Sherri Bovino, President and CEO of 1st Flagship, has been working in the human resources industry for nearly 30 years and has been the principle owner of the international human resources and consulting firm specializing in productivity, gainsharing and operation management since 1985. She takes great pride in providing companies as well as individuals with new opportunities for growth and expansion.

However, the most memorable aspect of Ms. Bovino is not simply her notable career accomplishments, of which she has many, but it is her considerable philanthropic work that truly makes her a remarkable person.

Ms. Bovino is a major contributor and co-chair of the Women’s Philanthropy Fund of Orange County which is an organization solely focused on helping women and children who are in need of support.

Founded in 2002, the Women’s Philanthropy Fund consists of over 110 members who give $10,000 or more every year to support the Orange County United Way. The WPF is the most successful group of women philanthropists in Orange County and in conjunction with the United Way provide crucial help to thousands of underprivileged women and children who are in need of basic services such as medical, education, financial and counseling.

The WPF member’s collective support of the women and children of Orange County has transformed the lives of many families in the community by providing them with the emotional and financial support to get them back on their feet to ensure them safer and brighter futures.

Ms. Bovino’s philanthropic reach extends even further by serving as the Executive Director of the Owl Foundation. The Owl Foundation is focused on out-of-school/out-of-work youth to raise their self-esteem by while enabling them to continue on with their education and teaching them the job skills to help make them successful and independent adults.

Ms. Bovino attended Boise State University and majored in Business Administration before going on to become owner and president of 1st Flagship which is the parent company of GHRO, a professional employer organization and administrative services organization which specializes in human resources outsourcing.

Even though Ms. Bovino’s many accomplishments take up most of her time she still manages to enjoy her family and pursue some more leisure interests including traveling, reading, snow skiing and learning to play golf.

However, despite her busy schedule, the amazing fact remains she is dedicated to making it a priority to contribute to the future well being of Orange County’s families and youth by generously giving her time and money to important local philanthropic work.

To help reduce costly mistakes, an increasing numbers of companies are turning to a professional employer organization (PEO) to have better access to experienced HR consultants who can help with many time-consuming HR functions.

A Professional Employment Organization is a single source provider of HR outsourcing that will serve as a human resources department for client companies who want to utilize their services to reduce costs and raise efficiency.

PEO’s provide experienced human resources specialists who perform the duties of a staffing agency while also extending HR consulting and management of payroll services, risk management, employee benefits and other human resources functions.

The reason PEO’s work so well for small and mid-sized companies is because they assume the responsibilities and risks of employee maintenance.

When hiring a PEO, client companies enter into a practice referred to as co-employment. They take on the burdens of procuring and retaining employees as well as the tasks of assuring government compliance and the requirements of safety and workers compensation by becoming their employer of record for tax and insurance purposes.

A  PEO supplies companies with administrative services, reduced liabilities, benefits outsourcing, employee benefits, employee handbook, employee/labor relations, employee leasing, HR consulting and HR management.

A full service PEO will provide the following:

• Payroll Services
• Recruitment  services
• Risk Management
• Employee Benefits
• Human Resource Services

Hiring a PEO means a company can focus on their core business and cost-effectively outsource the expense and often complex employee relations that can strain a company’s budget as well as deflect from achieving their overall goals.

A professional employer organization will enable business owners to enter into a co-employment relationship knowing that the successful management of employees is in the experienced hands of human resources administrators whose number one priority is to save their client company time, money and effort.

Small businesses need to continue to grow in order to for the middle class to flourish and remain a stabilizing economic force. It is often said the middle class is the backbone of the American economy. This is certainly true when considering the combined contributions small businesses have made to their communities as well as to the nation’s economy as a whole.

Large corporations are considered too big to fail and the damage brought about by their demise is a topic widely debated. However, the impact of loosing a good portion of the small businesses responsible for significantly raising the standard of living and being one of the most effective driving forces of the affluence enjoyed throughout the 1980s and well into the 2000s is grossly underestimated.

Small business is vital to keep the opportunities open for hard working individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit to positively contribute to the economy.

It is not only important for banks to keep loaning money and ensuring that small businesses have the capitol they need to expand and help nourish the sickly economy back to health, but also for small business owners to take advantage of all the resources that are available to them.

These resources include human resources outsourcing to cut costs, stay competitive and have access to a more skilled and reliable work force.

Small businesses are critical to economic recovery. Over the past ten years small businesses were reportedly responsible for nearly 80 percent of the new jobs created annually. This is why it is so vital for them to not only be supported by our government, banks and other financial institutions, but it is also necessary for small business owners to utilize all of the tools in today’s tool shed, which includes human resources outsourcing as a valid cost cutting and time saving business solution.

Many organizations are restructuring to include outsourcing human resources. Businesses have found that they can not only cut cost and raise efficiency by outsourcing, but they can also improve the accuracy and speed at which a project is completed while having greater access to advanced technological expertise.

Cutting cost is only one of the benefits outsourcing offers both large and small businesses. Outsourcing allows companies to convert fixed costs into variable costs and reduces expenditures which release investment capital and raise profit margins, making them more interesting to investors.

Companies that do not take advantage of outsourcing human resources find they pay more for marketing, development and research, distribution and other operating costs. Outsourcing a contractor also allows companies to focus more on their core business by freeing up their in house employees.

Other reasons companies are choosing to outsource include:

Lowers labor costs – Finding temporary employees for short-term projects can be expensive and time consuming. Attracting qualified and reliable candidates without offering employee benefits can be difficult without the incentives usually involved in the hiring process.

Reduces risk – Outsourcing providers assume many of the HR risk management that face business in regards to HR audits, HR consulting, lawsuits, payroll services, regulations and government compliance, safety and worker’s compensation, short term/long term disability and employee/labor relations.

Increases Efficiency – An outsourcing firm will usually provide experienced individuals who do not require lengthy and expensive training.

Outsourcing human resources can provide businesses with the options they need to stay competitive in current economic climate. Outsourcing has become so commonly incorporated into business strategies that companies are beginning to outsource entire departments rather than individual positions such as billing or payroll.

Companies are able to devote more of their resources to their core businesses and bring products to market faster when they utilize outsourcing. As a result they are bringing in larger numbers of outsourced employees and still find they are lowering costs.

Global Human Resources Outsourcing Total Solutions provides integrated HR management, employee benefits, payroll and worker’s compensation services through an effective co-employment model that provides the benefits of a highly-staffed HR team without the overhead costs.

GHRO understands that in today’s changing marketplace that is continually incorporating advancing technologies, one of the most important resources a company has is the qualified people who are made available through outsourcing.

By Susan M. Heathfield, About.com Guide

Looking for ways to potentially cut costs and unburden your shrinking Human Resources staff members? Do you have staff working until six and seven at night? Are you going home each day feeling as if you will never catch up? If so, join the crowd – or choose not to join. Outsource instead.

“The current economic climate is forcing organizations to explore tactics to remain competitive. Business process outsourcing of certain functions is an increasingly popular way to improve basic services while allowing HR professionals time to play a more strategic role in their organizations.”

In a recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), HR professionals were asked if they outsource any HR functions. Additionally, if they do outsource, they were asked what functions they outsource. HR professionals were asked to select all that apply.

“Reason for Outsourcing

• 26 percent – Save money
• 23 percent – Focus on strategy
• 22 percent – Improve compliance
• 18 percent – Improve accuracy
• 18 percent – Lack experience in house
• 18 percent – Take advantage of technological advances
• 17 percent – Offer services we otherwise could not
• 15 percent – Focus on core business
• 5 percent – Other
• 47 percent – Do not outsource[/li[

Functions Outsourced

• 84 percent – 401 (k) administration
• 84 percent – Employee assistance/counseling
• 74 percent – Retirement planning help
• 73 percent – Pension administration
• 72 percent – Temporary staffing
• 68 percent – Background checks
• 57 percent – Training and management development programs
• 54 percent – Executive development and coaching
• 53 percent – Health care benefits administration
• 49 percent – Employee benefit administration
• 49 percent – Payroll
• 46 percent – Risk management
• 44 percent – Executive staffing
• 41 percent – Employee relocation
• 40 percent – HRIS selection, training implementation
• 32 percent – Recruitment
• 17 percent – Executive compensation and incentive plans
• 15 percent – Policy writing
• 14 percent – Administration of compensation/incentive plans
• 11 percent – Wage and salary administration”

Why is a lifestyle wellness program necessary?

• 27 have cardiovascular disease
• 24 have high blood pressure
• 50 or more have high cholesterol
• 26 are overweight by 20 percent or more
• 44 suffer from stress
• 59 don’t get adequate exercise

Please join GHRO as we discuss the importance of Health to your company.

Sue Parks, CEO of WalkStyles, Inc. will present the ICount program and share why your company’s health is important to your bottom-line!

When/Where:

President Barack Obama has signed legislation that extends the COBRA subsidy program until May 31, 2010..

Before the extension, involuntary terminations that occurred after March 31, 2010, didn’t qualify for subsidies for COBRA continuation coverage.

With the extension, workers who are or were involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008 and May 31, 2010 are eligible for 65 percent COBRA subsidies. Workers can receive the subsidies for up to 15 months.

The extension also includes a provision that allows workers who were involuntarily terminated after March 31 but before passage of the extension to qualify for the subsidies.

Given the latest extension, employers will have to update their COBRA notices. HR.BLR.com and Compensation.BLR.com will post revised notices once the Department of Labor updates its model notices.

The COBRA subsidy program was created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The Senate has approved legislation that would extend the program through the end of 2010. However, the House has yet to give its approval.

The Professional Employer Organization (PEO) industry’s primary market is businesses with 5-2500 employees. PEOs are in demand because:

• Business must comply with over 60 different employment-related governmental regulations. These obligations are beyond the ability to be done cost effectively by most mid-size businesses.

• Insurance providers charge small and midsized employers more for employee benefits than they charge larger employers. In addition insurance agents who are paid on commission are not interested in pursuing these smaller companies.

• Small and mid-sized businesses are substantially underserved by the insurance industry for workers’ compensation insurance. While required by law in all states (except Texas) many companies find that coverage is difficult to obtain and the cost of coverage to be exorbitant when available. PEOs provide work comp coverage and allow business to eliminate up-front fees and deposits. In addition PEOs provide guidance for improving workplace safety and managing workers’ compensation claims.

• Small and mid-sized businesses are at a major disadvantage in competing for talented employees because they typically cannot afford the cost and complexities of obtaining and administering a comprehensive health insurance and employee benefits package. PEOs allow cost effective access to an array of employee benefits that may be otherwise difficult to obtain.

Because a PEO offer relief from many of these business related challenges, thousands of companies across the USA are now using a PEO to help make their business more successful.

Risk. You can’t eliminate it, but you can reduce it. And GHRO can help by working with you to create a Risk Management program that works for you. Through our strategic partnership with AON, GHRO offers coverage such as:

• General Liability
• Auto
• Employment Practices
• Property
• Pollution
• Professional Liability
• Executive Risk
• Defense Base Act
• Umbrella Coverage

Unlike brokers, however, GHRO goes beyond the sale and includes the following services:

• Claims Investigation to resolve issues and mitigate risk
• Bills Administration to ensure you’re compensated correctly
• Claims Management to eliminate your need to work with insurance companies
• Attorney and nurse case management support as required when dealing with claims

Through GHRO’s recent coordination of legal efforts, our customer received two additional summary judgments in their favor. Lawsuits happen everyday. GHRO knows how to protect, document and do the HR job correctly so that you don’t have to worry about not being prepared when you have to go to court.