Vendor Management

Now it’s your turn to complain

12/23/2020

When a product or service you’ve purchased for your company goes wrong, your role switches from manager to customer. Yes, you have to call a service rep, complain, and have a problem corrected. Not fun, but as negotiation expert Marc Freeman points out, the skills you’ve learned as a manager will help.

How to spot 7 common errors on legal bills

08/26/2016

If part of your job involves dealing with outside employment law attorneys and reviewing their invoices, know what kind of overcharges to look for.

HR data security in the spotlight

11/03/2015

Don’t let your employees’ information become the target of the next high-profile data breach. Here’s what you should know before contracting with a cloud vendor.

Vendor contracts can cut data breach liability

06/24/2015

News that Chinese hackers may have accessed the personnel records of some 14 million federal workers has sent shivers down the spine of the HR industry. It’s a nightmare scenario that could affect almost any workplace. A good contract with your vendor is your best protection against liability.

Beware the heartbreak of ‘vendor switch remorse’

04/13/2015

It looks so good on paper: You can shave 5% of the procurement budget just by picking up a phone and returning that new, aggressive vendor’s phone call. But many an office manager has gone down this road only to regret it.

DOJ nixes sharing Form I-9 with outside vendors

06/26/2014

Sharing employee information among company departments, and even with outside vendors, usually makes life easier for you and your employees. However, in response to an inquiry, the DOJ concluded that an employer that sought to share employees’ Form I-9 or E-Verify information with a paycard vendor may be violating the immigration laws.

ACA SHOPs postponed one year, HHS urges using brokers instead

12/02/2013

Small business owners won’t be able go online to buy health insurance for their employees until November 2014. Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services suggests doing it the old-fashioned way—through a broker.

Work with providers to sort DOMA impact

07/18/2013

The June 26 Supreme Court decision that overturned Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act will have very specific effects on HR. The most immediate ones involve taxes on pay and benefits. If you operate in a state where same-sex marriage is legal, start working now with your benefits providers.

Benefits alert: Health insurance exchange notice requirement postponed

03/01/2013

The health care reform law required employers to begin notifying employees on March 1 about the availability of state-based exchanges as an option for buying health insurance. But acknowledging the obvious—that the state exchanges are nowhere near ready to go live—the Department of Labor has temporarily rescinded the notice requirement.

4 questions to ask about supplemental insurance

05/11/2012

Supplemental health insurance plans can build good will among employees, make your benefits package more competitive and enhance HR’s image. To make sure you secure the best coverage at the best prices, ask insurance brokers about the following topics.