When you’re the owner of a small or medium-sized business, you’re often also the accountant, HR person, marketing director and office manager! I’ve worked with so many business owners who struggle with the same problem: there’s not enough of them to go around and you are having to do things that you really have no business messing with! It’s admirable that you roll up your sleeves and get into the…
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It’s just three letters, but they’re critical ones. If you haven’t heard the acronym SOP (often referred to as SOPs), it stands for standard operating procedures. SOPs are the documented processes that help employees effectively and safely perform their jobs. Every single employee in your organization needs to understand, complete and follow these step-by-step desk procedures—especially right now. I like to use the example of the fast-food chain McDonald’s: Regardless…
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You may have noticed I’ve been very focused on this topic in the past few months. It’s because I’m really concerned for small and medium-sized business owners. Each day I’m seeing articles like “A ‘tidal wave’ of Covid-related workplace lawsuits could be on the way” and noticing the numbers going up on Littler’s COVID-19 Labor & Employment Litigation Tracker. According to Littler, an international employment law firm, since March 12…
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Thinking back to pre-COVID-19 times, how did you manage your employees’ performance? I’m sure it was much easier when you were in the same room as your staff, providing feedback or answering questions when you could make “real” eye contact and read their body language. But when your workforce is at home, things get trickier. Managing and evaluating performance isn’t so straightforward anymore. Here are a few reasons why it’s…
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Many people are still working remotely with no set date to return to the office or production site. But companies everywhere are working hard to plan for the return of employees to the workplace. To do so, businesses create risk models to envision certain scenarios, get input from HR teams and management, and rely on employee feedback, in order to create a return to work plan. As we see some…
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From hospitality to education, the coronavirus has impacted every industry. Also known as COVID-19, the pandemic has led to more than 100,000 deaths worldwide, and we’re self-isolating for an indefinite period of time to prevent the spread of infection as much as possible. I don’t doubt that COVID-19 has affected your business, and it will continue to do so for at least the near future. It can feel scary not…
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It wouldn’t be a new year without several U.S. employment law changes! In 2020, employers are going to need to stay on top of more than a dozen federal and state laws that came into effect on January 1, 2020. While we can’t cover all dozen-plus new labor laws and regulations in one article, let’s look at three that could have a big impact on your business. 1. A new…
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At the end of each year, I like to look back at what I’ve accomplished: what went well and what didn’t. There are valuable lessons in understanding this before you start planning the next year. It’s also important to look forward—no matter what field you’re in—at what you’d like to focus on in the upcoming year. For me, it’s to launch my new HR training program for small business owners…
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As the end of 2019 quickly approaches, many employers are planning employee holiday parties to celebrate the season and show their appreciation. According to an OfficeTeam survey of more than 2,800 senior managers, 93% said their companies would be having holiday festivities this year. As fun as employee holiday parties can be, they can also strike fear in the heart of HR professionals, who must limit employer liability and staff…
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Growth is great, but along with it comes challenges. Many organizations find themselves having to decide when to outsource human resources functions to a consultant, or how to create a dedicated department for organizational support. As a small business owner you most likely had to handle all HR functions to manage costs, and then later realized that you were spending a lot of your time navigating uncharted waters when the…
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