Compliance & HR for Small Businesses | Kuzneski Insurance Group

Is Kuzneski Insurance Group the right fit for your HR & compliance solutions?

We're not right for everyone.

Your decision on which advisor to hire will be a big factor in the long term success or failure of your HR & compliance programs. Sometimes firms just don't fit well with each other, due to corporate culture differences, size mismatches, or incompatible approaches to process. Since we want to set you up for success, we are providing you with answers to questions that, in our experience, will help you make the right decision for your unique company and situation.

If you haven't already done so, please start by reviewing our "Are We A Fit?" page, that will help you more clearly understand our overall approach to insurance and HR. It covers important general topics like the differences between an advisor and a broker, whether we are a good fit for your company size and corporate culture, and our ability to support you during rapid growth.

Below are our 12 most popular HR & Compliance FAQs that outline our approach to HR & compliance. The answers should help you decide whether or not we are the right advisor for you. Regardless of your decision, please consider us a resource for you now and in the future.

"What types of HR & compliance solutions will you offer us?"

The ones designed to keep you out of "compliance jail" at your stage of growth.

OK - there's no such things as "compliance jail," but there are fines and penalties, and potential jail time (in a normal jail) for non-compliance with ACA, COBRA, ERISA, FMLA, HIPAA and other federal and state laws that govern HR and employee benefits/welfare plans.

If you're a growing company, you will need solutions to the following types of HR & compliance issues and requirements:

preparation and filing of Form 5500, and ACA 1094/1095.
administration of COBRA and mini-COBRA.
creation and maintenance of ERISA-compliant Wrap, SPD, and POP documents.
sources of advice to help with general and more serious employee issues.
developing a company culture to ensure you get the right people on "your bus" and keep them all moving in the same direction.

These are a few of the many HR & compliance issues you'll have to understand and find solutions to address.

We support and leverage your team, we don't replace them.

Since many of our clients with under 100 employees don't have a full time dedicated HR professional on staff, we help you by providing many of these resources for free as part of our offering, or at favorable pricing through the partnerships we have established.

Since we also recognize you might not have the expertise to build your HR & compliance house on your own, just because we gave you the tools to do so, we also offer:

fractional-HR services through our experienced HR professionals who are on staff, not in a call center
onboarding to the HR & compliance solutions we offer.
ongoing training and hand-holding to help you fully utilize these solutions.
previews of additional solutions you might consider as your company grows and your needs change.

As part of your Strategic Roadmap, we will help you choose the right HR & compliance solutions at the right time - so they are within budget and effective for your stage of growth. Here are typical solutions we will consider when working with you to build your Strategic Roadmap:

5500 Reporting

Provide analysis of welfare plan Form 5500 filing requirements, provide signature-ready Form 5500, provide complete electronic filing services under the ERISA Filing Acceptance System 2 (EFAST2), and assist with IRS and DOL inquiries.

ACA Reporting

Self service to full service options that enable you to create fully coded PDF Forms 1094 & 1095 and submit them through e-filing to the IRS.

Benefits Document Creator

Simplified solutions for the creation and ongoing maintenance of your ERISA-compliant Wrap, SPD, and POP documents, including policy update alerts, secure storage, and digital signature functionality.

COBRA Administration

Administration of your COBRA and mini-COBRA, including COBRA rights notifications, eligibility and termination notices, and premium collection.

Compliance Content Library

Extensive content library with items like insightful guides, checklists, and whitepapers to help you navigate HR, compliance, safety, and PRM issues.

Compliance Dashboard

Web-based compliance software to help your plan administrators stay organized and compliant, including document manager, notifications, process documentation, reporting and team management.

Culture Development

Define the behaviors (we call them “Fundamentals”) that drive success in your organization, create and deploy the rituals necessary to teach and practice those behaviors with consistency, engage your workforce for maximum impact, and serve daily high-quality teaching content to your team through the use of a powerful mobile app.

Employee Handbook Builder

Build a federal and state level compliant handbook incorporating your unique company policies, e-signature tracking and delivery of policy alerts as regulations change.

ERISA Attorney Legal Help

Access to ERISA attorneys for legal advice and guidance related to your specific issues, as well as ongoing educational webinars on general topics related to employee benefits, HR and compliance.

Fractional-HR Services

Fracional-HR services provided by our HR experts who are on our staff (not in a call center) and have 15+ years of experience. After an initial HR assessment, they will build an HR roadmap with you to meet your business goals and will execute for you on an ongoing basis.

Live HR Support Hotline

SPHR and PHR certified advisors providing trustworthy guidance to prevent and resolve challenging people situations and compliance issues for you.

News Alerts

Breaking compliance news, expert analysis, legislative updates, and best practices through Law Alerts, monthly newsletters, and accredited webinars.

PEO Brokerage

Help determine whether a PEO is the right solution for your business, identify PEOs that might be a good fit, negotiate terms and pricing for you, and support your implementation process.

Video Training Library

Deliver training courses on a variety of topics that adhere to compliance mandates, improve safety, foster professional development, and improve your employee engagement.

Workplace Harassment Prevention

Harassment prevention content, including policies and training courses for your managers and employees adhering to the unique requirements mandated by states such as CA, CT, DE, ME and NY.

Workplace Safety

Access to over 125 online safety courses ranging from OSHA 10 to Laboratory Safety, plus an OSHA tracking and reporting solution to maintain and file Form 300/300A data.

"Do you have partners to help with our HR & compliance programs?"

Name brands (at least to HR and compliance aficionados), and a few hidden gems you might not know about.

We have access to dozens of providers to consider for your HR & compliance programs. Check out a few of the ones we use most frequently. If there is a provider that's important to you that isn't on the list, ask us about them. We probably have (or can gain) access to them, or can suggest an alternative that will be as good or better for your situation.

"Will you help us develop a strategy and roadmap for our HR & compliance programs?"

Strategy and roadmaps are built into everything we do.

There's so much for you to think about when you're building your HR & compliance programs: "How do all the parts fit together? What had to be done yesterday? What can wait until tomorrow? How will I pay for everything?"

It can be overwhelming at times, and if you're not careful, important things can slip through the cracks!

That's why you need a strategy, and a roadmap to guide you. We will help you:

complete an HR assessment to determine your current HR capabilities and gaps
develop a customized Strategic Roadmap for your HR & compliance solutions, that's part of your overall Strategic Roadmap.
keep everyone on the same page through periodic Strategic Business Reviews.
monitor alignment between your C-level team members through our C4i/e assessment tool.
bring a board member/investor perspective to your insurance and HR programs. Check out our leadership team and their experiences.

You'll sleep better at night if you know where you're going and have a roadmap to get there.

"How much do your HR & compliance solutions cost? Will they fit my budget?"

The good news is we provide some of them to you for free, so they are very budget friendly! Others vary in cost depending on your unique needs and situation.

After we work with you to develop your Strategic Roadmap, we can help you prioritize the various solutions like building an employee handbook, and creating ERISA compliant Wrap, SPD, and POP documents. Then we will stage their rollout to keep within your budget. You don't have to do everything all at once!

"We are really short on time. Is your process fast and easy for us?"

We find that most clients have trouble keeping up with us!

Every situation is different, however we are able to move faster than most competitors since we have fine-tuned our processes while working with startups - who tend to want things yesterday, but don't send us their paperwork until tomorrow. But we still love them!

We are Relentless About Improvement (Fundamental #14), so although our process will never be easy-peasy (remember this is the insurance industry), we will make it as painless as possible for you. If you're into efficiency and automation, then our Payroll & HRIS Solutions are worth exploring.

"Since HR & compliance overlaps with employee benefits, can you help us with our benefits also?"

That's usually the best approach to take to reduce the risk of fines and penalties.

Most of the rules and regulations related to ACA, COBRA and ERISA compliance are interlinked with your employee benefit plans. Terms like the employer mandate, minimal essential coverage, qualifying event, 1094/1095 reporting, FTEs, SPDs and POP have become part of the daily lingo for both HR professionals and also employee benefits advisors.

Because there are so many rules to follow and reports to file, ACA & ERISA compliance has become a huge administrative burden. Since many of our clients with under 100 employees don't have a full time dedicated HR professional on staff, they rely on us frequently for support and guidance in this area. To reduce the risk of miscommunication or things slipping through the cracks, resulting in fines and penalties for non-compliance, it makes sense for you to get your employee benefits solutions from the same advisor you utilize for HR & compliance.

Check out all of our employee benefit solutions for businesses here.

"What if we have out of area locations or employees, or really complicated HR & compliance problems to solve?"

Or put another way: "what if I need the capabilities of a large firm at some point?"

We recognize there are times when having the national reach and scale of a large firm can be important, but how do you achieve those without giving up what makes a boutique firm like ours so special?

Our solution was to join a national network of like-minded employee benefit advisors called the TRUE Network of Advisors. We think it's a Win Win Solution for everyone:

What is TRUE Network of Advisors?

Local presence with national scale.

TRUE is an exclusive nationwide group of independent benefit consulting firms. Our membership in TRUE enables Kuzneski Insurance Group and our clients to collaborate with the best minds in the industry to solve the most challenging problems we encounter. TRUE members maintain deep roots in the local community, but have access to all the tools, resources, technology and negotiating strength of a national organization - a win/win!

103

Member Firm Offices Coast to Coast

632

Employee Benefit Staff Members

10,000+

Employer Groups Served

"Can you help us leverage technology to be more efficient and to communicate better with our team?"

We sure can. It's one of our passions!

The technological advances in recent years have been mind blowing, and they are impacting the way you administer HR and communicate with your team. We've integrated technology into most of our processes, and provide cloud applications to help you with common tasks such as onboarding/offboarding employees, keeping employee information up to date, and conducting annual open enrollments.

Since "Protecting Our Client's Data" is one of our Fundamentals (#27), be assured we also have advanced cyber security in place, and ongoing training for our team, to keep the bad guys out and your confidential employee data safe.

If you aren't currently using an integrated all-in-one payroll & HRIS system, you might be experiencing pain with recurring tasks like entering employee deductions for employee benefits into your payroll system. We would strongly urge you to consider an all-in-one system for efficiency and accuracy, and can help you identify one that will meet your needs. We have some great partners who will offer you substantial discounts and enhanced support if you implement their systems in partnership with us.

Learn more about payroll and HRIS solutions we provide here.

"I want to be protected if there is an HR or compliance screw up. Can you also help with my business insurances like employee benefits liability and employee practices liability insurance (EPLI)?"

That's a big YES...we do it all the time.

By keeping all of your insurances together, it enables us to develop a more comprehensive Strategic Roadmap for you, and also cuts down on the amount of effort it takes for you to keep everyone up to date on changes to your business. For growing companies, that can be a huge time saver!

Learn more about our business insurance solutions here.

"HR & compliance is all new to me. Will you teach me the basics?"

Absolutely! It's one of our favorite things to do (seriously).

You are not alone. We have helped hundreds of first time entrepreneurs and others who got stuck learning about HR & compliance while on the job. It's like building an airplane while trying to fly it at the same time...not much fun and bound to crash.

If you want to learn the basics and beyond, we are happy to teach you. Just let us know how we can help. In the meantime, take a look at some featured blog posts below to get started.

Talk to us about HR Essentials for Small Business to keep your HR house in order, and to avoid "compliance jail"