SWBC PEO Success Story | Magnolia Pancake Haus
×

A PEO Success Story: Magnolia Pancake Haus

Magnolia Pancake Haus is a San Antonio staple. After 20 years in business, they were projecting for 2020 to be their best year in history—with two San Antonio locations, a third on the way, a growing catering business, and a fully booked new event hall. Then, COVID-19 happened and along with the rest of the world, turned their business upside down. And, while the list of concerns for the leadership staff was long, their primary priority was taking care of their associates.

First Priority: Haus Family

When the pandemic initially swept across the U.S. and Texas, Magnolia Pancake Haus’ leadership staff, much like the rest of the nation, learned about the magnitude of the crisis from the news. “When the COVID-19 pandemic [news] hit on a Monday, we were told by the governor that we had to reduce our occupancy to 50%. Then, two days later we were told that we could only serve to-go orders and had to close our dining rooms,” said Tricia Fleming Schleicher, Vice President of Magnolia Pancake Haus.

For Magnolia Pancake Haus, their staff is an extension of their family—the Haus Family—and making sure that their associates could continue to earn a paycheck was their chief concern. Initially, they decided to pay their staff for at least two weeks, and then reassess the situation and determine how to move forward. “Our associates are the most tangible representation of our business. It's one of our core values. And so, our biggest concern was making sure that we could support them throughout all of this,” said Fleming Schleicher.

Turning to a Knowledgeable Partner

With limited knowledge about the best way to support their team members during the shutdown, Magnolia Pancake Haus turned to their professional employer organization (PEO) partner, SWBC PEO. SWBC PEO has helped Magnolia Pancake Haus with payroll, human resources support, and benefits since 2001. For many small business owners, a PEO can be a life line to managing the back-end operational aspects of their business, freeing up their time to focus on their employees and their business.

When it came to navigating the treacherous waters of finding a way to pay their associates even though their business wasn’t operating at full capacity, they turned to their partners at SWBC PEO for a solution. “As a small family-owned business, we wear a lot of hats. So, when it comes to things out of our expertise, we had to lean on SWBC PEO to help us through it,” said Fleming Schleicher. SWBC PEO advised Magnolia Pancake Haus to consider furloughing their associates, ensuring their Haus family still had a job to return to once Magnolia Pancake Haus returned to normal operations.

To take associate assistance one step further, SWBC PEO also stepped in to file a mass unemployment claim on Magnolia Pancake Haus’ associates’ behalf. Essentially, they submitted all of the required paperwork, expediting the claims process in a system that was already backlogged due to the pandemic—ensuring associates were able to receive their benefits in an expedited manner. As the entire state was facing similar shutdowns and unemployed workers were submitting unemployment claims, typical turn times for relief were quickly growing—placing undue burden on those that needed money quickly due to temporary job loss. “This provided security for our associates, giving them peace of mind that they would be able to withstand the pandemic and not have to worry about having a job throughout it,” said Fleming Schleicher.

“The single best decision that we made was trusting SWBC PEO and allowing them to help our associates throughout all of this.”

Tricia Fleming Schleicher
Magnolia Pancake Haus

Community Support

Like many businesses across the U.S., Magnolia Pancake Haus received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan as part of the Families First Coronavirus Response (CARES) Act. SWBC PEO helped the owners with the initial payroll and other employment data they needed to receive their loan. Now they are providing them the same payroll data they need to provide to their lender and the Small Business Administration (SBA) for the loan-forgiveness process. “That's been really beneficial. When you have to wear so many hats not having to say, okay, you know, I have to spend a week to try and focus on this stuff, whereas now we can spend that time focusing on our business, associates, and guests” said Fleming Schleicher.

About SWBC PEO

SWBC’s Professional Employer Organization (PEO) provides HR compliance, health benefits administration, payroll processing, workers’ compensation, and loss control services to businesses headquartered in Texas. SWBC PEO is a single solution for all of your employment-related needs.

Learn more about SWBC PEO

Request aConsultation

Mega Menu Insert

subMenu3 Content Insert | 3 Columns
subMenu16 Content Insert | 1 Columns
subMenu18 Content Insert | 3 Columns
subMenu15 Content Insert | 1 Columns
subMenu14 Content Insert | 1 Columns
subMenu13 Content Insert | 1 Columns
subMenu4 Content Insert | 3 Columns
subMenu9 Content Insert | 1 Columns
subMenu17 Content Insert | 1 Columns
subMenu12 Content Insert | 2 Columns
subMenu11 Content Insert | 3 Columns
subMenu5 Content Insert | 1 Columns
subMenu8 Content Insert | 1 Columns
subMenu10 Content Insert | 1 Columns
subMenu2 Content Insert | 3 Columns
subMenu6 Content Insert | 1 Columns