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RGL Consultants 

13724 Venetian Court

Orland Park, Illinois 60467
Office 708-301-6425 
 Fax:  708-301-6455

 

 

 

  
 

Providing Human Resources Consulting for Small to Mid-Size Organizations

 
October, 2012
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Greetings!
 
Creating expectations of performance within your organization is the only "real" way to achieve desired outcomes. Without requiring certain levels of performance, individuals and teams will settle upon their own internal framework of "what is good enough". This lack of direction may lead to under-performance and ultimately affect the bottom line.  Leadership should strive to keep the bar high enough to challenge but yet manageable enough to achieve goals with hard work. Many employees thrive in an atmosphere which constantly pushes them to excel. Where do you set the bar for your organization...and yourself?
 
The second article this month provides valuable information regarding the preparation of 2012 W-2's for "larger employers" incorporating the required documentation of health care coverage costs for employees.  Please take the time to review the article and contact us if you have any questions.
 
Where Do You Set the Bar? 

  

Over the last several years the economic climate has forced us to reflect upon ourselves and correlate our performance with that of our organization's expectations and standards. Many employees often feel overwhelmed with added responsibilities and increased workloads as our companies strive to remain competitive under the imposition of "lean" operating parameters.

 

It is extremely important that we pay attention to how we set expectations for performance; individually and company-wide. Are the expectations realistic and achievable? Are the standards set high enough to challenge or are they just "low hanging fruit"? Do they intersect with the philosophy and mission of the organization?

 

If teams believe in themselves and are motivated by challenge (at the individual level and collectively), they are often very successful setting the bar high and maintaining a level of high performance to achieve a specific goal. Of course, there is a fine line between setting high standards and creating unrealistic and unachievable expectations; setting up for failure right out of the gate can be detrimental to organization/team success.

 

Organizationally, management needs to define company excellence and remain vigilant in embracing the standard(s) it sets for performance. Publicize what is an acceptable level of performance and hold fast to that - periodically reminding employees that it is "acceptable level" only. Companies need to continually push the bar higher (within reason) and construct and embrace a program of recognition for excellence when goals are achieved. After all, the harder your employees work, the better the outcome; which ultimately increases the bottom line.

 

According to Terry Levine (Moving Ahead), "You will feel better about yourself if you set high standards and stand by them." It is not the action of setting the bar high and constructing challenging goals that motivates some individuals; the satisfaction lies in the pursuit of achieving the goals within the context of the high standards that were established.

 

As I drill deeper into individual contribution and its relationship to the goal or standard of "meeting the company's acceptable level of performance", I have found that there is little honor among high performers to meet expectations set by others. Exceeding them is where true satisfaction is derived. The following excerpt is from the Coachville Knowledge Center - it's spot on!

 

"Set rigorous standards for yourself. The words, "for yourself" are critical here. So many people set their standards in relation to others or their work environment. If they perceive their employer to be fair, they set high standards. If, on the other hand, they see their employer as penurious, greedy, or mean, they allow their own standards to slip on the grounds that the employer 'doesn't deserve any better from me.' If you've fallen into that trap, recognize that you're only hurting yourself. To do less than your best ultimately means that your 'best' will deteriorate until you won't be able to tell the difference between mediocrity and excellence. The 'content' of your standards depends on you."

 

The constant drive for continuous improvement is a common theme within any high performing team and/or individual; it is the high standards that they aspire to and it is what they measure themselves against. Excellence is a frame of mind!

 

"The sort of action steps an organization comes up with, the sorts of knowledge it seeks, the sorts of thinking it uses, are directly related to the level of ambition in the goals and standards they set..." Jack Welch

 

"If you have low standards, you're going to achieve low results. If you set the bar low, that's exactly what you're going to get. You're going to get mediocrity." President George W. Bush

 

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark." Michelangelo

 

IRS W2 "Plan Now or Face the Consequences"

 

Are you typically scrambling to do your W-2s at the last minute?  Not to put any more pressure on you, but if you filed 250 or more W-2s in 2012 for 2011 earnings (having fewer than 250 employees at any one time in 2011 will not excuse the burden) you are required to report 2012 health care coverage costs on Form W-2s distributed in 2013.  I just want to give you a heads up as we enter the fourth quarter of the year. 

 

As part of healthcare reform, the IRS now requires above referenced employers to report the cost of health care coverage provided to employees.  Employers must report the aggregate cost of "applicable employer-sponsored coverage" on Form W-2, regardless of whether the employee or the employer pays for the coverage.  

Costs include, with respect to any employee, coverage under any group health plan made available to the employee by an employer which is excludable from the employee's gross income under � 106 of the Code, or would be excludable if it were employer-provided coverage (within the meaning of � 106).

IRS guidance clarifies that the following costs do not need to be included:

  • The amount of a flexible spending arrangement ("FSA") if contributions only occur through employee salary reductions
  • Dental or vision plans if (1) they are offered under separate policy from which other health benefits are offered or (2) employees can opt-out of the dental or vision benefits, and if they do opt-in they must pay an additional premium for coverage.
  • Coverage under an on-site clinic, employee assistance program ("EAP") or wellness program where (1) the employer is not subject to COBRA or (2) the employer is subject to COBRA but the employer does not charge a premium to COBRA participants for continued coverage under the program.

Employers should begin work with their benefits record keepers and payroll department to create a schedule of what information is needed, who will provide it, and who will take a lead in overseeing all tasks to meet reporting requirements.  A system should be developed to track information on W-2s and to avoid a crunch in January 2013.  Notably, the penalty for noncompliance can be significant - as much as $200 per failed W-2, up to a maximum of $3 million per year.

Issue:40
 
 
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Regards'
Jim                         Rich                  Dave
Jim Kacena                                    Rich Lehr                              Dave Slivinski
Coach/Consultant                             President                                  Consultant

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