Workforce Management for the Public Sector

Automating the Human Resources/Personnel Department of a School District (Part I)

By James Fields

As I have been meeting with Superintendents and Assistant Superintendents I have noticed one very common trend.  School Districts do an outstanding job of data collection and data analysis on their students. However, many school districts have been slow to embraced technology in their Human Resources/Personnel Departments.  These departments have historically been seen as administrative offices. Administrators are seeing that Human Resources is a discipline that is the cornerstone for building a successful organization.  The challenge is that Human Resources also has numerous administrative tasks it has to perform.  Without automating these administrative tasks, the department will not be able to focus on the strategic aspect of HR.  The department also will not have the data needed to make strategic decisions.

Below is part one of a series that I will post outlining the steps, tasks, and considerations required to successfully automate a Human Resources/Personnel Department. 

How Payroll Debit Cards Can Help You and Your Employees

reprint from HR.com

By Gary Lott, ADP

Gary Lott, General Manager for ADP wrote this article which was published by HR.com.  In this article Gary outlines how Payroll Debit Cards are not just beneficial for employers, but also the employee.  He outlines some of ways that the cards are being used by employees.  Here is the article:

 

Failure to Track Teachers Could Cost State

That is the title of an article published today by News-Leader.com out of Springfield, MO.  Under the No Child Left Behind law, states are to have "highly qualified" teachers in every core classroom.  The article reports that the state of Missouri is one of four states that failed a review and are being requireed to submit data and a plan to the US Department of Education, or face losing $2.2 million in federal funding.   The other states are Utah, Hawaii, and Wisconsin. Link

Based on the article it seems that one of the clear challenges that the state faces is the inability to obtain the proper supporting documentation from the school districts.  This is a clear indication that districts are lacking Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS). The article goes on to

Cutting Your Labor Budget without Cutting Heads!

Many of your organizations may looking for ways to trim, cut, or in some cases chop your budgets, and may consider a headcount reduction as an answer.  Yes, eliminating a job or position is a way of reducing your budget, but it has some negative by-products.  There is a much less disruptive way to reduce your labor budget.  You can accomplish this through enhanced management of your workforce, more commonly referred to as "Labor Management".  What is "Labor Management"?

New guidelines to clarify HSA contributions

BenefitNews.com

The IRS recently eased the rules on comparable contributions to health saving accounts, giving employers more flexibility in offering health benefits. Under current federal law, an employer that has made a contribution to a worker's HSA must make a similar contribution to the HSAs of all comparable participating employees. Employers that failed to make such a contribution faced an excise tax equal to 35% of the aggregate amount contributed by the employees during that calendar year. The new regulations, which take effect on Jan. 1, 2007, exempt employers from the comparability rule with collectively bargained employees because they are "not comparable participating employees, if health benefits were the subject of good faith bargaining between such employee representative and such employer or employees." What's more, the rules provide further clarification on HSA contributions through a cafeteria plan. For example, "if employees are allowed to contribute to an HSA by salary reduction through a cafeteria plan, all employer contributions to the employee's HSA will be treated as being made through a cafeteria plan," thus excluding the employer from the comparability rules

ADP to Acquire Employease

ADP has announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Employease.  ADP's Major Accounts Division of Employer Services has been selling, implementing, and supporting the Employease product under the name ADP HR/Benefits since October 2004.  Download the actual press release below.

Download adp_to_acquire_employease_capping_successful_strategic_partnership__financi.pdf 

Can we go Paperless?

As many organizations are trying to find ways to reduce their budgets, many of them would like to go paperless.  They are realizing that printing checks for employees is an expense that can be eliminated or reduced by going paperless.  Organizations across the country are wanting to drive more and more employees to direct deposit, and then rollout online paystatements.  The States fall into one of four categories with regards to paystatements:

1. No Requirement States
2. Access States
3. Access and Print States
4. Opt-out States

Refer to PaperlessPay.org for a map of the States that fall into each of these categories, and the regulations surrounding each of these categories.  Please note that making direct deposit a mandatory benefit for an employee is a labor law requirement determined by each State. 

ADP's Totalpay Card enhanced by Strategic Agreement

Money Network, a First Data Corp. company, and ADP Employer Services have announced a strategic agreement to provide co-branded paycards. This offering—TotalPay® Card—combines the resources and expertise of these two companies to provide businesses of all sizes with a robust paycard solution. Through the agreement, Money Network—a provider of paycard solutions to employers looking for a safe, convenient, and cost-effective alternative to paper checks—will be responsible for back-office operations and program implementation for employers seeking a paycard solution. The offering is FDIC-insured and leverages the existing Money Network TRANSCHECK product—a self-issued check system that enables Money Network’s paycard clients to provide their employees immediate and free access to their payroll funds.

http://www.americanpayroll.org/epayx/vendornews.html