TRUST Consulting Group

In her 30-plus years in the restaurant industry Alicia Pounds determined that efficiency and a laser focus on the bottom line are key factors for success and profitability. She supports her clients with those two initiatives through an employee onboarding process designed for ease-of-use with restaurant employees and an associated hiring tax program that reduces federal tax liabilities. These customized services additionally include vital business prerequisites for the human resource sector with a one-stop shop approach – background checks, eVerify food handlers classes, and retention programs.

TRUST Consulting Group was created with a purpose of solving important tax issues while adding profit for businesses through customized onboarding processes. Adding money back to the bottom line has been TRUST Consulting Group’s focus since its inception in 2001. Though their onboarding process, TRUST clients maximize efficiency and the potential for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), which give employers an incentive for hiring candidates from specific demographics—those on government assistance, unemployed veterans, disabled veterans, and ex-felons. Those new hires translate into cost savings for employers with an earned tax credit, which can be between $1,500 and $9,600 per hire. By allowing the employers to obtain a tax credit at the same time as onboarding, every new hire is considered for the tax credit and hiring teams have one process.

TRUST Consulting Group’s electronic onboarding solution assists new hires in completing documentation procedures effectively while helping organizations minimize time and resources invested in orientation programs. The digital process provides new hires with customized handbooks, I9s, W4s, and direct deposit forms that can be filled online, cutting down the time spent on lengthy orientation procedures. To ensure that a new hire completes documentation before the orientation, hiring managers send out an email that includes a handbook and online paperwork with WOTC and Payroll Information forms.

This gives managers an opportunity to deploy a better orientation program dedicated to the training of new hires while solidifying employees’ relationship with the organization. “The focus of our orientation process is efficiency – for the new hire, for the hiring manager, and for the administration staff,” says Alicia.

Our goal with these new services is to proactively identify patters in retention so our clients can solve any issues that are creating it, for example often restaurant’s management team needs additional coaching or maybe the starting wage needs to be 25 cents higher

While conventional onboarding involves gathering repetitive information, TRUST Consulting Group’s digital services eliminate the possibility of data duplication, avert chances for incorrect keystrokes, and reduce mistakes and redundancies. This allows back office/administrative staff to focus on their core tasks, rather than spending time on activities such as cross-checking details and validating employee information.

TRUST Consulting Group’s approach to prioritize client’s needs and fit into their new hiring process results in solving challenges and improving onboarding processes. For example, one client was struggling to train their new hires and reduce labor costs associated with new hire orientation—the entire process was taking up to three hours. With TRUST Consulting Group’s automated electronic onboarding service, the client was able to save time, eliminating redundancies and associated liabilities while adding money back to the bottom line through the WOTC program.

In order to overhaul its services further, TRUST Consulting Group has rolled out new offerings that support its clients in their business retention and turnover. The company is providing an electronic 30-day review program to the clients, which allows them to check in on new hires and see how their experience is to date. Also offers an electronic exit interview, which allows clients to gather feedback from the employees who have left the employment. “Our goal with these new services is to proactively identify patters in retention so our clients can solve any issues that are creating it, for example often restaurant’s management team needs additional coaching or maybe the starting wage needs to be 25 cents higher,” Alicia says. “Turnover, and associated training costs, are huge drains on the bottom line and also impact the Work Opportunity Tax Credit.”