How to create an “I love to work here” buzz at your business. “Our company’s greatest asset is our people.” Owners and managers have said that for years, and it’s true to a certain extent. But with a growing emphasis on employee efficiency and return-on-investment, workforce management has changed for good. Employers’ expectations of their staff are increasing. Individual workers’ responsibilities are more defined and measured, even as technological advances…
Are your employees holding you hostage over pay increases? Do you have a valuable employee who is demanding a raise—or else? Does it feel like you’re being held hostage? Many employers are feeling this pressure as the economy improves, especially when employees may have had to forego pay increases in recent years. What do you do when a valued employee comes to you and demands a pay raise, telling you…
Is your business ready to overcome an unexpected disaster? It was a snow day that turned Cheryl Obermiller’s life upside down. The owner of Obermiller Construction went into the office as usual that morning and, by the next day, found that her company had been robbed of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The accountant who had been working for her for almost a decade had been forging checks and stealing…
What you need to know about the Americans with Disabilities Act. Small businesses may or may not be subject to Family and Medical Leave Act requirements to provide leave for serious health conditions. However, all but the very smallest of employers must comply with the reasonable-accommodations provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act—and that often includes allowing employees time off on a long-term, short-term or intermittent basis. Recent amendments to…
Don’t assume that interns mean free labor. As the summer season heats up, college and high school students are busy interning in many businesses. And there’s a lot of misconception out there about the “yippee, I get labor for free” mentality that we see within companies all too often. It’s true, you have the opportunity to give a young person a lot of real life experience, but … You’ve heard…