Importance of Succession Planning in Small or Family-Owned Businesses

Interesting read in regards to succession planning for smaller businesses you may not have thought about.

SHRM Article: Succession Planning that works

Paid Sick Leave Mandates May be Soon On the Way

In Western Washington local leaders have already implemented paid sick leave polices in areas such as Seattle, Tacoma and it is only a matter of time before it becomes mandated for all; talks have already begun regarding a statewide initiative. There has also been much news regarding Obama's latest proposal  and also there seems to be frequent news about other states, or cities who are already passing local bills.

As a small business owner, you will most definitely be impacted and need to plan accordingly. I would anticipate that if it is not already mandatory in your area, then it will be soon, so if you currently do not offer sick pay to all it may be good to have plan for action and budget accordingly.

The proposal is for all employees to get sick pay regardless of being part time, full time and even temporary and the details can be read below

Obama's proposal

FREE Recruiting Management System Which Looks Worthwhile

The system looks worth checking out and they seem to have all the basic tools you need to manage your recruitment cycle from start to finish.   Best of all it is FREE, forever, from what the website says and they offer webinars to help teach you how to use their program. 

Qandidate Recruiting System

Interesting and Somewhat Disturbing Stats - Engagement and Employee Commitment

Below are some numbers that i have seen tossed around by various surveys and employee engagement seems to be a never ending challenge for many.  It is impossible to please everyone and no matter what, will always have some employees who just do not want to put in the effort.  To help raise the level of employee commitment, which in turn will help increase engagement, they need to feel like their job matters and that they actually have an impact on the overall success of the 

company.  Employees also need to feel they have an equal chance at being considered for promotions and the ability to move up within the ranks if she or he has the motivation.

Research performed by the Corporation Leadership Council shows statistics in regards to how committed employees are to their jobs.  The more committed they are the longer and employee tends to stay and the harder they will work for you.  Below is what they had found:

Those employees, who were highly committed…try 57% harder, perform 20% better and 87% less likely to leave compared to those with low commitment.

Research by SHRM found the following statistics in regards to engagement:

17% actively disengaged (these employees tend to actively show their unhappiness and this in turn undermines what the organization is trying to accomplish)

54% are disengaged (basically sleepwalking through their work day; putting in the time and hours, but not the passion into their work)

29% are engaged (working with passion and feeling connected to the organization)

More Evidence Teleworkers Can be a Plus to Your Business

In order to support Teleworkers/Telecommuters in your business, you have to have the right business model and a good system of checks and balances for it to work.  Allowing employees to telecommute or telework a couple days per week, for job functions that make sense, is a great start to feel out how well this flexible perk would work for your business.  Good policies would need to be put into place and the employee would should have the proper software and tools needed to do their job successfully such as: email (no brainer), Skype (if needed), collaboration software for working on projects, instant messaging/chat, social media, eFax, printer, Go to Meeting type of software, and more.

Teleworkers more productive when sick.....

Workplace Bullying is a Prevalent and Serious Matter

Workplace bullying is a serious matter and unfortunately has now been deemed an epidemic in today's workplaces.  Some interesting and surprising statistics to some is that over 80% of the bullies tend to be woman, compared to just over 70% that are me; the most common target are women and the most common level of employee to be a bully is a supervisor, or manager, followed by one of your peers.

Would you know how to spot a bully in your workplace? There are many different types and some are not so easy to spot and may quietly go unnoticed for a very long time.  One of the scariest types are those that are intelligent, underhanded, manipulative and very dangerous, often have risen into top positions in the company. The main difference between bullying and harassment is that the bully's antics are very repetitive and often over a long period of time. The repercussions to this type of behavior can result in many serious affects to the targeted person such as: psychological, emotional, cause serious health problems, frequent absenteeism and in the most serious cases result in that employee committing suicide.  There are also financial affects to the organization, possibility of lawsuits, and their business reputation being ruined.

Some ideas to stop bullying?   Is to have a very detailed "no tolerance" policy and let employees know what will happen as well as who and how to report this type of behavior. In some cases the employee may just need training in the matter of proper workplace behavior and may not even realize that what they are doing is "bullying" or how it affects others around them.

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Setting New Employees Up for Success

Great article with some helpful tips on starting your new employees off right.  How am employee news the on boarding process of your company and how comfortable they feel from the first day will usually determine if they will stay for any length of time.

Helping Employees Help Themselves