A W-2 tax form shows the amount of income and amount of taxes withheld from your paycheck for the year and is used to file your federal and state taxes.
The IRS requires W-2’s be mailed by employers and postmarked by January 31st. For us at Servant HR, that means our annual W-2 envelope stuffing (pizza party) happens in late January to ensure all forms reach our employees on time. Along with many other employers, we also provide access to W-2’s online.
Form W-2 is used by corporations and small businesses to report taxable income to workers. W-2 forms are divided into state and federal sections, since employees must file taxes on both levels. The W-2 also includes social security and government health care withholdings.
For employees this means a few things:
1. You are required to report all wages you earned from your job(s) during the year on your tax return. You should receive and complete a W-2 from every employer that paid you at least $600 during the year. For freelancers and contract workers, a 1099 form is used instead.
2. Every W-2 form contains the same information, regardless of format. Lettered boxes are for identifying information. Numbered boxes are for financial information. For a more detailed description of requirements for each box, read here.
3. While it can be tempting to get a head start on tax season, never use a final pay stub in place of a W-2 when filing your taxes. Reported earnings on your last pay stub may differ from the reported earnings on your W-2. This can be for a variety of reasons, such as participation in pre-tax deduction health insurance, participation in a company sponsored retirement plan, or the earnings on your pay stub may include non-taxable income items.
4. If you don’t receive your W-2 by mid-February, check online or contact your employer and request that a copy be resent. If there is still no action taken, call the IRS using the phone number and information detailed here.
5. If your employer makes an error on your W-2 (i.e. leaves out a decimal or spells your name wrong) point out the mistake immediately and ask for a corrected W-2. This could mean you’ll be in a bit of a time crunch, so you may have to estimate your earnings and withholdings.
Keep your eyes open for W-2’s in your mailbox and feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
And if you’re interested in spending less time on tax stuff, HR, payroll, benefits and risk management and more time on your actual business, we’re here for you. It’s a new year, but we’re for our same mission: creating freedom to focus.
When it comes to legal situations around social media and the workplace, the best defense is a good offense. You may not be asking these exact questions today, but someday you might. Keep reading to learn how to avoid legal traps as an employer, and how to formulate a stronger social media policy as an HR professional.
Q: “My employee is making comments about me on his/her personal Facebook account. What can I do?”
A: Perhaps nothing has emboldened people more than the rise of social media. Comments one wouldn’t dare make in person can now be expressed quickly and frequently behind the perceived safety of the internet.
But as inappropriate or insulting as a post may be, employers do not always have the right to take action against an employee for social media behavior. The National Labor Relations Act enforces the right of employees to engage in “protected concerted activity.” This law allows employees, with or without a union, to act together to improve their pay and working conditions.
Q: “What exactly qualifies as protected concerted activity?”
A: According to the National Labor Relations Board, an employee simply griping about their job is not concerted activity. Whatever an employee says or posts on social media must have “some relation to group action, or seek to initiate, induce or prepare for group action or bring a group complaint to the attention of management.”
However, the NLRB decides what actions deserve protection, and because every situation is different, the law is intentionally vague. Sometimes comments made on social media are interpreted as protected concerted activity because they are supported by other coworkers or simply directed at management.
In one case, an employee of a New York catering company was fired for profane Facebook comments directed at his boss and his boss’s family. Still, the NLRB found this employee protected, since the comments were made during a work break, expressed the employee’s concern about management and ended with an all caps call to join the union. The NLRB ordered reinstatement and back pay for the employee.
Less extreme examples of concerted activity include talking with coworkers about wages and benefits, circulating a petition for better hours, participating in refusal to work in unsafe conditions or joining with coworkers to address issues directly with an employer, government agency or media outlet.
The law does not protect spreading maliciously false information, or bashing an employer’s products or services without linking back to a labor controversy. However, the still-vague terms have caught many employers in legal traps.
Q: “So employers can never terminate employees for online behavior?”
A: Not exactly. Off duty conduct laws vary state to state, but employers do have the right to regulate online activity. For example, an employer can discipline employees for online behavior during work hours. However, they must be consistent in enforcing this policy. Discipline must be enforced for all online activity during work hours, not just when negative comments about the company are made.
Employers should intervene when an employee acts disloyally online as well. Complaining about a manager or pay rate on Twitter isn’t considered disloyal, but if an employee claims online that the hospital where they work is unsafe, this is considered disloyal. However, if employees address legitimate safety concerns with an employer or government agency, this activity is protected.
Q: “What other ways can I prevent legal situations around social media in the workplace?”
A: Employers must welcome feedback. Many attacks on social media happen out of pent up frustration. If frustration can be expressed early on when everyone is still rational, the extreme cases can be avoided.
Consistent communication about social media policy is also essential. Along with routine education and training, it is important for company handbooks to have compliant social media policy in order for interceding action to take place fairly and consistently. Any employer action in response to employee behavior on social media must be in line with previous action and easily traceable to a clear handbook policy.
For some employers, “onboarding” is defined as that first paperwork meeting with a new hire — shaking hands, filling out tax forms and practicing signatures. For others, onboardingis simply any learning that takes place from day one on the job. Either way, both interpretations of onboarding are necessary parts of the hiring process, as employees work to acclimate to a new employer.
Even after you’ve sealed the deal, there is still a small gap of critical time between job acceptance and an employee’s first day. Usually a few weeks are given for employees to transition out of their current job and take a breath before their new one begins. But a lot can happen during that gap. Job offers are often used to bargain in other interviews or leverage a promotion with a current employer.
Some employers combat this risk by starting the onboarding process earlier. “If we can get them in the door faster and have them start completing insurance forms, they’ll be less likely to quit!” But research shows retention comes less from eager paperwork meetings and more from relationship and exceptional hospitality.
Guarding the Gap
Creative initiatives to welcome and engage new hires, from the time of offer acceptance to day one, are called preboarding. While ultimately beneficial for employers and a company’s bottom line, preboarding is most effective when genuinely focused on the employee.
Whether it’s that first meeting or the first few weeks of work, employees begin learning everything about their new employer during onboarding.
Preboarding offers an extra-mile opportunity for the employer to learn about the employee.
Taking time and honest interest in a new hire demonstrates the value a company places on its people. This helps new hires make the jump to a new workplace and feel at home faster (while inadvertently encouraging their best work).
Thinking Ahead
Attention to hospitality details may seem like a waste of time, but ignoring preboarding can prove costly. Consistent communication with new hires before their first day prevents ambivalence and makes employees less likely to continue communication with other potential employers. Lack of engagement before starting work allows new hires to feel that nothing is yet final and continue pursuing other offers.
Employers may use up some time on the front end, but preboarding also saves time on day one. Since a new employee has already become familiar with the team, culture and business operations in the weeks after acceptance, day one can be a work day rather than a day of introductions and tours.
So how is it done? Is it really just muffin baskets and welcome emails? Sometimes!
Different ideas work better for different companies, but these small things can help new hires feel welcomed, valued and excited to stick around:
Before an employee’s first day, schedule a tour followed by a lunch with immediate team members or their managers. This helps the employee to feel more confident on their first day instead of walking in blind.
Send the employee a questionnaire after acceptance to outline things they like and dislike. When figuring out where to go/what to cater during a welcome lunch, the employee’s favorite place can be chosen without putting them on the spot. This questionnaire can be used throughout an employee’s time, as a way to intentionally thank them for good work. (Employers can also post employee questionnaires for everyone to see, fostering intentional relationships between coworkers.)
Pay attention in interviews and follow up with specifics. If a new hire mentions their family in the interview, send a gift basket including treats for their kids. If they just moved to the area, gift them with favorite local goods and a list of restaurant recommendations from their coworkers.
Keep checking in. Consistent emailing shows an employer is available. Sending a schedule of the first week, creating their email account and telling them when their desk is set up lets a new hire know you’re anticipating their arrival and keeps them in the loop.
Some companies offer “show up bonuses” on an employee’s first day or at the end of their first month. Of course this isn’t feasible for every company, but this bold gesture is an unexpected way to show appreciation.
Follow through. Hospitality attempts can seem insincere if new employees are left to fend for themselves after day one. In the initial learning stage at a new job, consistent check-ins are necessary to ensure confident acclimation specific to each new hire. This care and attention will not go unnoticed and can help ensure best fit for both employees and employer.
You may not be able to give your employees a million bucks, but you can make them feel like it! These small gestures help to guard that gap of critical time, and keep your employees excited about their new position with you.
Want to spend less time with the HR hassle and more time with your people? We want that for you too. Contact us today and see how Servant HR can give you the freedom to focus on what’s most important.
Few things are more contagious than recognition, encouragement and gratitude. Creating an office culture of thankfulness is not seasonal work, but a year-round initiative sparked most often by leaders. The humility demonstrated by employers, managers and HR professionals in acknowledging and appreciating others can spread quickly through an organization. Simple “thank-yous” have the power to transform a workplace.
As we approach thanksgiving, we thought we would practice this gratitude with you, as well as share a few Servant HR updates! We have so much to be thankful for this year.
1. Our people
In the midst of our office remodel this week, our team still gathered together for our Monday prayer meeting. We shared personal and work-related prayer requests in a circle on the floor of our empty new conference room. We are grateful for our dedicated team members and their flexibility in transition. Each person brings a variety of skills and personality traits and we appreciate their hard work.
Our temporary team meeting spot, since no shortage of furniture can keep our team from Monday mornings together.
Our small but mighty team manages payroll, benefits administration and all things HR for clients across the Midwest.
2. Our clients
Lately we have been given opportunities to see our clients in action and we are so thankful for the organizations we serve. Edge Mentoring’s EDGE|X conference reinforced our values about servant leadership and provided us with unique networking opportunities. Hosting a booth at Truth at Work’s Transformation conference also introduced us to new people and ideas on leadership and humility. We are proud of the work our clients do and feel blessed to partner with so many different missions and organizations.
Our Truth at Work conference booth featured details about Servant HR, information about our upcoming network series and a drawing to win a free drone.
3. Our space
For our friends and clients a few states away, you may wonder where we actually work! While we serve clients in over twenty-five states, our team of eleven works out of an office complex in Fishers, Indiana. Now, after several months of prayer and planning (and a few demo days!) we are operating out of a new office that better fits our growing team
Demolition of our old space continues as our team works on the other side of the wall.
The new expansion provides more office space, several conference rooms, a break room and a waiting lounge.
The new space is an expansion of our old one into a vacant neighboring office and God has been so faithful to provide this smooth transition. We are especially thankful for Avera Commercial LLC and their quick, diligent work through the construction process. Adrian Sodrel and his team have been a huge blessing, working many late nights and early mornings to keep our workplace clean and functional.
Adrian and his team hard at work in one our new office spaces.
Avera Commercial workers rip up old carpet with cheerful smiles.
We have been richly blessed and still have much to be thankful for. So, are you infected yet? We hope our gratitude is contagious and inspires you to spend time intentionally thanking your family, your boss, your friends, your managers and coworkers this season.
Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Servant HR!
Halloween is just around the corner, and yet… few things spook employees more than those looming, end-of-year reviews.
A recent survey of 1,000 full-time employees found that one in four have called in sick because they were anxious to face an appraisal. Almost 75% felt “in the dark” about how their managers viewed their performance leading up to review, and 62% felt blindsided afterward. In the aftermath, 15% have cursed, 15% have cried and 28% have started looking for other jobs.
If employees are ghosting, impending performance reviews should spook employers as well. But the review process doesn’t have to be so scary! Here are three tips for making performance reviews more of a treat than a trick:
1. Start Early
Feedback should be established as routine upon hire. Performance reviews don’t have to be once a year, doomsday meetings—they can be monthly or weekly touchpoints that start as early as an employee’s first day. Early reviews are a chance to develop trust and relationship between manager and employee and to get employees comfortable with talking about their performance.
Consistent communication and feedback from the start helps employees understand the purpose of appraisals and develop confidence in the review process.
The first tip makes this second tip a lot easier. If relationship is not established, it’s common for managers in performance reviews to talk… a lot. However, a performance review is most effective as a discussion, not a lecture. Lectures can make employees feel like they’re just being yelled at, but intentional, back-and-forth conversation allows employees to experience trust and respect from their manager. Managers encourage this kind of conversation simply by asking questions. Good performance reviews offer space for employees to consider their goals, preferences, set-backs, achievements and failures. Rather than listing off highs and lows, employees are best motivated by analyzing individual potential and growth. A review should prioritize gaining insight into the performance of both employee and employer, which means feedback about management should be prompted as well.
3. Be Positive
Healthy organizations don’t sweep issues under rugs. Problems are dealt with right away and any necessary critique or discipline happens in real time—not months later at a performance review. Honest confrontation and consistent communication should be practiced daily in order to ensure positive performance reviews. Spending the majority of time on the positive aspects of an employee’s performance is almost always more effective than spending the majority of time on the negative. Don’t neglect areas that need improvement, but no employee’s performance is completely negative—make sure that is not being reflected in the review. Acknowledge failures by asking questions, exploring options and landing conversations on upbeats. People are best motivated when specific actions are recognized and appreciated. Providing direct encouragement and ways for improvement keeps performance reviews constructive and cultivates healthy work relationships.
Trust and relationship is at the core of effective reviewing. If done early and often, performance reviews don’t have to be daunting, vague meetings that hang over the holidays. Asking good questions and seeking the best for employees develops respect—enabling managers to humbly accept feedback and constructively analyze ways for employee improvement.
Every year, Servant HR client Edge Mentoring, brings renowned speakers to the heart of Indianapolis for the half-day EDGE|X leadership conference. The conference audience is people leading in all arenas—workplace, community and home—and this year’s EDGE|X conference theme is “People Centered Leadership.”
This theme hits close to home for us in HR, as a good human resources team focuses first on humans! Naturally then, a healthy HR team plays a strong role in organizational leadership development.
While often viewed as a heads-down operation, HR should perhaps be the most people-centered in its vision and approach toward company development. Meeting this expectation requires HR professionals to step up to leadership themselves—consistently offering strategic opportunities for internal growth.
As advocates for employees, it is necessary for HR to prioritize investment in their company’s people. Investment looks like a variety of things, from relationship building to internal promotions, but perhaps the most popular way HR promotes leadership development is corporate training.
Less Training, More Practice
The 70:20:10 principle claims 70% of learning happens from on-the-job experience, 20% from bosses and mentors and 10% from formal training. However, “traditional HR” tends to focus majority of energy on the 10% formal training—seminars dedicated to bagels, leadership styles and self-reflection.
Despite being imbalanced, research also shows too much introspection actually amplifies our blind spots—the exact opposite of the intended effect. Richard Pascale, acclaimed Fortune 500 adviser and faculty member at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, says in his book Delivering Results, “Adults are more likely to act their way into a new way of thinking, than to think their way into a new way of acting.”
Insight vs. Outsight
A more strategic opportunity for leadership development is offering experience. The term “outsight,” coined by UK organizational behavior professor Herminia Ibarra, is defined as “the fresh, external perspective that comes from doing new and different things and interacting with new and different people.”
Directly opposite of formal training guiding you to personality insights, outsight involves trusting the 70:20:10, evaluating job experiences first and trying out employees in different spaces. Spending time with this 70% demonstrates HR as people-centered leaders.
This approach is certainly more difficult. The relational work combined with the risk of assigning jobs different from what employees have done in the past, makes a self-reflection seminar sound pretty good.
However, research shows strategic views of work are developed best through “experience in an internal project outside of usual responsibilities.”
To put it simply, people become better leaders by practicing leadership.
For HR, the job here is understanding the work employees have done forever, and then designing cross functional projects that challenge their comfort levels and offer exposure to senior leadership. Essentially, giving people places to practice.
The Role of HR
Whether outsourcing with a PEO, or housing an internal department, the separation from a company puts human resources in a powerful and unique position. As a kind of third party, HR is able to maintain an objective position when evaluating the needs of an organization.
HR also has access to cross-cutting relationships through its work with every level in a company. Encouraging diverse and externally focused networks for both the work table and the executive table, keeps ideas fresh and lets employees know they are valued by their employer.
This doesn’t mean including random employees in all high-level meetings. But, it does mean assigning side projects and activities to help cultivate new relationships and skills. (After all of that, then we can do the self-reflecting!)
The responsibility of HR is to care for a company as a whole. HR professionals steward their function well by cultivating the best possible relationships and opportunities for both employer and employee. This requires an entirely people-centered approach to leadership, and this approach in return, creates people-centered leaders.
But don’t just take it from us! To learn more about people-centered leadership and how you can cultivate these leaders in your organization, register for the Edge|X conference on Friday, October 5th. We’ll see you there!
