From an HR perspective, employment has probably never been so complicated. From part-time to full-time, contractor to freelance, there are employee designations with varying rules these days at the state and federal levels. One of these complexities rests with hiring contractors across state lines. How can managers create an engaging environment for workers while still managing compliance across state lines?
The Complex Nature of Managing a Multi-State Workforce
Even small companies are no longer confined to hiring an in-state employee base. Many workers are currently providing services remotely, so organizations of all sizes can take advantage of a multi-state workforce. But there are challenges related to operating remotely. These can include:
- Each state has its own employment and tax laws that vary from federal rules.
- It’s difficult to maintain regularity in how employees in different states are treated.
- Insurance and benefits must be handled in different ways that vary by state.
- If your workers are required to travel, there are reimbursements to manage and additional overhead.
- Employee files must be maintained for documentation purposes.
- Withholdings are incredibly complex, from benefits to state and federal taxes.
- Communication is much harder. More people in disparate locations adds layers of nuance to your organization.
- Maintaining corporate culture when your workforce is dispersed is hard.
How can you tackle all of these challenges, from paperwork to company culture?
Solving Multi-State Workforce Complexities
Every employee or remote office should feel aligned with your corporate culture. Why? Because if your culture is strong, it will create better collaboration and retain workers longer. The dilemma is that culture often evolves over the office watercooler, as employees interact together to create the glue that holds them together.
The first step toward building this feeling in remote teams is to create company values and a mission statement. These tenets should be the guiding force for all hiring, and they can develop a sense of mission and vision, even in remote teams. There has to be a shared identity between these geographically separated groups of people.
When your teams are remote, you need to create this same feeling by using technology tools that can bring everyone together. Opening lines of instant communication by using tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams can take the place of the immediacy of stepping into someone’s office to ask a quick question. Setting up an internal website for employees to interact (and Intranet) can be a place where workers can share pictures, tell stories, tease each other, have contests, and more. Employers can facilitate this collaboration by communicating regularly, setting up rewards systems, or creating other processes that become a part of the corporate culture.
Partner With a Leading Employer of Record
While these efforts may solve the problem of bringing workers together, it does nothing to alleviate the complexities of the behind-the-scenes snarl of paperwork in today’s dispersed offices. That’s where an employer of record can help your company. FoxHire can take the burdens of a multi-state workforce off of the hands of your busy HR teams. We handle the risk associated with a dispersed workforce across state lines. This frees up your HR team to focus on building and maintain a successful and productive corporate culture where everyone.
Talk to our team. We can help.
