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.

So, whose responsibility is it to curtail this inclination and close these gaps in workforce skills? You might say it is the education system or the employee’s job to keep their skills up to date and you are right on one level. But, there are definitely benefits to the employer to provide some of the continuing education or training to upgrade employee skills. Small businesses especially need to become more aware of new HR solutions to this problem.

What are the benefits to the employer who provides on-going education and skills training? Let’s look at just these four:

1. Increase in creativity, skills and income for the employees. When employees are provided with the opportunity to learn something new to make their jobs easier and more relevant to the business, they are likely to stay longer in their job. A Lifelong Education and Labor Market Needs study proposes that continuing education increases both employee income and business productivity. About 96% of employers said continuing education improves the employee’s job performance and 87% said there is a positive impact on the pay scale because employees can advance when employers factor education into promotion criteria.
2. Increase in the bottom line of the business. As employees become more skilled, they are able to apply their education to making the company money. Continuing education means you can have employees who are familiar with the latest innovations in your industry. They can help you apply these innovations to your processes so you can stay ahead of the competition and increase your profitability. Employees who are learning spend more time actively using their minds than employees who may have done the same job for years and basically complete their tasks by rote—boredom sets in rather quickly. The continuous education students may also perform tasks more quickly because they are energized and excited by trying their new ideas and skills. The time saved in production can add up quickly to money saved in wages. This can easily offset the cost of continuous education benefits to your employees.
3. Decrease in staff turnover. When a small business supports employee education for advancement, turnover costs are decreased because fewer outside hires are necessary—this also translates to money saved and efficiency increased. Employees value education benefits and understand that tuition reimbursement for specialized training enhances their marketability for the future and their promotability within the company. Education benefits demonstrate that the business values the employees and their future with the company. In a recent study conducted by Spherion, a staffing and employment firm, 61% of those responding who received training said they were likely to remain with their current employer at least for the next five years.
4. Identification as an Employer of Choice. Over the last number of years, companies have downsized, restructured and pushed people to work harder than ever before…leaving workers feeling overwhelmed, under-appreciated and disengaged. Current market pressures are creating a need for businesses to become more innovative and to grow. The power is shifting as high-performing employees begin to exert greater control over their careers. Companies that can’t attract, engage and retain the right talent will lose out. By providing on-going educational opportunities and benefits such as tuition reimbursement, your small business will become identified as an “employer of choice” giving you an edge in the talent market.

Recently I came across a comment by a graphic designer who was responding to some points in an article on employee training. His parting words were, “I find I have no sense of loyalty to an employer that invests nothing in me as a professional. If I invest my own funds in the software and train myself on my own time, I don’t really care whether my current employer reaps any benefits or not.”

If that does not convince you of the importance of providing continuing education for your employees, you will probably find your business in a downward trajectory, employing people with yesterday’s skills in today’s fast-moving economy.

If your employees are asking for skills training and you are beginning to think about how to implement a program, but don’t know where to start, we may have some HR solutions that will get you thinking and moving in the right direction. Contact us to begin the conversation.

This article first appeared at M.J. Management Solutions, Inc.

MJ Management Solutions, Inc., is a human resources consulting firm that provides small businesses with a wide range of virtual and onsite HR solutions to meet their immediate and long-term needs. From ensuring legal compliance to writing customized employee handbooks to conducting sexual harassment training, businesses depend on our expertise and cost-effective human resources services to help them thrive.

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. 

The process of employee hiring can be a daunting one. Research shows that the wrong hire can actually cost companies as much as $50,000. That’s a lot of money to throw away on someone who won’t add value to your business—or worse, someone who will actually hurt things like employee morale and productivity.

But, how do you make sure you’re hiring the right candidate for the job? It’s not as easy as it may seem. In fact, many employees lie on their resumes and in interviews for the sole purpose of landing a position. Take a look at these common lies to watch for during the employee hiring process.

1. Dates of Employment. Lying about dates of employment is an all-too-common occurrence. Fortunately, this is an easy one to spot; simply verify work history with former employers.
2. Level of Education. Does your job ad state that a minimum four-year degree is required for consideration? If so, you can bet at least some of the resumes that come across your desk have false information regarding education. Verify through the college issuing the degree.
3. Previous Salary. Who doesn’t want to give oneself the best chance for the highest salary? Many job candidates believe beefing up their last pay will make them seem more desirable, and lead to a better pay in their new position. Whether this is true or not, you’ll want to confirm pay with former employers.
4. Previous Title. People want to sound important on their resumes, in hopes of securing a higher title with new employers. This is also an easy one to verify.
5. Criminal Record. While someone with a wild past from his younger days may not miss out on a job because of it, he certainly will if he lies about being locked up. A simple background check is all you need to learn the truth about someone’s history.
6. Future Goals. Job candidates may fudge a bit about their goals in order to sound more desirable to potential employers. There’s not much you can do to catch this lie; you’ll want to just go with your gut feeling and probe during the interview.
7. Technical Skills. Much like fibbing about a degree, employment seekers often find it necessary to inflate their technical skill level to appear qualified for the desired position. This one may be more difficult to spot, but with a little research, you can determine the likelihood of reported skills. Or, consider skills-based testing prior to hiring.
8. Reason for Employment Gaps. Maybe a candidate has been honest about his dates of employment, but doesn’t want you to know the real reason he was unemployed for six months was because he was partying it up in Cancun. Social media research may uncover this gap.
9. Project/Task Results. Everyone wants to be seen as successful. It’s no surprise that some job candidates beef up their work experience with stories of unprecedented results for projects they headed up. Again, use behavior-based interviews to uncover abilities and skills.
10. Reason for Previous Termination. Someone says they were terminated because their position was being outsourced, but what she fails to mention is that she was a lazy, unengaged employee. The good news? This lie can be uncovered with a little research.
11. Second Language Skills. With today’s diverse society, many employers need staff members who speak more than one language. Don’t shy away from testing a candidate’s abilities during an interview.
12. Former Working Relationships. “Oh, I loved my last coworkers! We were like a family.” Really? Then why did you leave? This should be a red flag unless there was a legitimate reason for ending the working relationship.
13. Greatest Weakness. Employers love to ask this question; it often stumps people. But beware. If someone says her greatest weakness is being a workhorse, she’s probably buffing.

Employee hiring doesn’t have to be something to dread. With the right HR solutions, you can find the perfect candidate for your company. You want someone who is engaged, boosts productivity, and brings a good attitude to your environment.

This article first appeared at M.J. Management Solutions, Inc.

MJ Management Solutions, Inc., is a human resources consulting firm that provides small businesses with a wide range of virtual and onsite HR solutions to meet their immediate and long-term needs. From ensuring legal compliance to writing customized employee handbooks to conducting sexual harassment training, businesses depend on our expertise and cost-effective human resources services to help them thrive.

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.

Top Causes of Employee Turnover

• Employer has no vision
• Poor management or supervision of employees
• No flexibility or telecommuting opportunities
• Little opportunity for promotion or job enrichment
• Employees required to work long hours
• Minimal rewards for employees

The Cost of Employee Turnover

If your company sustains a high turnover rate, your turnover costs will increase, which lowers your profit margins. Common costs (some monetary, some not) associated with an employee leaving your company include:

• Separation costs
• Lost value of departing employee’s knowledge
• Lost productivity of that position
• Overload on team during recruitment period
• Lower workplace morale and productivity
• Increase in recruiting, hiring and training costs

Tools for Reducing Employee Turnover

Are you tired of the headache and financial loss associated with losing a new employee every other week? If so, you should know that when an employee walks away from your company, most often he’s walking away from his manager, not his job. In fact, the number one reason for high turnover rates is not being able to get along with one or more managers. Have you assessed and evaluated your managers lately? If not, you may want to start. You can also take advantage of these helpful HR solutions for enhancing your employee retention rate.

1. Job Applicant Assessments
What does your job application process look like? Does it involve a drug test and that’s it? If so, then you are definitely missing out on the many valuable job applicant assessment tools that are available. From a background check to a competency screening, there are many ways to evaluate whether or not a job candidate will be a good fit with your company. Background checks allow you to check everything from a person’s past criminal history to employment history and even education verification. A competency screening can be used to assess whether or not the applicant has the knowledge and training needed to fill the position she’s applying for.

2. Career Training
When you provide training to your workers, you demonstrate that you want them to be both competent and safe in their new position; this leads to the cultivation of employee loyalty. For each new position that an employee works in, proper training should be provided. If possible, each worker should be trained for several different positions when they first come on board. In doing this, you’ll have a first-class workforce that can operate around the clock regardless of each week’s worker schedule. Cross-training employees keeps things exciting for your workers, which deters them from becoming disengaged, which is a major contributor to high employee turnover rates.

3. Predictive HRMS Software
As you can imagine, there are many types of HR solutions that can be used to reduce turnover rates. One of the best involves the use of HR Management Software (HRMS), which streamlines both the recruiting and onboarding process, providing a better job applicant experience. With better applicant experience comes the ability to attract today’s best talent.

The Takeaway

By employing certain tools, you can be on your way to running a more successful business. It all starts with respecting your employees and finding today’s best talent. For a comprehensive look at managing turnover, grab our e-book, “Practical Tools to Manage Costly Employee Turnover.”

This article first appeared at M.J. Management Solutions, Inc.

MJ Management Solutions, Inc., is a human resources consulting firm that provides small businesses with a wide range of virtual and onsite HR solutions to meet their immediate and long-term needs. From ensuring legal compliance to writing customized employee handbooks to conducting sexual harassment training, businesses depend on our expertise and cost-effective human resources services to help them thrive.

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.

But hiring goes beyond just finding the right candidate. There are things you can do during the hiring process that can sabotage your business. From being too vague in your job description to asking inappropriate questions, a lot can go wrong. So before you interview your first candidate, make sure you cover all your bases by following these tips.

Start With a Good Job Description

How much effort are you putting into your job descriptions? A job description should be detailed and tell candidates exactly what you’re looking for, what you expect out of them, and what they can expect from you. Your description should comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). You need to make it clear that you are not discriminatory, but also list any pertinent physical requirements, such as being able to lift a specific amount of weight on a daily basis.

Setup a Strategic Interview Process

You need to create a strategy for how you will interview each candidate, and that strategy should apply to each person with whom you speak. Don’t stray from the process, even if you find a candidate that is more conversational. Your questions should examine his or her:

• Core competencies
• Past experience
• Skills
• Education
• Motivation
• Goals

More importantly, you should know what you are not legally allowed to ask during an interview. These questions include:

• Past arrests
• Marital status
• Religious preference
• Children
• Country of origin
• Whether English is their first language
• If they have outstanding debts
• Use of illegal drugs
• Social behaviors

Use Appropriate Criteria for Your Selection

You can’t hire an employee based on his or her marital status, religion, race, gender, veteran status, medical condition, disability, age, etc. In many states you may not consider sexual orientation when hiring. These criteria are discriminatory and could be devastating for your business.

One of the main things you should consider is whether the candidate is the right fit for your company’s culture. He or she may have the skills and experience, but what about personality? You need to find a balance between credentials and how easy the person will be to work with—after all, you and other employees will be interacting with this person every day.

Have the Benefits to Back It Up

If this is your first time hiring an employee, you may not realize what benefits you’re required to carry—not only for your employee’s protection, but for yours as well. Most states require that business owners have workers’ compensation insurance in addition to their blanket business coverage. If you don’t have workers’ compensation, you could not only face fines from your state, but also encounter significant liabilities down the road.

Hiring your first employee is a balancing act between finding the right candidate and protecting the future of your company. By taking your time and looking for a well-qualified, personable candidate, you can hire an employee that will be an asset and not a threat to your business. Why risk making a mistake that could be devastating to your business? Contact HR Solutions for guidance in this process.

Once you’ve hired your first employee, you need to make sure they stick around. In Practical Tools to Manage Costly Employee Turnover, you’ll learn strategies to reduce costly employee turnover.

MJ Management Solutions, Inc., is a human resources consulting firm that provides small businesses with a wide range of virtual and onsite HR solutions to meet their immediate and long-term needs. From ensuring legal compliance to writing customized employee handbooks to conducting sexual harassment training, businesses depend on our expertise and cost-effective human resources services to help them thrive

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.

You Need to Know What’s Happening

The first thing to figure out is why John’s leaving, and this is where HR solutions come in. By and large, most employees at small businesses are hard workers who are willing to put in extra time and effort to make things succeed—and if they give up for any reason, you need to know why. Here are some of the most likely reasons:

• It’s not you, it’s me. The employee who’s leaving might have medical or personal reasons for no longer wanting to stay at your workplace. A family crisis, a change in religious beliefs, or an outstanding job offer from another company could all convince someone that it’s time to step out… and if so, then your business doesn’t need to make any changes, because it’s unlikely anything you did would have mattered.
• There was a problem. This is more likely to be the case. There was something that prompted an employee to finally say that enough was enough, and you want to find out what it was. Maybe they simply couldn’t get along with someone else in the office, faced an oddly hostile environment, or didn’t get the support they needed to do their job. This applies to remote workers, too, who need to be managed properly in order to do their best.

Small businesses are in a unique position because they can actually make changes when an exit interview is given. Employee separation is rarely fun, but it is educational, especially if you can get them to reveal the real reason they’re leaving. These days, businesses are increasingly turning to interviews done by third-parties a few weeks after the employee leaves—this gives time for emotions to fade and supplies an unbiased source of data.

Using the Data to Grow

However, exit interviews will be a waste of time if you’re not willing to make changes based on what you hear. In fact, this is a common complaint among lower-level employees—they feel like their words (and, by extension, they themselves) don’t matter to the company, and that their superiors aren’t actually interested in changes. As much as you may not want to hear this, sometimes management is to blame.

You want to avoid this as much as possible—if you stop listening to your employees, then you stop being innovative, and few things are more likely to send your business downhill than hiring top talent and then refusing to listen. HR solutions are about solving problems, not letting you toss issues into the garbage bin.

After all, the real goal of exit interviews is learning whatever you can to keep the rest of your team around. Larger corporations can deal with the loss of several individuals—small businesses don’t have that luxury, and every person who leaves can and will make a significant dent in your operations. If you’re seeing the signs that multiple employees want to quit, you need to fix things immediately.

An exit interview when an employee separates isn’t always easy for a small business, but it is an important part of your growth strategy—and absolutely worth conducting properly.

This article first appeared at M.J. Management Solutions, Inc.

MJ Management Solutions, Inc., is a human resources consulting firm that provides small businesses with a wide range of virtual and onsite HR solutions to meet their immediate and long-term needs. From ensuring legal compliance to writing customized employee handbooks to conducting sexual harassment training, businesses depend on our expertise and cost-effective human resources services to help them thrive.

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.

1) Profit-Sharing Programs

Most employees want to feel like their work matters to the company—but it’s hard to do that if all the profits seem to end up at the very top, especially when you have a lot of utilitarian workers. Profit-sharing programs offer a way to balance employee performance with direct, take-home rewards—and the best part is that you can always afford them. After all, the profits only get shared if they’re actually made! Take-home pay isn’t the only way to share profits, though. You could also offer benefits like having catered meals in the office, tickets to events, or other rewards for your employees that are purchased out of a group fund. If so, be sure to select options that most of your employees will like, and offer the others an equivalent amount in bonus pay.

2) Additional Benefits

Offering benefits that actually benefit the employees is another good way of improving your employee retention rates. This is an area where some executives make missteps—a benefit that looks good on paper may not turn out to be so valuable in practice, and few things will depress employees more than seeing a lot of money spent on something that doesn’t actually help them. Instead, focus on benefits that improve productivity, such as improved wellness programs (“walking meetings” are a good start) and creating comfortable working conditions. HR solutions make this process easier than many companies expect.

3) Have an Open Door Policy

The best employees are adults—and want to be treated like adults. Open door policies aren’t just a good way of stopping people from quitting, especially if you see the warning signs—they’re a real opportunity to get feedback from your employees and look for solutions to their problems. This isn’t just about employee engagement, though that’s a key part of it—when people believe they can get the help they need, they’re far more likely to ask for it right away, and that means spending less time wrestling with an issue they know they can’t solve alone.

4) Rearrange Your Office

Few things restrict employees more effectively than having them in tightly-packed cubicles. If you really want to improve employee retention and get them to engage in their work, try rearranging your office and moving everyone into a large, open space where they can move around at-will. This can sound intimidating at first, so let us explain. Most of today’s business work can be done on computers—and today’s younger employees prefer social work where they can cooperate with each other. They could spend valuable working time waiting for conference or work rooms to open… or they could go the more practical route and just sit down where they’re comfortable. The end result is a surprisingly high increase in productivity, coupled with people who are increasingly engaged in their work and enjoying what they do. In the end, this is what HR solutions are really about—achieving the greatest benefits for the company at the lowest cost to you.

This article first appeared at M.J. Management Solutions, Inc.

MJ Management Solutions, Inc., is a human resources consulting firm that provides small businesses with a wide range of virtual and onsite HR solutions to meet their immediate and long-term needs. From ensuring legal compliance to writing customized employee handbooks to conducting sexual harassment training, businesses depend on our expertise and cost-effective human resources services to help them thrive.

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.

What is Defined Contribution?

With a defined contribution health plan, the business gives employees an allowance to use on individual health insurance, instead of contributing to a group health insurance policy. In other words, the business sets up a formal health plan to help employees with individual health insurance.

Defined contribution is taking off with small businesses because it offers an affordable health benefits model where the business, not the insurance company, controls the cost. Additionally, it is a formal, tax-free health benefits program that gives employees access to quality health insurance.

New Rules for Reimbursing Employees’ Individual Health Insurance

But, is this solution too good to be true? If you have been following federal health reform (aka Obamacare), you have probably heard there are new rules and restrictions for reimbursing employees’ individual health insurance. This is true. Employers using a non-compliant group health plan, including reimbursement arrangements, are subject to costly fees.

But the new rules do not mean defined contribution health plans are off the table. What the new rules mean is the health plan needs to be set up and administered in a compliant way.

4 Tips Before Diving In

As a business evaluates a defined contribution and individual health insurance program, here are four tips.

Tip #1: Decide Taxable or Tax-Free Contribution
One of the first decisions a business makes is how to structure the plan. There are two main options—a taxable health insurance stipend or a tax-free health reimbursement plan. Because of the obvious tax savings, most small businesses use a tax-free health reimbursement plan.

Tip #2: Understand the Rules and Reforms
Given the myriad of new and existing rules for employer-sponsored health benefits, understand the business’s obligations under ERISA, IRS, HIPAA, COBRA, and PPACA. Failure to comply can mean costly fees.

Tip #3: Use an Online Self-Service Software
Learning compliance and administration can seem daunting. The third tip is to use an online self-service software to automate compliance and simplify administration.

Tip #4: Don’t Skip Employee Education
We’re all short on time, but remember, educating employees helps everyone get the most out of the health benefit. Educate employees about the defined contribution health plan and about how to access individual health insurance.

Conclusion

Defined contribution and individual health insurance offer a solution to the health insurance conundrum. But before a business dives in, follow these four tips to save time, money, and headaches along the way. For more information on defined contribution health plans, check out Zane Benefits’ complimentary eBook.

Christina Merhar is a guest author and Senior Editor for Zane Benefits, the leader in individual health insurance reimbursement for small businesses. Christina has a passion for helping small employers understand the ins and outs health benefits and Human Resources.

Employees are the backbone of any business. That’s why disengaged employees are a death sentence for your company. But how do you, as a business owner or manager, make sure your employees stay committed to their work, their coworkers, and your business, in general? Believe it or not, your competition can teach you a thing or two about employee relations. (Tweet this) School’s in session for employee engagement.

Things to Imitate

While we certainly don’t suggest copying your competitors (after all, you need your own unique HR solutions to set you apart), there are times when it’s beneficial to learn from their success. Great employee engagement practices are an example of this. Here are some “dos” to take away from successful competing businesses.

1. Do make specific goals and stick to them. Those small businesses that have the right environment and staff didn’t get that way by chance. Define the culture you want within your organization. Keep that culture in mind when interviewing job candidates and creating employees’ workspaces.
2. Do hire people with the right qualities for your company’s culture. Skills can be taught, but getting someone to mesh with your vibe is a difficult task. This may mean hiring the less-skilled candidate because s/he has the right qualities.
3. Do let go of some control. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Give your employees room to grow. Sure, they’ll make mistakes, but that’s often the best way to learn. Put HR solutions in place that track progress, so employees come to trust each other.
4. Do consider company values in all decisions. Making decisions based solely on financing isn’t always in your best interest. Decisions based on core values lets employees know you stand for something. It helps them better engage in those values, too.
5. Do act without dramatic emotion. Mistakes happen in every business at one point or another. When situations arise, responding calmly and rationally greatly improves employee relations by showing workers they can comfortably come to you with problems.

Things to Avoid

Just as successful businesses can offer insight into the best ways to improve employee relations, unsuccessful ones can show you what not to do. Check out these “don’ts” of good employee engagement.

1. Don’t create an Employee of the Month Program. While it may seem like a simple way to boost morale, it actually leaves employees, except one, feeling unappreciated. A better alternative is to let the team vote each month, and call it “Colleague of the Month.”
2. Don’t stop at free food for everyone. While bringing in breakfast or providing a staff lunch boosts morale, it’s not enough to reward each employee for their contributions. So, by all means, give away food, but don’t consider that the bulk of your employee engagement program.
3. Don’t ignore work efforts when offering rewards. If one employee continually goes the extra mile, and another simply completes a task on time, don’t give the latter a more significant or equal reward. To avoid this disaster, put goals and programs in place with specific rewards for each step completed.
4. Don’t assume employees want to wear something with your logo on it. This applies to t-shirts, motivational jewelry, etc. When purchasing employee gifts, consider products that will have significant value to the recipient.
5. Don’t undervalue employees. If you’ve just been recognized as the best business in your niche, for example, a simple free coffee for staff members won’t suffice. Match the reward to the achievement.

Employee relations are crucial to the success of your business. Reward workers for a job well-done, cultivate and maintain a specific company culture, and recognize achievements to strengthen employee engagement. Remember, engaged employees help your business soar. Take a clue from your competition and put your own spin on employee engagement. (Tweet this)

This article first appeared at M.J. Management Solutions, Inc.

MJ Management Solutions, Inc., is a human resources consulting firm that provides small businesses with a wide range of virtual and onsite HR solutions to meet their immediate and long-term needs. From ensuring legal compliance to writing customized employee handbooks to conducting sexual harassment training, businesses depend on our expertise and cost-effective human resources services to help them thrive.