By Louisa Henry, Head of Product for Mid-Market Businesses at Gusto, and Eric Schuchman, Head of Product & General Manager
The world of work is changing in real-time. And it’s opening up a world of possibilities for both employers and employees. Businesses can expand their reach and access talent across geographies like never before. And workers, now more than ever, can choose when, where, and how they do their best work.
Of course, this new world of work isn’t without its complications. Perks and policies that were once considered exceptions in the workplace, like flexible schedules and remote work, are now expectations. And overhauling workplace policies and embracing ever-evolving employee needs, all while finding the right balance of collaboration and company culture, is no easy task for HR teams—especially on the heels of a life-altering global pandemic, amid the hottest job market in recent memory.
This is the era of the empowered employee and flexibility is the future. As businesses continue adapting to this new era of modern work, HR teams need a partner with solutions that can scale and adapt alongside them. That’s why Gusto has built even more features that support HR professionals and growing companies as they navigate the unique challenges and opportunities of today’s modern workforce.
Hiring and Onboarding from Anywhere, Simplified
The ability to control where you work is a byproduct of the pandemic that is here to stay. In fact, 50% of workers said that the ability to work from home some or all of the time would be a major (40%) or the most important factor (10%) in determining whether to accept a job offer in the future. That’s why we’ve added multiple tools and integrations that provide businesses with an opportunity to fine-tune both the hiring and work experience for workers.
On Gusto, businesses can now recruit, hire and onboard all in the same place. In addition to Gusto’s onboarding tools, we’ve built an applicant tracking system right into Gusto so businesses can easily create and manage job postings, post them publicly to a job board, and collect responses from the interview team. And, when the team is ready to move forward with a candidate, Gusto streamlines that too by providing a customized offer letter and then automatically adds new hires to payroll.
If a business already has an applicant tracking system, that works too. We integrate with top recruiting and applicant tracking software providers like Breezy HR, Greenhouse, and Jazz HR, allowing HR teams to save time by combining workflows and transferring data instantly.
These features and integrations, in addition to employee onboarding tools that save time for growing businesses — such as custom onboarding checklists and document storage — give employees a great first impression by fostering an engaging interview experience and setting new hires up for success from day one.
Near and Far: Talent Without Borders
Building a great business starts with hiring the right people. But for decades startups and growing businesses have been boxed in by geographical limits to hiring, unable to cross state lines and go global to tap into new talent pools. Larger businesses with more resources, have not.
Geographic borders can no longer be barriers to hiring the best talent available. The share of employees on Gusto who live more than 100 miles away from their workplace has increased 240% since 2019. Companies that want to stay competitive and retain talent will have to embrace a “multimodal work experience” — a combination of remote, in-person, and hybrid employees. But there are an equal amount of payroll, tax, and HR complexities that need to be managed.
Businesses of all sizes deserve accessible technology that bridges the talent gap. To help growing companies get all the benefits of globalized talent acquisition and management without the headaches, we now support state payroll tax registration. We handle the paperwork with state and local agencies so businesses can start paying their employees quickly and focus on growing their businesses. That was the case for ApproveMe.com, which saw a huge spike in demand during the pandemic and needed to grow quickly. Gusto helped them do that – so they could nearly double their headcount. Gusto has also saved them much needed time. ApproveMe.com has been able to save at least seven hours a month or two weeks (84 hours) of time annually, an amount that will only increase as they continue to add more employees.
More and more organizations are also tapping into global talent pools by bringing on independent contractors from around the world. Over the last year, 43% of businesses reported that their use of contractors increased thanks to how quickly employers can now tap into specialized and specific skills that might only be needed for a single project. Through Gusto, businesses can now pay independent contractors in nearly 100 countries.
Whether remote, hybrid or in-person, businesses need a simple, all-in-one solution to manage everything from their employees’ hours to time off, holidays and workforce costs. That just got easier with our new mobile time tracking and geolocation tracking functionality, which allows employees to clock in and out from anywhere in the Gusto Wallet mobile app. Once their manager approves, hours sync seamlessly into payroll. With many workers located outside the traditional four walls of a company HQ, this creates transparency for both employers and employees.
Bring your own 401(k): A Benefit That Supports Your Team Into the Future
Employees want their employers to meet them where they are, not just in location but also where they are in life. To commit to a company long-term, employees want to know their companies are making long-term investments in their future and well-being. That’s why we’re making retirement benefits even more accessible and flexible for growing businesses.
For modern employers who value their current 401(k) provider and want to fuse their 401(k) plans with payroll, we now fully integrate with top 401(k) providers so that employers can manage employee payroll and retirement benefits all in one place. This brand new feature includes:
- Automatic contribution sync: When employees change contribution rates, contribution settings are automatically updated on Gusto. No more manual tracking and updating contributions mean more time saved and fewer errors.
- Synced employee data: Employee data and hours worked can be seamlessly synced. This supports automatic eligibility tracking and helps ensure your plan is up-to-date.
- Employee access: Your team can access their paystubs, W-2s, 401(k) accounts and contribution details, and more — all from their Gusto accounts so your employees can see more info in one place and are empowered to self-serve so HR can focus on support and further innovation.
People are the foundation of any successful business. And HR teams are essential to cementing business needs and the employee experience. In this ever-changing landscape, Gusto is proud to be the all-in-one partner helping growing businesses take care of their teams, create great places to work, and build for the long-term, regardless of where they live and work.
For more information on how Gusto supports growing businesses, visit gusto.com/for-growing-businesses.
