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Here’s What to Think About if You’re Expanding Your Business (And Therefore, Your Payroll)

CMMA Blog

If you’re planning to expand your business, one of your top priorities should be making sure you’re in position to classify and pay employees and independent contractors properly. This is especially important if you’re looking to hire people in any state without any red tape. Today, we’ll talk about what it takes to run payroll and when it’s helpful to engage a partner.

Doing Payroll Right

Since payroll is always a complex, high-stakes business, it’s worth investing anything required on the front end to make sure you do it right. Whether you train an in-house team or engage a partner, they need to be in position to classify correctly, stay on top of laws as they change, identify and respond to the different tax requirements, and have a system in place that allows the process to be simple, accurate, and fast. This helps you avoid future fines and legal battles.

Doing it right means doing the following:

  1. Learning local employment laws. This includes identifying regulations regarding working hours, holidays, sick pay, insurance, and more and having a (preferably automated) system in place to follow those rules.
  2. Onboarding workers. This includes collecting information such as name and date of birth as well as tax forms, background checks, benefit status, and work eligibility.
  3. Storing and securing data. Since you’re dealing people’s personally identifiable information (PII), you MUST have a way to secure that highly-sensitive data. The fines for mishandling data are serious, so you should be equally serious.
  4. Authorizing payments and ensuring your employees get paid accurately.  This includes identifying the appropriate deductions/taxes, keeping accurate records, paying on time in every location, sending out notifications, reporting as required to government institutions, etc.
  5. Having a system in place to identify and adjust to changes. You don’t always have time to wait weeks to adjust to new laws. Things evolve rapidly, so your system needs to be ready to evolve just as rapidly.
  6. Staying compliant. Laws are different from place to place and do change frequently, so your payroll management software solution should have systems in place to ensure  compliance wherever you operate.

Would Outsourcing Payroll Benefit Your Business?

Outsourcing payroll is especially valuable in certain situations. If a company needs to hire employees in multiple states, is growing rapidly, and/or needs to hire temporary workers frequently, engaging an Employer of Record (EOR) could be a game changer. An EOR mitigates compliance risks, increases payroll efficiency, and eases the administrative burdens of managing a workforce.

The Bottom Line

Payroll is one of the most complex and challenging aspects of operating a business and should be given appropriate attention by every business. When a company is growing, payroll is one of the most important aspects of business to have in good working order. The right people on your in-house team or the right partner are essential. If you think a partner would be beneficial to your business, reach out ! Relax: We got it.

The post Here’s What to Think About if You’re Expanding Your Business (And Therefore, Your Payroll) appeared first on PayReel .

To view our Partner blog, click here

Workforce Trends To Watch

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Still reeling from the effects of the Great Resignation, the workforce landscape has yet to settle. Compounded by an uncertain economic outlook and louder calls for a more positive employee experience, smart organizations are rethinking their labor policies and considering ways to restructure their workforce to stay productive and generate profits.

Let’s explore rising workforce trends and the most effective strategies to stay ahead.

Healing pandemic trauma to boost productivity

While the immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has receded, societal, economic, and emotional turbulence remain a reality, resulting in overall negative emotions in the workplace. In 2022, 48% of U.S. employees felt stressed on the job, and over 70% of those surveyed believed their organization did not care about their well-being, according to research by Gallup .

Companies are taking note of these concerns, seeking to better support their employees via employee-centric initiatives such as proactive rest and schedule flexibility. These recovery strategies, which encourage workers to stop and recharge guilt-free, have proven effective in significantly reducing employee burnout while enhancing performance and productivity.

With this focus on healing, businesses are also creating open forums and inviting employees to raise concerns and voice their opinions. Such discussions, held without consequence or judgment, provide reliable insight into employee experiences and pinpoint areas where improvement is needed.

Further, more managers are being trained in trauma counseling and conflict resolution. Not only does this training assist them in navigating difficult conversations with employees, but it helps decrease employee stress for a more enjoyable work environment.

Restructuring the workforce

The Great Resignation was an eye-opening experience for a vast number of organizations. Paired with economic uncertainty, it has turned the workforce status quo on its head. Many organizations are abandoning traditional staffing models to commit to the “new normal” of remote workers and hybrid flexibility.

Frontline workers, like those in healthcare and manufacturing, have realized there are different types of work available to them — many with much more flexibility than they are accustomed to. They are leveraging these opportunities to have conversations with their employers about job satisfaction, stability, and retention.

Moreover, with the advancements in collaborative technology, there is a significant rise in part-time and temporary hires — otherwise known as contingent workers.  This workforce boosts productivity to meet growing market demands while helping companies scale effectively, reduce risks, and manage costs.

To encourage contingent workers to join their organizations, businesses are turning to employers of record (EORs) that handle more than just payroll. Certain EORs provide complete HR solutions, including but not limited to:

  • Handling all expenses — from personnel to insurance
  • Managing benefit, retirement, and worker compensation plans
  • Tracking personal and sick leave
  • Ensuring compliance with local employment law

Hiring nontraditional candidates

The phenomenon of “quiet quitting ,” defined as employees who do the minimum required in their role in order to retain employment without going above and beyond for their employer, has dominated work-related headlines over the past year. While these disengaged employees may not physically leave their positions, their impact is still felt because most jobs today require some level of extra effort to meet customer demands and establish strong relationships with co-workers and management.

Moreover, as many employee career paths continue on nonlinear trajectories, with roles and responsibilities blending into one another, employers face the challenge of pinpointing suitable people to fit ever-evolving positions. Many companies are seeking to diversify and expand their talent pipelines to bring in fresh, albeit nontraditional, candidates.

But to do this successfully, employers must be comfortable assessing and evaluating candidates differently than they have in the past — in some cases, removing prerequisites like formal education and specific experience requirements from job postings. As many employers struggle with taking such a nontraditional approach to attracting talent, they are increasingly partnering with staffing and executive hiring firms that have access to a wide pool of promising candidates.

An experienced staffing partner helps guide their clients through the end-to-end hiring process, alleviating their burden by providing robust talent acquisition solutions — from screening candidates against organizational requirements and running background checks to negotiating contracts and wages on the employer’s behalf. Not only does outsourcing connect organizations with quality talent, but it also helps reduce the strain on their HR team — saving time, money, and energy.

Stay on trend with Maslow Media

As the global workforce model continues to evolve, it is more important than ever that businesses stay on top of trends to keep their competitive edge.

Established in 1988, Maslow Media Group strives to be a single resource for its clients, providing qualified talent while offering comprehensive EOR, executive recruiting, and HR management services. With a team of over 1,800 talented individuals nationwide, Maslow Media is the name in workforce management solutions.

Bring workforce management into focus with maslowmedia.com .

The post Workforce Trends To Watch appeared first on Maslow Media.

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Overcoming the Obstacles of AVOD

CMMA Blog

It’s no secret that Ad Supported Video on Demand (AVOD) is on the rise . Even with the current momentum, many providers are quickly realizing the challenges that exist in this monetization model.
Whether pivoting from a subscription model or getting started with streaming video, Caretta Research has noted that AVOD is a major commitment in both technology and resources. Furthermore, maximizing the revenue potential requires a new level of expertise, not to mention continued investment and experimentation as the industry navigates through this transformation.
For the unprepared, the obstacles to building a successful AVOD strategy are significant. But for those ready to tackle the technology, data, and operations challenges, AVOD offers more than commensurate benefits.
Technology Considerations
Having the appropriate technology is necessary, but knowing how to establish an ad tech stack that will empower revenue results without waste is the real challenge. Media companies entering into AVOD should strive for the right mix of flexibility and sophistication while keeping cost and integration efforts in mind. The following principles can help ensure a strategy is both effective and efficient.

Select specialists. Focus on the systems and tools that are pivotal to your streaming environment. If FAST is the focus, choose ad servers, channel facilitators, and technology providers specializing in this space rather than those built primarily around the web.
Prepare for fraud. Particularly in CTV environments , ad fraud is a growing concern and poses the risk of disruptive user experiences, bad ads, and damaged advertiser relationships. For example, a larger inventory can provide more opportunities for fraudsters to insert fake or low quality ad impressions, leading to wasted ad spend and less effective ad campaigns. Leveraging SSAI can mitigate ad fraud, especially when using a platform that handles SSAI in-house as opposed to a third party. SSAI is also an optimal ad insertion technique for maintaining a seamless viewing experience without excessive ad loading delays.
Prioritize load times. Too many intermediaries, a slow content delivery network (CDN), and suboptimal video encoding processes can significantly affect load times. Optimizing for a smooth playback will minimize user frustration and maintain viewer engagement.

Data Considerations
Unified data paints a holistic picture, which informs accurate projections for future decisions. That’s why interconnected ad tech systems are critical: they need to pass information to and from one another and in similar fashion. Providers investing in smart data tools will be able to see which metrics are most important not just to ad revenue, but the entire viewer experience. In turn, businesses can achieve growth in revenue and engagement without compromising one or the other.
It’s equally important to consider the information made available to tech partners. Not only are transparency and privacy a must, so is signaling. Content, audience, and other identifiers allow marketplaces to be selective in their buying and empower packaging for internal sales teams. By harnessing data for targeting, AVOD platforms can enhance user experiences by increasing ad relevance and drive engagement—benefiting viewers and advertisers alike.
Operations Considerations
Like any other kind of advertising, sales operations in AVOD requires a well thought out structure with the right mix of talent. Inventory management, pricing and packaging, sales support and training, and reporting and analytics are all important factors to be considered.
However, due to the unique nature of video content consumption, AVOD differs from web-based operations. Since this is not an area of expertise for traditional ad ops teams, it’s imperative they understand several aspects unique to the video landscape.

Video formats. AVOD platforms deal primarily with video content, requiring specific considerations for video ad formats. Ad ops teams need to ensure seamless integration of video ads within the content, maintaining visual and audio quality while optimizing for different devices and screen sizes.
Ad insertion and timing. Ad ops teams must strategically determine the placement and timing of these ads to balance user experience and ad revenue. They also need to manage repetitiveness and maintain diversified ad content to curb viewer fatigue and ad avoidance.
Content categorization and targeting. Ad ops teams must understand the content taxonomy and audience preferences to accurately target and deliver relevant ads. Unlike web-based ad operations, AVOD platforms can leverage video-specific targeting capabilities. For example, they can utilize contextual targeting based on video metadata or dynamic ad insertion based on user behavior within the video stream.

When it comes to sales methods, direct sales and programmatic have their advantages and may coexist within AVOD platforms. Direct sales allows for more control and customization and is well suited for premium ad placements or specific partnerships, providing greater flexibility in pricing and targeting. Programmatic offers automation, efficiency, and access to a larger pool of advertisers.
Partner Considerations
Monetizing media with a video ad marketplace requires yield management expertise and contracts with DSP and SSP partners. It takes time to implement and produce results, not to mention the need for optimizations over time. Depending on the sales approach, the right alignment of operational support will also need to be put in place.
To get the most out of an AVOD strategy, buyers need to beware that not every partner will have the experience or offer the support needed. Before deciding on a partner, make sure they have solutions for the key obstacles, because anything they can’t do is something you’ll need to learn fast to succeed. If that’s too much pressure to take on your own, Brightcove’s Ad Monetization service can manage the entire experience for you from start to finish.

To view our Partner blog, click here

Hall of Shame: 10 Terrible Workplaces (Plus How Not to Suck)

CMMA Blog

We talk a lot about what to do when you’re running a business–things like accurate worker classification, paying employees properly, and generally just doing right by your workers. What we don’t always address is what not to do.

10 terrible workplace violations and the lessons we can all learn from them

  1. A lesson from Packers Sanitation : There’s no place for having kids cleaning dangerous equipment.
  2. A lesson learned from Miami : If you don’t have the resources to ensure workplace safety, you have no business having a business.
  3. Lesson learned from this Virginia Home Care Provider : Overtime pay is not optional.
  4. Lesson learned from the saw mill : If OSHA tells you to fix something, just do it.
  5. Lesson learned from Dollar General : Repeat violations cost more than a dollar, in general.
  6. Lesson learned from this North Carolina home care  operation: Misclassifying workers to “save money” turns out to be expensive!
  7. Lesson learned from Baltimore : Shortchanging your people on their retirement will end up costing you more than chump change.
  8. Lesson learned from Georgia: Suspend operations if your suspension operations aren’t safe.
  9. Lesson from Delaware : Retaliation against whistleblowers will come back to haunt you.
  10. And finally, three lessons learned from thousands of greasy pennies : Pay your employees up front, don’t call your employees weenies, and if you’re gonna pay them in greasy pennies, at least own it. You just end up looking worse when you say you “don’t really remember” your petty behavior.

The Bottom Line

It’s in your power to be a good employer. If you don’t have the in-house resources (i.e. a dedicated department that specializes in these matters) to ensure you’re in compliance with overtime rules, worker classification guidelines, and benefits eligibility, you can ensure you stay in good standing by engaging a partner! Contact us to chat about what solutions we can provide for your business.

The post Hall of Shame: 10 Terrible Workplaces (Plus How Not to Suck) appeared first on PayReel .

To view our Partner blog, click here

Interactive Video Throughout the Customer Lifecycle

CMMA Blog

Over the past several years, we’ve witnessed the transformative effect that interactive video has had throughout the e-commerce customer lifecycle. While online shopping has been around for decades, the shopper’s desire to have a holistic, personalized journey that encapsulates the entire experience has continued to grow.
Today’s digital landscape provides opportunities for merchants to stand out by reorienting their e-commerce strategies toward a more interactive customer-centric approach. A crucial part of this approach is leveraging various interactive elements in video to offer immersive experiences that engage customers throughout their lifecycle. And this goes far beyond simply adding a “buy now” button to e-commerce videos.
To truly maximize the opportunities interactive video elements hold, we need to understand the modern e-commerce customer lifecycle and—most importantly—how it’s changed.
What Is the Customer Lifecycle?
The customer lifecycle is the journey a person takes to discover, research, buy, and use a product and transform into a brand advocate.
In the past, e-commerce customers would typically take a predictable, linear path to purchase, starting with discovering the product, becoming interested in it, researching pros and cons, and then purchasing the product. Once purchased, the journey would continue with post-purchase activities like using the product and potentially reviewing it and becoming a brand advocate.
But with more sources of information available to consumers, like video, social, and, most recently, AI-driven search engines, we’ve seen a shift to a nonlinear journey that is permanently replacing the traditional linear path.
It’s now much more common for today’s customers to criss-cross through various stages of the buying journey. They’re consuming more information from more sources, discovering new products on social media through savvy ad targeting, and comparing prices across sites.
How the Customer Lifecycle Has Changed
The shift from a linear customer lifecycle to one that looks more like a pretzel means it’s imperative for merchants to deliver seamless, guided experiences. This includes making it easier to discover products, engage with brands, consume relevant information, purchase quickly and easily, and then build a meaningful post-purchase relationship.
As part of this linear to nonlinear shift , merchants are getting better data about consumer interest and preferences that can help shape future content initiatives. For example, let’s say the data shows that half of your viewers watch a video about Topic 1, then jump to Topic 4, and then go back to Topic 2, but totally skip Topic 3. By analyzing these behaviors, we can understand not only which videos are most effective at driving purchases, but perhaps in which order the videos should be presented.
When examining this nonlinear buying journey, we see a clear common denominator: Customers now want, and have, more control over their buying journey than ever before. From online reviews to video, social posts to comparison shopping, the connected digital aspect of e-commerce empowers consumers to create their own journey. And they’ve gotten used to this variety of options and level of control.
Interactive video elements are particularly effective in giving customers more control over their journey. However, this level of control comes with its own level of responsibility. More choices and options means the post-purchase experience is that much more important to the overall lifecycle.
How to Incorporate Interactive Video Features
Even as consumers take a nonlinear path to purchase, the stages of the lifecycle have largely remained unchanged. Fortunately, there are many opportunities to incorporate interactive video elements into each stage. The following best practices can help get you started.
Awareness and Discovery
For customers in this phase of the lifecycle, the goal is to create a positive and memorable impression of your brand and build awareness of your offerings. Shorter videos (1 minute or less) like product sizzles and brand overviews tend to work best here. You want to help them easily discover the many different aspects of your products while also giving them opportunities to explore further.
Since potential customers are likely exploring and researching other options, the interactive elements should produce an engaging and succinct video experience.

Sentiment. Simple elements like a thumbs up/down, star ratings, or emojis give viewers the power to tell you if they’re enjoying the content or product. In addition to engagement, they offer you valuable insights that can help you adjust your approach based on viewer input.
Overlays. When clicked, overlays can lead viewers to webpages with more detailed or logical next-step information. These allow interested customers to learn more without interrupting the flow of the video. Buy-now buttons can also be appropriate at this stage, especially if the product is simple and doesn’t require deeper explanation.
Video-to-Video Branching. Like overlays, video-to-video branching offers viewers the opportunity to get more information, but through video and without ever leaving the video experience. Keep in mind that viewers at this stage do more window shopping than in-depth research, so don’t get too aggressive with related info links.

By knowing your goals and purposely selecting the interactive elements, you can build a strong foundation that sets up the following phases in the journey.
Conversion and Purchase
For consumers considering a purchase, the goal is to make it easier for them to make a final decision while delivering a seamless purchase experience. Medium-length videos (2-5 minutes) that provide comprehensive details about your product work best during this phase. Content including product demos, how-to videos, and user reviews should be a primary focus.
During this phase, you’ll want to make sure your content is informative and not overly promotional. The following interactive features can help with this approach.

Chapters. Viewers at this stage are conducting research. That means they’re skimming and searching for content that answers their questions before making a purchase. And while in-depth videos are better equipped to answer those questions, videos are difficult to skim. That’s where chapters come in. Adding chapters to videos is like adding subheadings to a blog post. They break up the content into bite-size sections, allowing viewers to quickly find what they’re looking for.
Video-to-Video Branching. Essentially crosslinking for video, video-to-video branching works even better at this stage. These viewers have higher intent, so they’re more likely to interact, allowing you to collect more data and further refine the experience. In other words, giving more control of the customer journey gives you more insights to make it better.
Overlays. Beyond related videos, other relevant content like technical specifics, expanded product uses, user reviews, or customer success stories can be linked to with overlays. This is also where you want to make strategic use of buy-now buttons. A one-click experience to complete the purchase minimizes unnecessary steps and helps avoid potential drop-offs.

Knowing your conversion goals, optimizing your video content, and utilizing suitable interactive features are critical for guiding your users from the consideration to conversion phase. They’ll also help deliver a seamless and enjoyable shopping experience, which leads directly into the next phase.
Retention and Advocacy
With purchase complete, it’s important to begin fostering brand loyalty, laying the foundation for increased customer lifetime value and transforming buyers into brand advocates. Or, simply put, your content should demonstrate why your product works well and why so many people are using it. Medium-long (3-10 minutes), personable videos that offer a behind-the-scenes look, tips and tricks, or unique features and uses of your product work best.
Consumers at the post-purchase phase are usually willing to give you more of their attention, which nicely aligns with a few interactive video elements.

Personalized Content. Leverage the viewing data and insights you’ve collected to offer personalized viewing experiences. This can mean more than using their name in the video. You could reference their purchase history and offer videos of accessories that complement a recent purchase. By showing customers that you understand their preferences and can cater to them, you’ll help build a deeper bond and drive brand affinity.
Polls and Feedback. Show your customers that their opinions matter even after the purchase by embedding polls or custom forms in your videos. These tools can give you valuable insights from some of your most high-value audiences: those who have bought and used your product.
Chat Features. Chat will allow you to engage directly with your customers to understand any questions or challenges they may have after purchasing the product. Combined with personalization, this feature especially helps demonstrate their importance as your customer.

Interactive Video Best Practices
With a solid understanding of how interactive elements can support the different phases of the customer lifecycle, there are some general best practices to be mindful of.

Err on the Side of Moderation. While interactivity leads to deeper engagement, too much interactivity can be distracting. Be mindful of the message you want to communicate and that too much interactivity doesn’t detract from that or overwhelm viewers.
Align Interactivity with Video Goals. Clearly understand your objectives for each video and ensure that every interactive element supports these objectives. Each point of interactivity should be specifically designed to guide the viewer towards achieving your desired action or outcome.
Prioritize Usability. Interactive features are only effective to the extent that people use them. To increase the likelihood of engagement, make sure that each element is:

Easily noticeable
Intuitive
On screen long enough for viewers to recognize it and engage with it
Clear about what the intended action should be (for example, if the interactive feature is designed for viewers to schedule an appointment, this should be explicitly stated to eliminate any potential confusion)

Gradually Increase Interactivity. As customers move farther along in their journey, their level of engagement usually increases. Match this progression by gradually introducing more sophisticated interactive elements that correspond to their growing attention and involvement.
Provide a “Return on Engagement” at Each Stage. Meaningless interactivity or engagements that don’t provide value can be counterproductive. Each one should offer a reward or benefit that is meaningful enough to justify the user’s time and engagement. There are a variety of ways that this can be achieved, from useful information to unique insights to personalized experiences they wouldn’t get elsewhere.

Beyond deeper and more meaningful engagements, these best practices can help your interactive elements serve as an invisible guide throughout their journey. They’ll help transform your videos from merely more content into powerful tools in your overall e-commerce strategy.
Interactivity for the Modern Shopper
The era of linear customer lifecycles and quality-based customer retention is in decline. In its place, the nonlinear approach to buying requires merchants to engage and guide users along their journey.
As customers expect more control, engagement, and value from the companies they buy from, interactive video elements can help fulfill these expectations throughout the lifecycle. In short, these consumers want to be active participants as opposed to passive audiences. Interactivity can help bridge this gap while fundamentally reshaping the customer lifecycle to become more sustainable and customer-centric.
As you look to incorporate more interactive elements, keep in mind that it’s not just about making e-commerce more convenient. It’s about crafting a more dynamic, personalized, and sustainable customer lifecycle for the modern shopper.

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