Hiring & Labor

Good help is hard to find. It can be an overwhelming task to hire new staff for your company — and it’s even worse when new employees don't keep their promises. We’ll be real: Nobody knows the kind of employee you need better than you do, but three key factors must be...

Compliance is a huge issue when it comes to setting up a business payroll. Over 75% of all revenue collected by the IRS comes directly from payroll — and while you’d hope the government would maintain consistent regulations, it hasn’t. Governments are imposing MORE,...

You have very few “correct” ways to terminate an employee’s tenure at your company and many, many incorrect ways of doing it. If you want to avoid lawsuits after letting an employee go, here are a few key mistakes to avoid. 1: You don’t give a reason for firing. Just...

Even if the pandemic has forced you to cut down on staff, there’s a chance you have a few employees you’d like to reward if your revenue has been improving this year. Communicating a pay raise can be extremely exciting, but, believe it or not, it can go wrong! Here...

Life is not static. It’s completely natural for every business to have employees who come and go. However, it’s best when those transitions are as peaceful as possible and they don’t involve your best performers. How can you determine whether you have a healthy...

If you have employees constantly coming and going, your business is probably not optimized to keep your employees long term. It can entirely depend on your business model, but there are many reasons you should keep your employees for as long as possible. First, you’ll...

I know we’re only in September, but, knowing my fellow entrepreneurs, you’re probably already looking to the near future: the holidays. While you might be canceling the office holiday party this year, that shouldn’t discourage you from having a major company...

Candidates in 2020 rarely find out about your job posting through a paper posted on the window. Nowadays, you have to make sure your online job posting isn’t only that informational paper on the wall but also a representation of your whole company culture, staff, and...

People all have different needs and wants, so to provide incredible customer service, you must have the right preparation. If you have deaf employees or deaf clients, ask yourself this: Is your business really equipped to take care of them? What adjustments do you...

The COVID-19 pandemic has made a hybrid of remote and at-location workers the new normal. This can put unique stresses on your work culture. How do you make everyone feel included and connected despite the gaps created by distance? How do you make your company feel...

If you’ve been understaffed in the recent months following the lockdowns, you might be already thinking about what you can do to prevent company burn out. The answer may be hiring more help, even though that help may have to be remote. You already know that remote...

At the moment, being a company leader can be extremely anxiety-inducing since anything you say sets a tone for the entire company. You want to be positive while also providing an authentic message to your staff. With the following strategies, you'll be able to boost...

Right now, companies are exploring their options for reopening. For some, even with all the government assistance, their success and their staff's livelihoods depend on it. At the same time, their staff's safety is a concern since they can't afford to lose employees....

If you’re an essential business or you focus on eCommerce, you might still be scaling your company during this pandemic. If you’re still seeing a spike in growth, you need the right staff behind you, ensuring you continue building your customer base. Right now, there...

COVID-19 is changing the business landscape as we know it. And while it will likely revert back to how it was eventually, for the time being you need to be ready for anything the market will throw at you. This includes possible changes in customer needs, new...

Nobody looks forward to delivering the news that one of their employees is getting let go. Still, presiding over layoffs is a part of leadership, and what you say, or don’t say, when you lay someone off can have an impact on the future of your company. Treating your...

Every hiring manager has been there: Your inbox is overflowing, and you’re working overtime to excavate the few qualified applicants from the rush of unqualified applications. Or, maybe you’ve been in the converse situation: You post a job, but the response is radio...

According to the Government Accountability Office, up to 30% of American workers work part time. With the rise of the gig economy, there are more and more part time workers every single year, and if your business employs them, the SECURE Act that passed into law this...

No employer looks forward to telling their employees about an increase in health insurance costs, but in our current climate, the reality is that most employers are going to have to navigate that conversation sooner or later. When it’s your turn to communicate with...

Creating just the right job description is tough, but it’s an essential part of attracting and retaining the right employees. According to Recruiterbox.com, the sweet spot for length is somewhere between 700–2,000 words. For context, that is between two-and-a-half and...

Professional development is essential to the growth and strength of your business, but putting together effective training can be difficult. Here are a few things to keep at the front of your mind as you develop your next training. Engage Different Learning Styles...

Gig Workers — or freelancers, whatever you prefer to call them — have woven their way deep into the fabric of modern businesses. Freelancers help bridge gaps during periods of staff shortage, and they bring specialized — and often expensive — skill sets to the table....

According to the BBC, employees who use all of their leave are 6.5% more likely to get promoted or get a raise than employees who retain eleven or more annual leave days. Having a well-staffed company that can cope with a brief absence is one of the key ways employers...

Working on career goals and maintaining a balanced personal life is no easy task. More often than not, when you’re excelling in one area, the other suffers. But this doesn’t have to be the case. There are a few simple tricks you can utilize to improve your...

At the beginning of every year, there are two critical numbers in tax-law provisions that are adjusted for inflation. The IRS and Social Security Administration usually release these figures in October. Unfortunately, at the time of writing this, these figures have...

As we approach a new year, companies are looking for new ways to save money and properly budget. As a small business, it can be difficult to save money and grow at the same time. There are, however, some unique things you can implement to trim your operating budget....

Conflict can arise anywhere at any time, regardless of how well team members work with each other. Failure to address conflict efficiently can lead to high turnover rates, which can cost anywhere from 16%–216% of the salary of the individual as noted in our last...

Employee turnover rates can have a substantial effect on the lifeblood of the business. It is estimated turnovers can cost anywhere from 16% to 216% percent of the employee's salary. Another study found that 25% of all new hires quit within a year. There are many...

There are a plethora of benefits associated with having your employees in good health. Investing in perks like gym or health memberships can have notable upfront costs. However, there are also benefits that will make a substantial impact on your business performance....

When hiring student employees, you need to consider several factors. While doing so can be beneficial for you and the students you hire, there can be some downsides you need to prepare for. Here are just a few of the pros and cons associated with hiring students for...

Finding quality employees can be frustrating at times, and social media can make the whole process even more confusing. Running a small business is already very stressful. By using these strategies in your hiring process, you can eliminate another potential source of...

When on the search for employees, the amount of time and money you put into an individual can really add up, so you need to make it count. Unfortunately, it really is a candidate's market right now, so you need to be aware of the current employment trends that will...

Hiring is one of the most crucial and tricky parts of any successful business venture. That’s why, ideally, it should be avoided as much as possible! Employee turnover is a huge strain on your business, so finding ways to increase employee retention is crucial. With...

Hiring is never easy. Your business has specific needs and you want to find the perfect candidate to fit those needs. But finding that candidate means you often have to wade through dozens of other applicants first. A lot of businesses end up settling on the...

For those of you on the job hunt, it may be time to rethink your outreach methods. With today’s myriad of job recruitment services, there is a virtually endless stream of ways to find work. From message boards to resume searching sites to job search engines and...

Hiring new employees is vital if you want your company to succeed. We have mentioned in the past that employees are the fuel that keeps your company going, therefore it is important to find the right candidate who is capable of doing the job in the most efficient way....

The nuances in the business jargon we use every day gets lost in translation sometimes. This is especially true when it comes to the actual difference between labor and entrepreneurship. Believe it or not, these two components are very different in practice. Simply...

So many people who decide to start a business overlook the importance of having a team of entrepreneurs on board with you. It is necessary to remember that one person by themselves cannot achieve all the goals they set for their business, so getting a little bit of...

Unemployment in America has been at historic lows recently. As such, the optimism driving small businesses seems to be at an all-time high. As those numbers soar, so also is the demand fo small business loans, with entrepreneurs around the nation reaping the benefits....

The concept of making workplaces more than a monotonous drudgery of paperwork and deadlines seems to be a fairly new idea. Workplace etiquette and ideology in the United States has changed so much — thanks to countless laws and reforms by workers unions — the...

Getting fired is a horrible experience, but it doesn’t have to be. Losing a job is hard on an employee, and terminating an employee can create a whole mess of grief for the company as well. This is especially hard for any small-business owner heading up a tight-knit...

If you are an entrepreneur committed to your business, you can see how you are growing in different ways every day. But there will come a time when you are no longer able to handle everything on your own. That is the moment when you need to start thinking about hiring...

For many entrepreneurs and first time small-business owners, the hiring process may seem like learning a foreign language. You started this project by yourself or with a small team, now you’ve grown it to the point where expansion isn’t just an option — it’s...

What to Keep in Mind When Bringing on Employees Very, very seldom are successful businesses run by one person. It’s just not practical. While many of the companies you admire — or even your own business — started in garages or spare bedrooms or on rundown personal...

Why Having a Coach in Your Corner Gives you the Upper Hand The road the entrepreneur walks can be a lonely one, especially when you’re just starting out. As with anything that requires you to stick your neck out to follow a dream, it can often be confusing, especially...

It’s November, which means it’s the month of giving thanks! When you run a business, so much of its success is owed to your team of employees. But writing a check to show appreciation for all your employees can be impersonal and financially irresponsible. Here are...

When a good family friend considered expanding his business out of Scottsdale, Arizona to Mesa, Arizona, he imagined his clientele expanding and his money growing. Unfortunately, his investment in office space in Mesa ended up failing - he was unable to attract...

When you make the choice to be your own boss, it can come with an overwhelming to-do list. With everything that needs to get done on a daily basis, how can you possibly stay on top of everything?  One of the biggest mishaps new business owners run into is...

I can’t tell you how frustrating it was my senior year of my undergraduate and everywhere I looked, companies were looking for someone with 5-7 years of professional experience. It felt like there was no middle ground between entry-level jobs for high...

Students often face a struggle getting a job in their field of study, especially when their experience is limited. So when you’re trying to interview someone with limited experience, how do you gauge what kind of candidate they might be? Asking the right...

My father has a string of aphorisms he’s been saying for years that still resonate with what’s going on today. One of my favorites is this: “We have two ears and one mouth, so we should spend twice as much time listening as we do talking.” This seems...

The United Sates Department of Labor (DOL) provides great resources for understanding “fair labor standards”. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Advisor provides employers and employees with the information they need to understand Federal minimum wage, overtime,...