Sometimes change is difficult. However, with foresight and initiative, the following businesses were able to see beyond their challenges and looked towards future solutions. Every client is different, and each one engaged CPEhr's services to solve their unique business challenges. By applying a personalized solution to each situation, CPEhr successfully parterned with each client to achieve their strategies and long-term goals.

Case Study #1

Industry: Healthcare/Non-Profit
Business: Cardiovascular Medical Group
Challenge: Managing Employment Risk

Company Background

This medical practice was founded in 1980 with the mission to provide the highest quality health care combined with clinical research and education. It is currently one of the few cardiovascular practices in the country that balances private practice with academic medicine, and runs one of the world's largest cardiac transplant programs. They currently employ over 30 employees, but are opening two more locations by the beginning of 2008, and are expecting to significantly grow their employee base in the coming months.


It was obvious to the Executive Director of this prestigous medical practice that his time would be best spent on providing superior patient care and conducting scientific research. Managing employee issues should have been the last thing on his mind. Unfortunately, it wasn’t.

Business Challenges

As the practice grew in size and prestige, the Director recognized the critical role Human Resources played in his practice. “We do not have a dedicated HR staff,” he explains, “But I understand that human resources can’t be put on the back burner. HR is still a critical part of our practice.” With the lack of sufficient internal HR resources they struggled to standardize employee practices and stay abreast of changing employment regulations. While the Director and his Office Manager continued to personally handle the employee relations, an incident pushed them to consider outsourcing their human resources to a professional firm.

An argument ensued between two front office staff, and the altercation ended with one employee threatening to physically harm the other. The event was witnessed and the employee was let go. A short time later she sued the practice for race discrimination. Even though, at the time, the Director was sure he was doing the right thing, he ended up in an 8 month lawsuit with the EEOC that cost him hundreds of hours of time and distracted him considerably from running the practice. While he ultimately won the case, he realized it was time to work with human resource professionals. He needed a firm who would help him structure an HR system to prevent this from recurring, and to take over the administration of a lawsuit if one ever occurred again in the future. “As our firm continues to grow and we open new offices, managing the staff in multiple worksites is only going to become more complicated,” he says. He invited CPEhr to present their outsourcing HR solution, and quickly engaged their services.

HR Solutions

Upon entering the HR Outsourcing relationship with the practice, a CPEhr Human Resources Specialist immediately began to review their policies and employee documentation. Many gaps in employment protocol were identified. An array of new employment forms were created, compliant procedures were implemented and new guidelines were put into practice. The Director and Office Manager received training on proper employee review and termination procedures, and their designated HR Specialist was invited to attend exit interviews and assist in the termination process. “I have run the office for more than a decade,” says the Director, “But knowing CPEhr is here to guide me through all employee matter offers tremendous peace of mind. Now, instead of being distracted by minor personnel issues, I can focus on the practice. CPEhr has truly become our partner.”

The most critical assistance occurred when the practice decided to outsource their billing function and to layoff the entire department. CPEhr assigned several HR staff to assist in the layoffs, with proper termination procedures, protocol and severance packages that were in the best interest of both the practice and the employees. The Director sums up the incident succinctly: “We could never have done this on our own.”

Real Results

Since joining CPEhr, he feels that the day-to-day protection he experiences in the area of employment exposures is immeasurable. “I now have tremendous peace of mind. CPEhr has become our ‘go-to resource.’ Without this type of relationship we end up making our own decisions, without proper knowledge of the law, and will ultimately make a mistake. You think you can use common sense, but common sense and the law rarely match!”

The Director says the benefits of CPEhr were immediately realized, as the new systems and processes were implemented and functioning within 30-60 days. “I recognize the reality that as the practice grows. So too would the need to hire an HR Manager. However, by outsourcing to CPEhr , we don’t need to spend the money on another hire and can use those funds to invest back into patient care and clinical research.”

Case Study #2

Industry: Hair Salon
Business: Retail Hair Salon Chain
Challenge: Labor Compliance

Company Background

Prior to contacting CPEhr, the owner and founder of this hair salon chain operated 8 hair and beauty salons employing 80 employees, in Los Angeles and San Diego Counties. The chain quickly grew to over 30 locations and 350 employees. While financially successful, the company soon realized they were insufficiently prepared to deal with labor law compliance and HR issues.

Business Challenges

But as his operations grew and his employee base increased, the owner quickly recognized his human resource limitations. I knew that California especially has some major labor laws to contend with," he says, "And I wanted to focus, not on that, but on building my business. I wanted to make sure that we were running everything properly, so that's why I needed some help in HR." He operated his chain of 30 hair salons from a single corporate office using an old payroll system and poorly-trained store managers. Over the years, they faced over a dozen employee lawsuits, stemming from issues involving the Department of Fair Employment & Housing (DFEH), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and Department of Labor.

HR Solutions

CPEhr immediately designed and implemented a winning strategy. Within 30 days, a comprehensive Employee Handbook was designed and distributed to all employees at all locations. The Handbook contained all corporate policies and procedures, as well as employee's rights and responsibilities. CPEhr ensured that the owner enforced the policies in the handbook, and assisted as needed.

The client's employees had a direct line to their Human Resources Specialist at CPEhr regarding any issues that arose. Complaints were handled quickly and efficiently, before going to an outside agency.

Employees at each location received Harassment Training. Management Training Guides were distributed to each store, and every Store Manager received a personal visit from the HR Specialist to review the policies and answer any questions.

Finally, a customized payroll system was implemented to help account for overtime, commission pay, bonuses and other irregular pay occurrences.

Results

Since joining CPEhr, the client has never had to paid a settlement for a DFEH/EEOC claim. Little to nothing has ever been paid for DOL Claims, and all DFEH claims were dismissed without any settlement amounts. In no circumstance was a penalty ever paid.

Case Study #3

Industry: Retail Franchise
Business: Barbecue Retail Chain
Challenge: Growing Employee Administration

Company Background

When the owner opened his barbecue franchise chain in Orange Country, California, in the mid-1980s, the last he thing on his mind was managing Human Resources. Priorities were focused on inventory, facilities, marketing and company growth. Over the past 20 years, the stores have grown to be one of the most successful barbecue franchise chains in California. They currently employ over 80 employees in four retail locations and 40,000 square feet of retail space. They also have a manufacturing company, as well as a distribution facility.

Business Challenges

In the beginning, two stores were opened with a total of 35 employees. Two more locations were later opened, and the staff more than doubled to a total of 80 employees in a period of 6 months. During these early years, they had a several experiences in front of the Labor Board and did not understand the necessary regulations and compliance requirements. Even though they hired an attorney to assist and write their corporate policies, they were quickly out of date. “As a California based business,” the owner emphasizes, “there are many, many laws that an employer has to adhere to. If you ever find yourself trying to make a case before an employment board and you don’t know the laws really well, 99 percent of the time, you will lose the dispute simply because you didn’t follow procedures correctly.”

They also realized they were outsourcing various Human Resource functions to different vendors and spent a great deal of time managing these relationships. Their Employee Benefits were sent to a broker, their payroll went to an outside service and their legal requirements were handled by a lawyer. Their management team would spend as much as 30% of their time managing non-revenue generating employment activities.

They came to the realization that they were in over their head. “We were constantly bombarded with compliance concerns,” he says. “We tried our best but estimate we were probably only 60% compliant and 20% knowledgeable of the relevant labor laws.” It was at that point he decided to contact CPEhr and engage their Human Resources Outsourcing services.

HR Solutions

The first thing the client implemented was a consolidated HR solution with CPEhr. Multiple vendors were brought under one roof, including their payroll, workers’ compensation, HR compliance, employment forms and employee benefits. “When you are integrating all HR services under one umbrella rather than outsourcing to different companies,” says the owner, “you save an enormous amount of time and eliminate unnecessary complications. You can have a one meeting sit down to go over the various things you have to do. Plus because all these services come as part of one package, the cost to us is reduced substantially.”

CPEhr appointed a Human Resources Manager to oversee all aspects of ther client's employment administration. A representative walked through the stores, changed and updated all the employee forms, customized their HR documents, reviewed all files and paperwork, and had the employees read and re-sign the employee handbook. CPEhr also introduced management training seminars and attended two labor law hearings, reaching a favorable decision on both accounts. Overall, the owner believes they were completely compliant within 3-4 months. “We have warehouses and a manufacturing plant and CPEhr helps us stay compliant with all OSHA regulations,” he says. “They give free training. In all, they have about 30 different services that we utilize.”

Results

Once CPEhr took over, the client was able to offer better medical coverage, attract better employees and reduce turnover rates. Their management skills improved and they were overall more comfortable with running their business. “Whereas everything before was gray, with CPEhr, everything became black and white,” the owner says. The CPEhr relationship eliminated the need to hire an HR Manager, hire a trainer, and find an OSHA compliance consultant. Most importantly, their General Manager was able to gain back 30% of his time, and instead of dealing with HR issues, was able to focus his energy on helping build the company. Overall, the client estimates they saved over $100,000+ in salaries, insurance expenses, legal/attorneys fees, employment policies and handbooks, and labor board penalties.

“In the past,” the owner explains, “I’d have to hire lawyers just to be sure we were compliant. But CPEhr is a specialist. They can do it virtually overnight. CPEhr is significantly cheaper, plus there are a lot of things that they bring to the table that we, as a small company, could not do.” He estimates that the services paid for themselves within 4 months of joining CPEhr in 2000. And after 7 years, that is quite a positive return on investment.

Case Study #4

Industry: Agriculture
Business: Grape Vineyard
Challenge: Workers' compensation injuries, poor risk management and rising insurance premiums

Background : This client, a family-owned agricultural business, is the largest table grape grower in the United States -- with 60 ranches covering over 12,000 acres in the San Joaquin Valley. They also produce a variety of specialty crops.

The client's employee population fluctuates between 1,200 and 5,000 workers, depending on its various seasonal activities, including: pruning, tying, spraying, harvest, cold storage, packing and distribution.

Each activity has its own particular behavior and so contributes to the overall risk of the business. After several years of terrible losses and skyrocketing worker's compensation insurance premiums, they decided to partner with CPEhr.

Solution: After partnering with CPEhr, the client faced an Experience Modification of 236%. CPEhr implemented a comprehensive Risk Management Program, including hands-on claims management, an on-site employee to transport injured workers to and from medical providers, and a safety consultant to conduct periodic safety walk-throughs.

In addition, CPEhr engaged the services of California Safety Training Corporation (CSTC) that specializes in safety training in the agricultural community. Working closely with CPEhr's in-house Risk Management team, they were able to quickly and effectively address the client's unique safety needs.

Outcome: The client's first experience modification affected by CPEhr's services was promulgated by the WCIRB in October, 2004. The current experience modification is 217%. Thanks to a dramatic decline in the frequency and severity of injuries, the Experience Modification is expected to decrease over the next 2 to 3 years.

The client also opted to secure worker's compensation coverage through a high-deductible program instead of continuing to pay premium for guaranteed cost coverage. With a deductible of $350,000, the insurance carrier coordinates directly with CPEhr's account manager, who has direct, on-line control of its claims, reserves, and settlement processes.

Working together, the client and CPEhr have formed a seamless working relationship which has directly impacted each worker's compensation claim and overall well-being of their staff.