After selling the family insurance business earlier this year for $127 million, Donna and Hans Sternberg are launching another company in an entirely new field

After selling the family insurance business earlier this year for $127 million, Donna and Hans Sternberg are launching another company in an entirely new field

Articles

Donna and Hans Sternberg have a long history of building businesses together, and they’re showing no signs of slowing down at the helm of their new company, Highflyer Human Resources. Sternberg’s new company is called Highflyer Human Resources, and it sells Human Capital Management software and service, which means it fuses payroll, benefits and HR systems into a single, customized, cloud-based platform for small and midsized companies.
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6 Open Enrollment Items For Your To-Do List

6 Open Enrollment Items For Your To-Do List

Benefits, Open Enrollment

When many of us think of fall, our mind wanders to the changing colors on trees, raking leaves and football.  Human resource and benefit professionals must have one more thing top of mind–open enrollment.  Annually, HR and benefit professionals must provide employees with options for the next plan year. The to-do list should include the following:

Summary of Benefits & Coverage (SBC). The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires you to provide an SBC to all applicants and enrollees for all group health plans, except for those that are excepted benefits under HIPAA (e.g., stand-alone dental, vision, most Health FSAs). This requirement is effective for open enrollment periods that started on or after September 23, 2012.

Grandfathered Plan Notices. Employers must send this notice to all participants if the plan is to maintain its grandfathered status. Grandfathered plans do not have to comply with some of the rules related to the ACA. However, they must comply with other rules, like annual and lifetime limits, dependent coverage up to age 26, rescission and limits on preexisting condition exclusions (PCEs).

Patient Protection Disclosures. Also under the ACA, employers must notify participants of their right to designate any primary care provider who participates in the network. If the plan allows for the designation of a primary care provider for a child or for an obstetric/gynecological care provider, these must also be included in the notice.

Medicare Part D Creditable Coverage Notices. All employer-sponsored plans that offer a prescription drug benefit must annually notify participants as to whether their coverage is creditable or non-creditable. The deadline to mail these notices is October 15. The Medicare Part D annual enrollment period is October 15 through December 7. This will require notices to go out prior to most plans being finalized. Any changes to creditable status once a plan is finalized will require another round of notices to be sent.

NOTE:  This notice requirement is only part of what the plan sponsor is required to do for compliance.  Please refer to CMS for online reporting instructions as well as additional requirements for these notices.

COBRA Qualified Beneficiary Communications. COBRA regulations, as amended by HIPAA require many notices; one of those is the Open Enrollment Notification. This requirement states that employers must provide the same rights to COBRA Continuees during an open enrollment period that is offered to active employees. This notice is required even if the only change is the COBRA rates.  The open enrollment packet must be sent to:

  • Possible Electees (individuals in their 60-day election period)
  • Electees (individuals who have elected but have not yet paid)
  • Continuees (individuals who have elected and paid)

Health FSAs. Health FSAs are another open enrollment challenge. If the Health FSA is a HIPAA-excepted benefit and the employer need only offer COBRA when the FSA account is underspent, then the COBRA obligation ends at the end of the first plan year. However, if the employer somehow does not qualify for the limited obligation, the employer must provide the opportunity to elect Health FSA coverage for the next plan year or until COBRA has been exhausted. Also, if the COBRA period is also covered by USERRA because of a military leave of absence, the employer must continue to offer the Health FSA.

For plan years 2014, Health FSAs have a $2,500 salary reduction contribution limit. This limit was not changed for 2015. Plan documents and Summary Plan Descriptions must be revised if they weren’t upda

4 Tips For Impressing New Hires On Day One

4 Tips For Impressing New Hires On Day One

Company Culture, Onboarding

“You never get a second chance to make a (good) first impression” is common advice doled out to job interviewees or new company hires. Companies should also consider this when they contemplate how to help make their new employees feel comfortable while getting up to speed as quickly and painlessly as possible. A positive onboarding experience should begin on day one, promoting an easier adaptation to the company’s culture, increasing employee retention and boosting overall morale.

Here are four simple actions employers can take:

  1. Complete onboarding forms in advance.

Hopefully, you utilize technology so you can avoid dumping an immediate avalanche of enrollment forms onto the new hire.  Online onboarding will enable the new employee to complete most of the preliminary paperwork before the start date.  Getting this out of the way will help make that first day more productive and enjoyable.

  1. Equip the workstation or office.

Make sure the new employee already has all of the necessary equipment and supplies in place — do not make them wait endlessly for a crucial piece of furniture/equipment/hardware to get them up and running. Having someone yell out, “Did we ever order a desk and computer for the new marketing guy?” doesn’t exactly make the new guy or gal feel welcome or respected.

  1. Assign a mentor or peer coach.

Fans of the Seinfeld sitcom may recall an episode where George Costanza arrives on his first day at work only to sit alone and bored in a sparse, gloomy office. Suddenly, a man bursts through the door with a file in his hand and tells George to “work on the Penske file.” George awkwardly responds that he will, but it was obvious to the audience that he had no idea how or where to begin.

George could have benefited from having been assigned a mentor or peer coach to provide insight about office protocol, organizational structure, etc. Many employees prematurely leave a new job because of insufficient orientation and a manager’s unreasonable expectations. Mentoring goes a long way toward preventing the new employee from feeling lost or neglected by management.

  1. Make it easy to meet other colleagues.

Organize introductions to fellow employees at prearranged meetings, or schedule small lunch groups throughout the week. The new employee may have a hard time getting acquainted if everyone just eats their dry, tuna sandwiches hunched over their computers. Informal lunch gatherings provide a casual and relaxed way to meet other team members.

What else do you do to make a good first impression on your new employees?

Can you prove your ACA compliance?

Can you prove your ACA compliance?

ACA Reporting & Compliance, Benefits, Compliance, HR Solutions

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) employer mandates and deadlines are putting plenty of fear, worry and doubt into those who must comply with reporting requirements.  Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) should be especially aware of their ACA obligations to employees and the IRS.

Enforcement

Since the ACA became a law, the IRS has managed over 40 provisions regarding implementation of ACA.

Perhaps the most pressing from an employer’s viewpoint is play or pay.  Large employers (50+ FTEs) who do not offer coverage for all of their full-time employees, offer unaffordable minimum essential coverage or offer plans with high out-of-pocket costs could face tax penalties.

The employer would also be subject to a tax penalty if there is at least one full-time employee certified as having purchased health insurance through an exchange and was eligible for a tax credit or subsidy.

Fines

Employer fines imposed for ACA noncompliance are referred to as employer shared responsibility payments.  The full details of who will have to pay, how much to pay and under what circumstances is pretty complicated, but rest assured those fines can be substantial. The IRS official Q&A about this contained 56 entries when it was updated as of May 20, 2015.

Data

ALEs should have been recording and compiling detailed, monthly information as of January 1, 2015, in order to meet filing requirements. Some required data includes:

  • Federal Employer Identification Numbers (FEIN) within a controlled group
  • Total employees
  • Total full-time employees
  • Total months covered
  • Validation that minimum essential coverage was offered, affordable and met the minimum value requirements
  • Personal information, including Social Security Number and birth date

Forms

Required reporting will be done via four IRS forms:

  • 1094-B (Transmittal of Health Coverage Information Returns)
  • 1094-C (Transmittal of Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage Information Returns)
  • 1095-B (Health Coverage)
  • 1095-C (Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage).

ALEs will file Forms 1094-C and 1095-C, while the coverage provider or self-insured plan sponsor has the legal obligation to furnish forms 1094-B and 1095-B to the plan participants.

Deadlines

Full-time equivalent (FTE) employees must receive their completed forms by February 1, 2016 (due to January 31 falling on Sunday). The paper reporting forms filed with the IRS must be sent in by February 29 (due to leap year) or March 31 for electronic filing.  Employers should already be implementing a solution that can manage ACA data and report compliance.

Be prepared

The challenges of ACA compliance can be met with the right solution that manages employee data, time and attendance, HR, payroll, and benefits so an employer is able to quickly review data. If you use outside assistance, make sure they provide a defined project plan to ensure your compliance.

Action plan

  • Know exactly what should be done
  • Define a process
  • Manage and compile data
  • Understand the forms and instructions
  • Meet the deadlines

The bottom line?  Be ready – you have to comply!

4 Benefits of Improving Employee Onboarding

4 Benefits of Improving Employee Onboarding

HR Solutions, Onboarding, Time & Attendance

Nearly a quarter of staff turnover happens within six weeks of starting employment, which wastes time and resources. When a new hire starts with your company, this will be his or her first chance to see how it operates. Clear instructions, timely responses from management and HR staff, and proper handling of new hire paperwork are important tasks that help instill confidence in new employees. But when your new hire is shuffling between departments during the first week of employment, it’s tough to keep track of where he or she is in the onboarding process.

The solution to this common problem is an automated onboarding system. You can eliminate unnecessary steps, automate your onboarding workflow, and get rid of extra paperwork. Four of the leading benefits of improving onboarding include:

Improved job performance

When your employees understand their expectations, their performance tends to be much better. This is especially true of new hires, who are trying to adapt and learn more about the company culture and the new positions that they are filling. Take time to reduce ambiguity around policies and responsibilities.

Reduced stress

Onboarding a new employee is often a process can bring stress to everyone involved. When the process becomes more automated, everyone involved can stay apprised of the progress and have a clear understanding of necessary next steps. Automated onboarding also provides the opportunity to discuss the company’s values and expectations in the new role.

Increased employee satisfaction

If an employee feels confused or overwhelmed when starting in a new role, he or she might start to feel unfulfilled. When you can spend time with the new hire and provide information about goals and the company vision, you are laying a foundation for better satisfaction.

Better retention

When new hires feel satisfied and have lower stress levels at work, it is unlikely that they will look for other opportunities. Stress reduction, job satisfaction, and improved performance all add up to the ultimate goal of higher retention rates.

Taking steps to improve your onboarding process is well worth the effort with the benefits that this kind of system can offer.

iSolved, a human capital management system, is all about eliminating paperwork, and its newest addition, Onboarding, does just that for human resources and hiring managers. Onboarding is built directly within the Highflyer HR platform, so you can sign in once and access all of the data it stores in the cloud-based system. When new hires feel like they are drowning in a sea of paperwork, Highflyer HR can help you throw them a lifeline.