Business Management | BizSieve.com

Does Your Company Need a PEO?

Owning a business requires time, patience and a great deal of effort to ensure its success and longevity. A professional employer organization (PEO) will spend time researching your business needs and deliver a cost-effective plan to meet them. Instead of endless piles of paperwork, staying current with employee regulations and interviewing, you can focus your attention on running your company.

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PEO FAQ

1. What is a PEO?

Professional Employer Organization may be an unfamiliar term, but they are extremely valuable. A PEO provides a variety of services that includes human resources functions, payroll assistance, safety and employment resolutions, regulatory compliance, professional orientation and much more.

2. How can a PEO Benefit Your Business?

Improve the safety of the workplace environment through seminars and training workshops.
Oversee worker’s compensation issues and follow-up on injuries or claims.
Control spending by focusing on their primary duties instead of tedious work.
Reduce payroll and wasteful accounting expenses.
Implement and structure human resource services such as company policies, employee handbooks and vacation scheduling.
Refocus the attention on revenue generating tasks such as sales and marketing strategies to help the company grow and flourish.
Manage employee health and dental benefits.
Stay on top of current regulations and compliance in regard to end of the year reports, state laws and filing any necessary documentation pertaining to the guidelines.

3. How will a PEO Improve my Workplace Environment?

In addition to the many benefits a PEO can provide for your business, the remainder of the employees in your workplace will reap just as many rewards through their outsourcing.

Efficient and timely payroll services – No longer will you have to worry about payroll and getting paychecks out to your employees in a timely fashion. This is part of a PEO’s job and can take the headache out of tallying up regular, overtime and salaried hours for the employees and making sure everyone gets their check when they are supposed to. Managing the correct deductions is just as important when it pertains to insurance, expense and tax related issues.
Improved employee/employer communication – Proper communication is necessary for any successful business and a PEO can ensure that a company stays on top of important dates such as employee reviews, insurance deadlines and other relatable items.
Maintain a peaceful environment – A professional and knowledgeable PEO can take all of the worry out of managing a proper business by providing guidance on legal compliance, safety and risk management services for your company.

If you’re company is having trouble staying on task with their benefits, unable to set a budget for monetary compensation to your employees or having issues with human resource maintenance and employee hiring, it may be time to hire a professional employer organization. A PEO can get your business on the road to effective planning and help the company stay focused on growth.

About the Author: Researcher Shelby Warden writes articles to help small business owners reach their goals. Since 1997 Midwest HR has been identifying new, cutting-edge ways to positively affect the bottom line and overall growth of businesses of all sizes. Read their extensive PEO FAQ for more details on how a PEO can help with payroll, tax administration, risk management, worker’s compensation and legal compliance.

Lone Star Liabilities: When The Company Truck Causes an Accident in Texas

Business owners that are required to maintain business trucks as part of their company face different liabilities than those with storefronts that only require a client to enter the establishment to make a purchase. The very second that the ignition is started in the truck opens the door to new responsibilities and liabilities. The business owner must take into account that they are responsible for the driver and all of their actions on the road. Additionally, if the driver of their vehicle acts in a manner that causes an accident, the business owner is held liable for any and all damages they cause, even if the driver was not following company policy at the time the event occurred.

Legal Issues A Business Faces With Company Trucks

• Driving Records. You must diligently review the driving records of your company drivers. Drivers that have tickets or convictions off the clock can reflect poorly on your company. Insurance rates can soar if you employ a driver with a personal DUI conviction, and in the event of an accident, their personal driving records will be held against your business.
• Maintenance Issues. You must follow a routine maintenance schedule on your company fleet to ensure the safety of your employees and others. If an accident is caused by equipment failure, you can be held liable for the injuries to your employee as well as others involved in the accident.
• Employee Safety Training. Your company should establish a training program for all company drivers that is on-going. Safety issues relating to driving and operating the vehicle, road condition training, and defensive driving should all be included. As part of this training, you should also include company policies about how long a driver can be behind the wheel each day. Limiting the amount of time a driver can be behind the wheel each day will help avoid accidents and liability issues surrounding drivers that are too tired to operate a vehicle safely.

How A Texas Accident Attorney Can Help

When most people think of an accident attorney, they think of a lawyer that helps the injured party claim compensation. However, an accident attorney can also be very beneficial to business owners in preventing liability issues or handling them if they arise.

An accident attorney can help the business can review company policy for the prevention of accidents and make any recommendations that will decrease liability and stay within compliance of the law. They can also review current insurance policies to determine if the company is covered for all liable events.

If an accident does occur in Texas, hiring one of the accident lawyers in Houston to represent your business in any proceedings is also to your advantage. Experience and expertise in a specific field is always beneficial to a case.

What all business owners should remember is that there is a liability to the employees and the public that comes with business ownership. When you put a company truck on the road, you increase those responsibilities. Taking steps before any accident occurs, such as establishing a safety plan, checking driving records, and consulting with an attorney about liability, is the best way to avoid unnecessary problems if an accident occurs.

A former investigative news writer, Ann Bailey posts these reminders for any business doing truck service through Texas. The Doyle Raizner accident lawyers in Houston know every aspect of liability for trucking accidents and work diligently for their clients in all manner of accident fault issues.

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What Small Businesses Should Do to Protect Employees from Catastrophic Weather

As an employer, there are many things that you must consider when it comes to the safety of your employees. Installing alarm systems and security lights, ensuring that walk ways are free from debris, and maintaining machinery are just a few examples. However, one thing that many employers overlook is safety from weather conditions.

Severe weather can happen at any time. Depending on the area of the country in which you live, you may be faced with tornadoes, hurricanes, winter snow storms, heavy thunderstorms, or even earthquakes. It is crucial that you have a weather emergency plan implemented in your place of business.

What You Can Do To Keep Your Employees Safe

• Have a designated emergency shelter area. You want to make sure that there is a safe place that your employees can retreat to in the event of strong storms, tornadoes, or hurricanes. You may want to have an empty supply closet or meeting room designated. Create specific instructions for your employees to follow in these types of situations.

• Make snow removal plans early. Make sure that you have a snow removal service in place to ensure clear walks and driveways. Coat these areas with the appropriate de-icing agents to ensure that they do not become too slippery for safe passage.

• Have a fire contingency plan in place. Fire Drills are not just for school kids. Make sure that all your exits properly work and are always accessible. Review your fire drill procedures monthly with your employees.

• Review building codes and regulations. Make sure that the office/building that you are in is in compliance with all building code regulations for weather. As reviewed by Indianapolis personal injury attorney, Randy Sevenish, “Personal injury or “tort” claims cover a wide range of physical or emotional injuries caused by another’s actions or failure to account for (a victim’s) safety.” If you have employees in a hurricane area, for example, you will want to ensure that you have the proper glass in your windows to withstand high winds. If you are in a heavy snow area, you will want to ensure that your roofing is fit to carry the weight of the snow.

• Provide first aid that’s readily available. If an emergency occurs, you also want to be prepared to administer any type of emergency care possible. This may include having compresses that can be “cracked” to provide cold or heat relief and bandages. If possible, have a way to contact emergency personnel included with your kit.

If you are not sure how to go about creating an employee emergency plan, or what should be included, you are encouraged to contact a personal injury attorney for advice. An attorney that specializes in injuries can offer the best advice on how to prevent injuries to a business owner. Additionally, a personal injury attorney can review your current plans to ensure that they are complete and in compliance with any laws in your area.

One of the best ways that an employer can prevent injuries from occurring, even during a weather event, is to be prepared. Have a plan in place, and make sure that your employees are trained in all aspects of this plan. Implement safety meetings, and depending on the season, review the weather safety protocols at those meetings.

As a news writer and reporter, Ann Bailey covered numerous emergency weather conditions, now compiling these steps for business owners to follow. Indianapolis personal injury attorney, Randy Sevenish works strenuously for compensation for his clients involved in injury accidents at the fault of their employers or other liable parties.

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Divide and Conquer – The Art of Delegation

Many business owners – especially when they’re just starting out – feel like they have to do everything themselves. They understandably want to be in charge of every single aspect of the company, from the marketing work to HR, from writing business plans to checking stock and a million other things besides. No task is too small to be looked at in minute detail; after all, they don’t want their business to fail.

The Importance of Delegation

While it is obviously important to keep track of your business as a whole, it can be practically impossible to focus on every little element of the day-to-day running of the company; there’s no way that a single person can do everything – and still keep their sanity. Important jobs can need a lot of time spent on them in order to do them well, and if you’re trying to do too much, your work will suffer for it. That’s when the art of delegation – allocating jobs to others in your company – comes into play.

Delegation isn’t simply a get-out-clause, a way of shirking your responsibilities or escaping from your obligations; it is an incredibly useful tool which – when implemented properly – can help your company to improve and grow. In dividing your tasks, you will conquer more at the end of each business day. Some people feel that if they are delegating, they are somehow cheating or failing to fulfil their role as manager or owner of the business. This simply isn’t true; with spreading the work around, you not only end up utilising your own skills to their fullest advantage, but you also create a better working environment for your employees.

Employee Morale

No one wants a high turnover of staff, and if you want to avoid having to interview for a new sales assistant or administrator every few months, it is vital that you keep employee morale up and make your company a nice, satisfying, place to work. Giving them more tasks and responsibilities can help with this. For example, instead of being in charge of boosting sales over the whole company yourself, give each staff member a particular product or area to track and improve on. People like being appreciated for what they do, but they like seeing good, solid results even more.

If your business is doing well, stress levels will no doubt be kept to a minimum – and people who enjoy their jobs are more likely to be productive and efficient in their work. If the manager is concentrating on the really important business tasks instead of spreading themselves too thin doing all the little things, the business is more likely to benefit. As the staff start to see the company getting more successful, they can share in the pride of the achievement and will want to ensure the continuation of the accomplishment. They helped get the company to where it is today; they have a stake in it now and want to see it do well – just as much as the boss does.

Business Hierarchy

The use of delegation also creates a clear-cut hierarchy where perhaps there wasn’t one before (this can sometimes be the case with particularly small businesses). In generating new roles and new levels of authority, staff will feel like they can report to someone – or ask their advice – without having to go straight to the top. Knowing that there are more supervisory figures than just the boss, employees will be more likely to complete tasks quickly and efficiently, and soon your company will be a well-oiled machine, where every cog – or staff member in this case – is not only incredibly important, but also highly valued. Along with this idea of hierarchy comes the opportunity to create new departments and offer new roles to existing staff members – giving not only your company the chance to grow, but the individuals within it the chance as well.

By perfecting the art of delegation, you will be giving your company the best possible chance it has to grow and develop, not to mention the huge boost you will give your staff in terms of morale and motivation.

About the Author: This article is contributed by James Stewardson blogger for Sage Software. He enjoys sharing small business tips and advice.

Could Your Employee Medical Records Be Needed in Malpractice Lawsuits?

Most small business owners and other entrepreneurs never fully contemplate all of the issues that they’ll face once they start running their own business. Some of the most unforeseen outcomes are those related to the legal world. These issues can include liability insurance, personal injury claims and even environmental damage lawsuits. One legal issue that many business owners are likely to come across, however, is subpoenas for medical documents related to their employees. These are sometimes needed in medical malpractice lawsuits, and unfortunately, they can sometimes leave employers in a little legal trouble of their own.

Why Medical Records May Be Subpoenaed

There are numerous reasons why, in a medical malpractice lawsuit, an employer may be asked to hand over certain information about their employees medical health. The main reason, however, is to prove whether or not an employee had any illnesses or injuries before their medical mishap. Interestingly enough, several employee documents can help in these situations, including:

Employee insurance plans
Documentation related to sick days taken
Previous workers’ comp claims
Documentation of other issues at work

As previously mentioned, these documents can go towards showing whether a person had prior injuries or illnesses, and this can be vital during a medical malpractice suit. This type of suit, whether you consult a Montana lawyer or a Maryland medical malpractice attorney, must show that a doctor provided a sub-par level of care when compared to others in his field. In addition, this sub-par level of care must be what contributed to the harm that a patient received.

All of this simply means that even if a doctor was negligent in his level of care, he won’t have to pay compensation if he can prove that a patient was already having issues in relation to the alleged damage caused by the neglectful care. Similarly, these documents can go towards proving that an employee had been perfectly healthy before undergoing treatment from their doctor. In a medical malpractice suit, these records could be detrimental for either party to the suit.

When Employers May Disclose Info

Unfortunately, whenever parties of a medical malpractice suit decide to drag an employer into the mix, it puts that employer in danger of being held legally liable for certain acts as well. This usually makes it pertinent for an employer to get advice from a medical malpractice lawyer on what their rights and responsibilities are in this specific situation. Since these specialized attorneys work in this world every day, they know what may or may not get a business owner in trouble.

One major issue employers can run into is the Privacy Act of 1974. This law prohibits certain information from being disclosed about an employee short of having that employee consent to its release. This isn’t a problem when it’s the employee requesting the information, but when a medical institution instigates the request, this can lead to trouble. There are twelve exemptions that would require employers to disclose this information anyway, such as having a court order (not necessarily a subpoena), so it’s important to have someone knowledgeable about this specific area of law on hand.

Medical malpractice is a complex issue, and usually only experienced lawyers in the field know all of the system’s nuances. This means that even though an employer may never be a party to a medical malpractice suit, they should at least speak with an attorney who specializes in it. This will ensure that they avoid any liabilities in the sometimes likely event that they’re approached for these employee records. It can literally mean the difference between simply handing over a few documents and ending up in court themselves.

A former TV news writer, Ann Bailey posts these pointers for business owners regarding their employee medical records. The Maryland medical malpractice attorney group at Price Benowitz, LLP conscientiously represents victims of medical malpractice and is also able to advise employers about medical recording for personal injury claims.

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