November,2006

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yes ...the holidays are here and we hope this month's articles will assist you with both your holiday "fun" and your "end of the year" activities.

Before we begin we just want to remind you of our new service, The HR Help Desk™ ... definitely a service to consider for your 2007 success. It works like this:

The HR Help Desk™ MJMS will respond within 24 hours, via telephone or email, to all who need quick answers to occasional HR problems, questions or challenges. All you need to do is subscribe to one of the following plans for a minimum of three months!

1 hour each month	$125
2 hours each month	$235
3 hours each month	$355

To Know More ... click here!

Now ... on to this month's topics! As stated above, to assist you in "current"
activities, this month we are discussing holiday "office party" planning and also
we are providing a helpful idea for the planning of your year ahead ... the benefits
of outsourcing your payroll processing. We've gone to some pros for our input, so please enjoy!
Holiday Party Do's and Don'ts
Everyone wants to enjoy themselves at a party, and to that end, many people like to relax with a drink. So it's common for employers to serve alcohol at their holiday parties--but when drinking gets excessive, things can get out of hand.

Jim Hendricks, a partner with the Chicago office of Fisher & Phillips, a national employment law firm, says that when employers serve alcohol at holiday parties, they need to take steps to avoid problems. Alcohol is often a major contributing factor to boorish holiday party behavior. Moreover, employees who consume too much alcohol can be a danger to themselves and others.

Hendricks offers the following tips for your holiday party planning in order to both allow your employees to enjoy themselves while avoiding legal trouble:

• Remind employees that normal work rules and standards apply to holiday parties.
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• Schedule parties on a week night when employees may be less likely to overindulge.
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• Make it clear the party is a voluntary event and attendance is not mandatory.
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• Remind employees to drink responsibly and plan for safe transportation home.
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• Review your insurance policies for alcohol-related exclusions.
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• Provide employees with a limited number of drink tickets.
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• Offer non-alcoholic beverages.
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• Do not serve alcoholic punch or other beverages that make it difficult to gauge how much alcohol one consumes.
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• Provide ample food and entertainment to prevent drinking from becoming the focus of the party.
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• Serve foods that slow the absorption of alcohol, such as those high in protein or starch. Greasy or salty foods tend to encourage more alcohol consumption, so avoid them.
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• Make sure the bartenders have been trained not to over-pour drinks, not to serve guests who appear intoxicated, to handle rowdy guests and take other actions to limit harm or liability.
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• Make sure underage guests and employees are not served alcohol.
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• Do not have employees involved in tending bar or providing alcohol.
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• Designate someone, preferably a supervisor, to refrain from drinking and to monitor the party with event staff to curtail excessive alcohol serving.
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• Limit the length of the party and plan to close the bar an hour or so before the end.
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• Arrange for designated drivers, reduced cab fares or hotel room rates, or offer to pay for cabs or hotel expenses if employees are obviously impaired by alcohol.
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• Hire an off-duty policeman or security specialist to be present during and after the party.
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• Finally, in order to help avoid any instances of unwanted sexual advances, Hendricks also recommends that you do not hang mistletoe at your holiday party.
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Have a safe and happy holiday season.

FROM: ©1997-2006 Business & Legal Reports, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Benefits of Outsourcing Payroll Processing

Now is the time of the year when, in addition to holiday party planning, we really zero in on our plans for the new year. One question to ask yourself this year is,

"how much of your time is spent on making money and how much time is spent on non-revenue generating activities?"

The processing of payroll is one activity that you might want to review in depth!

MJMS recently spoke with our colleague Stephen M. Goldstein. CPP, President of Payroll Management Solutions and learned that a recent poll from the NFIB showed that nearly two thirds of the nation's small businesses process their own payroll due to concerns about cost and control.

Here are some of Steve's thoughts…

After 23 years in the payroll outsourcing business, the most common misconception I deal with every day is that by processing their own payroll, employers save money or maintain a degree of control they would otherwise have to give up as if their time is worth nothing and there is no risk involved.

Like rent, payroll processing is a task that produces no revenue though it is a necessary evil for business owners who wish to stay in business. Time spent processing payroll is time not available to add to the bottom line, whether that might be increasing sales, developing new products or strategies, or even taking some time to relax and recharge the batteries. All of these things are more productive than payroll processing which can only create risk for the owner as well as cost time and money.

What's the risk? Every single paycheck includes at least five required tax deductions in each state which then must be added to other employer taxes and voluntary deductions, and every one of these items is an opportunity for a problem to occur. The late or incorrect deposit of these tax liabilities can result in costly penalties and interest for a business owner.

For a company with as few as five employees, a small boutique provider of payroll services might charge as little as $20 per pay period plus $1.65 per check to completely outsource the task of calculating payroll and properly paying all state and federal taxes. The time spent on payroll can be reduced to simply reporting the hours worked. The payroll service provider shoulders both the workload and the liability of the payroll processing and the business owner can now focus on bottom line - running and growing their business.

The employer maintains complete control over when and how the payroll is processed, wages, raises, reviews, hiring, and benefits. Access to information is also not a valid consideration as business owners have complete access to all reports, history, personnel data as well as report writing capability with our web based service.

Since there are no "contracts" in payroll, no employer is ever forced to stay with a service they find unsatisfactory for any length of time. All payroll services can be terminated with a simple letter or phone call.

The biggest benefit of tax filing service is that if ever a notice arrives from the IRS or EDD, a client simply faxes that to their service provider to be handled. These notices often result from a mistake by the IRS or EDD and are cleared up very quickly – all without any effort from the business once that fax is sent. The employer who does it himself (for "free") will spend many hours responding to such notices, hours away from the business that can never be replaced.

How do you handle your payroll processing?
To know more about Payroll Mangement Solutions, click here!

MJMS hopes that Steve's input will give you some new thoughts and confidence on the benefits of outsourcing your payroll processing in 2007!

ABOUT MJMS, INC.

President and Principal Consultant: Margaret Jacoby, PHR

Margaret Jacoby has more than 25 years of Human Resources and professional management experience in a variety of industries. She has designed human resources infrastructure and implemented systems to ensure compliance with state and federal employment laws. She has directed high quality human resources functions for small and emerging businesses, and served as an external consultant to a wide range of diverse organizations, including non-profits.
 
Her work has included: 

• Conducting H.R. Needs Assessments
• Drafting employee handbooks and policy manuals
• Conducting job analysis and developing position descriptions
• Conducting on-site compliance audits
• Counseling management on progressive discipline
  
• Drafting and review of employee disciplinary actions
• Providing mediation in employee/employee conflict
  
• Training employees/supervisors/managers in the implementation of human resources systems and policies such as Sexual Harassment
• Conducting workshops for business owners on H.R. compliance issues.

 
Ms. Jacoby has earned the nationally-recognized certification of Professional in Human Resources (PHR) from the HR Certification Institute, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
 
Ms. Jacoby's professional affiliations include:

• Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA)
• Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
• National Association of Women Business Owners, Los Angeles
  (NAWBO-LA)
• California Chamber of Commerce
• Long Beach Community Business Network (LBCBN)
• Institute for Management Consultants (IMC)
• Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce