Employee benefits can be boring and complicated. With all the recent changes to the Affordable Care Act and other miscellaneous laws, you really have to watch your Ps and Qs when offering benefits to employees to ensure you have all the proper documentation and are reporting to the proper entities all of the information required. Yes, it is extensive! There …
3 Basic Ways to Improve Your Performance Management
In my very first performance review my manger called me in to his office with almost no forewarning and wanted to discuss my performance. He handed me a piece of paper and began to talk about my great work, then he turned to a single area of improvement and continued to discuss that single area of improvement for the rest …
Employment Branding: Why should I work for you? There are so many other options!
Trouble hiring for that desired skill set? Can’t seem to draw in the type of talent you seek? There are ways to position your company in the marketplace as a desired destination point for top talent. In this ever decreasing talent pool of qualified technical candidates that we call the employment market how do we find and attract those that …
Tax Season Small Business Update
“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes” – Benjamin Franklin How often have you seen this quote? It sure seems to be true. Tax season is now in full swing and whether you are a sole proprietor, partnership, corporation, or LLC, you are probably in the middle of the annual tax return preparation …
Using Job Descriptions To Manage Expectations
It’s hard to manage employee and management expectations without having a written and communicated guideline of the responsibilities for a position. Job descriptions don’t have to be an elaborate checklist of daily duties timed to the minute, especially for laid-back entrepreneurial cultures in the Kansas City area. Writing a job description simply means providing direction and a clear understanding of …
Fur Coat And No Knickers – Why Top Line Can’t Grow A Business Like HR Can
Did the headline get your attention, especially coming from a human resources company? It’s one of my favorite English expressions. And, if you’re having trouble conjuring up exactly what it means, well, it means that a person is all show and no substance. Which is exactly the case when business owners make the misguided decision that growing the top line …
How to Create a Winning PTO Policy for Both Employee and Company
Paid Time Off (PTO) is a scorching topic around the workplace water cooler. Your PTO policy is one of the first things potential candidates and new hires ask about, and current employees want to understand it better. PTO can also be a big headache for employers. Employers want to know if giving PTO or vacation to employees a big waste …
Outsource Your Human Resources Tasks, Not Your Company Identity
Anytime you outsource a service as personal and critical as human resources, the biggest concern is whether or not you can keep your company’s look and feel in tact while working with an outside party. It’s hard to convey your company’s goals, missions, personality and culture over the phone or in a couple of emails. In order to gain the …
Proactively Implementing A Company Sexual Harassment Policy
Business people understand the benefits of being more proactive and less reactive. It helps companies get ahead and keeps business moving along – after all, you can’t drive straight looking in the rear view mirror. One of the biggest reactive situations we see over and over again is unanticipated and out of the blue harassment issues. Harassment takes many forms, …
How The NLRB Decision Affects Small Business HR Perspectives
On December 11, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision based on the Purple Communications case which supports the employee’s right to use an employer’s email system for non-business purposes, including discussions about union organizing or other protected activities. For specifics on the case, use this link. You’ll see a lot of legal jargon that you might …