Human Resource & Payroll Management Blog

With the support and expertise of Dresser & Associates, Food Management Investors, Inc. (FMI) is proud to announce the success of their recently implemented HRMS system. FMI, which provides the back-office support for 28 restaurants across four states, experienced first hand why choosing the right HRMS system is just as important as choosing the right business partner. With more than 2,000 employees, FMI relied on spreadsheets and paper files to track the details of its employees’ job history, beneficiary, accrual, and benefit information and desperately demanded a full-service human resource management system and business partner that delivers of its promises.

FMI began the search two years ago, for an integrated HRMS, one that would incorporate payroll, human resources, and attendance tracking into a single solution. After looking at several systems, FMI ultimately decided on Sage Abra HRMS because of its easy functionality and ability to integrate with other systems. Now all FMI needed was a knowledgeable, experienced HRMS consultant to implement their new system.

After hiring a local consultant, and finding themselves unhappy with the results, FMI began the search for the right business partner to implement the system. Without having to search very hard, FMI encountered the recurring name of Dresser & Associates as the leading Sage Abra business partner and immediately contacted them. Becky Nelson, HR Supervisor for FMI recalls, “We contacted them and were immediately impressed with their knowledge of the software and of payroll and HR best practices. They had several suggestions of ways in which we could get more out of the payroll system. We hired them to complete the implementation.”

FMI has nothing but praise for the support team at Dresser & Associates. “We get a phone call every month from our consultant.” says Nelson, “They check in to see if we have questions or concerns about the software. It’s a nice touch.”

Sage Abra HRMS Version 8.4, and Sage Abra Suite Version 7.7 are scheduled for release this summer. Both include enhancements, primarily to the Payroll, HR, Attendance, Link, and Workforce Connections modules.

The release incorporates 47 specific enhancements. Check out some of the highlighted enhancements in
our most recent newsletter. Also, sign up for a webcast on the updated versions by visiting our Free Webcasts page.

Make sure and check out the newest addition to our website, the Knowledge Center! After months and months of hard work and collaboration with our web designers our newest resource section has gone live.

In the Knowledge Center you will find anything and everything having to do with HR, Payroll, Recruiting, Taxes, State and Federal information, reports, forms, calculators, performance management, and much more. We have created this site as a tool for our customers and all HR and Payroll professionals, to use as their one stop shop for information. Make sure you bookmark the spot as one of your favorites so you may always check back for needed information.

The site is designed for ease of use and so you can quickly find the information you are looking for. We will constantly be adding new information and resources to this site, and encourage you to provide us feedback and recommend any resources that we may have missed.

Keep an eye out for any articles, websites, or calculators that you would like to see added and if we add them we will reward you with a $5 gift card to Dunkin Donuts as a thanks.

It’s no secret to the HR industry that the internet has rapidly eclipsed want ads and classifieds as primary recruiting sources. As much as the internet has shaken the role of traditional advertising, so too has the job seeker/recruiter relationship become more search/find than push/pull. While nearly every business has at least started advertising positions on their website and online job boards, social networks open up yet another avenue for recruiters to find quality talent.

So how to take advantage of these networks for your business?

1 – Make Yourself Found

Before you even look for job seekers, you should be sure job seekers can find you. This includes, of course, the first step of creating and maintaining an up-to-date career center on your company’s website. Standard features now, are search functions, positions by department, and varying degrees of detail on the position. Most sites, especially if they are integrated with an HRIS, have an online application process that facilitates the first step for job seekers.

But, that “careers” page is just the beginning. Your company should have active accounts on LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook and niche job boards and networks such as Vault.com, Dice.com and CrunchBoard.com. By being available where qualified candidates can find you, you will be able to passively recruit motivated people.

2 – Fish Where the Fish Are

By finding sites to market your business in the step above, you should be able to identify the top sites where your hiring demographic is. Once that portal for your company is built, don’t bounce from those sites! Take some time to look at other companies, other people, and read what’s on their mind, look at what they link to, and try building “friends” or links, depending on social aspects available with the service. By being actively part of the communities where you’re searching for candidates, you’re more likely to make the right connections and get in front of the right people for your organization.

3 – Network Online… But Offline

Once your organization has firmly established an online reputation, it only makes sense to carry-on that campaign to offline efforts — have your social media contacts splashed on the literature you hand out at career days, for instance. And what could be cooler than a LinkedIn-ready key job?

Social media permeates the language of the existing and up-and-coming top job seekers and your corporate culture should too. While there are invariably stumbling blocks as networks shoot to popularity and then crash into obscurity, riding the wave as best you can and being available on the “latest and greatest” will keep your company in front of the best candidates out there for a lower overall cost than traditional media ever was.

In the coming weeks Dresser & Associates will sponsor a series of Sage Abra HRMS webinars spotlighting specific modules. Each webinar will be led by one of our senior consultants along with one of our very own Sage Abra customers. Several of our customers have agreed to take part in these sessions in order to give others a real look into how the system works for them and to share their experience within that particular module. Also, coinciding with these webinars I will be posting a series of blogs highlighting the modules as they go.

I highly recommend taking part in this series of webinars. Where else are you going to hear about the product straight from the horse’s mouth (pardon the expression)? If you are already an Sage Abra customer and you want to learn more about your product or how others are using it, if you are an Abra customer seeking other modules that may benefit you and your company or if you are not an Abra customer yet, but would like to gain some insight on the product and get some questions answered by Dresser and other users, these webinars are for you.

We will also have a webinar that will focus on Halogen’s Performance and Talent Management Software. This session will be taught by Jim Carty of Halogen Software and one of our joint customers, will be sharing his experiences within his use of both Abra and Halogen’s software together.

You can check out our website for more information on the webinars and to see a schedule of events. Register right away to reserve your spot!

The cost savings associated with HRMS can have an affect on many different areas of your business. Not only does an HRMS create savings of both time and money, but the savings can actually be defined and measured. Many users of HR Software are realizing a return on their investment, and quickly. Henley Enterprises, Inc. is just one customer that is singing praises about their dramatic savings with in-house HR and Payroll. After reading their customer success story that was released today, I would suggest anyone looking to purchase an HRMS read this story.

In The Bottom Line on HR Technology: Improving Results and Lowering Costs with a Human Resource Management System by Sage Software, a well-planned HRMS can drive costs out of your business by automating core HR, benefits, and payroll processes for increased efficiency and productivity. It can help contain and reduce the spiraling costs of employee benefits as well as increase retention by providing a high level of service to employees while controlling the costs.

A good HRMS can also help with decisions regarding your workforce and accurate, timely reporting and analysis. As well as reduce the cost of compliance and risks associated with increasingly complex and burdensome regulations. Improve processes for recruiting, developing, and retaining people with the required skills and aptitudes to meet current and future organizational needs. Reduce routine administration and paperwork, and enable you to focus more on workforce and business strategy.

Henley Enterprises decided to go with Sage Abra HRMS last January and they are already realizing big savings and added benefits. Read their customer success story as well as the Sage white paper to see how an HRMS could benefit your bottomline.

Human resources has been playing an increasingly critical role in the success of today’s small and mid-sized businesses. Savvy business owners and executives realize that the most critical element of their success is their people. The question becomes how to attract and keep the best ones working for you.

Over the last twelve years, I’ve helped organizations of all sizes deal with their HR and employee management issues. Those I found to be leaders in attracting and retaining the best employees have all had a reliable and consistent recruitment and hiring process, one that is repeatable and ensures quality results each time.

Every business I’ve known to be successful at attracting and retaining reliable, productive employees clearly defines the behaviors, skills and attributes most essential to the roles they are filling. This clarity in their recruitment efforts ensures high quality, long term hires and outstanding support for their business.

It amazes me how many companies I encounter that work so hard to identify a new hire only to skip the most critical step – checking their work. Every successful business I’ve worked with is adept at uncovering the information they need to ensure that the selection they make has the best possible chance for success, every time.

Due diligence

In today’s age not performing a pre-employment background check is the equivalent of running into oncoming traffic only to hope the cars slow down enough for you make it to the other side safely. If you are hiring or planning on hiring anytime soon and want to get a quality background check done with instant turnaround so you can feel comfortable making your next hiring decision check out HR411’s online screening center — it provides comprehensive tools, is easy to use and will be the best $20 you ever spent.

Until next time. Good luck and good hiring!

Michael Pires
HR411.com

Some companies consider HR as Overhead, but progressive companies see HR as an integral part of its business strategy. A major way for HR to be considered as a Profit Center is to capitalize on the many State and Federal Tax Credits, Grants, and other Incentives available to their company.

Many new hires will qualify for Federal hiring credits up to $8500 per qualified new hire. Many State credits and/or grants are available for training on your new or upgraded Sage Abra Software System. In Georgia, you can receive up to 1/2 of all your training costs back in tax credits. Some States will allow you to take accelerated depreciation on your software cost.

HR can be perceived as a Profit Center through involving the company in pursuing and obtaining these many Tax Credits, Grants, and other Incentives for the company, which adds many dollars to their bottom line profit!!!

Also Visit http://www.ezec.gov/ for more information