HR Salaries Are On The Rise

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Here’s some great news for HR professionals: HR Salaries are on the rise!

While HR professionals’ salaries depend heavily on their employers and locations, as well as their education and certifications, we’re seeing an overall increase within the industry for the second year in a row. Average base pay will increase 3 percent in 2014 according to the seventh annual Compensation Planning Survey by Buck Consultants.

Numbers vary though. Earlier in the year (June of 2013) we shared a blog titled “How Much Does a New HR Manager Cost?” Salary.com stated that the median expected salary for a typical Human Resources Manager in the United States was $88,408. That number is now $88,960 – a smaller increase than what’s predicted in the Compensation Planning Survey, but an increase nonetheless.

If you’re an employer you may be trying to justify the expense of a fulltime HR professional, or an internal HR department. Not every small to medium sized business has the resources to support their own group of HR professionals at $80,000+/year, especially since these positions fall outside of the company’s core competences.

Even large companies may not be able to justify hiring an internal HR team; the amount of employee management necessary within the workplace may be tremendous, requiring a number of professionals to manage payroll, HR, administration, benefits and more.

If you’re currently indecisive about whether to outsource HR help or recruit an internal team, we encourage you to contact Employer Solutions Plus. Our team is skilled at designing cost-effective packages for accomplishing everything you need surrounding employee management. You don’t necessarily need to choose an internal or external department – you could utilize a little bit of both and only hire vendors within a specific area such as benefits or payroll. Each company’s situation is unique and requires a unique solution.

Click here to contact our team.

 

Restaurant Industry: 2014 Minimum Wage Increases

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If you’re within the restaurant or food services industry, you may utilize a handful of minimum wage workers. Were you aware of the various state changes, effective January 1, 2014? The following states are experiencing an increase; don’t forget to update your payroll!

 

STATE CURRENT MINIMUM WAGE NEW MININUM WAGE EFFECTIVE JAN 1, 2014
Arizona $7.80/Hour $7.90/Hour
Connecticut $8.25/Hour $8.70/Hour
Florida $7.79/Hour $7.93/Hour
Missouri $7.35/Hour $7.50/Hour
Montana $7.80/Hour $7.90/Hour
New Jersey $7.25/Hour $8.25/Hour
Ohio $7.85/Hour $7.95/Hour (for restaurants with annual gross receipts in excess of $292,000)
Oregon $8.95/Hour $9.10/Hour
Rhode Island $7.75/Hour $8.00/Hour
Vermont $8.60/Hour $8.73/Hour
Washington $9.19/Hour $9.32/Hour

 

Also, effective July 1, 2014: California will experience a state increase to $9.00/Hour. The current minimum wage is $8.00/Hour.

For additional restaurant resources, visit our “HR Solutions for the Restaurant Industry” section. Contact our team at Employer Solutions Plus if you have any questions: 727-698-6207.

Background Checks: What an Applicant’s Credit Report Can Tell You

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We’ve talked about background checks before here at Employer Solutions Plus, specifically “The Importance of Background Checks When Hiring at Law Firms” and “The Importance of Background Checks Within the Healthcare Industry.”

A professional background check will uncover a lot about your applicant. There are certain areas that will stick out like sore thumbs: past employers that are disappointed in this applicant, past encounters with the law … but there’s one thing that employers are often unsure of what to do with: the applicant’s credit score.

Here’s what a credit score can tell you:

  • How responsible and organized an applicant is
  • How financially responsible they are
  • High credit utilization or worse, 100% credit utilization, can reveal that this person is in over their head and unable to stick to a budget.
  • Significant card activity or extensive debt can imply that the applicant is seeking a job for a specific reason – do they really wish to work at your company? Or do they simply want to pay off their existing debt and expensive lifestyle?
  • Recent late fees are important to look at when you’re considering an existing employee for a promotion or different position within your company – late fees imply that something in their life has recently changed and this also results in stress inside and outside of work.

As you can see, a credit score can often reflect the type of person you have in front of you or the situation that person is in. However, if you’re going to run credit reports you must follow the federal laws outlined within the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which includes giving the applicant a fair warning of what you intend to look at (along with a copy of the report), and give the applicant an official adverse action notice if you decide not to hire them because of their credit report.

If you work with a PEO, we urge you to utilize their knowledge, tools, and expertise when it comes to background checks, so that your business stays within compliance. If you don’t currently work with a PEO, contact the team at Employer Solutions Plus for a trusted referral.