That’s because 74 percent of U.S. employees say their benefits are important part of their financial stability, and 69 percent say their benefit package is a critical element in their job satisfaction. Not surprisingly, job seekers say health insurance benefits are among the top factors they take into account when considering a job offer.

As a small businesses owner, you may not be able to match the high salaries and big-ticket perks that large corporations can use to entice talent, but you can put together an innovative, cost-effective small business employee benefits package that reflects your core values and makes sure your employees know how much you value them.

Getting Started: How to Develop Your Small Business Employee Benefits Plan

The first step to crafting a benefits program is to establish a budget. You can expect to invest 30 percent of salary per employee in each comprehensive benefits package you offer. The most expensive component of your benefits offerings will be healthcare insurance, which is also the benefit most valued by employees. Other highly valued benefits include retirement savings programs such as 401(k) plans and paid time off (PTO).

Think of your compensation package as a single, per-employee expense divided among the following categories:

• Direct compensation: Salary, PTO, bonuses, and commissions
• Mandatory indirect compensation: Social Security and Medicare taxes paid on your employees’ behalf
• Optional indirect compensation: Benefits and perks that aren’t required by law, 401(k) matching, or health insurance premiums

One of the best ways to establish or update your small business employee benefits plan is to ask your current employees what benefits they wish they had. Once you’ve determined what you’re offering, consider investing in an automated payroll and benefits platform, or even contracting with a professional employer organization (PEO) that provides comprehensive HR solutions.

Basic Benefits: What’s Required by Law

Some employee benefits, such as unpaid family leave, are required by law. Under the Affordable Care Act, for example, employers with more than 50 employees are required to provide healthcare insurance. Healthcare will likely be the most costly benefit you offer, so you may want to band together with other small businesses in an association like the National Federation of Independent Businesses to access discounted rates.

Also under federal law, hourly workers are entitled to a higher hourly rate for any work that surpasses 40 hours in a single week. However, state laws differ on exactly which categories of workers are considered hourly wage earners and which are salaried and therefore exempt.

The degree to which you are responsible for contributing to disability insurance and unemployment or offering PTO can also differ by state and municipality. Other benefits that may be mandated by your state include life insurance, short and long-term disability insurance, worker’s compensation, unemployment, COBRA (continued healthcare coverage for employees who have been let go), and paid family and disability leave.

Check with resources like the U.S. Small Business Administration or Department of Labor, as well as state and municipal labor agencies, to make sure your small business employee benefits package is in compliance with all applicable regulations.

Competitive Compensation: Benefits Employees Expect

Beyond what is required by law, there are certain benefits that applicants are likely to expect. Health insurance and pre-tax benefits, such as 401(k) and health and childcare savings plans, that help lower employees’ taxable income are popular across all sectors. In some fields benefits like remote work and flexible scheduling are popular.

As you assemble your small business employee benefits, keep in mind which benefits are expected within your industry. Do you want to match or surpass those offerings?

One way to create an enticing benefits package is to focus on emerging benefit trends that are popular among today’s job seekers, such as mental health and wellness, skills training, and the option to carry over unused PTO.

You can keep benefits robust while still balancing costs by offering your employees choices.

For example, your employees with young children will likely be overjoyed if you offer childcare assistance, but those without children might feel left out. Offer employees a certain amount of annual assistance they can use toward childcare, tuition loan assistance, or 401(k). This way, not only will you be making every employee, no matter their stage of life, feel valued, but you will also make them feel empowered by their ability to make the financial choices that make the most sense for them.

Values-Based Small Business Employee Benefits

A growing number of employers are offering benefits that reflect their core values. For example, if you’re a local business with strong ties to your community, you might offer your employees paid volunteer hours for work at a local charity. If health is a core value, then you might offer employees reimbursement for fitness club memberships and free onsite healthy snacks and meals.

One way to communicate your commitment to your employees is to be flexible and generous when the unexpected happens, and to give your employees the opportunity to help each other as well.

In the wake of fires, natural disasters, or health crises, for example, you might allow your employees to donate their accumulated PTO to coworkers facing emergencies. It will cost you nothing, and though you might have provided the PTO to the employee in distress anyway, it is a wonderful way to build community and allow those receiving the help to feel empowered to play their coworkers’ generosity forward in the future.

These types of benefits tend to be used by only a few employees over the lifespan of your business, so the costs are minimal. But values-based benefits can go a long way toward helping your employees develop a positive connection with your company’s core values. They can be a useful recruitment tool for job seekers looking for a mission-driven work environment.

Creative Perks to Help You Stand Out

You may not be able to outbid your bigger competitors, but you can get creative with small perks that set you apart. You might offer employees a package of sessions with a life coach or “lunch and learn” sessions on personal investment options, time management, or even cooking.

If your systems can accommodate it, allow workers to use whatever tech they are most comfortable with—Apple or Windows-based devices, for instance. Join your local chamber of commerce and partner with other local businesses to offer discounted purchases on travel, tech, or dining. Or consider fostering a pet-friendly workplace, including pet health insurance.

Try to come up with low-cost benefits that reflect your business’s unique culture or mission.

The Know-How You Need to Attract the Right Candidates to Your Growing Small Business Staff

From small business employee benefits that can compete with larger employers to the best ways to stretch your recruitment budget, Monster has the expertise you need to grow your business. Sign up to learn about the latest hiring news, recruiting best practices, and HR tools to attract and keep top talent.

The post Top Small Business Employee Benefits for Recruitment appeared first on Monster.com.

If you don’t have an HR department or in-house counsel at your small business, it’s up to you to learn and follow employment laws and best practices. Here’s what you need to know about this type of employer negligence claim and how to avoid it.

When Could You Be Found Liable?

An employee or customer who is harmed by one of the company’s employees can sue for this type of negligence if they believe the company “knew or should have known” the employee was a threat. The complainant will likely have the strongest case if the employee harmed an employee or customer previously and was not fired. For example:

• An employee brings a weapon to work and isn’t fired. They later violently injure an employee.
• An employee sexually harasses an employee and isn’t fired. They later commit another act of sexual harassment.
• An employee threatens to hurt another employee and the business owner doesn’t discipline the employee. They later hurt an employee.

What Will the Courts Consider?

Each state sets its own negligence laws, so it’s crucial to check the negligent retention definition in your state. For example, courts in some states will only hear cases in which the plaintiff has been physically harmed. Generally, the plaintiff must show:

• The employee works for the company.
• The employee is incompetent.
• The employer “knew or should have known” the employee is incompetent.
• The employee harmed the plaintiff.
• The fact that the employer retained the employee is the “proximate cause” of the harm.

The court could require the business owner to pay the damages caused by the employee, such as paying for the complainant’s medical bills or stolen property. It can be expensive and time-consuming to litigate these cases, so another option is to resolve them through a settlement agreement.

Some business owners get Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) to cover employer negligence and other claims like discrimination and wrongful termination. EPLI policies generally protect businesses from wrongful acts directed against employees, former employees, and job applicants.

How Can You Protect Your Business From Negligent Retention Claims?

There are multiple actions you can take to help you avoid this type of negligence claim. For example:

Launch a Thorough Investigation

If an employee or customer tells you or a member of your team that they have been harmed by one of your employees, it’s important to investigate. You are legally obligated to conduct a prompt investigation when someone reports workplace harassment, workplace violence, fraud, theft, discrimination, and additional incidents. If you can afford to, it can be beneficial to hire a firm to launch an independent investigation to remove the appearance of bias.

There are several other investigation best practices that employers should follow. For example, your legal counsel might recommend separating the complainant from the individual throughout the investigation by giving them a paid leave of absence, shifting their schedule, or having them temporarily transfer teams. (However, the complainant should agree to the plan because otherwise it could be viewed as retaliatory.)

It is also important to keep detailed records throughout the investigation process and to save evidence like emails or text messages. These records can be used in court or in mediation to show that you thoroughly investigated the incident before making a decision.

Take Action After an Investigation

When evaluating this type of negligence claim, a judge is likely to consider how you reacted when the investigation revealed that the employee harmed another employee or a customer. As with the investigation, document the action you took and keep it in the employee’s personnel file.

The best way to prevent a negligent retention claim would be to fire the employee. However, if that seems too severe for the incident, a judge will likely consider other actions. For example:

• Moving the employee to a different team.
• Reassigning the employee to a less customer-facing role.
• Heightening the supervision of the employee.
• Requiring the employee to complete additional anti-harassment, anti-discrimination, and ethics training.
• Issuing a formal warning.

Increase Supervision and Training

While it is especially helpful for avoiding negligent training and negligent supervision claims, increasing supervision and training (assuming both are done in accordance with best practices) can also help protect against negligent retention.

With increased supervision, you’re likely to identify problematic behavior sooner so you can act faster. You may also want to implement more anti-harassment, anti-discrimination, and ethics trainings for the entire company. Be sure to document your supervision and training processes and make sure the company’s anti-harassment, anti-discrimination, and ethics guidelines are stated clearly in the employee handbook.

Learn More HR Best Practices

These strategies should help you protect your small business against negligent retention claims. If you don’t have an HR department or in-house counsel, there is a bevy of best practices and employment laws to keep track of on top of your other responsibilities. You can sign up to receive HR advice, data, and news from Monster so you can spend more time on implementation than research.

Legal Disclaimer: None of the information provided herein constitutes legal advice on behalf of Monster.

The post How to Avoid Negligent Retention for Your Business appeared first on Monster.com.

If you don’t have an HR department, it’s up to you to handle hiring and firing employees, and it’s crucial to make sure you follow employment laws and best practices. It’s a lot to keep track of but failing to do so could land you in legal jeopardy.

What is Wrongful Termination?

When you fire someone for an unlawful reason or contrary to one of your state’s at-will exceptions, you could expose your business to a lawsuit. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces federal laws that prohibit discrimination and retaliation.

While at-will exceptions vary from state to state, the most common are terminations that violate a stated public policy or employment agreement. If an employee thinks they were wrongfully terminated, they can file a claim with the appropriate federal or state agency and in some cases file a lawsuit. It can be expensive and time-consuming to litigate these cases and they are often resolved through a settlement agreement.

Discrimination and Retaliation

The EEOC enforces multiple federal employment anti-discrimination laws. It is illegal to fire an employee because of their:

• Race
• Color
• Religion
• Sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation)
• National origin
• Age(40 or older)
• Disability
• Genetic information

The EEOC also prohibits companies from firing an employee as retaliation for, among other things, filing a job discrimination complaint or participating in a job discrimination lawsuit or investigation. Depending on your state and city, you might need to follow additional anti-discrimination laws.

At-Will Employment Exceptions

An employer may be found liable of wrongful termination if they’re done contrary to one of the exceptions recognized under state law. These are the four most common exceptions.

1. Public Policy

Employers generally cannot fire an employee for exercising a “protected legal right” under the state’s public policy. It differs from state to state, but some of the common “protected legal rights” include:

• Reporting a violation of legal rights in the workplace, such as harassment or discrimination.
• Notifying anyone about unpaid wages or unsafe working conditions.
• Discussing wage or workplace concerns with coworkers or attempting to form a union.
• Filing a complaint with a workplace rights agency.
• Suing, or participating in a lawsuit, against the company.
• Taking time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
• Filing a worker’s compensation claim.
• Participating in a public service, such as jury duty or voting.
• Refusing to do something illegal.

2. Employment Agreement Exception

Even though most states have at-will employment laws, companies can choose to set “for-cause” employment policies for the entire company or certain employees. For example, some companies have at-will employment agreements for executives or unionized employees. The employment agreement could, for instance, include exceptions for layoffs, job elimination, or restructuring.

Common reasons to fire an employee for-cause include:

• Purposeful wrongdoing.
• Fraudulent conduct.
• Stealing company property.
• Failure to perform job responsibilities.
• Intentional violation of company policies.

If you have a for-cause clause in an employment contract and fire someone for another reason, you could be found liable for wrongful termination.

3. Implied Contract Exception

Even if you don’t have a written for-cause clause in your employee agreement, some states will consider an “implied contract.” According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), you could form an implied contract through:

• Verbal statements that sound like promises, like, “you can stay at our company for your entire career” or “as long as you perform well, you’ll always have a job here.”
• Written statements like set termination policies in your employee handbook.

To prevent being found liable for wrongful termination, the BLS recommends adding a disclaimer to written policies saying they can be changed at any time and don’t “create contractual rights.”

4. Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing Exception

Some states recognize a “covenant of good faith and fair dealing.” According to the BLS, the courts have interpreted the covenant to mean that the employer must use “just cause” and that firing someone out of “bad faith” or “malice” is prohibited. For example, The Supreme Court of Nevada ruled in favor of a former employee who argued they were fired so the company wouldn’t have to pay retirement benefits.

However, as BLS notes, a “vast majority” of courts will not consider these cases because it would be too burdensome and time-consuming to constantly need to interpret an employer’s reasoning for firing an employee.

Learn More HR Advice

Now that you understand what wrongful termination is and how you can avoid it, you can focus on the more enjoyable HR responsibilities like building a strong company culture and helping your employees thrive. Sign up to receive hiring advice, news, and data from Monster so you stay on top of the best practices that will help you grow your small business.

Legal Disclaimer: None of the information provided herein constitutes legal advice on behalf of Monster.

The post Avoid Wrongful Termination at Your Small Business appeared first on Monster.com.

Your small business needs to aim for a year-over-year growth rate of at least 15 percent just to stay safely ahead of inflation and have enough revenue to invest back into your company each year. Getting to that 15 percent growth rate might be as simple as raising your prices or looking for less expensive suppliers, but for most small business owners the math won’t be that simple.

Small business growth requires a multi-tiered game plan that employs several tactics simultaneously. The five strategies below can help you hit your growth targets and ensure that your small business remains robust and thriving for years to come.

1. Create a Growth Plan for Your Small Business

Before you do anything else, you need to have a plan. Your local small business development center can provide expert assistance on how to map out your plan, including helping you find funding if you suspect you might need to raise investment capital to make your plan work.

Follow these steps to put together your growth plan:

• Collect data on your current sales, distribution streams, profit margins, pricing, and costs.
• Do research on expected price increases that might affect your costs.
• Calculate how much growth you’ll need over the next year, or even the next 3-5 years, for your small business to remain viable.
• Evaluate your products and services. Which are selling well, and which are languishing?

Include a strategy for how you will compete against other businesses in your niche. This could mean underpricing your competitors, building a reputation for superior quality and service, or refining your sales, marketing, and product design to appeal to an untapped market segment.

Make sure you perform cost-benefit analysis for each investment you make to achieve growth. Set goals on how much revenue you hope to bring in, along with strategies on how to meet each goal. As you move forward, measure your progress and adjust your plan accordingly.

2. Tend to Your Current Customers

There are two avenues for growing market share: horizontal growth aims to increase your reach to new customers, while vertical growth aims to increase sales from your current customer base. Don’t make the mistake of focusing solely on expanding sales channels and taking your current customers for granted, as small business growth is not limited to new markets or customers.

Instead, focus on providing excellent customer service with your current clients. Traditional brick-and-mortar small businesses are in an excellent position to create and maintain customer loyalty. They get to know their customers’ names and favorite orders. What they often neglect to do is track their regular customers using metrics.

By offering your current customers discounts in exchange for feedback, you can learn what problems they solve by buying your products. Not only can you use this information to reach new customers, but you can also use it to upsell to your regulars. Customer loyalty programs are a great way to develop brand loyalty and identification, and have been shown to increase customer purchases by as much as 300 percent.

Finally, ask your satisfied customers to provide testimonials for your web site and other marketing channels.

3. Focus on Marketing to New Customers

Relying on current customers to increase demand for your products will only get you so far. You’ll also need to develop a customer acquisition strategy to attract new ones. The best way to develop new sales channels is to develop a marketing strategy that generates sales leads and increases brand awareness.

Use digital marketing channels, starting with your web site, to talk about your products, offer discounts, and provide useful information to users, thereby increasing their trust in your brand. Your small business growth plan should include annual marketing goals that increase your reach. For example, if you already use social media, make it a goal to add a newsletter as well. If you already have an online storefront, add a learning center or blog.

Offer discounts for first-time purchases that keep customers coming back to your virtual or physical retail space. For example, you might offer users a redeemable online coupon if they sign up for your newsletter.

Another way to expand sales channels is to develop partnerships with other businesses and organizations. For example, co-sponsor a fundraiser for a local charity with a neighboring retail store or join your local chamber of commerce. Also, consider cross-promoting with other businesses that complement your own, but that are not direct competitors.

4. Optimize Tech and Automation

Evidence indicates that small businesses that invest in tech weather tough times and economic downturns better than those that don’t. Technology can be a cost-effective way to increase productivity, cut costs, and free up time, all of which is especially important for small businesses with limited staff.

Applications and software platforms can aid with inventory tracking, cost estimates, bookkeeping, pricing, purchasing, employee scheduling, payroll, and more. But figuring out which tech solutions you need can be daunting. You’ll want to build out a tech strategy just as you would any other aspect of your small business growth strategy.

Begin by making a list of the biggest demands on your time: Do you lose days to tracking inventory and dealing with vendors? Or is your biggest headache keeping track of sales and billing? Once you’ve listed your top two or three most onerous responsibilities, you can begin researching technical solutions to address them. And If you don’t yet have a digital storefront, web site, or social media marketing presence, work to develop them.

5. Hire Customer-Focused Employees

At a certain point in your small business growth trajectory, you need to stop trying to do everything yourself. Even a bare-bones staff won’t be enough to keep your growth rate on an uptick forever. For maximum growth you will need to implement a hiring strategy that attracts diligent, curious, hard-working employees who are as enthusiastic about your products as you are.

Focus on hiring with an eye toward digital marketing skills, customer service, and tech. If you can’t yet afford to hire full- or part-time staff, consider contracting for help with core functions that can be outsourced, such as marketing, bookkeeping and finance, and inventory and fulfillment. Investing revenue back into your business by hiring good staff will free you up to focus on what you do best –coming up with new product offerings and building long-lasting customer relationships.

Want to Make Sure Your Small Business Growth Is Assured? Sign Up for More Insights

You know the basics of how to plan and implement a strategy, but an entrepreneur’s work is never really done. Could you benefit from additional, expert insights into recruitment and management? Sign up to learn more about small business hiring tips and other avenues to success.

The post 5 Strategies for Small Business Growth appeared first on Monster.com.

Whether you’re hiring your first employee or managing a fast-growing team, it’s helpful to have a library of HR documents ready to go. We’ve pulled together some of the most important documents to keep on-hand.

1. Offer Letter

After choosing the right person for the job, send an offer letter for them to sign. You can save time by sending it as an email attachment or using electronic signature software.

In addition to congratulating them on getting the job and welcoming them to the company, you’ll want to include some logistics. Consider including: the job title, general responsibilities, who they’d report to, the schedule, the salary or hourly rate and when it’s paid, the start date, the benefits, and whether it is an at-will position. If it is a temporary position, include the end date as well.

2. Employment Agreement

You may also want to send an employee agreement, or employee contract, that goes into more details about the employment terms. You might ask the employee to agree to certain terms such as: following all policies and procedures, performing their job responsibilities, and completing a probationary period.

Depending on your needs, as well as state and local laws, you might want to include a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and a non-compete agreement. Keep in mind that non-compete agreements are not enforceable in all states.

3. New Employee Documents

There are some essential HR documents to fill out before a new employee starts work. Check federal and state requirements to make sure you’re filling out all the required paperwork. This isn’t a comprehensive list, but some of the most common employment forms are:

• Employer Identification Number (EIN): If you’re hiring your first employee (congrats!), you’ll likely need to fill out paperwork to get an EIN that you’ll use for any paperwork filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
• State Tax Identification Number: Depending on your state, you may need an EIN and a state tax identification number for filing state taxes.
• Employment Eligibility Verification (I-9): This form confirms that employees are eligible to work in the United States.
• Federal Income Tax Withholding (W-4): This form lets you know the amount of federal income tax deductions to withhold from the employee’s pay based on factors like their marital status.
• Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification (W-9): Use this form for independent contractors. You need to get their identification information so that you can fill out the necessary IRS paperwork.

4. Personnel File

The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) recommends keeping a personnel file for each employee with relevant employee records. For example, you might want to keep these HR documents:

• Compensation records: Track the employee’s compensation and the dates for raises and cost of living increases.
• Performance records: File performance evaluations and records of promotions and transfers.
• Separation records: Include exit interview records, resignation letters, and employment separation agreements.

5. Employee Medical Records

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires you to keep employee medical records confidential. It is a best practice to keep these separate from the rest of the employees’ records. Depending on the employee, you might have medical documentation such as:

• Health insurance enrollment paperwork: Keep any health insurance enrollment paperwork or, if you require it, proof that the employee has coverage through another source.
• Reasonable accommodation requests: If an employee asks for a reasonable accommodation like accessible parking, accessibility equipment, or the use of a service animal, you should keep records of the disability disclosure and agreed-upon accommodations.
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) records: If an employee needs to take leave under the FMLA, keep associated documentation and records of the time off.
• Workers’ compensation records: If an employee is injured on the job, they might be eligible for U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) programs.

6. Workforce Data Report

Depending on the size of your business, you may be required to send an EEO-1 Report to the DOL and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) once a year. The agencies collect demographic information, such as the sex and race or ethnicity of all employees and their job categories.

7. Payroll Information

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers with at least two employees and an annual revenue of more than $500,000 to follow minimum wage, overtime pay, child labor, and recordkeeping laws for non-exempt employees. You would need to keep at least three years of payroll records, including the employee’s identification information and records of how much they were paid each pay period.

8. Employee Handbook

An employee handbook is one of the most important HR documents. It’s essential to have an employee handbook so your entire team knows the company policies and procedures. Consider including the rules you expect your employees to follow as well as the employment laws and regulations you will follow, like non-discrimination policies.

9. Company Benefits

It’s helpful to have a list of all your company benefits so you can hand it out to new employees. You may also choose to add it to the employee handbook. Include information about your health and life insurance plans, retirement plans, paid time off policies, and observed holidays.

10. Performance Evaluations

Save time and maintain consistency by having a performance evaluation template. You might want to include sections for goal setting, self-evaluation, identifying strengths and areas for improvement, and evaluating various hard and soft skills that are important for the role.

Get More HR Advice

With these HR documents in place, you’re well on your way to running more efficient HR operations. There’s a lot to keep track of when you run a small business. Monster can help you stay on top of hiring best practices. You can sign up to receive expert hiring advice, news, and HR trends for free.

The post 10 HR Documents Every Small Business Should Have appeared first on Monster.com.

Boenigk still remembers her company’s early days when she was learning how to manage a staff while also working to grow her business. Like many entrepreneurs, she thought it was necessary to do everything herself. But, after realizing how unrealistic that expectation really was, she began to meet an increasing number of business owners who were willing to help first-time managers.

Having a mentor is one way that novice managers can learn how to grow and adopt managerial habits. Managing a staff can prove to be a huge challenge for many small business owners, regardless of how successful they are getting the business up and running. It requires a different skill set and takes time for entrepreneurs to develop their own management style.

If you’re a small business owner and managing others for the first time, learning from experienced mentors can help you build a strong company by keeping your employees motivated and productive. The following new manager tips and suggestions should help you on your way to becoming a successful leader.

Set the Bar High by Example

It’s hard to demand professionalism from your staff if you don’t model that same behavior. As a business owner, you set the tone for your small business and your employees will always look to you as an example for what is expected. For example, if you’re chronically late paying vendors, throw a fit after receiving customer complaints, or come in late every day, you really can’t expect your employees to exceed that low bar.

If you openly favor certain employees or look the other way when workplace bullying or harassment occurs, then you’re sending a clear message that this type of behavior is accepted or even encouraged. Everyone is watching you and they will treat your business just like you do—or worse.

Inspire and Motivate Your Staff

One of the most crucial new manager tips is the importance of providing your employees with what they need in order to feel valued and to ultimately succeed. Your employees are the most valuable (and, in most cases, the most expensive) asset your business has. Cultivating an environment that inspires and encourages your staff to reach their highest potential and work together as a team will translate into overall business success.

At Neutral Posture, for instance, Boenigk says her employees enjoy profit-sharing, flexible schedules, excellent benefits, and extra perks such as a rewards program for employees who go above and beyond. This is especially important for small businesses that may not be able to match the compensation levels or prestige of larger, more well-known competitors.

Be a Great Communicator and an Active Listener

Poor management communication is often one of the biggest challenges first-time managers have, especially for those who have been particularly successful in non-management roles. Rather than hiding in your office, it’s important to engage your staff in brainstorming sessions, have regular staff meetings, and generally make sure everyone is kept in the loop and held accountable.

Before requesting updates from your staff, share with them the status of your own projects. This goes back to leading by example, since reciprocity not only builds trust and teamwork but is at the heart of effective communication.

Clear communication (which includes active listening) will enable you to better understand the challenges and needs of your employees. Boenigk believes in creating a culture of innovation by soliciting regular feedback from staff members on areas where the company can make improvements. More formal strategic planning sessions are held on a regular basis to address strategies for things like increasing sales and product development.

Learn to Delegate

As a small business owner, it can be tempting to want to oversee all aspects of your business, but as your company grows that’s usually not realistic. One of the most difficult new manager tips to master is learning how to let go of certain tasks and responsibilities. When Boenigk and her mother first started to hire managers, they looked for smart people who had skills that complemented their own, and were passionate about their work.

In addition to delegating the right tasks to the right people, small business owners must take time to onboard new managers, instead of simply plugging them in and hoping for the best. Investing in their employee training not only gives new managers a great head start, but also illustrates your commitment to their career and the success of the business.

Take These New Manager Tips to the Next Level and Build a Great Team

Continually making efforts to improve your managerial skills is important, whether you’re a first-time manager or you’ve been in the role for 20 years. Mastering the recruitment process and putting together a top-notch team is equally important. Sign up with Monster to receive expert recruiting advice, the latest hiring trends, and more, delivered free to your inbox.

The post New Manager Tips and Suggestions appeared first on Monster.com.

In highly competitive business environments, these questions have pushed business owners to ask themselves whether they can afford to increase wages. We asked experts for answers, and some of their responses were surprising.

There are good reasons to give employees raises, such as retaining talented workers, improving employee morale, and stimulating innovation. But one big surprise is that raising hourly wages can actually be a formula for more profits.

Determine whether a pay raise for your staff makes sense for your organization by considering the following:

1. Can you give raises and still hit your profitability targets?
2. What are the hidden costs of underpaying your employees?
3. What productivity gains will an increase in compensation bring?

1. First, Do the Profitability Math

To determine if you can afford to raise pay and by how much, undertake a financial analysis. It’s largely a math equation, and the key is to figure out if you can maintain your profit margin when you give employees raises. If you’re a young startup and haven’t yet become profitable, then you may be more focused on cashflow; but you also will need to consider how raises may impact your path to profitability.

Let’s say you make $100,000 in revenue a year and want to make a 10 percent net profit, or $10,000. To hit that $10,000 profit goal, you can’t spend more than $90,000 to bring in $100,000 in sales. Out of that $90,000 you will need to cover all of your costs, such as salaries, rent, utilities, interest expenses, and taxes. Getting a handle on those expenses is key to helping you determine what you can afford to pay your workers and still make your target 10 percent profit.

If there’s no money left over to pay higher wages, it may be because you’re not charging customers enough to cover your overhead and are taking on some work at a loss. By taking on only the work you can do at a profit, you’ll have more money to pay your team competitive wages—and improve the staying power of your business. If you’re a startup and not yet making a profit, then you should focus more on your company’s trajectory.

2. Consider the Costs of Paying Your Employees Too Little

Paying employees too little to cover their living expenses may be adding to your overhead in ways you haven’t calculated. For instance, if an employee calls in “sick” because they can’t afford the gas to get to work for the rest of the week, your business will lose out. Scrimping on wages usually brings with it a number of hidden costs, including higher absenteeism, excessive turnover and customer issues. Besides, how can you attract top performers with lower-than-average pay?

When you’re considering reasons to give employees a pay raise, you also need to consider the costs of not raising their pay. For instance:

• What do you have to spend to replace employees who have left?
• What is the cost of losing repeat customers who have become dissatisfied?
• How much does it cost to fix mistakes by workers who were not motivated?

Simply stated, paying employees too little comes with big potential costs. When that money is redirected into pay increases for employees, assuming it fits within the larger financial picture, it often pays dividends to your business five, 10, or many more times over. There’s a reason why labor costs are your main expense.

3. Add Up the Potential Productivity Gains of a Pay Raise

If raising workers’ pay will enable you to bring on talent capable of adding to your revenue or streamlining your costs, the salary increase may pay for itself (and then some). One such example involved JMJ Phillip Group, an executive search firm.

The firm, which focuses on manufacturing and the supply chain, did some analysis on worker salaries, about 15 percent of whom were hourly workers, says Dennis Theodorou, vice president of operations. The results prompted the firm to raise hourly worker pay by about 25 percent. There was good reason to give employees raises, says Theodorou, because the market was “extremely competitive.”

At the same time that it bumped up worker pay, JMJ also raised expectations for their employees. When the company increased wages for existing employees, for instance, it often provided coaching and employee training.

The goal was to empower employees to make a stronger contribution to the company by improving its customer service and internal processes, says Theodorou. In hiring 10 to 15 people, the company also developed a multi-step process that provides added insight to a candidate’s character.

Instead of merely “settling” in their hiring decisions, they’ve been able to pay extra money to motivate workers who will be able to generate a little bit more revenue to help them sustain the increased wages.

As Theodorou has realized, while there are a number of positive benefits that come from giving workers a pay increase, doing so can often do more for your bottom line than keeping wages flat. Think of it as an investment in your company’s success, rather than a sunk cost.

Use Pay Increases to Bolster Your Growth Strategy and Recruitment Efforts

In a competitive hiring market, increasing the pay of your employees can bolster profits and attract the kinds of workers who will deliver. But a pay raise won’t get you too far if you don’t have an effective recruiting and retention strategy guiding the process. That’s where we can help. Connect with Monster today to see how your business can get free access to the latest expert recruiting insights and job market analysis so your company can find the best, most profitable workers.

The post When Should You Give Employees a Pay Raise? appeared first on Monster.com.

That’s why being self-motivated at work can be such an asset. Learn what self-motivation looks like and how to foster it in your employees.

Self-Motivation Helps Business Thrive

Every entrepreneur knows that being a self-starter is absolutely critical to breathing life into their ideas, going from concept to reality. The same can be said for self-employed and contract workers, since they don’t have a boss breathing down their neck and keeping them on task.

If you’re a manager, then you’re acutely aware of the value that self-motivated employees bring to the workplace. Without the constant need for pep talks, they lift up your team’s performance and allow you to direct your attention to where it’s needed the most.

Being self-motivated at work means looking beyond the bare minimum of what’s required. These types of workers know what their goals are, strive to find more efficient ways of getting things done, and don’t require constant handholding or reminders about what tasks need to be completed.

This, in turn, is good for business. Goals are often met or exceeded, employees are more engaged in their work, and new goals can be set. This increased engagement leads to higher employee retention, productivity, and sales. And all of this is good for a company’s bottom line and growth potential.

The Self-Motivated Perspective

It’s evident that being self-motivated at work leads to greater employee satisfaction and better business, but how do you get there? Psychology Today outlines two ways people motivate themselves:

1. Ought self-guide. This focuses on duties, safety, and security. It motivates people primarily through fear of falling short and disappointing others. This perspective tends to include a greater amount of self-criticism.
2. Ideal self-guide. This approach aims more at aspirations and a desire to accomplish things, rather than avoiding negative outcomes. It lends itself more to creating new opportunities and seeking positive outcomes.

The problem with the “ought self-guide” (“I ought to do X,Y, and Z”) is that its motivation through fear, anxiety, and avoiding negative outcomes can stifle creativity and create unnecessary levels of stress. Employees who are stressed-out typically don’t perform at their highest potential and often burn out.

The latter form of self-motivation, focused on goals and aspirations rather than fear and duty, results in higher levels of happiness, satisfaction, and confidence. The key, however, is to base these aspirations on realistic goals; otherwise, employees may set themselves up for disappointment.

How to Foster Self-Motivation in Your Employees

So, how can you help your employees self-motivate in a positive, productive way? If you micromanage your employees, second-guess or demean their value to the organization, and fail to explain the larger context of their contributions, they won’t be in the right mindset. If you want self-motivated employees, you need to understand that people are generally motivated by three main things:

1. Knowing where they fit into the larger picture.
2. Feeling competent in what they do.
3. Having a good degree of autonomy.

Otherwise, they’re just doing what they think they “ought” to do to avoid getting reprimanded. Your employees will have to generate motivation within themselves, of course, but there’s a lot you can do as a manager to prime the pump. So, if you’re striving for employees who enjoy being self-motivated at work, here are a few tips:

• Ensure your employees grasp the bigger picture and their role in it. Explain how processes flow together and work toward the end objective.
• Provide adequate training and recognize individual achievements regularly. Periodic reviews are a good time to acknowledge past success and discuss future goals, but sometimes it’s better to address successes as they occur.
• Don’t micromanage—discuss what needs to be accomplished and then step back and let your well-trained employees take ownership of how they get it done. If they fail, encourage them to learn from their mistakes.
• Help them establish quarterly and/or annual goals. These could include the development of new skills or capabilities that require a certain amount of self-discipline to achieve.
• Be sure to reward effort, even if it doesn’t produce the intended result. A self-motivated employee who pursues an idea that ultimately doesn’t pay off may strike gold next time. However, you still need to ensure they’re using their time wisely.

It’s also important to seek out new recruits who already have a track record for being self-motivated at work. Some of the best ways to find workers with this mindset is through employee referrals, behavioral interview questions during the interview, and even anything you’re able to glean from their social media profiles. If they’re self-motivated outside of the office, then they’re likely the same at work as well.

Elevate Results by Cultivating Self-Motivated Employees

Neither micromanaging nor an “anything goes” approach will yield good results with employees. The ideal is a balanced management style that stresses the importance of being self-motivated at work, along with some necessary direction and supervision. Our free expert resources will help you hire and cultivate a staff that’s ready to take your company to the next level.

The post The Importance of Being Self-Motivated at Work appeared first on Monster.com.

The qualities that make a successful entrepreneur are not identical to those needed to be an effective organizational leader. The fact that you probably work shoulder to shoulder with your employees only complicates matters—it’s not like you can hide in a corner office when things get uncomfortable.

Take heart that you can leverage your close working relationships with employees to lead and inspire them. Because business leadership research shows that employees are motivated by a variety of methods—from compensation and rewards to mentorship and shared values—insight into your employees can work to your advantage.

Managing employees is complicated. These 10 leadership lessons provide the mini management course you need to motivate your employees and achieve success.

1. Develop a Clear Vision

You can’t lead if you don’t have a clear mission and well-articulated goals. What problems do your products or services help your customers solve? How do you plan to expand your customer base? Once you’ve articulated your mission and goals, you’re ready to share your vision for your company’s future with your employees in a way that makes them feel like they are as invested in your success as you are.

2. Small Business Leadership Should Be Strategic

Being a good employer means making sure your business is as stable as possible. You need to know your firm’s strengths and weaknesses. What advantages do you have over your competitors that you could be deployed more effectively? What opportunities are you not leveraging?

Set priorities that optimize your advantages, including your employees’ talents. Don’t try to accomplish all your goals simultaneously, as that will overwhelm your employees. Create a timeline and stagger your goals.

3. Communicate Effectively

Once you’ve mapped out your vision for your business’s future, communicate it clearly to your team so that it is accessible to employees across specializations. Present information in a variety of formats—text, infographics, video, group discussions, and one-on-one conversations.

4. Be a Good Listener

Small business leadership and communication isn’t about issuing directives or imparting wisdom. Good communicators are also good listeners, and the best bosses are curious about their employees, empathetic about their challenges and supportive of their goals.

5. Create a Culture of Honesty and Transparency

Effective leaders don’t keep secrets. They build workplaces based on trust, fostering an environment where employees feel they can safely provide honest feedback about what is and isn’t working.

Don’t promise what you can’t deliver, and your employees won’t either. Create a workplace where it is safe for your team to be honest about whether or not they can reach a deadline or achieve a goal with the time and resources you’ve allocated.

6. Lead by Example

As a small business owner, you probably know how to do every job on your payroll. Make it clear that you’re not asking your employees to do anything you wouldn’t do by pitching in wherever you’re needed—from making sales to mopping floors. Working alongside them shoulder to shoulder will inspire your staff to work harder on your behalf.

Make it clear that you don’t expect your employees to respond to after-hours emails, routinely work long hours, or come to work when they feel sick. Small business leadership means modelling professionalism and focus during reasonable working hours.

7. Don’t Micromanage

Successful leaders empower and support their employees, helping them grow in their work. They coach, train, and upskill, but they don’t micromanage. They build confidence. They know when to promote their employees and when to let them go. They don’t stand in their way.

Effective delegating starts with learning your employees’ talents and building teams accordingly. Allow employees to take ownership of tasks and initiatives, and once these projects are completed, provide ample public praise. When your employees encounter frustrations, provide additional support. This approach to small business leadership will inspire more loyalty than any perk or bonus (but be generous with those too!).

8. Know When to Ask for Outside Help

In addition to knowing your employees’ strengths and weaknesses, you should know your own as well. When a task that you were once able to manage on your own—say billing—grows in complexity as your business grows, you need to place those tasks in the hands of a specialist. Showing your staff that you don’t have all the answers all the time and that you know when to ask for expert advice, is another way you can lead by example, communicating to your staff that it’s OK to ask for help.

9. Stay Calm During a Crisis

The best leaders are comfortable with uncertainty. They understand that running a small business means navigating through volatile economic cycles when the way forward is unclear. They are prepared to adapt during times of growth and stagnation without panicking.

Be honest with your staff when you don’t have all the answers and encourage them to help you come up with solutions. It will demonstrate how much you value their talent and ideas. A crisis is a perfect time to remind your staff of your business’s core mission and values, reclaiming your employees’ focus and alleviating their fears.

10. Become Invested in Your Employees’ Professional Development

The best bosses know how to coach employees to be exceptional contributors to their bottom line. But they also know how to train them for the next level of their careers. They know when their employees are ready to be promoted or given a new challenge, and when it is time for them to move on.

Helping your employees reach their potential means mentoring them for larger roles in your own organization and beyond. To prepare them for opportunities in your field, forge and maintain mentoring channels with other employers, keep up to date on your industry, and become active in professional associations and business organizations, encouraging your employees to do so as well.

Mentoring employees beyond your own immediate needs could pay off for decades to come as former employees start their own businesses or thrive in related fields and become trusted business partners.

Learn More about How to Build, Manage, and Motivate a Strong Staff for Your Small Business

As your business grows, your staff will become an increasingly essential element in your future success. Sign up to get the latest small business leadership tips and advice to help you lead your staff to new heights and reach your goals.

The post Top 10 Small Business Leadership Tips appeared first on Monster.com.

As a manager, you have an important role to play. When properly devised and implemented, employee rewards and recognition programs can help create incentives that motivate your workforce to be more productive and innovative.

However, the wrong recognition program (or a failed rollout) won’t help your company and may even backfire. Success should be its own reward but acknowledging your employees’ accomplishments can go a long way toward keeping them motivated and inspiring others in the organization.

What are Employee Rewards and Recognition Programs?

Recognizing employees for going above and beyond can give them that extra push and reinforce workplace morale. There is a wide variety of programs designed to provide this extra push, but they all aim to recognize and reward top-performing employees for a job well done. And when one employee is rewarded, others are encouraged to step up their efforts.

There are several companies who are in the business of providing outsourced employee recognition programs, but there is a lot that employers can do on their own as well. Examples include:

• Employee of the month award (with a corresponding plaque on the office wall)
• Lunch with the boss
• Themed team lunch
• Extra time off or half day
• Recognition among peers (in a meeting, website, newsletter, etc.)
• Redeemable points
• Charitable donation in employee’s honor

The options are virtually limitless, but they’re not all effective. You want to make sure you’re rewarding the right types of behavior or goals—avoiding the appearance of playing favorites—making sure the behavior rewarded is in line with your company culture.

Don’t Get Burned by Recognizing the Wrong Things

Employee rewards and recognition programs must be transparent, fair, and supportive of good teamwork in order to be successful. It’s okay to gamify these programs, but there are limits. You want to avoid sowing mistrust or even sabotage among your employees. For example, employees may be reluctant to help a co-worker if it means they’ll have a better shot at winning a given recognition program.

One way to incentivize the right behaviors, in line with your values and company culture, is to reward cooperation and teamwork. This is easier said than done, but you might choose to reward an entire team at work instead of just one individual employee. Anonymous employee feedback or recognition of colleagues who have gone above and beyond could also be a way to encourage cooperation rather than competition.

Keep in mind that awards ceremonies have the potential to cause discord among those who aren’t recognized. Just make sure you’re basing the award or recognition on measurable data or efforts that can be clearly conveyed to the team. Creating the wrong incentives could cost your business valuable resources.

Consider the example of a sales team given points for either each call they make or for each sale they close. What if they’re just dialing random numbers (not necessarily vetted leads) or closing multiple low-dollar sales? Their numbers might look good for the program, even if what you really want are quality high-dollar sales and long-term relationships with each customer (which may require more time on the phone and follow-up calls).

How to Recognize Top Employees the Right Way

There’s no one size that will fit every organization. For example, some companies may simply be too small for team-based awards, while others—particularly large corporations with multiple locations—will need to ensure that any such incentives and rewards make sense across the entire organization.

Still, there are fundamental, research-based practices for implementing winning employee rewards and recognition programs at any workplace. These include the following:

1. Base recognition on specific results and behaviors. In addition to awarding performance, this will provide examples for others in the organization.
2. Avoid top-down recognition. Peer-to-peer recognition is often more effective because peers have a better idea of what their coworkers do on a daily basis.
3. Share stories of success. A prize is nice, but sharing their success story with peers (preferably in a company blog or newsletter) keeps employees engaged.
4. Make it easy to recognize coworkers’ achievements. Some programs allow employees to award their peers points for a job well done.
5. Align recognition programs with your values and goals. Tying an award to a specific company value or goal helps reinforce your mission.

Get Help Making Your Workplace More Rewarding

Keeping your workers engaged and focused on your company’s goals is a never-ending job. Implementing effective employee rewards and recognition programs can give you just the push your team needs to reach their full potential. If you’d like more suggestions, sign up to receive advice on the best recruiting and hiring strategies, management techniques, and more, delivered straight to your inbox.

The post How to Make Effective Employee Rewards and Recognition Programs appeared first on Monster.com.