As you seek optimal insurance protection for your small business, it’s important to have a good working knowledge of how different policies work. In particular, small business owners should understand both the benefits and limitations of workers’ compensation insurance, and the relevant state laws.
At FullHR, we hear a number of common questions about workers’ comp. Here are a few of the most frequently asked, along with some brief answers.
What is workers’ comp?
Essentially, workers’ compensation insurance protects the business, along with their employees, in the event that an employee becomes sick or injured on the job.
What’s covered in a typical workers’ comp policy?
While the details may vary policy by policy, most workers’ compensation policies will cover medical expenses, lost wages, and ongoing care costs for any employee who is injured on the job or becomes ill as a direct result of their job. Additionally, many workers’ compensation policies will cover funeral expenses for employees who die as the result of a workplace injury. Finally, policies may cover legal expenses for employers who face litigation as a result of a workplace accident or injury.
What’s not covered in a typical workers’ comp policy?
Any time you get an insurance policy, it’s always a good idea to review the terms carefully, assessing what is and isn’t covered. Again, the specifics can vary by policy, but most workers’ comp policies will not cover:
What should an employee do after getting injured on the job?
Any employee who is injured in the workplace should immediately report it to their supervisor. The supervisor must then generate a report, including details such as the date and time of the accident or injury. Different states have different criteria for when injuries must be reported, but sooner is always better.
For job-related illnesses, it’s best to report as soon as an official diagnosis is obtained.
If an employee receives workers’ comp benefits, are they eligible for other types of benefits?
Employees who are receiving workers’ comp benefits are not automatically ineligible for things like Social Security, unemployment, and disability benefits. However, it is always best to check with the company’s HR or benefits team to ensure that workers’ comp claims will not adversely affect other forms of compensation.
Are companies required to have workers’ comp?
In most states, businesses with one or more employees are legally mandated to carry a workers’ comp policy. Texas is the one notable exception.
We’re always happy to answer questions that business owners have about their insurance provisions. Reach out to FullHR any time you’d like to talk about the specifics of workers’ compensation.
Any time you launch a business, you open yourself up to risk. Fortunately, there are some simple and effective ways for businesses to mitigate risk. One of the most important solutions is to shore up your insurance coverage.
This can prove easier said than done because all businesses are different, and insurance needs can vary. Rather than seek one-size-fits-all coverage, it’s important to speak with a broker who can guide you toward the most effective insurance solutions to address your business needs.
As you start thinking about different types of coverage, here are some of the most common policies for small and medium-sized businesses.
Professional Liability Insurance
Professional liability insurance, also known as errors and omissions (E&O) coverage, will protect your business against any claims that your product or service caused somebody harm. Professional liability will also protect you against claims that you injured someone through a mistake that you made, or through failing to perform a certain type of service.
Property Insurance
Businesses almost always need property insurance, regardless of whether they own or lease their space. Property insurance can cover damage to things like signage, equipment, etc.
Worker’s Compensation Insurance
If you have employees, then you probably want to consider worker’s comp insurance. These policies protect you in the event that a worker becomes injured on the job. Worker’s compensation insurance can help defray costs related to medical treatments, legal expenses, or even funeral expenses.
Home-Based Business Insurance
It’s increasingly common for entrepreneurs to set up shop in an attic, basement, or garage. If you run a business from your home, be aware that your work materials probably won’t be covered under your normal homeowners insurance policy. A home-based business insurance policy may be needed.
Vehicle Insurance
There are a couple of reasons why you may wish to invest in vehicle insurance for your business. One, it can be useful if you have employees who operate their personal vehicles for business activities. And two, it can provide protection for any company-owned vehicles that you have.
Business Interruption Insurance
During COVID-19, many businesses had to suspend their normal operations for a short time, resulting in lost revenues and productivity. Business interruption insurance can offer protections for such losses… not just due to pandemics, but also things like road closures, natural disasters, and more.
Product Liability Insurance
No matter how good your product is, there’s always a chance that it could cause some kind of unintentional damage to a consumer’s property, or even to their person. Product liability insurance can be an important protection.
What types of insurance do you need to verify that your company is adequately protected? The best way to find out is by speaking with an experienced broker. Feel free to contact our FullHR team whenever you’d like to chat about your company’s insurance needs.
As you consider insurance coverage for your small or mid-sized business, it’s important to be aware of which types of coverage are mandatory and which aren’t. At the same time, it’s vital to note that, even if you aren’t legally required to carry a certain type of policy, having more extensive coverage can nevertheless be a benefit to your company.
A good case in point is general liability insurance. In this post, we’ll define what this coverage is, and offer some guidelines on if and when it’s necessary.
General liability insurance protects your business in the event that a client or customer claims property damage or physical injury, specifically as the result of your product, service, or professional environment.
Without general liability insurance, your business may be on the hook to pay any damages, replacement costs, or medical expenses that customers incur as a result of your product or service.
General liability insurance provides businesses with an important safety net, allowing them to cover legal fees or settlements that result from a liability suit.
While general liability insurance is usually not required by law, there may be situations in which an accrediting body, lessor, client, or licensing board requires a certain level of coverage. Businesses should be aware of these situations.
Also be aware of some potential exceptions, scenarios in which the law actually does mandate general liability coverage. For example, there are some states in which general liability insurance is required for construction contractors and developers.
Some other situations in which general liability insurance may be necessary include:
Even if you’re not required by law or by an accrediting agency to have general liability coverage, doing so can be a signal to customers and partners alike that you are trustworthy and dependable. As such, it’s something that we recommend to a majority of our business clients.
Questions about general liability? We’re happy to chat. Reach out to FullHR at any time.
At any place of business, workers may become sick or injured, resulting in significant medical expenses as well as lost wages. Workers’ compensation insurance helps to cover these costs, making it beneficial for business owners and employees alike.
It’s not just that workers’ compensation insurance is beneficial; for a majority of small and medium-sized businesses, it’s actually required. While workers’ comp laws vary a bit from one state to the next, a majority of businesses are mandated to have workers’ compensation insurance in place from the moment they hire their first employee.
Even if your company isn’t mandated to have workers’ compensation insurance, it can nevertheless be a smart investment. There are a number of reasons for this:
Workers’ Comp Provides Financial Protection
Accidents can happen in any workplace; employees may develop medical conditions ranging from carpal tunnel to broken legs. Frankly, most small and mid-sized businesses don’t have the financial leeway to pay for medical expenses out of pocket, which means that even a minor accident can have devastating financial consequences. Workers’ compensation insurance provides an important safety net, and a layer of protection.
Workers’ Comp May Provide Legal Protection
This is something that can vary from state to state, but in most places a workers’ comp policy will include employer liability insurance. What this means is that the business is protected against employees filing a suit against them, specifically suits alleging negligence or unsafe work conditions. Again, a workers’ comp policy can shield the business from financial calamity, in many cases covering attorney fees, court costs, and more.
Workers’ Comp Often Involves Death Benefits
For businesses, nothing could be more tragic than an employee who dies on the job. Workers’ comp insurance provides a very small silver lining to this unthinkable outcome; most of the time, workers’ comp insurance offers death benefits, helping the deceased employee’s family to pay for funeral and burial expenses.
Currently, Texas and South Dakota are the only two states in which companies are never required to buy workers’ comp. Many states require companies to buy workers’ comp insurance the moment they hire an employee, while some states require workers’ comp insurance only after two or three employees are hired.
It’s worth checking the specific guidelines for your state, but also to keep in mind that workers’ comp insurance is highly beneficial, whether it’s mandatory or not. With any questions about affordable workers’ comp insurance for your small or medium-sized business, contact FullHR today.
The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated some major shifts in the labor market. Specifically, it seemed to trigger what many analysts have called the “Great Resignation,” which has left many companies with a labor shortage that continues to this day.
Naturally, business owners and HR experts have sought the best strategies to address the issue, and what many have found is that the “slow and steady” approach to hiring just isn’t going to cut it. Instead, many companies have shifted toward an innovative new method called rapid hiring.
But what is rapid hiring? And what advantages (and disadvantages) does it offer to your business?
Just as its name implies, rapid hiring is all about taking traditional hiring processes, condensing them, and onboarding employees ASAP. A Reuters report notes that Home Depot is using the process to increase hiring by 25 percent this spring. Their rapid hiring process involves job offers being made within a day of the initial application; previously, the entire process took about five days, on average, at Home Depots across the country.
So how do companies like Home Depot plan to streamline their hiring process so dramatically? A big part of the answer lies in AI. For example, AI programs allow applicants to apply, interview, and receive offers via a text-based interface, significantly shortening the recruitment process and also easing the HR burden on employers. These AI technologies are being used by major businesses like Home Depot, but can also be surprisingly accessible and affordable even for small and mid-sized companies.
While machine learning and AI are demonstrating remarkable results, there may also be some limitations. Indeed, even Home Depot is combining its tech-enhanced rapid hiring process with good-old-fashioned, in-person career days, among other methods of outreach.
Assessing Rapid Hiring
There’s no question that technology can play a significant role in helping get qualified applicants through the recruitment process in record time. Even so, our instinct is to say that Home Depot is right: There’s still a need for employers to be accessible to jobseekers who aren’t as clued-in to rapid hiring or text-based interviewing. And for HR, there is still a need to promote the company’s culture in a very visible way, allowing job seekers to have a better sense of what the business stands for and whether it’s a good fit for their skills and their values.
With all of that said, the sheer accessibility of rapid hiring technology could be a boon to overworked HR teams. It’s something we’ll keep an eye on here at FullHR. In the meantime, feel free to contact us with any questions about streamlining your own hiring and HR operations for the year to come.
One of the core responsibilities of HR is communicating with employees about their available benefits. HR teams should be consistent in spreading information about open enrollment as well as benefits utilization. Additionally, it’s important for HR to do everything possible to ensure that their communications reach all employees; that nobody is left in the dark or out of the loop.
Given that employees receive and process information differently, effective benefits communication has always been a challenge. Factor in the additional complications of remote/hybrid work environments, along with cultural or linguistic barriers, and equity can be difficult to achieve. Here are a few tips and strategies for HR to consider.
Develop the Right Perspective
First things first: Make sure your HR and benefits teams are well-versed in the concept of implicit bias. A team training program is ideal. Invest in some professional development opportunities that allow your full HR department to gain a better understanding about effective information dissemination, learning styles, etc.
Take Stock
It may also be helpful to take stock of current/previous communication efforts, questioning whether there are any implicit biases or inappropriate “norms” in place. For example, do your communications regularly use outmoded language, or stock photos that lack diversity? These can all be subtle ways in which you make your communications less inclusive, and less inviting to particular parts of your workforce
Conduct Surveys
You can improve your communication efforts by learning more about the people you are communicating with. Regular pulse surveys may be useful here. Consider asking about whether multiple languages are spoken at homes, whether employees live with disabled family members… anything that can provide clarity about how best to conduct benefits communication.
Avoid “Headquarter Bias”
Be proactive about communicating with everyone, not just employees who work in the same building as you. This might mean making benefits communications all virtual, or it might mean going on “benefits tours” to different locations where your employees can assemble.
Involve IT
Work with the IT department to brainstorm different ways in which technology can expand your communication efforts. For example, automated email or text messaging programs may help you reach a larger audience within your organization. Have a joint meeting with IT, HR and your ASO support team or insurance brokers to collaborate on leveraging technology to improve communication, accuracy, and the next Open Enrollment.
Be Vigilant
Develop a routine of auditing all employee-facing communications for inclusivity. Even job applications should be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure there is nothing about them that could exclude people.
In communicating about workplace benefits, equity is key. With any questions about achieving this goal, reach out to the consultants at FullHR at any time.
Over the past several years, some of the world’s best-known companies have been hit by cyber-attacks. Yahoo, American Express, LinkedIn, Target… these are just a few examples of companies that have been breached by cyber assailants, compromising sensitive customer information like credit card and Social Security numbers. These attacks have been exorbitantly costly, not just in terms of legal fees and financial restitution, but also in a diminished public reputation.
Sadly, cyberattacks don’t just impact huge, multinational businesses. They also hit small companies. In fact, small businesses are uniquely vulnerable to cyber-attacks, with more than 90 percent of all hacking incidents involving smaller companies.
Costly cyber incidents have increased exponentially since 2020, for a simple reason: More and more employees now work from home, where cybersecurity measures tend to be pretty lax. It’s worth noting that an overwhelming percentage of small business cyber-attacks stem from simple employee errors; for example, employees opening emails from unknown senders, clicking on questionable links, or connecting to mysterious networks.
Most small businesses can’t afford the massive expense associated with a cyber breach. The question is, what can be done to avoid it?
Given that most cyber-attacks hinge on employee behavior, the clear answer is training. Along with proper IT governance and network security, employee training is one of the most impactful ways to protect your small business from online assailants.
This training can encompass a number of subjects. It’s typically recommended that business leaders provide transparency about the company’s overall approach to cybersecurity. Additionally, IT needs to provide employees with training regarding the available cybersecurity and virus protection programs. These days, it’s pivotal to make these trainings available to remote employees, ensuring they know how to keep their devices and linked accounts safe even when working from home.
Additionally, employee training should cover basic user behaviors, including common errors that lead to cyber-attacks. Employees should be given information about spotting phishing emails, avoiding suspicious downloads, and practicing good browser policies in general. Tips on password security may also go a long way.
Finally, ensure employees know where they can turn (ideally to IT) if they ever have a specific question about an email, website, or link.
Ultimately, employee training is one of the most effective and cost-efficient ways to safeguard your business against online attacks. Make cybersecurity a core component of your employee development programming. And with any question about how to facilitate employee training, don’t hesitate to contact the team at FullHR.
Hiring new employees is always exciting… but of course, the hiring process is really just the beginning. Once your new hire is officially on the team, you’ll need to have a structured program in place to train your new employee, brief them on important company policies, educate them about perks and benefit options, and more. This process is commonly known as onboarding, and it’s one of the central responsibilities of HR.
As with everything else, onboarding as we know it has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These days, a lot of hires start work in a purely remote setting, which means that the onboarding process must happen virtually. This brings a few challenges, but with the right strategy, these challenges can be overcome.
First, a few basics. When we talk about onboarding, we’re talking about the process by which a new employee is integrated into the organization and acclimated to their new role as quickly and as smoothly as possible.
This process means welcoming the new employee, training the new employee, and providing the new employee with all the tools and resources they’ll need to succeed.
A good onboarding process is crucial, for many different reasons:
These are just a few of the reasons why it’s worth it to invest in a good, thoughtful onboarding program, even if it happens to be a virtual one.
So what’s involved with developing a sound virtual onboarding program?
1) Assess your current onboarding process.
Start by reviewing your current approach to onboarding. What are its strengths? What are its limitations? Why were the current processes put into place? And how does your onboarding process fit in with your organization’s mission, values, and goals? As you think about these questions, make sure you court feedback from some of your employees who have been through the onboarding process.
2) Choose the right tools.
For virtual onboarding, you’ll need to find the right online tools and resources. These include communication and collaboration tools, training platforms, and HR software suites. The FullHR team is here to help you navigate the choices, and to find a platform that fits with your onboarding needs.
3) Provide access to vital documents.
Always make sure that new employees can easily access your employee handbook, mission statement, and documents that detail benefits and other HR policies. An internal wiki or shared Drive can work just fine.
4) Provide opportunities for connection.
Virtual hangouts and happy hours can be ideal for fostering relationships with virtual employees. Make sure these are scheduled during normal work hours; don’t make new employees stick around at their computers at the end of a long day.
5) Monitor and measure.
Finally, make sure that you’re constantly taking stock of your onboarding program, using employee surveys and other forms of feedback to measure its effectiveness. Use this information to refine and refocus your onboarding program over time, as needed.
Questions about how to build an effective virtual onboarding program? We’re happy to help. Contact the team at FullHR at any time.
Every open enrollment season brings its own unique challenges. This year, many HR teams will be managing benefits enrollment for a hybrid workforce, trying to accommodate the needs and expectations of in-office workers and remote-only employees alike.
The rise of the hybrid workforce was clearly the fruit of the global pandemic, yet for many businesses, it’s likely to become the new status quo. As such, it’s invaluable for HR professionals to develop a sound strategy for successfully rolling out open enrollment options.
A few guidelines include:
1) Provide plenty of time and education.
Because remote workers are not physically in the building to ask questions, to swing by HR’s office, or to attend in-person meetings, it may be wise to provide a little extra time for employees to study their options and to think about what’s best.
Additionally, try to provide more opportunities than usual for employees to seek answers or clarification. We would advise HR to ramp up their typical number of town halls and Q&A sessions, and to ensure that at least some of those sessions are held remotely.
2) Provide additional options.
As the needs of your workforce become more diverse and more complex, it makes sense to increase access to different carriers and plans, whenever possible.
Of course, this dovetails with our point about providing more time and education: The more options you lay out for your employees, the more opportunity they’ll need to research, study, and think.
3) Build on last year’s offerings.
Think back to how you handled open enrollment at the peak of COVID’s fall/winter surge. Many of the innovations or improvisations that served you well last year could be carry-overs into years to come.
For example, we’ve heard from many HR teams that held virtual benefits fairs, or that developed support apps to help employees navigate the open enrollment process. These are potentially lasting solutions that can help you accommodate the needs of your hybrid workforce.
4) Promote, promote, promote.
There are countless ways to keep the open enrollment process top-of-mind for your employees, and also to generate plenty of ongoing excitement and engagement. Topic-specific email blasts, podcasts, videos, and webinars can all be great ways to ensure that employees feel supported throughout their journey.
And make sure you don’t just limit your promotional activities to the open enrollment season. We highly recommend that HR teams continue promoting benefits engagement throughout the year.
Do you have additional questions about navigating open enrollment in a hybrid work setting? We’re here to chat with you any time. Reach out to FullHR to ask about potential services and solutions.
Over the past 19 months, arguably the biggest trend in HR has been the increased emphasis on mental health within the workplace. Beset with pandemic anxieties and work-from-home isolation, to say nothing of the triggering effect of our discordant political culture, employees have grown more and more aware of their own mental health needs, and more and more desirous that their employers follow suit.
The question is, what can HR do to address this need? There’s actually more than one way for HR to promote mental health within the workplace. We suggest an integrated approach that combines each of these methods.
1) Promote mental health resources to the entire employee base.
There’s a decent chance that you already have some mental health resources in place but have never had much interest in them until now. For example, a lot of employee insurance programs offer employee assistance programs (EAP), which can provide mental health assessments, counseling, and more.
Also make sure you consider options like Teladoc and remote counseling services, which can be an affordable solution for addressing employee mental health needs. FullHR is happy to provide a number of effective solutions.
The bottom line: See what kinds of mental health benefits you can include with your existing insurance setup, and make sure employees are well aware of the options available to them.
2) Host training sessions.
We’d also recommend hosting training sessions for managers and employees alike. The purpose of these training sessions is twofold. One, it will help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues in your workplace. And two, it can be an excellent opportunity to speak more in-depth about the mental health resources that are available at your company.
There are plenty of ways to offer these trainings: Bring in an outside consultant, sign everyone up for online training sessions, or have members of HR lead their own workshops or discussion groups.
3) Support healthy work-life balance.
Ultimately, the mental health benefits and training sessions won’t matter much if your business isn’t also supporting healthy work-life balance. There are a number of ways in which HR can play a part:
Employees want to know about the mental health benefits that are available to them. There are plenty of ways in which HR can meet this demand. With any questions, don’t hesitate to contact our team at FullHR.
Following the intense disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, many industries have experienced labor shortages. Naturally, many business owners have responded to this by doubling down on their recruitment and hiring efforts. That’s certainly important, but don’t forget the other side of the coin: Making every reasonable effort to retain current employees.
One of the most important aspects of employee retention is ensuring that team members feel fully supported in the workplace and appreciated for their good efforts. This is what ultimately instills loyalty to the company. One way to achieve this goal of happy, supported employees is to ensure you’re offering good benefits and perks.
As you consider benefits that can help with employee retention, don’t hesitate to think outside of the box. There are a number of creative options for your HR team to evaluate. A few examples:
Abbreviated Work Hours
This is an especially useful benefit in offices where employees tend to work overtime or need to sometimes take longer hours to finish big seasonal projects. Consider opening an hour later, closing an hour earlier, or even picking one day a week or one day a month where employees can work a half day or simply take the day off altogether.
Mental Health Benefits
As the pandemic continues, mental health remains a significant workplace concern. One way you can support employees is by ensuring that their benefits cover mental health counseling. Also think about giving employees access to a confidential hotline where they can call to talk to someone (at no cost to the employee).
Assistance with Transportation
In cities that have robust public transportation systems, employers can offer financial assistance, even providing employees with free bus or train passes. This can be an especially welcome benefit to employees who cannot afford a vehicle of their own.
Professional Development Opportunities
Another way to help employees feel fully supported is to make an investment in their long-term development. Pay for employees to master either the technical skills or the softs skills they need to excel. Online training courses, workshops, seminars, and continuing education classes should all be on the table.
Massage Days
A good massage can go a long way toward alleviating stress and can even help ease symptoms of physical pain. Consider bringing in an in-office massage therapist once or twice a year, particularly during a big project or a busy season.
Cleaning Services
Some employees may struggle to balance their workplace responsibilities with the basic demands of homeownership. Consider helping employees pay for home cleaning services, even if it’s just a one-time thing.
The bottom line: Your benefits package can be an invaluable tool for boosting employee retention… and there’s never been a better time to give your offerings a creative overhaul.
With questions about designing an effective benefits package, we welcome you to contact us. Reach out to the FullHR team at any time.
HR professionals have many responsibilities: Recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and terminating employees; managing payroll; administering company benefits; and even managing health and safety procedures. And yet, the most important of HR’s roles may be ensuring compliance with all pertinent laws and regulations.
Businesses have to follow a number of laws related to employment and labor. This can seem daunting, especially in smaller companies with more modest HR teams. (Or, in companies so small that the business owner has to handle HR functions all on their own.)
A good first step is simply ensuring knowledge of what HR compliance is, and what it requires of your small business.
HR compliance can be defined as the process of creating, implementing, and enforcing internal policies in accordance with employment and labor laws. The goal of HR compliance is primarily to avoid legal issues, but also to help minimize employee disputes.
HR compliance is sufficiently important, and sufficiently complex, that it’s generally best to entrust it to an experienced professional. This may be someone in-house, or it may be an outsourced consultant.
There are a handful of HR compliance tasks that are especially important for small business to follow:
As for how to maintain HR compliance, the best advice we can give is to hire a seasoned professional who is able to stay up to speed regarding HR laws, and who has some experience crafting internal policies and procedures to maintain regulatory compliance.
The most effective way to do this may be to outsource. That’s something we’re happy to talk with you about. To find out more about our HR experience, and the different ways in which we can help your small business, contact FullHR today.
Small business owners who want the highest level of workforce management need an advanced employee time clock. If you’re still using older tech, you’re missing out on new features that help small businesses manage more efficiently, meet new challenges, and get back to work faster.
As small businesses bring employees back to the worksite, employers are addressing new challenges that require intelligent solutions. Let’s look at a few of the challenges employers are facing…
With more employees on site, punch lines are beginning to slow. Employers are looking for new ways to speed punch lines and better manage employee authentication.
Traditional methods of authentication such as fobs or cards are easy to lose, and employees regularly forget passcodes or PINs. Punch problems can slow the process of starting work which reduces productivity.
Biometric fingerprint scanners have filled an important niche in convenient and secure punching. However, in some industries, worn fingerprints fail to register and disrupt the clock-in line. Employers in many industries are looking for solutions that can speed up punchlines, increase security and get employees to their work stations without reliance on fingerprint technology.
Most employers with hourly workers pay more for labor due to hours theft. Unfortunately, many basic time clocks offer only a partial solution to prevent buddy punching and timecard fraud.
To complicate the issue, employers with conventional clocks don’t often have insight into labor allocation because they can’t tie employee time to jobs or clients. Furthermore, most traditional clock solutions can’t capture data at clock-in such as job location or wellness information.
Ease of use is another issue that sets advanced time clocks apart. Traditional punch solutions can be confusing for employees or are difficult to manage.
New concern for workforce health has increased adoption of employee wellness strategies.
Small businesses are working to ensure employees that wellness is a priority, and that the office is a safe place to work.
An effective strategy to ensure employee wellness is thermal scanning at punch in. Our new Vision+ clock features intelligent thermal scanning to ensure employees are healthy and ready for work.
Finally, synchronization with timekeeping software is essential for advanced workforce management. Without a real-time connection to your software solution, you simply aren’t able to take advantage of time and money-saving features that are inherent in modern timekeeping.
Business owners using traditional punch solutions, or none at all, lose productivity every day.
Enter facial recognition and thermal scanning; the future of secure biometric time tracking. Facial recognition provides a fast, secure method of authentication that doesn’t need to be kept in a pocket or remembered.
Facial recognition solves new challenges as employees come back to work. It also helps employers prevent more types of time theft than with fingerprint, prox card or PIN clocks.
Our new Vision+ clock features intelligent thermal scanning to ensure employees are healthy and ready for work.
Small businesses like yours can solve these problems and more with our all-new Vision and Vision+ facial recognition time clock hardware.
With faster processing, higher security and full integration with our time and attendance software, Vision offers an intelligent solution for modern timekeeping.
SPEED
A faster processor means shorter shift changes. With Vision, facial recognition is nearly instant, and authentication takes less than a second. This ensures employees can start their shift without taking extra time at the clock.
SECURITY
Vision features advanced security so that employee biometric data is encrypted and unshareable.
It also has built-in biometric consent so that employers can comply with new laws requiring employee consent to use biometric data. Compliance with biometric consent laws is already required in California, Texas and a growing number of additional states.
Facial recognition provides additional security to help you avoid buddy punching and other forms of time theft.
CONVENIENCE
Vision requires only a face to authenticate so there is no need to carry a fob or card, and no need to remember PINs or passwords.
It also works in environments that are tough on fingerprints. Industries like hospitality, construction and manufacturing are notoriously hard on fingerprints, yet these environments are most in need of fast and accurate biometric authentication. With Vision, no fingerprints are needed, and say goodbye to cards, fobs and PINs.
In addition, Vision works in low-light environments, and is portable when using battery backup for remote offsite clocking.
Of course, Vision will accept PIN authentication where facial recognition is difficult.
ENGAGEMENT
Vision allows you to create custom clock prompts to engage employees at punch in. Clock prompts can deliver notifications to an entire shift. Many employers are using the prompts to screen employees for symptoms of illness. This reminds employees to be mindful of their health and its impact on the workplace.
INTELLIGENT CLOCK FEATURES ELIMINATE ERRORS
The Vision time clock helps prevent punch errors by only presenting logical clocking options based on the current state of each employee. Employees who have yet to clock in will only see clock in options. Employees who have clocked in will only see options for meals, breaks or clocking out.
With intelligent clock options, employees are less likely to make punch errors that lead to payroll mistakes.
COMPLIANCE
With biometric consent, intelligent clock features, and full integration to our time and attendance software, Vision provides the ultimate in compliance. Employers can use clock prompts to ensure the proper classification is assigned to each employee on punch, and time and attendance records are updated in real time.
WELLNESS
Vision Plus features thermal scanning to help ensure that employees are healthy by scanning their temperature as they clock in. This feature is particularly helpful in a post-COVID environment where employers are looking for additional assurances that workers are well, and to help foster confidence among employees that wellness is a priority.
Timekeeping has a profound effect on labor costs, operational efficiency and payroll accuracy. With hardware integration to our Vision clock, timekeeping becomes an intelligent process that automates workflows, increases security, promotes wellness and saves you time and money.
Let’s look at some numbers:
$7.4 billion is lost per day to unrecorded work activities.
As a whole, small businesses are losing a lot of money to unrecorded work activities. This includes rounding up in favor of employees, early punch in, and time theft. Our time and attendance solution and Vision clock hardware provides real-time accuracy, schedule enforcement and biometric assurance that time is allocated to the right person. Our intelligent timekeeping records everything and even offers notifications to alert you when employees record information outside of your parameters.
Time theft can add as much as 7% to your gross annual payroll.
Buddy punching, early punch in, and unrecorded breaks are costing you more than you know. Our Vision clock makes buddy punching impossible. Lockout features in our timekeeping software prevent employees from punching in earlier than you specify to reduce unplanned overtime, and our intelligent clock features reduce missed punches and other punch errors.
Automated time tracking can reduce the time it takes to calculate timecards from 7 minutes per card per pay period to 1 minute per card per pay period.
Manual timecard management is error-prone and a real time-killer. The American Payroll Association estimates that it takes a minimum of 15 minutes to discover, track down and fix a timecard error. That ads up fast considering errors are common in most hand-calculated processes. Our Vision clock automatically records all your punch data and stores it in our timekeeping software. All the calculations are done automatically, and delivered straight to payroll without any opportunity for human error. You’ll save time and effort every pay period.
Daily timesheet updates improve timekeeping accuracy.
With a manual process, employees who log their time at least once a day are 66% accurate, whereas those who log their time weekly are only 47% accurate, and people who complete their timesheet less than once a week are only 35% accurate!
Our new Vision clock helps you track time on a daily basis, including meals and breaks. This increases accuracy over traditional timekeeping and saves a significant amount of money in the long run.
The average cost of labor every time an employee fills out a timecard is $9.37. For a company with 100 employees, that’s $937 in employee time every pay period.
Our intelligent timekeeping software and new Vision clock bring a new level of speed and accuracy to time collection. Vision authenticates an employee’s identity in less than a second and automatically presents punch options that are relevant to the employee’s current state. That means employees can clock faster, and never have to manually record time, remember dates, or backfill a timecard.
Surveys indicate that up to 60% of employees are apprehensive about returning to the workplace.
Vision+ with thermal scanning can help employers track wellness and ensure that the workplace is healthy. Employees feel better about accepting risk when they know their employer is concerned about wellness and has taken measures to help ensure a safe work environment. Vision+ can also help employers track and respond to employee wellness, helping them remain compliant with new laws including OSHA and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
Small businesses can effectively manage their modern workforces with our new Vision and Vision+ biometric time clocks. The Vision facial recognition clock paired with our timekeeping solution solve critical time and attendance pain points while providing the highest level of workforce management.
Vision+ provides additional data that helps you establish wellness protocols and assure employees that their workplace is safe.
Every year, employees have a brief window in which they can sign up, cancel, or alter the terms of their existing health insurance policy. This is known as the open enrollment period, and at many companies it also provides employees with the opportunity to sign up for life insurance and other benefits.
One of the central responsibilities of HR is to communicate with employees about the open enrollment period. This means more than just making a perfunctory announcement. It also means properly educating employees about the benefits available and about how they can take advantage of them. And it means opening a dialogue to address any questions or concerns.
As your HR team contemplates different ways to communicate with employees, there are two main options to consider: Active vs. passive. Both options come with their own pros and cons, and deciding between the two is a crucial step in keeping your employees properly engaged in the benefits process.
With active enrollment communication, employees do not have the option of automatically continuing their benefits from the previous year; instead, they must actually review the options and make a decision about the plan they wish to have for the coming year (even if it does end up being identical to their plan from last year).
As you can imagine, this is an effective way to get employees more engaged in benefits selection, and to essentially force them to become educated about the different options. In years when there are a lot of major changes to the available benefits packages, active enrollment communication can be highly advantageous.
The biggest downside? There is a major onus on HR to properly communicate exactly what employees need to do to choose their benefits. And for employees, there may be steep consequences for not acting. For example, employees who do not enroll in a plan may have their coverage dropped altogether.
The primary pros of active enrollment communication:
Meanwhile, the biggest cons include:
With passive enrollment, employees are automatically re-enrolled in benefits based on selections they made in the past; this is the easier of the two options, and as such, it’s quite a bit more common than active enrollment communication.
The benefits are mostly pretty obvious: There is a much lighter administrative burden. Employees will not lose their benefits simply by failing to act or by forgetting to re-enroll. It’s more convenient for everyone involved.
However, there can also be some drawbacks. For example, as this is the only time during the year when coverage for many benefit options may be changed, it is incumbent on the employee to reach out and request assistance to assure changes occur during the window of opportunity, employees may not make fully informed decisions about the different benefits available. They may not take full advantage of the options available to them, which in turn can decrease their own satisfaction, engagement, and not utilize this essential protection for themselves and their family.
Also, because employees tend to be less informed about their benefits, many companies see more health problems among their workforce, more sick days, etc. This employee decision may result in higher employer Worker’s Compensation Insurance claims as employees find themselves without group benefits coverage as they wait to enroll in the next enrollment year.
There is no question that passive enrollment communication is the easier approach, but that doesn’t necessarily make it the best. Active enrollment may result in a more engaged and informed workforce, and in better benefits utilization overall. As you weigh these options, we would love to offer our insight. Contact your licensed FullHR professionals to learn more.
