DECEMBER 2021 NEWSLETTER

EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH

Every month, based on customer feedback, we chose an employee to recognize as our employee of the month.  This month we are recognizing 2 exceptional employees in our own office.  Paula Lowry and Linda Wetzel are the superheroes behind the scenes who track everyone down to make sure they’re paid on time and keep the rest of us reeled in when we’re so busy we’re challenged to even stay organized.  They’re the ‘glue’ that holds everything together, often working before/after hours.  Thanks for all you do Paula and Linda!

REMINDERS FOR THE UPCOMING HOLIDAYS

Please read the following carefully:

Specialized will be closed FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24th and FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31st to observe the Christmas and New Year’s Holidays.

Please check with the company that you are working at to find out which day/days they will be closed for Christmas and New Year’s. We have 24-hour voicemail, if you need to leave a message over the holiday break. If your call is urgent, we will return it as soon as possible, if not we will call you when we return to work.

Please submit your time sheet before you leave for the Holiday.

We highly suggest that you submit your time sheet before you leave work for the Christmas Holiday and the New Year’s Holiday the following week.

Even though you may be working on Monday, December 27th your time sheet approver may not be, so to be on the safe side, please submit your time before you leave for the Christmas Holiday and the New Year’s Holiday the following week. When completing your time sheet only record the hours you worked on the day that you worked.  At the bottom of your time sheet, in the remarks, add the day/days the office was closed.

Late time sheets will not be processed until the following week. 

When completing your timesheet, please DO NOT enter Holiday or PTO time into the daily time area but instead list the time in the Remarks area. Only actual hours worked are to be listed on the individual days on your time sheet.

HOLIDAY PAY

The following can be found on the back cover of your employee handbook.  If you need a new handbook, please let us know and we can send you one.  Specialized Staffing employees are entitled to holiday pay when the company they are working for observes the holiday. The possible eligible holidays are New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

The following requirements must be met to receive Holiday Pay:

• Must work consecutively for 480 hours preceding the holiday.
• Must work the scheduled day before and after the holiday.
• Holiday pay cannot be used in calculation of overtime pay.

 W-2s

We NO longer physically mail W2’s. We will upload all W-2’s to the Intuit Workforce website (the same site weekly paystubs are uploaded to).

https://workforce.intuit.com

If you would like a paper W-2 mailed to the address on file or emailed to you, please request either by sending an email or calling our office PRIOR to January 7, 2022.

Very important to register on the website NOW to have access to your paystubs and W-2 information.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please feel free to contact us at (724) 287-8380 or 1-866-240-5150. Our hours are Monday-Friday 8:30 am-5:00 pm. If you need to contact us after our working hours, please leave a message on our 24-hour voicemail and your call will be returned the next business day.

We wish you and your family a Happy Holiday and Prosperous New Year!

Lisa, Paula, Stella, Joey, Linda, and Teresa

While the staffing industry has historically been and still is one of the most common and effective ways to cover for employee absences there are a number of things employers can do to generally be better prepared to handle unexpected absences, especially with the recent uptick in COVID cases.  First, cross-train as much as possible so that employees can effectively cover for each other.  Outsourcing is also an option.  For instance if your bookkeeper is out/off you could have general a/p, a/r, payroll and related functions performed by a bookkeeper in your CPA’s firm.  Yet another idea, if possible, is to equip your employees to work remotely.  Face it, not everyone who’s off work can’t work.  There are a large number of people who’ve had to self quarantine or take off, yet A-symptomatic and would very much rather be working.  If they have the right tools they can be quite productive remotely.  Something to think about.  And, of course, we’re here to help!

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

Our September Employee of the Month is Logan Floyd.  His supervisor had these kind words to say about Logan.  He has been working very hard learning new tasks in order to assist other staff members and make things more efficient. Logan is a very hardworking individual and is diligent in getting his assignments completed in a timely manner. Logan also has a tremendous attitude and does his work with a smile on his face.  We truly appreciate Logan and all he contributes to our organization.

We thank Logan for being a wonderful employee!!!!

The Employee of the Month is chosen based on supervisor feedback, attendance, and performance.

COVID-19

The PA Department of Health at https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/disease/coronavirus/Pages/Stop-the-Spread.aspx

Recommends that you Remember These Important Steps to Stop the Spread of COVID-19:

• Maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from other individuals.
• Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds as frequently as possible or use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
• Cover coughs or sneezes with a sleeve or elbow.
• Do not shake hands.
• Regularly clean high-contact surface areas.
• When sick, stay at home.
• Do not gather in large groups.

REFERRALS

Specialized is always looking for good people and you can help!  Research has shown, and our own experience supports this, new hires that come into a company through employee referrals are excellent contributors and stay with the company longer.

That is where you come in!

Some of our best Candidates are working and want to be made aware of potential new job opportunities.  If you know someone who would be a good addition to Specialized you would receive a $100 Gift Card if you refer them for employment and they are hired!**

When you have someone in mind who would be a good fit for our company, let us know by contacting Linda via email at Info@TheBestWorkWithUs.com OR call us at 724-287-8380.  Please have their name, email address and phone number available.  Also, please feel free to share our website www.TheBestWorkWithUs.com that includes current job opportunities.

Thank you!

** For a successful referral, they will be a new candidate to Specialized and successful in completing 90 days of employment with us.

W-2s

As of last year, we NO longer physically mail W2’s.  We will upload all W-2’s to the Intuit Workforce website (the same site weekly paystubs are uploaded to).

https://workforce.intuit.com

Please make sure you register on the website to have access to your paystubs and W-2 information.  If you need re-invited to register, please let us know!

If you would like a paper W-2 mailed to the address on file, please request either by sending an email or calling our office no later than December 31^st.

 IMPORTANT REMINDERS

If your roles or job duties change, we need to know so that we can update our records. We realize you are comfortable with your onsite supervisor and should communicate with them as you normally do but also send us an email or call regarding the things you have discussed.

If you have a work email at your present work location and / or a direct phone number or extension, please email that information to us.  That way if we do need to talk to you during work hours, we can easily reach you.

If you are sick or have an appointment, please remember to let us know either by voice mail or email us at Info@TheBestWorkWithUs.com

Since you are on our payroll, we are responsible to know if you are at work or not.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please feel free to contact us at

(724)287-8380 or1-866-240-5150. We can be reached Monday – Friday 8:00 am -5:00pm.

If we are away from our desk or on the phone, please leave a voice message and we will get back to you. If you need to contact us after our working hours, please leave a message on our 24-hour voicemail and your call will be returned the next business day.

Recently we interviewed a CN for a role with one of our clients. When we shared our clients company name with the CN, she said recalled receiving an email from another recruiting firm (large national) 2 months before, stating that this particular company wanted to interview her, and that she was to click accept or decline based on her interest in pursuing it. She did not know the recruiting firm sent her resume to this company and the recruiter had never talked to her about the company so she looked into the company by going online.  Based on her research she came to the conclusion that the company’s culture was similar to her current company, which is the driver for her looking for another job in the first place, so she declined. After we talked to her about the company’s environment, and were able to back it up based on the fact that we have many years of experience working with them, our personal experiences working directly with the owner, and could to talk about past people we’ve placed there and how long they have been there, she totally changed her mind and had a high interest in the opportunity.  If this recruiting firm had a different process, and knew the environments of their customers like we do, a different outcome would have happened and she would have had interest.  Not only did this recruiter lose, but they did their client no justice – from our perspective she’s a really strong fit for the job. So, you have a client who has been struggling for months to find the right person to fill this job, which will also allow one of his employees to finally retire. Think about all the time that could have been saved if in fact she does end up being a good fit for this job.  The other recruiting firms lack of a good process affected the lives of not only an owner looking for an employee, but also an employee who is ready to move on with their life into retirement but has continued working for months after she was hoping to retire. All this recruiter did was create a lose, lose, lose situation. A ‘non-negotiable’ belief we share is that we impact the lives of our candidates and employees as well as the success of our client companies. THAT is what sets us apart.