May 12, 2023
You’re reading Gusto’s newsletter for growing businesses. If you’d like these bi-weekly updates in your inbox, you can subscribe here. New to Gusto? Try a free demo today.
Covid-19 concludes
At the end of the day on May 11, 2023, the federal Public Health Emergency (PHE) for Covid-19 officially expired. This also concludes or alters several provisions that were enacted during the pandemic, including vaccine mandates, Covid-19 testing coverage, reporting requirements, and more.
Click here to learn about what is and isn’t changing with the end of the national emergency, and check out FAQs from the Department of Labor here.
How to use ChatGPT to save your business time
We know you’ve heard of ChatGPT. You might even suspect that this newsletter was penned by it (it wasn’t, not yet anyway). For those of you who have been hearing the term but missed the window where you felt comfortable asking about it, ChatGPT is an AI chatbot that can answer questions and complete tasks, and it’s been generating tons of buzz since it was first introduced in the fall of 2022.
The technology is designed to automate tasks, provide customer support, analyze customer data, assist with language translation, and even help create content. In other words, it’s pretty much a business owner’s dream. As a small business, you can use ChatGPT to compete with larger corporations and accomplish more with fewer resources. Curious to learn more? Check out these articles on the business benefits of ChatGPT (and potential watch-outs) from Forbes, the New York Times, and Entrepreneur.
Data download: FDIC limits
For businesses, making payroll is key to staying operational. However, the latest data from Gusto shows that nearly half of businesses with 50-99 employees have monthly payrolls above the current Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) $250,000 limit. And a whopping 95% of businesses with 250 or more employees have monthly payrolls that surpass that threshold.
That’s partly why the FDIC recently encouraged Congress to raise limits on bank accounts that businesses use for payroll. This is one of the first and most important steps federal regulators can take to ensure that small businesses’ pay days aren’t in jeopardy because of bank failures. Read more on this topic from Gusto Economist Luke Pardue.
Going global
Hiring international contractors is a great way to expand your talent pool while getting expert support for key business projects and tasks. However, paying international contractors isn’t the same as paying domestic contractors. Not only do you have to consider different factors like local cost of living and currency exchange rates, you also have to use different payment methods. This article breaks down everything you need to know, including the benefits of hiring international contractors, how much to pay them, and four options for processing payments.
Side note: Is your business going remote? Whether you’re hiring one international contractor or going remote across the board, Gusto can help you run remote payroll seamlessly and compliantly. Learn more here.
Read with Gusto
Hey Talk Shop readers, Caleb here. Earlier this week, I readabout a new study that found that lots of people are freaked out about AI eliminating their jobs, but even more are eager to hand over a bunch of work to it.
While 49% of those surveyed said they are worried AI will replace their jobs, even more — 70% — said they would delegate as much work as possible to AI to lessen their workloads.
Personally, I think I’d most like for AI to go to meetings for me. “What’d I miss?” I’ll ask and then it spits out the stuff that I would’ve probably ignored if I had gone in person. The study also found that 80% of people want AI to do this too. And now I’m wondering who the poor human soul will be that has to go to the meeting to make sure all the AI proxies have something to report back. That job will have to pay well.
Norway has pretty much gone all in on electric cars, and they’re doing just fine.
People have feelings about being asked to tip at self-checkout.
Be careful, check fraud is making a comeback.
Taylor Swiftconcert tour logistics (and costs).
Fresh from Gusto (and friends)
Watchlist
MAY 16: Unlocking the Power of High-Performing Teams Through DiversityStronger, more skilled employees translate to better business outcomes. But gathering a group of excellent employees requires more than just the right resumes—you also need to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles. In this webinar, experts from GrowthQ and Twilio come together to share the essential qualities of high-performing teams, the role of DEI in business success, and how to improve your workforce with DEI commitments. Register here.
Want more news and resources? Check out past editions in our archive.
