Archive for March, 2009

Crazy

March 30, 2009

Always do the things you fear the most. Courage is an acquired taste, like caviar.   Erica Jong

We have a dedicated person who works here who’s initials essentially form the word” Krazy”. I love her exuberance and enthusaism that she brings to our office. She’s not afraid to tackle the tough stuff and she does so with gusto.

And we are bringing on the tough stuff. In our industry, converting from one software to another is a kind of crazy. The kind of crazy that means, “What was I thinking?” It will take us a year and a half at the least to make the transition – we will make mistakes – our clients will question the need for us to change – I will question whether the investment is appropriate, especially when our industry is changing so fast that what we have now may be behind the times sooner rather than later.

And yet our most daunting point from a staffing perspective, is that everyone wants to be first on the learning curve of the new software. They want to be out there. They’re not afraid of change. They’re not daunted by the prospect of failure. They want to learn. That’s called a success problem in my book. We can’t all be first, even in our small company, but by golly we’re going to try to get everyone up to the speed they want to be going as quickly as possible.

Change – it’s tough, it’s frustrating, it requires longer hours, it raises questions, and it’s necessary if we want our company to survive. I’m sure you’ll hear more about this change over the coming months. It’s the big enchilada in our garden of payroll.

Cheers,

Bryan Dear

www.payrolldept.biz

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COBRA

March 30, 2009

Simply stated, it is sagacious to eschew obfuscation.     - Norman Augustine

We don’t pretend to be experts in the administration of COBRA – the continutation of health insurance when an employee separates from the business or organization for which they were employed. We’ll leave that to others who are specialists. But with the new legislation, payroll companies like ours, became players. That’s because as part of the stimulus bill, employees who were involuntary terminated and who elected COBRA after September 1, 2008 may receive a 65% credit off their COBRA insurance. They get this credit from their employer who in turns receives the same credit on their payroll tax deposits (941 payments) which is then reflected on their quarterly payroll tax form (Form 941) – get all that?

As a payroll provider to such an employer, we need the ex-employee information and the amount the company paid on the employee’s behalf to cover their COBRA payment. We then add that information to the payroll we are running thereby reducing the amount the employer owes the IRS and reflecting this information on the Form 941.

It’s simple, yet complex. There is a labyrinth of questions that can complicated the process regarding employee eligibility, negative liabilities, overpayment by the company of the COBRA amount, etc. I would add that the administration of this benefit is yet another reason to outsource payroll. We keep up with the legislative changes on this issue, we work with multiple employers regarding this issue keeping us current on multiple fronts and we keep our systems up to date in order to insure complicance.

The eyes may roll up at yet another government change – but we’re there for you.

Sincerely,

Bryan Dear

www.payrolldept.biz

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Spring

March 30, 2009

You will never stub your toe standing still. The faster you go, the more chance there is of stubbing your toe, but the more chance you have of getting somewhere. - Charles F. Kettering, 1876 – 1958

Spring forth, spring forward, spring out, spring cleaning, spring, sprang, sprung. It’s quite the word. I don’t think other languages have quite the word that we have for spring with it’s many meanings and connotations. But feel free to correct me. I love to learn about the hidden meanings of words.

And what would a blog be without some reference to spring. Out with the old, in with the new. Out with our older software, in with our new software. Although the outing and inning will take place over 18 months. It’s the cleaning times. I feel for those in the two climate world of wet and dry seasons. How would I ever know to start the cleaning or changing process. Spring provides a reason for change .

And change – heard here before – is the root of capitalism – perhaps too swift at times. It’s how we make a move to our next level. It’s why we stumble because we move too fast. It’s also why relationships grow and die. Either both parties change and grow and the relationship strengthens or the parties go in different directions or one just doesn’t change. To paraphrase, perhaps by standing still, you are the one that’s changing.

Spring it on,

Bryan Dear

www.payrolldept.biz

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In adversity, doing the best we can

March 16, 2009

The prizes go to those who meet emergencies successfully. And the way to meet emergencies is to do each daily task the best we can.  William Feather, 1889 – 1981

How do you handle a moment of anger? Almost all of us would probably take back moments of conversation and actions in our past when they were dealt with in anger. And so when the moment of anger is directed at you, how do you handle it?  Believe it or not it’s a chance to shine: even if the only one who will see that brilliant light is yourself. I have always admired the airline employees who are on the front line when flights are cancelled – especially when it’s not weather related. These men and women have to deal with multiple waves of anger with many people who just cannot escape from their trap of anger.

So back to that moment when the conversation is unpleasant, even if it’s not you who created the situation, you are bearing the hit. How do you deal? You may already know many of the tools of the trade. Just to reiterate, here  are some on my list:

Let the person talk (or vent) and let them finish. Remind yourself to breathe and for me, the most difficult reminder – Don’t Take it Personally! After you have allowed them to vent

Transfer them to another person to work with them in which case they will need to re-state the problem. This second venting almost always is less heated and a solution can be found – or

Tell them you need a little more time to problem solve and you will call them back in a specified time period. It’s important to call them back within that promised call-back time, but again, having already vented once, they will be in a better place to work with you – or

Re-state the issue to the person asking them to verify and clarify what you have just heard. You allow them a chance to slow their anger while showing that you are listening.

And to me – it’s all about listening. By listening to their issue, you show you care and you show you are prepared to take action which could resolve their issue. We all have experienced a customer service issue in which they didn’t care about my complaint, didn’t take time to listen, didn’t do anything that showed they cared. Yuck.

It’s rarely a great moment when we deal with someone in anger. But we have all been there on the other side. Remember it’s a great time to review that Stimulous > Response rejoinder. The more time we give ourselves to respond to a situation, the better we can provide a response that we’re proud of. It’s not unheard of that the anger will turn into appreciation – and that is a reward.

We have such terrific relationships with our clients and customers that we rarely deal with anger, but I would be remiss if I said it never happened. We should listen, we should resolve the issue to the best we can with a goal that you feel we did “the right thing.”

Payroll is our service – and true service is what we provide.

I am,

Bryan Dear

www.payrolldept.biz

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Boldering down the path

March 10, 2009

When you cannot make up your mind which of two evenly balanced courses of action you should take – choose the bolder.   - W. J. Slim

Everyday we get to make decisions. And sometimes the decision is to put a decision off until another day. I find this particularly appealing on what are usually classified as minor decisions. Of course that bird comes home to roost when I least wish to deal with it. And so my aim is higher – deal with the minutia before leaving the office. 

Bolder certainly sounds good. I know it can be a little more painful when bolder doesn’t work out as planned. So then there should be some quotation about staying bold when bolder didn’t work before – a continuation of the bolder course. 

Durango’s 4th annual independent film festival was held last week and according to initial reports, went very well. I know I had a great time seeing five different film blocks over the four days. This is not the hooty-tooty kind of film festival such as the ones at Telluride, Colorado or Sundance, Utah. It’s a festival for our community. There were films shown from all over the country and many of the producers came and spoke with the audience. I am grateful that we have a community that’s ready to go out on a limb and put something like this together. 

Payroll thought for the day - don’t ignore those IRS notices. From our viewpoint they are dealt with within five business days of receiving them. Take the bolder action and deal with them – or better yet let us deal with them. 

Sincerely,

 Bryan

www.payrolldept.biz

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Skinning up the mountain

March 9, 2009

In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1906 – 1945

In the world of backcountry skiing, there’s an expression to “earn your turns.” That’s because there is no lift in the backcountry and unless you happen to be skiing where snow mobiles are allowed, you’re going to have to climb up the mountain on your skis while wearing “skins.” Skins are man-made now, but presumably the term comes from using seal skins in the old days. The ski easily goes one way in the direction of the skin, but does not go in the opposite direction very easily. And thus, one can walk up the mountain on their skis in order to come right back down with the skins off.

I’m not sure exactly of the ratio of climbing time to skiing time, but it must be close to every 90 minutes spent climbing allows for 10 minutes of skiing. The turns (the skiing) are indeed earned. 

What’s this have to do with payroll? When I recently did my turns, I was in the company of excellent skiers and great companions. The world around me was stunning in white while the majestic San Juans provided a textured background of bowls and peaks. I was truly in a place of grace.

And it is in this place of grace where our service aims to be. Grateful that we have a service that is appreciated by so many. Humbled that people believe in us and place their trust in our hands. Appreciative that our customers are cooperative and willing to listen. It makes our skinning up so much easier.

Cheers,

Bryan

www.payrolldept.biz

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The eight (legal) reasons for not paying an exempt person their full salary

March 6, 2009

There are many in this old world of ours who hold that things break about even for all of us. I have observed, for example, that we all get the same amount of ice. The rich get it in the summertime and the poor get it in the winter. Bat Masterson, 1853 – 1921

Classifying an employee as exempt means the employee is not only exempt from overtime, but also from other wage regulations and less recordkeeping is required. However, docking an except employee’s compensation does take some care. The U.S. Department of Labor lists eight situations where you as an employer are allowed to deduct from their salary. The group of  exempt employees for this discussion are the ones classified as executive, administrative or professional

1)      If the employer has a sick plan in effect and the employee exhausts the sick pay plan, the employer may make deductions in increments of days. The employer may not make deductions in increments of hours. If an employee is out a day and a half, then the employer may only deduct a day’s pay.

2)      When there is an absence that is not related to sickness, but is at the employee’s own whim or will, the employer may only make deductions in full-day increments.

3)      Deductions may be taken for jury duty.

4)      Deductions may be made for military leave.

5)      Deductions may be imposed in good faith for infractions of safety rules of major significance.  

6)      Unpaid disciplinary suspensions of one or more full days may be imposed in good faith for workplace violations.

7)      An employee’s salary may be pro-rated if the employee doesn’t work the entire week while taking intermittent leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

8)   An employee’s salary may be pro-rated during the first and the last week of employment.

 

If we process your payroll, we do our best to keep you aware of such

situations – because it’s not always obvious what is the right thing to do.

 

 

Cheers,

 

Bryan

www.payrolldept.biz

 

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Succeed anyway

March 5, 2009

If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.  Mother Teresa, 1910 – 1997

In times like these, succeed anyway is the way to go. It’s the green light. And who wouldn’t want to “succeed anyway.” How do you do that in this economy is the key question – with banks not lending and nobody spending it can be easy to give up.

Think of the great supply of excellent employees looking for work who would give anything to be a part of a successful enterprise. Many items are cheaper than ever before including gas which was more than double the price just a year ago. It’s like putting your money (what money?) in the market when it seems to go down further each day.

Yet that’s the secret hiding in plain sight. Start now, even if it’s small, creating a foundation for your business. Keep it as simple as you can right now, but keep building: networks, product and/or service improvements, and communication to your customers. You will reap so many rewards later when our economy turns. Believe in yourself and use your will to persevere. Succeed anyway.

And let us know if we can help somewhere along the way.

Bryan

www.payrolldept.biz

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Go big or go home

March 3, 2009

I’ve thought the whole thing over and if we are going bust, we will go bust big.
Charles M. Schwab, 1862 – 1939

Anyway I say this, it’s much easier to say it than it is to do it. Once this task is identified and I’m staring it in the face, then the feeling of derring-do vanishes. The humility index begins to rise rapidly and I question my original purpose.

These thoughts are running rampant because we are undertaking a major software change in our company. There will be new documentation, new checklists, a completely different way of understanding how this software works, lots of training, communicating with our clients so they understand the new reporting, a much greater investment in IT and the protection and security of the data that goes with that and YIKES – my head hurts and I want to crawl back into my hole. 

Breathe – we’re going to be stronger and better. We’ll tackle one task at a time. This will work. And the www.payrolldept.biz will be stronger than before. If it was easy, then everyone would do it – and yet we won’t be the first.

Bryan

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