Recruiting and hiring home caregivers to serve older Americans, children or adults with disabilities is a meaningful calling for Ruth Busalacchi, the owner and president of SYNERGY Home Care of Greater Milwaukee.
“We were honored to recently be named an Employer of Choice,” says Busalacchi. “The award comes from Home Care PULSE, which is like the Better Business Bureau for the homecare industry.”
Busalacchi recognizes the value of a positive customer experience and was more than happy to share her recent transition to IPS. Her story begins with SYNERGY’s former payroll provider.
“Initially I was pleased with our payroll company, but they were always calling to upgrade products and systems, and when I did, the results were tragic,” she recalls. “It was an impersonal relationship. It wasn’t intuitive or able to be managed on our own. We tried and worked really hard to transition with them for two years. Finally, I told them that we had to find another payroll company.”
Busalacchi expected that her search for payroll replacement would be challenging, until one of her friendly competitors told her that he was working with IPS. She decided to give them a try.
“My first meeting was very productive with John (Feaman),” she says. “He demonstrated the product to my general manager and me, explained the system well, and it immediately seemed logical. He understood the challenges that we had with our past payroll providers and told me that IPS had a workable solution.”
SYNERGY transitioned to IPS payroll services in October of 2021 and the results have been nothing but positive.
“There are self-help tools available for payroll, but that’s not me,” says Busalacchi. “I like to talk to people. Ashlie Bruce (Senior HCM Specialist) and the IPS team walk me through it. I take notes and then I can figure it out. My GM and I are incredibly satisfied. The system was a good purchase and fits our needs.”
“Ruth’s situation is typical of what we see,” says John Feaman. “Her franchise was doing well, but she needed more from her previous partner than simply paying SYNERGY’s taxes and employees.”
In fact, SYNGERY’s partnership with IPS includes valuable guidance that Busalacchi says no other payroll company provided in the past.
“John let me know that we may be missing out on some tax benefits based on our new hires. He carefully reviewed our overtime policy. He’s been helping me with the Affordable Care Act, and he’s brought things to my attention that I have overlooked over the years.”
Busalacchi commends IPS for her ability to reach someone right away every time she contacts the office. She applauds the team for being knowledgeable, friendly and prompt.
“IPS has been the one bright spot for me. Having transitioned my payroll operations with them, I feel like I understand where I’m heading from here. As a small business owner, it’s huge to have that peace of mind.”