TriNet’s HR Blog: HR outsourcing and human resources news, insights, and commentary

Word Limit Plus

2006-03-07T21:23:56Z

Adds capabilities to the Word Limiter plugin, so that a link to the rest of the text can be included. This can be particularly useful when limiting the number of words in posts that are included in RSS feeds: a link titled, for example, "MORE..." can be included.

TriNet’s 1st Quarter Survey: Have hiring plans changed for small businesses?

2009-04-01T20:18:00-08:00

News at TriNet, Human Capital Management In the first quarter of 2009 TriNet conducted an online survey of businesses primarily in the financial services, professional services, and technology industries. The purposes of the study were to assess the current employment environment and to see if there were changes since the time TriNet conducted its annual 2008 Employment Trends Survey.

Answers were received by approximately 300 Owner/President/CEOs of small companies in the industries of technology, financial services, and professional services. Respondents were located in 38 of the 50 United States, plus a few responses from international locations. The largest numbers of responses came from companies located in California (30.9%) and Texas (14.1%).

Based on the responses, the following summary points and conclusions appear warranted:

Most respondents (55.2%) have hired or are in the process of trying to attract talent in 2009. This suggests that some hiring is still occurring in the early part of 2009. However, 79.6% of the respondents in November/December 2008 indicated they planned to hire in 2009. Accordingly, it appears that the intent to hire has diminished somewhat from late 2008 into early 2009.

Among respondents who do not plan to hire, 45.1% indicated the reason is external/economic …

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How Small Companies are Responding to a Big Recession

2009-03-25T17:12:00-08:00

TriNet recently surveyed more than 400 white-collar small businesses in order to shine a light on how small employers are evolving their human capital management practices in a down economy, and how employer practices are directly influenced by whether the small business owner is considered bullish, an “economic optimist,” or bearish, an “economic pessimist.” And the findings?

The Glass is Half Empty and Half Full
A total of 46% were optimistic about market conditions for their company in 2009 (indicating expectations that conditions would be “same as,” “better than,” or “much better than” 2008). Fifty-four percent were pessimistic (indicating expectations that conditions would be “worse,” or “much worse” than 2008).

Cuts accelerate, but have their limits
Job cuts among small businesses have accelerated as the recession has deepened, but unlike their larger counterparts nationally, small businesses often cannot conduct “across-the-board” job cuts without the risk of going out of business.

Severance is better from the bears than the bulls
Employees terminated by small businesses with an optimistic market outlook are less likely to receive severance payments than those terminated by small businesses with a pessimistic market outlook (38% …

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What are the Recently Legislated Changes for COBRA?

2009-03-17T16:53:01-08:00

Photo by juan23for on Flickr.

People are wondering what has changed with the recently passed COBRA legislation. In reality, there’s one single change that requires the attention of every business owner. Under the recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, anyone who is involuntarily terminated from September 1, 2008 through December 31, 2009, will be given an opportunity to enroll in COBRA and pay only 35% of the COBRA premium for nine months. You can review more about this change on the IRS website.

Current law allows terminated employees to enroll in COBRA coverage for a maximum of 18 months (in most cases). And this new legislation allows involuntarily terminated former employees to pay only 35% of the COBRA premium for nine of those 18 months. The balance of the premium (65%) is paid by the employer who receives that amount from the Feds in the form of a credit against payroll taxes.

Employers will also be required to notify anyone who was eligible for COBRA since September 1, 2008, and who either didn’t enroll or stopped paying premiums. These individuals will now be …

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Uncle Sam Wants You!

2009-03-12T14:45:00-08:00

Senator Max Baucus, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, says he wants business community input on a universal health coverage system. According to reports, Senator Baucus asserts that he does not favor a single payer system--whew, thank goodness for that--but instead wants input on how to design a pay-or-play approach. Sen. Baucus also asked the business community, which in the past has largely opposed an employer mandate, to keep an open mind until the legislation he is putting together is complete. I’m not quite sure how someone is supposed to wait to see how something turns out before forming an opinion on it, if at the same time they are purportedly being offered a seat at the table to shape it. Either way, I wouldn’t sit back and hope for the best. Whatever one’s views on a universal coverage system, I suggest you take advantage of Sen. Baucus’s invitation and share them with him.

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TriNet Acquires Gevity

2009-03-09T21:03:00-08:00

News at TriNet The news is out about the biggest acquisition in the small business HRO industry in the last ten years: TriNet is acquiring Florida-based Gevity HR.

People have wondered why TriNet, with a historical market focus on high-wage employee populations, might wish to snap up a larger (and public) competitor, but it’s really all about the ability to serve the customer. By adding Gevity’s industry expertise to our own, it vastly expands our ability to provide industry-specific services to the customers under our watch. We also expect that it will add to our product and technology portfolio down the line.

Gevity has an amazing company and culture built over 20 years. We intend to work with them, and particularly their service team, to build an HRO enterprise that will stand the test of time.

If you want to read more about the transaction, go here.

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Effectively leading a demotivated workforce

2009-02-20T21:06:01-08:00

Best Practices, Human Capital Management TriNet’s human capital consultants often hear the same series of questions from their customers, and recently, the questions have largely been along the lines of effective leadership in an economic downturn. These executives are worried about the toll that the economic landscape is taking on their star players--and they’re worried about those players leaving. These fears remain sharp even if the company hasn’t conducted a Reduction in Force. (Sometimes that makes it even worse. The axe hasn’t fallen yet...so when will it?)

According to our consultants, these companies tend to exhibit similar “symptoms” of a demotivated or overstressed workforce: increased requests for paid time off, a higher volume of workers compensation claims, a notable lack of communication or humor in the workplace (sometimes to the point of a completely silent office), and a general tendency for employees to focus on their own situation or immediate goals rather than the overall goals of the company.

So what’s the right way to lead a team and retain star players in such an environment?

The approach which our consultants do not recommend is to shut down, shut up, and keep everything close to the vest. Sometimes leaders …

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So exactly who is doing all this hiring, anyway?

2009-02-06T15:59:00-08:00

News at TriNet, Human Capital Management TriNet’s HR Trends report claimed that small business owners were planning to do quite a bit of hiring in 2009, which surprised people given the obvious state of the economy. But as we begin to move forward into the year, we’re beginning to see that prediction played out among our customer base.

So who’s doing it?

Inside Track is a company that provides coaching and student retention services for both public and private universities. As a result of the downturn, more people are going back to school than ever--and so the organization is ramping up both its student coach team and its marketing staff.

SynthaSite provides web sites for small businesses, and they’re hiring as well.

InfoPartners, an IT outsourcing firm, has seen demand for its services skyrocket, and it has engaged with TriNet for talent acquisition services in order to meet its hiring targets.

In regards to the last two companies, it’s clear that outsourcing firms are doing pretty well as companies seek to become as lean and efficient as possible. (TriNet’s doing quite a bit of hiring itself. Know anyone interested in a director of …

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The Great Thing About a New Administration . . .

2009-01-29T17:16:00-08:00

. . . is that there is so much to write about. The less-great thing is that, if you are an employer, not much of it is good. Yesterday, as part of the gigantic stimulus bill, the House passed a provision that would extend COBRA coverage up to ten years for some employees, and provide a federal subsidy for persons who are laid off and elect COBRA coverage between September 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009. That sharp pain you felt? Yeah, my granddaddy used to call that snakebite, that thing that happens when you’re not looking.

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And so it begins

2009-01-27T22:34:01-08:00

Congress passed today the first bill likely to be signed by President Obama. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is named for an Alabama woman who lost her wage discrimination lawsuit in the Supreme Court in 2007. After 19 years on the job, Ms. Ledbetter sued her employer when she discovered that she was the lowest-paid supervisor at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plant, despite having more experience than several male co-workers. A jury found she was the victim of discrimination. But the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, reversed what critics described as decades of legal precedent by declaring discrimination claims must be filed within 180 days of the first offense.

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Living Inside the Dream: Thoughts about MLK & the Inauguration

2009-01-16T18:07:01-08:00

Best Practices In January we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life, a man whose very name represents a legacy of centuries of free thought, speech, belief, and protest. MLK Day marks the day when we should remember the messages to which King devoted and gave his life: the cause of freedom for all people.

The disparity of the black-white divide of the ‘60s was the defining characteristic of that cause. The struggle to end racism may never be declared “won,” but the progress in that struggle, particularly in this country, is noteworthy. Reading King’s speeches and correspondence, listening to his words, one cannot help but hear through time the echoes of sacrifice and dedication to the fundamental human yearnings for equality and liberty, for decency and freedom. King reminded us that we all breathe the same air, feel the same warmth of the sun, endure the same cold, carry the same hopes and fears within our hearts. He spoke through the filter of strong religious values of love, tolerance, and understanding, values which—regardless of where you find their source—represent the pillars of a civilized society. As we mark his memory, it is worth the pause, the reflection, to ask how …

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