May 2011 Newsletter

Establish Functioning Teams in 5 Steps

Team building, team environment, team attitude, and teamwork are among the terms that businesses routinely use to describe the employment conditions that exist within their operations. What do these companies really mean by this and how do they maintain this sense of team? We’ve highlighted five important steps to establishing a team-oriented work culture in your company.

In a team-oriented environment, an employee will work with other members of the organization to achieve individual and team goals that are closely tied to the overall objectives of the organization. The employees work toward a larger stated goal and are driven by the ability to achieve an end greater than what could be achieved if working in isolation. The take away from team building is the ability for the company and the employee to derive greater value from the employment process. In today’s economy, the annual raise is no longer assumed and the majority of people are more anxious due to dim economic forecasts. A functional team environment will improve work life inside your company and correlate to more effective, loyal staff members while delivering improved results for the business.

Create Understanding.

Understand the goals and objectives of the organization and of the team building process. Few business leaders are adept at creating the experience of teamwork or developing an effective team. Effective leaders must provide direction by clearly defining where the company is headed and seek collaboration at the beginning of the team creation process. Important in this introductory phase is clear communication of why team building is important to the organization, how the individual efforts relate to overall results, and your expectation with regard to the emphasis that should placed on working within teams.

Be Mindful of Two Pitfalls.

Keep in mind that you are asking your staff to change their normal work routines and to hold themselves accountable to each other. This can cause varying levels of discomfort among your employees. To counter this and to create enthusiasm for the process, you will want to pay attention to employee buy in and to employee skill sets.

Without fail, you are going to find that some staff members will resist this process. This can be marked by refusal to participate in meetings, lack of interest in discussion, failure to meet deadlines, and lack of willingness to take on responsibility. These issues need to be handled one-on-one as soon as you recognize that they exist. Working in a team environment tends to bring to light those employee weaknesses that prevent them from delivering on responsibilities and meeting deadlines and goals. You want to determine what is holding the employee back, develop a plan for bringing the employee up to the necessary level of performance, and closely monitor as you go forward.

Develop Ownership.

Make sure that your teams take ownership of their processes and of the results that they are trying to achieve. An effective team will clearly define its anticipated outcomes, timelines, and the steps it will use to measure those outcomes, and the processes the team will follow to deliver quality results within the anticipated timeframe. Once these are defined, you will want to specify the authority, reporting relationship and accountability that exists within the team as well as between the team and to those to whom it reports. The importance of accountability between team members and accountability between the team and management cannot be overly stressed. Ownership of outcomes and the positive results that you are looking for cannot be achieved without accountability.

Encourage Open Discussion.

Once ownership of outcomes and results is defined, fostering a team atmosphere that displays open communication and collaboration must be fostered. Team members must demonstrate a willingness to participate and interact with each other. Conflict and disagreement are a normal part of any team and team members should establish rules for resolving conflict, making decisions, and problem solving. Once these ground rules for communication exist, team members will feel more comfortable taking risks with innovative ideas, improvement strategies, and honest feedback. These fresh ideas and new methods are a hugely important outcome from the process and will help your organization improve outcomes.

Create Consequences and Rewards.

At the end of the day, building team-oriented work groups within your company is about getting better results from your employees. Once the goals are defined, deadlines established and teamwork begins, you will find that your groups will either meet expectations or fall short. When they meet expectations, you should reward them. The rewards will probably be less financial and more recognition-based at the inception of your team-oriented operations. However, as you progress, you will want to consider linking your rewards into a risk-based pay system where individual income is directly related to team and company performance. Along the same lines, consequences should be included for those teams that underperform. The idea is not create fear, but an understanding that by not meeting team goals, employees miss out on positive benefits that are established for those that do meet them.

As you go forward, invest yourself in the process, check in on your teams regularly, and solicit feedback from the teams and the individual team members. A team atmosphere will not replace the need to manage. Instead, the process should change your management focus from being the sole source of accountability to one where you coach and support teams that function as accountability groups within your organization.

 

Estate Planning: Understanding Gift Tax Changes

If you have not yet begun your estate planning, consider the opportunity that was created by The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act, which was signed into law by President Obama on December 17, 2010. We have provided an overview of the legislation that provides for those in the gift tax phase, estate-planning phase, or for those decedents who die in 2011 or 2012.

Gift tax changes only affect years 2011 and 2012.  Both the Estate Tax Exemption and the Gift Tax Exemption allow you to GIVE up to $5 million during your lifetime or at the time of your death (within the years 2011 and 2012).  Before you could only give $1 million during your lifetime and at the time of death was up to 3.5 million.

Estates that have values above the exemption amount, during the tax years of 2010 and 2011 will have tax rates of 35%.  For the tax years 2010 and 2011, this is the greatest exemption afforded to Gift Tax or Estate Tax with the lowest tax rates imposed over a 13-year period preceding 2010.  Please refer to the following chart that gives a history of the Estate Exemption from 1997 – 2010 and the corresponding Tax Rate imposed by the Federal Government.  The chart also shows the upcoming tax years and changes to 2011 and 2012.

Year

Estate Tax Exemption

Top Estate Tax Rate

1997

$600,000

55%

1998

$625,000

55%

1999

$650,000

55%

2000

$675,000

55%

2001

$675,000

55%

2002

$1,000,000

50%

2003

$1,000,000

49%

2004

$1,500,000

48%

2005

$1,500,000

47%

2006

$2,000,000

46%

2007

$2,000,000

45%

2008

$2,000,000

45%

2009

$3,500,000

45%

*2010

$5,000,000 or $0

35% or 0%

2011

$5,000,000

35%

2012

$5,000,000

35%

2013

$1,000,000

55%

Chart is provided by Milford B. Hatcher, Jr. and Edward F. Koren of Holland & Knight LLP of Tampa, FL

So, this change in the law allows a gift of up to $10 million between the years of 2011 and 2012.  Because the law includes a cost of living increase for the year 2012, this limit could go even higher.

Visit www.irs.gov for a comprehensive explanation of the new tax changes effecting gift and estate taxes 2011 and 2012.

Proper Record Keeping

The importance of proper documentation and correct placement of sensitive employee information is as important as hiring the right employee for the job. An employer must keep at least two files for each employee.  One file is for paperwork that has any information that is considered a protective class by the federal government, such as:  Medical/Health information (Americans with Disabilities Act & HIPPA), EEOC paperwork (Title VII), and I-9’s (Title VII).   It is extremely important to keep any personnel files in a locked file and have a policy in place concerning access to personnel files.

Note:  I-9 forms must be kept in a separate file and be made available on demand to Department of Labor inspectors.

Record Years Notes
Hiring Records: job applications, resumes records relating to refusal to hire, interview notes, advertisements about openings *Federal contractors should keep these records for at least 2 years. 1 yr Keep separate
Requests for accommodation of disability 1 yr Keep separate
Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) 3 yr Keep separate
Benefits data 4 yr Keep separate
Disability or Veterans Status Forms 4 yr Keep separate
Drug testing results 4 yr Keep separate
Job related illnesses and injuries 5 yr Keep separate
Toxic substance exposure records 30 yr Keep separate
Blood-borne pathogen exposure records 30 yr Keep separate
Medical exams 30 yr Keep separate
Workers Compensation claims information 30 yr Keep separate
Basic Employee Information:
I-9 for all, work permits for minors		 Three years after hire or one year after termination, whichever is later. Keep separate
Payroll Records: name, address, SSN, date of birth, job classification, occupation, daily schedules, pay rate, amounts and dates of payments, daily and weekly hours, overtime hours and pay, annuity and pension payments, benefits, deductions and additions 4 yrs
Personnel file: Job applications, resumes, separation notices, resignations, education transcripts Employee tax information, job descriptions, employee evaluations, employee signed policy agreements, Employment verification 4 yrs

Stay in Compliance with Form I-9 – Employment Eligibility Verification

The United State Congress is pushing to reform the current immigration system and it is imperative that employers understand the Federal laws concerning hiring authorized workers. Any employer in the United States that hires an individual must complete and retain a Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.

A few facts to help your company understand and stay in compliance with Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9):

  • Form I-9, The Employment Eligibility Verification is used by employers to verify an employee’s identity and eligibility to work in the United States. Every employee hired after November 6, 1986 must fill out an I-9 form at the time of hire or within 3 days of hire date. The I-9 form must be completed and on file before the employee can start working.
  • The employee must complete and sign Section 1 – Employee Information and Verification. The employer must complete and sign Section 2 – Employer Review and Verification.
  • Documents are required for List A or List B and C combined.
  • If using List A, the employer should obtain from the employee 1 current document that establishes identity and employment eligibility –often, a passport.  Most commonly used from List A is a current passport. If no document from List A is available, then the employer must use a current document from List B and a document from List C.  The most commonly used document from List B is a current driver’s license and from List C is a Social Security Card.
  •  Employers must retain the I-9 forms on current employees for 3 years after the date of employment begins or for 1 year after the date of termination of an employee, whichever is later.
  • Penalties for employers who hire unauthorized workers can be a fine between $250.00 and $5,500.00 per worker. Employers who fail to keep proper records of their workers’ I-9 forms (including terminated employees) can be fined from $110.00 to $1,100.00 per missing form even if the employees are proven to be authorized workers. This includes missing information on the I-9 form
  • If the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) visits and requests to see your employees’ I-9 forms, you will be served a Notice of Inspection by an ICE Agent. You must produce all I-9 forms requested on the Notice of Inspection within three business days.

Four Point HR ensures that our clients stay in compliance with current and changing immigration laws.

Is Your First Aid Kit Healthy?

OSHA requires that employers provide a safe and healthy workplace that is reasonably free of occupational hazards. Employers must have on hand the first aid supplies commensurate with the hazards of their workplace and must meet ANSI Standards.

General Industry First-Aid Kit
10 or Fewer Employees
(Sample List)                 		General Industry First Aid-Kit –
11-25 Employees
(Sample List)
16- Adhesive Bandages 1″ x 3″
10- Antiseptic Wipes (10)
1- Bandage Compress 4″ Pad
1- Burn/First Aid Ointment
1- Cold Pack
1- Combine Pad 5″ x 9″
1- First Aid Guide
4- Gauze Compress 3″ x 3″
4- Gloves
1- Scissors
1- Splinter Forceps
1- Tape 1/2″ x 2.5yds.
1- Triangular Bandage		 20- Adhesive Bandages 1″x3″
20- Adhesive Bandages 3/4×3”
3- Bandages Plastic 2” x 4”
3- Fingertip Bandages
3- Knuckle Bandages
10- BZK Towelettes
6- Burn/First Aid Cream Packettes 1 gm.
2- Sting Relief Wipes
1- Cold Pack
1- Combined Pad 5” x 9”
2- Eye Pads
3- Non-stick Pads 3” x 4”
3- Non-stick Pads 2” x 3”1- First Aid Guide
4- Gauze Compress 2″ x 2″
4- Gauze Compress 3″ x 3″
4- Gloves
2- Rolls Gauze
1- Scissors
1- Splinter Forceps
1- Tape 1/2″ x 5yds.
1- Triangular Bandage

Locate First Aid kit(s) in a common area in the business where employees have access to it at all times while on duty. OSHA also requires that all company vehicles be equipped with a first aid kits that meet the employees’ anticipated exposures.

This intent of this article is to provide general information on the first aid kit requirement for all employers. For assistance on the first aid kit for your individual client business, please contact the Risk Management Department at Four Point HR.

Reliance Dental Rates – 2011/2012

Four Point HR has renewed our Reliance Standard supplemental benefits for the 2011/2012-policy year.

All rates will stay the same for the 2011/2012-policy year with the exception of the Dental rates, which will increase slightly effective 6/1/211.

Dental Rates Effective 6/1/2011
Current    Monthly Rates
Coverage Monthly Rate Effective 6/1/2011
Employee $31.40 $33.12
Employee & Spouse $61.68 $65.08
Employee & Child(ren) $78.32 $82.64
Employee & Family $108.60 $114.60

Reliance Standard is rated A (Excellent) by AM Best and they are celebrating more than a century of leadership in the employee benefits marketplace. Reliance Standard is ranked among the top 10 for Group Life and Group Disability plans, according to Limra International and GenRe Life & Health (2009).

My TASC CLIENT LOGIN: New Look & New Features

  • Comprehensive summaries of Flex Spending Account plan activity, service requests, reports, and transactions through MyTASC
  • Online messaging tool called MyService that allows participants to ask questions or make service requests. All requests are addressed within two business days.
  • Increased security through TASC Visa cards that must be activated before use (For cards sent mailed after April 1, 2011 only. Cards issued before April 1, 2011 are not affected by the changes and do not need to be activated.)
  • Increased utility for Visa cards that can be used for up to three years from the issue date per the expiration date on the front of the card

Payroll Corner

Four Point HR will be closed on Monday, May 30th, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. Our Payroll Department will notify any accounts that will be affected by this closure. We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday.