Meet Nicole and Michele:

Nicole has been at ADP for a little over five years and services the small business community. She helps small businesses outsource many of their administrative tasks such as payroll insurance, HR compliance, and employee benefits in a small business environment. It is usually the owner that wears all the hats. It is her goal to provide a one-stop shop service so that all small business owners can focus on the growth and development of their vision. She brings an extremely abundant and wide breadth of insights to the table and finds good client service and support to be of the most importance. Her interests are hiking and camping, camping photography, and meditating. Michele has worked for ADP for 10 years. She primarily services, the small and mid-market sectors across various industries. In her current role, she helps businesses with complex needs meet their goals and objectives by helping them attract talent, keep employees engaged, and drive productivity in a highly competitive market. Michele lives in New York with her husband and two-year-old son. Oh, she enjoys baking volleyball, and bike riding. 

Kris: Nicole, what is hot and what is not as far as what benefits to offer staff to encourage them to start working or continue working at their organization?

Nicole: As described by the chair of the Federal Reserve, the current labor market is strong but unhealthy. And the reason that is, is because the job openings, new job opportunities per month, are at an all-time record high. So an economist would look at that and say, Great, we're in a great position, like, there's so much opportunity for growth. But on the other side, what else is at an all-time record high is the number of people quitting their jobs. So new job openings, and people quitting their jobs are at an all-time record high. And it's creating this strange phenomenon like this gap for employers, where it's creating a lot of challenges for them. And employees. At ADP, we always say these employees are your biggest liability, but they're also your biggest asset. Yeah. So, where the problem right now for employers is not revenue. For a lot of employers that revenue is actually growing like companies are doing well, like getting new clients, and keeping their current clients. That's not the issue. The issue lies within the employees and having the people do the actual work. And not just anyone but the right person. And what's going on right now is the ball is in the employees' court, they are not shy in asking what they want. And right now the employees have everything that they need to be as picky as they want to be. So an employee is not just you know when there's an interview, it's no longer the employee trying to prove to the employer why their people have reversed now it's the employer trying to prove to the carrier why they should come work for them by their company, culture is good. So all that said, that's kind of setting the stage for what the market labor market is like right now. 

Erin: So this is for you, Michele, in the current labor market, what strategies do you see clients putting into place to attract and retain employees?

Michele: There's been a huge shift toward trying to figure out, which vendors you can partner with that will actually take on some liability, right? Have some skin in the game with you as an employer, right? So what we've seen, on our side, everyone knows ADP as a payroll company, right? That's the first thing you think of. But what a lot of people don't know is how we've kind of branched out and differentiated ourselves. So one of those areas is in our professional employer, organization, or PEO. So there has been a huge shift, as we see and come across some of these big challenges, right, attracting labor, keeping them engaged, how do we offer these great benefits? Where do we even come up with the strategy? Like who's thinking of these things? Because like you said, usually the person who's doing all of this is wearing a lot of different hats, right? So you know, to think about how to get really strategic with employees usually falls by the wayside, because there's so much more stuff to do, right? So I think if you guys aren't familiar with this term, right, professional employer organization, it's pretty interesting. It's a model that's been around for quite some time and gained a lot of popularity. But basically, it just takes a group, right a business that's out on its own, and allows them to leverage a big company like ADP, right? For our size, and for those resources that they don't have. So they can tap into that. We group, let's say the, you know, 100-employee manufacturers, right, we'll take them and group them with our 600,000 employees, we're on paper really big. But what that does is it shifts liability over to ADP, right? So we're gonna give you support, we're gonna give you, you know, our benefits package that a small business wouldn't be able to get on their own. \So these are some ways that people are thinking outside the box, starting to realize that, hey, we're in a really uncertain market right now. There is, you know, so much uncertainty at every corner, right? We don't know if the economy is good, we don't know.

And so much more… 

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Connect with Erin on LinkedIn and visit http://www.earthlinginteractive.com for web-based solutions to your complex business problems!

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Connect with Kris on LinkedIn and visit www.genalpha.com for OEM and aftermarket digital solutions!

Lori Highby Chris Harrington and Aaron Courtney, three broads, bringing you stories and strategies exploring manufacturing topics that

All right, ladies, I'm curious. What nickname haven't been called throughout your life, or nicknames?

You're gonna have to give it up to us first, Chris, you gotta you gotta kick in. That's fair. Deal. Do your reveal.

Because Okay, okay, I'll go first. Well, my first name full name is Christina. So Chris is of course wonder. My family called me, Christie. So

I played basketball, I was called scrappy. So I was scrapped

knives. I played

playing my nickname. And then I dated another Chris at one point in time, and I was little Chris. And they were big Chris. So I've also been

That I'm struggling with them. No, oh, peih. Gee, I go there.

This is our show we can do well, there's not really I'll just

say my maiden name is cocking COC K ing. So just open it up for creativity. And call that Okay, okay. I've got thick skin because I

Wow. Married like, as soon as you

need a name, I don't care.

Last name, but

now now it's just Highby a lot of people just call me Highby. Yeah.

So my dad, second wife. She's wonderful woman. She had a child. And his name was also Aaron. So there were two of us in the house. So he used

It's like your school teacher.

I thought it was more like a little southern Bay like missing. Today, Miss Erin.

Oh, that's true. Yeah,

I can see that. My interpretation. Whoa, somebody's gotta get shouted a now. Yes. So they're a little bit better.

We have an awesome show. We have two guests. This is the first time we've ever had two guests. We have five women on zoom right now all

need some like yeah, I'll work on that.

Alright, so let me tell you about these ladies. So Nicole has been at ADP for a little over five years, and services the small business

their vision. I gotta take a breath

here. We got two guests.

She brings in an extremely abundant and wide breadth of insights to the table and finds good client service and support to be of most

role, she helps businesses with complex needs meet their goals and objectives by helping them attract talent, keep employees engaged, and

welcome you guys this is. So for our audience, they're in the same room together, which is like, you know, in this era of zoom, like two

They even look coordinated. Don't think

they're buds. Right.

All right. So I'm going to jump in with some questions. And the first question is for you, Nicole, what is hot and what is not as far as what

Oh, I cannot wait to this.

Yeah, this is. I mean, I don't know the current labor market right now, as described by the chair of the Federal Reserve. He said, It's

jobs. So new job openings, people quitting their jobs are at an all time record high. And it's creating this strange phenomenon like this gap for

well, like getting new clients, keeping their current clients. That's not the issue. The issue lies within the employees and having the people to do

interview, it's no longer the employee trying to prove to the employer why their peoples have reversed now it's the employer trying to prove to the

aggregate data. And we have a pool. Yeah, we have a huge pool of, of people to survey and you get like a State of the Union, what's going on? So and

what employers need to do is number one, what's not hot is the status quo. Like just continuing to do what you've been doing. That's out. I like that

And unfortunately, status quo is the norm right?

It's right it's set. It's it's yeah, people So,

right, they know what they know, change is hard. Yeah. To bring, you know, this level of knowledge to somebody, sometimes you see a lot of

Absolutely. Yeah, it's. And so what I, what I got from this mostly is that it's not so much about the type of benefit that you're offering. Number

whether an employer wants to or not, like agrees with this or not. Employees need support from their employer in their personal lives now to

come to mind is a thing that's really rising right now is employers offering student loan repayment sure fit. And that will help because

financial planning, like budgeting like this, like all this, all these things I have no idea about so employers offering financial well being

client service, the rep is knocks it out of the park takes care of everything. Um, you know, my clients happy, I'm happy. I'll go on the ADP

coworker in my office. He's like a kind of source. I call him up. He's like, he's like, Yes, get into it. He's like, but they're really expensive.

Oh, good for you. This

is what this is what makes the difference? Yeah. But oh, hurts like that.

Wow. That's it. So many great insights. Yeah. And it's so interesting. Yeah. And, you know, I'm sure I would imagine that the

on the outside, and then when they go to leave work, they forget who they are at work. It's super weird. Anyway, we're done with that now, right?

market, what strategies do you see clients putting into place to attract and retain employees and so I just wanted to point out, what do you see

Yeah, I think that a huge shift has, you know, especially post pandemic, right? You mentioned it, but there's been a huge shift towards

of branched out and differentiated ourselves. So one of those areas is in our professional employer, organization, or PEO. So there has been a huge

about how to get really strategic with employees usually falls by the wayside, because there's so much more stuff to do, right. So. So I think

our size, and for those resources that they don't have. So they can tap into that. We group, let's say the, you know, 100, employee manufacturer,

box, right, starting to realize that, hey, we're in a really uncertain market right now. There is, you know, so much uncertainty at every corner,

Oh, sand. Yeah,

yeah. So so if you can kind of shift some of that liability, and at the same time, take some of the line items on your p&l and make those

58% of clients that, you know, made it through the pandemic, were actually partnering with a PEO and it made way more profitable, way more stable, and

outside, you know, we have competitors. But it's really been, it's really been a huge shift, and a place where a lot of people are going and heading

now. Yeah, well, that's, you know, one word that popped up for me when you were talking about that was resilience. Like it offers resilience

Yeah. I'm gonna shift the conversation away from people and talk more about the dollar. So I'm glad you mentioned the p&l a little bit.

Sure. This is like a tax credit fanatic. I don't know why. It's like my favorite thing that ADP does. Probably because it's so different

size companies like your Johnson and Johnson and your Pfizer's and those kinds of companies. But in 2015, there were a couple provisions made in the

credit to offset your corporate tax liability. But they found that a lot of the companies that were doing research and development manufacturing new

change it so that those companies can use the credit and they have to be five years or younger, less $5 million in revenue or less, they can use

chemicals, which certainly, you know, qualifies. But there's a whole lot of other things, there really just has to be some trial and error involved in

EDS, economic development services. Do you actually want to touch on that one?

Oh, yeah. This one's actually really cool.

I love the r&d incentivizing innovation. That is,

that's exactly what it is. It's incentivizing innovation within the United States, because a lot of people go offshore, and they want to

And, you know, one of the other ways Nicole mentioned, but economic development. So basically, there has also been a huge influx of, you know,

them, but they don't think that they have the resources internally to be able to even think about it. But if you're looking to like, let's say, move

process that states will go through to earn your business to come to their state. These are called negotiated tax credit incentives. And the tricky

the process. People move quick right? They think about these things and they don't like I said they don't think they have the internal resources to

know how much and we've found like $75 million tax incentive packages. It depends on right. That's a big one, right? Depends on the project, the

process. And like I said, an area that people don't even think about, then they go and they move, and then afterwards, they're like, Oh, do you think

yeah, so there's a couple of things that would qualify for this. One is relocation. The other is simply expansion, like your age, you know, if

gotta cut this fat, we have to, like we have to consolidate, we got to close nine of our offices, and move into that 10th office to expand because

on your website. The real estate agent, so it's a awesome,

I love these tips.

Yeah. All those manufacturers listening, what was the Federal Research, Development Credit? And the EDS? Right. Great. Okay, what?

This? Is this is a good one, I would say, operational efficiency is definitely like, you know, top of mind, how do we get more efficient

you know, putting in a workforce management system, something that's tracking time and attendance for employees, that also pulls in the data for

with, you know, some solutions there. But I would say that that's probably the biggest thing is like operational efficiency, how can we get more

Yeah, no, I appreciate that one, especially coming from the digital space. I think that's where a big part of the ROI comes in. Sometimes for

very well, how these tools can benefit them. So I really love that answer. Yeah. All right. Awesome. Well, this is kind of a fun segment for us, which

Yeah. So I see Like, unless you knew me when I was 15 You would have no idea that I am a black belt in Taekwondo karate Wow. tricks. I'm

Yes, you can. Wow.

I mean, the second part to that is that me and my mom got our black belts together. So

that's really cool. I got to meet

your mom. Yeah. I want

to meet her mom to penciling. My myself and

my mom and dad ride motorcycles together. And my dad was sitting back and he's like, you know, you're you're pretty badass. You you ride a

know, buddy, buddy with me.

So, something it's funny that this question is being asked, because me and my friend were having this conversation. I asked her what

make them feel very, very, very good. Because but I can't explain it in words. So that's why I wish more people knew about it. Because I see people

special person. Feel good being around.

Yeah, that's awesome. That is that? That is really powerful. Yes, yeah.

Well, and you can tell that you guys enjoy working together. So there's something that's going on there. That's working. I'm sure universe

brought us together for work. But for many things.

Yeah. Awesome. Nice.

All right. Well, we're gonna move to our segment, I just learned that. And Aaron, I'm gonna go to you first.

Yay. Because I usually come up with these pretty off the wall things, but this one, it's perfect. It's very relevant to our conversation today.

1010 12 years ago was only 39%. And I think that is that goes into the whole formulation of what we were talking about. It used to be you know,

interesting. And fits right with the program what do you learn Laurie?

Mind is not tied to the program at all. And I was randomly looking for something because I I always forget what I recently learned but

and just the surface. lakes rivers seas, although they're made up of liquid methane and ethane, but just that's the it's the strangely the most similar

That is interesting. Yeah, that's right. Never type stuff.

You're not a space nerd then.

I'm not I'm I definitely always call myself geek OF THE WEEK nerd of the herd when I remember. So I've said I should have said that I say that

Oh, number 34.

Wisconsin. Yeah. So and, you know, apparently, they've opened up a huge campus in Chicago for innovation. And I've always thought Milwaukee

Oh, that's great. Yeah,

yeah. I wonder if they got negotiated incentive package to the

conversation? I wouldn't that would not have crossed my mind. Right. Now. I just learned something. What about you, Nicole?

So this is a, I don't know. Okay, so I didn't just learn this, but I, like I arrived at a higher understanding of it. Okay. So I still

have like, no expectations, and to have like, no attachment to an outcome of something. And let me tell you, like the magical things that happened,

being a really good thing in the end. So I'm like committed to go on with the course of nature. And it's like the best the best path to take

for you. Americans, we, we always have a block like, you know, when you go on vacation. I don't. I'm one of those people. That just takes me a

longer vacation.

I like this idea. So I'm going to try to remember that Nicole. Yes. To teach my

two year old how to go with the flow.

Yeah, that's what you have to do yourself there. The flow will be the flow.

It's funny Aaron at the beginning, you said you're Miss Erin. My son just started his twos program and now he calls me miss Mommy. Oh.

But what about you? What did you put in? You just learned? Wow,

I just learned this. While we were, you know, comparing notes for today. And you know, what we wanted to talk about and I just learned that

Some of you are black belts.

Most of us are black belt in Taekwondo, which

is specific in karate in the same martial art. And I got my black belt with my dad. So my dad, my dad used to ride a motorcycle. My mommy can give it

Isley Yeah, my universe did bring you guys together.

Like kindred spirits.

Super fun. This is me. You guys have wonderful energy and they just watching you guys Shepard the future of the workforce, which you know, that

Oh, you guys So it's really

all right so if our audience wants to reach out to you guys and connect How should they do that? Tell us

I think probably email would be would be best because of course we have a general website but you can't it doesn't compare to have a having a

same you can contact Nicole directly or you can reach out to me it's Michelle dot Bassett polio at ADP my mom set me up with Michelle with one L

Okay, all right. Great. Well, make sure to have it in the show notes. You guys up here. Pleasure. Thank you.

Thank you so much. So much fun. Yeah, we

learned a ton and thanks.

Thank you. Bye, bye bye.

This wraps up today's broadcast. If you're looking to shake up the status quo at your organization, or just want to connect with these broads.