Keeping Compliance Simple by Updating Employee Counts in the RM365 HRAdvantage™ Portal

Author, Jadyn Brandt, Client Communications Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Businesses are constantly changing and evolving, and that means the staff is too; whether it’s hiring new employees, or transitioning employees into different roles. No matter how the staff of a company fluctuates, Rancho Mesa’s RM365 HRAdvantage Portal™ is an excellent resource to ensure compliance in any state.

Abiding by all federal and state laws is a necessity. But the laws employers are required to follow can change based on how many employees a company has throughout the year. A reliable way to maintain compliance that may fluctuate based on company size is by keeping the employee count up-to-date.

In the HR portal, employers can update their number of employees at any time to ensure compliance when using tools like the smart handbook builder, compliance dashboard, and other features. The smart employee handbook automatically updates depending on the number of people employed at the company in a specific state.

For example, in California there are a number of employment laws that apply to employers based on the company’s number of employees.  California employers with five or more employees must provide at least five days of bereavement leave. Another example would be employers with 25 or more employees must provide school involvement leave.

There are many laws that apply to employers based on employee count. The HR portal’s Compliance Dashboards help employers quickly see what laws apply at each employee count threshold. And, since each state may have different requirements, it’s a best practice to use the HR portal to ensure you are in compliance with your state’s laws.

If a business’s employee count is not updated to reflect the accurate number of workers, the handbook generated by the HR Portal could include information that is not applicable to the employer. Or, it may exclude information that is applicable. As a result, the employer could be out of compliance even though they believed they were adhering to what was in their handbook.

If you do need to update your employee count in the HR portal, follow these steps:

1. Log into the Rancho Mesa RM365 HRAdvantage™ Portal.

2. Hover over the icon shaped like a person on the far right of your screen. This allows you to access your company settings.

3. Under “Company Settings” select “Company.”

4. At the bottom of the “Primary Location Information” section, enter the “Number of employees at this location.” This doesn’t need to always be the exact number, but try to be as accurate as possible, especially when your employee count is close to a threshold that may trigger a law to apply.

5. Be sure to save your changes by clicking the “Save Settings” button on the right side of your screen.

Once you’ve updated your employee count in the HR portal, it’s a best practices to review the employee handbook for any policy changes that require approval. At the beginning of the year it’s also best to review the handbook and address any policies that have changed based on laws that go into effect January 1st. 

Note, there will be an orange number next to each section that requires your attention. Click on the policy alert to review the change and select “Accept Policy Change.” Once the changes to your policy have been accepted, your employee handbook will be updated and compliant. Please make sure to review each update carefully, in order to ensure you are adhering to the changes within your organization.

Now that your employee handbook has been updated, make sure to distribute it to all employees to ensure they have the latest version.

Remember, it is important to update employee counts regularly to ensure HR compliance at every stage. A number of other HR resources are available for businesses of all sizes through the RM365 HRAdvantage™ Portal.

HR Portal Releases New Personalized Tools for Managing HR Compliance

Author, Megan Lockhart, Media Communications and Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

The RM365 HRAdvantage™ portal has recently been updated with new HR Compliance features that Rancho Mesa clients can use to manage federal and state regulations based on their company size and location.

A new HR Compliance Dashboard grants visual data and information for better HR management. The interactive chart shows federal and state regulations relevant to each individual company such as OSHA Recordkeeping, Equal Employment Opportunity, and the Family Medical Leave Act.

Additionally, new HR Compliance Insights provide recommendations that companies can take action on to improve their compliance. This is especially useful if an organization adds a new location or increases their employee count.

The HR Compliance Dashboard and Insights can both be found under the “HR Compliance” dropdown on the top left of the blue menu bar. You can login to view the HR Compliance Dashboard and My Insights User Guide provided by the HR Portal. 

For more information about the features Rancho Mesa offers clients in the HR portal, contact your client services coordinator.

New OSHA Log Documentation Features Released in the HR Portal

Author, Megan Lockhart, Media Communications and Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

In its most recent update, the RM365 HRAdvantage™ portal has released a new OSHA log feature that allows clients to document their OSHA recordable incidents in the portal.

Clients will now have the ability to document their company’s incidents, generate the OSHA 300 Form and 300A Summary, and sort the data by location of the incident, employees involved, and type of injury.

The portal also added a feature that helps employers determine whether an incident is OSHA recordable. The user can answer a brief series of questions to help determine if documentation is necessary.  

These new features can be found on the “Safety” menu, then click “OSHA Logs.”

For further information, please contact your Rancho Mesa client services coordinator.

Rancho Mesa’s RM365 HRAdvantage™ Portal Update Introduces New Look and Features

Author, Megan Lockhart, Media Communications & Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

On Tuesday, October 12, 2021, users of Rancho Mesa’s RM365 HRAdvantage™ portal were introduced to the platform’s brand new look and enhanced features.

The platform redesign includes not only changes to the site visually with different fonts and colors, but also how the resources are organized to improve functionality.

The dashboard is now customizable with an HR business news feed, favorites, to do list, and more. Users can contact the HR Experts for advice and view open cases directly from the new dashboard.  

Users also will notice some labels have changed like “Learn” and “Comply” are now “Trainings” and “HR Compliance,” but access to high-quality content is still available and easily accessible.    

“What I like about the new design is that the user can customize what they want to see,” Alyssa Burley, Media Communications and Client Services Manager with Rancho Mesa, said. “So, if it’s HR news that is important or having quick access to the HR experts, the end user has control over what they see.”  

Rancho Mesa values keeping our clients informed of the changes made to our programs and resources. If clients have any questions regarding these new updates to the RM365 HRAdvantage™ Portal, please contact your Client Services Coordinator.

Give New Life to a Stale Employee Handbook

Author, Alyssa Burley, Media Communications Manager and Client Services Manager

The employee handbook may seem like a stale document; created years ago that rarely is read. However, that is a misconception. An employee handbook is meant to be  a living document that communicates an employer’s expectations to employees. It can illustrate the company culture. Whether it spells out a dress code or a telecommuting policy, the employee handbook also includes information that is required by state and federal law. So, it’s imperative for employers to make sure their employee handbooks are up to date and compliant.

The employee handbook is an essential tool, used not only to outline policies, but as a way to solidify company culture. According to a 2019 TalentLMS study, 61 percent of new hires are not trained on company culture. So, if your company is obsessed with safety, the employee handbook should reflect an emphasis on safety policies. If your company values a work/life balance for its employees, make sure to include the policies that support your philosophy.  Glassdoor found that 87 percent of employees want their employer to support a healthy balance between work responsibilities and personal commitments. 

So, in order to assist employers in developing and maintaining state and federal-compliant employee handbooks, in 2019, Rancho Mesa launched its RM365 HRAdvantage™ Portal (HR portal). It’s designed to be a one-stop shop for human resources advice and guidance to assist businesses in effectively managing their HR responsibilities.

The Living Employee Handbook builder in the HR portal allows employers to quickly develop state and federally-compliant employee handbooks while allowing for customized policies that are specific to individual companies.

In a recent usage report, Rancho Mesa found that over forty clients had already created at least one new employee handbook in the HR portal. These employers decided to generate a new employee handbook, to take advantage of the automated federal and state law update notifications; thus, their employee handbooks are now living documents that continue to evolve as regulations change. With a click of the “Approve” button, their employee handbook verbiage updates to stay in compliance.   

Before incurring the cost of hiring an attorney or HR firm, try using the Living Employee Handbook builder to generate your state-specific federally-compliant employee handbook. If your old employee handbook hasn’t been updated within the last twelve months, it’s time to generate a new Living Employee Handbook. 

To learn how to generate a living employee handbook through Rancho Mesa’s RM365 HRAdvantage™ Portal, register for our webinar.