Month: April 2014

Corporate wellness programs have been gaining in popularity for some time now–many companies offer a corporate wellness program, offering cheaper insurance and other benefits to those who enroll.

These types of programs have only been made more popular with the rise of wearable fitness technology, which helps keep better track of individual and organizational fitness. But why are so many companies interested in corporate wellness?

Corporate wellness programs offer many benefits, including some of the following:

• Cheaper insurance costs: Many insurance companies offer lower insurance premiums for companies that offer employee wellness programs; more fit employees are less at risk for health problems. Today, many businesses are finding that wellness programs have been great sources of decreased costs–and some have even reported significantly fewer sick days since starting their programs. Wellness programs can be a great way to lower costs in an otherwise expensive space.
• Increased productivity in the office: When you invest in a corporate wellness program, you’re not just getting healthier employees–you’re getting more productive ones, too. Employees “who are thinking about improving their lifestyle on a regular basis” are more likely to succeed in the office than those who aren’t. The more that the office can be perceived as a healthy environment rather than one that causes stress, the better.
• Better recruiting and company culture: Finally, corporate wellness programs often have benefits in terms of company culture and recruiting. Especially for millennials, who place a high value on corporate culture (and not just the work itself), programs that promote a healthy culture can lead to better recruiting. While this is less of an issue for more experienced workers, companies seeking to build a strong culture and recruit young talent should put this into consideration.

Corporate wellness programs aren’t a problem-solver for everything you’ll encounter in the workplace, but they can help tremendously in crafting a sustainable culture, and yes, even increasing profitability for the company over time thanks to money saved on insurance and increased productivity by employees.

If your business is thinking about offering a corporate wellness program, now is as good a time as ever to get out there and start weighing your options for helping encourage better health amongst all of your employees. Better health is hardly ever a bad thing!

Here at Integrated Consulting Group, we specialize in the design, development and customization of SAP Human Capital Management business software for leading edge North American companies with global reach. We believe in an all-encompassing approach, and would love to answer any questions you have about SAP HCM or Human Resources. For any questions, feel free to reach out via the contact page of our site, or on Twitter or LinkedIn.

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photo credit: yuan2003 via photopin cc

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, called “Companies Say No to Having an HR Department,” notes that companies ditching traditional HR are finding that “the only thing worse than having an HR department is not having one.”

While HR is often perceived as a pain, it doesn’t have to be that way. Human Capital Management software, coupled in with the right people, allows your HR department to function like it should instead of continuing to carry a negative perception.

Here are a few reasons why a well-run HR department is so important:

1. Centralization of HR-related issues: Centralization of HR-related issues is a great way to make sure that every employee is always honing their skills in their areas of expertise. A decentralized HR structure (i.e. no HR department) may indeed foster autonomy throughout the company in some rare instances, but in most cases, it’s best to have a single department that focuses solely on HR- and HCM-related issues.
2. Experience and knowledge: As WSJ notes, there comes a point where “managers often lack specialized knowledge that is crucial for keeping a company competitive and on the right side of the law.” While working without an HR department may work for very basic tasks, there’s no replacement for the knowledge and experience of a competent HR team. When your company has such a team, you can make sure that you’re staying on the right side of the law and operating as efficiently as you should be.
3. Conflict resolution: Personnel issues can become very complicated as your organization grows larger. Having a department dedicated to solving such issues ensures reasonable resolution of conflicts that can arise between employees. Without an HR department, that responsibility falls upon other employees, and may fall outside of their areas of expertise–an easy way to end up in a bad situation.

These benefits are truly only the beginning. Possessing a well-run Human Resources department–and even better, one that uses tools like SAP HCM to maximize efficiency and effectiveness–positions your business to succeed through the good times and the bad.

The key here is to have a well-run HR department. Human Capital Management software helps, but as one commenter on the Wall Street Journal notes, “If HR is the enemy and a pain, you have the wrong people.” Your HR department should be a value generator, not a source of conflict.

The benefits of Human Resources are many–and the next question is how to unlock all of those benefits. If you’d like to learn more about ICG’s SAP HCM solutions, or how we can help your entire business–HR included–let us know on Twitter or LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you and would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

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Photo credit: Wall Street Journal

As Steve Bogner of Insight Consulting Partners jokes about SAP, “once you get into payroll, you don’t go back.”

While the SAP HCM Payroll module is immensely useful, taking full advantage of its functionality requires an intimate understanding of the processes at play behind the scenes–something that isn’t always easy, given how many factors are involved.

This is a well-known dilemma for many business owners using SAP HCM software, which is exactly the reason that the SAPinsider studio hosted an SAP panel at HR 2014 with Mike Timm, Brigid Sternberg, and Steve Bogner. The panel brought together three great SAP HCM consultants, including ICG’s own Mike Timm, to discuss some of the most popular topics surrounding SAP Payroll.

The discussion includes conversations about how to address gaps in payroll functionality and implementations, how organizations can improve payroll processes, and tips for addressing various payroll deductions. Mike Timm brings his versatile experience from his current tenure with ICG into the equation, offering up substantive advice to businesses in the SAP HCM space.

This SAPinsider studio panel is one of the many events that took place at this year’s HR 2014, and the SAPinsider website is home to a wealth of information for both consultants and businesses utilizing SAP HCM software. To see the video from the SAPinsider studio at HR 2014, visit the website here.

And to learn more about ICG’s services and how we can help your business with your SAP HCM–including SAP Payroll–needs, contact us through our site here.