Labor Costs
Nearly half of HR leaders in medium and small businesses doubt that what they do impacts the bottom line. Learn how HR can help predict and manage an organization’s most important expense.
For most organizations big and small, labor costs are the biggest expense. Labor costs generally fall under two categories—the cost of labor which is dedicated to making things (that is, the stuff your company sells, be it a product or service) and the cost of labor dedicated to supporting roles (otherwise known as overhead). Historically, HR was removed from labor costs, but in today’s rapidly changing and complex business environment, the C-suite and finance leaders turn to HR’s expertise to help them figure out how to track and optimize labor costs.

How to Process Payroll
The best way to process payroll is to not process payroll. Your HR & Payroll provider should do that for you. The truth is payroll is too time intensive and complicated (especially if your business has locations in more than one state). Payroll compliance can get tricky too if you don’t have an expert keeping track of every new rule and regulation.The good news is, payroll software can help businesses automate much of the process, prevent compliance headaches and ensure you don’t pay employees incorrectly.Whether you are struggling to do it all yourself or have a payroll provide like Paycor take care of most of the work for you, it’s good to know all the steps that go into process payroll. Let’s walk through them.(If you are ever...
How Manufacturers Can Both Reduce Labor Costs and Add Value for Employees
Your workforce is one of your largest expenses. It’s also your greatest risk. To be competitive, manufacturers need to be agile, responsive, and understand how to maximize their talent. Cutting-edge manufacturers are adding value to their employees by providing a workplace where they can grow and develop. They’re also wisely allocating labor costs to the projects and shifts that will maximize efficiency.Labor costs are the largest item on your balance sheet, so an effective cost-reduction plan should balance resources and cost control. While a reduction in force is typically the go-to action when discussing cost-cutting, it’s often not the best way. Replacing employees can be very costly, and lost institutional knowledge can take years...
9 Ways to Manage Costs and Prepare for Future Growth
In this guide, Paycor outlines nine ways to cut costs, with an eye toward a return to health and profitability in the future. Some of these approaches you’ll have already implemented, others might not work for your business. Rather, the list is meant as a framework for a conversation between CFOs and HR leaders, both of who will come to these decisions with a unique and valuable perspective.
Webinar: Paycor's Virtual Payroll Platform Overview
Focus on what you do best. We’ll take care of the rest, behind the scenes.Over the years, Paycor has conducted hundreds of user groups, one-on-one interviews, and group discussions with HR leaders. One thing we discovered is that HR teams spend nearly 70% of their time on inefficient administrative tasks, some of which are still paper-based. To make a difference in your organization, your team needs to simplify and streamline HR, benefits administration and compliance so you can focus on what you do best.Watch as one of our solution experts walks through how Paycor’s Payroll solution can help you solve some of your biggest HR challenges.Speaker: John RedingJohn is the Senior Director of Deal Success and Pre-Sale Support for Paycor. A...
Payroll Card vs Direct Deposit
Choosing the Right Payment Method for Your Employees It doesn’t take much business experience to know that getting your compensation strategy right is crucial for recruiting and retaining top talent. But paying employees isn’t only about a question of how much. You also need to know how to pay them. What makes things more complicated is this: almost a quarter of American households are unbanked or underbanked. Either they don’t have a bank account or, if they do, still rely on non-traditional financial services like pay day loans or check-cashing services. This could be down to something as simple as lack of traditional banks close to home, looking to avoid high fees or just not having enough funds to meet minimum balance requirements....
How HR Software Can Boost Your Compensation Strategy
You can put in all the work you want developing a great company culture, but if you don’t get compensation strategy right, you’ll be fighting a losing battle to motivate and retain your employees, and you’ll miss out on attracting top talent.It’s never been more important: with the rise of remote work, intangible benefits like in-office culture or work location offer less of a pull factor. Meanwhile, the stats show employees are working harder than ever and it’s only natural they’ll expect to be rewarded. The tools you still have at your disposal, like merit increases and bonuses, have a big role to play keeping your workforce productive and engaged.Sixty-nine percent of organizations say that compensation trends are important or very...
A Small Business Guide to Giving a Raise
An employee asks for a raise—now what? In 2020, economic uncertainty prompted many companies to freeze salaries. As businesses bounces back, don’t be surprised if employees come knocking. It might be a headache for managers, but it doesn’t have to be. If your decision is guided by a broader compensation strategy, you can proceed with confidence. What to Do When an Employee Asks for a Raise When an employee plucks up the courage to ask for a raise, a manager’s immediately reaction is all important. It’s natural to feel a little irritated or even offended—that’s okay, what matters is that you don’t show it. The employee needs to know that you’re on their side.Instead of making promises or explaining why it isn’t possible, ask the employee...
COVID-19 Second Wave Business Survival Guide
There’s Light at the End of the TunnelIt’s official—2020 has been the most stressful year of HR leaders’ careers. Now, as we approach 2021, good news about vaccines means things are finally looking up. But it’s not over yet. Cases of COVID-19 are once again surging and affected communities across the country are getting a familiar sinking feeling. This time can be different, though. If businesses learn the lessons of the crisis so far, they can stay safe, remain open and even thrive. Download COVID-19 Survival Guide An Unprecedented Year In spring, in what felt like just a few days, we faced with an unprecedented public health and economic crisis. Suddenly, employees feared for their jobs and their health. Unemployment reached 14.7% and...
Small Business Guide to Switching Payroll Providers
Small businesses are often afraid of switching payroll companies, but are they right to be? Sure, it can be stressful. Setting up payroll is complicated enough, so is a change really necessary? The reality is, getting payroll right is so important—even small errors can lead to big fines, angry employees and wasted hours putting things right—that sticking with a payroll provider that doesn’t work well for you just isn’t an option. Is Your Current Payroll Provider Offering Enough? It’s easy to be tempted to stick with what you know, regardless of the problems with your current payroll provider. Choosing to switch providers certain isn’t an easy decision—but ask yourself: Is time being wasted on repetitive admin tasks? Does payroll need to...
For our HR & Benefits Technology Partners: The State of American Business in 2021
Paycor surveyed 2,600 leaders of medium and small businesses (your clients and prospects) to find out what they are thinking at the close of the year and how they’re planning for 2021. Paycor delivers these insights to our broker partners to help you better understand what your clients need from you at this critical moment. Here’s an executive summary of the report. For more, click on the download button at the bottom of the page. Part 1: Benefits A majority of your clients and prospects (86%) are concerned about mental health in the workplace, but nearly half (45%) are “not sure” how benefits can address these concerns. Part 2: The Finance/HR Relationship Roughly 40% of respondents agreed that HR and Finance are working more closely...
The State of American Business: 2021
Paycor surveyed more than 2,000 HR and Finance leaders about their plans for the new year. Download our newest report to find out what they said. Here are just a few insights you’ll discover: The one thing HR and Finance don’t agree on The one thing Finance leaders say they do better than HR leaders The #1 thing all business leaders are most concerned about heading into 2021 You’ll also get a lot more on what your peers are thinking about remote work, benefits and compliance.
HR Basics for Small Business
Human Resources can mean a lot of different things. What’s required—and what you’re able to accomplish—will depend on your company, your industry and the technology you have available. In a small business, HR ‘teams of one’ often mostly play defense, doing their best to to stay compliant, manage administrative tasks and just make sure employees are paid on time. With so much on their plates, HR professionals can struggle to find time to improve other aspects of people management—like recruitment, scheduling and onboarding. The good news is, HR technology allows you to minimize manual tasks, so you can get out of the weeds and focus on the bigger picture. Let’s run through the essential HR basics for small businesses—and how technology...
How COVID-19 Is Impacting the Labor Market
As the demand for labor shifts and the unemployment rate rises, workers and employers adjust.
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Labor Costs, Overtime, Turnover and More
Labor costs, especially if you’re not tracking them, have a way of getting out of control. Employee wage growth (or lack thereof), overtime, employee turnover and time theft are just a few of the ways things can go off the rails. Yet, according to a recent Paycor survey, HR professionals only spend 15% of their time managing labor costs. So, why isn’t it more of a priority?
There’s a number of ways HR can help reduce labor costs. Overtime expenses tend to wreck the most havoc on a budget, which is why it’s important to figure out the culprit and create a plan to deal with it. Try hiring temporary workers during peak times of productivity or streamline the overall process. You can curb time theft and buddy punching with technology and modern time and attendance software/products. In the restaurant industry, margins are already thin but optimizing schedules can help reduce labor costs.
And that’s just a start. HR can use workforce analytics to obtain key information about talent and how it influences current and future business strategy. As an HR pro, you have the power to predict what’s going to happen—it’s all in the data.