How do you get and keep your employee data clean? Paper files, PDFs, Database, Cloud-based software?
What data is in there? Just hiring and firing paperwork? Performance reviews? Payroll data? Insurance elections? Dependent info?
Who has access? Is it just in your files? Is closely held by an employee? Is it outsourced to a vendor like a professional employer organization? Do you keep some digital and some paper?
Most importantly, if you had to supply a list of all your employees, including those no longer with you, and you had to show all of their hours by month, their insurance elections by month and the covered members of their family, how long would that report take? And is it easily accessible?
How long would it take you? Or, rather how long would it take the people you are going to pay to gather it for you?
Good, now you know the answer. Let’s ask one more. How accurate is that list of data and how much are you willing to wager in terms of money about your accuracy?
This is the gut-check for many employers.
The “Applicable Large Employer” has to report this data to the IRS every year along with a few other small items like “which safe harbor rule did you apply for your offer of coverage?” per employee.
Even worse, sometimes it’s not always what we think of as a large employer. Due to the rules of aggregated companies, there can be a two employee company that is considered an “applicable large employer” and must have their data reported to the IRS as well. How great would it be if your report were only on the data of two employees!?
Easy, no.
Impossible, no.
Proactively focusing on the issue at hand and putting in the time now is the answer.
Whether you go full-blown automation through software and set yourself up for future success, or you just use a spreadsheet tracker, your life and the lives of your administrative staff will be vastly improved.
There is other opportunity too once you get it all down. You can get proactive about wellness initiatives. You can make quick uploads to a database that pings your employees to do things that are good for themselves and good for your company. You might even enhance their lives through your employment if you use the power of data to your best interests.
Take the gut-check and get started now to get your employee data clean and keep it that way.
