The small business world moves fast with owners and staff wearing multiple hats and bootstrapping as needed so opportunities to bring your staff together for discussions can sometimes be a rare occurrence. When these chances do arise, it's essential to make the most of them. One fantastic way to do this is by sharing challenges and stories of excellent customer service. 

Problems Hiring? 

We found the secret sauce in the middle of the night at the most random place...

It is no secret that the majority of today’s workforce issue is the ability to attract great talent… or any talent for that matter.  It seems that COVID hit our world and wiped out our workforce.  We keep waiting for the return, but it just doesn’t seem to show any sign of a rebound. 

Over the past 12 months or so, the HRB team has started to notice a trend- companies who have a great culture are not having trouble hiring or retaining employees.  However, companies who struggle with their workplace culture, are struggling to hire and retain new hires and their current workforce.  Of course, we put on our detective hats and started looking into this pattern deeper… what we found was very interesting.  Did you know that (according to businessnewsdaily.com) when searching for a new job, 77% of surveyed respondents to a recent Glassdoor.com study said that they would consider a company’...

 Starting a new job is stressful, and let’s be honest, so is hiring someone!

The average US employer spends $4000 and 24 days to hire a new worker. (Business Wire, 2019)

If you are like most small businesses, you may not have a lot of manpower to spare – being down a person for even a fraction of that time can mean even more hard work shared between you and your already hardworking team, all while you are taking on the additional and difficult task to find someone new.

Reviewing and interviewing applicants can feel like a frenzy when candidates often have so many options to choose from. When you finally find the right person and they accept your offer, its finally time to relax… well, maybe not quite yet.

Image Credit: @Mattsurelee

Lets try to put ourselves in your new employees’ shoes. Imagine with me for a moment that you are in their position, but rather than starting a new job, you are a guest at a hotel:

You show up to a hotel you have never been to. You are...

Annual performance reviews are both helpful and time consuming. Performance reviews can provide a sense of clarity to an employee's job,  provide a way to plan for goals, create open communication, and a roadmap, pinpointing where they are, and developing a plan, to get to a successful destination. However, reviews have been known to create stress and anxiety leading up to, during, and afterward these reviews. In this blog I will be giving both the benefits and disadvantages of annual performance reviews.

No matter which side you fall on about annual reviews it is always important to provide feedback. In such a busy environment as most small businesses are, the offer of feedback is sometimes lagged. However, it is so important to offer as much feedback to your employees as possible and be open to receiving some as well. Providing feedback in a constructive manner is very beneficial for your employees, if an employee does not receive feedback there is a high chance that the employee wi...

We’ve all heard of wellness programs and how big companies promote them, however, these companies may be on to something. Enabling a workplace wellness program provides many benefits: reduced stress, greater productivity, increased morale, and reducing health insurance costs (if one is offered). There is a common practice in most businesses around the country of individuals working until they burn out. It is very important that businesses small and big provide their employees different “outlets” that promote a healthy lifestyle. Small business employees tend to wear multiple hats, so employees may not want to take time off as they are dedicated to what they do and may not want to return to a stack of work.

Wellness programs can provide multiple positive outcomes. By providing activities that help reduce stress, create higher productivity, and improve morale, this is great for not only your employees but also you as an employer. A study done in 2019 stated that “wellness p...

When to Use an Outside Investigator & Choosing an Outside Investigator

By Gene R. Thornton, Esq.  *

Whenever an employer receives a complaint of sexual harassment or other workplace misconduct, a prompt, thorough, and fair investigation should be conducted.  Following the investigation, appropriate remedial measures should be implemented.  That much is basic employment law and human resource management.  But who should perform the investigation?  Should it be done by the employer’s HR manager, office manager or safety officer, if any?  Should it be done by the accused employee’s supervisor?  Or should an outside investigator be retained and, if so, what qualifications should be sought in the outside investigator.

Simple Investigations—Outside Investigator Probably Not Needed

If the allegations concern performance issues, employee relations, then the employer can probably do without an outside investigator.  It will probably be fairly easy to determine what more likely than not o...

Updated: March 17, 2020

The Coronavirus has been making headlines over the past two months.  Now that this bug has hit US soil, the buzz is much greater and scarier.  The media is telling us to run for cover and self-quarantine and buy up all of the toilet paper and bleach wipes you can find (hint: there are still some bleach wipes at Home Depot).  Outside of the media, people are torn, we hear a ton of information, but we are unsure of what to believe. 

As you are reading this blog we are seeing more and more forced closures.  Ski resorts, restaurants, gyms, and other public gathering locations have already experienced forced closures.  Unfortunately, we are seeing the likeliness of more and more closures.  Small business are going to feel a tremendous impact today and in the long-term future.  Taking precautions and making plans now, will help to minimize the impact.  Who knows what the fallout will be, but it's time to prepare for the worst.

Here are a few things to consider when...

Getting “Bored” with Your Onboarding Process?

Make Onboarding and Training Fast and Easy!

For most of us, we have experienced what it’s like to be that “newbie”.  That’s right, a new face in a new company where countless thoughts of excitement, worry and anxiety flood our minds. If you are like many, those thoughts can turn into piercing questions or doubts. Did you make the right decision? Is this truly the right company for you? Where is the nearest exit in case you need to make a run for it?  

As an employer, hiring manager, or HR representative, your focus is guaranteeing that you can “walk the walk”. Your newly hired employee accepted the position for a reason, now it’s up to you to ensure that he or she continues to feel that this opportunity was too good to pass up.

So, how does this happen? Think about the first few days on the job and how much information and training was provided. It’s a bombardment of documents, materials and an assortment of new knowledge that needs ...

Wow, what a decade it has been! There have been so many changes and updates in the HR world over the past several years; life for employers and HR professionals has probably gotten a bit overwhelming and a kind of stale at times.

Well, I am here to put a little cheer into your New Year! Let’s take a look back at some of the most ridiculous, bizarre, and just downright absurd policies and rules that employers have come up with to help run their business. Here we go!

• Stand for the Boss: Bestlifeonline.com describes a work environment approach such as this one whenever France’s ecology and energy minister walks into the room. Employees are expected to stand regardless of what they are doing as she approaches them.
• Only Mustaches Allowed: According to resumeprofessionawriters.com, a certain business gave male employees an ultimatum: maintain a full-grown mustache or no facial hair at all. Male employees could not have any in-betweens, or they were sent home.
• No Water Bottles: One bus...

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 productivity, and much more.  The cost of unethical employees is a HUGE ...