We are down to the wire here folks…just 4 working days left for most HR professionals to complete any end of year assignments, requirements, and documentations. Here are a few things to think about before we close out 2017.

1. Do you need to get any certifications or licenses from staff before the end of the year? Any classes or continuing education? Look at yourself and your staff to make sure nothing lapses if needed.
2. Is it open enrollment? Did you get all your waivers or enrollments? Health insurance, dental, vision, flex all need to have documentation of an enrollment or waiver. (We’re done with all that here at SSI)
3. Medical Flex Spending – Reminding employees that they have deadlines for incurring expenses and giving employees an update on their balances really helps. If employees need ideas for using their flex spending dollars – I like to recommend gift certificates for Chiropractors or Dentists, purchasing an extra pair of glasses at the Optometrist, or making those last minute teeth cleanings/whitening’s/root canals. You can even gift those gift certificates to the local shelters or schools. AND in addition to closing out flex spending for 2017 – you need to make sure that if you’re offering flex spending for 2018 – you also get enrollments or waivers. (Or just hire SSI and we do this for you).
4.  Laws or Rules for 2018 – take a look at your handbook and make sure you are up to date with any laws or rules that will be changing for the new year. This could include OSHA/Safety Law changes, FMLA/Leave Laws, Non-Compete Laws, and/or Harassment Laws. (Sounds exhausting? Hire me and I’ll make sure you’re compliant)
5. Purging old files – Law requires that you keep various HR records for different amounts of time based on what your company does and who you hire. Consider looking at your employment applications/resumes/and hiring records, payroll records/time sheets/timecards, I9’s, benefit enrollments, tax records, safety records, FMLA/Leave records, and drug testing records. Each area of HR has a different federal and state requirement for record retention. (We handle all this stuff)
6. OSHA logs – If you are in an industry or size of company that requires an OSHA log – make sure it’s ready to go by February 1st. You don’t want to be calculating days off work and is the injury recordable or not at the last minute. (Or just hire me and I do that for you – are you sensing a theme yet?)

These are just a few items on my HR list for my clients. Call us today and we take care of every single item on my list for you. We can help your company be in compliance and organized when it comes to your HR needs, and also give you a piece of mind when it comes to your risk management.