Tag: employee retention

How to Keep Your Best Employee Focused When Their New Baby Arrives

Best Employee Focus

A major goal of any small business owner is to hire intelligent, hard-working people and keep them around for many years to come. If you run your own business, you already know that attempting to find good employees can be a tiring and frustrating process. People can sometimes seem amazing during the interview, only to begin demonstrating a poor work ethic a few weeks into the job. Other times, major life changes, such as health problems, having a baby or returning to school, can drive your good employees away. If you have a beloved employee that is pregnant, you may want to consider doing some things to help keep her around after the baby is born.

Throw an Excellent Baby Shower

Throwing an office baby shower is a good way to support your employee during her pregnancy. Not only will the effort warm her heart and provide her with numerous gifts that she will need for the baby, but it will also show her that she is a valued member of your team. Just as it can be difficult to find good employees, it can also be difficult to find a good place to work. A baby shower could remind your employee just how special your place of business really is.

Be Understanding and Generous With Time Off

It’s important to understand that your employee is going to need plenty of time off both during her pregnancy and after the baby is born. Allow a good amount of time for pregnancy leave as well as plenty of sick days in case anything unexpected should come up.

Provide a Reasonable Work Load

Being a new mom can be quite distracting. If your employee has just returned to work after having the baby, understand that she may be more tired and spaced out than usual. Therefore, you may want to provide her with a less-demanding workload than she is used to. Start slow and help her ease back into her regular routine by adding a bit more work each week and talking to her about what she’s comfortable with.

Make Room for the Baby at the Office

Finding a babysitter can be difficult, and many new moms don’t feel comfortable leaving their newborn right away. By allowing your employee to bring her baby to work, you’ll be helping her get back into the swing of things without having to suffer the distraction of wondering how her baby is doing while she’s away. Plus, you’ll be making your other employees happy, because who wouldn’t enjoy having an adorable baby around? To help make the new mom comfortable, consider purchasing a sanitary changing table and play yard for babies and placing it in her office. That way, she wont have to waste time taking the baby to a different place to change him or her.

Running a small business is like being the leader of a tribe. When the leader is kind, generous and understanding, the entire group does well. The more love and support you give your employee during this changing time in her life, the more she will appreciate you as a boss and want to continue doing a great job.

Having been a TV reporter with a new baby on the job, Ann Bailey encourages support for any employee coming back to work as a new mom. A clean, modern play yard for babies is a powerful statement of support that business owners can easily provide for seamless continuity for their employees with new family additions.

 

 

Make It Your Business to Highlight the Success of Your Employees

For many business owners, making sure their employees have all the necessary tools at their disposal to their jobs is paramount.

From office equipment to the right office setting, making sure your workers are comfortably suited to handle their responsibilities at work is beyond important. Without the right tools and setting, not only can it impact the product or services you can provide for your customers, but it ultimately could end up determining whether or not you remain in business for the long haul.

happy employees
photo credit: Zach Klein via photopin cc

With 2013 kicking off, take a few minutes to review the tools and setting that your employees have to work with, including:

  • The office – Are you in a space where your employees can comfortably do their jobs? Do they have access to essential items like computers, printers, fax machines, phones, and other office supplies? You might be surprised to learn that many small businesses can’t answer yes to that question. Whether it is because of a shoestring budget or other reasons, many workers just get by at work, meaning the product may ultimately suffer. Without going on a major shopping spree, review what your expenditures are for office equipment and see where you may be lacking;
  • Office policies – Although protocol says you provide new workers with an employee handbook when they first arrive at your company, some business owners fall behind on this important detail. Make sure everyone in the office knows what is and is not acceptable. The last thing you want to do is potentially set yourself up for a sexual harassment lawsuit, a lawsuit involving a client, or an issue with law enforcement. Review these policies with your workers at least once a year so they know the importance of such matters. In today’s litigious society, you can never be too careful;
  • Before and after work – Do you review the conditions your employees encounter before and after work, most notably security? While many offices have proper security, including video surveillance, others do not. From simple things like the proper lighting to making sure the building is secure, review the surroundings for your workers. As some business owners have discovered over the years, an unsecure environment can lead to problems, including potential lawsuits;
  • Recognize the highlights – While your employees obviously get compensation during the year, do you do the little things to recognize their achievements? Things such as a year-end party, birthday and employment anniversary celebrations, an office newsletter and putting together an office video or photo album from the last 12 months are great ways to keep morale up. A photo book you can compile using blurb promotional codes is a great keepsake for all workers, noting some of the fun times you’ve shared together. Given that many employees work 40 hours or more in an office setting weekly, a photo book can show each and every one the importance of working as a team;
  • Individuals matter – Lastly, sit down with each of your workers for a few minutes and see if they are happy in their present position. Are they coming to work with incentive or just to collect a paycheck? Do they like the team they work with or are they unhappy? Would they be even more productive if one or more things changed in the office? While some may be hesitant to speak, some will also share their feelings and thoughts with you, meaning a better work environment for all involved.

 

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers small business topics for various websites.

The Best Ways of Incentivizing Your Staff

Making sure that your employees are happy is one way of ensuring that your business thrives and prospers. Happy employees are more productive and willing to work harder for you. Setting goals that are realistic, and that employees understand, is a crucial part of any incentive program. If you want to reward your employees financially, there are a few really good ways to do it.

Retirement Matching Contributions

Retirement matching contributions are one way of rewarding your employees for good performance. A retirement account match is when you contribute money towards your employees’ retirement plan. For qualified accounts, like 401(k) plans, you must match all employee accounts the same.

For example, if you offer an employee a $1 match for every $1 he contributes to his retirement fund, you must also offer the same $1 match to every employee. However, some accounts are considered “non-qualified” and you can offer a paid bonus to select employees. This is an ideal way to offer incentives to employees because you can be selective about who receives a bonus and who doesn’t. The bonus may be set up as a direct payment to the employee or you can pay it to a brokerage account where the employee has limited control over the funds.

Normally, an agreement is signed between you and the employee that stipulates what the bonus money may be used for. If you want to motivate your employees to stay with you for a long time, you can structure the agreement so that the employee has full trading authority over the funds but cannot remove them for a set number of years.

Non-Qualified Stock Options

A stock option is a right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a specific number of shares of stock for a predetermined price and for a predetermined amount of time. For example, a stock option may give you the right to purchase 1,000 shares of Microsoft for $10 per share for the next 3 months. Stock options that are given as a bonus allow an employee to benefit from the increase in the share price of your company if it is publicly traded.
The employee must pay income tax on the difference between the stock price and the strike price at the time the option is exercised.

Incentive Stock Options

Incentive stock options are more of a long-term investment. While non-qualified stock options benefit an employee if you’re going to issue an IPO and expect your stock to do well “out of the gate,” incentive stock options are meant to be more of a long-term investment. Typically, these stock options are held for more than a year from the date the option is exercised. The shares exercised by the options holder also must be held for more than two years from the date of issue of the stock option.

This gives incentive stock options a tax benefit in that they will always be taxed as a long-term capital gain – a tax rate that is lower than the income tax paid on non-qualified stock options.

Employee stock options can also be “restricted.” This means that even though the individual has the right to exercise the option, he may be restricted from doing so prior to a specific date or before a company has achieved a certain benchmark or milestone. This gives further incentive for employees to perform well so that the company’s share price increases.

In some cases, the employee does not have direct control over the share price of the company because she doesn’t have control over any aspect of production. Even still, stock options can help to energize your workforce and motivate everyone to work together so that the company does well.

About the Author: Guest post by Elizabeth Goldman, on behalf of Sunbird cfd Brokers and currency trading specialists. Home to the advanced MetaTrader platform (see the metatrader 4 user guide). All views and opinions belong to the writer and do not necessarily represent Sunbird FX.

4 Perks Every Small Business Owner should Steal from Google

For three consecutive years Google has been ranked as one of the top companies to work for. While pay is good, the perks the tech company offers its employees is what most say really keeps employees happy and eager to produce constant good work – headquarters are equipped with a rock climbing wall, gourmet chefs, free laundry services, and even allow employees to bring their pet to work just to name a few. While you’re a small business owner and can’t afford to hire a sushi chef for example, that doesn’t mean that you can’t use Google as a model and put your own twist on some of the amenities they offer. To learn some perks that will earn you the best boss award and can keep the employees you have satisfied, continue reading below.

1. Provide Cheap Beverages and Snacks. Ok, so you don’t have the funds to buy a fancy espresso or cappuccino maker, but you can buy a traditional coffee maker and some flavored creamers so that your employees can have a free pick-me-up in the mornings or afternoons. Stocking the company fridge with at least 3 different flavors of soda or tea and some filtered water is also a great, simple idea. Can sodas are inexpensive (especially if you purchase in bulk using a discount Sam’s Club or CostCo card) and it’ll keep your employees hydrated (which is needed to activate brains) as well as give your employee’s bragging rights – most companies do not provide free snacks. To ease up on your wallet, only restock snacks once a month.

2. Keep Social Media Sites Active. Most corporate companies choose to make social media sites like Facebook and Twitter inaccessible at work because they believe it will only distract their employees from completing the tasks at hand. But blocking popular sites like Facebook can make some employees feel like their employer is a control freak and may actually end up resenting their boss a little bit. Besides, some studies say that allowing employees to take small breaks to check social networking sites and surf the web can actually boost productivity rates.

3. Casual Everyday. Some corporate offices give their employees permission to indulge in a “casual Friday.” Google, on the other hand, allows their staff to wear jeans every day of the week – of course there are limits; it’s more of a “business casual” than “casual-casual” but it’s a great way to promote productivity. That’s because some experts claim that formal business attire, such as suits, heels, and pencil skirts, can be really constraining, causing people who have to sit or stand for 8 hours a day to be extremely uncomfortable which prompts them to do less work. However business casual attire removes the stress of having to get ready each morning and let’s your employees breathe while at work. While causal everyday may not work for every small business (if they don’t have to engage with clients or investors on a normal basis) it may be a good idea to at least give them one or two days a week of casual dress. Of course there can be restrictions – no flip flops etc.

4. Set up a Game Room. Lastly, like mentioned before, in addition to a rock climbing wall, Google has a myriad of other fun games to boost office moral and motivate its team to work harder for breaks such as a foosball table. Creating an area where your employees can get together and unwind for a few minutes doing something fun is a fantastic amenity to add. With careful research you can find some inexpensive foosball tables or something similar like a ping pong table. Investing in an office gaming system (Wii’s are about $80 now) and getting some group-involved games like Mario Kart is also great activity to have in the workplace.

About the Author: This guest post is contributed by Lauren Bailey, who regularly writes for accredited online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: blauren99 @gmail.com.