Posted by Tom Howard on Thu, Feb 04, 2010 @ 03:47 PM
Outsourcing has been standard throughout the business world for many years and its popularity is now expanding rapidly through the club industry. The driving force behind this trend is related to the economic pressure many clubs are under to reduce operating expense.
Of course, the risk with this approach is service or quality will suffer. To balance the importance of managing expenses and maintaining quality, clubs should closely examine their key business processes to identify which systems are the best candidates for outsourcing. Processes that fit well into an outsource model are typically complex in nature, highly regulated, time consuming or create potential liability.
Outsourcing makes the most sense when three key criteria are met - processes are done better, faster and with more consistent results. The types of outsourcing that meet these criteria can be considered "smartsourcing" partnerships. Unlike traditional outsourcing, which is commodity driven, smartsourcing enables clubs to partner in synergistic ways that decrease expense, increase quality and carry low risk for the club. With smartsourcing, clubs work with highly specialized companies that bring both improved efficiencies and very specific expertise.
SmartSourcing creates an environment where the results of focus, efforts and expertise actually equal more than the sum of the parts. With smartsourcing, clubs become less "people" dependant and more "systems" dependant. This makes the club stronger as it causes a shift of the focus of the club's staff from an "administrative" focus to a "member centric" focus.
Current economic conditions make this a perfect time to consider a company like ClubPay that combines expertise and efficiency to create value for your club. Our approach is simple but powerful. We have done the homework and put together a suite of solutions and services that eliminate the headaches and hassles of payroll and HR management. At the same time, we give you expanded access to your information to enable you to make better business decisions. Finally, we help you control costs by leveraging our economies of scale and expertise.
Posted by Tom Howard on Wed, Jan 27, 2010 @ 11:37 AM
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Posted by Tom Howard on Fri, Jan 22, 2010 @ 09:48 AM
This is a first part series of posts I am writing to share with family, friends, clients and associates about my personal plan to prosperity in 2010. Below I have outlined the person I want to "be" this year and it is my hope this post and next 11 posts of the series this year will inspire, motivate and move you to consider who you want to "be" in 2010.
During this year 2010, I resolve to be a person who strives to...
Embrace Challenges
The world offers plenty of circumstances to blame for our breakdowns, but the most effective people I know find a reason to achieve. What reasons have you relied on in the past for not accomplishing your goals? The economy, the government, global warming - these may sound funny, but others may hit closer to home. What about not enough time, too busy, relationship issues, my boss or my employees?
Let's switch gears and instead of asking "how" we can get out of our circumstances, ask "what" we can get out of our circumstances. For example, the economic pressures of the past year have helped me learn to budget better, manage my time better and be more process driven; you get the idea.
Remove Self-Imposed Limitations
How often are our limitations self-imposed? We set mental limits in our head of what we can accomplish and we make up stories about what we are "good" at and "not good at". The net result is we create a ceiling that limits our success.
A great example is the story of Roger Bannister. If you are not familiar with this story, you can read it here. The key principle is that Roger Bannister was the first person in history to run a mile in under 4 minutes. Just 56 days later, the feat was repeated by another runner. Amazingly, within 3 years, 16 other runners had accomplished this previously assumed impossibility. Self-imposed limitations!
One thing we can be sure of is we are not likely to exceed our own expectations. Why bother to dream if you are not dreaming big?
Clearly Understand my Purpose
So often we fly through life on remote control giving little thought to where we are going. Other times, we may know where we are going, but we have not stopped to consider if we are heading to a place we want to be or when we want to be there; weeks, months, years...
Would any of us take off on a road trip with no destination, no map or no time line?
It is critical that we consistently schedule time to slow down, reflect and be intentional about where we are going and why. This requires digging deep down to the core of what you want your life to be about. We are not talking about bank account balances, job titles or materials possessions. What is the essence of your reason for being and is your life in alignment with this reason?
Have a Plan
What problems do you have right now and you know they need to be addressed but you are pushing off dealing with? We all tend to avoid dealing with the frustrations in our lives that don't have a clear cut answer, are awkward or push us out of our comfort zones in some way.
To be effective, we have to "deal" with our problems, not "live" with them. In order to deal with problems, we first have to acknowledge them and commit to taking action. It may sound simple but it is not easy. A good way to determine what you are "not dealing with" is to take notice of the circumstances, people and situations you complain about.
Invest in Others
There is nothing more satisfying than to invest your time, talents and resources to others. Ironically, when we invest in others and we do so with the right motives, we inevitably experience a radical return on our investment.
At ClubPay, we call this our "give to give" philosophy and we work hard to live it out in some way every single day. It may be as simple as sharing some valuable information, giving an encouraging word or making a professional introduction for a colleague. The key is to be intentionally "others focused" for part of each day.
Conclusion and Challenge
What resolutions did you establish for yourself this year? At twenty-two days into the year, how successful have you been at sticking to your goals? If you are meeting all of your goals so far, I congratulate you for your resolve and self-discipline. If you are already struggling, maybe taking a different approach will help you accomplish more with less effort - something we are all about at ClubPay.
Join us this year in building a community of support and encouragement; invest in each other and help us "be" who we want to "be" in 2010.
Who do you want to be in 2010?
Posted by Tom Howard on Mon, Dec 28, 2009 @ 02:26 PM
Over the last few months, I have presented both locally and nationally to CMAA and HFTP on how the economy, technology and communication trends are causing a fundamental shift in every aspect of recruitment and hiring. The article entitled "Sourcing Trends and Predictions" recently published on ere.net mirrors many of the predictions we have put forth for the private club industry.
In my last blog post, I talked about how Social Media is playing an increasing role in the way attract and hire new employees. This is only part of the picture. We also made some additional predictions about what clubs should expect related to the future of recruitment and hiring.
These predictions include:
- Unemployment and Litigation will rise
- "Hiring Right" will become more important
- Technology will play a larger role in hiring and recruitment
- Recruitment methods will undergo drastic changes
- Personal/Professional reputation will blend
The article, Sourcing Trends and Predictions, collaborates some of our predictions and expands to some ideas outside the club industry and brings up several additional important points.
Posted by Tom Howard on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 @ 11:30 AM
Social media is having a major impact on the way clubs recruit and hire employees. Gone are the days of a static resume and a list of references. Club management now has the ability to dig much deeper into candidates and develop a 360 degree view of the person behind the application.
Passing Fad or Mega Trend?
I'll bet some of you are reading this and nodding your heads "yes" while others are thinking "not at my club". The question really comes down to this: Is social media a fad that will pass with time or does it represent a fundamental shift in the way we communicate?
For the naysayers, before you shrug off the impact of social media, check out the video below. Exactly what role social media will play related to employment may still be up for debate, but as for the impact it is having on the way we communicate, the numbers speak for themselves.
Social Media and Employment 101
Let's look at the most prevalent ways social media might be integrated into your private club's hiring practices. The two most common ways employers are using social media include passive recruitment and applicant screening.
Passive recruitment simply means identifying candidates that are not actively seeking employment. Recruiters have been doing this for years but new technology makes it much easier for clubs to engage directly in passive recruitment. In a nutshell, this means searching for and pro actively contacting individuals that have the qualifications you are seeking but may be currently employed.
Applicant Screening involves reviewing a potential employees social media footprint before extending a job offer. In addition to drug testing and criminal background checks, many clubs are now checking potential employees out on Google, Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn.
What happens in Vegas stays on Facebook
Reviewing a candidates social media footprint can be very effective at forming a 360 degree view of a candidate. Offering much more than a traditional resume and references, you can obtain a more holistic view of "who" and individual really is.
Employers are increasingly turning to social media to vet out candidates. A recent report indicates hiring managers use social media during the evaluation of candidates as much as 22% of the time. More often than not, the results support NOT making the hire! Do you find this suprising? Check out the reasons why in the chart below.
What do you Think?
Does your club utilize social media in recruiting employees or screening candidates? Are you using social media in other ways related to employment?
Get More Information
Download a free whitepaper entitled, "How Technology is Changing the Way Clubs Hire".
Next Time...
Will Social Media play a role in your next Club Management Job?
Posted by Tom Howard on Thu, Nov 12, 2009 @ 02:56 PM
What is Employee Leasing?
Employee leasing is an arrangement whereby a club enters a co-employment relationship with a Professional Employer Organization (PEO). In this arrangement, the PEO and the club are actually co-employers of the club staff. The club employees are "leased" to the club by the PEO. The club retains the responsibility of hiring, firing and day to day management of all employees and the PEO is typically responsible for obtaining benefits and worker's compensation.
Why do clubs use PEO's?
In theory, entering into a co-employment relationship offers overall cost savings and provides the club with additional HR support services. In most cases, potential savings are centered around the concept of "pooling" employees from a multitude of businesses in order to negotiate a more favorable premium by spreading the risk across a larger and more diversified base of employees.
In most cases, HR services such as an employee handbook, benefits enrollment, HR help desk and compliance management are provided by the PEO. Other services such as background screening, drug testing and employee assistance programs may also be part of the services offered.
Finally, worker's compensation insurance is typically provided to the club through the PEO. The PEO most likely will support and train the club in loss control to manage the worker's compensation premiums.
What's the catch?
The catch is this... PEO's work well in some cases when clubs have experienced above average worker's compensation or health benefit claims. In such cases, a PEO may save the club significantly on insurance rates. The PEO accomplishes this by combining the risk of all of its clients to negotiate a preferable worker's comp insurance rate.
Be careful though, because in order for the PEO to make a profit, some "low risk" clients must be blended with the "high risk" clients in order for the PEO to remain financially stable. This means the lower risk clients are effectively "subsidizing" the higher risk ones.
Many might find the initial benefits rates offered by the PEO to be very attractive. But the club gives up its control and ability to manage or bid on their own benefit coverage. In many cases, the club is forced to participate in more expensive plans in future years. Over time, they often see the savings in benefits cost quickly disappear while administrative fees charged by the PEO rise.
Finally, the HR service aspect the PEO offers is often underused or not used at all. In many cases, HR services actually provided by the PEO amount to little more than an updated employee handbook and an occasional call for advice. These services are easily obtained at a much lower investment from an independent HR service company.
Why leaving increases the taxes your club pays...
In many states, state unemployment tax is paid only on the first portion of earnings per employee. For example, in Florida, employers pay unemployment tax on the $7,000 in taxable wages. Likewise, federal unemployment is applied against the first $7,000 as well.
Because the club is in a co-employer relationship and operating under the PEO's FEIN number, if they leave the PEO, the clubs' rates will default back to the "new business" rate for Florida. What most clubs don't realize is that their thresholds will reset as well.
This means that even if the club has already paid SUTA/FUTA on the first $7,000 of each employee earnings, it will now be liable to pay again under the new FEIN number. This can be an expensive problem. For an average size club, say 115 employees, that have all hit the threshold, this will amount to over $28,000 in additional taxes.
Why it makes sense to change January 1
Your unemployment tax thresholds will re-set January 1st regardless so in most cases, this is when clubs will move away from a PEO relationship to working with an independent payroll company. For this reason, if your club has considered moving away from a PEO in order to reduce fees, the time to do this is now. Looking at your options during the fourth quarter will allow you to make the change at the beginning of the following first quarter.
Conclusion
Choosing to partner with a PEO arrangement should be reviewed very carefully. Once a club makes this decision, it can be very difficult to leave. What was initially a cost savings move can quickly turn and end up increasing expenses for years to come. If your club is currently with a PEO and is interested in reviewing options to reduce expenses, evaluate your options during fourth quarter to avoid paying additional taxes related to a mid-year conversion.
Posted by Tom Howard on Tue, Nov 10, 2009 @ 07:26 AM
Dear Payroll Provider,
I can't go on living this lie...there is a confession I must make, I don't love working with you anymore. When we first met, you promised me the world, you told me how important I was to you and promised how you would make my life easier. These days, I feel like just another case number to you. Look, we can still be friends, I just don't want to process with you anymore.
Putting up with mediocrity?
Many clubs tolerate broken promises, inferior functionality and poor service for years because they believe the transition to a new payroll company will be too difficult. The perspective is that it is easier to accept the problems than to make a change and fear of losing data from years past. The result is the club ends up feeling like it is a hostage to the payroll provider.
Breaking up is not hard to do...
We are often asked, "how do I end the relationship with my previous payroll vendor"? Not to worry, companies change payroll companies every day and despite the old cliché - breaking up is not really that hard to do. However, the steps and timing you follow can either cause or prevent some headaches down the road.
First off, in nearly all cases, you have the right to terminate your service without notice. Rarely, if ever, does a payroll company have a contract with its customers. If you are approached by a payroll company that wants your club to obligate itself to a long term contract, see this as a big red flag. This same logic applies to similar providers such as time keeping/labor management, human resource management, or other related service companies.
The tru
th is these providers are not making a large up front capital investment in new equipment or people to provide service to you so they should not require a long term commitment. Put your club in the position of having your payroll partner "earn" your business every month and keep your options open.
When is it time to call it quits?
Timing is everything and though you expect the best from your current provider, we should be prepared for the worst. With this in mind, our advice is not to advise your current provider you are making a change until after you have successfully processed your first payroll with ClubPay.
The rationale here is to continue to have access to your legacy system as long as possible in case you need to retrieve additional information from it. If you are running a locally installed solution (server or PC based), your legacy vendor will most likely not deactivate your access for some time, if ever.
If you are running a web based system, they may deactivate it a bit quicker. Either way, it never hurts to ask for them to keep access open for a few months in case you need to run some reports. It never hurts to ask, the worst that will happen is they say no.
Keep good records...
If you are not already doing so, be sure to keep a log of all of your payroll registers. You can keep paper log but preferably these should be kept electronically. If available, keep them in a common format such as excel or .csv so that you can easily pull and import information if required.
Shortly before transitioning to your new system, you should also go into your legacy system and run copies of every report you have access to. Err on the side of caution. Although you may not ever need most of these reports, better safe than sorry. Some systems grant broad access to reports while others are very restrictive. The point is, get what you can and get it in a exportable format if possible.
What is a retention team?
Many of the larger payroll companies have actually created "retention teams" to try to "save" clients that intend to leave. The basic premise is to approach unhappy customers, create fear around a change and offer to discount prices to keep your club as a client. How pathetic is this? My advice to you is to not work with any company that even has a retention team in place. The investment in this team should be made into improving service so that a retention team is not needed.
Data conversion and professional services...
Finally, make sure your new vendor will take the lead role in helping you make a seamless conversion. Do enough research to determine how complete and systematic the implementation plan offered by your vendor is. Ask hard questions! Who takes the lead in the conversion? Are implementation templates available? Will demographic data be converted? If data can't be converted, who will hand key - you or the vendor?
Most important - do not take your vendor's word regarding ease of conversion. They are trying to sell you something and are not going to level with you about any potential issues. Insist on talking to at least 3 clients, in your industry, that the vendor have gone through an implementation within the last year. Make this a demand, not a request.
Posted by Tom Howard on Tue, Oct 27, 2009 @ 09:36 PM
Do you care? Do your employees care? Does your board care? Do your vendors care? Three simple words, one small question but the answer may hold the key to whether you or your organization will survive.
Care
In his recent book - Crush It!, Gary Vaynerchuk (host of the fabulously popular website and on line TV show - Wine Library) includes a brief chapter entitled "the best marketing strategy ever". The chapter is so brief in fact, that it consists of only one word - "Care". I think the point that Gary is trying to get across is pretty evident. We need to care about what we do, how we do it and the customers we serve.
We are Starving for Care
As a society, we are starving for care. We want it, even yearn for it and are more than willing to pay for it. Think about how you feel when you buy groceries at that trendy, freshly stocked "market" compared to when you shop at the big box store with the endless rows of bargains and self check-out lanes. Do you feel like one cares more than the other?
Let's face it, we do a lot of business with a lot of companies that don't seem to get the "care" concept. They may care about their paychecks, bottom line and maybe even their shareholders, but do they "care" about their customers?
To prove my point, let me share a couple of personal experiences I have had recently. The names of the offenders have been disguised to protect the guilty.
How many days does it take to deliver a "3 day air" package?
I recently shipped a trade show booth across the country using a popular shipping company, let's call them OOPS. I paid over $600 for OOPS to deliver my package in 3 days. My package arrived 5 days later, halfway through the show. I bet you're thinking OOPS cared about this - think again!
When I called to ask when my package would be delivered, I was told it was unknown, but what was known is that my package was audited during shipment and additional postage was due. No explanation, no solution, no apology - no one seemed to care that I had no booth for my show.
After several weeks and dozens of calls, we have discovered that "3 day air" doesn't actually mean that the package will be delivered in "3 days" OOPS! Apparently there is some small print that excludes the company from actually delivering on its promise - not very caring.
How do you spell OOPS?
My next story involves a major credit card company, we'll just call the company Capitol Two. While trying to dispute the above referenced charge for services not delivered, the following conversation actually occurred. There is no way to do this justice folks, but to just give you the transcript.
Company: Who is the vendor?
Me: OOPS
Company: Can you spell that?
Me: O O P S
Company:What type of charge is this sir?
Me: Shipping charges, postage
Company: Did you receive the merchandise?
Me: Well, yes, I guess you could say that, they shipped it
Company: Did you return the merchandise to the vendor?
Me: How can I return "shipping charges"
Company: OK, thank you very much, please be advised you still must make your minimum monthly payment.
Apparently we don't have enough idiots in this country, we now need to export these jobs overseas. Is it just me or is anyone else tired of dealing with these companies that don't care about you, your time, your money or their integrity?
I regret to say the story only goes downhill from here folks, but I care too much about your time to digress any further. Let's talk about something more positive.
How to profit from others' lack of care
If there is a bright spot in all this, it is that the lack of caring on the part of many businesses, both large and small, open up an incredible opportunity for those of us who do care. Recession or not, people like to be around people and buy from businesses that care about them.
This plays right into the hands of private country clubs. Our clubs are a place that members can go and know that they will be cared for. We can be the oasis for a membership that has to deal with an uncaring world day in and day out. When we create this type of environment, our member will say "Screw the Recession" when it comes to maintaining their club membership.
An influential manager from a prestigious country club recently asked me if I had any ideas that might help them engage their employees and get them motivated for the upcoming season. I am going to send him a copy of this article and my single word of advice - CARE.
Care about the quality of the meal, the cleanliness of the club, the condition of the golf course, the smile on the face of the server, the punctuality of the team. As the management team, care about your employees, their personal and professional goals, their families and the tools they need to do their jobs.
As a vendor, ClubPay cares passionately about what we do. We provide a way to help make a tedious and libelous process (payroll) easier, faster and less expensive. When our clients have a need, we care about them, their time line and getting their problem solved. We care about our clients success.
Posted by Tom Howard on Mon, Sep 28, 2009 @ 05:53 PM
An estimated 60% of clubs who make the decision to change payroll providers do so effective January 1st. While it may not be necessary to make a payroll change at year-end, it certainly makes sense to evaluate your options at this time.
Many clubs face the challenge of shrinking budgets and decreased administrative staff levels; so any opportunity to potentially reduce expense and save time deserves a closer look.
Should your club evaluate its payroll/HR systems?
Take a moment and consider when the last review of your current provider occurred. With some payroll companies, particularly some of the larger providers, fees seem to creep up each year. Payroll companies often offer discounts and low rates to acquire new clients with the strategy of increasing margin through add-on charges and price increases.
If your club has not evaluated their payroll provider in more than a year, then it is definitely time to take a fresh look and ensure your club is receiving the maximum value and return on investment. The following questions can help with making the decision to evaluate your club's current payroll provider or take a look at other options available.
- Has our club experienced any major payroll or tax issues during the past year? If so, how were they handled?
- When help is needed, are we assigned a "case number" or do we get responsive, professional help from someone who knows me and our club?
- Has our club experienced price increases over the past year or years? Are the increases reasonable and congruent enhancements to the functionality and service provided?
- Are we being charged additional fees for basic functionality such as reports, direct deposit, and tax filings?
When to start the process for a January 1 conversion...
If your club is considering a January 1 conversion, the time to begin the process is now. In order to take a systematic approach, adequate time must be allowed to do your homework and research before making a decision.
As with any major decision, you want to first take an honest appraisal of your current system to identify its strengths and weaknesses. Once this step is completed, you can move forward with comparing your current solution to other available options.
Some considerations in evaluating companies for a fit with your club include:
- How easy is our system to use? Is our payroll partner really lifting an administrative burden off the club management team and administrative staff or are they just cutting paychecks?
- Does our solution include integrated features that help us manage our club more effectively such as HR management, labor management, and hiring and recruitment tools?
- Does our payroll partner understand our business? Do they accommodate multiple rates, multiple departments, weighted overtime and integration to our club management system?
- Are there other "clubs" using this provider? What has their experience been?
To allow adequate time to do a reasonable evaluation and cost/benefit analysis of making a change, you should target evaluating systems during the September/October time frame and make a decision no later than early November to be prepared for a January 1 conversion.
Budget a couple of weeks for information gathering and analysis. Following your research stage, set appointments with vendors to see the work flow and understand the specific strengths of each system.
Finally, request a detailed proposal to evaluate the soft and hard costs of a change. Don't fall into the trap of evaluating on price only but look at improved efficiencies, time savings, risk management, improved morale/retention and other factors that are related to the payroll and human resource function of your club.
Kick the tires at our 4thQuarter Webinars...
If you just want to kick the tires and see what your options are, ClubPay is offering a complimentary, no pressure, no hassle set of webinars in October. This will give you insight into our two most popular club management solutions - ClubPay and ClubTime. ClubTime is an integrated labor management and time keeping solution and ClubPay is our full-service payroll solution.
Hope you found this post helpful, you can register for the webinars on our website at Attend a Webinar.
Posted by Tom Howard on Sat, Sep 12, 2009 @ 01:26 PM
Introduction
Most clubs evaluate all major club management systems around this time of the year. At the top of the list should be your benefits plan. Given the current economic pressures and legislative changes, it is critical to evaluate your current plan to identify potential savings.
See the study below for an example of how much money can be left on the table by managers who are not "high performers' in managing their plans.
ClubPay can help, we have an extensive network of benefit plan professionals that can provide you with an analysis to identify potential cost reductions and plan inefficiencies.
If you would like help at your club, just give me a call at 877.729.4258 (102) or email me at tom@clubpayroll.com.
High Performers are Controlling Costs
Courtesy of Towers Perin
High-performing companies are making significant strides in controlling health care costs by aggressively managing their benefit programs and making effective use of account-based health plans (ABHPs) and other consumer-based approaches.
Results from the Towers Perrin 2009 Health Care Cost Survey show that high-performing companies will pay, on average, 12% less in annual health care premiums in 2009 compared to low-performing companies.
Equally striking, high performers share the cost savings with employees - and, overall, report a health dividend that includes both better financial results and workforce performance advantages, such as high employee engagement.
Health benefit costs still on the rise
Corporations will spend, on average, $9,552 per employee for health benefits in 2009, an increase of 6% from 2008.
However, the cost variations are wide, with high-performing companies reporting a per-employee cost of $8,904 compared to $10,104 for low-performing companies. At high-performing companies, the cost per employee in ABHPs with health savings accounts (HSAs) is even lower - $7,032.
High performers defined
The performance designations are based on relative costs and cost increases, coupled with metrics that test whether an organization is meeting its health benefit objectives in certain key areas:
- managing employer and employee costs
- enhancing efficient purchasing of health care services
- enhancing employee understanding and engagement
- enhancing employee satisfaction, attraction and retention.
High-performing companies in the survey focus primarily on supporting and improving employee health. They also commit to rigorous and continuous management of their health plans and delivery processes.
For a complimentary analysis of your employee benefits programs please Contact Tom Howard at tom@clubpayroll.com