The end of the year is approaching soon, and with some time left, it’s a good idea for business owners to ensure their employees have completed their necessary training. It isn’t easy to know what training is required for small to mid-sized business (SMB) owners who may not have a robust internal HR team. Legally mandated training can vary from state to state, and federal training regulations can apply only to specific industries or types of employers. Suppose the business has employees working remotely in other states. In that case, this can also pose a potential difficulty, as the state mandates for the remote employee’s home state will apply even if the employer is in another location. Before the year ends, take stock and make sure all compliance needs have been met.

Many factors can affect what compliance requirements are legally mandated for a business. Certain compliance training, posters that need to be displayed, and filing requirements will depend on factors such as the size and type of business and whether the company has government contracts. Accounting for local, state, and federal mandates is also important. One example of required compliance training with mandates that change depending on the location of the business is sexual harassment training.

Some states require annual training, some only require specific types of businesses to provide training, and some have no training requirements. Business owners must comply with the training mandates of not only the states they operate in, but if they have remote workers, they must also fulfill training requirements for the states their remote employees reside in. For instance, if your company is based in Ohio, you are not required to complete an annual sexual harassment training. However, if you have remote employees based in New York, those employees must receive training that fulfills New York’s requirements for sexual harassment training.

It is often easier and offers better protection for your business to administer sexual harassment training that complies with the highest standards for all employees. If New York is the state with the strictest training requirements you need to comply with, your training for everyone should meet those standards. Businesses in states that require annual sexual harassment training will need to complete this training by December 31, so be sure to get any necessary training done before this deadline.

Business owners must comply with all mandates that affect their business, which is why the advice of a compliance professional is so important. Many SMBs cannot employ a compliance administrator full-time; the same goes for HR administrators and payroll teams. This is one of the most important benefits of working with a PEO. You don’t have to employ these individuals full-time to draw on their resources. As a client of PrestigePEO, you’ll have access to a dedicated team of HR professionals who will advise you on the compliance items your business needs to follow.

After establishing what training is required for your business, the next step is to develop training that complies with the mandatory requirements. With sexual harassment training, there are often stipulations about how long the training should be, if there should be a section where employees can ask questions, and how often the training must be completed. This varies widely by state, and it can be difficult for SMB owners to navigate so many regulations without the support of HR and compliance experts. Further, taking on the burden of creating company-wide training, figuring out how to administer this training to all employees, and record-keeping to prove to all entities that the proper training has been completed is a lot to take on for a business owner.

At PrestigePEO, we provide our clients with a state-of-the-art program called Training Today. This software offers an extensive database of pre-prepared training that can easily be issued remotely. It has robust offerings for sexual harassment training and can be modified to meet your business needs. Your Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP) will walk you through the program, advise you on any necessary modifications, and ensure that your employees take the required training. Training Today offers more than just sexual harassment training.

Other training available for our clients includes anti-harassment, leadership and management, mental health and wellness, workplace safety, cybersecurity, and many more. This library of training resources is an important benefit for busy business owners, and PrestigePEO is proud to deliver it.

With a small staff, tackling all the necessary management and compliance items while staying focused on growing your revenue is challenging. PrestigePEO understands that business owners can’t do it all alone, and that’s why we partner with SMBs, just like yours. We offer concierge-level service so you can always contact your dedicated HR professional team for questions. We don’t believe in call centers – we believe in connecting you with a team that will get to know your business needs and will always be there for you throughout your time with Prestige. Get in touch with us today to learn more about how we can bring your business to the next level.