Morale

3 Questions You Should Include in Your Employee Engagement Survey

What they are and questions to ask. An employee engagement survey is issued to measure several factors that are part of employee retention and performance. Many organizations conduct these surveys on an annual basis, while some issue them bi-annually or even quarterly. The results of these surveys are typically used to drive change and make improvements to the culture of organizations. These surveys usually consist of around 50 questions,...

How Should You Handle Bonus Pay?

When should you give it and how should you go about it? By Courtney Cosby Once your business is more firmly planted, you may start to wonder how to go about handling giving more money to your employees. One such way is to offer bonus pay. Bonus pay is money given to an employee beyond his or her existing base wage and is considered a type of supplemental wage....

Setting Social Boundaries with Employees

How personal is too personal? Humans are social individuals and many of us enjoy interacting with other people – both on a business and personal level. We spend an average of about 40 percent of our time at work so the chances of your personal life diving into your business social life are high. But having personal conversations in a formal office environment is something you should be careful...

Employee Reimbursement 101 – Minimizing taxable expenses and staying compliant with laws and regulations.

Keeping clients happy, vendors paid, and operations running smoothly is a tall task for any business — especially smaller organizations. For convenience’s’ sake, many employers find that allowing employees to pay certain expenses from their own pockets and reimbursing them later is a virtual necessity. However, business owners should be aware that this common practice does entail a bit of responsibility.
 Broadly speaking, there are three different ways of...

Techniques for Better Productivity

For most small business owners, the old phrase “so much to do, so little time” rings frustratingly true. With a virtually endless amount of tasks to deal with, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Of course, giving in to such feelings is oftentimes the worst thing one can do. Dwelling on feelings of discouragement or frustrating generally leads one to being even less productive, thus furthering a negative cycle. Instead,...

6 Components of Positive Company Culture

Fostering good corporate culture has clear economic benefits. For companies that achieve this goal, employees tend to be more productive, customers tend to be more loyal, and management tends to be more effective. That being said, defining great corporate culture can be rather difficult. How exactly can a business owner tell if he or she is promoting a positive culture in the workplace? John Coleman of the Harvard Science...

5 Tips to Motivate Your Employees

There are many good reasons to foster motivation among your employees. Employees who are motivated will be more productive, thus bringing you a bigger ROI on your payroll, and they also tend to offer better customer service, thus representing your company in a manner that is likely to encourage customer loyalty. Here are a few tried-and-true methods of getting your employees motivated. Encourage autonomy and engagement. Employees who are...

5 Traits All Successful Small Business Owners Have in Common

It’s not easy being a small business owner. At the end of the day, all of the weight of your business falls onto you. However, if you possess these five traits all small business owners have in common, you can handle any challenge. 1. Passion- At the heart of every successful business, there is passion. If you are not absolutely in love with what you do, you won’t be...

Signs an Employee May Be Considering Leaving the Company

Employee turnover can be a frustrating and costly problem that affects your bottom line while also harming morale among existing employees. This is why working hard to ensure employee satisfaction is so important. If you believe that an employee may be planning on leaving the company, you may be wondering what steps you could potentially take in order to keep that talent working for you. In this article, we...

The Art of Delegation

Many business owners struggle to overcome this mentality: “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” Thinking this way is understandable: you built your business up from the ground, and no one knows how to do what you do quite how you do it. However, with success comes growth, and growth means that you will need more help. Here are a few tips that can...