Small Business Toolbox

A library of business management info


Compensation
  • Is Profit Sharing Right for Your Business?
    04/30/2008
    If you're looking for a way to give your employees a bigger stake in the company, fund their retirement plans or regulate year-end bonuses, a profit-sharing program might be the solution for you. Giving employees a larger chunk of your company's bottom line might sound risky, but it often gives employees a boost in motivation.
  • Crafting an Employee Recognition Program That Works
    02/01/2008
    How can you craft effective employee recognition programs? Cindy Ventrice, author of Make Their Day! Employee Recognition That Works (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2003), offers these tips.
  • Saying No to Employees, Tactfully
    08/24/2007
    As an employer, you will face times when you'll have to say no to employees, whether you have to deny a raise request or an employee's desire to take a particular week off for vacation. The way you say no, however, can make all the difference in whether an employee stays motivated or ends up looking for another job.
  • Rewarding Employees for Healthy Behavior
    07/27/2007
    Healthy employees are not only good for company morale, they are also good for the bottom line. In fact, a study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that employers' losses in productivity when employees are sick are four times greater than the costs of medical treatment.
  • Avoid Turnover by Doing Your Homework Before Hiring
    07/09/2007
    Here's the thing about turnover: It doesn't just cost you time and aggravation; it also costs you money. And the toll is probably much higher than you imagine, says Linda Leake, president of execUchange, a Raleigh, N.C.-based management consulting firm.
  • Determining the Financial Value of an Employee
    06/28/2007
    It's important for a small business to be constantly aware of what employees are worth in actual dollars. This information provides the basis for determining salary and whether the company should take on additional employees or let some go.
  • Compensating and Promoting Younger Family Members in a Family Business
    06/01/2007
    As anyone in a family business knows, the family dynamic of a business offers many benefits--and a few concerns. Two of the chief concerns that founding members of a family business often have are the adequate compensation and promotion of younger family members.
  • Understanding the New Federal Minimum Wage
    05/31/2007
    On May 25, 2007, President George W. Bush signed into law the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. This legislation will raise the current minimum wage of $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour by July 2009, in three phases.
  • Perks Without Pay
    09/20/2006
    Raises aren't the only way to reward employees
  • Keeping Your Best Employees: Seven Tips for Retaining Talent
    08/10/2006
    Let's face it: Retaining talent is no easy feat in a workforce that's getting younger, feeling more entitled and switching jobs as fast as their high-speed Internet. Employers are continuously challenged to find new ways to keep their people feeling happy, healthy and—perhaps most importantly—appreciated.
  • Common Ways to Pay Your Employees
    06/21/2006
    Unless you are a volunteer organization, you have to pay your employees. The wage earned per year can basically be determined by one of three common methods: commission, hourly and salary. ("Salary" can refer to either the wage per year or the method of wage payment of paying a set amount per year.) Each type of pay has its benefits.
  • The Lure of Small
    05/25/2006
    Ever feel second best when you're looking to hire a new employee? Compared to small businesses, large corporations have more money, name recognition and benefits to attract the best and brightest employees. But bigger doesn't always mean better.
  • Overtime: Who Gets It?
    04/21/2006
    It’s been more than a year since the U.S. Department of Labor announced major revisions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The changes aimed to clarify which employees qualify for overtime pay as well as update dated terminology and job descriptions. Even with the new regulations, there is no denying that confusion still exists amongst employers and employees. And as employees’ job responsibilities are often subject to change, it’s a good idea to periodically review their job descriptions, and make sure that they are appropriately classified under the FLSA.
  • Cultivate Customer Satisfaction by Putting Employees First
    04/05/2006
    Ever encountered a clerk or cashier who muttered “Have a nice day” in a way that showed that he or she couldn’t care less what kind of day you had? You may have walked away feeling that the person who served you didn’t like his or her job, and that “serving” you was one small step toward quitting time. You might also have left with an unfavorable impression of the business, and if you encountered this behavior on your second or third visit, you might have taken your business elsewhere.
  • Can’t Offer a Holiday Bonus This Year? Consider These Ideas
    12/02/2005
    Even if you can't offer a bonus, there are still effective ways to show employees that you value them. While none of these ideas cost much, they do require some forethought and creativity.
  • Alternatives to the Ho-Hum Holiday Party
    11/28/2005
    Q: Instead of throwing our traditional holiday party, I was thinking that we might find a better use for that money this year. But what should we do? Do you have any suggestions?
  • Getting More Work Done With Less: Surviving the Busy Periods
    11/30/2004
    If you're like many small-business owners, there are periods of time when you are busier than usual. For retail-oriented companies, that time might be around the holidays. For accountants, that time is likely the weeks before April 15. While hiring additional employees would help you to get the extra work done, not all business owners can afford to do that. However, there are alternative ways to get more work done with less.
  • Three Ways to Pay Your Sales Force
    05/18/2004
    Small-business owners often face an important decision when hiring a sales force.
  • Don't Let Employee Bonuses Become Ho-Hum
    04/09/2002
    Even the most generous types of employee motivation can become ineffective if they become commonplace and expected by employees.
  • Five Tips on Determining New-Employee Compensation
    04/09/2002
    When you have a new employee coming aboard, it's vitally important to set his or her financial compensation at a proper level, because this base level will stay with the employee (and with you) for as long as the employee is with your firm.
  • Structured Salary Policies Motivate Employees
    03/28/2002
    Too many small businesses have no specific plan for employee salary increases. As a result, these companies give salary increases based mostly on spontaneous decisions or employee demands.
  • Tips for Setting Employee Salaries
    03/28/2002
    There's an old Dilbert cartoon in which the characters wonder (ironically, of course) why all the "industry's best" as defined by management, are working at their company for the "industry's lowest" salaries.
  • Communicating Financial Difficulties with Employees
    03/27/2002
    Many employers are reluctant to inform employees about financial difficulties that the company may be having, fearing that the news may cause employees to become disheartened or immediately start looking for new jobs.
  • Optimizing Your Sales Compensation Plan
    03/22/2002
    In today's Workshop, contributor David Berger explores various points associated with the preparation, design, administration and evaluation of sales-related pay plans.