Small businesses hit hard by economic turmoil amid the COVID-19 pandemic may gain some relief through a new $349 billion lending program. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) through the Small Business Administration launched April 3. It’s a key component of a $2 trillion economic stimulus package dubbed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act…
Read More
The federal government is committing $2 trillion to help stimulate the U.S. economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. An economic stimulus package, called the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, cleared the U.S. Senate in the late hours of March 25 and was approved in the House on March 27. The president signed the bill…
Read More
Syndeo Outsourcing, a leading human resources outsourcing company, has won a Best of HR Services Award through ClearlyRated for providing superior client service. ClearlyRated says Best-of winners have proven to be industry leaders in service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients. ClearlyRated is a client satisfaction research company. “Now more than ever,…
Read More
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is making temporary changes to Form I-9 review processes. Amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the department is relaxing the requirement for employers to review I-9 documents for new employees in person. “Employers with employees taking physical proximity precautions due to COVID-19 will not be required to review the employee’s…
Read More
A new relief package for those affected by COVID-19 also includes provisions that will impact employers. President Donald Trump signed Families First Coronavirus Response Act into law March 18 following passage in the U.S. House and Senate. The law takes effect April 1. Syndeo, an outsourced human resources provider, is providing a summary of the major…
Read More
Heightened concerns about the spread of Coronavirus are affecting the work place. Some businesses are temporally closing in the interim, while others are limiting hours of operation. More people are working remotely as a means of “social distancing” for fear of contracting the virus or as a measure to stop its spread. Gatherings of 10…
Read More
Syndeo is in the running for another award. This time, we were nominated to compete for a Small Business Award through the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce. We are one of three finalists in Tier 3 (21 to 100 employees) of the awards competition along with other Wichita companies Decker Electric Inc. and Commerce Construction…
Read More
The stadium operations pieces are starting to fall into place as the inaugural season for the Wichita Wind Surge baseball team approaches. A two-day job fair Feb. 13 and 15 helped the team secure nearly 350 workers who will help ensure game days run smoothly and fans have an enjoyable experience at the stadium. Team…
Read More
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is rolling out a new version of the Form I-9 that employers use to verify the identity and employment authorization of their workers. The new document includes minor changes to the form itself as well as the instructions for completing it including: Revising Country of Issuance and Issuing Authority fields….
Read More
The Wichita Wind Surge needs to hire hundreds of workers ahead of its inaugural season. Syndeo is playing a role in getting those positions filled. We are partnering with the team and the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas on two job fairs to fill an assortment of seasonal positions for the upcoming season, which…
Read More
Updated safety and training standards for operating aerial lifts in the workplace are now in place. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) made changes to the guidelines for that type of equipment to create more of a global standard of operation. As a result, lifts are now required to have separate load-limit and slope-level sensors….
Read More
The new year means changes to the form your employees use to determine how much income tax is withheld from their paychecks. Changes in tax law prompted the IRS to overhaul the Form W-4 and rename it the “Employee’s Withholding Certificate.” Though the form is slightly altered most years, the intent of the redesign is…
Read More
Our human resources department is receiving some well-deserved attention thanks to a couple of individual awards. Tonja Sowder, our senior human resources consultant, was featured in the Dec. 20 edition of the Wichita Business Journal and online as part of that publication’s Women Who Lead series, which recognizes female business leaders in the region from…
Read More
Syndeo’s company and individual recognitions are adding up. Connor Cross, our Director of Human Resources, has been selected for the Wichita Business Journal’s 2020 HR Professionals Awards. “Connor has been a driving force in delivering HR services to our clients, culminating in her promotion to Director of HR in July (2019),” says Bill Maness, Syndeo’s…
Read More
Not hearing our name called right away was worth the wait. One by one, the businesses participating in the Wichita Business Journal’s Best Places to Work competition were called during a December 5 luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Wichita. Companies were announced in descending order based on their scores. Numbers 17, 16 and 15 were…
Read More
We live in a technology-centric world. So much so that it’s easy to become dependent. People are always connected. Instant feedback is expected. Financial transactions are easily processed and tracked online. But what happens when that ability is lost? Syndeo and thousands of other businesses across the country that process payroll for their clients’ employees…
Read More
This year makes three. Syndeo was selected as a finalist in the Wichita Business Journal’s Best Places to Work Competition for the third-consecutive year. We are one of 17 finalists in the medium-sized companies category, which includes businesses with 25 to 99 employees. The WBJ also is honoring businesses with 10 to 24 employees and…
Read More
Add one more to a growing list of honors for our company. The Wichita Business Journal selected Syndeo as an honoree for the Innovation Awards, which honor individuals, teams and companies that have developed innovative approaches and solutions in the workplace. Our application focused on how we have found ways to better serve our clients and…
Read More
An estimated 1.3 million more American workers soon will be eligible for overtime compensation with an expansion of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The U.S. Department of Labor on Sept. 24 issued its final overtime rule, increasing the threshold at which non-exempt employees can receive overtime pay to $35,568, or $684 per week. The higher…
Read More
The Wichita staffing division of Syndeo Outsourcing is operating as a stand-alone location for the first time. Syndeo Staffing is moving to a small leased space at 400 S. Commerce, Suite 200. That’s next to RSM Marketing and across from Intrust Bank Arena in downtown Wichita. This is a change that is months in the…
Read More
Thousands more “no-match” letters are expected to be issued throughout the remainder of 2019 as the U.S. Social Security Administration launches the next phase of an initiative to combat discrepancies between social security numbers and government records. Businesses across the U.S. already have received more than 577,000 notices so far this year, according to Social…
Read More
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has sharpened its safety enforcement on businesses whose operations rely heavily on forklift operation to transport products from one place to another. That means manufacturing companies in particular and other businesses with warehouse facilities need to be vigilant. One component of the initiative centers on making sure forklifts…
Read More
Two more Syndeo employees are now certified through the Society for Human Resource Management. HR Business Partners Courtney Vitamvas and Thuy Tran passed their exams in June about two weeks apart and after months of studying. A SHRM certification is an industry-recognized credential for individuals who are considered an expert in the field of human…
Read More
Employers are facing an increasing number of discrimination or retaliation accusations from former employees who say they were wrongfully terminated. Businesses can protect themselves from those types of allegations but don’t always win if matters are taken to court. Take for example a case involving a former Kansas City, Mo. television reporter who was awarded…
Read More
Michael Gellerman will have to wait longer to add another golf tournament championship to his list of accomplishments. Gellerman did not make the cut to advance to weekend play of the Wichita Open by shooting two over par with a score of 72 in the second round of the tournament. He shot even par in…
Read More
Michael Gellerman has a fondness for the Wichita Open. The city’s premier golf tournament is where Gellerman, who calls Sterling, Kan. home, made his first start as a professional golfer in 2015 after graduating from the University of Oklahoma. “It’s great,” Gellerman says of the Wichita Open. “They do an incredible job. All the player…
Read More
Compliance audits are on the rise, meaning employers need to be aware of pitfalls that could result in penalties and fines. Increasingly, state and federal audits are being conducted to ensure companies large and small are complying with employment laws. Syndeo helps companies get in and stay in compliance. In Kansas, wage and hour audits…
Read More
Kevin Steckley is setting a high bar for fundraising. Steckley, who is part of Syndeo’s sales team, raised $91,775 through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Man & Woman of the Year campaign. As such, Steckley won the distinction of 2019 Man of the Year. The results of the 10-week fundraising campaign were announced June 1…
Read More
Contribution amounts for health savings accounts are set to increase in 2020. The IRS announced May 28 the limit for an individual will increase to $3,550, a $50 increase over the 2019 amount. The contribution limit for a family plan will jump to $7,100, a $100 increase. Those changes are effective Jan. 1, 2020. Catch-up contributions…
Read More
Changes may be in store for the Family and Medical Leave Act. The U.S. Department of Labor announced this week it will seek input on how to improve the FMLA, which requires certain employers to provide their employees with at least 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for qualified family and medical reasons. The labor…
Read More
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has a new member. The U.S. Senate voted 50-43 on May 8 to confirm Janet Dhillon as chair of the EEOC, resolving a two-year impasse. An attorney by trade, Dhillon has a background in business having worked as an in-house attorney for US Airways, JCPenney and most recently Burlington Stores….
Read More
A recent court ruling may require certain employers to submit more information to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Companies that file an Employer Information Report, more commonly referred to as an EEO-1 Survey, with that organization now have until Sept. 30 to submit “Component 2” data in addition to the “Component 1” information that…
Read More
Syndeo is in the running for a Best in Business Award. The company is one of 15 finalists vying to be one of five overall winners in the competition, which judges businesses in south-central Kansas on financial performance, innovation and giving back to the community. Best in Business is a Wichita Business Journal awards program…
Read More
The U.S. Social Security Administration has started sending employers “no-match” letters for the first time in seven years. Letters are being sent for instances when the organization discovers W-2 records an employer submits do not match records the administration has for an employee and his or her social security number. The forms also are called…
Read More
Dozens of businesses across the U.S. have found themselves in trouble with the IRS following a crackdown on employment tax compliance. A nationwide enforcement and education initiative in recent weeks led to IRS revenue officers visiting approximately 100 companies suspected of “serious issues with employment tax compliance.” Those visits resulted in several dozen legal actions…
Read More
Syndeo has a payroll director for the first time. Kate Rhea started in that role April 1 after spending the past four years as one of the company’s human resources business partners. She oversees Syndeo’s 10-person payroll department and is now part of the company’s leadership team. Rhea says while the department is different, the…
Read More
Organizations are finding more practical ways to incorporate the use of drones or unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into their operations. Law enforcement agencies are using drones for aerial surveillance and to help locate criminals. Real estate agents increasingly are using drones to showcase properties they are trying to sell. Construction companies are taking a similar…
Read More
One of Syndeo’s own is participating in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s largest annual fundraiser. Kevin Steckley, senior business development partner at Syndeo, is in the running for Man of the Year. That’s part of the Man & Woman of the Year philanthropic competition that raises money to support blood cancer research. The campaign officially…
Read More
A push to change the longstanding salary threshold at which certain employees are eligible to receive overtime pay is moving forward. The U.S. Department of Labor announced on March 7 a proposed change that would make in excess of one million more American workers eligible to receive overtime pay. The suggested change, which is expected…
Read More
Today’s employees have different preferences on how they want to receive performance feedback. In some cases, the traditional annual performance evaluation is giving way to an approach that emphasizes managers and supervisors providing employees ongoing feedback throughout the year. “It is the contemporary way of doing things,” says Tonja Sowder, vice president of human resources…
Read More