Whether you have two employees or 200, it happens to almost every leader at some point: a person asks for a raise and you have to say “No.” For many small business owners, turning someone down is not a matter of poor performance or miserly management; they simply can’t afford to raise wages. While money is obviously ideal for your workers, there are some other ways you can show your…
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What do you think of when I say, “millennials in the workplace?” Are you reminded of a hardworking child or grandchild, or do you think about entitlement and avocado toast? Although their age range varies depending on who you ask, generally the consensus is that they’re the people who were born between 1981 and 1996. Gallup estimates that there are approximately 73 million millennials in America. They’re already the largest…
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As a professional HR consultant, I find that bringing up succession planning is a bit like talking about wills—people get uncomfortable, change the subject and put it off rather than facing the facts. However, if you want to have a sustainable business that succeeds after a key player or players are gone, you NEED to have a strong bench in the wings so that you can protect what you’ve built.…
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Almost every leader or manager I’ve worked with has a story about an employee (or more than one) who is hard to work with for some reason (or reasons). These challenging people can totally drain the emotional energy of your entire workforce if you don’t address the issue. Of course, as a manager you want to avoid hiring them in the first place, but if they’re on your team, you’re…
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Can you believe we’re into the second month of 2019 already? Each year brings changes in employment law and reminders to familiarize ourselves with the ins and outs to avoid fines, damage to reputation, loss of employees – or even our business. Let’s take a look at some of the top workplace violations so that we can move forward in 2019 informed and prepared. Remember: ignorance is not an excuse…
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2019 has just begun, and many of you made New Year’s resolutions to grow your business, get that promotion, get fit, eat healthy, travel more and so on. I bet you did that last year too. And the year before that. How did it work out for you? Did you find yourself losing interest as other things vied for your time, attention and money? Are you ready to give yourself…
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Do you look up with your eyes when you’re listening to someone or sharing a story? Do you breathe from the middle part of your chest? Do you memorize info by doing rather than watching? Depending on how you answered each question, you’re either a visual, auditory or kinesthetic learner. I learned a lot about different learning styles and the human brain at an intensive training I recently attended given…
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Do you have crabs in your business? You know, the kind of team members that keep the best people from rising and performing at their very best. There is a toxic environment that exists in some companies called the “Crab Mentality” and that is when the average employees don’t want anyone or anything to come in and change the status quo. This moniker comes from watching what happens when a…
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It could be a lawsuit or a slump or just plain fatigue, but most businesses will at some point hit a wall and need to recover. The biggest loss from a crisis is often company morale. If you see your employees losing their enthusiasm, it’s time to be a leader and pave the way back to the environment you enjoyed before the issues arose. If you’re a small business owner…
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I am a small business owner and encountered a problem I didn’t think would ever impact me. I’ve been in business for 12 years and employ over 35 full-time employees. I run a nice service business where everyone gets along fine. Or so I thought. One day I opened the mail and found a sexual harassment and discrimination charge had been filed with the EEOC claiming that the company had…
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