How to Provide Great Training To Keep Your Biz Running Strong
You’re beginning to hit your stride and the growth of your business is putting pressure on you to increase your staff. Up to now you could have been a solopreneur or worked with a few others who grew into their jobs as you figured out how to run your business. But it’s going to be different with new hires from now on. You need to provide some level of training. You have two choices: you can make it up as you go along or you can be proactive and organize your training program. Okay, there’s a third choice: toss your new employees out onto the floor and let them figure it out as they go along. The problem with the first choice is that every time you bring on someone new, you’ll find yourself reinventing the wheel. In the long run, it will require more of your time and you will end up with a staff that has not received consistent training. The third option, while it is the choice of many, leads to frustration all around and can greatly increase turnover. Two important principles Evaluate your approach to training with these two goals in mind: Quality control. Make sure your training covers the knowledge and skills required to do a good job. Repeatability. Make sure new hire number four is trained just as well as new hire number three. In order to properly develop a training program, you must have good job descriptions in place. These will help you be certain that the content of your training program matches the requirements delineated in your jobs descriptions. However, there is one thing to consider even before you get down to the “nuts and bolts” of making sure new hires have the tools they need to get the job done. You need to introduce new employees to your company’s culture. Go over the history of your business. Explain its origins. Initially it may be you providing the introduction; later it may be someone else. It’s even a good idea to provide a written history of your business with personal remarks as part of your “hiring packet.” Hopefully you will have shared some of this during the interview process. Facility tours and introductions are also important for preserving your company’s DNA. List the requirements As you prepare for training, create checklists to be sure no important points are missed. Health and safety issues are critical. As you get further along developing training materials, incorporate dated sign offs so you can document when employees were trained. Should problems arise later, you may need this documentation. Further, government agencies, such as OSHA, require certain kinds of documentation depending on your industry. Be sure your knowledge is up to date as well as your records. Consider standardizing some of your training through video and use of the Internet. Also, there are many third-party training groups that have created excellent content, classes and tutorials. Investing in outside training can easily save you money when you consider the gained productivity. If your employees need specific technical training, there are lots of Internet resources available. However, don’t leave it to employees to browse the web and find something they like. If new employees need to learn Excel basics, for example, find what you think is the best tutorial...
read more2015 Will Bring Changes: Is Your Smallbiz Ready?
It’s a tale of two Teddy bears, one that has had a long career and the other that was merely a flash in the pan. The “one hit wonder” was Beanie Babies and the one with staying power is Build a Bear Workshop. If you or your kids have a closet full of Beanie Babies, (as I do) you probably know that they are virtually worthless today. However, during their 15 minutes of fame, people were lining up at stores to get the latest release and their price on the resale market was through the roof. The Teddy bears that customers make at the various Build a Bear Workshops located around the world, aren’t subject to the extremes in value that we saw with Beanie Babies. Further, I expect they will continue to find their way into hearts and homes for generations to come. Here’s my question for you today: Is your business riding a wave of current popularity, or its its success being carried by something more substantial? Surviving long term Sometimes we mistake luck for genius. Fortunately, Ty Inc., the company that made Beanie Babies, developed other lines of plush toys and was able to survive the downfall of the Beanie Baby fad. Maxine Clarke, Build a Bear Workshop founder, developed a business that is much more than Teddy bears. She created an experience families and friends could enjoy together. Not only are Teddy bears produced, so are memories. Further, Maxine expanded her business around the world. If your small business is too “one note,” you need to figure out what to do next that will sustain it as trends shift. One day Starbucks management woke up and discovered that they needed to do a little more than just serve coffee and a few bakery items. The company expanded its menu. An important key here is to carefully examine consumer and business trends. When buying patterns shift, you don’t want to be the last person to notice. Compare Netflix and Blockbuster. Blockbuster was always behind the curve when DVD rentals moved from neighborhood stores to being web-based and it proved to be a fatal mistake. Netflix’s midcourse correction However, although Netflix was quite successful with its “through-the-mail” model, it sensed that web streaming was the future and separated streaming from its online-ordering. After the split, streaming cost more for consumers and they complained for about an Internet minute, then accepted it. Netflix took a gamble rather than stick with a business plan that it knew would be ultimately obsolete. It has been said many times that change is the only constant and change comes faster today than ever before. While we aren’t all Steve-Jobs-like geniuses who can anticipate change before it happens, we should be able to sense the initial indicators of change and make smart adjustments. How can you work with your business model and make it more sustainable going into 2015? * Image: Beanie Babies, © 2005 Joel Telling, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike...
read moreHow To Guard Against Wage Theft Lawsuits
Observers used the words “game changing” and “broad ramifications” when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued its ruling in a case that pitted the delivery giant FedEx against some 2,300 drivers on the West Coast. The case centered around FedEx’s classifying the drivers as independent contractors rather than company employees. The appeals court sided with the drivers because FedEx maintained controls over the drivers’ appearance, vehicles, hours and conduct just as a business would over regular employees. Increased litigation The case is an example of “wage theft lawsuits,” which have certainly been on the rise in recent years. In the FedEx case, by classifying drivers as independent contractors, the delivery company was able to duck overtime pay and other benefits that would have been given to a regular employee. Abusing the “independent contractor” classification is probably a fairly common occurrence. Don’t fall into that trap. It can be a costly mistake. Among the typical attributes of a true independent contractor are: Sets his or her own hours and schedule, Usually works for more than one company, Works independently, Works from his or her own office or home, and Pays the costs of getting the job (contract) completed. If you have “independent contractors” who don’t sound like the people I’ve described in those five bullet points, you need to get legal advice and see if you should bring them onboard as employees or readjust your relationship to them. Other areas to watch There are other ways you can find yourself on the wrong side of a wage theft lawsuit. First, make sure you understand federal and state laws regarding overtime. If you’re allowing – or scheduling – employees to work hours that push them into overtime pay situations, be certain you are compensating them properly. Also, be a stickler about time cards. You don’t allow other employees to punch coworkers in and out, don’t allow management to change time cards to skirt overtime regulations. Also, never ask an employee to sign a blank timecard. In the same way, know the law regarding breaks – both rest breaks and meal breaks – and adhere to it. Wal-Mart was fined $187 million because it was found to have cut rest and meal breaks. Sometimes in the small business environment, owners, managers and line-level employees develop close relationships that almost resemble friendships. Friends will ask “favors” of friends and in the workplace that may translate to stretching some labor laws. Don’t allow yourself or your managers to fall into that trap. It can come back to hurt you in a major way. Not only can it cost you money, it can tarnish your reputation in your...
read moreShould You Put Your Money On Apple Pay?
Are we about to see a cage fight to the death, like we saw in the Blu-ray vs HD DVD battle for supremacy, or will there be peaceful coexistence as the Visa vs MasterCard saga played out may years ago? That’s the question we’re asking today as we reflect on the announcement that Apple will include a payment system with its new iPhone and iOS. The Silicon Valley giant said that it has already forged partnerships with some 22,000 retailers. However, by the time all the Apple aficionados had filed out of Flint Center, Wal-Mart and Best Buy were summoning the press to say, “Not so fast Apple, we’re hitching our carts to a different horse—CurrentC.” Continue with cards? CurrentC is an app. Consumers load value onto it or hook it up to their bank accounts and use it at retailers who have adopted the system. It is also designed to handle things such as store discount coupons. Apple Pay, on the other hand, is a system that stores the credit and debit cards you already own. American Express, MasterCard and Visa along with every major bank have signed on to Apple Pay. CurrentC, which is being Beta tested right now, creates QR (quick response) codes while Apple Pay uses near field communication to send data to properly equipped terminals. Apple Pay is supposed to debut in October. On the face of it, is seems that Apple Pay has the potential to be more convenient for consumers because it uses their existing credit cards. Also, its security technology is somewhat superior. However, many brick-and-mortar stores will have to invest in new terminals. Current Cost advantage Also, the company behind CurrentC, MCX, is touting its lower cost to merchants when compared to credit card purchases. Plus, Apple will get 15 cents for every $100 transaction made using its system; merchants have to pay that. This is in addition to the credit/debit card fees banks and processors charge. Apple will also be working hard to garner acceptance of its payment system online. It will significantly increase security in the e-commerce world. That fact, along with Apple’s substantial influence, will probably cause it to be adopted rather quickly online. Since everything in the web realm happens quickly, I expect we’ll know fairly soon if there will be a dominant new “secure” payment system. Unless you’re an online retailer, I suggest you sit back for a little while and see how this plays out. E-commerce sites should implement Apple Pay as quickly as is convenient—Apple users are big online spenders and the holiday shopping season is almost here. Image: “Apple Campus One Infinite Loop Sign” by Joe Ravi (Shutterstock iStock Dreamstime) – Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia...
read moreBe Ready For The New American Household
For the first time ever, there are more single adults than married adults in the United States. That has huge implications for our society, and since small businesses are a major component of our society, this shifting demographic – one of many, by the way – should be carefully considered when mapping out future business plans. Some differences are pretty obvious. Singles are more likely to rent than own their own homes. Singles are also less likely to have children. By the way, it seems to me that married couples are also less likely to have children today, and certainly they have smaller families. How time is spent Those basic facts will impact business trends greatly in coming years, but there are more. Back in 2003, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) studied different habits between single and married adults. Outlined below are some of the findings. Here are some areas where married people spend more time when compared to singles: Household activities. Two hours and four minutes each day versus one hour and 24 minutes. Buying things. 47 minutes a day versus 40 minutes. Religious and civic activities. 23 minutes a day versus 16 minutes. Here are some areas where single people spend more time each day when compared to marrieds: Educational activities. 56 minutes a day versus five minutes. Personal care (includes sleep). Nine hours 47 minutes versus nine hours and 13 minutes. Socializing, sports and leisure activities. Five hours and 48 minutes versus four hours and 57 minutes. The numbers that really jump out are the areas where singles invest more of their time. I would factor out about eight hours of sleep time for both groups and when that’s done, education, personal care and social activities rate much more highly for singles than married people. How money is spent More recently, the BLS looked at 20-somethings, both married and single and how they spend their money. Singles spend more on food, alcohol, housing, clothing, and education. Married people generally spend more on transportation, health care, entertainment, and personal insurance and pensions. As the number of single adults continues its climb, strengthening its position of dominance, small business owners need to recognize this as a growth group and plan future expansion and marketing with this in mind. For example, in real estate, planning an apartment building could be wiser than planning a condominium development. And because “household activities” includes cleaning and cooking, we will see even more growth in home cleaning and cooking services. By the way, looking a earnings figures of single versus married people in their 20s, while marrieds have an advantage in their younger years, by age 29, the groups are almost the same. That creates some good marketing opportunities for business. Image: “Adv of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson Family 1952” by Press materials are presumed to have been distributed by the ABC Television Network, which was the network that aired the series. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia...
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