Stay Legal in the Evolving Labor Market
The labor market today is becoming a richer and more varied tapestry of options than it has ever been. We still have the traditional salaried and hourly employees, but we have a whole new slate of self-employed or semi-self-employed (the Department of Labor is going to love that term!) workers, including virtual assistants, freelancers, peer-to-peer industry workers – think Uber drivers – temps and others I’m probably missing. Further, digital communications have greatly increased the value of being able to respond immediately to customer requests and maintain a high level of workforce flexibility throughout many industry sectors. Flintstone era labor laws? However, most labor laws were written in a different age. They were developed when work schedules were far more simple and when unions were powerful in private industry. With few exceptions, businesses closed in the evenings…and on weekends…and certainly on Sundays and holidays. Alas, those days are gone forever. Consumers demand much more and that can put employers in a bind. This is rearing its head right now with battles over unpredictable work schedules and positions that require “on-call work.” And the retail industry may be the hardest hit by the controversy. In an effort to respond to customer demand and unexpected employee absences, some businesses will call in workers on virtually no notice. Often the call-ins today are digitally powered, coming via company message boards or text message alerts. When workers discover that they must report on short notice, it makes issues such as arranging child care especially difficult. Employee-friendly scheduling There are various dimensions of this to consider as a small business owner. First, the culture of your company and your ability to achieve the highest levels of customer satisfaction depend on employees who are happy with their work. If you are using a scheduling system that by its very nature causes dissatisfaction among your employees, you have a problem that needs fixing right now. Second, the laws governing these situations vary by state. Eight states plus Washington, D.C. have “reporting time pay laws.” These regulations say that employers must pay for a minimum number of hours when they call someone into work. These states are California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Rhode Island. If you’re located in one of these states, be certain you understand what your requirements are. It’s also important that your employees are being categorized properly, whether they are exempt or non-exempt. You have more flexibility with exempt, salaried, employees, but you can’t declare someone exempt unless they fit into they categories defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act. They must: Meet a minimum salary threshold, Perform duties regardless of the number of hours worked, Hold an executive, administrative or professional position. Don’t abuse good relations Small business owners often develop close relationships with their employees and this can lead to an assumed “flexibility” with regards to labor law. Don’t make this mistake. Not only is it unfair to your employees, it can lead to significant legal problems when the inevitable dispute arises. Although I said that some of our labor laws are out of date, they are still the law and must be adhered to. It will be interesting to see how they evolve in the upcoming years. Imagine trying to write a regulation covering a...
read moreDon’t Pester Customers For their Zip Code and More Radio Shack Lessons
A friend is a ham radio operator and he remembers Radio Shack from the days when it was a paradise for electronic hobbyists. He told me that at one point he hadn’t been in a Radio Shack for several years, but when he did return he thought he had walked into some kind of oddly organized stereo/television/cellphone store. He greeted the news of Radio Shack’s bankruptcy with a little sadness, but more than that, he wondered why it took so long. Analysts have been busy writing the company’s obituary since it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February. About 2,000 stores will be closed and I suspect that its business partner, Sprint, will convert the others into mobile phone outlets. As the friend I mentioned earlier illustrates, when Radio Shack was healthy, it was catering to electronic hobbyists and innovators. What’s ironic is that these individuals haven’t disappeared, they’ve just moved. Unfortunately Radio Shack didn’t move with them. What’s in a name? The name says it all: Radio Shack. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that the number of people who actually buy a radio today can be counted on one hand. Yes, I exaggerate a little, but my point is valid. Outside of our cars, most of us have very little need for a radio, and fewer still are tinkering with radio circuitry. However, the hobbyists and tinkerers are still around. I’m sure you know many people who have built their own computers. However, Radio Shack never seemed to be able to tap into this market. Further, the elevation of STEM courses in our educational system should have presented a huge marketing opportunity to Radio Shack. Since its founding, Apple has worked tirelessly putting their products into the hands of students, converting them to lifelong Apple users. Radio Shack could have partnered with school districts developing programs and selling components to help educate our youth. The strategy would have bolstered the bottom line and promoted the Radio Shack brand. It’s apparent that the market moved and Radio Shack didn’t move with it. Additionally, management made some mistakes that cost dearly. The zip code debacle Please excuse me while I vent on one specific customer service issue I think we all had with Radio Shack: For years you couldn’t so much as buy a battery at Radio Shack without disclosing your zip code. It was a huge – and unnecessary – annoyance. It was such a big deal that back in 2010, Con Chapman wrote a hilarious send up saying that an acquisition deal had fallen through because a hypocritical Radio Shack refused to tell the acquiring company its zip code. The company finally dropped the policy, but it was too little, too late. That is emblematic of how the company alienated its customers. If a company’s core business goes away and it hassles customers at the checkout counter, extinction is just a matter of time and in the case of Radio Shack, that time came on Feb. 5, 2015. Image: Radio Shack by Mike Mozart, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike...
read moreHow To Know For Sure That You’re Ready For Remote Employees
It’s almost impossible to read articles about small business, startups or productivity today without quickly hitting one that discusses the virtues of remote employees or adding long-distance freelancers to your team. The benefits are unassailable. Here are just a few: A recent ConnectSolutions survey reports that 77 percent of employees working remotely say they are more productive. Small businesses can add skills and talents that they cannot find or afford in the local market. Remote employees are often self-starters, therefore requiring less direct supervision. However, you need to do a self-check before you jump into this area, and if you do decide to move ahead with your plans to bring remote employees on board, you need to be prepared. It starts with you First, consider your management style and the way you think about work. If you are a super-traditionalist who believes work can only be measured by a time clock, you either need to drop your plans or change your attitude. Further, you probably need to adjust the way you organize your workplace, if possible. Generally, the kind of work assigned to a remote worker or freelancer is based in completing tasks and achieving goals. Consider these two scenarios: You ask an in-house employee to complete seven reports by the end of the day. Frankly, you’ve set the parameters in terms of both the quantity of work you need completed as well as the time frame. There’s a good chance the work will “expand” to fill the time. You ask a freelancer to complete seven reports and pay a fee per report. The freelancer finishes them more quickly and moves on to do work for another client or additional work for you. Which of these do you feel most comfortable with? The lesson is that you should have tasks and projects that you need to complete in a timely manner. When you have milestones like that, it often makes sense to turn them over to a remote employee or freelancer. Reach out and touch someone However, you need to have communication systems in place that keep everyone on the same page. There are a range of options today, including Email (as long as it is checked frequently), Instant messaging, Online whiteboard apps, Cloud-based apps, Video communications – Skype and the various on-line meeting systems – and Private social media platforms or “groups.” You also need to standardize file types that you use and perhaps deal with some branding issues if communications to third parties would be involved. For example, if you’re using a freelancer who will sometimes email your clients or others, it might be better if the email came from an address associated with your domain, e.g. j.smith@companyname.com. So if you decide that the benefits would serve your business well as you grow, be sure you’re mentally prepared and have the infrastructure in place to facilitate a smooth “on boarding”...
read moreProven Strategies For Boosting Sales With Powerful Customer Testimonies
We recently looked at the big picture of “social proof” and discussed how powerful it can be as part of your marketing efforts. Customer testimonials are one of the most important social proofs you can deploy to boost your business, and there are two critical steps you need to accomplish to be successful. You must: Collect the testimonials, and Get the testimonials in front of your prospects. Let’s look at some strategies for encouraging, gathering and deploying testimonials. Social media Virtually every social media platform has the potential for creating customer reviews and testimonials. A Facebook business page, your company’s LinkedIn page, and reviews on your YouTube channel are all prime locations to drum up customer reviews and comments. The key here – and the key throughout this process – is to ask, or create the opportunities and environment in which customers will share their thoughts. Start threads that elicit reactions and ratings from your customers. Plant seeds that get people talking about what you do or the products you sell. Review sites There are all kinds of sites where users rate their experiences. Some are very general, such as Yelp, while other are more specialized, such as the travel sites, where customers will discuss hotel accommodations, tours, sights and more. Service providers need to find the best match for their prospects. Once you have a presence, you need to promote yourself. If you’re on Yelp, for example, include their logo with a message like, “Share Your Experience on Yelp.” If you sell through Amazon, don’t forget to look at customer comments there and grab some to use in other places. Asking strategies As I said above, asking is the most important step and this can take many forms. You can even have a comment book in your store. Bed and breakfast inns collect great comments from their guests. That strategy could work for other businesses. Asking within your email communications is another good idea. All the customer has to do is hit “reply” and enter a few comments. Tip: Asking for “feedback” is usually better than asking for a testimonial or endorsement. If you are doing things right, your feedback should be overwhelmingly positive. Broadcast your testimonials Testimonials buried deeply within a thread of Facebook comments don’t promote your business very much. You need to capture your comments and feature them throughout your website, business location, and marketing materials, such as email newsletters and print vehicles. Testimonials on your homepage and landing pages are perhaps the most magical elixir you have to turn prospects into customers. Keep a long list of good comments and consistently add to it. Following your feedback comments is always important anyway, so be sure to copy and paste some into a file that’s frequently updated. Frankly, some businesses invent positive comments from “customers” and prospects know this. Get permission to identify customers, or cite the source like Yelp and include a link if possible. For many businesses, featuring the customer’s name with a photo is a fantastic idea. The great thing about these testimonials is that they can be almost free. The only cost involved is the time it takes you to ask, collect and post the...
read moreThis Week in Small Business: Avoid cyber crime, market smart and find out where the economy is headed.
Can you actually launch an Instagram marketing campaign in two hours? Are startups running down? Is ransomware the next “killer” app? Inquiring minds want to know, and that’s why they check out all of these great articles. Leadership, management and productivity Lessons in how to run a startup and small business are always being taught in Silicon Valley. These 11 tips will work in virtually any setting. “Ransomware” is a specific growing threat for small businesses. Be sure you and all your employees know what it is and how to avoid being caught in its snare. And in general terms, cyber crime is a topic that small business owners need to follow closely. Here are four ways you can help prevent a catastrophe in your company. Ryan Smith turned down a $500 million offer for his startup. Find out why and see his approach to achieving a work-life balance. The key to being a great boss is in asking the right questions, according to movie and media mogul Brian Grazer. If you’re planning to expand, you may want to know which US cities are creating the most new tech jobs. Ethics today save you money tomorrow. But that’s not all. Being ethical today makes you more money, every day of the year, for generations, says Ted Coiné. Review this list of seven ways to kill staff motivation and I’m sure you’ll find at least one that you have been guilty of through the years. Infusionsoft co-founder and CEO Clate Mask makes a good point when he says that small business is “personal” not “local.” Run a startup or a growing business? Here are 11 customer service mistakes you can’t afford to make. Marketing and sales Marketers should look at what biologists have discovered over the years and apply it to the way they segment their prospects and customers. Matthew Gonnering, Widen CEO, says that “wellness” should be the aim of your marketing campaign and he describes the seven dimensions to wellness. If you’re planning a new, bright and shiny marketing campaign, don’t forget about your existing customers. What’s that old baby and bathwater saying? Bill Walls does a good job comparing PPC campaigns and inbound marketing. It should help you better focus your resources. Email We chronicle the advantages of email marketing here virtually every week. An EmailExpert.org study says that $1 in spending generates $44 in revenue. Social Media/Digital How to optimize social media marketing efforts using microcontent. Sure you have some folks handling your Internet marketing, but how can you know that they’re doing anything worthwhile? Here are 12 red flags to watch for. It’s definitely “ground floor” time for Meerkat and Periscope marketing. Here’s a guide that will help you get started. Don’t have much time? Consider these two Instagram marketing campaigns you can get going in just a couple of hours. Did you know that Facebook accounted for 64 percent of all social log-ins on the Internet during the first quarter of 2015? You’ll find that and nine more fascinating digital marketing stats right here! 17 Social media marketing experts check in on what it takes to build relationships. If you’re planning a product launch, check out this Harvard Business Review article that outlines 10 social media tactics. Content Living by the KISS rule (keep it...
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