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December 2011/
January 2012 |
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 FEATURE
The Amazing Fractal Properties of the PEO
Simple Formula = PEO Operational Best Practices
Self-Similarity = Efficiency
Infinite Detail = Profitability
We all know that running a PEO involves a lot of math. Have you ever considered that a PEO itself is math? If not, just compare it to a fractal. A fractal image starts with a simple mathematical formula that plugs the answer back into the original equation and repeats it. Running a PEO involves applying the formula for operational best practices and repeating it. Just as the iterations of the fractal equation are efficient in replicating the original design of the fractal image, so are the PEO's iterations of its best practices efficient and effective in consistently delivering its services to clients and worksite employees. As the fractal's iterations continue, the design becomes more and more complex, yet it still exhibits the original pattern. As a PEO's iterations continue, the PEO grows and is able to apply its original formula to … For the rest of the article, click here. |
DEPARTMENTS
It's the Holidays! Time for that Traditional Holiday Contract Review
Checklist for Client Service Agreement Reviews
Ted N. Kazaglis, Esq.
It's the time of year when everyone is making a list and checking it twice, trying to determine which clients are naughty and which are nice. While it might not be as easy as writing a list, a client service agreement (CSA) review and update at the end of each year can prevent needless hassles and liabilities in the new year.
The end of the calendar year, more times than not, is the typical contract renewal date. However, it is surprising how many PEOs do not use the annual renewal time for anything. There is no contact with the client, no review of the past year performance, no discussion of rate increases, and no updates to the contract. At best, the…
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Managing PEO HR Services
Is There an App for That?
Holly McLeod, PHR
8:53 a.m.
Client Call: "I'm firing an employee this morning and calling to let you to know."
PEO Response: "Thank you for calling in advance! What are the circumstances regarding your decision?"
Client: "She's missing a lot of work and taking a lot of breaks. She was a good employee before she got pregnant, but now I can't depend on her. I'm sure it will only get worse after she has her baby."...
But as with any new technology, there can be unexpected…
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Controlling Workers' Compensation
Costs in the Risk Management Equation
Debbie Hetzer, ARM
Risk management, by its very definition, is a process that incorporates planning, organizing, leading, and controlling activities to avoid or minimize the negative effects of losses at a reasonable expense level. Cost management helps companies control and plan for the costs of doing business while improving business processes, eliminating waste, and identifying cost drivers. By applying cost management techniques to risk management efforts, we can better manage the costs of the risk management equation.
A variety of factors…
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The Best Opportunity We May Ever See
David L. Rettig
What's the biggest challenge facing the PEO sales professional today? While each of you has your own perspective, my view of this hasn't changed in the last 15 years. For me, it's always been: How we can tangibly demonstrate the value of outsourcing sufficient…
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SOC and SAS
The New Standards for Service Organization Controls Reporting
David E. Barton, CRISC and Jeffrey S. Solis, CPA
Last April, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) announced that Statement on Auditing Standard Number 70 (SAS 70) was going away, to be replaced by Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements Number 16 (SSAE 16). Since that time, additional discussion and guidance from AICPA has resulted in better understanding of the standards. It turns out that AICPA has done a lot more than just renumber and reorganize SAS 70. It has created three new Service Organization Control (SOC) reports intended to provide a framework for CPAs to examine controls at a service organization.
These new reporting standards are important to the PEO industry because…
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COLUMNS
Grow Your PEO
Arthur L. Geiger
2012 NAPEO Chairperson
I believe the majority, if not all, people owning and/or operating businesses are doing so as a result of natural or acquired entrepreneurial spirit. While passion and exceptional skills may land an entrepreneur in the driver's seat of any business, efficiency and balance ultimately create the foundation of…
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New CEO Brings Fresh Insight and Leadership to NAPEO
NAPEO is pleased to announce that Patrick J. Cleary has been named its new president and CEO. This decision comes after many months of research and careful deliberation by the CEO Search Task Force and Board of Directors. Cleary assumed this role on December 5, 2011…
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The Art of the Possible
Tim Tucker
Nothing is more preferable than getting one's own way. That sentiment is especially true in the legislative context. Ideally, NAPEO would be able to put forward the NAPEO model act in each state legislature and within a short time have it move through the legislative process and ultimately…
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'No-Fault' Absence Policy, Whistleblower Complaints, USERRA and State Law
William J. Schilling, Esq.
Q. A new client has a "no-fault" absence policy. The worker is allowed up to six tardy days and four absences without question. However, after that the employee is subject to discipline. Is this permissible?
A. If that is all the policy provides, it needs to be revised. Several companies have learned the hard way (Verizon, $20 million; Supervalue Markets, $3.2 million; and Sears, $6.2 million) that a rigid no-fault absence/tardiness program does not work unless it provides…
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We Have a Senate Bill
Thom Stohler
Since the introduction of the Small Business Efficiency Act in the House of Representatives (H.R. 2466) by Representatives Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Mike Thompson (D-CA), NAPEO has been focused on getting this legislation introduced in the Senate.
Those efforts paid off on November 18, when Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) introduced the Small Business Efficiency Act (S. 1908) in the Senate. Their legislation, which is almost identical to the bill introduced in the House, would clarify the rights and responsibilities of professional employer organizations (PEOs) for…
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What We Hoped Would Never Happen, Did!
Powerful Tornado Tests PEO's Disaster Preparation Plan
Lee Allphin
Most days in our lives are unremarkable. The sun rises at dawn and sets in the west, with very little to distinguish one day from another. However, Sunday, May 22, 2011, was not one of those days. This particular day in May will forever serve as a marker in the history of The Employer Advantage (EA) and many other Joplin businesses as well. An EF-5 tornado hit Joplin, Missouri, at 5:30 p.m. that day…
…Over our 20-plus years of serving our clients, we have experienced several winter ice storms, powerful thunderstorms, electrical outages, etc., resulting in property damage, loss of power, and closed roads. During these events, some of our own employees were…
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Joplin Tornado of 2011
A Personal Perspective
Lee Allphin
If you are reading this, you probably read my "PEO Stories" article in this month's print edition of PEO Insider describing my PEO's experience with the May 2011 Joplin tornado. As I mentioned in that article, many days in our lives are unremarkable. However, Sunday, May 22, 2011, was not one of those days. This stormy day in May will forever serve as a marker in my life and I am sure a marker for many others as well. Events prior to this date will be called BT (Before Joplin Tornado), and events following, AT (After Joplin Tornado.)
Eight of us experienced the full fury of the storm in…
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The Employment Index and the Economy
John Slavic
The PEO Employment Index trailed off in the third quarter as the economy continued to track sideways. The ongoing difficulties of the economy and the recent downward revisions of the third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) report reflect the latest…
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Outsourcing: A Boon to PEO Efficiency
Anna Belliveau
For those who know of PEOs, the first thought that comes to mind is outsourcing. Indeed, it is what PEOs are best known for: giving clients the opportunity to outsource back-office administration and focus time and energy on revenue-producing activities instead. Even though PEOs are primarily thought of as providers of outsourcing services, the truth is that we do our share of outsourcing as well. After all, we are all trying to increase efficiency-to run like well-oiled machines and focus on the bottom line. As PEOs, we…
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