In the words of Donald Trump, “You’re Fired!” As a small business owner with employees there may come a time when you have to terminate someone’s income stream. It’s that dreaded day that some of us hope will never come.

If and when the firing time comes, be prepared by following these 9 steps:

1) Check your past feedback.
What are your relations with this employee? If on decent terms don’t fire immediately, rather, give them time for change under a new way of doing things to your standards.

2) Give them a warning.
Give the employee an ultimatum to change, else risk loosing their job. 30 days is a fair time span for change.

3) Focus on specific behavior goals.
What do you want them to change about their performance? Be prepared for your meeting with the worker to discuss the issues and ways to fix them.

Continue reading : How to Fire an Employee »

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We all long for someone to tell us that we’re doing a good job… a pat on the back, an encouraging word, recognition for our efforts. And what we crave is more than the simple “thank you” or “good job.” We want to hear specifics - we desire to have our actions actually acknowledged - something heartfelt and authentic, without any ulterior motives behind it. An acknowledgment puts the spotlight on someone else’s talent, thoughtfulness, hard work, etc. You will energize and inspire that individual to work harder and keep doing what they do well.

But, the truth of the matter is, acknowledgments are a rarity, especially in the workplace, which is unfortunate. Most people spend the majority of their lives working - it takes up more time than anything else we do. Sleeping may come close for the ratio of time in a 24 hour day, but how many of us actually get those blessed eight hours of sleep anyway. For something that we spend most of our time doing (our job), you would think that the acknowledgments for a job-well-done would be plentiful. But they, quite often, are not.

Continue reading : Acknowledging Those Who Make a Difference »

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It’s not a process many employers enjoy - placing a “help wanted” ad, filtering through resumes, conducting interviews. Hiring an employee can be an arduous task, to say the least. And, though there are many important things to consider when looking for the right candidate, many of which a specific to the position you’re trying to fill, employers often overlook one of the most important elements - compatibility.

I’m not speaking of whether or not you would get along with the person you’re looking to hire. You probably can get along with all sorts of people - most of us can. More specifically I’m referring to finding an employee that compliments your leadership style. To do that, you must first understand the two types of employees you will find.

Continue reading : Finding An Employee That Matches Your Leadership Style »

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It’s getting harder and harder to find good help these days. And there are many factors contributing to the problem that you, as a business owner, need to be aware of.

First of all, there is an increased number of young people seeking jobs that require more brain skill than brawn skill, which is making an increased shortage of employees for the manufacturing industry. Mechanics, engineers, freight and delivery truck drivers, machine operators and construction workers are some of the hardest positions to fill.

Another issue is a lack of adequate compensation for the demanding job. Teachers, for example, on a national average really get gypped when it comes to their annual salary and benefits. Though many seek a teaching career for the joy of the work, rather than the pay, there is also a lack of valuable, qualified teachers all over the nation because many just can’t afford such limited pay to support their own families, no matter how much they love to teach.

Continue reading : Hard to Find Employees »

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The cost of health benefits for employers and employees alike is a rising concern, especially for smaller business owners. Though it can’t get rid of the cost all together, implementing a wellness program into your employees’ working lifestyle can save you money.

Many high deductible insurance programs pair their health benefits with the implementation of a wellness program in order to provide lower premiums to small business owners and employees. However, the high deductible can reach over $10,000 and, in the long run, can really cause some debt problems if an employee needs medical services.

Continue reading : Implementing a Wellness Program »

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Many businesses, especially small ones that don’t necessarily have the man power for all of their human resources, needs use services provided by professional employer organizations (PEO). If you think you might be in need of payroll and various other services, there are some things you’ll need to think about first.

When You Need a PEO
• If you need to provide competitive benefits, such as health insurance, in order to recruit and keep employees. PEOs negotiate rates with insurance carriers for their entire clientele as a whole, which usually gets a better rate for everyone.
• When your business has strict regulation and compliance requirements on the state and federal level that would be difficult and time consuming to keep up with, such as businesses dealing with hazardous chemicals or explosives.

Continue reading : Professional Employer Organization Services »

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My husband has one of the greatest work ethics I’ve ever seen. Though he doesn’t any longer, he has worked in grocery since high school as a part-time gig. In the five plus years I’ve known him, he has never once called in to work. It doesn’t matter how sick he is, he always says they are counting on him.

His last job at a grocery store was just 10 hours a week, but when they needed some extra help or needed someone to fill a shift, my hubby was the first person they would call because he always would agree to be there. And you know what, most of the time, people are shocked to hear how devoted to his job he was, even though he really didn’t like it at all.

Why were they surprised? Because stereotypes about the “Y Generation” (those born between 1978 and 1990 - which includes me) have lead people to believe many things about those of us in our twenties and teens, especially when it comes to work, that just aren’t true for the majority. And employers need to start realizing the truth about us young ones, because over the next four years, nearly 10 million of us will be entering the work force.

Let’s examine some of those stereotypes and I’ll point out the misconception and the truth:

Continue reading : Getting Past Generation Y Stereotypes »

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In any business, especially small ones, everyone works closely together. Sometimes employees have to deal with the cubicle situation, with desks nearly on top of one another, because of limited space issues. This can cause some messy situations if you, as the boss, don’t lay down some ground rules right from the beginning.

Here are some things you may want to stick in your employee policy manual, in order to help avoid those popular cubicle conflicts:

1. Allow employees to label their supplies.
One of the most popular cubicle complaints among employees is that things keep disappearing from their desk. We all know that popular phrase from Office Space: “Has anyone seen my stapler?” Well, it happens all the time. For me, my pens are always disappearing, mostly because I sit at the front desk. Allow your employees to label their supplies, such as staplers, pens, clipboards, etc., with their name or desk number, in order to help to sway the temptation of others to snatch it.

Continue reading : Helping Ensure Your Employees Get Along »

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From the time I was a little girl, my mother had this look. If I was not behaving in the manner she approved of, all it took from her was “the look” (and occasionally my name spoken in a not so flattering tone) and I’d straighten right up. That look has carried on to me. My husband says I try and use on him sometimes (though he doesn’t like to admit that I’m usually successful) and even our dog, a 95 pound lab/dane mix, will hang his head in shame when I give him “the look.” It must be an acquired skill.

Equally as important as “the look” in getting my point across, is the affection. Though we don’t have any children of our own just yet, I have a great deal of experience with them from working in daycares and children’s ministries at church. And one of the most important things I’ve learned is there must be affection and love in your discipline. With my nephews, for example, when they stay over at our house and get into trouble, we discuss what they did wrong, how to improve in the future, and always end with a hug and “I love you.”

Being a good, strong, dependable leader is all about balance. Being a leader is not a one-sided position. You cannot be rough on your employees and never show them any tenderness. And you can’t be easy on everyone and never show them any discipline. You have to have a balance of both.

And there are many areas in which a balance is needed as a leader, such as the following:

Continue reading : The Balance of a Leader »

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Are you a Harry Potter fan? I am. I love the movies, but haven’t read the books yet (I know, any die-hard fans would be appalled). My husband has suddenly gone on a “read all the books NOW” craze and has flown through the first three in a week. But I can’t say that I spend a lot of time at work discussing Harry Potter. But apparently, it has become something more than a little water cooler chatter.

According to Entrepreneur.com’s article Potter Casts Petrificus Totalus Spell on Workplace (nice title, by the way), the Harry Potter craze that has swept the nation for the past few years has escalated with the release of the fifth movie, The Order of the Phoenix on July 11th and the release of the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on July 21st. And with that escalation has come a bit of, shall we say, distraction during business hours.

Continue reading : Businesses Embrace the Harry Potter Craze »

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When you are in a leadership position, what is the one principle that is the root of everything you do across the board? Lead by example. Why is that? Because we live in a world of copy cats and people do what they see their leaders do.

For example, say the CEO of a company is using his petty cash account for personal expenses (such as a 2008 Mercedes), rather than business expenses. Now Bob in sales knows what the CEO is up to. And it’s likely that Bob won’t report the events. Instead, he’ll follow in his CEO’s footsteps and start requesting reimbursements for the dinner he had out last week. No one has to know it was just him, the wife and the kids. He can say it was a business dinner with potential clients. Afterall, if the CEO gets away with it, so should Bob.

Continue reading : Leading by Example in a World of Copy Cats »

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Balancing work and family life can be quite the challenge. Add a social life in the mix and you’ve got yourself one overly busy schedule to deal with most days.

Does that busy schedule affect working moms or working dads more? A survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Adecco USA may shed some light on that. The survey polled 223 employed men and 272 employed women who have at least one child.

Some of the results are as follows:

Continue reading : Flexibility is What Working Parents Desire »

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Today is the first official day of summer (don’t we all wish we still had a summer vacation). And, with classes temporarily out of session, college students are looking for summer internships. For them, it is an opportunity to learn more about the business they are hoping to get into after graduation, without a long-term commitment.

For you, it is a chance to test things out and see if you would be willing to hire this student for a full-time, long-term position when he graduates. You also get the opportunity to pass on what you know about “the business” and provide a hands on education that a college course won’t necessarily provide. Not to mention the fact that hiring an intern has the added perk of an extra set of hands around the office at no or very little cost to you.

Before you hire an intern, however, keep the following in mind:

Continue reading : Consider This When Hiring an Intern »

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