Case Studies
Client Success Stories
TACKLING COMPLEX HR ISSUES TO DRIVE GROWTH
Sidewall Pizza Company
Background
Family owned and operated, Sidewall Pizza has grown from one restaurant in Travelers Rest, South Carolina to seven restaurants throughout Upstate South Carolina, with an eighth in the works, in a little over five years. The restaurant employs a core group of approximately 40 full-time corporate employees and approximately 250 part-time employees across all its locations.
Challenges
Shortly after starting the business, Sidewall owner Loren Frant and her husband recognized the huge administrative and time challenges associated with managing their own payroll, so they opted to work with a small payroll provider. As the company grew, it was critical to find a provider that could scale with them while offering the compliance expertise and strategic HR guidance required to continue Sidewall’s positive trajectory.
“We know that people issues are core to our business, but we wanted to free up time to focus on the parts of HR that only we could handle, like creating a meaningful corporate culture, developing our unique service proposition, and providing the training necessary to ensure a consistently positive experience for our customers,” said Frant. “However, as we grew, managing the sheer volume of paperwork and routine tasks became cumbersome. When our full-time staff grew to reach the Affordable Care Act mandatory coverage threshold, we knew we needed to find a larger and more experienced partner, so that we could invest our time and effort wisely and ensure our firm understanding of increasingly complex requirements.”
Because they had opted for web-based solutions for the rest of their business, including point of sale, and were looking to minimize paperwork and physical record- keeping, Frant began searching for a firm that was large enough to handle their rapid growth, while offering streamlined record-keeping and deep HR and compliance expertise. Prompt, proactive and personal service were also key factors in their search.
“We are a very customer-centric operation, so we wanted an HR partner that mirrored our values in terms of the importance of people and delivering on promises,” added Frant.
Solution
After asking for recommendations and exploring several options, Sidewall quickly decided to partner with Quality Business Solutions, based on the company’s great reputation, and history of dedicated customer service and expertise. Sidewall was especially impressed with the QBS team’s strength in the hospitality market, which often presents unique HR and payroll challenges, particularly in areas like handling tips, dealing with turnover, sharing workers across multiple locations and a higher than average share of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims.
Sidewall began a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) relationship with QBS in January, 2018. Under this arrangement, QBS retains legal and compliance responsibility for Sidewall’s HR, including tax reporting, compliance and risk management, payroll and benefits administration. While Frant and her internal team maintain control of all policies and strategic HR decisions, the QBS team is available to consult with her as needed on a wide range of HR issues. This relationship allows her to avoid rote tasks and minimize potential exposure, while focusing the bulk of her time and attention on matters that drive and shape her business.
According to Frant, “Starting a business is daunting, and there are so many things to do. Given our very rapid growth and with each new restaurant that opens adding 30-40 workers to our payroll, Sidewall has been in overdrive for all of our five-year history with no sign of slowing down. QBS has been a critical part of our success by offering expertise when and where we need it, negotiating the most favorable insurance rates for us, educating us on key issues and giving us the peace of mind that comes from knowing that, unlike many hospitality operations, we won’t make HR mistakes, and that, whatever comes up, we are covered.”
While Frant is steadfast in her desire to run her own business in every sense of the word, she is quick to add that Sidewall’s exponential growth may not have been possible without access to this HR guidance and the fact that the PEO relationship takes so much off her already very full plate.
Results
Sidewall and QBS have forged a strong and seamless working relationship, which not only helps the business run smoothly for Frant but helps make life easier and more convenient for Sidewall employees and managers. QBS’s web-based and secure technology play a huge role in driving operating efficiencies and conveniences for all involved. Sidewall is committed to being as paperless as possible, leveraging electronic onboarding and an HR portal that can be accessed anywhere and allows employees more self-service options.
Among the areas where Sidewall says QBS has been most helpful are:
- Payroll reporting and tip management. Frant notes, “There are many ways of handing these issues, and QBS has seen them all and can offer suggestions on pros and cons of each option, which is especially important when dealing with the variability of hospitality pay data.
- Equal Opportunity Employment Commission and Fair Labor Standards Act issues – ensuring fair and consistent pay, overtime management and employee classification and establishing practices for extraordinary circumstances, like possible wrongful termination.
- I-9, OSHA, Unemployment and Workers Compensation compliance
- Affordable Care Act compliance and cost-effective benefits negotiation and brokerage services. “We very much appreciate that QBS’s broker searches the market diligently each year to ensure that we are getting the best rates and the best coverage for our employees for the money we have to spend,” Frant adds.
Advice for Others
While Frant acknowledges that some smaller organizations may be able to handle payroll and HR issues themselves, she is quick to note that hospitality industry HR is complex and time-consuming. She believes in HR, like in any other area of one’s business, it’s important to find subject matter experts to help. “When spending time on certain tasks takes you away from what you and only you can do to make your business successful, it’s time to bring in an expert. For me, that means I need to focus on how my employees feel, empowering and motivating people to do a good job, and what kind of pizza we should create next, rather than getting bogged down in filling out paperwork or negotiating insurance.”
When evaluating an expert, she says businesses should look for peer recommendations, technical evaluation, and scalability. However, she suggests that personal connection is paramount. Finding a partner that consistently does what they say they will, proactively addresses needs, adds value in all they do and is pleasant to work with makes life a lot easier. “In the end, you will spend a lot of time with an HR and payroll firm, so make sure they not only can do the job, but that they are people you’d like to talk to every day. QBS and its people are not only experts in their fields who help guide us and shape our business, but they do it with the utmost dedication to service and doing the right thing. They have become our trusted partners and friends.”
OFFERING TOP-NOTCH BENEFITS WHILE REDUCING COSTS
C.H. Patrick
Background
Family owned and operated, Sidewall Pizza has grown from one restaurant in Travelers Rest, South Carolina to seven restaurants throughout Upstate South Carolina, with an eighth in the works, in a little over five years. The restaurant employs a core group of approximately 40 full-time corporate employees and approximately 250 part-time employees across all its locations.
Challenges
Like many small companies, C.H. Patrick was struggling to manage all the tasks at hand while addressing ever-rising health insurance costs and benefit program fees. With no formal HR department, the company’s chief financial officer handled most personnel related issues and processes, eroding the time he had available to focus on growth and efficiencies in other areas. While C.H. Patrick had a payroll vendor in place, HR continued to require a great deal of their time and attention and manual input, and the vendor offered them no assistance with compliance and risk management issues. They were looking for an easy and affordable turnkey solution that would not require them to make changes to their current benefits plan. “As a small company, every penny counts, “said Tom Reardon, chief financial officer, C.H. Patrick. “We have many long-term employees who are more like family, so we are are committed to offering them the best possible health care and benefits, but this commitment resulted in steep year-over-year increases in health care costs and expensive 401(k) plan administration fees. We had to find a better way, but we had no idea what was possible.”
Solution
Enter Quality Business Solutions’ team of HR experts. “From the beginning, they seemed more concerned with figuring out how they could help us than they were with signing us on as clients,” added Reardon. Quality Business Solutions began with a complete audit of all programs and procedures, followed by discussions with company leadership about their specific needs and challenges, including the requirement that there be no change in what they called their “Cadillac” health care plan and their desire to make things as easy and automated as possible. QBS followed up by meeting individually with each employee to discuss their needs, explain the options available to them and determine the best fit for them. “QBS’s top-notch personal service and dedication to creating a customized solution for us really set them apart from any vendor we have ever worked with,” said Reardon. QBS recommended a professional employer organization arrangement for C.H. Patrick. Under this arrangement, QBS serves as the employer of record for tax and compliance purposes. This would not only ensure access to QBS’s advanced technology, platforms and processes, while mitigating risk, employing best practices, offering greater convenience and ease of use for employees and driving efficiencies. Another key benefit of this arrangement is entering a broader pool for health insurance. As a small employer covering only a couple dozen employees and their families, it was difficult for the company to balance risk, which drove up costs.
Results
“Under the PEO arrangement, QBS handles everything HR-related for us, freeing up internal resources and giving me the time to focus on our core business” said Reardon. “They made the switch from our previous provider completely painless, and I only had to provide them with a list of employee data. Although I had been afraid making a change would cause disruption, I could not believe how easy and effortless the process was for us.” Reardon reports that C.H. Patrick realized an immediate positive financial impact from switching: They kept the exact same insurance plan and health insurance costs went down by approximately 20 percent. Their 401(k) plan administration fees were also reduced by more than 10 percent. These financial benefits continue to bear fruit several years later. “While nearly every other company I know has seen major health care cost increases over the past several years, ours costs have actually gone down every year for the past three years. This allows us to continue to offer our employers excellent coverage without increasing costs, making us an employer of choice that attracts and retains top talent.” Reardon is also quick to point out the other benefits of working with QBS, including adopting formal employee onboarding and training processes, consulting on human resources issues nd help in other areas. “When we hire a new person, I simply give them a social security number, and all is taken care of,” he added. “I can do payroll with the press of a button. Our systems are state of the art and secure. I don’t need to keep track of swiftly changing HR regulations, because I know we will always be in compliance, and I can spend my time on growing our business rather than handing personnel.” When asked what sets QBS apart, Reardon emphasizes deep expertise, proactivity and service. “There are never any surprises, and I have access to the most senior level people in the organization, who keep me informed and are willing to do whatever it takes and help in any way they can to ensure that we succeed.” Reardon advises small business owners to take the time to learn about other options out there. “Until I talked to QBS, I thought we had the best arrangement we could afford, but once they showed me what was possible, making the switch to a PEO relationship with QBS was a no-brainer. Their services have more than paid for themselves, and the peace of mind and time savings we have gained through the relationship have been invaluable. QBS has become one of my most trusted advisors and a driving force in our company’s progress. I would recommend QBS to anyone.”
PERSONALIZED HR SOLUTIONS
Cody’s American Restaurants
Background
Cody’s American Restaurants is a fun, casual, family-friendly roadhouse that prides itself on serving its guests “Just Plain Good Food®.” The restaurant group, which is headquartered in Ocala, Florida and operates four franchise locations throughout the state. The corporate office and four locations operate as separate legal entities. With a distributed workforce, varying benefit options and frequent turnover, franchise-based restaurants like Cody’s can present a unique set of human resources challenges. These issues require a steady hand and great attention to detail.
Challenges
Scott Kassapis, who handles operations and marketing for Cody’s, is up for the challenge. Although he takes a very hands-on approach to operational issues, he has used an outside vendor for the past 10 years to handle some of the most time-consuming HR issues, including payroll, benefits, workers compensation, taxes and compliance. Data and ease of use are very important to Scott, but he found himself having trouble getting accurate information in a timely manner from his previous vendor. “Because our employees rely on us and we on them, bringing an outside vendor in to handle HR requires immense trust,” said Kassapis. “We have to know that the partner we choose will be not only ethical and reliable, but knowledgeable and proactive. When it became clear we could not get what we needed, we decided to look for someone else to help us with these mission-critical issues.”
Solution
When Scott turned to his trusted benefits broker for an HR services vendor recommendation, he was quick to point them toward QBS based on the company’s sterling reputation, dedication to customer service and deep industry expertise. Cody’s began a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) relationship with QBS in April 2016. Under this arrangement, QBS retains legal and compliance responsibility for Cody’s HR, including tax reporting, compliance and risk management, payroll, policy development, benefits programs for eligible employees, insurance, worker’s compensation, etc. While many companies use this arrangement to completely hand over their HR programs and payroll to a vendor, those like Scott, who prefer to be more involved, can be involved as much as they like to be – using QBS’ proprietary portal and technology to run reports, and, in Kassapis’ case, to continue to key-in payroll from timeclocks. According to Kassapis, “QBS has been great about meeting me where I was and allowing me to do as much or as little as I chose to do, which frees me up to focus only on those functions where I could provide additional scrutiny or add value.”
Results
By making the switch to Quality Business Solutions, Cody’s has been able to improve the overall quality of its HR operations while reducing costs. From negotiating significantly better benefit rates for eligible corporate employees to charging a lower overall rate for PEO services than Cody’s previous vendor, QBS has saved the restaurant chain a great deal of money. Kassapis notes, “QBS has provided us with the best service and PEO relationship we’ve ever had, for less money than anyone has charged us and saved us money on our billing rate. It’s hard to argue with those results.” Cody’s benefits from knowing that QBS experts are available to help them with critical issues for their business, like ACA requirements, addressing high turnover and 80/20 FLSA rules, as well as any other needs that may arise. “It can be difficult to predict what issues may come up over the course of time, but with QBS, I know we are covered. Whatever we need them to do and whenever we need it, I know we can always count on them to find a quick and logical solution. While QBS serves thousands of employees across all 50 states, Kassapis says the company still delivers the ultimate level of personal attention and responsiveness. “QBS feels like a small company doing big things,” adds Kassapis. “We have a dedicated point of contact, backed up by a large team of experts, so we always feel like our issues are their first priority.” Kassapis enthusiastically recommends QBS to his fellow food service operators but is careful to point out that all types of companies will benefit from working with the company. “QBS’ work, professionalism and subject matter expertise have been beyond reproach, but, more importantly, they excel in giving us what we need to succeed and making my life easier, I would absolutely recommend QBS to any company, regardless of their industry.”