The surge in growth for the construction industry has brought with it many incredible successes, as well as unpredictable challenges. Staffing is one that falls into both categories. The job growth has made room for more skilled laborers and talented craftsmen to contribute to the team, but along with this comes many headaches due to HR and payroll.
For many small construction firms, payroll was done in-house, probably by a part-time bookkeeper. However, as these small firms grow into mid-size businesses, the need for a more robust payroll system becomes clear. If you’re struggling to keep payroll from growing out of control, here are a few tips that can eliminate the headaches and smooth out your processes.
Automate payroll services
Is your finance employee wasting time by manually adding hours, overtime and adjusting for time off? Maximize their productivity with a Web-based automated payroll system. Routine tasks can be automated, and it will also cut down on costly and time-consuming payroll mistakes. Plus, with some of these systems, your employees can log their own hours and be held accountable by summarizing what they accomplished during that time. They can even submit reports with a smartphone.
Post deadline reminders everywhere
Timeliness is essential to payroll processing. Timely distribution of paychecks is essential to employees, but that requires your workers submit their hours on time. Posting the reporting schedule in multiple places where everyone has access is a great start to helping your employees keep deadlines. Some companies send out emails or even text messages 24 hours before they’re due.
Categorize employees appropriately
A construction site is made up of a diverse group, to put it lightly. Classify your employees into the appropriate categories such as temporary employees, consultants and other independent contractors so that your tax purposes are accurate. There has been new regulation passed in regard to the classification of contract employees; be sure you’re following those rules appropriately.
Come down hard on employee fraud and theft
It’s sad, but true, at least one of your employees is going to inflate their hours, extend breaks, or handle personal tasks while on the clock. While you may think that these events are isolated, your workplace could still be at risk. The cost of workplace scams can be surprisingly high, especially in construction, where expensive equipment is often out in the open and employees are not supervised strictly. Require your employees to be transparent about their tasks and establish a culture of trust that permeates all levels.
The last thing you need while you finish up one big job before you start another is to be subjected to a payroll audit. If you’ve been unorganized with payroll, this could easily turn your business upside down. With specialized experience in the construction industry, the recruiting professionals at CCS Construction Staffing can help you avoid payroll headaches with staffing solutions to help ease the payroll burden, contract workers to help during busy seasons and direct hire employees to support your business growth. Give us a call today!