Archive for category: In the News

Manager listening to an employee during a one-on-one feedback conversation

The Listening Leader: How Employee Feedback Loops Become Your Greatest Talent Advantage

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People leave managers more often than they leave companies. The difference between a manager people want to work for and one they’re trying to escape usually comes down to one thing: whether the manager really listens.

Listening isn’t passive. It’s creating space for people to speak up, actually hearing what they say, and then acting on it in visible ways. Leaders who do that build retention and loyalty that money can’t buy, making managers feel responsible and motivated to foster loyalty.

Here’s how listening becomes a competitive advantage.

Quick Answer: A feedback loop is a five-step system that turns listening into retention: ask what is working, listen without defensiveness, act on the highest-impact item, tell people what changed, then check back a few months later. Managers who run this loop catch burnout and flight risk months before a resignation letter arrives. The cost is time and attention rather than budget.

What Do Listening Leaders Do Differently?

A listening leader creates psychological safety, making managers feel responsible for fostering an environment where people can speak up without fear.

That doesn’t mean managers accept everything people say. It means they take feedback seriously. They ask questions to understand. They explain their thinking when they disagree.

Most managers listen reactively, but listening leaders proactively create regular opportunities for team members to share what’s working, what’s not, and what they need, inspiring managers to take initiative and feel empowered in their leadership.

This looks like one-on-one meetings where the first question is “what do you need from me?” instead of “here’s what I need from you.” It encourages open dialogue and actionable feedback, helping managers address real issues.

It looks like asking people for feedback about their manager, taking it seriously, and changing behavior based on it.

Organizations that build feedback into their culture see higher engagement and retention because people feel valued and heard.

What Does It Cost a Company Not to Listen?

Companies spend thousands on recruitment and onboarding, but ignoring feedback costs exponentially more through turnover, urging managers to see listening as a vital investment.

The thing is, listening is free. It costs time and attention, but it costs nothing in dollars.

Yet most companies treat it like it’s optional. They act surprised when good people leave, sometimes not realizing that the person had been screaming for help months before they left.

A manager who doesn’t listen creates problems they don’t see until people are already gone. Someone’s burned out, but the manager doesn’t know. Someone’s looking for a new role, but the manager thinks they’re happy. Someone’s about to get poached, but they never mentioned they were considering leaving.

Listening leaders know about these things early. They have the conversation. They either fix the problem or help the person find a better fit. Either way, it’s an intentional decision, not a surprise.

How Do Listening Leaders Create Feedback Loops?

A feedback loop is the system that turns listening into action. It’s not just asking for feedback. It’s asking, acting, communicating, and checking back. This process helps leaders feel confident in their ability to improve and adapt.

Step one: ask. “What’s working? What’s not? What do you need?”

Step two: listen without defensiveness. When someone tells you something hard, hear the feedback first. Ask questions to understand.

Step three: act. Pick the feedback that has the most impact and act on it. If people want clearer expectations, create them. If they want more autonomy, give it to them.

Step four: communicate. Tell people what you heard and what you’re doing about it.

Step five: check back. In a few months, ask if things have improved.

Companies with documented feedback processes see faster problem resolution and higher engagement because the system forces intentional action.

How Does Feeling Heard Affect Employee Retention?

When someone feels heard by their manager, everything changes. They’re more engaged. They perform better. They stay longer. They recruit their friends to join.

The opposite is also true. When someone feels like their manager doesn’t care about their input, they disengage. They start looking elsewhere. They tell their friends not to apply.

This is measurable. Companies that excel at listening to employees have 10-14% lower turnover than companies that don’t. That’s enormous over time.

The cost of that difference is attention and intention. Listening leaders spend about 30 more minutes per person per week than non-listening leaders. That’s it. The ROI is massive.

What Gets in the Way of Listening?

Most managers aren’t bad listeners because they don’t care; instead, systemic barriers like too many meetings and emails limit their capacity to listen effectively. Providing strategies such as protected time for one-on-ones or prioritizing key conversations can help overcome these obstacles and improve listening practices.

Some managers get defensive when they hear criticism. They take it personally. That kills psychological safety immediately.

Some managers listen but don’t act. That’s worse than not listening because it signals that feedback doesn’t matter.

The best companies protect manager time for one-on-ones. Feedback is collected systematically. Leaders are held accountable for action.

Leadership that prioritizes listening becomes a competitive advantage as companies scale because good managers retain talent while bad managers lose it.

How Do You Build a Listening Culture?

Start with leaders. Coach managers on listening without defensiveness. Teach them how to create psychological safety. Show them the business case for listening.

Embedding listening practices such as pulse surveys, team retrospectives, and skip-level meetings provides managers with clear, actionable steps, making the concept tangible and encouraging adoption.

Make it safe to give feedback. Offer anonymous surveys and make it clear that feedback isn’t punishment. You need leaders who respond to feedback with action, not defensiveness.

Close the loop. Tell people what you’re doing about their feedback. Show progress. Check back to see if things improved.

Using metrics like engagement scores, turnover rates per manager, and feedback response rates helps leaders assess the effectiveness of their listening practices and demonstrate their impact on retention and organizational success.

What Do Listening Leaders Know That Others Miss?

They know that retention isn’t about pay. It’s about feeling valued. About growth. About autonomy. About purpose. And most of all, about being heard.

They know that feedback is a gift. When someone takes the time to tell you what they need, that’s them giving you a chance to fix it. Ignoring that gift can make leaders feel appreciated and open to growth, or dismissive and closed off.

They know that listening isn’t a weakness. It’s a strength. It’s confidence. It’s knowing that you don’t have all the answers and that the people doing the work might have insights you need to hear.

They know that the cost of not listening is far higher than the cost of listening.

What Should You Do Now?

If you’re a manager, start by creating space to listen. Schedule one-on-ones if you don’t have them. Make them regular and non-negotiable. Start each one by asking what people need from you.

If you’re a leader, audit whether your managers are listening. Track turnover by manager. Look at engagement by team. The teams with the highest engagement usually have managers who listen.

Create feedback systems. Pulse surveys, retrospectives, skip-level meetings. Make it safe to give feedback.

When you get feedback, act on it. Pick one thing and change it. Tell people you changed it. Check back to see if it helped.

Listening is free. The retention benefit is enormous. Listening leaders become your greatest talent advantage.

Key Takeaways:

  • People leave managers more often than they leave companies, which makes manager listening behavior a retention lever rather than a soft skill.
  • Listening is not passive. It means creating space to speak up, hearing the answer, and changing something visible.
  • A feedback loop has five steps: ask, listen without defensiveness, act, communicate, check back.
  • Listening without acting is worse than never asking. It signals that feedback does not matter.
  • Track turnover by manager and engagement by team. The highest-engagement teams usually report to managers who listen.

INFINITI HR helps companies build feedback cultures and leadership practices that improve retention and engagement. Contact us to learn how listening leadership transforms your team.

Want more on current employment trends? Check out the recent blog, Mid-Year Employee Pulse Survey: What They Really Want Beyond Pay, Perks & PTO, or come back for additional pieces on human resources, payroll, insurance, and benefits.

INFINITI HR recognized by Washington Business Journal as one of Greater Washington's largest employers 2026

INFINITI HR Ranked Among Greater Washington’s Largest Employers by the Washington Business Journal

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Leading HR outsourcing provider ranks #243 among the region’s 862 largest employers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – INFINITI HR, a leading IRS-Certified Professional Employer Organization (CPEO), has been recognized by the Washington Business Journal as one of the Largest Employers in Greater Washington, ranking #243 among 862 organizations based on local employee count.

The annual ranking includes businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government entities across the Greater Washington region, recognizing organizations that make a significant impact on the local workforce. This year’s list represents 862 employers collectively employing more than 977,000 people throughout the Washington metropolitan area. 

“Being recognized among the largest employers in Greater Washington reflects the strength of our organization and, more importantly, the trust our clients place in us every day,” said Scott Smrkovski, CEO of INFINITI HR. “As businesses continue navigating an increasingly complex employment landscape, we’re proud to help employers across the country attract, support, and retain exceptional talent while providing the HR expertise they need to grow with confidence.”

Supporting Businesses Through Comprehensive HR Solutions

Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, INFINITI HR delivers comprehensive HR outsourcing and Professional Employer Organization (PEO) solutions to businesses in all 50 states. As an IRS-Certified CPEO, the company provides integrated payroll administration, employee benefits, HR consulting, compliance support, risk management, recruiting, and workforce solutions designed to help organizations reduce administrative burden while creating exceptional employee experiences.

The recognition highlights INFINITI HR’s continued growth and its role as both a significant regional employer and a trusted HR partner serving businesses nationwide. Through its people-first approach and innovative HR solutions, the company continues to help organizations navigate today’s evolving workforce while empowering business owners to focus on growth.

To view the complete Washington Business Journal Largest Employers list, click here.*

About INFINITI HR

INFINITI HR is a leading Professional Employer Organization (PEO) providing human resources outsourcing, payroll, risk management, employee benefits, and insurance services to businesses nationwide. INFINITI HR’s tailored solutions help companies streamline operations, stay compliant, and build strong, sustainable cultures.

For the latest company news and press releases, visit INFINITI HR’s Media Center. To learn more about how INFINITI HR can help your organization, call 866-552-6360 or email info@infinitihr.com.

*Denotes a paywall.



HR leader reviewing the top 7 HR metrics that turn people data into business growth insight

Turning HR into a Growth Engine: Experts Share Their Top 7 HR Metrics Every Leader Should Track

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This guest post is part of our ongoing partnership spotlight series, featuring insights from Inspiring HR. Reviewed and endorsed by the INFINITI HR Advisory Team.

Most HR metrics tell you what has already happened. Great leaders need metrics that tell them what’s coming next.

The difference between reporting and predicting is everything. Companies that track the right people data outperform their competitors in productivity and profitability because they see problems early and opportunities sooner. Here are seven metrics that turn HR from a cost center into a growth driver.

Quick Answer: The 7 HR metrics every leader should track are employee retention rate, new hire failure rate, employee engagement, time to fill, manager effectiveness, revenue per employee, and internal mobility. The most predictive are engagement, manager effectiveness, and internal mobility — they tell you where your business is heading before problems become crises.

What Is Employee Retention Rate and Why Does It Protect Your Bottom Line?

Retention matters because losing people is expensive. Replacing an employee costs anywhere from 40% to 200% of their salary, depending on the role. That makes turnover one of the most expensive problems hiding in plain sight.

But retention does more than save money. High retention preserves institutional knowledge. It stabilizes teams. It frees up budget that would’ve gone to recruiting, letting you invest in innovation instead.

The real power comes from tracking who’s about to leave before they do. Look for high performers whose engagement scores dropped. Check for employees who haven’t been promoted in over two years. Watch for pay compression where your best people are making less than market rate.

These signals give you time to act. Stay interviews let you find out what’s wrong while you can still fix it. By the time someone gives notice, you’re already too late.

What Is New Hire Failure Rate and Why Is It Your Fastest HR Feedback Loop?

How many of your new hires leave within the first 90 days to 12 months? That number tells you whether your hiring and onboarding processes really work.

High early turnover usually means one of three things.
1) Either you’re hiring the wrong people,
2) Setting the wrong expectations, or
3) Failing to train them properly. 

All three cost money and disrupt teams.

This metric gives you feedback faster than almost anything else in HR. Track turnover in the first six months and watch for performance issues early. When you see patterns, you can fix broken processes before they scale across your entire workforce.

Why Is Employee Engagement the HR Metric That Predicts Everything Else?

Engagement predicts performance, retention, and ROI. Experts call it the benchmark for human capital effectiveness because it directly ties people’s investments to business outcomes.

Here’s what makes engagement powerful: it tells you what’s coming. When engagement drops, productivity and retention usually follow. But most companies measure engagement only once a year, turning a leading indicator into a lagging one by the time you get results.

The fix is simple. Adding pulse surveys, manager check-ins, and real-time sentiment tracking can make HR managers feel more in control and prepared to address workforce issues early.

Organizations that track engagement alongside compliance requirements view workforce health from multiple angles. When engagement drops in a specific team, you can investigate before the problem spreads.

Time to Fill: How Fast Can You Recover Lost Capacity?

Every unfilled role is lost productivity. Time to fill measures how quickly your business can recover capacity and keep moving.

Faster hiring means faster revenue generation, especially in client-facing roles where empty seats directly impact the bottom line. But this metric gets even more useful when you track your talent pipeline strength before roles even open.

Look at how many qualified candidates you have per open role. Track offer acceptance rate trends. Monitor your passive candidate pipeline health. This tells you whether you’ll be able to fill roles quickly when they open, turning a lagging indicator into a leading one.

How Does Manager Effectiveness Drive Employee Retention?

Most people don’t leave companies. They leave managers.

Manager effectiveness drives employee engagement, retention, and team performance more than almost anything else. Poor management is the leading cause of turnover. Great managers directly influence productivity, morale, and development.

Here’s what to measure: team engagement by manager, turnover rates by manager, and performance outcomes across different leaders. Because managers shape the day-to-day employee experience, this metric acts as an early warning system for turnover risk and productivity problems.

Infrastructure that supports manager effectiveness includes clear compliance frameworks, so managers can focus on leading rather than on paperwork.

What Is Revenue per Employee and How Does It Connect HR to Finance?

This metric shows whether your workforce is getting more efficient or just getting bigger.

Revenue per employee shows how effectively your team translates effort into business output. If this number stays flat while headcount grows, you’re not scaling efficiently. You’re just adding costs.

Organizations that add people faster than revenue per employee improves are building cost structures that eventually break. The metric reveals whether productivity gains come from better systems, stronger talent, or simply throwing more bodies at problems.

Track this alongside cost per hire to see the full economic picture. When revenue per employee climbs while cost per hire drops, you’ve found the efficiency sweet spot that drives sustainable growth.

Why Is Internal Mobility the Growth HR Metric Hidden in Plain Sight?

Internal mobility, succession readiness, and skills gap metrics help you anticipate talent needs rather than react to them.

Companies that build from within move faster because they retain institutional knowledge. They reduce dependency on external hiring, which is slower and more expensive. Internal mobility also signals strong employee development and career pathing, which drives retention.

Organizations with scalable HR infrastructure turn internal mobility into a predictable growth engine instead of an occasional occurrence.

What Should You Track First?

Start with metrics that predict future outcomes. Employee engagement, manager effectiveness, and internal mobility tell you where your business is heading. Retention rate, time to fill, and revenue per employee tell you where you’ve been.

Cost per hire keeps recruiting efficient so you can reinvest savings into better talent, technology, or employee experience.

The organizations that outperform their competitors don’t track more metrics. They track the right ones and use people data to drive decisions before problems become crises. HR metrics aren’t about reporting anymore. They’re about predicting and driving business outcomes.

Key Takeaways:

  • Most HR metrics report what already happened — the 7 metrics in this article predict what’s coming next, giving leaders time to act before problems scale
  • Replacing an employee costs 40–200% of their salary, making retention rate one of the most financially important metrics to track proactively
  • Employee engagement is the benchmark for human capital effectiveness — when it drops, productivity and retention follow, but most companies measure it only once a year
  • Manager effectiveness is the most underused retention metric — most people don’t leave companies, they leave managers, making team-level engagement and turnover by manager essential data points
  • Revenue per employee reveals whether your workforce is getting more efficient or just bigger — when it climbs while cost per hire drops, you’ve found the efficiency sweet spot for sustainable growth

INFINITI HR provides HR support through Inspiring HR’s team of experienced and certified consultants. Their guidance can help clients understand, develop and leverage the workforce metrics that are most critical to their business needs. Contact us to learn how our platform and services can turn people data into growth insights.

Want more on current employment trends? Check out the recent blog, The 50-Employee HR Breaking Point: Why HR Systems Fail as Companies Grow, or come back for additional pieces on human resources, payroll, insurance, and benefits.

This article was contributed by Inspiring HR, a trusted partner that helps small and mid-sized businesses overcome HR challenges and make more informed, strategic decisions.

Leading PEO, INFINITI HR, Celebrates National Volunteer Month with a Year-Round Commitment to Community Impact

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COLUMBIA, MD – In recognition of National Volunteer Month, INFINITI HR is proud to highlight its ongoing commitment to giving back, powered by the passion and participation of its employees. Through a combination of hands-on volunteering, employee-led initiatives, and community partnerships, INFINITI HR continues to make a meaningful impact both locally and beyond.

While National Volunteer Month shines a spotlight on service each April, INFINITI HR has embedded community engagement into its culture year-round. Here’s what that looks like in action:

  • Supporting Families in Need: Each year, INFINITI HR adopts families during the Thanksgiving and holiday season, ensuring they have meals, gifts, and support during times that matter most.
  • Honoring Veterans: Through participation in programs like Adopt-a-Wreath, the team proudly supports efforts to honor and remember those who have served our country.
  • Back-to-School Drives: Now entering its seventh year in 2026, employees donate time and essential supplies through the annual backpack drive, helping equip students with the tools they need to succeed. In its fifth year alone, the initiative achieved record results, with more than 3,000 school supplies collected and distributed to students at Burtonsville Elementary School in Burtonsville, Maryland, and Bond Mill Elementary School in Laurel, Maryland. INFINITI HR also partners with local organization Neighbor Network (Neighbors Helping Neighbors) to provide fully stocked backpacks to low-income families… ensuring students start the school year prepared, confident, and supported.
  • Community Wellness & Engagement: From participating in the Best Buddies Friendship Walk on May 2nd to organizing the company’s annual Chili Cook-Off and Bring Your Kids to Work Day (complete with a scavenger hunt), INFINITI HR fosters connection, inclusion, and fun while giving back.
  • Employee-Led Giving: Team members are encouraged to support causes close to their hearts, from local shelters to community-based organizations, reinforcing a culture where giving back is both personal and collective.
  • Internal Initiatives for Impact: Programs like the company’s annual Water Challenge promote both wellness and awareness, bringing employees together around shared goals that extend beyond the workplace.

Recognized this year by Newsweek as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Mental Well-Being 2026, INFINITI HR’s approach is rooted in the belief that strong communities and strong businesses go hand in hand. 

“Giving back isn’t separate from business… it’s part of how we build it,” said Scott Smrkovski, CEO of INFINITI HR. “When employees feel connected to something bigger than their day-to-day work, it drives engagement, strengthens culture, and ultimately creates better outcomes for our clients.”

This National Volunteer Month, INFINITI HR encourages organizations to reflect on the role they play in their communities and the legacy they are building beyond the workplace.

About INFINITI HR

INFINITI HR is a leading Professional Employer Organization (PEO) providing human resources outsourcing, payroll, risk management, employee benefits, and insurance services to businesses nationwide. INFINITI HR’s tailored solutions help companies streamline operations, stay compliant, and build strong, sustainable cultures.

Learn more about how INFINITI HR helps businesses align values with action at infinitihr.com, and discover how you can get involved, support our community initiatives, and make a lasting impact alongside us.

Year-end tax planning calendar showing S-corp and partnership deadlines for retirement contributions and Section 179

Year-End Tax Planning for S-Corps and Partnerships: Deadlines, Extensions, and Retirement Contributions

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April 15th is behind us, tax season is over and I’m already hearing about the same issues: 

missed retirement deadlines, forgotten Section 179 purchases, and confusion over which deadlines are flexible and which aren’t. So let’s get clear on what has to happen before December 31st.

Quick Answer: S-corp and partnership owners face three immovable year-end deadlines — employee 401(k) deferrals (December 31), Q4 estimated taxes (January 15), and Section 179 equipment in service (December 31). Employer profit-sharing contributions and tax filings can be extended, but employee deferrals cannot

What Year-End Tax Deadlines Can S-Corps and Partnerships Not Move?

There are several year-end deadlines you can’t move. I’m focusing on the three that hit S-corp and partnership owners the hardest.

First: Employee retirement deferrals.

If you pay yourself W-2 wages, your 401(k) contributions must come out of paychecks processed by December 31st. For 2026, that’s up to $24,500, plus catch-up if you’re over 50. You can’t retroactively defer in January. If you want to max out, you need to adjust your final payroll runs before year-end.

Second: Fourth-quarter estimated taxes.

That payment is due January 15th. Even with an extension, it’s still required to avoid penalties.

Third: Equipment purchases for Section 179.

To deduct it this year, equipment must be purchased, delivered, and in service by December 31st. Ordering isn’t enough—it must be operational.

What Year-End Tax Deadlines Can S-Corps and Partnerships Extend?

Now here’s what’s flexible. 

Employer retirement contributions.
Profit-sharing contributions can be made up until your tax filing deadline, including extensions. If you extend to October 15th, you have until then to fund and deduct it. This is completely different from employee deferrals, which lock on December 31st.

Tax filing extensions.
Partnerships and S-corps file by March 16 and can extend to September 15. Just remember—extensions give you more time to file, not more time to pay. 

Year-End Tax Planning Checklist for S-Corps and Partnerships

  • Make sure you’ve paid in close to what you’ll owe in estimated taxes
  • Adjust final payroll to max out 401(k) deferrals
  • Get equipment purchased and in service before December 31st

Year-end tax planning is easier when payroll, retirement, and tax strategy are aligned. At INFINITI HR, we work directly with your CPA to make sure nothing gets missed, plan now, and December becomes a strategy session — not a fire drill. For more on current employment trends, check out our blog at infinitihr.com.

Want more on current employment trends?

Check out the recent blog, How to Align HR, Finance, and Operations Around Shared Business Goals or come back for additional pieces on human resources, payroll, insurance, and benefits.

 

*This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax or legal advice. Consult your CPA or tax advisor for guidance specific to your situation

 

 

Javier Ramirez, new Chief Operating Officer of INFINITI HR professional employer organization

INFINITI HR Appoints Javier Ramirez as Chief Operating Officer

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BURTONSVILLE, MD – INFINITI HR, a leading professional employer organization, announced that Javier Ramirez has joined the company as Chief Operating Officer. Ramirez steps into the role following the departure of Rob Blunt, who retired and served as COO since 2019.

“Javier brings a rare combination of financial expertise and operational instincts that very few leaders in this industry possess,” said INFINITI HR CEO Scott Smrkovski. “His track record of building and scaling PEO organizations, combined with his genuine passion for people and client service, makes him the right leader to take INFINITI HR into its next phase of growth. We are thrilled to welcome him to the team.”

Ramirez brings more than two decades of experience spanning PEO operations, finance, and executive leadership. Having served as CFO and senior financial executive at organizations including Alpha Staff, Engage PEO, CoAdvantage, and Access Point, he has led major accounting transformations, navigated multiple M&A transactions, and helped position several PEOs for successful acquisition. He is bilingual in English and Spanish and has led teams across Latin America throughout his career.

In his new role, Ramirez will oversee day-to-day operations, lead the integration of AI and automation tools to improve efficiency and client responsiveness, and drive cross-functional alignment across all service teams. 

For Ramirez, the opportunity comes down to one thing: client impact.

“I want our clients to know we are the PEO that really listens,” Ramirez said. “When you bring us a concern, we act. We call you back. We tell you not to worry, and then we follow through. We have long-standing clients who trust us, and they deserve that level of service every single day.”

Originally from Medellín, Colombia, Ramirez holds a master’s degree in accounting from Florida Atlantic University and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida Atlantic University. He resides in the Mid-Atlantic with his family. 

Click to read Javier’s bio.

About INFINITI HR 

INFINITI HR is the home for industry-leading top talent and proud to be The Professional Employer Organization for Franchises®. This customizable PEO by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs is the first of its kind, providing industry-leading, state-specific HR through an on-demand one point of contact, full federal and state regulatory compliance management, True-Group Master Policies for all mandatory and voluntary employer insurance (including Fortune 500® Level Custom Employee Benefits, Workers’ Compensation Insurance, EPLI, Joint-Employer Liability Insurance), recruitment process outsourcing, working capital funding, POS/time clock integration, tax filing, and payroll services for franchises of all sizes, located in all 50 states.

Click here for the latest press releases and up-to-date news on human resources outsourcing. To learn more about how your business can save time, reduce labor costs, and mitigate employer liability, call INFINITI HR at 623-455-6234 or email info@infinitihr.com.

Business leaders from HR, finance, and operations collaborating around shared metrics and integrated data

How to Align HR, Finance, and Operations Around Shared Business Goals

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Your CFO wants the headcount reduced by 15%. Your VP of Operations needs 20 new hires to meet production commitments. Your HR director is stuck in the middle with no authority to make the decision that matters.

Your HR, finance, and operations teams often feel isolated, but aligning on shared business goals can foster a sense of unity and purpose, making them feel connected and motivated.

Most companies see cross-functional alignment as scheduling more check-ins and sharing dashboards, but the core issue is departments optimizing for conflicting metrics, which hinders collaboration.

Here’s why this happens and what fixes it.

Quick Answer: HR, finance, and operations conflict because each department optimizes for different metrics. The fix isn’t more meetings — it’s shared metrics like revenue per employee, integrated data that all three departments can see, and cross-functional planning that starts with business goals and works backward to people investment.

Why Do HR, Finance, and Operations Work Against Each Other?

Finance measures success by controlling costs and improving margins. Headcount is the single largest controllable expense on the P&L, so finance naturally pushes for headcount efficiency.

Operational success is measured by hitting production targets and meeting customer commitments. More orders require more capacity, which usually means more people. Operations naturally push for headcount growth.

HR gets caught executing conflicting mandates. Hire faster to support operations. Control costs to satisfy finance. Improve retention while freezing salaries. Build culture while cutting benefits.

When departments optimize for different goals, you get predictable dysfunctions. Finance approves a hiring freeze without understanding the operational impact. Operations commits to deadlines that require staffing, but finance won’t approve. HR implements retention programs that operations doesn’t support, and finance won’t fund.

Nobody’s being unreasonable. Each department is doing exactly what its incentive structure tells them to do. The problem is that those incentive structures don’t align with each other or with the overall business strategy.

What Does Cross-Functional Alignment Really Require?

Shared metrics are more than numbers; they foster collaboration that inspires your teams to work together toward common success.

When finance, operations, and HR share accountability for revenue per employee, they can’t optimize their individual metrics at each other’s expense, fostering a collaborative mindset and shared responsibility for success.

Research from MIT Sloan Management Review shows that companies with aligned performance metrics across functions outperform their peers by 20% to 30% on key business outcomes. The difference isn’t strategy quality but execution consistency.

Shared metrics foster shared accountability, transforming decision-making by encouraging departments to collaborate on staffing levels that balance growth, efficiency, and financial constraints.

Why Can’t HR, Finance, and Operations See the Same Data?

Having a complete, integrated data system can reduce frustration and build confidence that your teams are making informed decisions together, encouraging trust and reassurance among your leaders.

Finance sees fully loaded labor costs by department, but doesn’t know if those costs are driving revenue growth or just burning cash. Operations sees production output and customer commitments, but doesn’t know the profitability of different product lines. HR sees headcount, turnover, and time-to-fill, but doesn’t know which roles actually impact business results.

When departments can’t see the same data, they can’t make the same decisions. Finance makes staffing recommendations based on cost structure. Operations makes staffing recommendations based on capacity constraints. HR makes staffing recommendations based on recruitment pipelines. All three recommendations conflict because they’re built on incomplete information.

The solution isn’t more dashboards. It’s an integrated infrastructure where payroll, benefits, workers’ comp, and operational data flow into unified reporting that shows the complete picture of how people investments drive business outcomes.

When HR systems, workflows, and documentation are spread across fragmented platforms, alignment is structurally impossible. You’re asking departments to coordinate based on data they can’t reconcile.

What Metrics Actually Align HR, Finance, and Operations?

The right metrics foster collaboration rather than conflict. Revenue per employee makes finance, operations, and HR jointly accountable for productivity. Labor cost as a percentage of revenue makes all three departments balance efficiency with growth. Time to productivity for new hires makes recruitment, onboarding, and training everyone’s problem to solve together.

These metrics work because no single department can game them. Finance can’t improve revenue per employee by cutting headcount if it reduces revenue faster than it reduces costs. Operations can’t improve it by demanding more hires if productivity doesn’t scale. HR can’t improve hiring speed if new employees take too long to become productive.

Shared metrics create natural collaboration points. When finance sees that turnover in a specific role is costing 2x salary in lost productivity and replacement costs, they stop treating retention programs as discretionary HR spending. When operations sees that understaffing is creating overtime costs that exceed the cost of proper staffing, they support HR’s hiring plans.

Studies suggest that integrated workforce planning can reduce administrative time significantly, freeing HR to focus on strategic priorities rather than manual reconciliation across systems. The savings don’t come from cutting headcount but from making better decisions about where to invest in people.

How Do You Stop HR, Finance, and Operations from Planning in Silos?

Most companies plan in silos. Finance builds budgets based on cost targets. Operations builds capacity plans based on revenue forecasts. HR builds hiring plans based on turnover projections. Then they argue about whose plan takes priority.

Don’t plan in silos. Cross-functional planning aligned with shared goals enables early detection of conflicts and better resource allocation.

Integrated planning starts with business goals and works backward to determine the people investment required to achieve them. If the goal is 25% revenue growth in a new market, what roles drive that growth? What’s the ramp time for those roles? What does that mean for hiring timeline, onboarding capacity, and compensation budget?

This requires finance, operations, and HR to answer those questions together, using shared data and shared accountability for the outcome. When planning happens cross-functionally, you catch conflicts early instead of mid-execution. Finance discovers that the headcount budget doesn’t support the revenue target before sales commit to customers. Operations discovers that production timelines assume staffing levels HR can’t deliver before making promises.

Why Does HR Technology Make Cross-Functional Alignment Harder?

The average mid-sized company uses five to seven HR platforms that don’t integrate payroll, HRIS, ATS, benefits administration, time tracking, performance management, and learning management. Each system optimizes for its specific function, but none of them support cross-functional decision making.

Finance can’t see real-time labor costs because payroll and benefits live in different systems. Operations can’t see workforce capacity because scheduling and headcount tracking don’t connect. HR can’t see the business impact because people data doesn’t connect to operational or financial metrics.

When you need three systems to answer one question, alignment is impossible. By the time you manually reconcile data across platforms, the information is already outdated, and the decision deadline has passed.

Integrated infrastructure solves this by consolidating people data in platforms that connect to financial and operational systems. When payroll, benefits, workers’ comp, time tracking, and performance data are consolidated into a unified report, all three departments see the same numbers.

This is what the PEO model delivers. Not just outsourced HR services, but an integrated infrastructure where people data, financial data, and operational data connect to support business decisions instead of departmental metrics.

How Do You Make HR, Finance, and Operations Alignment Permanent?

Most alignment initiatives fail because they treat alignment as a project instead of a system. You run a cross-functional workshop, create shared goals, establish new meeting rhythms, then watch everything drift back to silos within six months.

Permanent alignment requires permanent infrastructure. Shared dashboards that update in real time. Integrated metrics that force collaboration. Planning processes that make departments succeed or fail together. Technology that makes cross-functional visibility automatic instead of manual.

The companies that scale successfully don’t just talk about alignment. They build systems that make misalignment impossible. When your infrastructure forces finance, operations, and HR to use the same data and share accountability for the same outcomes, alignment stops being a cultural aspiration and becomes a structural reality.

Key Takeaways:

  • HR, finance, and operations conflict because each department optimizes for different metrics — finance cuts costs, operations demands headcount, and HR is stuck executing both mandates simultaneously
  • Shared metrics like revenue per employee and labor cost as a percentage of revenue create joint accountability that no single department can game at the expense of others
  • The real problem isn’t a bad strategy; it’s fragmented data. When departments can’t see the same numbers, they can’t make the same decisions
  • Cross-functional planning that starts with business goals and works backward to people investment catches conflicts before they become mid-execution crises
  • Integrated PEO infrastructure consolidates payroll, benefits, compliance, and workforce data into unified reporting, making cross-functional alignment structural rather than cultural

INFINITI HR provides an integrated infrastructure that connects people data to business outcomes, enabling finance, operations, and HR to make decisions based on complete information rather than departmental metrics. Our PEO platform consolidates payroll, benefits, compliance, and workforce data in systems that support cross-functional planning and shared accountability. Contact us to learn how we help Maryland businesses align HR, finance, and operations around sustainable growth.

Want more on current employment trends? Check out the recent blog, Conquering Multi-State Expansion: How to Hire Employees Across State Lines Without Delays, or come back for additional pieces on human resources, payroll, insurance, and benefits.

Employee Theft – Reducing Your Overall Risk

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You’ve just discovered that one of your employees has been stealing money from your company over a period of time. Once you get over the initial shock that this trusted person has been stealing from you, the logical thing is to terminate the employee and then withhold money from their final paycheck or just withhold the entire paycheck to recover those funds, right? Unfortunately, it’s not quite that easy.

Types of Employee Theft

Employee theft accounts for eight times more losses to companies than shoplifting and may occur in several different ways:

  • Cash – this can be as basic as pocketing money from the cash register to forging checks or stealing funds by moving money through different accounts. This may be considered embezzlement if the employee is in a position of trust or responsibility over the assets that are stolen.
  • Payroll – falsifying time sheets or business expenses. This can include stealing time from the company in the form of spending work hours performing non-work-related or personal tasks.
  • Company Property – this can range from supplies (pens, scissors, etc.) to company equipment such as computers or office furniture to merchandise that the company manufactures or sells.
  • Intellectual Property – employees may steal company information such as customer lists, trade secrets, or other proprietary data that can be sold to a competitor or used in some other way that would benefit the employee.

Who are the ones most likely to steal from a company? The majority are general or first-line employees, those without supervisory responsibility. About 20% were managers/executives; the rest consisted of small percentages of accountant/bookkeeper/finance professionals; receptionists and secretaries; and billing/purchasing professionals.

Tips to Minimize Employee Theft

There are several things a company can do to minimize the risk of theft in their organization

Utilize background checks before hiring – this may help identify some red flags and prevent problems down the road.

Put proper security protocols in place – these can protect both the company and the employee. Examples of these may include locked safes, limited access to certain areas or information to include restricted access to particular computer files, strategically placed cameras, or other types of surveillance equipment. For the latter, it’s important to check with your state labor agency to ensure you are following your state’s regulations on this. Generally, cameras cannot be installed in places where employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as restrooms or locker rooms. Some states may have additional rules around this.

Policies and procedures – this is especially important to have in place for those who handle cash or other financial transactions as part of their job responsibilities. This should include who is accountable during various steps of cash handling or any cash exchanges. Your employee handbook should also specify the expectations of employee conduct and prohibited behaviors in the workplace, including potential consequences of theft.

Monitor trash removal – using clear trash bags or making sure that empty boxes are flattened may keep employees from removing company property in this way.

Conduct periodic audits – these can be in the form of auditing your books or your inventory to ensure that everything is where it should be. Audits can be both internal and external.

Checks and balances – have more than one person responsible for handling all the financial matters of the company. If you have a small company and only have one person to handle the bookkeeping, try to have an external accounting firm that can periodically conduct audits for you.

What’s My Recourse?

If you suspect that employee theft is occurring in your company, there are several steps you’ll want to take.

Gather all evidence and conduct a thorough investigation by an appropriate member of management – this would be the time to work with your HR partner who can help guide or participate in the process of interviewing possible witnesses, reviewing the evidence, documenting the steps, and summarizing the findings.

Decide whether or not to involve law enforcement – this may depend on several factors, including whether the amount or value of items stolen is considered petty larceny or grand larceny. If you’re dealing with a cash theft, involving law enforcement is generally a good approach.  Decide this early in the process, as law enforcement may conduct their own investigation, or have specific recommendations for your investigation.

Maintain confidentiality – keep information sharing only to those who have an absolute need to know. You’ll also want to decide whether or not to suspend the employee pending the results of the investigation. Your HR partner can work with you on that decision.

Ensure consistency – if, after the investigation is concluded, you determine that termination is the next step, make sure to follow company policy and ensure you are being consistent with any other similar situations. This will help if the employee claims that the decision to terminate was arbitrary and others who have done the same thing were not treated the same way.

Review other pertinent information prior to termination – take into consideration things like employment contracts, collective bargaining agreements, etc. It’s also a good idea to seek legal counsel to make sure you haven’t overlooked any possible issues.

Determine whether you have employee dishonesty insurance coverage (also known as a fidelity bond) – this is coverage that can protect the employer from financial loss due to employee theft, forgery, funds transfer fraud, credit card fraud, computer fraud, and other business-related losses caused by employees and other members of an organization (such as volunteers, directors, trustees). If you have this coverage in place, you’ll need to determine what information is needed in order to file a claim. Your insurance agent should be able to help you with this.

When making the decision to terminate, most business owners believe they can withhold the amount of stolen cash or the value of other stolen items from the employee’s paycheck. That’s where it gets complicated.

Federal law may allow certain deductions from an employee’s paycheck, however, many states have their own laws on this which supersede federal law. For example, in Georgia this type of deduction might be allowable, but in California it definitely would not. Other states are in the middle with many requiring a written authorization from the employee to be able to deduct the money. Seek assistance in understanding the  concept of “wage theft,” that may include withholding money from an employee’s paycheck without employee authorization, and how it applies to your state.

Some business owners may decide to press charges against the employee and take the matter to court to try and recover their losses. This often ends up costing more in lost productivity and attorney’s fees than the value of what was actually stolen, so more and more employers are deciding against this option.

If you find yourself in the situation of dealing with employee theft, make sure to check your specific state’s labor laws to help determine your best course of action.

Click the link to view the recent INFINITI HR blog: Right to Work is Not Employment at Will or check back for more on human resources, payroll, insurance and benefits.

 

Leading PEO, INFINITI HR, Makes the Annual Inc. 500/5000 for the Sixth Year in a Row, Coming in at #3,357 for 2018

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BURTONSVILLE, MD – INFINITI HR, a rapidly growing and customer-focused PEO, ranks number 3,357 on the annual Inc. 500/5000 list. This is the sixth year in a row the leading PEO made the list. In 2017, the HR outsourcing firm ranked 3,026, jumped in rankings, and achieved an honor roll milestone, what fewer than 10% of Inc. 500/5000 honorees ever do.

Inc. 500 is a monthly magazine based in New York City targeted toward entrepreneurs and small businesses. This list is an annual ranking of the country’s top 5,000 fastest growing, private companies and also features a special ranking of the top 10 percent of the list—the Inc. 500. The Inc. 5000 includes the Inc. 500 but digs deeper to offer the most comprehensive look ever at the entrepreneurial engine driving the U.S. economy in the fastest growing companies in America. The Inc. 500/5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth over a four-year period.

In order for INFINITI HR to qualify, the company must have been founded and generating revenue by the first week of the starting calendar year, and therefore able to show four full calendar years of sales. Additionally, they had to be U.S. based, privately held, and independent – as of December 31 of the last year measured. Revenue in the initial year must have been at least $200,000 and in the most recent year must have been at least $2 million.

“We’re honored again to be amongst the nation’s most rapidly growing private companies,” INFINITI HR CEO Scott Smrkovski said. “This recognition propels us to innovate in our industry and be at the cutting edge of providing top HR solutions to companies of all sizes.”

The annual Inc. 5000 event honoring all the companies on the list will be held from October 17 through 19, 2018 in San Antonio. Past keynote speakers include Alan Mulally, Daymond John, Brené Brown, and Dollar Shave Club’s Michael Dubin.

For more information on Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Conference, visit http://www.inc.com.

About INFINITI HR

INFINITI HR is the Professional Employer Organization designed to protect franchisors, franchisees and leading enterprises from employer liability. Our PEO platform provides full Regulatory Compliance Management, On Demand HR Directors, Real-Time Payroll /Tax Filing, POS Integration and access into industry leading True-Group Master Policies for Workers’ Compensation, Employment Practices Liability Insurance and Employee Benefits available in all 50 states.

Click here for the latest press releases and up-to-date news on human resources outsourcing. To learn more about how your units can save time, money and mitigate employer liability, call INFINITI HR at 866-552-7360 or email info@infinitihr.com.

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A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned

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“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes” – so said Benjamin Franklin.    A man of many talents, a scientist, legislator, diplomat, swimming hall of fame member (believe it or not) and of course one of the Founding Fathers and as such, an originator of Public Entity leadership.

It is a convincing argument as well that he was America’s original risk manager, employing risk management, mitigation and financing techniques before it was a crucial component of any entity or enterprise.

While we can all agree that death is a sad certainty, taxes do not have to necessarily be an unavoidable fate. As it relates to public entities, certain statutory taxes can indeed can be avoided allowing for favorable financial outcomes that lend support to public entity budgetary mandates and demands in a time of ever increasing service demands and scope of mission.

In fairness, to Ben Franklin, a clear legal allowance for the circumvention of tax may not have existed during his lifetime and this cost reduction option, available only to 501(c)3 entities, including public entities, is linked directly to the statutory State Unemployment Insurance system (established 150 years after Franklin’s own inevitable death) .   Success in realizing the hard financial savings of this option are entirely dependent on employing successful risk management techniques.

Risk Management’s impact on Unemployment Cost

Within the customary structure of the State Unemployment Insurance system – entities pay unemployment taxes prior to any claims, at a potentially inflated rate, that are generally based on payroll and prior year unemployment activity. The funds go to the state’s unemployment compensation pool to pay benefits on all statewide employees. Rates are based on a combination of the overall risk of the unemployment pool and an individual employer’s experience – with factors outside of an entities control leading to increased program costs (state borrowing, subsidizing other employers, surcharges etc.). Any balance remaining in an entity’s account is happily assumed by the state as their surplus and to pay for any non-related poor performers in the unemployment pool.   On top of this, many states have borrowed from the Feds to fund any negative stress to the pool – essentially a punitive tax on all tax paying entities regardless of their individual outcomes.

However, the weighted punitive nature of the state Unemployment Insurance Tax can be avoided by public entities who elect to become a “reimbursing employer.” A reimbursing employer (or opt-out) is a  public entity  that  pays  the  state  only  for  its  own  unemployment  claims,  dollar-for-dollar,  thereby  potentially reducing their unemployment costs if their claims experience is lower than what they are paying into the state system.    Recent studies have shown that entities pay $2 for every $1 in benefits payable.  Opting out of the tax system cuts that inflated burden in half.

So the reward is there for an entity who wishes to opt out and file as a reimbursable employer – a likely 50% reduction in cost as it relates to this budget line-item.   But where there is reward there is ultimately risk.

Reimbursing entities face potential financial risk should benefits paid to separated (terminated, laid-off, seasonal or reduction in force) personnel exceed what their tax rate would have been.   Loss of funding for services, outsourcing of job functions, or poor hiring practices all impact outcomes.   But these triggers that ultimately impact cost can be well managed through some of the key risk management practices: identification, assessment, and control.

 

Identify the risk:  What is your cost?  The hard numbers come from the state agency responsible for unemployment insurance and may be provided with various form headings (Experience Tax Rate or Contribution Rate Notice being the most common).   All these forms, no matter the issuing state, will provide you with a tax rate % that when applied to your state specific wage base will give you the hard dollar cost for your unemployment tax burden.

For example, an employee making $35,000 in New Jersey will “only” be taxed on the state specific wage base of ($33,700 – again state specific as states have varying wage bases) – if the tax rate is assigned at 3%, the ultimate cost burden for this employee would be $1011.   If your entity has 500 employees with income near or at the wage base, the total tax burden would be around $500,000 annually.

Assess and analyze: What are the actual outcomes?   How many claims does your entity assume a year for unemployment benefits?  What is the hard cost of those claims?   Remember that your tax rate does not necessarily reflect your specific outcomes as additional tax burdens and rate formulas are applied to maintain the solvency of any given state systems.

Looking at our New Jersey entity above, it is entirely plausible that their total benefits paid would have been half of the total tax bill of $500,000.   Determining the exact number of claims paid over a historical basis and aligning their direct benefit charges is essential in calculating the opportunity (or exposure) that opting out of the state tax system offers.   The Tax Rate notices should provide some basis for this review including prior year benefit charges but ultimately state supplied data can be lacking (and erroneous).  A depository for this information should be any given entity’s Human Resource department (or sometimes Finance) who should have detail on claims filed and outcome detail.

The end-goal of the analysis should focus on the following – does my tax burden exceed my claims payment?  Is there a strong degree of certainty that past results have consistently been maintained under the tax burden?  And, is there a basis for the assumption that future claim counts and benefits will mirror historical outcomes?

Digging deeper into the outcomes is essential – what is causing claims?  Is the public entity doing what they need to avoid claims or achieve a better win ratio for filed claims?   Is the public entity aware of any changes in budgetary funding that can lead to increased claims?    The numbers tell volumes, but understanding what drives those numbers past, present and future is critical.

Control:  Whether or not an entity chooses to pursue an opt-out/reimbursing employer status, a prudent entity’s risk management team should assure that the unemployment process is managed and outcomes reviewed in order to maximize the reduction of these cost burdens.

 

It is necessary for the HR department to align with risk management to achieve these goals and is a partnership that both groups play integral functions.    The more significant control strategies include:

 

Clearly defining employee expectations

Does your entity have detailed job descriptions? An updated employee handbook with clearly defined policies?  Do employees sign off job descriptions, policies and handbook?  While these endeavors typically fall under the domain of the human resource department, risk management would be well served to conduct audits in partnership with HR to assure that best practices are implemented and that all personnel related documents are in place, utilized and meet statutory expectations.

 

Facts, Facts and more facts

Every entity will have an unemployment claim (or many more!).   The reduction of that financial exposure will rely on providing the documentation to support an argument that benefits should be denied. This includes e written proof of the employee’s acknowledgement of policies, reports of unsatisfactory work or misconduct, and documentation of all warnings or discipline that occurred, whether verbal or written. The more facts the better and any documentation directed toward employee performance should allow for an acknowledgement of receipt, review and understanding by that employee.

Review Human Resource Practices

The intent of the State Unemployment Insurance system is inherently noble – to help workers who are out of a job.  Those clearly protected under the various state specific statutes are employees who suffer layoffs, workforce reduction, and seasonal lulls.  And rightly so.

In conjunction with a public entity’s human resource department, risk management should review outcomes for trends – with an eye on causation – is there unwarranted hiring based on budget realities?  How are pending reductions in grants or the loss of funding sources communicated in advance of hiring or firing?  Is there adequate representation at hearings to assure that claims that should be denied are denied?  Who is responsible for responding to claims?   Is that response timely?  Each of these queries needs to be clearly vetted.

Returning to Ben Franklin’s words of wisdom, we may find that his assertion of death and taxes is partially correct, but we can agree that a “Penny saved is a Penny earned”.    Employing risk management techniques to the ownership – financially and procedurally – of the public entity unemployment tax burden can indeed lead to a positive financial outcomes.