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Employees are just as important to a business as the products and services being sold. This is why it’s so vital to carry out effective recruitment tactics. Surprisingly, it is possible to segment potential workers based on certain characteristics and specifics. Here’s a quick look at few myths about employee recruitment that prevent you from finding the best workers.

Myth #1: The best employees will come to you

If only! Wouldn’t that make life easy? Occasionally an ideal employee might discover your company, but generally, the best workers have no problem securing a job. This is why you want to recruit them.

Myth #2: Only big businesses should recruit workers

It doesn’t matter if your company employees five or 5,000 employees, each worker influences the overall success of your company. When you don’t take the time to recruit quality workers, you end up with employees who don’t know how to provide top-notch outcomes. This, of course, leads to poor performance, inefficiencies, and a drop in your profit.

Myth #3: Not every position requires recruiting

You might think that the janitor position isn’t worth carrying employing recruitment strategies. Think again! All positions should be carefully evaluated. If there is a role within your company that needs to be filled, take time to recruit a worker who can fill the role with the utmost effectiveness and efficiency. Not only does this decrease overhead, it also boosts productivity and profits.

Myth #4: Employee recruitment is too time consuming

Did you know that using recruitment software can fill positions before they become open? This means all applicants are unbiasedly compared according to your desired preferences, and the software shows you which applicants are best suited for each position within your company.

Myth #5: Recruiting software can do all the work for you

While recruitment software is of benefit, keep in mind that software isn’t human. It doesn’t have your intuition. After evaluating the applicants, if your hunch suggests a certain candidate, carefully consider the role of your intuition. Your instincts can be spot on.

Myth #6: Employee recruitment scares away applicants

Many small businesses believe a recruitment process scares away applicants who are potentially good workers. On the contrary! Talented individuals expect to go through a recruitment process. And, most times, a recruitment process significantly simplifies hiring for your HR department and the applicants. (Tweet this)

Myth #7: Quality workers are too hard to find

If you’ve had trouble recruiting quality workers in the past, rest assured—good employees are out there. You simply need to let them know you’re looking for them. This involves posting on social media, marketing the position on your company website and job boards, and through good, old-fashioned word-of-mouth advertising.

Myth #8: Employee recruitment is ineffective

Employee recruitment is effective, regardless of what you’ve heard in the past. In fact, Jobvite found a 49 percent improvement in the quality of applicants when using social media recruitment tactics. Unbridled Talent discovered over 300 million job searches conducted each month. Recruiting employees is effective when using the Internet properly.

The Takeaway

If you consider implementing employee recruitment strategies, take comfort in knowing your efforts will net good results. From a reduction in employee turnover to enhanced customer service, recruitment takes your company to the next level of success. MJ Management Solutions, Inc. can provide HR solutions that ensure your recruiting strategies succeed.


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.

Last week, the Supreme Court upheld a significant provision of Obamacare. The Supreme Court confirmed that health insurance tax subsidies will continue to be available in both the state and federally-run Health Insurance Marketplaces. This decision is a huge win for small business owners and employees across the country. What was the case all about and why does it matter to small businesses?

Here are three key facts about Supreme Court decision to quickly understand how the ruling impacts you, your business, and your employees.

1. Supreme Court Says Health Insurance Subsidies Stay

The central issue in the case (King v Burwell) was whether the IRS was allowed to extend health insurance tax subsidies to individual health insurance coverage purchased through the 30-plus federally-run exchanges at Healthcare.gov.

The petitioners (King) argued that the text of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) only allows for subsidies on state-run exchanges, and that the regulations providing for subsidies on the federally-run exchanges exceeded the authority Congress granted to it.

In response, the federal government (Burwell) argued that the ACA intended for subsidies to be paid in all exchanges – regardless if they are operated by the state or federal government.

Last Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of Burwell. The ruling confirms subsidies will continue to be available through the Health Insurance Marketplaces in all 50 states.

2. Health Insurance Subsidies Provide Significant Savings

The health insurance subsidies provide significant savings to small business owners and employees. In 2014, 87 percent of people who shopped on healthcare.gov were eligible for discounts, paying an average of only $82 a month for health insurance.

Most small business employees earn incomes that make them eligible for subsidies (less than $47,000 for an individual in 2015 or $97,000 for a family of four). In fact, most small business employees will pay less for individual coverage than they would for similar insurance coverage through work.

3. Small Businesses Shifting to Individual Health Insurance

So, what does this have to do with your small business? Small businesses need affordable healthcare options, but most cannot afford traditional coverage for employees. As a result, savvy small business owners are pairing individual health insurance with a reimbursement plan. This alternative model of health benefits is sometimes called “defined contribution” health benefits.

With the health insurance subsidies here to stay, experts predict that small businesses will continue to shift employees to the individual market.

As Rick Lindquist, president of Zane Benefits writes, “Small business owners, who are most affected by increasing premiums, now have the certainty needed to help transition themselves and employees to the individual market which we expect to increase to more than 100 million by 2025. We expect small businesses to continue to offer health benefits to employees in the form of monthly allowances.”

Conclusion

With the health insurance subsidies here to stay, small businesses have an opportunity to save money on health insurance. With the majority of small business employees qualifying for subsidies, small business owners can pair a defined contribution health benefits program with individual health insurance for an affordable healthcare solution.

For more information on how the Affordable Care Act impacts your small business, download 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.

Lawsuits are filed against small businesses far too often—many of which are due to easily avoidable human resources mistakes that aren’t seen until it’s too late. Many of these lawsuits involve current or past employees who believe they have some kind of “dirty laundry” on the business, or think they can turn a minor grievance into a major payday. In fact, almost 75 percent of all litigation against corporations today involves employment disputes.Over 40 percent of these lawsuits are filed against smaller employers (15–100 employees).

 

Employment-related lawsuits are often even more costly for small businesses than consumer lawsuits. The median compensatory award for employment practices liability insurance cases is $218,000. The precautions you take today can prevent a frivolous—and potentially bankrupting—court case tomorrow. Here are four mistakes that can get you into trouble. 

1. Not Running Background Checks on Employees

A first impression is always important, but it’s hardly the only thing on which a job candidate should be judged. Considering the cost of employment-related lawsuits, your small business should do a thorough background check on prospective hires. This includes criminal background checks, calling past employers, and checking references. Doing so can uncover potential employment issues down the road and help you avoid lawsuits.

2. Not Using Employment Agreements

Written employment agreements, as long as they’re professionally drafted, can eliminate any doubts about what is expected in the employee/employer relationship. For example, prospective employees will have no misunderstandings about sick days, their working hours, and even personal use of office equipment since these items can be clearly spelled out in an agreement.

3. Inadequately Documenting Terminations

Employees will come and go even if you have excellent advancement opportunities and work hard to reduce employee turnover. Terminations are part of running a small business, so you must carefully plan for them. Failure to do so could open the door to potential lawsuits from past employees. Document every termination, including the process, reason, and events that led to it. Documenting the termination of an employee minimizes the risk of future claims brought against your business.

4. Ignoring Relevant Employment Laws

Failure to follow basic, relevant employment laws could be much worse than just a lawsuit. You could face fines and even lose your license. Federal and state employment laws are nothing to ignore; make sure you thoroughly understand and comply with all of them. This can include everything from overtime pay to working hours to vacation time and even discrimination. While a happy employee might not mind you breaking the rules, a terminated or disgruntled employee may report you and file his own lawsuit against you.

Protect Your Small Business

Improving human resources management in your small business is critical in many ways. Adhering to all necessary policies, procedures, and laws enables you to reduce your risk for lawsuits, whether coming from employees or other businesses. Even if a lawsuit occurs, following these steps can reduce their severity and hopefully build enough evidence to dismiss the lawsuit.

MJ Management Solutions helps you put the policies and procedures in place to protect your small business from lawsuits. Schedule a consultation online or call 480.924.6101 to learn more about safeguarding your business from legal troubles today.


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.

Evaluating health benefits is not as simple as it used to be. Ten or fifteen years ago, small business health benefit options were pretty simple: purchase a group health insurance plan. But today, the market has changed. There are new health insurance options available which leaves executives asking, “Which type of health benefits is the best fit for our small business?”

The first step in understanding health benefits is to understand the options available on the market today, then assess how the two main options align with the business’s goals.

Types of Health Benefits

As small business executives assess health benefits, there are generally two core types of health benefits to evaluate: group health insurance and employer-funded individual health insurance. Let’s take a look at how each works.

Traditional Group Health Insurance Plan

Most executives are familiar with how a group health insurance plan works; the business selects and purchases a policy to cover eligible employees and dependents. Generally, both the business and employees contribute to the premium costs. Group health insurance plans can be purchased through an insurance professional, and new options are available the SHOP Marketplace.

A traditional group health insurance plan might be the right fit if:

  • The small business qualifies for Small Business Health Care Tax Credits.
  • Employees do not have individual health insurance coverage and/or do not qualify for premium tax credits on the individual market.

A group health insurance plan might not be the right fit if:

  • The business needs fiscal predictability year to year.
  • The business has limited administrative resources to administer the plan.
  • Employees have diverse health and financial needs.
  • Employees already have individual health insurance coverage and/or qualify for premium tax credits on the individual market.
  • Individual health insurance premiums are less expensive (or provide better doctor networks) than comparable group health insurance.

Employer-Funded Individual Health Insurance

A newer approach to small business health benefits is employer-funded individual health insurance. What does this mean? Simply that the business contributes to employees’ individual health insurance instead of purchasing a group health insurance plan.

With this type of health benefits, the employer sets up a formal, tax-advantaged reimbursement plan. Employees purchase any individual health insurance policy and are reimbursed by the plan, up to their allowance amount. (Tip: Under the Affordable Care Act, this type of arrangement is still allowed as long as the reimbursement plan meets certain rules and requirements.)

Employer-funded individual health insurance might be the right fit if:

  • The business needs a fixed-cost benefits program.
  • The business needs a health benefits plan that is easy to administer.
  • Employees have diverse health and financial needs.
  • Employees already have individual health insurance coverage and/or qualify for premium tax credits on the individual market.

Employer-funded individual health insurance might not be the right fit if:

  • Group health insurance premiums are less expensive (or provide better networks) than comparable individual health insurance.
  • The small business qualifies for Small Business Health Care Tax Credits.

What is the Best Fit?

If the choice isn’t obvious, a simple cost analysis can help clarify the right health benefits fit, as will asking these questions:

  • Who will the health benefits cover?
  • What is our budget?
  • What do employees value most?
  • Who will manage the health benefits program?
  • What are our goals?

Conclusion

Evaluating small business health benefits does not have to be daunting. First, understand the options available in today’s market, and compare costs with a cost analysis. Then, assess the business’s needs by asking a few simple questions.


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

Baby Boomers are one of five generations you’re likely to have in your small business—alongside the TraditionalistsGeneration XGeneration Y, and Generation Z employees. Catering to all of these generations isn’t easy; it requires you to tailor your policies and management practices to suit the needs of each group. Baby Boomers, who are likely in leadership roles within your company, aren’t retiring just yet. It’s in your best interest to accommodate their needs just as much as the younger generations.

Who Are the Baby Boomers?

Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, are the largest living generation and most likely dominate the higher-level positions in your small business. Common traits of Baby Boomers include being:

  • Work-centric: By and large, they’re workaholics who define themselves by their professional accomplishments. They believe younger generations should pay their dues, and may criticize them for a lack of work ethic and commitment to the company.
  • Goal-oriented: Baby Boomers thrive on achievements, are dedicated to the company for which they work, and are extremely focused on getting ahead in their careers. They want to know they’re making a difference and like to take on challenging projects.
  • Independent: Baby Boomers are confident and self-reliant. After growing up in an era of reform where they questioned authority systems, they welcome confrontation and don’t shy away from challenging established practices within the company.
  • Competitive: Since they equate their self-worth with their position and work accomplishments, competition is high among Baby Boomers. They believe in a hierarchical structure, and may fault younger generations for trends towards workplace flexibility.

Baby Boomers are similar to Traditionalists because they believe in hierarchal structure and rankism, and may have a hard time adjusting to workplace flexibility trends. The idea of change is not easily accepted. If there’s already an established system that appears to be working, you’ll find Baby Boomers very reluctant to change it. They value “face time” and frown upon the “work from anywhere” mentality of younger workers.

Ultimately, your Baby Boomer employees take their careers very seriously. After all, the position they’re in right now is likely the one in which they’ll retire.

What Baby Boomers Expect From Management

Baby Boomers expect respect—not only for their work, but for their personal lives as well. Your Baby Boomer employees also treasure tenure. They expect you to show some level of respect for those who have worked for the company for an extended period of time.

Your Baby Boomers value recognition above all else. When they’re recognized for their contributions to your company, they feel valued and appreciated and will work even harder for your company.

Tips to Manage Baby Boomers

Managing Baby Boomers is similar to Traditionalists in the way that they both put significant value in their jobs. They’re both dedicated to their work and are willing to sacrifice their personal lives to succeed professionally. Tap into the talents of the baby boomers in your small business by:

  • Recognizing their professional achievements personally as well as publicly.
  • Listening to a Baby Boomer employee’s ideas and suggestions. Show them that you appreciate their individual contribution to the company, embrace their ideas, and implement them if you can.
  • Understanding their state of mind. Baby Boomers suffer from a conflict. They struggle to compete as individuals, but also strive to be an integral component of the team. Show your appreciation for their work in both aspects so that they don’t have mixed feelings or feel as though they must sacrifice one or the other to succeed.

Baby Boomer Attributes

  • Confidence in tasks
  • Emphasize team-building
  • Seek collaborative, group decision-making
  • Avoid conflict
  • Adaptive
  • Goal-oriented
  • Focus on individual choices and freedom

Since your Baby Boomer employees likely handle most of your higher-level operations—or oversee a majority of your staff—it’s imperative that you manage them effectively. Keeping them happy needs to be a priority, as high turnover of your senior positions will have a detrimental impact on your business.

Learn more about reducing turnover for all generations of your workforce by getting your copy of Practical Tools to Manage Costly Employee Turnover today.


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 you start a new business and hire your first employees, health benefits are not at the top of your list. You’re focused on fine tuning your business plan and generating revenue. However, as your company puts down its roots and starts to grow, there comes a time when health benefits become a consideration.

So, just where is the tipping point? The answer comes down to cost, but it also comes down to the value; the payback of your investment to your bottom line in terms of the cost of hiring and employee turnover.

As you start to evaluate if now is the right time to start offering small business health benefits, here are two considerations.

Are We Ready to Offer Health Benefits Financially?

For most small businesses, offering health benefits only makes sense when the business is turning a profit and you are confidently covering overhead and personnel expenses (including paying yourself).

There’s no magic number revenue-wise. Every business is unique. For some businesses, the tipping point might be $500,000 in revenue, for others it might be more.

To help understand if your company is ready financially, ask yourself these types of questions:

  • Are we meeting current overhead expenses?
  • What is our financial forecast?
  • Do we have a budget for health benefits?

How Will Health Benefits Impact our HR Goals?

Once financial security is established, offering health benefits starts to make sense from a recruiting, hiring, and retention standpoint. Current and prospective employees want and value health benefits.

But it’s not just about cultivating happy and healthy employees. Offering health benefits also makes sense from a personnel and cost standpoint. After all, there is a cost to attract, hire, and keep the best employees. The right package lowers your HR costs, especially if you are operating in a competitive labor market.

Health benefits become a priority when you need them to attract and keep the best employees. In other words, not offering health benefits is costing you more than offering them. How do you know when you’ve reached the tipping point?

Start by calculating your current employee retention rate and the cost of employee turnover to understand the payback on an investment. Understanding these basic HR ROI calculations will help you benchmark and see the result of all of your HR initiatives, including health benefits.

Evaluating Health Benefit Options

Once you decide, yes, now is the time to start offering health benefits, the next question is what type of health benefits to offer? Small businesses tend to evaluate these four health benefit options:

  1. Individual Health Insurance Reimbursement (provide employees an allowance to purchase health insurance)
  2. Private Small Group Health Insurance Plan
  3. SHOP Marketplace Group Health Insurance Plan
  4. Co-operative Group Health Insurance Plan

The approach that makes sense for your small business will depend on your budget and goals.

Conclusion

Has the time approached for your small business to offer health benefits? The first step is to understand your financial capacity and your HR needs and goals. The second step is to evaluate your options and pick an approach that allows you to maximize your investment. Ready to get started? See this free Zane Benefits workbook on planning for small business health benefits.


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

In a recent article, we talked about job-related frustrations experienced by employees. Those frustrations included “not sharing about salary and benefits”, and “not having a culturally diverse and gender diverse leadership teams.” In this article, we are addressing the consequences of those mistakes and others—employee turnover.

What exactly is “turnover?” Well, in this context, it’s certainly not a pastry. Employee turnover can be defined as “the rate at which you gain and lose employees.” It is a measurement of how long employees tend to stay, contrasted against the rate at which they leave—voluntarily or involuntarily. This is useful information for several reasons.

Understanding your rate of employee turnover relative to the industry overall, may indicate an internal issue you need to address. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), there were 5.0 million job openings on the last business day of January, this was the highest level of job openings since January 2001. Looking at one industry, home healthcare, direct-care workers provide an estimated 70 to 80 percent of the paid, hands-on long term care and personal assistance received by Americans who are elderly, chronically ill, or living with disabilities. According to a study by the American Health Care Association, annual turnover rates among the long term care industry are approximately 70 percent. In other words two out of three long term care workers leave their jobs in the course of a year.

High employee turnover in any industry strains clients, employers, and workers. High turnover can harm productivity, especially when you consider the investment made in recruiting, hiring and training workers. When they leave after only a short period of time, employers are not getting the best return on investment and that is costly to the bottom line.

Reasons for turnover have been discussed in other articles in this blog. Let’s concentrate now on measuring the cost of turnover and what steps can be taken to mitigate the impact on the business.

Calculating turnover is fairly straightforward. Here is a simple formula:

Monthly turnover rate = (# of separations in a month ÷ # of employees in a month) X 100

For example, ABC Company experienced 5 separations in March; ABC employs 50 workers during the month. 5 ÷ 50 = 0.1 X 100 = 10% turnover rate for March.

It’s not enough to know the rate of turnover, it is critical to understand the cost. In simple terms, the formula looks like this – let’s use the sample above:

Annual wage for the employee $20,000
Plus the cost of benefits (average 30% of wages) +6,000
Multiply by 25% x .25
Cost of turnover per employee $ 6,500
Multiply by number of employees who left x 5
Cost of turnover $32,500

That is quite a sum of money to impact the bottom line each month. What can be done about it? Here are 5 steps that will help.

Step 1 – Clarify your purpose organizationally and individually. Lack of clarity and direction can kill your business and wreak havoc on your team. Know where your business is heading and direct and motivate your team to move forward.

Step 2 – Be smart about recruiting and hiring practices. Hire people who not only have the skill and knowledge your company needs, but also have attributes that work well within your business’s culture.

Step 3 – Develop strong work relationships and communication from day one. New-hire orientation is more than a one-time, one-day event. Look at it as a process of integrating and acclimating a new employee to your company’s unique culture and way of doing business.

Step 4 – Realize that performance management is not an annual event. Performance management is a valuable retention tool. It drives employee behavior to align with your agency’s goals and objectives. It is critical to consistently measure and monitor employee performance against the company’s performance.

Step 5 – Keep your eyes open and be proactive. The best way to build a winning team for your small business is to be aware and responsive to the needs of your business and your employees. Stay in constant communication with employees – don’t ignore signs of problems and learn from past employees.

This is just an overview of the problem of costly turnover. For more detail, MJ Management Solutions has developed a downloadable book, “Practical Tools to Manage Costly Employee Turnover” with forms and checklists to help you through the 5 steps outlined here. This e-book gives you strategies you can start using right away to reduce turnover and lower your human resource costs.

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.

As a small business owner, the ideal situation is to recruit and retain top quality employees who feel satisfied with their work, positive about their pay, and have a desire to be long time contributors. You want them to feel loyal to your company and advocate for your small business. Individuals like these are the ones to get and keep! So how do you make that happen?

It’s All About Benefits

Studies indicate that there’s a reciprocal relationship between benefits and job satisfaction. MetLife’s U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Survey, which interviewed 1,510 company benefits decision-makers and 1,203 full-time employees in 2013, found that professionals satisfied with their benefits are more than twice as likely to also be satisfied with their work.

“In the 12 years we’ve been doing this study, employees consistently indicate that their benefits offering is an important reason why they choose an employer,” says Michael Fradkin, Senior Vice President of Markets and Growth Strategies with MetLife.

Benefits Equal Satisfaction

On the flip side, employees tend to be disgruntled if they are not offered benefits. Fox Small Business Center reports that half of small business employees said they are not satisfied with their current benefit plans. Those employees who are satisfied with their benefits tend to be more devoted to their employers (72%). A few things the employees surveyed said they valued were financial education programs and wellness programs, which employers actually found to be cost-effective (72%).

According to Entrepreneur, what employees really value, next to salary, is more basic perks. They want excellent medical insurance, including vision and dental. They want generous life insurance and retirement policies. Paid vacation, sick leave, and flexible schedules are in demand too.

Beyond Basic Benefits

If you’re interested in really going the extra mile for the employees you value, give some thought to what you would want if you were in their position. Is a foosball table and free soda really what would benefit your life? The following is a list of benefits that quality employees appreciate and seek out.

  • Telecommuting. While some companies have come around to allowing employees to work from home when the business allows it, many still won’t consider it. Companies that allow telecommuting – particularly when a staff member is slightly under the weather but can still work, or when someone needs to wait at home for a repair person or delivery – go a long way toward earning employees’ loyalty.
  • Professional development and training. As the economy has forced companies to do more with less, budgets for training and development have taken a hit. As a result, employees are often expected to produce more results without getting the adequate training they need. Professional classes, workshops, and seminars could help employees to learn the skills they need to take on new responsibilities.
  • Flexible schedules. Juggling work and home life is a tall task for anyone. Workers are increasingly looking for a non-conventional work schedule to accommodate the needs of their personal lives. Allowing workers to choose their own schedules, within reason, and under the condition that their work is performed at a high level, is a key way to attract and retain strong performers.
  • Good management. Nothing drives employees away faster than poor management. Managers who exhibit bad managerial behaviors like too controlling, not giving enough direction, unrealistic expectations, creating a climate of fear, just to name a few, will not keep good employees.  No matter how much a staff member likes their job or their company, if they have a bad relationship with their manager, it will overlap into their work life every day and eventually drive them to search for something else.

Conclusion

Employee benefits, in many forms, make workers feel valued, appreciated, and loyal – from health insurance, to flexible schedules, to paid time off, to working for a great manager, employees want to work for a company that makes them feel secure and satisfied. To attract and retain excellent people to represent your company, consider the types of benefits that employees truly value.


Zane Benefits is the leader in individual health insurance reimbursement for small businesses. Since 2006, Zane Benefits has been on a mission to bring the benefits of individual health insurance to business owners and their employees.

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Like many other areas of life and business, human resources has a unique life cycle. However, instead of focusing on the biological aspects of development, the HR life cycle involves the stages employees go through and the role HR takes on during those stages.

Each stage of the human resources life cycle has its own challenges, opportunities, and benefits. For instance, if your small business is experiencing excessive employee turnover, it’s likely that the Motivation stage of the HR life cycle needs attention. If an employee’s skills aren’t improving, you will want to address the Evaluation stage.

When there’s a breakdown at any stage of the cycle, you need to take the necessary steps to correct the problem so both your employees and your business continue to grow.

The Circle of Life For Your Small Business

The typical employee experiences five different stages during their employment with your business:

  1. Recruitment
  2. Education
  3. Motivation
  4. Evaluation
  5. Celebration

1. Recruitment

Growing your business starts with hiring the right people. Hiring decisions play a critical role in turnover, productivity, and growth. In order to succeed in the recruitment phase of the HR life cycle, your human resources department needs to:

  • Create a strategic staffing plan that includes understanding positions that need to be filled, what will be expected of an employee, a strategy for attracting the best of the best, and other hiring concerns
  • Analyze compensation and benefits packages to see if they’re competitive enough to attract the top talent
  • Develop an interviewing protocol, which may include written tests and multiple interview requirements, as well as a focus on active listening

2. Education

Begin the education process from the moment employees start in their new position. They should know their role in the company, your expectations, and their responsibilities. During this phase of the human resources life cycle, it’s important for HR to:

  • Communicate your company’s culture and values
  • Train new hires until they fully understand their job’s duties and responsibilities
  • Assign a coworker to new employees to support their transition and help them feel more connected with your company
  • Introduce new employees to the rest of your staff, and make sure they have everything they need to get started (including passwords, voice mail, parking passes, etc.)

3. Motivation

Turnover is highest in the first ninety days, which is often due to a lack of motivation. Leaders who focus on building bonds with employees in the first ninety days retain employees longer than those who do not make this effort. HR can effectively motivate new hires by: 

  • Keeping them engaged, performing at a higher level, and showing commitment to your company
  • Offering reasons to stay motivated, such as better compensation, benefits, and opportunities for growth
  • Providing recognition to employees who perform at a high level
  • Appreciating their contribution to help make your business more successful

4. Evaluation

In this stage of the human resources life cycle, a supervisor evaluates and measures an employee’s performance. It gives leaders and the employee specific metrics and helps determine if he or she is the right fit for the job. Focus on the following:

  • Challenge, support, and evaluate employees while offering constructive feedback on a regular basis (not just at evaluation time)
  • Conduct performance reviews based on facts, not on feelings
  • Spend more of your time discovering employees doing a good job rather than constantly criticizing
  • Offer training and professional development to help employees reach their goals and move further ahead in your company

5. Celebration

The fifth stage of the HR life cycle gives you the opportunity to reenergize your staff, thank employees for their hard work, and recognize important milestones. Show your appreciation by offering unique benefits (such as flexible work schedules, gift cards, and extra paid time off). Great businesses find a way to motivate in such a way that employees want to follow them to achieve company goals. A smart leader makes employees feel empowered by giving them a sense of ownership.

The End of the Cycle

All cycles must come to an end—including HR life cycles. Sometimes it ends with retirement, leaving to return to school, leaving for more pay or better benefits, to tend to family responsibilities, or involuntary downsizing for economic or strategic reasons.

Investing the time to do termination right is just as important a part of the employee lifecycle as recruiting, training, or development.

Get Assistance

While going through these critical stages of the human resources life cycle may seem overwhelming to a small business owner or an “Accidental HR Manager,” it doesn’t have to be.

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.

We’re human beings, not robots. That’s why it’s not possible for us to do the same things over and over again at the exact same success rate. Why? We like change — we need change.

If you’ve come across the hurdle of lower-than-usual productivity at your company, you’re not alone. In fact, and not surprisingly, only about 25 percent of business leaders have an employee engagement strategy to keep their employees chugging along productively. So, to take some of the weight off your shoulders, we’ve put together three quick steps to help you get your employees engaged and productive.

Step 1: Productivity Through a Vision

Have you ever considered the reason your employees may not be productive is simply because they do not understand the company’s vision? It’s more common than you think. Many employees have a blurry understanding about their company’s goals, strategies, and tactics.

Wondering if your employees know your company’s goals, strategies and the vision? It’s easy to find out. Ask your employees what they think your company’s vision for the future is. If everyone has a different answer, chances are they don’t have a clear understanding. This could be the culprit for low performance.

The solution? Get everyone on the same page — it’s that easy! Hold a meeting where you and your employees go over where your company is headed and show them what each of their roles are in the big picture. Doing this will help your employees understand their individual value and worth in your business.

Step 2: Productivity by Communication

Another big player in productivity at your company is communication. Maybe your employees already understand what the company’s vision is, but does everyone communicate effectively? Here’s a way to find out.

Example: Pull one of your employees into the office. Give them a specific task that they must delegate to another employee. Have the other employee then delegate the same task to another employee. The last employee (third employee if you lost track) must then come back to you and tell you what the task was. It’s a lot like the game of telephone. If the last employee comes back to you with the original task, you know communication is effective. If not, you may have some work to do.

The truth is, communication is hard. Of course, bits and pieces of the task will naturally be lost, but the underlying theme should stay the same if your employees and you communicate effectively. When your employees are communicating to one another effectively, it’s far easier to be productive. Things get done faster and your employees feel accomplished.

Step 3: Productivity Through Creativity

Lastly, it’s time to let your employees’ creativity fly. Why? While not all of your employees are the “creative” type, many of them are. Allow and strongly encourage your employees to be creative — to find solutions to everyday problems in a new way.

How does this boost your employees’ creativity? They’ll feel like they’re part of the solution. It’s much more exciting for an employee to say, “Hey, I came up with this process, cool!” rather than simply following processes without any room for creativity. Make creativity a normal, everyday part of your business.

Conclusion

Keeping in mind that your employees are human beings and not robots, the dream of the perfect employee who works non-stop will slowly fade away. Instead, replace that dream with a happy, creative, and driven employee who is ready for whatever comes their way. Besides, talking to robots (think Siri) never really was too fun.


Zane Benefits is the leader in individual health insurance reimbursement for small businesses. Since 2006, Zane Benefits has been on a mission to bring the benefits of individual health insurance to business owners and their employees.

Zane Benefits’ software helps businesses reimburse employees for individual health insurance plans for annual savings of 20 to 60 percent compared with traditional employer-provided health insurance. Today, over 20,000 customers use Zane Benefits’ software, services, and support to reimburse individual health insurance plans purchased independently of employment. For more information visit ZaneBenefits.com.

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Synnovatia is a strategic coaching firm that is detailed and knowledgeable about business. i have a small business that grew from $150K to $750K because of the goal setting and resources that Synnovatia provided. It saves me years of learning on my own.

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