business Division in New England and as Application Sales Manager at Oracle Corporation. He co-founded HR Knowledge in 2001. Over the last eight years, Bettenhauser has been involved with MIT’s CFO Summit and has served as a guest speaker regarding the Rising costs of healthcare. He is a member of Massachusetts Health Underwriters Association and is a licensed group benefit broker in over 15 states.

To arrange a speaking engagement with Jeff Garr or Ken Bettenhauser, contact Jenn Penfield at (508) 339-1300.

About Exit Planning Exchange (XPX) Boston

XPX was founded by a small group of New England business colleagues that currently serve as the organization’s national executive board known as XPX Global. For more information about XPS Boston, visit the website at www.xpxboston.com.

About HR Knowledge, Inc.

HR Knowledge, Inc. is a leading Business Process Outsourcer (BPO) serving emerging to mid-sized companies throughout the Northeast. HR Knowledge has the experience and technology to efficiently provide best-in-class integrated HR services at an affordable cost to clients.

HR Knowledge’s leaders have more than 100 years of combined experience and provide expert guidance in Human Resource management, Group Benefits Brokerage, Payroll Processing & Managed Services, Financial Services and Recruiting and Hiring Process Management (HPM).

Through their comprehensive Human Resource Services, HR Knowledge helps organizations minimize operational risks, reduce administrative costs and better serve their people.

HR Knowledge is headquartered at 905B South Main Street, Suite 203 in Mansfield and their second office is located at 890 Winter Street, Suite 208 in Waltham, MA. For more information, contact (508) 339-1300 or visit their website at hrknowledge.com.

HR Experts to Speak at XPX-Boston Breakfast at Babson CollegeRead More