On January 1, 2020, we are going to wake up to two significant wage changes that will impact most Colorado small businesses. Are you prepared for these changes?

What’s Changing?

• Hourly Employees: Colorado Minimum Wage- Colorado minimum wage has been on an increased schedule of $.90 per year for the past 2 years. In January 2020, you will see the third and final $.90 minimum wage increase. Effective January 1, 2020, Colorado Minimum Wage will be:

Colorado Minimum Wage- $12.00/ hr

Colorado Tipped Employees- $8.98/ hr

*Denver increased its local minimum wage to $12.85 per hour effective Jan. 1, becoming the first local government in Colorado to set its minimum higher than the statewide level per a new statute passed by the legislature in 2019.

• Salaried Employees: Minimum Salary Rate (Federal Overtime Rule)- The minimum annual salary for exempt (salaried) employees is going to increase in 2020. Effective January 1, 2020, the Federal...

*Presented at Colorado Springs, CO SCORE meeting on July 12, 2019

I'm obsessed with Richard Branson. Anything that comes out of that man's mouth is like gospel to me. I aspire to be a Richard Branson, well a female/ American, Richard Branson one day. I believe that his people philosophy is really where it's at. And I think that this quote right here says it all: “A company is people... employees want to know... am I being listened to or am I a cog in the wheel? People really need to feel wanted". -Richard Branson

To start off on the right path of having sound employee practices, let's look at some recruiting tips and tricks. This blog is going to look at how to prepare and attract the right candidates and to evaluate those candidates. But first, let's look at the mistakes small businesses often make when it comes to recruiting. I'm sure all of you guys have seen these mistakes.

Small Business Recruiting Mistakes
1: Lack of Planning
First and foremost, small businesses...

Small Business and Employee Ethics- Avoid Disaster!

Have you taken the appropriate measures to makes sure that you are protected from the dishonest actions of your employees?  Employees ethics is a HUGE risk for all small businesses.  Make sure that you are protecting yourself and your business.   

For most small businesses, employees can be the businesses most significant risk.  According to The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners estimates that companies lose 5% of their annual revenue to employee fraud and abuse.  Unethical employee actions hit small businesses the hardest.  Most small businesses do not have the financial ability to sustain the hit of significant employee fraud or theft occurrence.  Unfortunately, the cost of employee theft isn’t only the cost of the theft.  Employers also need to factor in the additional expense of legal fees, employer time spent on legal action, loss of employee...

How is Overtime Paid? A Small Business Guide to Overtime Laws

Are you at a loss wondering, "How is overtime paid?" Find out everything you need to know in our comprehensive guide.

UPDATE:  Effective January 1, 2020, salaried employees should earn $684 per week (or $35,568 per year).  Please click HERE for updated information.

Of course, you already know to pay your employees at least the minimum wage. But the laws surrounding overtime are complex and quickly become confusing.

Employees who work longer than normal hours are dedicating extra time to help you continue building success, so you want to make sure you do right by them. Plus, it's important to know the overtime laws to prevent legal trouble for yourself and your business.

If you're wondering how is overtime paid, you've come to the right place! In this guide, we'll tell you everything you need to know about federal overtime laws and how they pertain to your state.

Overtime Laws and Regulations

Although...

Your Guide to Creating an Employee Handbook

Creating an employee handbook is a great way to set out your expectations as well as your company aims and ethos. We look at how to create one right here.

Are you wasting paper and printer toner making handbooks that no one reads? Or, are you spending valuable time sending it via email to your staff?

Here's the truth: if your employees don't feel motivated to read it, they won't.

There are a ton of ways to write an employee handbook that actually gets read. You can still include important rules and guidelines. But, the way you put this important book together must change.

Creating an employee handbook can be easy. These steps will take it from paper waste to the important file; keep reading to find out how.

1. Don't Be Dull

One reason your employees don't care about the handbook is that it's boring. Employee handbooks are often written like legal contracts full of threats.

Consider how you talk to your staff. Do you encourage open...

7 Ways In Which HR Solutions For Small Business Can Save Your Company

When running a small business, it's as difficult to stick to your budget as it is essential. HR solutions for small business can help you pinch those pennies. Here are 7 ways in which HR experts can save you money.

A small business is only as good as its management and budgeting when it is first getting started. No matter what kind of industry you operate in or how good of a product you have, these are the things that keep you on track. You can easily find yourself in some serious trouble without such leadership to guide the business and the resources to fund everything.

These skills develop as time goes on, leading you to more opportunities to make your business increasingly efficient and profitable. A great opportunity to look into is how you manage your small business human resources. Rethinking how you approach HR can save you a significant amount of time and money, in more ways than you might...

Every business has confidential information, both in terms of their employees and their clients. Your small business is no exception. Here is what you can expect from an HR professional in terms of human resource confidentiality.

In August of 2017, an employee of an independent State Farm agent was facing multiple charges. It seems she was billing customers of their cash. The initial amount was $38,000.

As a customer-facing employee, the processing of premium payments is standard. And, some of her processing was gracing her checking account.

But, both she and the State Farm agent are not employees of the insurance giant. All agents are independent, and their employees are their responsibility.

The giant State Farm HR department does not work for Independent Agents. So, human resource confidentiality isn't a benefit for them. Soon after her arrest, the office shut down.

The confidential information employees often have access to can, for some, be tempting. And, it's not credit...

6 Small Business HR Nightmares You Should Try To Avoid At All Cost

Human resource errors can be costly, and some of them may even be completely out of your control as a startup owner. It helps to be on the lookout for situations that can turn into small business HR nightmares. Here are 6 situations you should try to avoid at any cost.

Small business HR can be a nightmarish experience. It's an area often wrought with legal issues and the potential to damage your hard-earned reputation.

Small businesses and startups don't usually have a huge HR team to help them. Rather, they're forced to navigate the complexities of workplace politics and legal requirements alone. They must rely on research or learning the hard way.

From hiring to firing and everything in between, a single error in the HR department could prove costly.

Don't let these six small business HR blunders become your worst mistakes:

Mistake #1: Not Prioritizing Your Small Business HR Needs

HR in small...

Everyone knows that starting a small business is never easy. Between hiring new employees and keeping up with payroll - owning your own business can get hectic if you don't have everything in order.

A functioning Human Resources department is perfect for preventing this kind of chaos.

It's no secret. Behind every successful business is a solid human resources department. A good HR department is able to set the moral, find the right candidates, and set the culture for your small business.

But what does it take to develop a solid HR department structure? What steps should you take when wanting to implement an HR department in my small business?

Here the ultimate list of what it takes on starting an HR department.

1. Be Deliberate With Your Descriptions

Job descriptions are everything when it comes to your human resource startup.

A job description is going to be a list that describes the general tasks and duties that inform applicants and current employees what skills are required in...

So, you have hired your new employee, and he starts in a few days. Where do you even begin? Do you just assume that this person will kick start with a stellar performance in mind reading? You hired him to do a job, that’s all that needs to be done, just the job right? Wrong. There can be a number of fundamental challenges that must be overcome in the first few days leading up to the employee’s BIG day on the job.

Just imagine your new employee arriving early, eager to prove his validation of why you chose him for this job. Yet, nothing has been prepared. No coordinated introduction, an office hasn’t been assigned, you can’t find the new badges, and now you are unsure if all systems have been properly allocated to the employee. Your new employee then creates a sense of dysfunction, which has been permanently imprinted in the mind of the employee as he now waits hours or even days until everything is completely sorted out. Congratulations, this is your...