Human Resources

According to a recent article on Forbes.com, HR executives indicate that their biggest challenge today is the skills gap, which seems to be widening instead of closing. A trend that is impacting the skills gap is the explosive growth in the use of technology. More and more employers see and are pained over the lack of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) skills in the current and future workforce. College curriculum is not aligning with needs of the job marketplace. About 70% of employers believe that learning is required for employees just to keep up with their current jobs—especially true in the technology and healthcare fields.

It is imperative then, with today’s rapid pace of change, workers must continuously educate themselves in order to avoid stagnating the economy.

Read more

Nothing…and I mean nothing is worse than following a rigorous interview process only to disover the candidate lied! Ack!  Especially after the time and expense of bringing them on board. 

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Guess what? You’ll never be fooled again when you read Margaret Jacoby of MJ Management Solutions, Inc. list of the most common lies you’ll hear during the interview. 

All right, so you want to do some employee recognition and make sure people who work hard get properly rewarded—that’s a great idea. Most employees want to know that their efforts on your behalf are noticed, and few things are more depressing than the belief that the company doesn’t care about them. Even better, knowing recognition is possible can help other employees work harder—and the end result will be a major gain for the company.

Read more

When running your own business, it’s imperative that you keep up to date with today’s latest labor availability rates. You’ll also want to look at your turnover rate and see how it compares with your competitors.

Fortunately, no matter what your turnover rate is, there are tools you can use to increase employee retention within your company. Here’s a quick look at the causes of high turnover rates and how to avoid them.

Read more

Ready to hire your first employee? If so, you’re probably wondering about the right way to begin the hiring process. Remember that hiring the best person takes time—you don’t want to fill the position with the first candidate you interview. He or she may seem like a good fit in the job interview, but if you aren’t asking the right questions and going about the process methodically, you could be hiring the wrong employee for your company. And one bad employee is all it takes to disrupt your business.

Read more

Over the last three years, John has been an integral part of your small business, helping grow it from a tiny number of people working from home to a moderately successful corporation just starting to really get noticed. Yesterday, he announced that he was quitting. For a small business like yours, without much time to spare, is giving him an exit interview really worth it?

Yes. It is definitely worth conducting an exit interview, and here’s why.

Read more

Keeping employee retention rates high is a major concern for any business—after all, it’s hard to get through long-term projects and expand your business if you can’t ensure that people will stay around. Here are some of the best ways to inspire employees, encourage them to engage, and make sure they stay around.

Read more

It’s a common conundrum—how do we offer health benefits without breaking the bank? In fact, this is such a common small business challenge that only 54% of small and midsized employers (with fewer than 200 employees) even offer traditional health insurance coverage today.

As small businesses strategize how to afford health benefits, an increasingly popular approach is defined contribution.

Read more