Let’s be honest, no one really looks forward to conducting an interview. It feels awkward, you have no idea what you are walking into or typically, what the person you are interviewing is all about.
Interviews are basically putting two or more people in a room who don’t know one another and hoping for a smooth, productive interaction during the interview.
But “hope,” as I stated, is part of the problem when you, as the hiring manager, try to conduct an interview without preparing properly. You can do more than hope things go well at your next interview, you can set yourself up to make sure they go well.
An interview is your opportunity to find out if a specific person is a good fit, both occupationally and personally, as a new employee for your company. You need to know that if you hire this person, your company will benefit from the experience.
Interview Tips for Payroll Managers
First, look at the situation as a conversation rather than a Q/A session. As soon as you start drilling the person with questions like a character from CSI: Miami, you change the tone of the situation and that person becomes more robotic. You want to get to know the person, and their payroll skills, gauge their reactions and get a feel for how they solve problems. This is unveiled when you have a conversation as opposed to drilling questions. You can even go online and get printable interview questions and answers.
Understand what you are looking for in the person. If you know what it is you need for the position, you shouldn’t need a lot of the best job interview questions laid out prior. This makes the conversation flow. If this is a position you directly manage, you probably already know it, however, if you are HR hiring on behalf of the company, you should have a sit down with those who do understand fully the position so that you can study up.
Don’t ask a ton of Yes and No questions. Ask questions that involve complex thinking, leave them open-ended. You want to watch how someone’s mind works during the interview. Yes and No questions will stall out the interview and never let it evolve.
Make sure you give them a tour of the company after the interview and tell them all the great benefits they would receive by working for your company. You need to be a cheerleader. Remember, even though the interview decision seems mostly up to you, they are interviewing you as well and you want to impress upon them that working at your company is a wonderful experience!
Be loose, have some fun in there. Don’t overthink it – just follow these interview tips for success. You are trying to get to know someone, keep your mindset in a relaxed, social place for your most amazing interview.
Resources:
top 10 interview questions and answers
Check Issuing as a Branding Tool
Wait, check writing as a branding tool? What are we, some sort of advertising agency? Well, not exactly, but we do “get it.” That is to say, we understand that our tool provides the opportunity for your business to spread apply to name and messaging around.
We Allow You To Brand Your Checks
Ever get a check from a company and the check looks like it came from a 17-year-old’s bank account? The name of the bank is there and you can tell they signed it themselves. Personal? Sure. Professional? No way. Professional checks have the company’s core logo on them.
You are more likely to trust checks which have the company logo on them. It is a more formal way to deliver funds to a client or service provider or customer. You always want to seem formal and professional when it comes to money.
You are paying someone, so when you brand your outsource payroll processing checks, you associate the idea of “receiving money” with your logo. Who isn’t happy when they receive money? The answer: no one.
We Allow You To Spread Memorandums
Got something to say? Of course, you do, all companies have things to say to customers and clients. And of course, you will do so via emails, text and well, maybe even…wait for it…phone calls! All of these are some of your best options, of course. But have you considered that many people delete emails and reject phone calls? Of course, you have. But how many people do you know who throw away envelopes housing checks? None. No one would ever do that. In fact, you are more likely to get a message through to people who are receiving a check from you.
So in the end, maybe we are a big ad agency like Mad Men! Ok, that’s going too far, but we are the best third-party check disbursement and payroll company around! Call us today!
Payroll Changes You Should Be Keeping Up With Right Now
When performing payroll functions, it’s important to keep up with all the tax code changes to ensure you are in compliance. This can be a chore in itself since revisions to the tax code are constantly taking place. Here are a few of the payroll tax changes you should be keeping up with right now.
Affordable Care Act
You could be required to pay an “assessment” if you have more than 100 full-time (or full-time equivalent) employees and fail to provide adequate coverage. For 2015, you must provide coverage to at least 70% of your workers, and that coverage must pay for at least 60% of the expenses for the “typical population.” That amount increases to 95% of workers in 2016, and will also be applicable to businesses with at least 50 full-time or FTE employees.
FICA Taxes
The wage base for Social Security taxes will increase from the $117,000 maximum for 2014 to $118,500. There is no wage base for the Medicare portion of FICA taxes, which means that all earnings are taxed at a 1.45% rate. That amount increases to 2.35% on any amounts that are greater than $200,000. The overall FICA contribution rate remains unchanged at 6.2% for payroll.
Other Changes
There have been a few other changes to the tax code that could affect payroll, including:
- An increase from $17,500 to $18,000 in the elective deferral amount for 401(k), 457, and 403(b) plans
- An increase from $5,500 to $6,000 in the catch-up contribution limit for employees over 50 who participate in these plans.
- An increase from $97,600 to $99,200 in the foreign-earned income exclusion amount
Changes were also made to the definitions of “highly compensated employees”, “control employee” and “key employee in a top-heavy plan.” If you’re having a hard time keeping up with these changes, you’re not alone, which is why you should not hesitate to contact a check payroll mailing services firm for assistance.
