What Should HR’s Focus Be at Year’s End?

OperationsInc has these suggestions

The time to prepare for year-end is now. Between today and Jan. 1, 2014, the list of items to address has never been more daunting. With over 70% of businesses in the U.S. renewing their benefit plans on Jan. 1, your firm will likely have to select carriers and plan designs, conduct open enrollment meetings, and gather a lot of information.

In addition, most companies are rolling out performance reviews, raises, and bonuses, all of which impact your payroll. You’ll then need to update your payroll to reflect these changes, along with things such as new 401k deductions. Oh, and all of this happens to be occurring around the holidays, when many people are distracted with seasonal party plans and employees typically take the largest share of their vacation time.

So what now? Our advice is simple but involves some planning and forethought:

Get out the calendar and start marking down deadlines for all the key initiatives mentioned above and any others.

Identify milestones for each. When it comes to benefits, that may include choosing a health insurance carrier, finalizing the plan design, establishing your contribution level, meeting with employees to discuss the plans, and collecting the paperwork and information from employees.

Working backward from each deadline, plot the milestones, giving each a date/timeline.

Look over your completed calendar, adjusting as needed to ensure your timelines are realistic and have enough wiggle room to allow for an occasional missed deadline.

Publish the calendar and get buy-in from key players to ensure the timeline you set becomes their timeline.

Mapping things out will reduce the stress of year-end planning and execution and give your firm a fighting chance to complete everything thoroughly and accurately.

The Question of the Month is sponsored by Norwalk HR outsourcing and consulting firm OperationsInc.

Don’t miss Preparing for Year End -HR Challenges, a CBIA HR Council webinar on Oct 23 presented by David Lewis, CEO of OperationsInc.